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Interview with Edward Snowden

spiegel.de

21–30 of 168 posts

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#21
post #7

Let's hope it doesn't come to... defenestration!

> Defenestration The act of throwing out of a window. Early 17th century from modern Latin defenestratio(n-), from de- ‘down from’ + Latin fenestra ‘window’.

always reminds me of one of my favorite plants, the succulent fenestraria, that basically has a super cool adaptation to survive in dry spells by using leaves that are basically fiber optic cables to deliver light to chloroplasts underground.

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#22
This is a terrible title, which would be better as "Interview with Edward Snowden".

"You can be sure I was pushed" is an aside, and has little of the connotation the title has (that Snowden truly believes he's at risk of being assassinated); rather, it's a tossed-off comment about the fact that he's not suicidal, despite reports that he's been depressed.

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#23

He comes off as a guy with integrity. But what about Julian Assange? The consensus in the US media now seems to be that he just wanted to hurt Hillary by helping Donald Trump, and thus was working for team Russia?

The ad hoc but exceedingly purposeful collaboration between Wikileaks, Russian military and civilian agents, the Trump campaign and other actors is documented extensively in the Mueller report. The Report[1] podcast does an excellent job of making it more accessible. Longtime US intelligence community players eg [2] have made explicit claims that Wikileaks is in part a Russian intel operation. Those claims should be taken with some salt, all is not spy novels and deep state games, but it seems clear that motivated and intelligent "transparency" actors like Assange and Snowden can- want to- cause asymmetrical chaos, so are useful to support.

1. https://www.lawfareblog.com/introducing-report-podcast-serie...

2. https://www.google.com/amp/s/20committee.com/2015/08/31/wiki...

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#24
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because it's completely unrelated.

Is it? People killing others in secret to avoid information getting out but framing it differently.

The really dumb title for this submission is distracting from the better parts of the interview. That quote wasn't Snowden implying he thinks he's in imminent danger of being murdered; he was just rebutting people saying that he was suicidal.

The interview itself has zero relationship to the whole Epstein thing (of which I find many of the details to be scandalous).

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#27
post #9

I do wonder which specific philosophical objection to suicide Snowden ascribes to?

If I were afraid that I might be hurled out of a window against my will, I think publicly going on the record as philosophically opposed to suicide would be a very good idea.

If I were a trolling or narcissistic prankster considering suicide, I might do the same. (No suggestion or accusation about Snowden is implied.)

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#28
post #22

This is a terrible title, which would be better as "Interview with Edward Snowden". "You can be sure I was pushed" is an aside, and has little of the connotation the title has (that Snowden truly believes he's at risk of being assassinated); rather, it's a tossed-off comment about the fact that he's not suicidal, despite reports that he's been depressed.

I totally agree that it is a terrible title. Der Spiegel does very high quality reporting, but I got the impression that German journalist like to use sensationalist quotes as the title even more than English speaking ones do.

That said, I genuinely got the impression that Snowden is concerned that he might get assassinated and that his history of depression might be used covered it up.

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#29
post #18

>The class of which I am a part of, the global technological community, was for the longest time apolitical. We have this history of thinking: "We're going to make the world better." I think a lot of people in the tech community need to come to grips with the fact that you can't be apolitical in a democratic country. Refusing to engage in politics is an abdication of your role in a democratic society. You certainly h…

If there is something specific you would like people to do, please do go ahead and advocate for it. What organizations do you support, and why? Not this content-free guilt-mongering, it doesn't help anyone.

Re: Interview with Edward Snowden

#30
post #22

This is a terrible title, which would be better as "Interview with Edward Snowden". "You can be sure I was pushed" is an aside, and has little of the connotation the title has (that Snowden truly believes he's at risk of being assassinated); rather, it's a tossed-off comment about the fact that he's not suicidal, despite reports that he's been depressed.

> "You can be sure I was pushed" is an aside, and has little of the connotation the title has (that Snowden truly believes he's at risk of being assassinated)

The vehemence of his denial and insistence that it be on the record point to Snowden trying to get in front of any potential suicide narrative being used as cover for his assassination. I don't see how there's little connotation of that.

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