The attacks on Edward Snowden have increased today. CNN’s Jeff Toobin who previously denounced Snowden as a “clown” has added that he is a “a grandiose narcissist who deserves to be in prison”. In the meantime, Senator Dianne Feinstein and House Speaker John Boehner have denounced Snowden as a “traitor.” Other media organizations have barred their reporters from referring to him as a “whistleblower” in what has become a deluge of negative stereotyping of Snowden -even before we know the whole story. Indeed, the attacks began with folks like Toobin almost immediately after he came forward.
Once again, I am not saying that Snowden does not have to answer for any crimes, but the effort to portray him as a craven traitor is a bit too much too early in this story.
In Toobin’s case, it is worth noting that he has also belittled the objections to the massive surveillance program — the same position taken by Democrats and the White House. He has explained his view of those programs, which I disagree with but respect. However, for Toobin to call a man a “grandiose narcissist” is bizarre. As noted yesterday, this is a man who threw his life away to reveal what he believed to be an abusive surveillance program (as to many other citizens). This is one of the most narcissistic towns on Earth and its leading denizens in politics and the media often seem uncomfortable with people who are willing to throw away their lives on principle. It is the type of self-sacrifice that they would never consider in their own lives. We have many principled and honest people living in this town. However this is also a town with an abnormally high number of sycophants, self-promoters, adulterers and the rest. In other words, narcissists. It is not surprising that so many would find an individual like Snowden hard to understand or dangerous.
The labeling of Snowden as a traitor will only increase the likelihood that he will flee to another country. This individual and story is clearly more complex than dismissing him as a “clown” or “traitor.” He insists that he revealed this information protect the public and privacy. That is not the motivation of a traitor.
As for the refusal to call him a whistleblower, it seems part of the full court press to demonize Snowden or prevent favorable references to him. [It brings to mind the successful effort to convince media to call waterboarding “enhanced interrogation” in the media rather than “torture” as it has long been defined by courts] Snowden is a whistleblower in my mind. It is true that the Administration can argue that these programs were lawful to the Supreme Court’s precedent stripping pen registers of full constitutional protection in Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735 (1979). Many of us disagree with that ruling, but this is a new application of the precedent. While the government has long sought the information for individuals, the Administration is essentially issuing a national security letter against the entire population. Moreover, it does appear that violations have occurred in these programs.
Putting aside the legality issue, whistleblowers are defined more probably by public interest organizations. For example, The Government Accountability Project, a leading nonprofit handling whistleblowers, defines the term as “an employee who discloses information that s/he reasonably believes is evidence of illegality, gross waste or fraud, mismanagement, abuse of power, general wrongdoing, or a substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. Typically, whistleblowers speak out to parties that can influence and rectify the situation. These parties include the media, organizational managers, hotlines, or Congressional members/staff, to name a few.”
Snowden clearly fits that more common definition of whistleblower, even if the government contests the application of statutory protections. Many can legitimately question Snowden’s chosen means for objecting to this program. However, the hostile and dismissive treatment by the establishment reflects an obvious fear of the implications of this scandal. Even US Sen. Al Franken (D, Minn.) has tried to stamp out the outcry by insisting that he was aware of the program and “I can assure you, this is not about spying on the American people.” Democrats are scrambling to deal with the latest betrayal of civil liberties without their knowledge and consent. Franken knows that the issue is not how it has been used (though abuses are being reported) but its potential for abuse. It is a databank allowing transparency of every citizens calls and associations. Nevertheless, the establishment is joined together in mutual interest to deaden the reaction of citizens, as I discussed in a column this week.
The effort to discredit Snowden is an impressive effort and could well succeed. There is less discussion of the loss of privacy as the focus has shifted to the price of hotel rooms and annual salaries for Snowden. We are being told again, by people like Franken, to trust us and go back to sleep. Franken added “There are certain things that are appropriate for me to know that is not appropriate for the bad guys to know.” Of course, it was not just the bad guys who were not allowed to know. Citizens were also not supposed to know, but Snowden blew the plan. Now people are actually demanding answers and accountability – something secrecy was supposed to prevent.
Before we repeat the growing effort to label Snowden as a traitor, perhaps we should ask about the betrayal of our privacy and constitutional values by others pushing these labels.
Ralph,
OK, you’ve got us all figured out. No flies on you! We give up!
If Left wing and Right wing are not different, and “…in fact, they are IDENTICAL in every material respect,” then why is Leftism “… the greatest danger facing the US and the world today”? Could we possibly reduce it to,
“Wing is the greatest danger facing the US and the world today”?
I also take umbrage, in that several commenters on this blog have previously anointed Bob Kauten as what’s wrong with the U.S.A.
I relish my importance, and do not relinquish my exalted position willingly.
I AM what’s wrong with this country. Accept no substitutes.
Yes, you have been telling us this stuff for months, now. Thanks for the reminder.
Ralph Adamo – “It’s the Police State. Get used to it. It’s coming, and this is only the beginning.”
Indeed. Did someone here ponder what ever happened to the “Occupy” movement?
Were the leaders of this popular movement ferreted out by the omnipotent PRISM and forced to ‘occupy’ dungeons and cells?
Hell, I’m going to register as a Republican and convert to Christianity! Forgive me God, for I have sinned.
From now the ‘enemies’ of the State are goin’ to be my enemies too! (my rheumatic fever does not agree with cells and dungeons, sorry….)
Death to the Terrorists and the Infidels!!!
The Media is the enemy. Democrats & Republicans are the enemy. We all must think outside these nasty boxes.
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government — lest it come to dominate our lives and interests.”
— Patrick Henry
“The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgment of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist.”- Winston Churchill
“In an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”- George Orwell
For many months here, I have been telling you that Leftism is the greatest danger facing the US and the World today, but my message has fallen on deaf ears largely because most people have been duped by the media and pseudo-history books that the Left wing and the Right Wing are polar opposites, when, in fact, they are IDENTICAL in every material respect.
And the ultimate Leftist goal is a POLICE STATE.
Thus, no one here even notices that the people they like to think of as “leftists,” such as Feinstein, Franken, and Obama, and those they like to think of as on the “right” wing, such as Boehner, McCain, and Graham–are in FULL AGREEMENT: SURVEILLANCE OF AMERICANS IS GOOD.
And at the same time, both of these two “groups” (really the same) assert that the reason for the surveillance is to protect Americans from terrorists, even though they all STRONGLY SUPPORT FUNDING ISLAMIC TERRORISTS IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
Finally, I have also warned you about the US Supreme Court, as most of you still think that it consists of justices with ideological differences. WRONG again. The underlying principle of the SCOTUS is this: make laws that advance the special interests of big business and big government and diminish the rights of the individual. Call it “corporate socialism” if you want, but it’s just LEFTISM, and it signals the coming Police State. Thus, if this case ever reaches as high as the SCOTUS, look for the following ruling, but expressed in far less transparent language:
“Unfortunately, the 4th Amendment only applies to “persons, houses, papers, and effects.” Phone and email records are none of those things, and are, therefore, exempt from the 4th Amendment. Although “effects” may seem to apply to some individuals, “effects” actually means personal/tangible things owned by individuals.”
It’s the Police State. Get used to it. It’s coming, and this is only the beginning.
Mike S. Exactly my point. Thanks for clarifying.
Some things are so obvious to me that I think my gibberish in pointing out what is so obvious is understandable. Thanks for the help.
I was thinking about the Constitution trumping the Patriot Act when I read the comment above by Personalnongrata. Right ON!
Jeffrey Toobin and the schmucks who call our Whistleblower a “Traitor” should think about the meaning of that word before they banter it about. If one betrays an obligation and allegiance to one’s wife, then one is a traitor. Jeffrey Toobin had an affair and fathered an illegitimate child while still married to his current wife. Clown, rat, traitor. Smug as a pug on a rug. Whoops sorry pugs.
Which is the supreme law of the land the US Constitution or the USA PATRIOT Act?
“This constitution, shall be the Supreme Law of the Land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the constitution or laws of any state to the contrary notwithstanding.” U.S. Constitution, Article VI, paragraph 2
Tony C: “artificial intelligence software does not have to be written by exceptionally intelligent people, there are a million programmers in this country that can write it.”
I accept what you say – but up to to a point.
The problem is that proceesing the sheer volume of data via ‘drone’-manufactured software could result in an overwhelming volume of results – making the results effectively unusable.
Some genius level would be required in order to produce reports that could be actioned by decision makers.
Without that, we could end up with local SWAT teams continually busting innocent people due to low-level people serving the needs of an indifferently-programmed machine.
CIA drones have apparently taken out wedding parties, tribal council meetings, etc. That’s been with human oversight. It would be nice to think that a computer program would make better decisions.
“If your enemy was not already well aware of the capability, then you didn’t have much of an enemy. ”
Thats about right. The claim that Snowden told our adversaries anything they have not know for years is so much bunk.
The only people surprised by Snowden’s so called revelations are some members of congress, some federal judges, and US citizens too dim to read the NYT, the WAPO or so lacking in curiosity they failed to notice the publication of several books on the subject over the past 35 years.
On the other hand Snowden has embarrassed a few of the elite and may have made it impossible for federal judges to summarily toss important cases – yikes!!! they may have to argue the merits. That is not supposed to happen.
But providing aid and timely information to our adversaries – not a chance. If they ever have to effrontery to make that charge I am going to demand the venue be changed to SNL.
Darren Smith: “This scenario would be golden if it actually happened:”
What really happened, according to http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/fact-checker/post/obamas-claim-that-every-member-of-congress-was-briefed-on-telephone-surveillance/2013/06/10/fd03ea8e-d21f-11e2-8cbe-1bcbee06f8f8_blog.html
Or to put it another way
I still believe that Dick Cheney is a traitor for outing Valerie Plame; but, he has never been held accountable.
“It is not clear if he is a good guy or a bad guy.”
It does not matter. It is irrelevant.
What matters is the meaning of what he revealed.
.
“This may well give ‘aid and comfort to the enemy’.”
Not really. Not to any real enemy.
I’m tech-minded.
It has been my working assumption for many years that all of my communications are so easily harvestable that they would be definitely be stored if someone thought that I might be vaguely interesting.
I know for sure that at an absolute minimum, ‘metadata’ on my activity has to be held for some time by service providers.
I mess with *commercial* analysis of my activity by employing various technologies. That’s not security. It’s just a limited measure of obscurity. It is not unusual to find that an innocuous mainstream website has up to 20 separate trackers on it. Also thank you for your cookies.
It’s only ‘because I can’ – which echoes the ‘because we can’ of the harvesters and spooks.
This is not to be paranoid. The only limitation is data storage space. Data storage is really cheap – particularly when big and bought in bulk.
Compressed text is a fraction of the original plain-text bytes.
The main thing stopping storage of *all* voice calls is the storage space.
Speech to text will help there for non-selected subjects..
Did you know that Apple store all your SIRI commands for up to three years? It’s for research into how people use it. Oh look! That’s your voice for comparison with other audio apart from your queries and the results.
SIRI is listens to the room all the time. So does Google Glass – oh! and your new Xbox.
Xbox and ideas about Google/intelligent TV are great. They have cameras that see who is in the room. This is very useful for parental control of viewing – and to guage reactions to the advertising that has been selected for display according to the profiles of the people in the room.
Turn off the cameras – but they can be turned on remotely. Some people put stickers over the cameras of their laptops and mobile devices.
Don’t worry. Be happy. That sort of stuff only happens in the movies – because movies don’t have to worry about storage capacity and bandwidth.
The only reason that things don’t happen is “because they can’t”.
“Yes we can!”
– No you can’t – yet. Well, OK. You can – but only selectively.
.
Anyhoo – “aiding the enemy” (TM)
If your enemy was not already well aware of the capability, then you didn’t have much of an enemy. Your enemy has not been reading tech websites. Given that you’ve been increasingly been replacing (physically opposable) boots on the ground with high-tech drone killings, ‘being clever’ is the only reasonable option left open to your enemy. (a) to survive and (b) to strike back.
.
All that’s happening here is that the establishment is really pissed off because someone has blabbed – and that’s embarassing. It is particularly embarassing if you’ve been tut-tutting about how other regimes disrespect their citizens.
It’s mostly a size-of-penis/clit(for-equality) thing. Power baby!
Jeff Toobin as Lt. Colonel Korn
Has anyone else noticed how loudly this drama is playing out?
From the very beginning, the name Snowden reminded me of Catch-22. And it seems to me that the name Snowden is a perfect metaphor for the death of privacy and the bill of rights that we’re currently witnessing.
What’s Snowden’s real secret?
“Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollable. He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all.”
http://www.deathdyinggriefandmourning.com/Death-Dying-Grief-Mourning/100-Joseph-Heller-Catch-22-Death-of-Snowden.htm
Think about it; the willingness of the public to give up their liberty, their privacy, so eagerly for the illusion of more safety illustrates how the spirit of our “great experiment” (i.e. our constitutional form of government) is gone. I think Ben Franklin would agree that once we abandon our rights the spirit is gone and we are truly nothing more than garbage.
It also seems to me that playing the part(s) of Yossarian in this drama we have Jonathan Turley and Glenn Greenwald; facing off against the likes of Lt. Colonel Korn played by none other than Jeffery Toobin.
Accordingly, the only way for me to retain my sanity and sense of self respect is to keep rooting for our heroes; our Yossarians; Jonathan Turley and Glenn Greenwald.
Bob, esq.,
Fabulous catch and analogy. JT, also has Yossarian’s mordant sense of humor.
This scenario would be golden if it actually happened:
Senate and House intelligence committee joint hearing. Testifying is the NSA Chief.
Senator: “Chief, exactly what was recorded by the NSA?”
Chief: “All e-Mail, streaming video, and webpages visited along with their content.
Senator: “Who’s email, streaming video and webpages were watched?”
Chief: “All Americans, including yourselves.
~+~
I would pay real money to see the look on the senators’ after that answer.
To bad these so called reporters didnt act with the same vetriol over the missing WMD issue. Maybe if they did they would have really saved lies. The US Media has become pathetic.
Hoover kept files on those of interest to him, the powerful that he wanted to control. So who’s the new Hoover keeping files of phone calls and internet and emails of those of interest to him/her. Could members of Congress and journalists be among the most interesting?
BettyKath,
Someone is doing the same thing J. Edgar was doing. Probably in the NSA, and not the appointees who are figureheads. The question too is who’s giving the marching orders to the person(s) in the NSA?
Michael S. Goodman: We need to know why a 29-year old was making $200+ K at this private contractor.
Presumably he has a skill in demand, and was willing to go where he was told, and he knew that was valuable. In this world, one often gets what one demands, particularly when the end-customer doesn’t give a crap what the rate is. I would wager the private contractor was billing the NSA $250 an hour for Snowden’s time, which would work out to $500K a year or more, and the NSA didn’t blink an eye.
I have seen a number of contracting firms do the same, with both large corporations and with the government, I worked for some of them as a younger man.
It is a dynamic many people fail to grasp, that for some people in charge of mega-million dollar budgets, they get zero credit for prudent spending, they are only judged on whether they made something happen or failed. They don’t shop for price, they shop for results, and often failure is a very distasteful option, career wise.
Sling: combined with ultra-massive computing power running artificial intelligence software. […] The reality that such software would have to be written by some really intelligent people must lead to a suspicion that intelligence is not all that it is cracked up to be.
I am not sure why you think that; artificial intelligence software does not have to be written by exceptionally intelligent people, there are a million programmers in this country that can write it. In fact, one of the attractive features of artificial intelligence software is that it can (and I have seen it) automatically work around bugs in its own code; if something is not being computed properly, or the data is corrupt, then the predictive power of the result is non-existent and the AI will ignore it!
Things like Genetic Algorithms (GA) can, by mimicking evolution, mating, random mutation and survival of the fittest set of rules, find truly surprising (and verifiably true) relationships in data; but GA can be written by CS undergrads, or even software-inclined engineering students. Some other AI guided searches routinely solve exponentially difficult problems in combinatorics. What makes AI worthwhile is the breathtaking power of brute force, throwing ten thousand computers at a problem when each can explore ten thousand directions per second to refine a solution.
AI doesn’t have to be written by smart people, the computer is a power multiplier for the same reason one average guy can compute the payroll for ten million people; he just needs to have the mental capability to recognize when his program has been completely tested. Almost all AI in use today is some form of search (including neural networks, Bayesian networks, genetic algorithms, simplex reduction) for a set of rules that predicts something at better than chance (and those rules may or may not be encoded in some mathematical formula); or finding rules that simplify and expose hidden relationships. Which is what our own intelligence is about, but AI, even though much dumber than humans, often has the advantage of speed and numbers. It doesn’t take a genius to write it.