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Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

m.guardian.co.uk

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Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#51

Post by pbreit »

inzax wrote: post #35
eli wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Either way, if he really wants the focus back on the documents, he should probably write fewer letters about his beliefs, his security, and his personal situation.

I totally disagree on slowing down his writing. think about the federalist papers for a second. Someone needed to wrote them to convince a nation about our beloved constitution. Since all eyes are on Snowden, he has the best ability to sway many minds about what he believes and what I believe to be right.

Replying to bobo: no.

Anyone should be able to interpret the constitution as no person or group of people are infallible. It's obvious that SCOTUS opinions change over time, due to composition and prevailing attitudes.

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#52

Post by phaus »

untog wrote: post #5
pvnick wrote: post #3

"Further, no intelligence service - not even our own - has the capacity to compromise the secrets I continue to protect. While it has not been reported in the media, one of my specializations was to teach our people at DIA how to keep such information from being compromised even in the highest threat counter-intelligence environments (i.e. China). You may rest easy knowing I cannot be coerced into revealing that info…

To offer an opposing view: I cannot be coerced into revealing that information, even under torture. That is a huge claim. I do not imagine that his training involved being tortured to make sure. If he's wrong, there could be dire consequences for the US. You might even say his ego is writing checks his body can't cash.

Such training does not exist anywhere on this planet.

Edit:

I already mentioned SERE training in a higher level post. It's pretty intense, but still, the most valuable lesson you learn is that everyone will end up talking.

I was simply commenting on the possibility of a person resisting torture. If that person has some sort of safety mechanism in place, the torturer might not be able to get the information he wants, but that's not because the victim has resisted, because he won't.

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#53

Post by ianterrell »

bjornsing wrote: post #33
kybernetikos wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can imagine systems that would be coercion proof, but I can't imagine any that would be coercion proof and also allow a dead mans switch, which I thought he had also claimed to have.

True, in the extreme case (deadly torture) it's obviously not possible. I guess Mr. Snowden has to hope and pray that there's nobody capable out there that thinks PUBLIC disclosure of whatever documents he controls is worth killing for...

Pure speculation, but... I don't know that his dead man's switch has to necessarily be interpreted as dumping the docs to the public. Perhaps they would simply deliver them to Glen Greenwald's doorstep (or someone else).

In that case, the threat is just widening the filter. As in: "I've exercised my personal discretion in choosing what documents to release. Kill me, and the only check on this process is Mr. Greenwald's discretion."

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#54

Post by bobo1357 »

pbreit wrote: post #51
inzax wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I totally disagree on slowing down his writing. think about the federalist papers for a second. Someone needed to wrote them to convince a nation about our beloved constitution. Since all eyes are on Snowden, he has the best ability to sway many minds about what he believes and what I believe to be right.

Replying to bobo: no. Anyone should be able to interpret the constitution as no person or group of people are infallible. It's obvious that SCOTUS opinions change over time, due to composition and prevailing attitudes.

So it's okay to pick and choose which texts to follow from our Constitution? The Constitution doesn't give Snowden the power to interpret it. It does however give that duty to our federal courts. Should we just ignore that part in our Constitution?

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#55

Post by pvnick »

tokenadult wrote: post #46
eli wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Either way, if he really wants the focus back on the documents, he should probably write fewer letters about his beliefs, his security, and his personal situation.

I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. This is my take too. If he had had more knowledge about the historical background of the other countries he has visited, and especially if he had STRONG knowledge of another language, he might view the position of the United States in these matters a bit differently, and might resolve the trade-offs about what t…

Your statement is completely nonsensical. The whole point is we have primary documents supporting what he says. His personality has nothing to do with those claims. Greenwald and Snowden have a 100% accuracy rate regarding these leaks, and your comment comes off as very head-stuck-in-the-sand-y.

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#56

Post by ianterrell »

tokenadult wrote: post #46
eli wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. Either way, if he really wants the focus back on the documents, he should probably write fewer letters about his beliefs, his security, and his personal situation.

I think he comes off as naive and more than a little pompous, but I guess it's in the eye of the beholder. This is my take too. If he had had more knowledge about the historical background of the other countries he has visited, and especially if he had STRONG knowledge of another language, he might view the position of the United States in these matters a bit differently, and might resolve the trade-offs about what t…

> I would take Snowden's claims more seriously in general if he were on United States soil

What bearing does which country he's in have on the content of the disclosures? Do you think he fabricated the PRISM slides since he happens to be in Russia right now?

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#57

Post by logicallee »

2na wrote: post #37

This is like a dialogue from a spy movie, the good guy is on the run trying to save his country, while this very nation is hunting him down. I think Wesley Snipes plays the good guy! :-) Jokes aside I salute Snowden, he's doing a very very brave thing. We should come up with a hacker salute for his cause.

Actually it's a bit over the top for a Senator to write a man on the run. Luckily, unlike fiction, this stuff doesn't have to be believable!

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#58

Post by lifeformed »

brown9-2 wrote: post #36
ianterrell wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I interpret this as it's protected in such a way that any information he can give is not sufficient to access the documents. (copy pasted from my reply on another comment below)

How would that work though? Wouldn't it mean that in order to access the info he is talking about, you need something more than knowledge he has in his head - like physical access to something? But then, in the worst case scenario - how could Snowden access it himself if he needs the documents?

Perhaps it's more of a way to destroy data than to not reveal it, like maybe some sort of dead-man's switch. If he doesn't maintain some routine, then perhaps some data or documents gets automatically destroyed.

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#59

Post by DanBC »

pbreit wrote: post #48

Can anyone provide some concrete examples about how the NSA, using the tools that many of us would rather they not, "keeps us safe"? Are there specific incidents that have been avoided (that wouldn't have otherwise)? Is it just that we are generally "safer"?

> Can anyone provide some concrete examples about how the NSA

In the UK GCHQ provides intel to the Ministry of Defence. MoD then uses that intel. The intel is secret, and thus we don't know if it has helped or not. The intel is also misused (see, for example, the "sexing up" of documents) or ignored.

But in general you don't know what the spies are doing. It's the nature of spies. You could ask your representative politician to ask some of the oversight politicians, but the answer you'll get back is going to be on the same lines. "The provide valuable intel, and we use it, and we are safer because of it".

Re: Email exchange between Edward Snowden and former GOP Senator Gordon Humphrey

#60

Post by dantheman »

brown9-2 wrote: post #36
ianterrell wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I interpret this as it's protected in such a way that any information he can give is not sufficient to access the documents. (copy pasted from my reply on another comment below)

How would that work though? Wouldn't it mean that in order to access the info he is talking about, you need something more than knowledge he has in his head - like physical access to something? But then, in the worst case scenario - how could Snowden access it himself if he needs the documents?

A very simple way to achieve something like this is to generate a random password, print it out and give half to someone else. Then you need 2 people to access the file.
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