AP STORY BREAKING: Guardian Identifies Source of Surveillance Programs as Intel Agency Contractor

[Hissyspit]

@AP: BREAKING: Newspaper identifies source of U.S. surveillance programs as intelligence agency contractor. -MM

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/report-nsa-contract-worker-surveillance-source

REPORT: NSA CONTRACT WORKER IS SURVEILLANCE SOURCE
Jun. 9 2:58 PM EDT
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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Guardian newspaper in London says a 29-year-old American who works as a contractor at the National Security Agency is its source of leaks about the U.S. government's surveillance programs.

The newspaper says it was revealing Edward Snowden's identify at his own request.

Snowden is quoted as saying "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong."

The Guardian says Snowden is now in Hong Kong and that he views his best hope for the future as the possibility of asylum, perhaps in Iceland.

LBN: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014504440

http://m.guardiannews.com/world/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-why

Sunday 9 June 2013 14.27 EDT

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I do not expect to see home again'
Source for the Guardian's NSA files on why he carried out the biggest intelligence leak in a generation – and what comes next
Ewen MacAskill

Edward Snowden was interviewed over several days in Hong Kong by Glenn Greenwald and Ewen MacAskill.

Q: Why did you decide to become a whistleblower?

A: "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. If I wanted to see your emails or your wife's phone, all I have to do is use intercepts. I can get your emails, passwords, phone records, credit cards.

"I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things … I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under."

MORE[p]

[Hissyspit]

1. Kick - Updated with AP Story

[Luminous Animal]

2. K&R

[Hassin Bin Sober]

3. Didn't that guy rape someone?

(added under protest)

[lindysalsagal]

4. "We hack everyone everywhere.~But we are in almost every country in the world."

Q: What about the Obama administration's protests about hacking by China?

A: "We hack everyone everywhere. We like to make a distinction between us and the others. But we are in almost every country in the world. We are not at war with these countries."

That's the one that's going to hurt our reputation and our feelings.

We don't like to see ourselves as the bad guys. We say we believe in freedom, and then we spy on everyone?

That's the real problem: The damage to our self image as a free country.

This is a shout out to the kindly NSA people currently reading this post. I'm a school teacher. If you're coming for me, you've got to arrest just about everyone.

[LittleBlue]

5. He's a hero

Well done!

Let's hope Obama doesn't try to imprison him for life.

[premium]

6. Brave decision for him,

he knows he can never return to the U.S. without threat of imprisonment or worse.

[still_one]

7. Maybe, maybe not. It all depends how you look at it. One view is that he agreed to a job where he

was obligated to maintain secrets working for the NSA, and he violated his job agreement. The other view is that his conscience felt that the violation needs to be exposed.

Either way he is aware he was breaking the law, and should not be surprised if he is extradited or prosecuted.

In fact, I would respect him more if he did return to the U.S. to face the charges.

The other thing that surprises me is why did the Guardian release his name, even if he told them to? They are not obligated to do that?

Little surprised also that he went to China, the one place of course where they "don't spy on their citizens".

As far as his comment that he did nothing wrong, He leaked confidential Classified information to the news media. That's a crime.

[DirkGently]

9. "Worse?" Are you suggesting he could be executed?

Hardly.

[Kablooie]

8. If this is true, this guy may not be around long.

Because I hear the NSA intercepts almost everything so I doubt he'll be able to escape discovery very long and if he's discovered we will hear of some violent attack he made against law enforcers and how they had to kill him in defense.

This is getting pretty bizarre.