6 ms·

To me it is not clear at all, can you please elaborate why you make such a strong claim?

benreesman 2y ago
My opinion is based on a lot more first hand experience than most, some of which I’m at liberty to share and some that I’m not and therefore becomes “color”. But I’m a nobody, Edward Snowden has a far more convincing track record on calling abuses of power: https://community.openai.com/t/edward-snowden-on-openai-s-decision-to-put-a-former-nsa-director-on-its-board/821456 https://community.openai.com/t/edward-snowden-on-openai-s-de...
- dash2 2y ago
  Here's Edward Snowden heroically waffling about "nuance" when asked why he hasn't spoken out more about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On a crypto website. He became a full citizen of Russia in autumn 2022, by the way. https://www.coindesk.com/video/edward-snowden-explains-why-he-doesnt-talk-about-ukraine-crisis-2/embed/ https://www.coindesk.com/video/edward-snowden-explains-why-h...
  - dartos 2y ago
    Tbf he already has 1 superpower after his head.
  - aamoyg 2y ago
    He can get arrested and killed if he speaks out like that against Russia, especially because Putin personally intervened to give him and his wife citizenship. There is an understanding that his actions made the United States look bad and that's why he is getting this and that's pretty much it. If he causes problems in Russia he can go bye bye.
    - dash2 2y ago
      Right. It's fine for him to be as cowardly as everyone else! But then he's not a hero who speaks truth to power, unlike say Vladimir Kara-Murza.
      - mrbombastic 2y ago
        He did upend his entire life to stand up for something he believed in and now is in the sights of the US gov until the day he dies. The fact that he does not also want to be a sacrificial lamb to speak out on Ukraine doesn’t really compromise that fact in my mind.
      - tibbydudeza 2y ago
        In contrast Chelsea Manning did not run off to a country run by a dictator but had some sense of conviction. Snowden is sadly now a useful idiot.
        Angostura 2y ago
        What has he said that you consider ‘idiotic’?
        tibbydudeza 2y ago
        The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be for the communist cause but are propaganda tools and usually ignorant they are being used.
        DiogenesKynikos 2y ago
        The term "useful idiot" was invented by conservatives in the West during the Cold War, as a slur against social democrats. Lenin never used it. It didn't even exist during his lifetime.
        dash2 2y ago
        It was a slur against collaborators with communism, not against social democrats: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/
  - insane_dreamer 2y ago
    I don’t know why people who risked their life to expose something a certain injustice (NSA surveillance in this case) that they had ample firsthand knowledge of, should be expected to sacrifice their life to expose every other injustice out there.
WatchDog 2y ago
One data point: https://openai.com/index/openai-appoints-retired-us-army-general/ https://openai.com/index/openai-appoints-retired-us-army-gen...

My opinion is based on a lot more first hand experience than most, some of which I’m at liberty to share and some that I’m not and therefore becomes “color”. But I’m a nobody, Edward Snowden has a far more convincing track record on calling abuses of power: https://community.openai.com/t/edward-snowden-on-openai-s-decision-to-put-a-former-nsa-director-on-its-board/821456 https://community.openai.com/t/edward-snowden-on-openai-s-de...

dash2 2y ago
Here's Edward Snowden heroically waffling about "nuance" when asked why he hasn't spoken out more about Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On a crypto website. He became a full citizen of Russia in autumn 2022, by the way. https://www.coindesk.com/video/edward-snowden-explains-why-he-doesnt-talk-about-ukraine-crisis-2/embed/ https://www.coindesk.com/video/edward-snowden-explains-why-h...
- dartos 2y ago
  Tbf he already has 1 superpower after his head.
- aamoyg 2y ago
  He can get arrested and killed if he speaks out like that against Russia, especially because Putin personally intervened to give him and his wife citizenship. There is an understanding that his actions made the United States look bad and that's why he is getting this and that's pretty much it. If he causes problems in Russia he can go bye bye.
  - dash2 2y ago
    Right. It's fine for him to be as cowardly as everyone else! But then he's not a hero who speaks truth to power, unlike say Vladimir Kara-Murza.
    - mrbombastic 2y ago
      He did upend his entire life to stand up for something he believed in and now is in the sights of the US gov until the day he dies. The fact that he does not also want to be a sacrificial lamb to speak out on Ukraine doesn’t really compromise that fact in my mind.
    - tibbydudeza 2y ago
      In contrast Chelsea Manning did not run off to a country run by a dictator but had some sense of conviction. Snowden is sadly now a useful idiot.
      - Angostura 2y ago
        What has he said that you consider ‘idiotic’?
        tibbydudeza 2y ago
        The term "useful idiot" refers to Lenin - basically it is folks who might not be for the communist cause but are propaganda tools and usually ignorant they are being used.
        DiogenesKynikos 2y ago
        The term "useful idiot" was invented by conservatives in the West during the Cold War, as a slur against social democrats. Lenin never used it. It didn't even exist during his lifetime.
        dash2 2y ago
        It was a slur against collaborators with communism, not against social democrats: https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/ https://quoteinvestigator.com/2019/08/22/useful-idiot/
- insane_dreamer 2y ago
  I don’t know why people who risked their life to expose something a certain injustice (NSA surveillance in this case) that they had ample firsthand knowledge of, should be expected to sacrifice their life to expose every other injustice out there.

WatchDog 2y ago

One data point: https://openai.com/index/openai-appoints-retired-us-army-general/ https://openai.com/index/openai-appoints-retired-us-army-gen...