Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance

what if this has all been set up as cia/nsa op to get some kind of action/reaction in china....

seriously, though most of us here are really not THAT surprised to hear this was going on here. sure its nice to hear the truth, it still acts a double edged sword, disclosure here in the states and "shazam" high profile cia op in china...or at least a proxy of it...

its the info that has come out about his house and how its completely empty now, not a "quick i need to leave the country" empty but more like a "ok im moving now" empty, there is even a real estate sign out in front...if the cia/nsa truly felt they had a "traitor" that whole property would be locked down....wouldnt it?

on second thought maybe i just need sleep...

Operation PRISM is more proof of what another great hero of our nation revealed, that WWIII started the day after WWII. William Cooper in Silent Weapons for Secret Wars disclosed to all of us conspiracy theory community that the last battle field is for your mind. The final frontier. They wage war from all side. music industry, movie industry, military industrial complex, drugs, school system etc. On all fronts they attack us. On all mediums must they gather intel on us. Bill used to have an office up the street from where I lived. Although many on ATS see him completely different than I, I know he was a true Patriot trying to reveal the Truth of those that are in power. The Elite that would see us a sheep ready to be sacrificed on the abbattior for their gain.

So where does the answer lay on how to defeat the 1% ? It is held in UNITY. If we unite against them we can bring this country to a stand still and collapse the entire system until we can tear it down and build it how we see fit. The 1,000 people in power cannot control us and they fear our uniting against them. Edward Snowden just started the New American Revolution. May the Great Spirit assist and Enlighten Edward Snowden, Protect him and keep him safe.

Hong Kong activists plan rally in support of Edward Snowden

Eleven organisations plan to stage march to oppose extradition to the US of former CIA employee behind NSA spying claims

Snowden, whose identity was revealed by the Guardian on Sunday, arrived in Hong Kong on 20 May and spent three weeks holed up in a luxury hotel before checking out on Monday afternoon. Snowden's location is unknown, but he is widely thought to still be in the city. Hong Kong, a city of 7 million people, is technically a part of China but maintains an independent judiciary, media and education system. The territory has an extradition agreement with the US, but it can offer protection for fugitives who face political persecution or torture at home.

A group of 11 local organisations, many of them human rights NGOs, plans to hold the rally at 3pm on Saturday, according to a press release posted online on Wednesday afternoon. "We call on Hong Kong to respect international legal standards and procedures relating to the protection of Snowden; we condemn the US government for violating our rights and privacy; and we call on the US not to prosecute Snowden," it said.

www.guardian.co.uk...

sorta funny that there is more reaction from other countries about the spying than there is in america....have americans become sooo numb to govt spying that they just dont care anymore? it would seem that way..most friends that i have talked to about this have the reaction 'well, of course they are'..i like to remind them that if that is what they believe, then they are wacko conspiracy people because before a few days ago..it was all just assumptions and conspiracy.

with the apathy shown by most americans, i would say the govt has already won, the people just dont know it yet

Originally posted by clearmind
sorta funny that there is more reaction from other countries about the spying than there is in america....have americans become sooo numb to govt spying that they just dont care anymore? it would seem that way..most friends that i have talked to about this have the reaction 'well, of course they are'..i like to remind them that if that is what they believe, then they are wacko conspiracy people because before a few days ago..it was all just assumptions and conspiracy.

with the apathy shown by most americans, i would say the govt has already won, the people just dont know it yet

Most Americans are so wrapped up in the sports and entertainment worlds to realize what is happening. Also, they have bought into the idea that "if you don't have anything to hide, what is wrong with it" to understand the nature of liberty. Those of us who are tapped into current events, both via mainstream news sources and alternative, are not surprised in the revelation of these governmental activities.

Originally posted by xavi1000
Hong Kong activists plan rally in support of Edward Snowden

Eleven organisations plan to stage march to oppose extradition to the US of former CIA employee behind NSA spying claims

Snowden, whose identity was revealed by the Guardian on Sunday, arrived in Hong Kong on 20 May and spent three weeks holed up in a luxury hotel before checking out on Monday afternoon. Snowden's location is unknown, but he is widely thought to still be in the city. Hong Kong, a city of 7 million people, is technically a part of China but maintains an independent judiciary, media and education system. The territory has an extradition agreement with the US, but it can offer protection for fugitives who face political persecution or torture at home.

A group of 11 local organisations, many of them human rights NGOs, plans to hold the rally at 3pm on Saturday, according to a press release posted online on Wednesday afternoon. "We call on Hong Kong to respect international legal standards and procedures relating to the protection of Snowden; we condemn the US government for violating our rights and privacy; and we call on the US not to prosecute Snowden," it said.

www.guardian.co.uk...

This is interesting aint it...What now a "Chinese arab spring", when the protests get tear gassed etc...Its well known that holding rally's and demos, achieve nothing eg Occupy Wallstreet and the predictability of a G8 protest..It's like the Starbucks generation, protesting in itself is directed by the mainstream, well organised and passif. Protest movements are used as an outlet for the left and are a method to allow people to blow off steam "safely"...Its a release valve. because if there was no release for some people there would be a real and substantial build up of anger and you would get Greek style rioting..

Of course we all suspect now, that any protests that turn into riots would be deemed as terrorism and caput..martial law. So people in the states certainly know the only way to vent is through useless protesting, but it might make some people feel good about themselves...a bit like throwing a dollar into the charity box...most of it goes straight to the running of the NGO and the CEO who runs it, the rest gets creamed off by corruption, and a century later we still will have starving children....You cant get really angry or else its martial law and you cant vote for a better government...So its apathy or suicide..Sounds like were all already deep in it.

Originally posted by Thiaoouba Prophecy
Operation PRISM is more proof of what another great hero of our nation revealed, that WWIII started the day after WWII. William Cooper in Silent Weapons for Secret Wars disclosed to all of us conspiracy theory community that the last battle field is for your mind. The final frontier. They wage war from all side. music industry, movie industry, military industrial complex, drugs, school system etc. On all fronts they attack us. On all mediums must they gather intel on us. Bill used to have an office up the street from where I lived. Although many on ATS see him completely different than I, I know he was a true Patriot trying to reveal the Truth of those that are in power. The Elite that would see us a sheep ready to be sacrificed on the abbattior for their gain.

So where does the answer lay on how to defeat the 1% ? It is held in UNITY. If we unite against them we can bring this country to a stand still and collapse the entire system until we can tear it down and build it how we see fit. The 1,000 people in power cannot control us and they fear our uniting against them. Edward Snowden just started the New American Revolution. May the Great Spirit assist and Enlighten Edward Snowden, Protect him and keep him safe.

Thats all well and good, but to me it's wishful thinking. First off, if you are able to get a significant group of people together who share a common goal for peaceful change (and im not talking about a few thousand in atypical protest group), you will be flagged up immediately as an agitator and more than likely worse than that, a terrorist. Because as you know now for 100% sure, the US gov track everything online and especially sites like this, where some people hold revolutionary views...Just for the record Im not one of them mr NSA man...as I know it would be beyond futile and at any rate I dont fancy my chances in the lawless anarchy, of the aftermath either.

Secondly if somehow you manage to assemble a significant protest group, to peacefully protest, you will be met with police in RIOT GEAR. It's been shown repeatedly that the US has no time for any group that has significant numbers who gather in public (the key words being "significant numbers", but these significant numbers are not too significant than to be easily containable numbers)...and it's not just the US its Europe too, but most notably the US, where the cops pepper spray people sitting on the ground etc.

the black community proposed a million man march some years ago and it was a flop (apathy once again)..but they had the right idea. If you can assemble really huge numbers of people in peaceful protest then the government have to bow down to the people and not vice verse..but as i said attempts to amass a million man march were a flop and today you would need at least a million people to show up to get any changes.. That's the depressing thing, unless you own a mainstream media outlet your not going to be able to form a significant united front...any attempts to do so online will be tracked and shut down or infiltrated and perverted and then shut down.

If all the people who think this PRISM is an invasion of basic privacy actually marched on Washington, you would be talking about millions of people...even if the majority are too dumbed down, millions together just standing there, doing nothing, just standing, making it clear they are unified...it would make huge changes...but it wont happen. but if it did happen, the media would also have to bow down to the public, the police would have to back off because there wouldn't be enough police to disperse a huge number.


Oh I just thought of something...if a huge massing of millions of people did take place on Washington...with peaceful standing still...then there would probably be a false flag terrorist attack...to cause mass panic and ..martial law ...In other words the states seem well sewn up...I honestly cant think of anything other to advice people who value freedom and privacy to get out whilst the going is good...Because it all seems inevitable, the full implementation of the police state. I could be wrong and hope i am...but It doesn't look like it.

reply to post by DiscreteParticle
My father had a top security clearance during the Cold War. I never knew this until over fifty years after he got the clearance, and at least 10 years after his death. A top security clearance use to mean that you didn't have so much as a speeding ticket on your record. Working for the intelligence community use to mean that you had a genius level IQ, and that you spoke foreign languages fluently. My dad was in the branch formerly known as the OSI/OSS. Secretary of Defense James Forrestal was my father's boss. Forrestal started Special Forces and Strategic Air Command (SAC). During those days the intelligence community was compact and thus more secure. The FBI did internal investigations, and the CIA did external investigations....end of subject. My dad always told me that "3 people can keep a secret if two of them are dead." I didn't know what he meant at that time. The newspaper in my state gave an estimate of almost a half a million people with a top security clearance. That is ridiculous! I can perhaps see giving that many people some sort of clearance, but not all of them. What is the old saying? "It's on a need to know basis, and most people don't need to know!" Back in the good old days the government took each member of SAC, special forces, the OSI, and the OSS and questioned even their grade school teachers to make sure that they had never joined any questionable groups, parties, or that they had not written anything against the United States. During WWII from what I have read, we had many spies from Germany that looked like us, and had much training in sabotage. The spies sent over here also spoke English fluently. They were hard to spot, and most crafty. Our intelligence community was hand picked, and tested repeatedly to make sure that they didn't tell their family, kids, or neighbors anything including what they did for a living, or where they were going. We had doctors that agreed not to practice medicine in civilian life so that no one would be aware that they were in the OSS/OSI. We had engineers that agreed not to practice engineering in civilian life so that no one would be the wiser. This was also true with our communications, and weapons experts. They picked low ranking officers who were career military men, and had proven themselves in battle so that things like this leak did not occur. It was made very clear to this group of specialists that failure to keep their mouth shut meant that they didn't have a long life expectancy, or that they would spend life in prison. These were very dedicated men who basically gave up all of their personal life in service of their country. They did not share anything about themselves even with their family. They were for lack of better words.....Married to military. Why on Earth did these qualifications not get passed down to the next generation of intelligence people? I cannot believe that a Private First Class has a top security clearance, nor can I believe that a high school drop out has a top security clearance. Whoever gave these people their clearance needs to be booted out of the program because they aren't intelligent enough to work for the intelligence community. What were they thinking?

Hmmm - I wonder if Snowden was a member of ATS -

Washington: While working for US intelligence agencies, Edward Snowden had another secret identity: an online commentator who anonymously railed against citizen surveillance and corporate greed.

www.ndtv.com...

reply to post by IAmbivalenceI

Whoever gave these people their clearance needs to be booted out of the program because they aren't intelligent enough to work for the intelligence community. What were they thinking?

I think it's the natural evolution when groups (government) get too big and ambitious. With so much electronic communication, they especially love computer geeks.

reply to post by IAmbivalenceI


Well, while it's true I was told "if you have a GED, it just shows you're a quitter" more than once, one guy I see as a sort of bizarre yet shining example of what you can do never got his bachelors, told DSS to go fark themselves on his EPSQ and yet has more clearance than John the Baptist: Skunk Baxter.

Skunk is THE Master of the Universe. His compartment is wider than Chuck Norris'. He's got more clearance than the deputy assistant secretary of state.

Kind of OT, but in the same vibe...

Surveillance perhaps has a place...."in case there is a crime", this is a common justification. The public finances it. The public also owns the government, the ones who put the cameras and wiretaps in place to invade our privacy.

So, since they are OUR cameras, every one that is paid for by taxpayers should be available online for everyone. Seems fair and functional.

I would take it one step further, put "the people's" cameras inside every govt office, police station etc. Right? Aren't these type of places ones where crimes are committed?

Kind of like that quote from Peep Show Jeremy, "they don't like it when you turn the spotlight back onto the spotlight operators, do they?".

reply to post by DistantThunder

cameras inside every govt office

That's my favorite - the one's who really NEED watching.

He did what he set out to do, defended the constitution and made us aware of what was going on. Everything else is irrelevant.

Has any new information come to light yet?

Originally posted by vivid1975
Has any new information come to light yet?

www.guardian.co.uk...

www.guardian.co.uk...

What do you want more? Aliens ?

Originally posted by Thiaoouba Prophecy
Edward Snowden just started the New American Revolution. May the Great Spirit assist and Enlighten Edward Snowden, Protect him and keep him safe.

Really?

You have brainwashed for the Govt people and you have brainwashed against the Govt people.. Seems to me you fall in the second category.

You sound like one of the fangirls that fall in love with serial killers. Before anyone gets their 2 Amendment panties in a bunch I am not claiming that Snowden is anything close to a serial killer.. A criminal yes but still by all outward appearances a patriotic criminal. That being said.. The fact that people are that willing to blindly follow anyone is disconcerting to me. It's no less dangerous a mentality then someone that thinks the Govt is always right.

I tip my hat to Edward Snowden, he's a true patriot. And I am so glad Hong Kong appears to be welcoming him there.

Bottom line. If the NSA's PRISM was effective then the Boston Marathon would have been safe. It failed. Lives were lost. They didn't protect us. Period. Yet they want private data on law abiding citizens. I see no logic there. I have nothing to hide. Yet my concern is with the fact that private data is in the hands of deceptive/dishonest people who are comfortably sleeping at night after they willingly violate the privacy of law abiding citizens. Very reckless. And even worse, they failed to keep Boston safe. I can't get past that.

I do not blame Edward Snowden for speaking up. Not one bit.

What scares me is how little attention this has received. It's as if we are desensitized and expect this from the government. And also, feels like the media is throwing in a little character assassination on Edward Snowden, make him less believable. Sad if this happens.

I read somewhere that the president wishes for us to trust the government. If the government worked to serve and protect, I could trust. But their agenda is not in line with the people. Besides, I remember how much help they were in the days after Katrina hit New Orleans. Would take a long time for me to trust again.

That's all I had to say for now before coffee (reading above comments). Still wrapping my head around this, wondering what to think.

reply to post by RidgeWalker


I don't know about that. The other night I took my kids out to dinner at a nearby restaurant. We were playing "name the capitol" when I overheard the people sitting in the table next to ours talking about Snowden and the NSA surveillance. In fact, the man that was speaking the loudest had the opinion that Snowden was a young fool and stated that Snowden should have made the disclosures anonymously because now his life is forfeit (which I thought was interesting in that it also implied that the individual making the statement also held the belief that those who revealed government secrets were subject to death without trial). This occurred on Wednesday evening after the number of stories was beginning to decline. What are the odds of my randomly overhearing that particular conversation in the middle of a restaurant? If it wasn't something that disturbed a good number of people, then the odds would be extremely low. The fact that I did implies that a good portion of the population are disturbed by the revelations as the random occurrence of a specific event would increase as the number of the population interested in the subject increases.

I would say don't judge what people think based on what they are saying/talking about on the net. Considering the disclosures involve what we talk about and do on the net, it makes sense that most people would be extraordinarily reluctant to voice an opinion on the subject through that specific medium.

I barely see posts or others talking about this on facebook, which is odd - everyone usually posts everything under the sun there.

Though, you're right... maybe people are hesitating to talk online and prefer to voice their opinions at dinner tables instead. I personally don't see a risk in posting anywhere because if they missed the Boston incident, then they will probably miss this too. Hopefully it will be a while before they arrest of us for disagreeing with their policies. Eeeks!