Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance

This thing reminds me of the UFO flap.....for years many have been reporting seeing the darn things but the world is still waiting for some insider to step forward from within the ranks of those who keep official records and produce something more than blacked out documents.

And as it is here many have been trying to warn of the degree of surveillance. And not of "terrorists" but anyone that may challenge the system with to much talk of the constitution and rights ect ect. Political opponents. Forget the terrorists for a moment. They are watching the anti-tax people and so on. Anyone trying to interrupt the flow of things with to much talk about rights, representative government, etc.

Originally posted by Maluhia
reply to post by Bilk22

 

It's why I believe they orchestrated this release. It places further controls on everyone (we're being watched so better be careful what you say) - well anyone that's paying attention will understand this. Most of the Jersey Shore crowd will have no clue about any of this and that's a good portion of the population. However eventually they'll get it too. Happened in Germany, Russia and other places at various points in history.

Absolutely chilling, and yes, a great means of control.

As I write this from my house on the Jersey shore, all I can say is, "Badda-bing" and not in a good way
I totally agree wit yoos guys.
I truly hope this whistle blower is the real deal. But....................
My spidey-senses this is the "nice" or "soft" way of announcing to Americans that our constitution is null and void. Along with the DNA swabbing, last week was "destroy the 4th amendment week". I mean, so long as there is always a "Captain America" to protect our freedom, we can sleep well at night and be off to our wage-slave jobs in the morning. This guy didn't leak anything juicy, just that the NSA stores EVERYTHING for possible use at a later date. Duh, we all knew that. While we "debate" the necessity of these measures, it will continue to go on. I thing it's a nice touch (sarcasm) that the Guardian broke the story. Is that like the queen, herself, telling us we're her b*tch. And the story itself, at least the one I just read, this morning, Is such a fluff piece, and so sweet, it gave me a cavity.
Lets see what happens. Do they go after him like Manning, or does he eventually return to the US as a hero because of public outcries, that he is a true American. And then, he goes in to politics.

Interesting opinion piece from CNN.com

Edward Snowden is a hero

When the whistle-blower finally stood trial for espionage, my parents weren't quite sure how to feel. But when Richard Nixon's crew was revealed to have been conducting illegal wiretaps in an effort to discredit the former intelligence contractor, well, they were outraged and decided Ellsberg was a hero. So did the judge and most of America.

www.cnn.com...

Originally posted by Martin75
reply to post by Bilk22

 

I too wondered about the jobs he was listing because of his age. It would seem that some of the positions he mentions would be something that you would work up to. I also noticed that he mentioned more than a few different jobs, usually job hopping is frowned on???

Honestly I don't think the high school thing matters too much. The network admin where I work didn't graduate from HS. Instead he dropped out got his GED and started college at 16....just a thought.

Snowden didn't go to college. I don't know what to make of the fact that he was working where he did at the level he claims and didn't have higher education. Don't get me wrong. I don't equate intellect and ability with a piece of paper, but it just doesn't seem plausible that he could/would get hired and at the positions he claims. Some information is missing here. Now if you told me he was a mailroom runner, well that I'd believe. How does a guy get and interview without the bare minimum requirements? Only thing I could guess here is he was a hacker that they recruited and it backfired.

reply to post by PinealJockey


Yes we need to consider seriously that this may be a psyop. With all these home spun whistleblowers, if you will, many without affiliation yet gaining ground, they, the PTB may need to get ahold of the thing by slipping in an "official" whistle blower/lightning rod for us all to follow like a bunch of doltish, slavish little munchkins.

reply to post by Maluhia


And yet about a half a century later Nixon looks like a little school boy in comparison to what's going on. Yes we had our heroes, our captain Americas and then went home and went to sleep. Meanwhile the train never missed a beat after Nixon was taken down.

reply to post by Bilk22


I've seen the agency hire oddly qualified people like that but usually NSA is picky.

Originally posted by PinealJockey

Originally posted by Maluhia
reply to post by Bilk22

 

It's why I believe they orchestrated this release. It places further controls on everyone (we're being watched so better be careful what you say) - well anyone that's paying attention will understand this. Most of the Jersey Shore crowd will have no clue about any of this and that's a good portion of the population. However eventually they'll get it too. Happened in Germany, Russia and other places at various points in history.

Absolutely chilling, and yes, a great means of control.

As I write this from my house on the Jersey shore, all I can say is, "Badda-bing" and not in a good way

I totally agree wit yoos guys.
I truly hope this whistle blower is the real deal. But....................
My spidey-senses this is the "nice" or "soft" way of announcing to Americans that our constitution is null and void. Along with the DNA swabbing, last week was "destroy the 4th amendment week". I mean, so long as there is always a "Captain America" to protect our freedom, we can sleep well at night and be off to our wage-slave jobs in the morning. This guy didn't leak anything juicy, just that the NSA stores EVERYTHING for possible use at a later date. Duh, we all knew that. While we "debate" the necessity of these measures, it will continue to go on. I thing it's a nice touch (sarcasm) that the Guardian broke the story. Is that like the queen, herself, telling us we're her b*tch. And the story itself, at least the one I just read, this morning, Is such a fluff piece, and so sweet, it gave me a cavity.
Lets see what happens. Do they go after him like Manning, or does he eventually return to the US as a hero because of public outcries, that he is a true American. And then, he goes in to politics.

Guess you read my reference to the Jersey Shore LOL No offense. I was referring to the people who got their life's lessons from the show. Not people who live there

My initial reaction to this was like everyone else - Great! Someone had the balls to come forward and expose what's going on. Then as it started to seep in and with the new found revelation that this kid doesn't even have a high school diploma, well it's not making sense from one perspective, but it does from the other. Maybe the action certain entities take, will tell us more. Right now I'm on the fence. Heck not only did most of us surmise they had this program and were using it, others have already come out before as whistleblowers and stated as much. One guy was on Huckabee last night. So really, this kid didn't tell us anything new. I just don't think the picture is what we're supposed to believe it is.

Originally posted by Bedlam
reply to post by Bilk22

 

I've seen the agency hire oddly qualified people like that but usually NSA is picky.

How does the kid even get an interview when his resume doesn't say MIT or CalTech or something similar on it? What does he write on his resume? "I'm really good at computers." The only thing I can arrive at if what he says is true is, he was a hacker that they were sniffing and they pulled him into the fold. It's doubtful he got his job through the normal channels unless he's some general's grandkid or something like that. Or he worked in the mailroom and grabbed something that looked interesting. Then he made up the story about his positions, which honestly sound fishy. I mean he's 29 and he was moving up the food chain as fast as he claims?

Originally posted by Logarock
reply to post by PinealJockey

 

Yes we need to consider seriously that this may be a psyop. With all these home spun whistleblowers, if you will, many without affiliation yet gaining ground, they, the PTB may need to get ahold of the thing by slipping in an "official" whistle blower/lightning rod for us all to follow like a bunch of doltish, slavish little munchkins.

edit on 10-6-2013 by Logarock because: n

Yeah it's looking more like this than what it does on face value.

Originally posted by Logarock

 

And yet about a half a century later Nixon looks like a little school boy in comparison to what's going on. Yes we had our heroes, our captain Americas and then went home and went to sleep. Meanwhile the train never missed a beat after Nixon was taken down.

Watergate was Mickey Mouse compared to where we find ourselves now.

reply to post by Logarock

And yet about a half a century later Nixon looks like a little school boy in comparison to what's going on. Yes we had our heroes, our captain Americas and then went home and went to sleep. Meanwhile the train never missed a beat after Nixon was taken down.

I hear ya. Just thought it was interesting that the idea creeped into MSM in the first place.

Sometimes I don't know who ticks me off more, the folks who are doing the spying or the people who allow it to happen.

Just saw this tweet Snowden apparently sent -

He taunted Clapper in a tweet: “Clapper: leaks ‘literally gut-wrenching’ — ‘huge, grave damage’ — save some melodrama and rhetoric for coming stories. You’ll need it.”

This could get better!

www.nypost.com...

reply to post by Maluhia


This whole case has got me so angry and one of the reasons I joined ATS. Listening to the news media they already have him tried and convicted as a war criminal. I listen to George Stephanopolis this morning and his primary concern was how fast we are going to catch him, is China going to let us have him but without a comment on what the man was actually saying was happening to this country. It is not something we should accept lying down or passively. We should fight and let our representatives, Washington and this President know we all stand by the man and agree with him. When he returns to the USA he should be given a heroes welcome for risking his own life protecting our freedom, just like any other soldier of war. We don't want to live in a country that spies on innocent citizens just for the heck of it. They will say the spying is to prevent another event like 9/11 on our soil. They have been collecting data for quite sometime and still the terrorist attacks keep coming. Nothing on the scale of 9/11 but enough to be worried about. What ever we're doing doesn't seem to be working.

I am confused as to why people are showing so much suprise at this? Haven't we known this for a long time?

As soon as an "official" word comes out all hell breaks loose. And people wonder why they dont disclose Alien contact?

Kudos to this gentleman for his courage (assuming his intentions are honourable) but as a previous poster stated, this is like telling me the sky is blue.

Also, a surveillence state is brilliant if one of your family members killers were intercepted, or a bomb plot foiled.

Not so great if they catch you picking your nose ;-)

The surveillence isnt the issue. It is what the information aquired is used for that could be construed as "sinister"

Only thing I could guess here is he was a hacker that they recruited and it backfired.

Bing! Bing! Bing!

How else do you think they found this kid with no college, and yet he has worked in system admin for top NSA contractors? Of course he was a discovered hacker. No other way he would have come to their attention...

Personally, I think the guy's a hero, but the sad thing is, a lot of us knew this all along. The wake up call is really only for the public at large (the data on the programs has been out there forever, first Carnivore, then Echelon, then PRISM, etc.). But, sadly, Kim K and Kanye's impending/planned breakup will probably make everyone forget all about it in a couple of weeks.

And then, a few weeks later, this guy will disappear into a van in a back alley of Hong Kong, while some new NSA hacker keeps answering his e-mail and texts saying he's then going off the grid for safety. (and we'll never hear about him again). I hope he lived a full life while he was pulling down a couple hundred G's working for Uncle Sam...

Originally posted by Gazrok

Only thing I could guess here is he was a hacker that they recruited and it backfired.

Bing! Bing! Bing!

How else do you think they found this kid with no college, and yet he has worked in system admin for top NSA contractors? Of course he was a discovered hacker. No other way he would have come to their attention...

Personally, I think the guy's a hero, but the sad thing is, a lot of us knew this all along. The wake up call is really only for the public at large (the data on the programs has been out there forever, first Carnivore, then Echelon, then PRISM, etc.). But, sadly, Kim K and Kanye's impending/planned breakup will probably make everyone forget all about it in a couple of weeks.

And then, a few weeks later, this guy will disappear into a van in a back alley of Hong Kong, while some new NSA hacker keeps answering his e-mail and texts saying he's then going off the grid for safety. (and we'll never hear about him again). I hope he lived a full life while he was pulling down a couple hundred G's working for Uncle Sam...

Maybe the story is just that simple, but I'm not sold yet. I have to see the fallout and what the actions/reactions are from the various entities. What would everyone think if Obama suddenly pardoned him? Does this earn Obama some points back and draw attention away from the other scandals? Just saying.

Here's more on Snowden Link Mom works in the court system in MD as deputy clerk. No mention of dad at all. Not even in cursory background searches. For a guy on the run, he certainly had a lot of boxes to haul.

To the citizens, he is a hero. To the Govt., he is a traitor... I hope this guy doesn't have the book thrown at him, or worse, killed.......

So hold on...
Guy says he has more stories to leak??
Not more info, but more stories?!

Makes me think long and hard about the DHS insider thread. Sounds like the tip of the iceberg.

I wonder what's next.

Edward is late to the show!
William Binney is a 32 year vet of the NSA, mathematician as well as the "best code breaker" the NSA ever had.
He has been exposing this much longer then Edward.
So the guy with 32 years experience and a phd gets no news flow but a guy with a GED and not even half the experience of William is all of a sudden the most credible whistle blower?

youtu.be...

Originally posted by Sinfulknowledge
Edward is late to the show!
William Binney is a 32 year vet of the NSA, mathematician as well as the "best code breaker" the NSA ever had.
He has been exposing this much longer then Edward.
So the guy with 32 years experience and a phd gets no news flow but a guy with a GED and not even half the experience of William is all of a sudden the most credible whistle blower?

youtu.be...

Yeah something is wrong with this picture.