6 ms·

Was happening yesterday on my local talk radio station. "Isn't it a bit odd that this guy, a high school drop out somehow got into the NSA? Is he a plant? Isn't

by deelowe 13y ago

Was happening yesterday on my local talk radio station. "Isn't it a bit odd that this guy, a high school drop out somehow got into the NSA? Is he a plant? Isn't it odd that he's taking refuge in a COMMUNIST nation? I think he's a spy. How does a high school dropout get into the nsa?... High school drop out... High school dropout... communist... china..." etc.. Not very hard to see who controls the media these days.

fragsworth 13y ago
Doesn't smearing Snowden only justify his leaking of the information? If a communist-spy-high-school-dropout is able to access everyone's private information, what does this say of the NSA program that allowed him to do this?
hga 13y ago
He could be both telling the truth and working for/with/whatever the PRC. Others have noted the timing is convenient for the PRC's maximum leader visit here, where the latter was supposed to be confronted about their "cyberattacks" on us. ADDED: And now that, if there is some link, he presumably needs them a lot more than they now need him, he may find that his arrangement with them has ... changed.
- joonix 13y ago
  I don't think it's fair that "conspiracy theorists" will dismiss conspiracy theories when they are perceived as defending the US.
- maxerickson 13y ago
  If he thought he had an arrangement with China, he wasn't thinking clearly to begin with. A reasonable way for him to approach pretty much any government right now is that he submits to their custody and then has no idea what will happen next.
JPKab 13y ago
I wonder what these idiots throwing around the commie card think about the fact that Snowden donated money to Rand Paul.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
brown9-2 13y ago
Are these not fair questions? I think most people are confused at how someone could expect to have their freedom of speech protected in a country controlled by China. Territories controlled by mainland China are not usually the first places you think of when you think "need to flee the US government". Similarly, I think most people are surprised at the ability of someone in his stated position to gain as much access as he said he has, and also at the reported size of his salary - because they are not familiar with what the salary scale is like in the world of government private contractors. Having questions is not the same as smearing character.
- gohrt 13y ago
  The questions betray a high level of ignorance, however. Clearly, if you have a beef with the US Govt, you have to flee to a communist-country, not because you are a communist, but because those government can better resist the gravitational power of the US government. People tend to forget that "enemy of the US government" != "enemy of the USA". China, for all its problems, is not Hell unders dominion of Satan. Neither is the USA heaven under dominion of God.
- rbanffy 13y ago
  It's likely your computer runs an OS made by a company founded by a college drop out. Hong Kong has been more protective of free speech tha n China. I also bet free speech that puts the NSA under a less than favorable light is heavily protected in China.
  - tjr 13y ago
    It's likely your computer runs an OS made by a company founded by a college drop out. Despite some amazing success stories, I suspect that the public perception of someone who drops out of college (or high school) tends to lean toward assuming marginal intelligence and little aptitude for skilled labor.
    - Taylorious 13y ago
      I would attribute dropping out of HS/college more to laziness, apathy, or not wanting to be part of the traditional system, not anything related to intelligence. Its not because I know a lot of intelligent HS dropouts, but because I know TON of stupid people with college degrees. I mean like people working minimum wage crap jobs and not trying to change their life, despite having a bachelors degree.
cpeterso 13y ago
btw, Snowden didn't work for the NPR. He was a contractor.
rayiner 13y ago
I guarantee you that the "who is Snowden working for?" story appeals to more people than the "how do we get the NSA to stop this?" story. Pretty much everyone that grew up in Reagan's America is more concerned about Russia and China than the NSA. Indeed, that front would be unified bloc, with the 65+ crowd along with the usual hawkish conservatives, if not for the sole fact that this was revealed under Obama's watch. This fractures the usual conservative response. They're still paranoid about whether China or Russia is behind this, but at the same time they hate Obama, so...
- dctoedt 13y ago
  > this was revealed under [sic] Obama's watch Pet peeve: It was ON Obama's watch (it's a Navy term [0]). </pedantry> [0] http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_one's_watch http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_one's_watch
- talmand 13y ago
  I like how you took such a simple concept and somehow turned it into partisan politics. Bravo.
- pests 13y ago
  Don't forget the first company signed up in 2007 under Bush's watch.
- mindcrime 13y ago
  I guarantee you that the "who is Snowden working for?" story appeals to more people than the "how do we get the NSA to stop this?" story. Sad but true. :-(
shubb 13y ago
I think this is just due to the form of a news article. "The mistake was made by IBM Technical expert Julia Smith, 38, from Palm Springs, Colorado. Julia, who graduated from Stanford in 2001 was described by neighbors as serious and career focused". Age, place of birth / residence, education, marital status, character. Journalists will mention as many of these as they can easily find out (and they have established ways of easily finding out). When they find something unusual, in these things they are checking anyway, it becomes that persons defining characteristic, a hook for the story.
jayfuerstenberg 13y ago
Watching Snowden's video it's self evident how learned and intelligent he is. I don't much care whether or not he finished high school. It isn't the single measure of intelligence. Morality is the quality by which I'd rather measure him.

by deelowe 13y ago

fragsworth 13y ago

Doesn't smearing Snowden only justify his leaking of the information? If a communist-spy-high-school-dropout is able to access everyone's private information, what does this say of the NSA program that allowed him to do this?

hga 13y ago

He could be both telling the truth and working for/with/whatever the PRC. Others have noted the timing is convenient for the PRC's maximum leader visit here, where the latter was supposed to be confronted about their "cyberattacks" on us. ADDED: And now that, if there is some link, he presumably needs them a lot more than they now need him, he may find that his arrangement with them has ... changed.

joonix 13y ago
I don't think it's fair that "conspiracy theorists" will dismiss conspiracy theories when they are perceived as defending the US.
maxerickson 13y ago
If he thought he had an arrangement with China, he wasn't thinking clearly to begin with. A reasonable way for him to approach pretty much any government right now is that he submits to their custody and then has no idea what will happen next.

JPKab 13y ago

I wonder what these idiots throwing around the commie card think about the fact that Snowden donated money to Rand Paul.

deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

brown9-2 13y ago

Are these not fair questions? I think most people are confused at how someone could expect to have their freedom of speech protected in a country controlled by China. Territories controlled by mainland China are not usually the first places you think of when you think "need to flee the US government". Similarly, I think most people are surprised at the ability of someone in his stated position to gain as much access as he said he has, and also at the reported size of his salary - because they are not familiar with what the salary scale is like in the world of government private contractors. Having questions is not the same as smearing character.

gohrt 13y ago
The questions betray a high level of ignorance, however. Clearly, if you have a beef with the US Govt, you have to flee to a communist-country, not because you are a communist, but because those government can better resist the gravitational power of the US government. People tend to forget that "enemy of the US government" != "enemy of the USA". China, for all its problems, is not Hell unders dominion of Satan. Neither is the USA heaven under dominion of God.
rbanffy 13y ago
It's likely your computer runs an OS made by a company founded by a college drop out. Hong Kong has been more protective of free speech tha n China. I also bet free speech that puts the NSA under a less than favorable light is heavily protected in China.
- tjr 13y ago
  It's likely your computer runs an OS made by a company founded by a college drop out. Despite some amazing success stories, I suspect that the public perception of someone who drops out of college (or high school) tends to lean toward assuming marginal intelligence and little aptitude for skilled labor.
  - Taylorious 13y ago
    I would attribute dropping out of HS/college more to laziness, apathy, or not wanting to be part of the traditional system, not anything related to intelligence. Its not because I know a lot of intelligent HS dropouts, but because I know TON of stupid people with college degrees. I mean like people working minimum wage crap jobs and not trying to change their life, despite having a bachelors degree.

cpeterso 13y ago

btw, Snowden didn't work for the NPR. He was a contractor.

rayiner 13y ago

I guarantee you that the "who is Snowden working for?" story appeals to more people than the "how do we get the NSA to stop this?" story. Pretty much everyone that grew up in Reagan's America is more concerned about Russia and China than the NSA. Indeed, that front would be unified bloc, with the 65+ crowd along with the usual hawkish conservatives, if not for the sole fact that this was revealed under Obama's watch. This fractures the usual conservative response. They're still paranoid about whether China or Russia is behind this, but at the same time they hate Obama, so...

dctoedt 13y ago
> this was revealed under [sic] Obama's watch Pet peeve: It was ON Obama's watch (it's a Navy term [0]). </pedantry> [0] http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_one's_watch http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/on_one's_watch
talmand 13y ago
I like how you took such a simple concept and somehow turned it into partisan politics. Bravo.
pests 13y ago
Don't forget the first company signed up in 2007 under Bush's watch.
mindcrime 13y ago
I guarantee you that the "who is Snowden working for?" story appeals to more people than the "how do we get the NSA to stop this?" story. Sad but true. :-(

shubb 13y ago

I think this is just due to the form of a news article. "The mistake was made by IBM Technical expert Julia Smith, 38, from Palm Springs, Colorado. Julia, who graduated from Stanford in 2001 was described by neighbors as serious and career focused". Age, place of birth / residence, education, marital status, character. Journalists will mention as many of these as they can easily find out (and they have established ways of easily finding out). When they find something unusual, in these things they are checking anyway, it becomes that persons defining characteristic, a hook for the story.

jayfuerstenberg 13y ago

Watching Snowden's video it's self evident how learned and intelligent he is. I don't much care whether or not he finished high school. It isn't the single measure of intelligence. Morality is the quality by which I'd rather measure him.