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Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

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Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#161

Post by [deleted] »

masfuerte wrote: post #128
sholain wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One cannot just release whatever one wants, and some of the docs should not have been released. There were huge variations in the nature of the content that he released, and this is the problem with the narrative. He's a 'whistle blower' and 'broke the law' at the same time. A lot of people seem to have difficulty with that. Edit: we need better privacy laws and transparency around a lot of things, that said, some st…

I find it very strange that so many people are more exercised by the small crime of Snowden releasing this information than by the large crime of the federal government spying on us all.

[deleted]

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#162

Post by sholain »

sunaookami wrote: post #157
sholain wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One cannot just release whatever one wants, and some of the docs should not have been released. There were huge variations in the nature of the content that he released, and this is the problem with the narrative. He's a 'whistle blower' and 'broke the law' at the same time. A lot of people seem to have difficulty with that. Edit: we need better privacy laws and transparency around a lot of things, that said, some st…

As the other commenter said, the crimes the NSA did/still does far outweight any "crimes" Snowden did. And whistleblowing is by definition illegal since you have to release confidential files. That's why functioning countries should have laws protecting whistleblowers.

Whistle-blowing is not illegal (in the US) that's what the laws are there for, though obviously it's dicey and depends on media portrayal, and those laws could stand to be reinforced.

The Abu Ghraib (Iraq prison scandal) whistle-blower was protected by the system even if some people were very upset.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#163

Post by dmantis »

psunavy03 wrote: post #40
ok123456 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably, that he did the right thing at the right time.

No, he violated a trust given to him, he deserves to be in jail, and if he had an ounce of moral character he'd come back and face trial like a man. Unlike the movies there aren't secret death squads out to get him, just a courtroom where he can face the consequences of his actions like an adult. Instead, he's hiding out playing the victim in a country that's actively genociding Ukrainians to a degree beyond anything…

Why not putting NSA officers to the jail first? Can't they "face a fair trial like a men" for illegal spying program?

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#164

Post by blitzar »

keiferski wrote: post #154
sunaookami wrote: post #60

This comment section is strange, a lot of people trying to discredit Snowden, saying he shouldn't have released the files, should be in prison, etc. 12 years ago this was HUGE news and had a major impact on the internet and everyone thanked Snowden for these documents! I certainly am thankful. Disappointed in my country that they literally said that "spying between friends is a no-go" but then did nothing and intimid…

Hacker News would be better named Tech Industry Professional News. Most people here are very invested in corporations and government organizations, are very well paid for being so, and have little interest in anything “hacker” in the traditional sense of the word.

Most people here are very invested in corporations and believe they should (and do) supercede governments, nation states and all other organizations globally.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#165

Post by blitzar »

nasaeclipse wrote: post #105
GuinansEyebrows wrote: post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

i think a lot of people on this site work on the same types of projects snowden worked on and blew the whistle over, for the same organizations, and feel good about it. i wonder how many users here are happily employed by booz allen hamilton?

unrelated, but I recently saw an ad by booz allen that proudly said "Stopping Fentanyl" as part of their mission. Like, really? Are people really that gullible to believe that?

The line tested wonderfully with the focus groups.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#166

Post by monerozcash »

BLKNSLVR wrote: post #93
ginush wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He sought revenge after not getting a desired job promotion. There was nothing noble about his intentions, just narcissistic fury with what he, in his narrow world view, saw as unfairness towards himself. I find it amazing how many people have been taken in by the bullshit narrative he concocted about human rights and privacy. So gullible. He helped our adversaries on an immense scale, and even went to live under the…

> even went to live under the protection of one of them. Some patriot he is, gladly embracing the Russian regime. You know that's not true? His passport was cancelled while he was mid-flight and no country would touch him, and he was essentially trapped in an airport until Russia offered asylum. The US effectively sent him to Russia.

The funniest thing is that he'd probably be in US prison by now had they not cancelled his passport.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#167

Post by monerozcash »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #17
wood_spirit wrote: post #8

How can Snowdon possibly feel as the international situation changes so totally since he fled? It boggles the mind.

Why isn't Russia torturing him to get all the secrets out of him?

It's doubtful Snowden was in possession of his NSA data dump at the time he arrived to Moscow, the things he had memorized would have been of very limited value.

If the Russian government was in possession of his data, I'd consider it fairly surprising that they seemingly never leaked any of the materials.

While it's not strictly impossible that Snowden through the Russian Government was the "second source", given that all the leaks from the second source came after Snowden had landed in Moscow, none of the "second source" files were included within the Snowden dump a bunch of journalists have access to. There are also various more specific reasons to belive that Snowden probably would not have had access to all the things originating from the second source, and even more so many of the things originating from TSB.

Same is true of Snowden possibly being TSB, whether or not "second source" and the TSB were the one and the same. It's just not really credible.

Here's a good starting point if you're not familiar with the second source https://www.electrospaces.net/2017/09/are-shadow-brokers-ide...

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#168

Post by TiredOfLife »

sunaookami wrote: post #60

This comment section is strange, a lot of people trying to discredit Snowden, saying he shouldn't have released the files, should be in prison, etc. 12 years ago this was HUGE news and had a major impact on the internet and everyone thanked Snowden for these documents! I certainly am thankful. Disappointed in my country that they literally said that "spying between friends is a no-go" but then did nothing and intimid…

That was before he became (or probably always was) a part of russian disinformation campaign. So everything he released became suspect.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#169

Post by TiredOfLife »

koakuma-chan wrote: post #17
wood_spirit wrote: post #8

How can Snowdon possibly feel as the international situation changes so totally since he fled? It boggles the mind.

Why isn't Russia torturing him to get all the secrets out of him?

Because he is a russian asset and already delivered all the information.

Re: Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

#170

Post by sunaookami »

TiredOfLife wrote: post #168
sunaookami wrote: post #60

This comment section is strange, a lot of people trying to discredit Snowden, saying he shouldn't have released the files, should be in prison, etc. 12 years ago this was HUGE news and had a major impact on the internet and everyone thanked Snowden for these documents! I certainly am thankful. Disappointed in my country that they literally said that "spying between friends is a no-go" but then did nothing and intimid…

That was before he became (or probably always was) a part of russian disinformation campaign. So everything he released became suspect.

"It's a russian disinformation campaign" must be one of the lamest accusations that one can throw around. Don't agree with anyone? Just say that they are russian bots!
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