Spynet, Deconstructing Edward Snowden, the Last Patriot

Yesterday, the UK's Guardian broke the story that a 29 year old government contractor, Edward Snowden, was the man who snitched off the National Security Agencys' version of Spynet.

http://news.yahoo.com/nsa-contractor-risks-steep-jail-time-data-leak-102058950.html

His resume looks like a history of failure. High school dropout, college dropout, security guard, and then Information Technology whiz kid making 200k a year. I actually like that resume. That's a resume of a patriot. A kid who made the most of what he had by thumbing his nose at the credentials offered by Ivy league schools for a king's ransom.

The government can't make a wage slave out of you if you don't buy into the school mortgage theory.

Maybe, just maybe...Snowden is who he says he is.

A patriot.

This is what Spynet and the NSA can do.

Both papers have published a series of top-secret documents outlining two NSA surveillance programs. One gathers hundreds of millions of U.S. phone records while searching for possible links to known terrorist targets abroad, and the second allows the government to tap into nine U.S. Internet companies to gather all Internet usage to detect suspicious behavior that begins overseas.

As if on cue and perfectly predictable, the government is in full damage control with President Bush President Obama defending the wide sweeping and electronic eavesdropping capability of Spynet anywhere in the world. This is what Snowden says of it's capabilities;

     "Any analyst at any time can target anyone. Any selector. Anywhere," Snowden said in a video on the Guardian's website. "I, sitting at my desk, had the authority to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge to even the president if I had a personal email."

The avalanche of speculation has begun. You want to know the best part??

Nobody can figure out what Snowden's motive is. Is he a spy, did he do it for China, money, fame, is he off his meds?

You see in the jaded, cynical world that we currently live in- the possibility that someone did this as a patriotic act is so far removed from the self absorbed reasoning of Americans that it is seemingly impossible. Why would a guy do such a thing?

Here is the Guardian blog- they are posting developments as they happen. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/blog/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-revealed-as-nsa-whistleblower-reaction-live

You can bet your ass that big brother is going to turn every possible stone until they come up with a narrative that is plausible. They'll want to make an example out of this guy. And you can damn sure bet that nobody in this administration is going to use the words "Snowden" and "patriot" in the same sentence. Their job this week, will be to vilify Snowden while flexing every muscle they have.

Oddly enough, Snowden is asking for asylum in Iceland. You remember Iceland don't you? The only government in the world that stuck a middle finger in the face of central bankers and is doing quite nicely right now with no giant debt pile to contend with.

My name is Edward Snowden. I am not hiding from you. I snitched off Spynet so fuck you. I will risk a life, maybe even death sentence, to be a patriot.

*Update. Found this fascinating bit of info after I posted. http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3036789/ns/msnbc-morning_joe/vp/52...

Two key point Greenwald makes here:

1. When NSA defenders argue that Congress knew about the extent to which they've expanded the surveillance state and therefore there's no need for the public to be concerned since this has all been vetted, they are withholding the fact that those Congressman who did know were precluded from saying anything about it. Two senators who did know and WERE concerned - Wyden and Udall - could only hint at the abuse.

2. Those saying that these abuses have met court challenges neglect to mention that the Obama justice department has successfully challenged on the basis that the entities bringing the challenges have no standing. There has been NO court determination as to the constitutionality of this overreach. The NSA claims that since it's all top secret, they can't tell you who is being or has been monitored, so it's impossible for ANYONE, EVER, to have standing.

Edward Snowden is my kind of guy. Big, giant balls. A patriot. Gawd I hope so, this country could use a hero.