This video is called NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: ‘I don’t want to live in a society that does these sort of things’.
From daily The Guardian in Britain:
Edward Snowden voted Guardian person of the year 2013
NSA whistleblower’s victory, for exposing the scale of internet surveillance, follows that of Chelsea Manning last year
Mark Rice-Oxley, Leila Haddou and Frances Perraudin
Monday 9 December 2013 12.44 GMT
For the second year in a row, a young American whistleblower alarmed at the unfettered and at times cynical deployment of power by the world’s foremost superpower has been voted the Guardian‘s person of the year.
Edward Snowden, who leaked an estimated 200,000 files that exposed the extensive and intrusive nature of phone and internet surveillance and intelligence gathering by the US and its western allies, was the overwhelming choice of more than 2,000 people who voted.
The NSA whistleblower garnered 1,445 votes. …
Snowden‘s victory was as decisive as Chelsea Manning’s a year earlier.
It is strange to think now, but a little more than six months ago, virtually no one had heard of Snowden, and few people outside the US would have been able to identify what the initials NSA stood for. Though internet privacy was beginning to emerge as an issue, few people had any idea of the extent to which governments and their secretive auxiliaries were able to trawl, sift, collect and scrutinise the personal digital footprints of millions of private individuals.
All that changed in May when Snowden left Hawaii for Hong Kong, where he met Guardian journalists Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill, and independent film-maker Laura Poitras, and handed over materials that blew the lid on spying technologies, some of which were truly stranger than fiction: a dragnet programme to scoop up digital activities direct from the servers of the biggest US tech companies; a tap on fibreoptic cables to gather huge amounts of data flowing in and out of the UK; a computer program to vacuum up phone records of millions of Americans; a codebreaking effort to crack the encryption system that underpins the safety and security of the internet.
In so doing, Snowden transformed his life, and not for the better. Forced to go on the run, he ended up in Moscow where he now lives in a curious Julian Assange-like limbo, unable to leave Russia for fear of arrest, extradition to the US and a prosecution that would threaten a long jail sentence, if Manning‘s term of 35 years is anything to go by.
It is this personal sacrifice, as much as his revelations, that impressed most readers who voted for him.
“He gave his future for the sake of democratic values, transparency, and freedom,” said Miriam Bergholz. Colin Walker wrote: “We need people like him to have the courage to forget about their own life in the cause of other people’s freedom. Let’s face it, his life is over as even if he goes back to the US he will face decades in prison and the personal sacrifice he has made is immense.” One commenter, identifying themselves as “irememberamerica”, said he voted for Snowden “for his extraordinary and exemplary courage, and the historic value of his daring act. At every step, he has displayed an astonishing integrity and presence of mind. He is a great American and international patriot.”
Snowden writes open letter to Brazil offering to help probe NSA surveillance, mentions need for asylum: here.
Canada’s foreign minister has called on US National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden to surrender to US authorities and face prosecution—action that Baird knows full well could result in Snowden being executed for treason: here.
Related articles
- Edward Snowden to give evidence to EU parliament, says MEP British Conservatives oppose video appearance by NSA whistleblower (theguardian.com)
- Interview: MediaFire on the NSA Leaks, Edward Snowden and StopWatching.Us (news.softpedia.com)
- Why the NSA is Depressed Over Edward Snowden (occupycorporatism.com)
- Edward Snowden: Intelligence agents ‘posed as Orcs in World of Warcraft to monitor terrorists’ (metro.co.uk)
TY for posting!! Reblog!!
LikeLike
Thanks for reblogging! Snowden’s award is well deserved … and so are your blogging awards 🙂
LikeLike
TY my dear friend!! Coming from you .. means a lot to me!! hugs ….
LikeLike
Reblogged this on It Is What It Is and commented:
Snowden …. 2013 Person of the Year … The Guardian!!
LikeLike
Hello. I note that this has been reblogged already by others so I will assume it is okay with you if I do so also.
LikeLike
Yes, it is 🙂 You are welcome to reblog 🙂
LikeLike
Reblogged this on 47whitebuffalo's Blog and commented:
Yeah, the whole NSA spy truth is not nice. It’s not cute. Some folks are suspicious. But there is no denying tht Edward Snowden has changed the world with some very unpleasant truth about NSA. Let’s see, has he lied to millions of people in order to invade other countries and destroy thousands of lives? I haven’t seen a news report of that yet. Let’s see, did Chelsea Manning kill the people in the Collarteral Murder video and LAUGH about it? No. Manning felt compelled to share that reality. Oh and the whole “It’s alll ‘good’ because it’s a war” justification of that killing piece just doesn’t fly. There are rules of engagment. Some folks only apply the rules to the behavior of others and not their own. Yeah, well, I’m not buying that shtick. Whistleblowing is a dangerous business. Just ask Karen Silkwood. Oh, we can’t. She’s dead.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Silkwood
LikeLike
Thanks for your comment!
LikeLike
🙂
LikeLike
http://survivingeachmoment.wordpress.com/ Thank you Edward Snowden. You have eased the curtain.
LikeLike
Snowden is a example of some one having a conscience still in tact, as now revealed, Governments, are operating on a covert level, even against the innocent having no affiliations to crime or political aspirations that are delinquent, increasingly it is noted Governments are neither telling the truth nor have they the best interests of the general public and on the contrary are working against the well being of the same.
Other than their own interests and their immediate family as a secondary consideration, that is to assist them in their first consideration, Me.
LikeLike
Pingback: Stop spying on us, writers say | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: NSA spying scandals update | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Nelson Mandela, Obama and dictators | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: NSA spying is unconstitutional, United States judge says | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Pussy Riot, Greenpeace activists get amnesty | Dear Kitty. Some blog
If you watch news on Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org –today, December 19, 2013– Mr. Snowden gets some vindication regarding things NSA. Hi.
LikeLike
Indeed, many people in the USA and elsewhere think that Edward Snowden should get a reward, instead of the persecution which he has now.
LikeLike
Pingback: NSA economic and political espionage | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Edward Snowden’s Christmas message | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Internet founder supports Edward Snowden’s Christmas message | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Edward Snowden ‘Person of the Year’ of Israeli publication | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: United States NSA spying, new Snowden revelations | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: ‘NSA, GCHQ spying is illegal’ | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Edward Snowden joins Freedom of the Press Foundation | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Edward Snowden’s life threatened by United States spies | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Edward Snowden deserves Nobel Peace Prize, Norwegian MP’s say | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: NSA scandal continues with attacks on Snowden | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: NSA spying, Edward Snowden and the European Parliament | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Snowden’s spying revelations win Pulitzer Prize | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Tim Berners-Lee wins computer award, supports cyberspace privacy | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Microsoft blames NSA for Wannacry ransomware scandal | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: Whistleblower Chelsea Manning freed, worldwide celebrations | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British artist Sarah Lynn Mayhew’s tribute to Edward Snowden | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: British, Dutch governments spying on citizens | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Pingback: New Facebook privacy scandal | Dear Kitty. Some blog