THE SNOWDEN'S LEAKS

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chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Hey, how do you people react to the whistleblower Edward Snowden leaks of mass spying of citizens in the USA and elsewhere, by the NSA?
Spying and collection are two different things. The former implies there's a consumer of that information. We live in an era where it's easier to collect everything and then restrict access to the data to comply with the law, rather than targeting individual suspects. This endgame was inevitable, there just needs to be a safety net of checks to mitigate abuse and illegal search.
J-L
"I cannot complain when your icon of choice is a penguin"
1791
Snowden or Manning had nothing to gain by leaking files and informationas as they did, so I see this kind of act as a selfless public service that might teach our governments that keeping such dark businesses in secrecy is not okay.

Can you imagine what would happen if, let's say, Israel gathered data from other countries? Surely everyone would quickly demand action against it. So why do the United States have this unquestioning authority to do whatever they want?

As far as I'm concerned, the information posted on Wikileaks has not lead to the death of anyone. Would anyone really prefer to allow things like this to go unseen?
I think it's funny how Snowden is making the USA government look stupid. I saw it coming, but seriously, it still sucks to have it confirmed.
Indifference. But he's really in a pickle now, running around from country to country, seeking asylum. I have to wonder if he has any regrets. What about his family? Does he miss his mother?
This whole Snowden thing is what's called a Limited Hangout. You can read all about it on the wikipedia article.

The scenario of a lone rebel risking his hide to release documents and cause havoc to a supposedly secretive regime isn't anything new. Assange is the most recent case. The basic idea, as the group doing the 'hangout', is to release some stuff that isn't particularly new (did anybody really doubt the US government spies? Hello Patriot Act?) and mix it in with some stuff you want (for example, he mentions hack attacks between China and US, which when stated openly can increase tension between the two). Next, hype the hell out of the shit nobody really cares about but may pretend to, and then turn the releasing person into a media darling by framing him as a brave fugitive fighting the good fight for liberty, truth, or whatever (Snowden is all over the news. Assange was on the cover of Time magazine).


If you're curious about how he's impacting the political landscape, my layman's explanation is that, if you notice, all the blame for privacy rights violation is being pinned directly on President Obama (noted by name) by mostly Republicans. Ironically, the infrastructure for spying on US citizens was constructed under the last Republican president. But we have short memories.
Also, certain interests would like to see the US provide boots-on-the-ground type support to the Syrian rebel army. By making Obama look bad on individual liberties and driving his Democrat support base away, he may be more willing to entertain the idea if it means increased political backing from other groups.
I think he did a great thing. Has anybody read 1984?
Yellow Magic
Could I BE any more Chandler Bing from Friends (TM)?
3154
Can't believe anyone's genuinely surprised about PRISM and the like.
Seriously, the common citizen doesn't fucking care about government secrets.

Why don't they let the poor guy go? He didn't betray anything but this country's sense of entitlement to its business while they casually snoop on other people's cellphones.
I have actually since, in some occasions, asked the NSA what they thought about different issues while I text.
I feel iffy about Snowden. Too much attention is being put on him, and too little on Manning.

I'm no conspiracy theorist, and I don't buy the argument that the Snowden Case exists to draw attention away from the unconstitutional trial of Manning, but I think it's worth consideration.

I dunno. You Americans have it lucky. You get corrupt governments, causes to fight for, injustices to stand up against. Meanwhile in Australia, where the entire government is basically the cast of Parks and Recreation, the biggest scandals are an MPs leaked sexist email, or a tabloid news station caught lying...
I'd take lame government any day over corrupt and controlling.
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