BREAKING: Edward Snowden will appear today at the Guardian website, 11 am EST, for reader

[Warlord]

Question:

What would you say to others who are in a position to leak classified information that could improve public understanding of the intelligence apparatus of the USA and its effect on civil liberties?

What evidence do you have that refutes the assertion that the NSA is unable to listen to the content of telephone calls without an explicit and defined court order from FISC?

Answer:

This country is worth dying for.

 

[otherone]

Late again....anything on the NSA being used for political reasons similar to the IRS?

 

[Warlord]

Late again....anything on the NSA being used for political reasons similar to the IRS?

No, every q&a has been posted in the thread so far

 

[asurfaholic]

Question:

What would you say to others who are in a position to leak classified information that could improve public understanding of the intelligence apparatus of the USA and its effect on civil liberties?

What evidence do you have that refutes the assertion that the NSA is unable to listen to the content of telephone calls without an explicit and defined court order from FISC?

Answer:

This country is worth dying for.

Now he is breaking my heart.

I can only dream of being this true of a patriot.

 

[Warlord]

Question:

My question: given the enormity of what you are facing now in terms of repercussions, can you describe the exact moment when you knew you absolutely were going to do this, no matter the fallout, and what it now feels like to be living in a post-revelation world? Or was it a series of moments that culminated in action? I think it might help other people contemplating becoming whistleblowers if they knew what the ah-ha moment was like. Again, thanks for your courage and heroism.

Answer:

I imagine everyone's experience is different, but for me, there was no single moment. It was seeing a continuing litany of lies from senior officials to Congress - and therefore the American people - and the realization that that Congress, specifically the Gang of Eight, wholly supported the lies that compelled me to act. Seeing someone in the position of James Clapper - the Director of National Intelligence - baldly lying to the public without repercussion is the evidence of a subverted democracy. The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed.
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What does he mean by Gang of 8? The Gang on the immigration bill?

 

[Warlord]

Follow-up from the Guardian's Spencer Ackerman:

Regarding whether you have secretly given classified information to the Chinese government, some are saying you didn't answer clearly - can you give a flat no?

Answer:

No. I have had no contact with the Chinese government. Just like with the Guardian and the Washington Post, I only work with journalists.

 

[Dr.3D]

snip
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What does he mean by Gang of 8? The Gang on the immigration bill?

The Gang of Eight refers to eight members of Congress who must be briefed by the executive branch on matters of intelligence.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/g/gang_of_eight.htm

 

[AuH20]

Ask his opinion about Sharyl Atkisson's computer.

 

[Warlord]

Question:

So far are things going the way you thought they would regarding a public debate? – tikkamasala

Answer:

Initially I was very encouraged. Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history.

 

[Warlord]

The Gang of Eight refers to eight members of Congress who must be briefed by the executive branch on matters of intelligence.
http://uspolitics.about.com/od/usgovernment/g/gang_of_eight.htm

Thank you for clearing that up

 

[Warlord]

Final question from Glenn Greenwald:

Anything else you’d like to add?

Answer:

Thanks to everyone for their support, and remember that just because you are not the target of a surveillance program does not make it okay. The US Person / foreigner distinction is not a reasonable substitute for individualized suspicion, and is only applied to improve support for the program. This is the precise reason that NSA provides Congress with a special immunity to its surveillance.

 

[shane77m]

Question:

So far are things going the way you thought they would regarding a public debate? – tikkamasala

Answer:

Initially I was very encouraged. Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history.

Who won last Super Bowl? What did Honey Boo Boo do last night? What are the Kardashians doing? Who sang on American Idol last night?

 

[CPUd]

Oh shit- check out the comment section, not so much for the content, but the structure:
http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/17/politics/nsa-leaks/index.html

 

[nbruno322]

"Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it."

"The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed."

"Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are."

"Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history."

~Edward Snowden

 

[enhanced_deficit]

"Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it."

"The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed."

"Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are."

"Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history."

~Edward Snowden

Pretty compelling arguments he makes.
No wonder Greenwald is hanging out with this guy.


On a different note, why pupms gave Congress survail immunity but all common Americans are fair game? For fear of finding loads of corruption, insider trading, briberies, horse trading?

 

[Dr.3D]

Pretty compelling arguments he makes.
No wonder Greenwald is hanging out with this guy.


On a different note, why pupms gave Congress survail immunity but all common Americans are fair game? For fear of finding loads of corruption, insider trading, briberies, horse trading?

Well, can't have the government authorize itself to sniff it's own behind now can we? I doubt they would find anything even if they did. After all, if they didn't want to find anything, you can bet they wouldn't.

 

[Warlord]

Missed the comments on Cheney, thanks for updating!

 

[kcchiefs6465]

No thank you. FWIW I talked to Daniel Ellsberg the other day and had no problem whatsoever.

 

[angelatc]

You'd think. But he and his gf had vacationed there before, so perhaps it wouldn't raise flags like a trip to Iceland, which is a known haven.

I don't think he said he couldn't go to Iceland. He said he didn't pick Iceland because he was afraid they wouldn't be able to stand up to the initial pressure of having him there.

 

[Anti Federalist]

So we can potentially reveal a potential terrorist with the potential to kill fewer Americans than our own Police?
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LOL, AF will be over the moon. He's definitely reading RPF!

"Bathtub falls and police officers kill more Americans than terrorism, yet we've been asked to sacrifice our most sacred rights for fear of falling victim to it."

"The consent of the governed is not consent if it is not informed."

"Further, it's important to bear in mind I'm being called a traitor by men like former Vice President Dick Cheney. This is a man who gave us the warrantless wiretapping scheme as a kind of atrocity warm-up on the way to deceitfully engineering a conflict that has killed over 4,400 and maimed nearly 32,000 Americans, as well as leaving over 100,000 Iraqis dead. Being called a traitor by Dick Cheney is the highest honor you can give an American, and the more panicked talk we hear from people like him, Feinstein, and King, the better off we all are."

"Unfortunately, the mainstream media now seems far more interested in what I said when I was 17 or what my girlfriend looks like rather than, say, the largest program of suspicionless surveillance in human history."

~Edward Snowden