On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations • Hacker News Board

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#91

Post by didntcheck » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 8:59 AM UTC

hackandthink wrote: post #74

mike_d wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> what he gave to the journalists. We now know Glenn Greenwald was likely a Russian asset at the time he was given access to the Snowden files. For a member of the intelligence community, he sure did a piss poor job of vetting who he chose to whistleblow with. https://thespectator.com/topic/why-glenn-greenwald-backs-put...

The conclusion of the article you referenced is the opposite: "Greenwald is not, as many of his critics lazily allege, a Russian agent; that would imply that his motivation is pecuniary rather than heartfelt. Greenwald remains what he has always been: a sincere enemy of liberal democracy and a genuine lickspittle for tyrants." Glenn Greenwald is a real liberal democrat and fights for free speech. He even left "The In…

I've noticed that most criticisms of Greenwald seem to be "he sticks to his principles and calls things out consistently, even when it's Our Team doing them. He must be an enemy agent!". At both a domestic and geo politics level

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#92

Post by soraminazuki » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:04 AM UTC

aaron_m04 wrote: post #32

mike_d wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The fact that the government pursued Snowden They had to. He broke the law. He would have had the chance to go to trial and defend himself and seek whistleblower protection status. Given the politically charged nature and public opinion at the time, he might have had a pretty fair shake and could have been living comfortably in the US working for the ACLU or something. Instead he plotted an escape to an openly host…

> He would have had the chance to go to trial and defend himself and seek whistleblower protection status. Is this what you would've done in Snowdon's shoes?

Of course not. GP would happily accept and participate in illegal mass surveillance, not blow the whistle on it.

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#93

Post by proudeu » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:05 AM UTC

yreg wrote: post #67

AequitasOmnibus wrote: post #20

10 years on, Snowden remains arguably the most important whistleblower in the US after Daniel Ellsberg. The fact that the government pursued Snowden and effectively drove him into exile in an unfriendly country shows how serious the revelations were, and exposes the dangers of an unchecked government. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Snowden single-handedly changed public perception against the NSA and the do…

I recently noticed how the public perception of Snowden changed on reddit. Years ago it was I think very positive. But with the war going on now when I see him come up, usually there are many users saying that he is a naive Russian asset and so on. Makes me a bit sad to see.

Most of comments you read on reddit are written and/or upvoted by bots. No wonder they are trying to shift the narrative to be more pro-US. Eglin Military base was some time ago biggest source of traffic on Reddit. It’s up to you what you make of that

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#94

Post by kome » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:23 AM UTC

This really feels like CIA NSA propaganda. As if nothing wrong happened. What the hell.

The character assassination of Snowden&co in the anglophone sphere is absurd, and probably manufactured. But this didn't quite happen in other languages.

Assange trials are just mind-blowing and worrisome, and yet the simple truth is here: who told the truth is in jail, and who committed war crimes is outside.

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#95

Post by 0xDEF » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:26 AM UTC

yreg wrote: post #67

AequitasOmnibus wrote: post #20

10 years on, Snowden remains arguably the most important whistleblower in the US after Daniel Ellsberg. The fact that the government pursued Snowden and effectively drove him into exile in an unfriendly country shows how serious the revelations were, and exposes the dangers of an unchecked government. I don't think it's hyperbole to say that Snowden single-handedly changed public perception against the NSA and the do…

I recently noticed how the public perception of Snowden changed on reddit. Years ago it was I think very positive. But with the war going on now when I see him come up, usually there are many users saying that he is a naive Russian asset and so on. Makes me a bit sad to see.

Snowden was behaving like a Russian propagandist in late 2021 and early 2022. He was repeating Russian lies that they were totally not going to invade etc.

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#96

Post by 0xDEF » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:30 AM UTC

kome wrote: post #94

This really feels like CIA NSA propaganda. As if nothing wrong happened. What the hell. The character assassination of Snowden&co in the anglophone sphere is absurd, and probably manufactured. But this didn't quite happen in other languages. Assange trials are just mind-blowing and worrisome, and yet the simple truth is here: who told the truth is in jail, and who committed war crimes is outside.

>The character assassination of Snowden

Well nobody forced him to repeat Russian propaganda in late 2021 and early 2022 that "Russia was totally not going to invade".

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#97

Post by DANmode » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:33 AM UTC

testcaseuser wrote: post #7

yieldcrv wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Its the behavior of someone that doesn't want to go to prison in the US. There are literally only a handful of countries that are viable to avoiding that. Them being geopolitical opponents is exactly what they are countries that are viable to avoiding that. You are choosing to put the cart before the horse, that he went to geopolitical opponents to give secrets, and not that he was going to a handful of countries tha…

[flagged]

> Remember that cache of data that was so damaging to the US that it would only be released if he was harmed?

I do not.

Source?

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#98

Post by yreg » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:38 AM UTC

proudeu wrote: post #93

yreg wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently noticed how the public perception of Snowden changed on reddit. Years ago it was I think very positive. But with the war going on now when I see him come up, usually there are many users saying that he is a naive Russian asset and so on. Makes me a bit sad to see.

Most of comments you read on reddit are written and/or upvoted by bots. No wonder they are trying to shift the narrative to be more pro-US. Eglin Military base was some time ago biggest source of traffic on Reddit. It’s up to you what you make of that

> Most of comments you read on reddit are written and/or upvoted by bots

I don't think that's true yet. At least regarding the portion of comments written; I have no idea about the votes.

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#99

Post by caskstrength » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:43 AM UTC

0xDEF wrote: post #95

yreg wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently noticed how the public perception of Snowden changed on reddit. Years ago it was I think very positive. But with the war going on now when I see him come up, usually there are many users saying that he is a naive Russian asset and so on. Makes me a bit sad to see.

Snowden was behaving like a Russian propagandist in late 2021 and early 2022. He was repeating Russian lies that they were totally not going to invade etc.

It is funny how all comments (including mine) pointing out that fact are heavily down-voted without any counterarguments. I know the rules, so I won't insinuate any kind of "shilling", but that really makes you think...

Re: On the 10th anniversary of the Snowden revelations

#100

Post by yreg » Wed, Sep 06, 2023, 9:44 AM UTC

0xDEF wrote: post #95

yreg wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently noticed how the public perception of Snowden changed on reddit. Years ago it was I think very positive. But with the war going on now when I see him come up, usually there are many users saying that he is a naive Russian asset and so on. Makes me a bit sad to see.

Snowden was behaving like a Russian propagandist in late 2021 and early 2022. He was repeating Russian lies that they were totally not going to invade etc.

For what it's worth almost everyone but US government predicted the Russians won't invade. Zelensky himself predicted there is no imminent invasion and complained that the west creates panic which is harmful to UA economy.