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NSA WhistleBlower Outs Himself

Posted by samzenpus on from the man-behind-the-curtain dept.

An anonymous reader writes "The individual responsible for one of the most significant leaks in US political history is Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of the defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton. Snowden has been working at the National Security Agency for the last four years as an employee of various outside contractors, including Booz Allen and Dell. The Guardian, after several days of interviews, is revealing his identity at his request. From the moment he decided to disclose numerous top-secret documents to the public, he was determined not to opt for the protection of anonymity. 'I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,' he said."

6 of 860 comments (clear)

  1. Modern Jesus by Jah-Wren+Ryel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    This man may well be our Jesus. The government is going to crucify him in their fury.

    --
    When information is power, privacy is freedom.
    1. Re:Modern Jesus by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

      FISA was written in the late 1970s after the public found out that the NSA and CIA (sometimes in cooperation with the FBI) were snooping on domestic postal and fax transmissions. Only then did Congress pass laws and rules which ostensibly prohibited the NSA or CIA from operating domestically. Prior to that the only thing preventing them from operating domestically was the FBI protecting their turf.

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Intelligence_Surveillance_Act#History
      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_Committee

      In all likelihood, it was probably only the Nixon debacle which primed the public to actually reject this kind of snooping. Today we might just roll over. Then, like now, there are too many apologists and protectors of the police state, and not enough level-headed people willing to reject it. Perhaps the Tea Party radicals might actually be worth something, or maybe they'll just provide an easy excuse to ignore the naysayers as conspiracy theorists.

    2. Re:Modern Jesus by Trepidity · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Perhaps the Tea Party radicals might actually be worth something, or maybe they'll just provide an easy excuse to ignore the naysayers as conspiracy theorists.

      I do think that could be one possible positive outcome of the Tea Party, if it could be channeled into an anti-surveillance political force. An engagement with techno-libertarian issues has historically been a weakness of American libertarianism, which is to a large extent based on imagining sparsely populated frontier localism: no taxes, let me keep my rifle, I'll fight off the government with my militia when they come, etc., etc.

      Mostly it's ignored the information sphere and the need to keep any sort of pervasive surveillance state from being built, and has been relatively disconnected from considering what freedom might mean if you live in a modern city, rather than a sparely populated frontier. Not everyone has ignored it, of course, but it's gotten comparatively little focus, compared to guns & taxes.

      Unfortunately, in my corner of the country (Texas), I see some signs that nativist worries are interfering with anti-surveillance instincts. It's not everyone, but a lot of tea-partiers around here have gotten the idea that some crazy pro-police-state ideas are not so bad, if they keep the Mexicans out. Everything from drone patrols of the border to regular ID-card checks to employment databases seems to be seen as a potential aid in the War Against Illegal Immigration, whereas to me all that is a lot scarier than the illegal immigration is.

      --
      10 PRINT CHR$(205.5+RND(1)); : GOTO 10
  2. Definitions by InfinityWpi · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wrong? No.

    Illegal, Yes.

    Be careful, Mr. Snowden, they're going to be after you...

  3. Pulling an Assange? by Bananatree3 · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Sooner or later, the NSA would have found this guy. I wonder if outing himself first gives him "media immunity." It's harder to take someone out quietly, if they're in the limelight.

  4. Re:Why do you joke about prison rape? by Luke+has+no+name · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I don't get offended by many things, but I don't think it's humor, and that's why I don't like it. I know too many people who say of convicted felons "I hope he drops the soap a lot" and whatnot. Lots of people see prison rape as a valid part of one's punishment, and it's wrong.