Edward Snowden -- traitor or hero
Joshua Rovner, SMU #39;s John Goodwin Tower Distinguished Chair in International Politics and National Security, and others talk with PBS #39;s McCuistion program ho...
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Edward Snowden -- traitor or hero - Video
NSA leaker Edward Snowden said it would be suicide to keep a doomsday cache of state secrets, and claims the agency is fabricating how much information he really possesses.
Who would set up a system that incentivizes others to kill them? he told Vanity Fair in an interview published in the May issue.
Of the 1.7 million documents that Snowden was reported to have taken, he said the figure is simply a scare number based on an intentionally crude metric: everything that I ever digitally interacted with in my career.
Look at the language officials use in sworn testimony about these records: could have, may have, potentially. Theyre prevaricating. Every single one of those officials knows I dont have 1.7 million files, but what are they going to say? Snowden continues. What senior official is going to go in front of Congress and say, We have no idea what he has, because the NSAs auditing of systems holding hundreds of millions of Americans data is so negligent that any high-school dropout can walk out the door with it?
Snowden, a high school dropout who joined the military in 2004, reflected on his decision to leak the documents.
Every person remembers some moment in their life where they witnessed some injustice, big or small, and looked away, because the consequences of intervening seemed too intimidating, he said. But theres a limit to the amount of incivility and inequality and inhumanity that each individual can tolerate. I crossed that line. And Im no longer alone.
Who would set up a system that incentivizes others to kill them?
Though NSA deputy director Rick Ledgett, who ran the internal investigation of Snowden, claims that the former NSA contractor made no formal complaints, Snowden says that he addressed his privacy concerns to the NSA multiple times before dropping the bombshell revelations via a self-selected group of journalists and collaborators scattered throughout the world last year.
The NSA at this point not only knows I raised complaints, but that there is evidence that I made my concerns known to the NSAs lawyers, because I did some of it through e-mail, Snowden says.
He issues a dare, too.
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Snowden: I don’t have a cache of state secrets
STRASBOURG, Austria, April 8 (UPI) -- Testifying in Strasbourg via videolink from Moscow, Edward Snowden told Europes leading human rights body, the Council of Europe, that the U.S. National Security Administration deliberately spied on human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.
"The NSA has specifically targeted either leaders or staff members in a number of civil and non-governmental organisations including domestically within the borders of the United States.
In a statement on Monday, the Council of Europe offered their reasoning for inviting Snowden to testify: "Edward Snowden has triggered a massive public debate on privacy in the internet age. We hope to ask him what his revelations mean for ordinary users and how they should protect their privacy and what kind of restrictions Europe should impose on state surveillance."
According to the Guardian, the council asked Snowden if the United States spied on the "highly sensitive and confidential communications" of major human rights organizations as well as on similar smaller regional and national groups.
"The answer is, without question, yes. Absolutely, Snowden replied.
In his testimony, Snowden also offered an forensic account of how the NSA's powerful surveillance programsprograms which use sophisticated data mining techniques to screen countless private communicationsviolate the EU's privacy laws, speaking about XKeyscore, which allows analysts to search the emails, online chats, and browsing histories of millions without any authorization.
"This technology represents the most significant new threat to civil liberties in modern times," he said.
XKeyscore amounts is an egregious form of mass surveillance because it collects data from entire populations, according to Snowden. Anyone might be targeted on the basis of "religious beliefs, sexual or political affiliations, transactions with certain businesses" and even "gun ownership, he claimed.
Snowden advised the council that what the NSA has built is an infrastructure that would allow the government to engage in nightmare scenarios in which they target people based on a belief or affiliation and then round them up and send them into camps, though he said he does not believe the NSA is currently involved in this type of activity.
He warned the assembly that the NSA, its allies, authoritarian governments, and even private enterprise could all abuse this technology, adding that mass surveillance is a "global problem which has led to "less liberal and safe societies.
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Snowden to the Council of Europe: U.S. spied on human rights workers
"Edward Snowden vs. the NSA" - New York Times Reporter Scott Shane
New York Times Reporter Scott Shane presents "Edward Snowden and the NSA." Presented by the Harkin Institute for Public Policy and Citizen Engagement. Monday, March 31, 2014, Sussman Theater...
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"Edward Snowden vs. the NSA" - New York Times Reporter Scott Shane - Video
2014.04.02 - Inspector Bill Majcher (Topic: Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Edward Snowden)
2014.04.02 - Inspector Bill Majcher Topic: Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Edward Snowden Bill Majcher, a former top covert operative, will explain how and why public safety has been compromised...
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2014.04.02 - Inspector Bill Majcher (Topic: Julian Assange, WikiLeaks, and Edward Snowden) - Video
Edward Snowden #39;s Attorney Jesselyn Radack Speaks to WeAreChangeCT
We Are Change CT had the opportunity to meet interview whistleblower Jesselyn Radack at a recent event at Yale University. Jeff Durkin had a chance to ask her about her story as a whistleblower...
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Edward Snowden's Attorney Jesselyn Radack Speaks to WeAreChangeCT - Video
PRISM Edward Snowden Whistleblower 16x9
Controversial former intelligence agent Ed Snowden is interviewed in this clip by Glenn Greenwald in film by Laura Poitras and Ewan Macaskill. This posting is from a neutral party with no bias...
By: Justin Waldman
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PRISM Edward Snowden Whistleblower 16x9 - Video
The 2014 Ridenhour Prize for Truth-Telling was awarded Monday to Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras. The award, named for the Vietnam veteran who helped uncover the My Lai Massacre and later became an investigative journalist, is the latest honor bestowed upon the reporting efforts related to the Snowden files.
Snowden, a former intelligence contractor and whistleblower, was awarded the prize based on his actions in exposing the extent of the National Security Agencys warrantless surveillance.
Edward Snowden.
In early 2013, Snowden released a trove of top-secret US government documents to Poitras and journalist Glenn Greenwald, which revealed that the US government has established phone and Internet dragnets to sweep up data en masse. The leak has sparked global debate about government surveillance ever since.
Poitras, a filmmaker and journalist, was awarded for her work in helping Snowden disclose the documents related to such government surveillance efforts.A celebrated documentary filmmaker and investigative reporter prior to her contact with Snowden, Poitras was the first to establish encrypted contact with Snowden. Her efforts ultimately led to the exposure of the NSAs vast warrantless surveillance operation.
Laura Poitras.
Congress and the American public continue to debate how best to characterize Snowden, who is believed to be residing in Russia and faces criminal prosecution in the United States.
In addition to these most recent accolades, there has been widespread praise of the reporting work related to the Snowden disclosures.In February, four reporters working on Snowden disclosuresPoitras, Greenwald, Ewen MacAskill, and Barton Gellmanreceived the Polk Award for National Security Reporting. The Guardian, for which Greenwald and MacAskill have written, was named newspaper of the year at the British Press Awards for its national security reporting. The Pulitzer Prizeswill be announced on April 14.
In deciding on these two recipients, the awards committee explained:
We have selected Edward Snowden and Laura Poitras for their work in exposing the NSAs illegal and unconstitutional bulk collection of the communications of millions of people living in the United States. Their act of courage was undertaken at great personal risk and has sparked a critical and transformative debate about mass surveillance in a country where privacy is considered a constitutionally protected right.
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Edward Snowden and journalist Laura Poitras awarded truth-telling prize
AP Edward Snowden will address Europe's human rights watchdog during a hearing on mass surveillance.
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden will address Europe's top human rights watchdog during a hearing on mass surveillance this week, the organisation says.
Snowden, who fled to Russia after exposing the surveillance activities of the National Security Agency (NSA), will testify on Tuesday at 1200 GMT (2300 AEDT) to the Council of Europe via a live video link from Moscow, it said in a statement.
"Edward Snowden has triggered a massive public debate on privacy in the internet age," said Pieter Omtzigt of the Council of Europe.
"We hope to ask him what his revelations mean for ordinary users, how they should try to protect their privacy, what kind of restrictions Europe should now impose on state surveillance," Omtzigt added.
The council also hoped to find out more about how the NSA deals with whistleblowers, he said, adding: "I regret that the US administration has not responded positively to our invitation to present its side of the story."
The hearing will also include the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Hansjoerg Geiger, who has proposed a codex to regulate intelligence activities between friendly states.
Earlier attempts by the European Parliament to set up a video hearing with Snowden were rejected over security concerns.
Both institutions are based in the French city of Strasbourg.
Unlike the parliament however, the Council of Europe is not a European Union institution.
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Snowden to address Europe rights watchdog
Former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden will address Europe's top human rights watchdog during a hearing on mass surveillance this week, the organisation says.
Snowden, who fled to Russia after exposing the surveillance activities of the National Security Agency (NSA), will testify on Tuesday at 1200 GMT (2300 AEDT) to the Council of Europe via a live video link from Moscow, it said in a statement.
'Edward Snowden has triggered a massive public debate on privacy in the internet age,' said Pieter Omtzigt of the Council of Europe.
'We hope to ask him what his revelations mean for ordinary users, how they should try to protect their privacy, what kind of restrictions Europe should now impose on state surveillance,' Omtzigt added.
The council also hoped to find out more about how the NSA deals with whistleblowers, he said, adding: 'I regret that the US administration has not responded positively to our invitation to present its side of the story.'
The hearing will also include the former head of Germany's Federal Intelligence Service, Hansjoerg Geiger, who has proposed a codex to regulate intelligence activities between friendly states.
Earlier attempts by the European Parliament to set up a video hearing with Snowden were rejected over security concerns.
Both institutions are based in the French city of Strasbourg.
Unlike the parliament however, the Council of Europe is not a European Union institution.
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Snowden to address human rights watchdog