Going Through Snowden Documents, Part 1

Post by [deleted] » Fri, Dec 12, 2025, 6:43 PM UTC

apical_dendrite wrote: post #136

text0404 wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is absolutely not what the Snowden docs showed. Would highly recommend familiarizing yourself at least a little bit with a major part of history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010s_global_surveillance_disc... > Barton Gellman, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist who led The Washington Post's coverage of Snowden's disclosures, summarized the leaks as follows: > Taken together, the revelations have brought to lig…

Please actually read what I wrote. You are responding to something that I did not write. I did not claim that there wasn't "massive, unchecked surveillance". The specific claim that I made was that the conspiracy-theory films of the 1990s were based on the idea of unchecked surveillance of US citizens that was then used for purposes such as targeting and murder of US citizens in the United States. There was nothing i…

Post by LargoLasskhyfv » Fri, Dec 12, 2025, 7:19 PM UTC

ginush wrote: post #130

Larrikin wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Analytics are mining the data on here every second. Hacker News is a wildly popular site with higher ups in major Fortune 500 company posting anonymously and publicly here. Say anything bad about a major country's government (or even a minor country like Israel or Palestine) and all kinds of accounts you've never seen before start defending and attacking. Everything you are saying is being actively monitored at this…

An analyst who is tasked with investigating, say, terrorist threats, is not going to be remotely interested in the browsing habits of random people who pose no threat whatsoever. It's just pure paranoia. Yes, we know bulk interception is being done by intelligence agencies. No, they're not watching you. They have more important things to be getting on with.

Post by LargoLasskhyfv » Fri, Dec 12, 2025, 9:03 PM UTC

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…

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Dec 13, 2025, 4:50 AM UTC

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…

Post by sholain » Sat, Dec 13, 2025, 6:59 AM UTC

array_key_first wrote: post #180

masfuerte wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's not strange, it's purposeful. It's the same logic as "well George Floyd had a counterfeit 20!" It's an extremely effective propaganda technique whereby you discredit the person(s) who were affected by injustice, while simultaneously shifting the narrative away from said injustice. It preys on the human minds simple morality reasoning skills - bad people don't do good things, and good people don't do bad things.…