Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

[sdv]

Posted by Cidersomerset (here)
Thanks sdv a good summery at the beginning, Its obvious to us that 1990 was the
end of one meme The Cold war and the beginning of the NWO via the Neo cons and
other confederates around the world. The 'War on Terror' the current meme is the
perfect vehicle for the surveillance state, 'Big Bros' to take control for the corporate
elites and the puppet masters behind the scenes.

The mainstream media the real digital battlefield has been captured and run by
them from day one , but certainly since the late 70's after their defeat in
Vietnam propaganda war, they have been in control starting with the
Falkands war and the British innovation of imbedding the war correspondents
like in ww11 controlling for the most part what/where they can report for their
safety.

The battle ground in now being fought for the web, with U'tubes, mobile phone
footage, bloggers, alternate news outlets the NSA, Mi6 etc are still trying to stay
infront . The biggest elephant iin the room is still, many important educated
middleclass buearocrats cannot get there head around 9/11 was a inside job to
escalate and prosecute the 'War On Trerror'....

Oliver Stone summed it up pretty well......Also Richard Rowley & Jeremy Scahill
were very good. But they still skirt around the subject.

The psychiatrist at the end had some good points,

Maybe we are all foil-hat wearing conspiracy lunatics here on PA, but when you start digging, everything kind-of leads back to the same place. The US government is being played by the corporate sector, which is owned by ...

To focus on Edward Snowden (is he a hero or a traitor - neither in my opinion), or the NSA, or the Obama government (all places where the media is focusing the debate) is to avoid the meaningful conversation, to not deal with the real truth.

You summed it up more eloquently than I do by joining the dots!

¤=[Post Update]=¤

Good to see Americans protesting, but you need millions in the street marching, across America, day after day. This was just my experience of the anti-apartheid movement (which was not just the ANC!).

[turiya]

Haven't seen this posted here as yet... found it just recently.
Its a rarity, but perhaps more U.S. politicians will be climbing onto this bandwagon...

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ffSD2zRX-kQ

Also, the more the alternative news outlets keep on this story, continuing to interview those who have been calling a spade, a spade, for quite some time now, it puts more & more pressure on the mainstream media outlets, as it shows they have been rather delinquent about providing much of a service to the public.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=5QQB0gyJrKs

turiya

[Corncrake]

John Pilger on the forcing down of Evo Morales's plane and Edward Snowden:

"Forcing down Evo Morales's plane was an act of air piracy
Denying the Bolivian president air space was a metaphor for the gangsterism that now rules the world"

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...ane-air-piracy

[Cidersomerset]

Are the NSA's surveillance programs actually legal?

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4fvzl9Gj0kE

Published on 5 Jul 2013


It has been nearly one month since Edward Snowden disclosed the National
Security Agency's domestic spying program that involved collecting metadata
on all phone calls in the US and spying on the online activity of its citizens.
President Barack Obama has claimed that the program is transparent and is
necessary to protect Americans from potential terrorist attacks, but is it legal?
Heidi Boghosian, executive director

[Cidersomerset]

Iceland parliament declines Snowden's citizenship bid








(Reuters) - A bid by Edward Snowden for Icelandic citizenship failed when the
country's parliament voted not to debate it before the summer recess, lawmakers
said on Friday, with options for the U.S. fugitive narrowing by the day.

The vote leaves Snowden - believed to be staying in a transit area at a Moscow
airport - with one option fewer as he seeks a country to shelter him from U.S.
espionage charges.Following the news in Iceland, WikiLeaks announced that
Snowden had applied to another six countries for asylum, adding to a list of more
than a dozen countries which he has already asked for protection.

The anti-secrecy organisation, which has been supporting Snowden's efforts to find
a safe haven since his exit from Hong Kong 12 days ago, said on Twitter it could
not reveal the names the countries due to "attempted U.S. interference".
Six members of Iceland's parliament tabled a proposal late on Thursday to grant
Snowden citizenship after they received a request from him via WikiLeaks,
opposition parliamentarian Birgitta Jonsdottir said.

But a majority of parliamentarians voted late on Thursday against allowing the
proposal to be put on the agenda, a day before parliament went into summer
recess. It does not reconvene until September.

"Snowden has formally requested citizenship. But nothing is now going to happen.
We could not even vote on it," Jonsdottir told Reuters.

In a letter dated July 4, posted on Jonsdottir's blog, Snowden wrote that he had
been left "de facto-stateless" by his government, which revoked his passport after
he fled the country and leaked information about U.S. surveillance operations.
Most of the countries he has already sought asylum in, including Iceland, say he
must be on their soil for his application to be accepted.

His request for citizenship was a different tack, hoping that Iceland would give him
a passport, as it has done in at least one similar case in the past.

"I appreciate that Iceland, a small but significant country in the world community,
shows such courage and commitment to its higher laws and ideals," he wrote in the
letter.Under Icelandic law, parliament can grant citizenship to foreigners, which can
otherwise usually only be gained through naturalisation after a period of residence.

Chess master Bobby Fischer was granted Icelandic citizenship by parliament after
he got into trouble with the United States over tax evasion and breaking sanctions
by playing a match in Yugoslavia in 1992.After years living abroad, he was detained
in Japan, where he applied for and was awarded Icelandic citizenship in 2005. He
spent his last years in Iceland before dying in 2008.

Iceland's recently elected centre-right government is seen as far less willing to
engage in an international dispute with the United States than the previous
government, even if it will want to maintain the country's reputation for promoting
Internet freedom.

"It is a disappointment that he is facing limited options," WikiLeaks Icelandic
spokesman Kristinn Hrafnsson told Reuters. "I am not optimistic that the new
conservative government will take steps of courage and boldness to assist Mr
Snowden."

Russia has shown signs of growing impatience over Snowden's stay in the country.

Its deputy foreign minister said on Thursday that Snowden had not sought asylum
in the country and needed to choose a place to go.Moscow has made clear that the
longer he stays, the greater the risk of the diplomatic standoff over his fate causing
lasting damage to relations with Washington.

(Additional reporting by Alistair Scrutton and Mia Shanley in Stockholm, Steve
Gutterman in Moscow, Editing by Michael Roddy)


http://in.reuters.com/article/2013/0...9640DD20130705

[Tesseract]

Looks like Venezuela will give asylum to Snowden. Thank god for socialist governments.

[Cidersomerset]

Bolivian president threatens to close US embassy

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=qGCCZw4eWcY

Published on 6 Jul 2013


Earlier this week, Bolivian President Evo Morales' plane was downed in Austria
after suspicion that NSA leaker Edward Snowden was onboard attempting to
avoid extradition to the US. It turned out that Snowden wasn't on board and
now Morales has gathered the support of several South American presidents
in asking for an apology from the European countries involved in the matter.
Margaret Howell has more.

[Cidersomerset]

6 July 2013 Last updated at 07:02

Venezuela and Nicaragua make Snowden asylum offersThe presidents of Venezuela
and Nicaragua explain their offers

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-yrMaaWUo0M

The presidents of both Nicaragua and Venezuela have indicated their countries
could offer political asylum to US fugitive Edward Snowden.

Venezuela's Nicolas Maduro said it would give asylum to the intelligence leaker,
who is believed to be holed up in a transit area of Moscow airport.

Meanwhile Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said his country would do so "if
circumstances permit".

Read More...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23201774

[Cidersomerset]

Oliver Stone defends Edward Snowden over NSA revelations

The outspoken film-maker hails the whistlebower as a 'hero' at Czech film festival
and claims that 'the United States has repeatedly violated the fourth amendment'


Xan Brooks

guardian.co.uk, Friday 5 July 2013 14.53 BST





Oliver Stone
The film-maker has voiced his support for Edward Snowden. Photograph: Francois Duhamel

Oliver Stone, never one to run scared from a controversy, yesterday waded into the
ongoing NSA debate, defending the American whistlebower Edward Snowden and
hailing him as a "hero" for exposing the US's mass surveillance programme.

"It's a disgrace that Obama is more concerned with hunting down Snowden than
reforming these George Bush-style eavesdropping techniques," the Oscar-winning
director told audiences at the Karlovy Vary international film festival in the Czech
Republic.Snowden, 30, is living in a transit zone in a Moscow airport where he is
seeking asylum from federal prosecution in the US. He is believed to have applied
for asylum in 20 countries - thus far without result. In the meantime, his
revelations have sparked a diplomatic crisis. In the past few days both the German
and French leaders have described the NSA's surveillance program
as "unacceptable".

"To me Snowden is a hero because he revealed secrets that we should all know,
that the United States has repeatedly violated the fourth amendment," Stone
said. "He should be welcomed and offered asylum. But he has no place to hide
because every country is intimidated by the United States."

Stone, 66, was at the festival to unveil episodes of his new Showtime TV series,
Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States, as well as the extended
"ultimate" cut of his 2004 epic Alexander.

The film-maker's vocal support for Snowden is entirely in character. In recent
months Stone has also thrown his weight behind WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange,
visiting the activist at his base at the Ecuadorian embassy in London and criticising
the depiction of Assange in two upcoming Hollywood pictures. "Julian Assange did
much for free speech," Stone has said. "And he is now being victimised by the
abusers of the concept."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2013/...rd-snowden-nsa

[Cidersomerset]

Imperial Persecution Free: Venezuela offers Snowden asylum

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=FeT7zCp1Mh8

Published on 6 Jul 2013


Stranded NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden finally has a place to go.
Venezuela has decided to offer him asylum, and an escape from the legal
limbo which has left him stranded in a Moscow airport since last month.
Snowden is wanted in the US on espionage charges for leaking details
of America's global spy programme.

[turiya]

US Snowden Extradition Request to Venezuela
By: emptywheel Saturday July 6, 2013 10:03 am

As I noted last night, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro offered Edward Snowden asylum last night. (The Spanish was “hemos decidido” and “he decidido ofrecerle asilio” which included none of the sense of hypothetical that Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega used.)

The government has released the extradition request they’ve sent to the Venezuelan government.

Perhaps the most interesting detail is the date: July 3. Way back when Maduro was (unless I’ve lost track of his chronology), still in Russia or Belarus, and when Bolivian President Evo Morales was making a big stink about being “kidnapped” in Vienna.

Since that time, Maduro finished his visit in Belarus. Flew (presumably with a refueling stop somewhere and possibly a stop at home) to Cochabamba, Bolivia, where at least 6 South American leaders either were personally or had sent a representative (in addition to Morales and Maduro, the Presidents of Ecuador, Suriname, Argentina, and Uruguay were present, Brazils Dilma Rousseff had sent a representative, as had, according to some reports, Peru and Chile).

Then Maduro returned home in time for Venezuela’s Independence Day celebration, where he issued his statement offering asylum.

It appears that after the US issued the extradition request to Venezuela, they issued an arrest warrant to Ireland.

Now, perhaps the US has real intelligence saying that Snowden remains in Russia. But these are the people who were sure he was on Morales’ plane just a few days ago. And they don’t really seem all too sure about where Snowden is.

Update: This is one of the few stories I’ve seen that affirmatively said Snowden was still in Russia after Maduro’s departure, based on a single Russian security source.

Update: And this has more Russian sources stating he remains stuck in Russia.

turiya

[Cidersomerset]

France snoops on citizens while slamming US over spying

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=leO43LzvqMg

Published on 7 Jul 2013


Brussels is threatening to suspend its data-sharing with Washington, fresh on the heels
of revelations about the NSA's mass eavesdropping on Europe. The EU is
demanding 'complete transparency and maximum information' from the US. That's
despite recent reports revealing its own snooping activities - France is believed to be
running a version of the NSA's infamous Prism program. RT's Maria Finoshina
investigates.

[Cidersomerset]

US attempts to block Edward Snowden are 'bolstering' case for asylum

As Venezuela and Nicaragua offer help to whistleblower, experts say US actions are
strengthening his case for safe haven
Jamie Doward

The Observer, Sunday 7 July 2013


Ortega and Maduro
Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega (right), and his Venezuelan counterpart
Nicolas Maduro have offered support to Edward Snowden. Photograph: Inti
Ocon/AFP/Getty




Attempts by the US to close down intelligence whistleblower Edward Snowden's
asylum options are strengthening his case to seek a safe harbour outside of Russia,
legal experts claim.Snowden, who is believed to be in the transit area of Moscow's
Sheremetyevo airport, has received provisional offers of asylum from Nicaragua
and Venezuela, and last night Bolivia also offered him sanctuary. He has applied to
at least six other countries, says the Wikileaks organisation providing legal support.

Michael Bochenek, director of law and policy at Amnesty International, said the
American government's actions were bolstering Snowden's case. He said claims
that the US had sought to reroute the plane of Bolivia's president, Evo Morales,
amid reports that the fugitive former analyst for the National Security Agency was
on board, and suggestions that vice-president Joe Biden had phoned the
Ecuadorean leader, Rafael Correa, to block asylum for Snowden, carried serious
implications.

"Interfering with the right to seek asylum is a serious problem in international law,"
Bochenek said. "It is further evidence that he [Snowden] has a well-founded fear of
persecution. This will be relevant to any state when considering an application.
International law says that somebody who fears persecution should not be returned
to that country."

Venezuela's extradition treaties with the US contain clauses that allow it to reject
requests if it believes they are politically motivated. The country's president,
Nicolas Maduro, has praised Snowden for being a "young man who told the truth"
and has criticised European countries' alleged role in the rerouting of Morales's
plane last week .

"The European people have seen the cowardice and the weakness of their
governments, which now look like colonies of the US," he said on Friday.

Spain said it had been warned that Snowden was on the Bolivian presidential plane,
the first acknowledgement that the manhunt was linked to the plane's diversion to
Austria. Foreign minister José Manuel Garcia-Margallo said: "They told us that the
information was clear, that he was inside." He did not say who "they" were or
whether he had been in contact with the US.

Speaking from Buenos Aires, Bochenek said the US actions were transforming the
Snowden affair into a global saga. "In PR terms, opinion here and elsewhere in
Latin America has shifted precisely because of the appearance of interference with
other governments' decision-making processes," he said.

Bochenek said there was no reason why Snowden could not be granted asylum
without setting foot in the country that had granted him refuge. The need to be
present in the country where asylum is granted is a convention that can be ignored
if nations see fit, he said.

"It's true that a lot of states have that as a rule in their own domestic
requirements, but it is not required by international law," he said.

Neither did placing Snowden on an Interpol "red flag" list mean that states had to
hand him over to the US. The procedure is an advisory measure that can be
ignored, legal experts said.A decision to give Snowden refuge has political
consequences for Maduro, and provides his critics with ammunition.

Venezuela's opposition leader, Henrique Capriles, has accused Maduro of using
Snowden to distract voters from economic woes at home. "Nicolas, you can't use
asylum to cover up that you stole the election. That doesn't give you legitimacy,
nor make the people forget," he said on Twitter.

Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, said he was willing to offer asylum, "if
circumstances allow it", although he did not say what the circumstances would be.
Venezuela, though, appears a more likely host.

"Asylum for Snowden in Venezuela would be the best solution," Alexei Pushkov,
chairman of the international affairs committee of Russia's lower house of
parliament, said on Twitter. "That country is in a sharp conflict with the US."

However, there are no direct commercial flights between Moscow and Caracas, and
the usual route involves changing planes in Havana.It is not clear whether the
Cuban authorities would grant Snowden transit. However, Cuba has expressed
sympathy for Snowden's situation and accused the US of "trampling" on other
states' sovereignty.

Meanwhile, spotting Snowden is becoming a popular game among people passing
through Sheremetyevo airport.

"I offered my kids $200 to get a picture of him," said Simon Parry, a Briton who
expressed sympathy for Snowden after spending a couple of hours in the airport.

"The wireless internet is appalling, the prices are awful, and people never smile,"
Parry said. "So I commend him for making it 24 hours, let alone two weeks. I might
rather face trial."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013...er-case-asylum

[Cidersomerset]

Why the Washington Post doesn't know it's left from right

US newspaper digs deep into Edward Snowden affair while urging US government
crackdown on intelligence leaks

Peter Preston

The Observer, Sunday 7 July 2013





Demonstration Edward Snowden

A demonstrator holds a sign with a photograph of Edward Snowden during Fourth
of July Independence Day celebrations in Boston, Massachusetts. Photograph: Brian
Snyder/Reuters


American papers still think that having a separate, quasi-independent editor of its
leader and op-ed pages makes pure, dispassionate sense. So while the Washington
Post, in the wake of the Guardian, pounds out stories from the Ed Snowden
archive, Washington Post editorials call on the US government to stop leaks
that "harm efforts to fight terrorism and conduct legitimate intelligence operations".
Potty? Of course. But at least the old Post didn't tell Woodward and Bernstein to
play the Star Spangled Banner.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2013...eft-from-right

[Cidersomerset]

The Resident: Welcome to the Snowden Movie

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1y4-au1y88w

Published on 7 Jul 2013


Edward Snowden recently revealed that the US is effectively spying on everyone,
domestically and internationally, by collecting, decyphering, and storing all of our
digital communications. But in actuality, the story is old news. Wired magazine
ran the story in April of 2012, and USA Today published a similar article as early
as 2006. So why is the world just now enraged? The Resident (aka Lori Harfenist)
discusses. Follow The Resident at

[Cidersomerset]

Snowden strikes again: 'NSA in bed with Germany'

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=x4XOFz8cT40

Published on 8 Jul 2013


US fugitive Edward Snowden has accused Germany and the US of partnering in spy
intelligence operations, revealing that cooperation between the countries is closer than
German indignation would indicate, Der Spiegel magazine reported. Journalist Manuel
Ochsenreiter says German politicians are furious - but about being exposed, not by
being spied on

[Cidersomerset]

NSA leaker Snowden offered asylum in Latin America

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Jp_HkWO37Ys

Published on 8 Jul 2013


Over the weekend, Nicaragua, Venezuela and Bolivia offered NSA
leaker Edward Snowden asylum for his role in exposing the American
surveillance program that was collecting data for millions of people.
The only problem that remains, can Snowden leave Russia without a
US passport? RT's Meghan Lopez has more.

[Cidersomerset]

Thorny Route: Snowden weighs 3 S. American asylum offers, itinerary unclear

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rnpFVbpsgyg

Published on 9 Jul 2013


America's most-wanted man the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden
has found himself weighing not one, but potentially three asylum offers.
Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia have all spoken favorably of granting him
safe haven despite threats from the United States. RT's Gayane Chichakyan reports.

[Cidersomerset]

The Guardian - Interview with Edward Snowden in Hong Kong Part 2

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=rB9L1PD7Cpo

Published on 8 Jul 2013


Edward Snowden: 'The US government will say I aided our enemies' -- video interview

[turiya]

Posted by Cidersomerset (here)
Snowden strikes again: 'NSA in bed with Germany'

Not to forget to mention Israel...




7 July 2013

Interviewer: What is the mission of America's National Security Agency (NSA) -- and how is the job it does compatible with the rule of law?

Snowden: They're tasked to know everything of importance that happens outside of the United States. That's a significant challenge. When it is made to appear as though not knowing everything about everyone is an existential crisis, then you feel that bending the rules is okay. Once people hate you for bending those rules, breaking them becomes a matter of survival.

Interviewer: Are German authorities or German politicians involved in the NSA surveillance system?

Snowden: Yes, of course. We're 1 in bed together with the Germans the same as with most other Western countries. For example, we 2 tip them off when someone we want is flying through their airports (that we for example, have learned from the cell phone of a suspected hacker's girlfriend in a totally unrelated third country -- and they hand them over to us. They 3 don't ask to justify how we know something, and vice versa, to insulate their political leaders from the backlash of knowing how grievously they're violating global privacy.

Interviewer: But if details about this system are now exposed, who will be charged?

Snowden: In front of US courts? I'm not sure if you're serious. An investigation found the specific people who authorized the warrantless wiretapping of millions and millions of communications, which per count would have resulted in the longest sentences in world history, and our highest official simply demanded the investigation be halted. Who "can" be brought up on charges is immaterial when the rule of law is not respected. Laws are meant for you, not for them.

Interviewer: Does the NSA partner with other nations, like Israel?

Snowden: Yes. All the time. The NSA has a massive body responsible for this: FAD, the Foreign Affairs Directorate.

Interviewer: Did the NSA help to create Stuxnet? (Stuxnet is the computer worm that was deployed against the Iranian nuclear program.)

Snowden: NSA and Israel co-wrote it.

SOURCE
WEBSITE
Article in German

turiya