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America’s Open Wound

edwardsnowden.substack.com

161–170 of 349 posts

Re: America’s Open Wound

#161

I think I was already aware of most of the facts presented, but I'm not sure I know what argument is being made? That the CIA has not enough oversight? This is like a standard plot element in Hollywood movies and comic books, so that seems a little obvious. That the President of the United States shouldn't mention it if he learns someone is plotting a coup or terrorism in his country because that's hypocrisy? Legacy…

The thesis seems to be that America's recent civil unrest is not exceptional, and only continues the pattern that the founding of the CIA and NSA started. The implication seems to be that making federal agencies more transparent would result in more widespread acceptance of American democracy internally, though that's never explicitly stated.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because he denied it was going to happen and expressed skepticism at Western intel reports about the invasion. Then he was silent after the invasion.

He talks about it here: https://www.coindesk.com/video/recent-videos/edward-snowden-...

Sounds like he's bought into Russian propaganda...

"If you don't live in Russia you don't know the whole story"

No but there's enough Ukrainians in my life who don't appreciate their country being invaded and subjected to genocide...

Re: America’s Open Wound

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love HN, but at the end of the day, it's a reddit-clone for a silicon valley VC fund. No one is here to start a revolution, and in fact, a lot of users probably make a living doing things that snowden sympathizers (I don't mean that as a slight, I am one) would claim are ruining the world.

I'm here to start a revolution, and I don't think Assange or Snowden are any use for it. They did a good thing once and then have acted very unfavorably. The revolution does not need cheerleaders, celebrities, or charlatans.

No post body was provided.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#165
post #107

We say: Hey, the police are killing us, could you please stop that. No, we need to be tough on crime. It's just too bad that some people die, but I need to feel secure. We say: Hey, the police are still killing us, could you please stop that. It looks like we need to reboot the justice system. No, we need to be tough on crime. Why do you want the crime rate to go up? We say: Hey, the police are still killing us, we n…

No post body was provided.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#166

> Flanked by the uniformed icons of his military and standing atop a Leni Riefenstahl stage, the leader clenched his fists to illustrate seizing the future from the forces of “fear, division, and darkness.” I stopped reading once Godwin's Law applied. This was the first paragraph.

Quoted post unavailable.

No post body was provided.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#167
post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow ok I'm guessing you're in the "read this without alarm" camp

No, don't jump to conclusions. I just want to understand the full picture.

Ah yeah, of course she could have just been murdered by the enemies she acquired naturally as an 8 year old.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#168
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well I think this article does a good job of saying CIA has done some crazy stuff. But then it goes from there to -> so let's get rid of it, which to me seems like potentially a much scarier proposition. It's not clear to me exactly how real the threat of foreign countries trying to tamper with our elections is, but if this is what the CIA does, I think it's probably naive to think no other nation would try things li…

>8-year-old girls shouldn't be assassinated, but in the scope of things, that's not a reason to get rid of an entire agency. Really? That seems exactly like the kind of thing that should get an agency canned, especially because its not an aberration. In fact, I'd say virtually any other agency that did so would be canned in short order. Why doesn't the CIA have to play by the same rules as everyone else? Especially w…

Fun fact, your life has a monetary value. So does an 8-year old child. So does each and every body part. This is how insurance companies work.

If your child is killed, even in the most horrifically tragic of circumstances, you might think you're morally entitled to everything the killers have and more, but under any civilized legal system in the world, you aren't.

You might get a few hundred-thousand dollars, maybe even millions. But you're not getting 50 million, or even 10 million. Blood money is a thing, it has never ceased to be a thing, and it's arguable that no system of government could function if it wasn't a thing. If every life is priceless then entitlements would rack up to impossible levels really quickly, there's a great deal of tragedy and brutality in the world that would overwhelm such a system, well beyond the tiny fraction that makes any part of the news.

This is a long winded way of saying: assassinating an 8 year old girl should lead to various corrections, and generally shouldn't happen, but the CIA as a whole is worth more than one life.

Re: America’s Open Wound

#169
post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I’d be surprised to hear that these people even contradict their boss Has Snowden talked about Putin's war on Ukraine yet?

Seeing as how he's stuck there with nowhere else to go except prison in the US, and owes what little freedom he has to them, I think it's fairly obvious and smart to not speak ill of your host, especially considering what they're capable of. I'm quite sure he would have a LOT to say about it were he not stuck there. Yes, we know, if it were you you'd be condemning them to their face.

> he's stuck there with nowhere else to go except prison in the US,

Meanwhile Chelsea Manning is walking the streets of the US as a free person. Why do people pretend that Snowden's only option was and is to live in Russia, a country that is diametrically opposed to everything he ostensibly stands for?

Re: America’s Open Wound

#170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My point should be obvious, but I know you're not looking for honest discussion. The image in the article and the video are drastically different. If you're scared of the color red, IDK what to tell you. The time I linked was random after clicking through the video to prove my memory right. Show me a time in the video that backs up your argument.

They’re not different: It’s literally the start of the video, where they dim the lights to get that dark scene. Tell me you didn’t watch your own source without telling me you didn’t watch your own source, LOL

They are massively different, from the lighting, to the framing, to the aspect ratio, to the emotion Biden is displaying.

You're just a troll.

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