We never bother to Google "Can you really delete a text message forever?" If we did, we'd discover a treasure trove of procedures for retrieving stuff we wish could vanish; some of those methods even include helpful YouTube videos to aid the technologically challenged.

Greg Schwem

Corporate comedian, Business emcee, Author, 'Text Me If You're Breathing'

In a very powerful exclusive interview, I recently had the privilege of speaking to an American hero, William Binney, NSA whistleblower.

When speaking out means sacrificing privacy, we lose points of view, and the quality of our democracy suffers. That should give all of us something to truly fear.

Brynne O'Neal

Brynne O'Neal is a Research and Program Associate at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.

The "security vs. liberty" strawman argument remains the rhetorical weapon of choice for National Security State officials terrified by the spread of public encryption technologies. They argue that, absent some form of technological "back door" to break into private encrypted communications, federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies will be blinded, unable to fend off potential terrorist attacks here at home.

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edward snowden: Pictures, Videos, Breaking News

Coordinates: 404130N 735832W / 40.6918N 73.9756W / 40.6918; -73.9756

The statue of Edward Snowden, called by its creators Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 2.0,[1] was an ephemeral, illegally-installed public statue of Edward Snowden, an American whistleblower who leaked classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) and was charged with federal crimes as a result.[A] The bronze-like statue was placed in Fort Greene Park in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, New York City, on April 6, 2015. It was attached to a Doric column on the perimeter of the park's Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument,[B] a memorial and crypt which honors and inters the more than 11,500 American prisoners of war who died in the American Revolution while housed on British prison ships.[3][4][C]

Affixed atop an existing column, the statue was mounted by three anonymous artists and their helpers, who were dressed in white construction helmets and reflective vests in imitation of Parks Department workers,[6] early in the morning of April 6, then covered and taken down by NYC Parks officials later that day.[2][7] A hologram tribute to Snowden was subsequently installed after the statue was removed.[8]

The piece was conceived in 2014 by two artists from New York City and a sculptor from the West Coast. The sculptor volunteered his time and skill in creating the statue, with the piece eventually costing thousands of dollars to create over six months.[1][D] The artwork consisted of a 4-foot (1.2m) high, 100-pound (45kg) bust of Snowden on top of a Doric column, with a Plexiglas stand with Snowden's name on it.[2][9]

The piece was fused to Fort Greene Park's Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument[2] in the pre-dawn hours of April 6, 2015.[3] The sculptor recommended that the two artists create a bust after they had suggested a life-size statue of Snowden. The bust was made from Hydrocal, a plaster-like substance resembling bronze in appearance, which was then fixed to the pre-existing column with a non-damaging adhesive.[1] The piece was designed to be similar in style to other sculptures in the park.[E]

While it was very important to the artists that the piece be more than just a prop or papier-mache effigy, they also wished not to damage the surface to which the bust would be bound. After some debate, they decided on an adhesive that would firmly hold the head in place, yet could be removed without marring the monument.[1] The statue had Snowden's name at its base, consistent with the names on the bases of other sculptures in the park.[10]

The Guardian newspaper expressed the view that it also looked like the former White House press secretary Jay Carney and some people thought it looked more like him than Snowden (see image).[11][12]

Prison Ship Martyrs' Monument 2.0 is one of at least six sculptures and monuments to Snowden that have appeared around the world.[F] In October 2014, a statue of Snowden appeared in Union Square, Manhattan, near Henry Kirke Brown's Abraham Lincoln statue.[13] It was shown in conjunction with the Art in Odd Places festival and was sculpted by Jim Dessicino, a Delaware artist. One observer of that statue compared Snowden to Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers to the New York Times.[G]

The creators of the statue, who were dubbed "guerrilla artists" by some in the media,[15][16] released a statement to the Animal New York website detailing their motivations and documenting the statue's installation[1] in exchange for anonymity.[H] In their statement, the artists said:

We have updated this monument to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies. It would be a dishonor to those memorialized here to not laud those who protect the ideals they fought for, as Edward Snowden has by bringing the NSA's 4th-Amendment-violating surveillance programs to light. All too often, figures who strive to uphold these ideals have been cast as criminals rather than in bronze...Our goal is to bring a renewed vitality to the space and prompt even more visitors to ponder the sacrifices made for their freedoms. We hope this inspires them to reflect upon the responsibility we all bear to ensure our liberties exist long into the future."[3][18][19]

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Statue of Edward Snowden - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Post reporter Barton Gellman discusses how his exclusive interview with Edward Snowden came about and whether the former NSA contractor would ever want to return to the United States. (Jeff Simon/The Washington Post)

MOSCOW The familiar voice on the hotel room phone did not waste words.

What time does your clock say, exactly? he asked.

He checked the reply against his watch and described a place to meet.

Ill see you there, he said.

Edward Joseph Snowden emerged at the appointed hour, alone, blending into a light crowd of locals and tourists. He cocked his arm for a handshake, then turned his shoulder to indicate a path. Before long he had guided his visitor to a secure space out of public view.

During more than 14 hours of interviews, the first he has conducted in person since arriving here in June, Snowden did not part the curtains or step outside. Russia granted him temporary asylum on Aug.1, but Snowden remains a target of surpassing interest to the intelligence services whose secrets he spilled on an epic scale.

Late this spring, Snowden supplied three journalists, including this one, with caches of top-secret documents from the National Security Agency, where he worked as a contractor. Dozens of revelations followed, and then hundreds, as news organizations around the world picked up the story. Congress pressed for explanations, new evidence revived old lawsuits and the Obama administration was obliged to declassify thousands of pages it had fought for years to conceal.

Taken together, the revelations have brought to light a global surveillance system that cast off many of its historical restraints after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Secret legal authorities empowered the NSA to sweep in the telephone, Internet and location records of whole populations. One of the leaked presentation slides described the agencys collection philosophy as Order one of everything off the menu.

Six months after the first revelations appeared in The Washington Post and Britains Guardian newspaper, Snowden agreed to reflect at length on the roots and repercussions of his choice. He was relaxed and animated over two days of nearly unbroken conversation, fueled by burgers, pasta, ice cream and Russian pastry.

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Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his ...

Edward Joseph Ed Snowden (* 21. Juni 1983 in Elizabeth City, North Carolina)[1] ist ein US-amerikanischer Whistleblower. Seine Enthllungen gaben Einblicke in das Ausma der weltweiten berwachungs- und Spionagepraktiken von Geheimdiensten berwiegend der Vereinigten Staaten und Grobritanniens. Diese lsten so im Sommer 2013 die NSA-Affre aus.

Er wurde dafr mehrfach von nichtstaatlichen Organisationen ausgezeichnet und fr den Friedensnobelpreis nominiert. Am 8. Mai 2014 beschloss der NSA-Untersuchungsausschuss des Deutschen Bundestags im Auftrag aller Fraktionen, ihn als Zeugen zu laden. Offen blieb, wo er aussagen wird.[2]

Edward Snowden ist ein ehemaliger Agent, der als technische Fachkraft fr die US-amerikanischen Geheimdienste CIA, NSA und DIA gearbeitet hat.[3] Bis Mai 2013 arbeitete er im Auftrag der NSA als Systemadministrator fr das Beratungsunternehmen Booz Allen Hamilton im Kunia Regional SIGINT Operations Center. Im Rahmen seiner Ttigkeit hatte er Zugang zu Informationen, die als streng geheim eingestuft waren, u.a. ber US-amerikanische Programme zur berwachung der weltweiten Internetkommunikation (PRISM und Boundless Informant) sowie das noch umfassendere britische berwachungsprogramm Tempora. Snowden bermittelte diese Informationen an die Filmemacherin Laura Poitras und an den Guardian-Journalisten Glenn Greenwald, der sie im Juni 2013 ohne Angabe einer Quelle in Teilen verffentlichte.[4][5]

Am 9.Juni 2013 gab Snowden in Hongkong seine Identitt gegenber der ffentlichkeit preis.[6] Am 14.Juni 2013 erwirkte das FBI mit einer Strafanzeige u.a. wegen Spionage einen Haftbefehl gegen ihn.[7][8] Snowden konnte Hongkong verlassen, sa dann aber geraume Zeit im Transitbereich eines internationalen Flughafens in Moskau fest. Whrend seines dortigen Aufenthalts wurde auf diplomatischer Ebene um sein weiteres Schicksal gestritten.

Am 1. August 2013 vermeldete die Presse, dass Snowden von Russland Asyl erhalten habe[9]. Nach Ablauf von fnf Jahren knne er einen Antrag auf die russische Staatsangehrigkeit stellen.[10] Am 7. August 2014 gab Snowdens Anwalt Anatolij Kutscherena bekannt, dass Snowden eine Aufenthaltserlaubnis fr drei Jahre in Russland bekommen werde, diese gelte seit dem 1. August 2014.[11] In Deutschland wird Snowden von dem Menschenrechtsanwalt Wolfgang Kaleck vertreten.[12]

Edward Snowden wuchs zunchst in Wilmington, North Carolina, auf.[13] 1999 zog er mit seiner Familie nach Ellicott City, Maryland. Snowden, der noch eine ltere Schwester hat, ist der Sohn eines ehemaligen Beamten der US-Kstenwache und einer leitenden Angestellten des United States District Court des Bundesstaates Maryland.[1] Bis zu seiner Flucht nach Hongkong Ende Mai 2013 lebte er mit seiner Freundin auf der zum US-Bundesstaat Hawaii gehrenden Insel Oahu.[14]

Von 1999 bis 2001 und 2004 bis 2005 studierte Snowden Informatik am Anne Arundel Community College in Maryland. Zwischen den beiden Phasen seines Studiums meldete er sich im Jahr 2003 fr die U.S.Army, um im Irak-Krieg zu dienen.[15] Snowden verbrachte vier Monate in der United States Army Reserve, wo er als Rekrut der US-amerikanischen Special Forces einen 14-wchigen Trainingskurs absolvierte. Diesen konnte er nicht beenden, da er ausgemustert wurde, nachdem er sich bei einem Trainingsunfall beide Beine gebrochen hatte. Whrend der zweiten Phase seines Studiums arbeitete er ab 2004 als Wachmann fr eine NSA-Einrichtung an der University of Maryland. 2005 brach er sein Informatikstudium ab.[1]

Noch im Jahr 2005 wechselte Snowden zum Geheimdienst CIA, bei dem er als Techniker im Bereich der IT-Sicherheit aufgrund seines Talents relativ schnell aufsteigen konnte.[15] 2007 entsandte ihn die CIA im Rahmen dieser Ttigkeit an die diplomatische Vertretung der USA in Genf.[16] Wegen seiner Sicherheitseinstufung habe er, so Snowden, bereits zu dieser Zeit in groem Umfang Zugriff auf geheime Dokumente und Informationen gehabt. Da diese aber vor allem Menschen und nicht Systeme betrafen und er keine Menschenleben habe gefhrden wollen, habe er von einer Verffentlichung abgesehen.[13][6] Nach Angaben von US-Regierungsvertretern vom Oktober 2013 fiel Snowdens Verhalten seinem Vorgesetzten bereits 2009 auf, als er im Rahmen seiner Arbeit fr die CIA in Genf versuchte, Zugriff auf geheime Computerdateien zu erlangen. Demnach entschloss sich die CIA daraufhin, Snowden in die USA zurckzuschicken, was jedoch ansonsten keine weiteren Konsequenzen hatte.[17][18]

Anschlieend arbeitete er zunchst als freier technischer Mitarbeiter bei Dell[19] in einer NSA-Einrichtung auf einer Basis der U.S.Army in Japan.[4]

Noch im Jahr 2009 wechselte Snowden zu der Beratungsfirma Booz Allen Hamilton, ber die er als externer Mitarbeiter in einem NSA-Bro auf Hawaii als Systemadministrator ttig war.[20][21] Sein dortiges Leben vor der Verffentlichung der PRISM-Dokumente bezeichnet Snowden als sehr komfortabel. Er habe einen sicheren Job und ein Haus auf Hawaii gehabt sowie ein Jahresgehalt von etwa 122.000 US-Dollar (ca. 90.000 Euro) erhalten. Sein Spitzenverdienst in der Zeit davor habe bei 200.000 US-Dollar (ca.153.000 Euro) pro Jahr gelegen.[22]

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Edward Snowden Wikipedia