Laura Poitras | William Binney

<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/590cy1biewc" width="853"></iframe><br /><br /><div id="posttext" style="text-align: justify;"><a href="http://www.praxisfilms.org/about/laura-poitras" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: x-large;">L</span></a><b><a href="http://www.praxisfilms.org/about/laura-poitras" target="_blank">aura Poitras</a>, a documentary filmmaker who specializes in surveillance, was chosen by Edward Snowden to film his interview in Hong Kong. Above is a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/opinion/the-national-security-agencys-domestic-spying-program.html?_r=0" target="_blank">short documentary she made for The New York Times Op-Ed page in August</a> about William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the National Security Agency turned whistle-blower. </b><br /><br />Binney explains how the program he created for foreign intelligence gathering was turned inward on the United States of America. He is among a group of N.S.A. whistle-blowers, including Thomas A. Drake, who have each risked everything—their freedom, livelihoods and personal relationships--to warn Americans about the dangers of N.S.A. domestic spying. </div>

Laura Poitras | William Binney

Laura Poitras, a documentary filmmaker who specializes in surveillance, was chosen by Edward Snowden to film his interview in Hong Kong. Above is a short documentary she made for The New York Times Op-Ed page in August about William Binney, a 32-year veteran of the National Security Agency turned wh…

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Edward Snowden Allows Everyone To Decide How Much Liberty They Want

<div id="posttext" style="text-align: justify;"><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="font-size: large;">Definition of patriot: “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.”</span> ~<a href="http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/american_english/patriot" target="_blank">The Oxford English Dictionary</a></blockquote><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">D</span><b>o patriots defend and support agencies of their government who are knowingly lying to the citizenry or do they expose the lies and the agencies that are untruthful? Are government agencies that are lying to the citizens, an enemy of the people? </b><br /><br />The revelations of Edward Snowden expose the lie which is being touted by certain members of Congress and government that the American people have both privacy and security. Probably most individuals are willing to give up some privacy for added security but Snowden has shown that the government expects you to surrender all privacy in your online world only they will not tell you that.<br /><br />We are currently engaged in a silent civil war where sections of government are removing hard fought liberties from its constituency. Speaking during another Civil War, President Lincoln mentioned “a new nation, conceived in Liberty” and “this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” But a government “of the people” and “by the people” is very much in danger of perishing as well as the freedom of those people.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=10,0,0,0" height="245" id="msnbc319390" width="420"><param name="movie" value="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" /><param name="FlashVars" value="launch=52161213&width=420&height=245" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed name="msnbc319390" src="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32545640" width="420" height="245" FlashVars="launch=52161213&width=420&height=245" allowscriptaccess="always" allowFullScreen="true" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.adobe.com/shockwave/download/download.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object></div><p></P>Edward Snowden has reminded “the people” that their government is meant to be of, by and for them. There was a time when “the people” decided what they wanted and they authorized representatives in Congress and other branches of government to put those desires into action. Today, those representatives of “the people” appear to have forgotten that they are only authorized to represent “the people.” Instead, those representatives are acting as if they have the power that only “the people” have in a government that is truly “of the people, by the people, for the people.” <p></P>Much ink will be spilled and many words uttered over the next few days regarding the secrets released by Edward Snowden. By making confidential documents public, Snowden has used his power to not made us less secure but has to give “the people” a limited security clearance to see information that was hidden from them and which can now aide them in the security/privacy discussion. <p></P>A famous terrorist is said to have exclaimed “Give me liberty, or give me death!” in a speech to the Virginia Convention at St. John’s Church in Richmond, Virginia (perhaps security was not an issue in his day). “The people” now have an opportunity to reassess how much liberty they want to give up. They can decide and let their representatives know their determination. “The people” can decide. A recent president declared that he was the decider. Snowden has reminded us that it is we who are the deciders. <b><i>~Ed Long</i></b></div>

Edward Snowden Allows Everyone To Decide How Much Liberty They Want

Definition of patriot: “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it against enemies or detractors.” ~The Oxford English DictionaryDo patriots defend and support agencies of their government who are knowingly lying to the citizenry or do they expose the lies and the ag…

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Edward Snowden Went Public On His Own Terms

<script type='text/javascript' src='http://KHNL.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=753957;hostDomain=www.hawaiinewsnow.com;playerWidth=853;playerHeight=480;isShowIcon=true;clipId=8974559;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=News;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=false;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=overlay'></script><br /><br /><div id="posttext" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/edward-snowden-media-genius-2013-6?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+businessinsider+%28Business+Insider%29" target="blank">Business Insider</a></b></span><br />Henry Blodget <br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-large;">E</span><b>dward Snowden is a public relations genius.</b><br /><br />When he decided to leak top-secret National Security Agency documents to the media, Snowden knew he was taking a big risk of spending a good chunk of time in prison — but Snowden felt passionately enough about his cause that he was willing to risk this.<br /><br />And Snowden also appears to have been smart enough to realize that a leak of this magnitude would likely lead to his being “outed” at some point, regardless of how careful he was.<br /><br />And he was also presumably smart enough to realize that if his identity was ever discovered, the process of being introduced to the public as a “traitor” and “felon” (presumably in cuffs, during a perp walk) would likely color how the public perceived him and his actions. Snowden would likely have been forced to make any public statements from a jail cell, in a jumpsuit, with nervous attorneys sweating every word, so he would not likely have been able to say much if anything to turn this public perception around. And he certainly would not have been able to make an extensive, careful case for why he did why he did, and what the government is doing, with so much time and control.<br /><br /><span style="color: black; display: inline; float: left; font-family: museo-1,museo-2,helvetica; font-size: 32px; font-weight: 300; letter-spacing: -0.04em; line-height: 1em; margin: 30px 30px 30px -125px ! important; text-align: right; width: 295px;"><br />Snowden is already being hailed as a “national hero” in many quarters.</span>In other words, Snowden appears to have been smart enough to realize that, if he waited around to be found out, he would be treated like Bradley Manning — the Army private who was hustled out of public view and thrown in solitary confinement for months after being charged with leaking documents to Wikileaks.<br /><br />So instead of living in fear and awaiting that fate, Snowden took matters into his own hands.<br /><br />He went public on his own terms.<br /><br />He presented himself to the world as a courageous, well-intentioned, brave, and principled young man.<br /><br />He placed an image in everyone's mind of Edward Snowden as well-dressed, articulate, and free, a man in full control, a David standing up to Goliath, a man ready to accept the consequences of his actions. And he got a chance to make his full case against the government before the government got to dictate the terms of the engagement or say anything in response.<br /><br />And, at least so far, this decision worked!<br /><br />Snowden is already being hailed as a "national hero" in many quarters.<br /><br />A petition to “pardon” Snowden before he has even been apprehended and charged with anything has already received nearly 10,000 signatures. In a poll we have conducted this morning, fully two-thirds of Business Insider readers view Snowden as a "hero." Only 15%, meanwhile, view him as a traitor. (~20% haven't made up their minds.)<br /><br />That's not bad for a 29 year-old contractor who easily could be painted as a selfish traitor and appears to be responsible for one of the biggest U.S. intelligence breaches in history.</div>

Edward Snowden Went Public On His Own Terms

Business InsiderHenry Blodget Edward Snowden is a public relations genius.When he decided to leak top-secret National Security Agency documents to the media, Snowden knew he was taking a big risk of spending a good chunk of time in prison — but Snowden felt passionately enough about his cause that h…

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