This incredibly brave young man’s story needs to be shared far and wide. 29 year old Edward Snowden, through The Guardian newspaper, went public as the NSA whistleblower yesterday. His revelations last week that the US National Security Agency’s Prism program has direct access to the systems of Google, Facebook, Apple and other internet giants is one of the biggest intelligence leaks in U.S. history. We are all under surveillance all the time, Snowden has revealed. We now know that if any one in power decides to hone in on you, they can go back in time and review all of your internet communications and use any – or all – of it against you. Here’s Snowden himself in conversation with The Guardian in Hong Kong this weekend talking frankly about his decision to put himself at risk for the public good:
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[youtube=http://youtu.be/5yB3n9fu-rM]
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Here’s The Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald discussing the NSA revelations on Democracy Now:
[youtube=http://youtu.be/UWmXNVO15AU]
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More links:
Edward Snowden: The Whistleblower Behind The NSA Surveillance Revelations
NSA Prism Program Taps Into User Data of Apple, Google, and Others
Republicans Call For NSA Whistleblower To Be Extradited
Glenn Greenwald Suggests More Revelations Are Coming
And here in Canada: Data-collection Program Got Green Light From McKay in 2011:
Defence Minister Peter MacKay approved a secret electronic eavesdropping program that scours global telephone records and Internet data trails – including those of Canadians – for patterns of suspicious activity.
Mr. MacKay signed a ministerial directive formally renewing the government’s “metadata” surveillance program on Nov. 21, 2011, according to records obtained by The Globe and Mail. The program had been placed on a lengthy hiatus, according to the documents, after a federal watchdog agency raised concerns that it could lead to warrantless surveillance of Canadians.
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*thanks to fellow climate hawk Doug G for the heads up on this story.*