4 ms·

Does Edward Snowden even exist?

35 points by sethbannon 13y ago

pacifika 13y ago
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt
samsnelling 13y ago
> There is, of course, only one explanation for Snowden’s absence: He never existed in the first place. Please tell me I am not the only one who stopped reading here.
- sethbannon 13y ago
  If you had kept reading you would have seen "Editor’s note for the literal minded: It is not, in fact, all too perfect, and this column is not actually suggesting Edward Snowden isn’t real. It’s just a conceit to make a larger point."
  - samsnelling 13y ago
    ... And that's what I get. Legitimately if I had read 3 more sentences...
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
adventured 13y ago
He doesn't exist as he has been portrayed. He's a CIA burner, used to attack the increasing dominance of the NSA within the US intelligence apparatus. This is an internal battle. The CIA is having its budget slashed, and field intelligence in general is getting cut. Meanwhile the NSA is doing a booming business (not to mention having its authority gradually increased toward military warfare, through direct intelligence and military commingling). I think it's very arguable that next to the Department of Defense, the NSA is now the most powerful organization in the US, exceeding the power of the executive branch.
- tcoppi 13y ago
  The NSA is part of the Department of Defense...
  - adventured 13y ago
    It falls under the DoD chain of command (which is of course why generals run the show at the NSA). It operates as its own organization with its own budget. And it directly fights with the CIA for funding.
    - JonSkeptic 13y ago
      >exceeding the power of the executive branch ...The NSA is under DoD which is under the power of the Executive. By definition, their power cannot exceed the power of the Executive. >It operates as its own organization with its own budget. And it directly fights with the CIA for funding. Technically everything in the government is fighting for a piece of the federal budget. Are you sure he isn't actually a Post Office burn? They've been trying to get additional federal funding for years and with the decline in the post due in no small part to email (which the post office tried and failed to tax) and other forms of electronic communication, have posted continuous losses quarter after quarter. If people mistrusted electronic communication and the NSA had its budget cut, it would be a double win for the post office. Clearly I have arrived at the heart of the matter: Snowden was actually a Post Office agent working inside the CIA and then the NSA as part of a long term plan to move the Post Office ledger into the black.
      - adventured 13y ago
        Ah yes, the President runs the military industrial complex. Sure he does. Tell me another fairytale about American Democracy. And the government operates within the bounds of the US Constitution too. You're wrong about the USPS. The Post Office is almost completely self-funded. Historically it has been forced to operate within budget constraints based on revenue that it takes in, and it will be contracted in size to match its inflows. It is not funded like the CIA, not even remotely similar. Maybe you'd like a chance to come up with a replacement sarcastic paragraph that actually works? "Few Americans know it, but the post office gets no tax dollars; it is entirely self-funded." http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-12/opinions/37048371_1_postal-service-usps-postmaster-general-patrick-donahue http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-12/opinions/37048... The CIA and NSA are funded out of a specific intelligence budget pool. Thus they compete directly with each other for money. "Funding for the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies will see a $4.4 billion decrease under President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget request, even as those agencies deal with the across-the-board spending cuts imposed last month. Obama is seeking $48.2 billion for U.S. spy agencies, an 8 percent drop from the president’s $52.6 billion request for fiscal 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported. In 2012, funding was even higher, with the agencies receiving $53.9 billion." http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-budget-cuts-cia/2013/04/10/id/498835 http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-budget-cuts-cia/2013/... It's not the NSA or Cyber Command that is seeing budget cutting. And I think what you meant is, the Executive is legally supposed to be more powerful than the DoD or NSA. That only applies if our government actually follows Constitutional law, which it does not. Reality is a lot different than 8th grade social studies. See: J Edgar Hoover, more powerful than most Presidents we've had.
sethbannon 13y ago
"Editor’s note for the literal minded ... this column is not actually suggesting Edward Snowden isn’t real. It’s just a conceit to make a larger point."
- Micand 13y ago
  Just what is that "larger point"? Is it that by revealing his identity and publicizing his movements, Snowden has shifted attention to his personal story, away from the issue of U.S. government surveillance? If so, I disagree with the point -- Snowden's story has, if anything, given the issue a more compelling narrative arc, and kept it in front of the public far longer than if he remained an anonymous whistleblower.
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

35 points by sethbannon 13y ago

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear,_uncertainty_and_doubt

> There is, of course, only one explanation for Snowden’s absence: He never existed in the first place. Please tell me I am not the only one who stopped reading here.

sethbannon 13y ago
If you had kept reading you would have seen "Editor’s note for the literal minded: It is not, in fact, all too perfect, and this column is not actually suggesting Edward Snowden isn’t real. It’s just a conceit to make a larger point."
- samsnelling 13y ago
  ... And that's what I get. Legitimately if I had read 3 more sentences...
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]

adventured 13y ago

He doesn't exist as he has been portrayed. He's a CIA burner, used to attack the increasing dominance of the NSA within the US intelligence apparatus. This is an internal battle. The CIA is having its budget slashed, and field intelligence in general is getting cut. Meanwhile the NSA is doing a booming business (not to mention having its authority gradually increased toward military warfare, through direct intelligence and military commingling). I think it's very arguable that next to the Department of Defense, the NSA is now the most powerful organization in the US, exceeding the power of the executive branch.

tcoppi 13y ago
The NSA is part of the Department of Defense...
- adventured 13y ago
  It falls under the DoD chain of command (which is of course why generals run the show at the NSA). It operates as its own organization with its own budget. And it directly fights with the CIA for funding.
  - JonSkeptic 13y ago
    >exceeding the power of the executive branch ...The NSA is under DoD which is under the power of the Executive. By definition, their power cannot exceed the power of the Executive. >It operates as its own organization with its own budget. And it directly fights with the CIA for funding. Technically everything in the government is fighting for a piece of the federal budget. Are you sure he isn't actually a Post Office burn? They've been trying to get additional federal funding for years and with the decline in the post due in no small part to email (which the post office tried and failed to tax) and other forms of electronic communication, have posted continuous losses quarter after quarter. If people mistrusted electronic communication and the NSA had its budget cut, it would be a double win for the post office. Clearly I have arrived at the heart of the matter: Snowden was actually a Post Office agent working inside the CIA and then the NSA as part of a long term plan to move the Post Office ledger into the black.
    - adventured 13y ago
      Ah yes, the President runs the military industrial complex. Sure he does. Tell me another fairytale about American Democracy. And the government operates within the bounds of the US Constitution too. You're wrong about the USPS. The Post Office is almost completely self-funded. Historically it has been forced to operate within budget constraints based on revenue that it takes in, and it will be contracted in size to match its inflows. It is not funded like the CIA, not even remotely similar. Maybe you'd like a chance to come up with a replacement sarcastic paragraph that actually works? "Few Americans know it, but the post office gets no tax dollars; it is entirely self-funded." http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-12/opinions/37048371_1_postal-service-usps-postmaster-general-patrick-donahue http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-02-12/opinions/37048... The CIA and NSA are funded out of a specific intelligence budget pool. Thus they compete directly with each other for money. "Funding for the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies will see a $4.4 billion decrease under President Barack Obama's fiscal 2014 budget request, even as those agencies deal with the across-the-board spending cuts imposed last month. Obama is seeking $48.2 billion for U.S. spy agencies, an 8 percent drop from the president’s $52.6 billion request for fiscal 2013, the Wall Street Journal reported. In 2012, funding was even higher, with the agencies receiving $53.9 billion." http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-budget-cuts-cia/2013/04/10/id/498835 http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/obama-budget-cuts-cia/2013/... It's not the NSA or Cyber Command that is seeing budget cutting. And I think what you meant is, the Executive is legally supposed to be more powerful than the DoD or NSA. That only applies if our government actually follows Constitutional law, which it does not. Reality is a lot different than 8th grade social studies. See: J Edgar Hoover, more powerful than most Presidents we've had.

sethbannon 13y ago

"Editor’s note for the literal minded ... this column is not actually suggesting Edward Snowden isn’t real. It’s just a conceit to make a larger point."

Micand 13y ago
Just what is that "larger point"? Is it that by revealing his identity and publicizing his movements, Snowden has shifted attention to his personal story, away from the issue of U.S. government surveillance? If so, I disagree with the point -- Snowden's story has, if anything, given the issue a more compelling narrative arc, and kept it in front of the public far longer than if he remained an anonymous whistleblower.

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]