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Every interview with Snowden, as a pseudo-clinical paranoia-level security nerd, I tried to critique his security decisions, but I was surprised to see that he
by bcook 11y ago
Every interview with Snowden, as a pseudo-clinical paranoia-level security nerd, I tried to critique his security decisions, but I was surprised to see that he really did think through every decision he made. That is what impressed me.
A generally impressive human, in many ways.
- jacquesm 11y agoIf Snowden had been less clever or resourceful he'd be stuck in solitary confinement right now instead of giving interviews. Playing chicken with the mightiest organizations on the planet and getting away with it is extremely impressive and in many ways it shows the dangers to powerful organizations like these: individuals, acting on impulse or because of convictions. And that's precisely why all that data collection is so scary, such individuals will be shunted onto dead-end tracks long before they even realize they are such individuals in the future.
- mirimir 11y agoRead his posts as "TheTrueHOOHA" on Ars :) Edit: spelling
- ocdtrekkie 11y agoThe one question I never had an answer to, and maybe he answered it somewhere. But neither China nor Russia seemed like good destinations. It feels like maybe he could've chosen one of the extradition free countries he eventually wanted asylum in as his first destination... since nobody knew what he had done before he left the country. Did he ever give an answer to that?
- tatterdemalion 11y agoI think he has said that he believed Hong Kong was the best destination to avoid raising flags before he left the US that would've prevented his travel (and possibly to lead to his arrest and the seizure of the documents before they were released) and to avoid being extradited once he made the reveal.
- Jerry2 11y ago>But neither China nor Russia seemed like good destinations. They're actually the only countries that he could have escaped safely to and only countries where he could lead a relatively safe life due to their security apparatus. There isn't a single other country in the world that could have resisted the full pressure of US government. Not a single one! Yes, I know that Ecuador offered him asylum but they cooled down on it [0] and backtracked when US State Department started bearing down on them. Venezuela is also not a great option due to their instability (US friendly gov is only one coup away) and due to the fact that it's crawling with mercenaries. >It feels like maybe he could've chosen one of the extradition free countries he eventually wanted asylum in as his first destination... since nobody knew what he had done before he left the country. Extradition-free doesn't mean that he'd be safe from pressure of the US legal/espionage/economic power, spies, assassins, mercenaries and so on. [1] Which country do you think would shelter him if it risked economic sanctions from US, NATO and EU? >Did he ever give an answer to that? No, but Assange said that getting him to Russia was their priority because it was the only safe option for him and they'd be able to withstand the pressure of US diplomacy and law enforcement. He owes his life to Sarah Harrison and Julian Assange. [2] Without them he'd probably be dead or in prison or in some black site being tortured. He is also incredibly lucky that US started sanctioning Russia before he decided to seek asylum there so a threat of sanctions didn't phase Putin in the slightest. [0] http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/28/edward-snowden-ecuador-julian-assange http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/28/edward-snowden-... [1] http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/29/julian-assange-told-edward-snowdon-not-seek-asylum-in-latin-america http://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/aug/29/julian-assange-... [2] https://www.rt.com/news/313829-assange-advise-snowden-russia/ https://www.rt.com/news/313829-assange-advise-snowden-russia...