Posted on 06/10/2013 9:26:29 AM PDT by Red Steel
An ex-CIA employee has said he acted to "protect basic liberties for people around the world" in leaking details of US phone and internet surveillance.
Edward Snowden, 29, was revealed as the source of the leaks at his own request by the UK's Guardian newspaper.
Mr Snowden, who says he has fled to Hong Kong, said he had an "obligation to help free people from oppression".
The recent revelations are that US agencies gathered millions of phone records and monitored internet data.
A spokesman for the US Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the case had been referred to the Department of Justice as a criminal matter. 'You will never be safe'
The Guardian quotes Mr Snowden as saying he flew to stay in a hotel in Hong Kong on 20 May, though his exact whereabouts now are unclear.
He is described by the paper as an ex-CIA technical assistant, currently employed by Booz Allen Hamilton, a defence contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA).
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"If I wanted to see your emails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.
"I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things... I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under."
He told the paper that the extent of US surveillance was "horrifying", adding: "We can plant bugs in machines. Once you go on the network...
Mr Snowden said he did not believe he had committed a crime: "We have seen enough criminality on the part of government. It is hypocritical to make this allegation against me."
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(Excerpt) Read more at bbc.co.uk ...
"The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized."
Tell us what parts of PRISM adhere to that?
“Is life so dear or peace so sweet as to be bought at the price of chains and slavery?”
No, and THANK YOU, Mr. Snowden for giving freedom another chance.
Verizon will argue that the contract you signed for their services contained fine print that allows them to share your data.
That would make this information voluntarily provided, rather than seized.
And thank God we do.
Otherwise you end up with mindless robots who end up giving their allegaince to the leader, and not to the underlying principles. We are dangerously close to that stage now.
As I see it, as to upholding the oath and ensuring that he did not do things contrary to the constitution, that is precisely what this individual did, he kept his oath to the Constitution and disopbeyed orders he felt violated that oath and told us all about it.
Therefore, in my estimation, it is the people asking him to break THAT OATH who are the traitors. Who are fundamentally violating very specific and clear provisions and amendments to the Constitution because it they think they are smarter and have a higher morality than the people whom they serve.
Kudos to this man for having the strength to stand up to the criminal kabal that has infected our government. God bless and protect him for so doing...and may tens of thousands more stand up and do the same.
BS. That wasn’t his motive.
Good post. :-)
I’ll bet a judge would establish a “reasonable expectation of privacy” standard for how PRISM violated American’s Fourth Amendment Rights.
I’ll stand by for a ruling.
Then, I’ll take to the streets as necessary.
If you sign away your privacy with your phone contract, the judge would be hard put to simply rip that contract up.
Snowden exposed a corrupt government and I’m grateful for him coming forward. He is a very brave person. He only has given us insight of the insane/unconstitutional directives of polices that are occurring from this Obama government. You can’t tell me that Obama’s machine has not already gathered private info on potential candidates that possibly will be used against them. See how the Obama machine went after the Tea Party groups through the IRS. I appreciate the guy speaking out. To me, he’s brave and a hero for liberty.
If his actions bring down this hideous criminal administration, that may turn out to be true.
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