Slashdot Mirror
Snowden Says His Mission Is Accomplished
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Edward Snowden met with reporters from the Washington Post for fourteen hours and in his first interview since June reflected at length about surveillance, democracy and the meaning of the documents he exposed. 'For me, in terms of personal satisfaction, the mission's already accomplished. I already won,' says Snowden. 'All I wanted was for the public to be able to have a say in how they are governed. That is a milestone we left a long time ago. Right now, all we are looking at are stretch goals.' Snowden says that the NSA's business is 'information dominance,' the use of other people's secrets to shape events. But Snowden upended the agency on its own turf. 'You recognize that you're going in blind, that there's no model,' says Snowden, acknowledging that he had no way to know whether the public would share his views. 'But when you weigh that against the alternative, which is not to act, you realize that some analysis is better than no analysis. Because even if your analysis proves to be wrong, the marketplace of ideas will bear that out.' Snowden succeeded because the NSA, accustomed to watching without being watched, faces scrutiny it has not endured since the 1970s, or perhaps ever, and says people who accuse him of disloyalty mistake his purpose. 'I am not trying to bring down the NSA, I am working to improve the NSA. I am still working for the NSA right now. They are the only ones who don't realize it.'"
He's not wearing a jumpsuit and standing on an aircraft carrier with a banner behind him.
Snowden is a real hero. I am sorry he can't be home for the holidays this year because of his sacrifice.
He may have gotten us all to open our eyes regarding the NSA, Constitutional abuses, Corporate America's involvement and capitulation, etc, but as long as he has more documents his mission is not complete.
In the George W. Bush Presidential Library long-term storage, archived next to many of your liberties.
The NSA should be dismantled....
Hang on, someone's at the door.
... when he was working there. According to Forbes, his coworkers report that he would wear a Electronic Frontier Foundation hoodie to work and have a copy of the constitution on his desk to argue when he was asked to do something against the constitution.
They just had to emulate him and he would still be in Hawai with his girlfriend and working for the NSA.
If nothing has changed, it's not his fault.
It's ours.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
It's pretty obvious from what he says in the interview that he was well coached ahead of time on what message to get out. But despite that, he comes across as essentially saying that he's smarter and more moral than anyone in the executive, judicial, or legislative branches of government.
There are ways to address concerns about abuses of government power, he chose the nuclear route. Whether exposing the abuses of power that were happening is worth the side effects remains to be seen.
And by extension, US.
And nothing has changed. What a waste of time. Enjoy your stay, comrade.
It took years for this shit to become entrenched, it is going to take at least as long to unwind it.
When information is power, privacy is freedom.
Anyone will know, it will take one other attack for the General public to go up and screaming back at the NSA for not doing its job, if because they didn't see it coming.
That has more to do with their lack of principles (Whatever happened to "the land of the free and the home of the brave"? It never existed.) than what Snowden has done.
Filthy, filthy copyrapists!
No they were hoping for change from you, the people.
The question will be, will the public have the attention span to push those years. Though a bigger problem is, because of how or voting works, will issues like this even have an impact?
We don't want a lot for Christmas
We know almost everything we need
We don't care about the peasants
They give their information for free
We just want you for our own
You are ours Edward Snow'n
Make our wish come true oh
All we want for Christmas is you
One of Snoiwden's coworkers told him that they were processing as much data as in the Library of Congress every 14.4 seconds. Sources say that the Library of Congress has 235 TBytes of data.
(235 [TByte] / 14.4 [sec]) X 60 [sec/min] X 60 [min/hr] X 24 [hr/day] = 1.4 X10^18 [Bytes/day] = 1.4 [Exabytes/day]
> he comes across as essentially saying that he's smarter and more moral than anyone in the executive, judicial, or legislative branches of government ... which seems not to be a very high bar, alas.
> he chose the nuclear route [...]
which other routes, pray tell, were open to him?
> Whether exposing the abuses of power that were happening is worth the side effects [...]
It is worth the side effects. It can be seen already.
Do you really think the NSA has time to waste on Slashdot? We have much more pressing issues to take care of.
No! We need real change away from both what Bush did AND what Obama is doing.
Every time people make the "but Bush" argument they're giving Obama more power to abuse the system.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
The US public understands the role of the Fourth Amendment, the role of supporting 'freedom fighters' and woke up to the rush for war in Syria before it was too late.
Thanks to Snowden the US courts are able to understand what was going on domestically and there is less cover for tame press and well funded sock puppets.
http://www.freedomwatchusa.org/federal-judge-rules-against-nsa
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Rushed changes? WHAT rushed changes? Do you mean the report that the President requested last July that he's now reading (and you can read it too), before deciding what changes, if any, to make to data collection policies?
Perhaps you mean the (possible) pullback on monitoring the cell phones of the leaders or our allies, like Angela Merkel. They didn't say, but I would imagine they'd stop doing that shit, at least for a while.
So, what was your point again?
That's only because they do not realise that Snowden is so much smarter/more moral than anyone else (except possibly for those who agree with him).
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Nya.
He'd like his red stapler, please.
I wish I had a mod point.
The usual procession of the conversation on this goes from "Obama did X, facscist, marxist, communist!" to "Bush did X too" to "OMG!!!1!! Obamabots don't take responsibility". Both of the last two administrations have MAJORLY fucked up our basic civil rights and since, once again, the air to so super-partisan we can't have a clear conversation about how the presidency is going downhill.
Sad part is, there is nothing they "could have done" to prevent the 9/11 attacks that was prevented by the legal actions available at the time. There was absolutely no need for any additional powers or surveillance. Since they found zip with all the new surveillance after 10 years, I think it is safe to conclude the threat is greatly exaggerated. Where were they when the Boston Marathon attacks were being planned? They were snooping on Brazilian oil companies.
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
The American public can't understand it correctly unless they are first exposed to it. Prior to a few months ago, how often did you hear normal people using terms like "metadata"? And now?
Though the process might hurt and might not turn out perfect, it's far better that we, as a country, go through these growing pains and make these decisions now, together, rather than forfeiting that opportunity by allowing the decisions to be made for us in shadowy, smoke-filled rooms. We've gone from having no say in the matter to actually having a say, which is how it should be. Where it goes from here is anyone's guess, but at least our options are open again.
Now that the Post is *owned* by the CIA...
“He’s not deformed, he’s just drunk!”
Rushed changes = removing more freedoms in the name of security.
Rushed changes? WHAT rushed changes?
Well, I encrypted my hard drive and changed my passwords. Should I have waited?
Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
This man is a hero, he stood up for freedom of the people at the cost of his own freedom security. He stood up against a tyrannical power that sought to undermine our way of life. That is the essence of what it means to be American, fighting against tyranny.
We need new leaders who are willing to actually put themselves, their jobs, their very freedoms on the line to keep us safe. A government that sacrifices the freedoms of the people to protect itself is doing it wrong. Sacrifice is not for "someone else" to make, so we can be better off / more secure. Our current leaders don't stand up for us, they don't even make sacrifices to do what's right. They stand up for their own money, interests, and power.
Now is our turn to do the acknowledge that it is happening, avoiding its worst effects, and if possible, fixing it.
"A republic, if you can keep it." -Benjamin Franklin
"Remember, I didn’t want to change society. I wanted to give society a chance to determine if it should change itself." -Edward Snowden.
The proper answer to "but Bush did it too" is "fuck that other war criminal, Bush too".
Captcha: cursing
We finally have a new picture of him.
Attention span? Absolutely NOT! The public can't remember when 9/11/01 happened. Heck, they've already forgotten the Boston Marathon bombing.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
There are some people that I would consider "smart" that don't even know who Snowden is or what the NSA does. These people are successful professionals, some valedictorians of their undergraduate colleges. There is always going to be a small segment of the population that is critical of the government, paranoid about the encroachment on civil liberties, and overall dissatisfied with the status quo. But that isn't a majority. Its not even half. I would guess it's less than 25%.
Snowden sacrificed a lot for the world. I wish I knew of a way to get the world to care.
The NSA's policies have remained constant through "liberal" and "conservative" administrations. This is not a liberal/conservative or right wing/left wing issue. You don't need to decide which side you are on before you decide where you stand on the issue of the NSA's bulk surveillance of American citizens. Maybe you actually ought to think for yourself on this issue!!!
The NSA is a HUGE waste of money. I defy anyone to prove otherwise.
I like the idea of the NSA spying on the rest of the world. But when the NSA starts spying on Americans, bad people--very bad people--have taken over the NSA. These people are acting just like Stasi functionaries and it is scary.
This is awful and it needs to stop.
People talk about whistle blower protection and legitimate whistle blower, etc. There is no whistle blower protection for the Intelligence Community (IC). The IC is specifically exempted by U.S. law from all whistle blower protection acts. Posted via TOR, for good reason!
It's possible that Wikileaks served as inspiration for Snowden. With any luck, both will serve as inspiration for future whistle-blowing.
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
Hmm,
I think a few things are or will be changing. Now as an amateur democracy activist I think more things would change if U.S. citizens had more political power. Or at least were aware of how little political power they have compared to most other democracies.
By the way - Missing the former certainty of the filibuster "comrade." The fact that the filibuster could be eliminated with a majority vote was leaked!
Jack (I_Voter)
Some relatively unknown and hopefully interesting things about the U.S. political system.
http://www.dancarlin.com/phpbb3/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=31156:
Jury Nullification In New Hampshire Becomes Reality
http://www.policymic.com/articles/10603/jury-nullification-in-new-hampshire-becomes-reality:
If you've ever wondered how the public can have such short memories, and constantly seems to shift their attention from one scandal to the next, I suggest you look in the mirror.
Wikileak's disclosures were ridiculously influential. Not just the stuff on Iraq; there have been many corporate leaks, too.
Just because the Snowden leaks were a bombshell doesn't mean Wikileak's was ineffectual.
I WISH that GP was wrong, and that you are right. Unfortunately - the past 12 years have proven GP to be perfectly right. Only in recent months has there been any reaction worthy of note, and the NSA seems to be weathering that just fine.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
The PATRIOT act, specifically.
"Windows is like the faint smell of piss in a subway: it's there, and there's nothing you can do about it." - Charlie Br
Hmm,
I think a few things are or will be changing. Now as an amateur democracy activist I think more things would change if U.S. citizens realized how much political power they actually have.
Read and understand the Constitution: the only powers the government has are specifically listed in that document; to that end, it even states that any power or right not specifically delegated to the government in the Constitution (and Amendments) is a right and power of the people.
The people running the government have been very successful at convincing regular folks that we don't actually have as many rights as the Constitution allows us. Not sure what to do about that one...
An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
Does this imply there is an "information dominatrix?"
"50 shades of gray for your firewall?"
Your OPTION was to REFUSE to select a devil at all. Your rationalization is THE SAME rationalization of those who supported Hitler as a foil to "Communism". Furthermore, the fact that we were only offered the completely transparent/faux choice of Obama vs. McCain was the signal that you, and the American people as a whole, were being conned. All of us have made our mistakes and had wise up opportunities. The real question for you, going forward, is whether you have wised up one whit or are just going to support the NEXT con job as you did the last.
There are ways to address concerns about abuses of government power, he chose the nuclear route
They leave you no choice. For decades now they've been saying "we'll protect the whistle blowers" and doing the exact opposite.
I've heard some people say that this is the same mentality that put Hugo Chavez in office. Why? Because whenever a moderate left-leaning person got in office, the CIA toppled them. Thus, the only way to go was full-bore hard Left militant. It's the same logic you get when all crimes are capital. You don't steal bread when all crimes are capital. You steal a gun and a jeep, rob the bank, and bust through the border blazing away.
For all intensive purposes, "whom" is no longer a word. That begs the question, "who cares"?
posting here as I accidentally rated down an insightful comment
"The hallmark of humanity is the ability to move beyond sensory inputs" - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
Here is the problem though. Lets say that you vote republican, because they field a intelligent, conservative who believes in rational conservative fiscal policy (BWHAAHAHAAAAA, I know, right?) and you vote him in to congress or the senate. The next time a abortion ban or a tax on filth poor people comes up, the house wip comes marching up and threatens to cut party support unless he/she votes the party line.
The party is as much a lobbyist with immense fiscal power as any special interest. Unless party power is broken, you are going to be voting the party into an office, and not as much an individual.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
How quickly we forget things like this right?
To claim that it does not happen, when we have evidence that it does happen is beyond idiotic. It is complete and utter bullshit (either intentional or from ignorance.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Agreed.
One question I have: How do we know Snowden said any of what is being reported in this story?
I come here for the love
Yes, the PATRIOT act was written and passed in 2001 as a too-hasty response to the information that Snowden released in 2013.
Thanks. Good job.
Reading comprehension FTW. I was obviously asking what rushed changes were made in response to Snowden's leaks. You know, showing the dark side of government "protection". You missed the context - next time, read it twice.
I used to have ambition to form cogent thoughts. I used to use my logic and education to say things like, "Obamacare as a model can never be as good as what they are saying, economics doesn't work like that" and, "Maybe we shouldn't be using drones to kill people willy nilly," and "Maybe this administration should use its power to curb the abuses the American people are suffering at the hands of the TSA."
After you get called "racist" enough times for saying these things, you no longer care to try to fix the problems we face as a country. You almost start to dislike the people who call you a racist, and you almost wish bad things for them, like getting everything they claim to want from their elected officials.
Given the love for him Slashdot, they should change Anonymous Coward posts to Edward Snowden. It would work equally well for both supporters and opponents.
Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
Your statement could be taken at face value, or ironically. I wonder which you intended?
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
throwing away your vote. So you have two choices: Vote for the other major party challenger or voting for the third party challenger. Even if the third party can never win, their increased presence will bend both candidates towards their position to curry their votes.
Its not throwing away your vote to vote third party. You don't get a free shake if you win no matter who you vote for.
As intended, as intended.
In my experience, the snowden cheerleaders all believe the bad consequences to their hero's acts to be inconsequential and much as similar assange cheerleaders, believe, they can do no harm or more precisely, the ends justify the means. As this is what they are supposedly denouncing in the USG...
They cannot see that a statement like my original post is sarcasm, they swallow it whole. That just makes it more sarcastic to the people with the wit to see it.
Democracy is a sheep and two wolves deciding what to have for lunch. Freedom is a well armed sheep contesting the issue
Snowden says he's still working for the NSA but they don't realize it. Does this mean he can sue for back pay?
Be seeing you...
You didn't read my post.
Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
Hang the fucking traitor.
Seriously. Nothing has changed yet. Sure a couple of U.S. companies have lost high profile contracts. But nothings changed. The NSA is still hoovering up all our data. Nothing has been shut down. Nobody has been held accountable... and the constant announcements have become just a steady noise for most people who are all out of shock juice because they haven't seen their friends and neighbors hauled off to jail for trumped up offenses.