Monday, June 10, 2013

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden speaks out


Edward Snowden, the 29-year-old former technical assistant for the CIA who currently works for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, revealed his identity and spoke out about why he leaked information about the NSA surveillance state in the U.S. in an interview and video released yesterday.

In a Q and A, Snowden says he fears for his partner:

"My family does not know what is happening … My primary fear is that they will come after my family, my friends, my partner. Anyone I have a relationship with … I will have to live with that for the rest of my life. I am not going to be able to communicate with them. They [the authorities] will act aggressively against anyone who has known me. That keeps me up at night." 

The Guardian reports:

Snowden will go down in history as one of America's most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world's most secretive organisations – the NSA.

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: "I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

(source)

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