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Resistance See other Resistance Articles Title: Exiled US Whistleblower Edward Snowden Answers Your Questions sputnik... NSA leaker Edward Snowden appears on a live video feed broadcast from Moscow at an event sponsored by the ACLU Hawaii in Honolulu Ahead of a screening of the Oscar-winning documentary, Citizenfour, which chronicled his life, famed National Security Agency contractor-turned-whistleblower Edward Snowden will conduct a live Q & A. Since revealing the extent of the NSA’s domestic spying apparatus — as well as that of other global agencies — in 2013, Edward Snowden has been living in exile in Russia, avoiding criminal charges in the United States. The film is being screened by Amnesty International UK, which has struggled tirelessly to grant Snowden a reprieve for his role in exposing human rights abuses. Hunted by Western governments, but admired by privacy activists, Snowden has been a leading figure in the fight for government transparency and digital rights. "I have applied for asylum in 21 countries across the world. And I have more hope today than ever before." "Life is good," Snowden says. O'Carroll tells Snowden that, in addition to questions for this event, they've received dozens of notes thanking the whistleblower for what he's done. "All I can say is thank you," he responds. David Cameron is within the NSA's surveillance targets, along with everyone else, Snowden says. The restrictions that the US and UK put in place to protect each other from the reach of surveillance were not bound by law, the whistleblower says. If the NSA considers something to be within the interests of national security, they're happy to breach agreements about the limitations of spying, Snowden says. "That sounds like a great friendship," comments Tanya O'Carroll, Amnesty International's adviser on technology and human rights. "You have to recognize these aren't public safety programs. These are spying programs." Thanks to advances in technology, Snowden says, we can assert our rights in ways we've never been able to before. When you stop caring about basic fundamental privacy, Snowden says, you're shifting the balance of democracy "Rather than being partner to government," he says, "we become subjects to it." And from there, he argues, it's very difficult to go back. There can be no revolutionary movement when the government knows everything you're doing. "We cannot give up the foundation of all rights. And that's what privacy really is." "Regardless of whether you've done anything wrong or not," Snowden says, when the government is watching everything you do, they can find something to pin you with. Snowden: The government isn't just watching the 'bad guys.' It's everyone whose opinion might be different from the status quo. And "we have a proven history in the United States that these programs are ineffective" in preventing attacks on civilians. "When you collect everything, you understand nothing." Snowden: Even the surveillance systems that are operating in the UK are designed by the NSA in the United States The whistleblower reminds us that every communication we engage in is being monitored. There is an argument, he says, that it's harmless. It's just metadata. But the US drone program, he points out, is based on metadata. "It's killing people," he stresses. The top lawyer of the NSA, Snowden says, told us that "if you have enough metadata, you don't need content." It's a proxy for data, and with it, the government can reconstruct all the details about a person's life. 22:05 Snowden: What do you think we can do to change the cycle of government secrecy? The whistleblower turned the "million dollar question" around to the hosts of the Q&A event. Eric King, deputy director of Privacy International, says "We're fighting a really really long fight here." But "we shouldn't be disheartened by this. It's a sign that now, we have an opportunity to do something about this." New legislation in the UK, he says, is an essential first step. Snowden: Most of the UK media has not decided to tell the public the truth about British surveillance Rather than doing that, they're simply calling the government and asking them, and then reporting on what they say, Snowden says. The UK government, he says, is not doing their job. "Rather than preserving civil liberties," he says, "they're trying to limit it." Question for Snowden: What do you mean that "GCHQ - they're the worst"? Snowden: "Why is the UK government so secretive?" They would argue that if the public knew about surveillance programs, terrorist attacks would occur, Snowden says. But that's hiding the main issue. "What they actually feared from public disclosures was 'a damaging public debate,'" he says. Snowden says, now that we know about bulk NSA collection of data, the public has changed its attitudes towards mass surveillance. The victory that this change represents, the rejection of this law by the legislature - it's not about the law at all, Snowden says. It's about the fact that, despite the reality that this program was deemed ineffective, the government argued that it should remain. "We've found that facts are more persuasive than fear." 21:53 Snowden: "The government decided to start making decisions for us." The famed whistleblower says transparency is essential. Protection, he says, is a far cry from protecting civil privacy. 21:50 Snowden begins speaking with supporters in London Responding to the question of whether "it's been worth it, looking back," Snowden says that despite his personal hardship, the things we've all benefited from publicly "makes it all worth it. –+ "I have applied for asylum in 21 countries across the world. And I have more hope today than ever before." David Cameron is within the NSA's surveillance targets, along with everyone else, Snowden says. "You have to recognize these aren't public safety programs. These are spying programs." 22:19 When you stop caring about basic fundamental privacy, Snowden says, you're shifting the balance of democracy 22:17 "Regardless of whether you've done anything wrong or not," Snowden says, when the government is watching everything you do, they can find something to pin you with. Snowden: The government isn't just watching the 'bad guys.' It's everyone whose opinion might be different from the status quo. Snowden: Even the surveillance systems that are operating in the UK are designed by the NSA in the United States 22:05 Snowden: What do you think we can do to change the cycle of government secrecy? Snowden: Most of the UK media has not decided to tell the public the truth about British surveillance 22:00 Question for Snowden: What do you mean that "GCHQ - they're the worst"? Snowden says, now that we know about bulk NSA collection of data, the public has changed its attitudes towards mass surveillance. Snowden: "The government decided to start making decisions for us." 60 Related: No Fair Trial for Snowden If US Pursues 'Political Biases' - Lawyer Apple Co-Founder Wozniak: Edward Snowden Gave Up His Life for His Country Osama Bin Laden’s Death: Snowden's Documents Reveal New Facts Snowden to Australians: You’re Being Watched Under Data Retention Laws Tags: government surveillance, domestic surveillance, digital surveillance, Citizenfour, National Security Agency (NSA), Laura Poitras, Edward Snowden, United States Read more: sputniknews.com/us/201506...868906.html#ixzz3bw8FXOxI Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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