Chris Carrington
The Daily Sheeple
June 11th, 2013
Snowden who is on record as saying he had:
“an obligation to help free people from oppression”He is being investigated regarding the leaks and the case has been referred to the Department of Justice as a criminal matter.
An online petition on the White House website has so far gotten 30,000 signatures calling for an immediate pardon for Snowden, though sadly, an opinion poll commissioned by the Washington Post reveals that the majority of American Citizens think that this kind of intrusive phone monitoring is acceptable if it is aimed at fighting terrorism.
The implications of Snowdens’ leaks have reverberated around the globe with similar allegations being leveled at GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters) in the UK.
Before fleeing to Hong Kong Snowden said:
“The NSA has built an infrastructure that allows it to intercept almost everything. With this capability, the vast majority of human communications are automatically ingested without targeting. I don’t want to live in a society that does these sorts of things. I do not want to live in a world where everything I say and do is recorded…. We have seen enough criminality on behalf of the government, it is hypocritical to make this allegation against me.”Hong Kong does have an extradition treaty with the US though a standard US visa lasts for 90 days, he is believed to have arrived in Hong Kong on May 20th.
He has recently said that he fears his actions could put him in jail and he is worried about his family and friends being sucked into the affair. His vanishing without warning from the Mira Hotel has concerned those close to him.
On Thursday, the Washington Post and Guardian said the NSA tapped directly into the servers of nine internet firms including Facebook, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo to track online communication in a program known as Prism.
All the internet companies deny giving the US government access to their servers.
Prism is said to give the NSA and FBI access to emails, web chats and other communications directly from the servers of major US internet companies.
Other major US Security Leaks
- Pentagon papers, 1971: Daniel Ellsberg leaks study showing the government had knowledge it was unlikely to win Vietnam war
- Watergate, 1972: Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein reveal extent of cover-up over burglary at Democrat National Committee HQ
- Iran-Contra affair, 1986: Iranian cleric reveals illegal US arms sales to Iran, the proceeds of which are later used to fund Nicaraguan Contras
- Valerie Plame, 2003: Ms Plame is revealed to be an undercover CIA agent, ending her covert career
- Abu Ghraib, 2004: Publication of pictures showing abuse of detainees at Iraq prison by US officials turns initial media reports of abuse into full-blown scandal
- Bradley Manning, 2010: The soldier downloads thousands of classified documents from military servers and hands them over to Wikileaks
Chris Carrington is a writer, researcher and lecturer with a background in science, technology and environmental studies. Chris is an editor for The Daily Sheeple. Wake the flock up!
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BBC
US spy leaker Edward Snowden leaves Hong Kong hotel
Beijing correspondent Damian Grammaticus says China would not want to deal with any extradition of Snowden to the US
An
ex-CIA employee who leaked details of US top-secret phone and internet
surveillance has disappeared from his hotel in Hong Kong.
Edward Snowden, 29, checked out from his hotel on Monday and his whereabouts are unknown, but he is believed to be still in Hong Kong.
Earlier, he said he had an "obligation to help free people from oppression".
His leaks led to revelations that the US is systematically seizing vast amounts of phone and web data.
The programme, known as Prism, is run by the US National Security Agency (NSA).
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence gave details of the programme last week after Mr Snowden's leaks led to a series of articles in the Guardian and Washington Post newspapers.
According to the office's statement, Prism is simply an internal computer system, and not a data-mining programme.
Edward SnowdenI do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded”
However, such data seizures could
break the laws of other countries, and could also break US law if they
accidentally capture communications of US citizens.
Transatlantic fallout
Hong Kong's broadcaster RTHK said Mr Snowden checked out of the Mira hotel in Kowloon on Monday, and Reuters news agency quoted hotel staff as saying that he had left at noon.
Ewen MacAskill, one of the Guardian journalists who broke the story, told the BBC he believed Mr Snowden was still in Hong Kong.
Rory Cellan-Jones reports on what is known about Prism
It is believed the US is pursuing a criminal investigation, but no extradition request has yet been filed.
The Chinese territory has an extradition treaty with the US, although analysts say any attempts to bring Mr Snowden to America may take months and could be blocked by Beijing.
A petition posted on the White House website calling for Mr Snowden's immediate pardon has gathered more than 30,000 signatures.
However, an opinion poll
commissioned by the Washington Post suggests a majority of Americans
think government monitoring of phone records is acceptable if the aim is
to fight terrorism.
Mr Snowden's revelations have led to allegations that the UK's electronic surveillance agency, GCHQ, used the US system to spy on British citizens.
Read Full Article and Watch Videos Here
World media reaction
- The Liberation Daily in China has harsh words for President Obama: "Five years ago, Obama came to power waving an anti-George W Bush banner. Five years later, he is still exactly the same as George W Bush on invasion of privacy issues."
- Russia's Izvestiya compares the revelations to a dystopian novel: "The frightening reality of the 21st Century is that the world has become a house with glass walls, notions of 'personal secrets' and 'confidential information' are turning into fiction before our very eyes."
- India's Tribune is more forgiving: "The 9/11 terrorist attacks have changed the environment where cyber snooping is now defendable, even acceptable."
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Contributed by Chris Carrington of The Daily Sheeple.
Related articles
- Edward Snowden Vanishes From His Hong Kong Hotel Room (fromthetrenchesworldreport.com)
- Manufactured Hero Edward Snowden: Been Staying at Hong Kong's Mira Hotel (willyloman.wordpress.com)
- Edward Snowden missing in Hong Kong (riehlworldview.com)
- BREAKING: US spy leaker Edward Snowden 'missing' in Hong Kong (usahitman.com)
- Edward Snowden Vanishes From His Hong Kong Hotel Room (globalpoliticalawakening.blogspot.com)
- Last Seen in Hong Kong: Edward Snowden Slips Away (world.time.com)
- Edward Snowden Reported "Missing" (joemygod.blogspot.com)
- NSA Whistleblower Edward Snowden 'Disappears' In Hong Kong (hngn.com)
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