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The point is Snowden's revelations made headlines, and Room 641A didn't. The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. Personally I di

by ihsw 13y ago

The point is Snowden's revelations made headlines, and Room 641A didn't. The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. Personally I disagree with the parent quite strongly -- the recent revelations made it quite clear that the NSA's data hoovering is making the State Department into a frivolous formality. Diplomacy is irrelevant when you already know the internal political structure of your allies/adversaries, and it takes 'real politik' to the extreme (like playing a game of poker with the cards revealed to a powerful few). The loss of privacy in diplomatic correspondence is a far greater blow to the peace of the world than the revelation of your torrid love affairs or your weak financial integrity.

rpgmaker 13y ago
It didn't make the headlines Snowden's leaks have generated but it was news and anyone interested in civil liberties at the time knew about it when it came out, I know I did and any follower of Greenwald before he became "mainstream" knew about it (even if it was a little bit later). I don't know what your complain is here. The fact that this specific part of the leaks was known doesn't diminish what Snowden did one bit. If anything it increases it's importance.
- Karunamon 13y ago
  Exactly. I think just about everyone knew that "the government" spies on people. It has divisions dedicated to that exact purpose. This was public knowledge. But, much like war, when people are fully informed, that tacit acceptance goes south. When people realize that "some unelected, uanccountable government employee has access to my phone calls and my emails including the ones to my (lover/bookie/doctor)", or put another way, "The government spies on ME" that is a much more powerful thought than just "Eh, the government spies on people".
saraid216 13y ago
> The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. It's because Snowden made for a good messiah. Better PR trumps good journalism.
- zhengyi13 13y ago
  Really? You think the lionization doesn't come from the incredible personal risk he took to bring forward incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing on a massive scale by very powerful people?
  - saraid216 13y ago
    You ask that as if it wasn't what I said.
noselasd 13y ago
> The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. No it wasn't. It was well suspected by a few. Snowden provided hard evidence which each and everyone could see. To many, if not most ordinary americans, that is a huge difference.

by ihsw 13y ago

rpgmaker 13y ago

It didn't make the headlines Snowden's leaks have generated but it was news and anyone interested in civil liberties at the time knew about it when it came out, I know I did and any follower of Greenwald before he became "mainstream" knew about it (even if it was a little bit later). I don't know what your complain is here. The fact that this specific part of the leaks was known doesn't diminish what Snowden did one bit. If anything it increases it's importance.

Karunamon 13y ago
Exactly. I think just about everyone knew that "the government" spies on people. It has divisions dedicated to that exact purpose. This was public knowledge. But, much like war, when people are fully informed, that tacit acceptance goes south. When people realize that "some unelected, uanccountable government employee has access to my phone calls and my emails including the ones to my (lover/bookie/doctor)", or put another way, "The government spies on ME" that is a much more powerful thought than just "Eh, the government spies on people".

saraid216 13y ago

> The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. It's because Snowden made for a good messiah. Better PR trumps good journalism.

zhengyi13 13y ago
Really? You think the lionization doesn't come from the incredible personal risk he took to bring forward incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing on a massive scale by very powerful people?
- saraid216 13y ago
  You ask that as if it wasn't what I said.

noselasd 13y ago

> The lionization of Snowden is baffling when it was already well-known. No it wasn't. It was well suspected by a few. Snowden provided hard evidence which each and everyone could see. To many, if not most ordinary americans, that is a huge difference.