BitCoins for Edward Snowden.

[TippingPoint]

If you want to send him bitcoins, don't send it to him directly...

I was thinking the opposite.  If we could be absolutely sure that we had a valid Bitcoin address for the real Edward Snowden, this would be a great opportunity for him, freedom, privacy, and for Bitcoin.

Donations should come from everyone in this forum, most people who use Bitcoins, and (drum roll please) many freedom-loving people all over the U.S. and around the world who would instantly have a reason to download a Bitcoin wallet and put something in it, so that they could help Edward Snowden, wherever he goes.  The blockchain would document the overwhelming support that he has.

Do we have any trusted boots on the ground in Hong Kong to try to contact Edward Snowden and take a photo of him holding up a note with a hand-written Bitcoin address?

I am ready to give him a donation.  I think he needs help.

[1715082456]

1715082456

[1715082456]

1715082456

[Cranky4u]

If you want to send him bitcoins, don't send it to him directly...

I was thinking the opposite.  If we could be absolutely sure that we had a valid Bitcoin address for the real Edward Snowden, this would be a great opportunity for him, freedom, privacy, and for Bitcoin.

Donations should come from everyone in this forum, most people who use Bitcoins, and (drum roll please) many freedom-loving people all over the U.S. and around the world who would instantly have a reason to download a Bitcoin wallet and put something in it, so that they could help Edward Snowden.

Do we have any trusted boots on the ground in Hong Kong to try to contact Edward Snowden?

+1

[BTCLuke]

I would have to take off work for a couple of years to make it happen.

YEARS?  Holy moly. I think he'd turn down the offer... If he's still alive.

Is it because you are planning to sail most of the voyage? Surely some use of an engine would be warranted... How long would it take using engines the whole way? How many stops for refuel would that take?

It's almost time for the northwest passage to open up again this summer, surely you're just a bit tempted to slip through there? 

[runam0k]

People like you are part of the problem, not the solution.

There is a difference between right and wrong ... that is what the Nurenberg trials were about.

Just because you are following orders does not make it right.

Many of the US govt employees are now well outside constitutional law and they know it. So they are using secret courts and kept politicians heading the 'oversight committees' to cover it up. You should also be advocating for putting those people in jail, that is what THEY signed up for, to protect the constitution ... yet you want to persecute the whistleblower? .... wtf kind of person are you?

There are two separate issues here.

First, yes, the government should operate within the law.  Oversight committees have direct responsibility for making sure that happens.  There should be consequences for illegal activities.  Heads should roll.  Time for everyone to consider the legality of what the NSA does.

None of that changes the fact that one of our most important men - a person entrusted with US national security - is now HIDING IN CHINA after leaking information on an almost daily basis.

Fucking China, the irony!  (Or what he calls a place with "a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent".)

Just putting himself in China has potentially exposed other US national secrets or security interests, by the way.

There were other ways and he decided to do at that way.

An alternative view, with which I tend to agree:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/06/edward-snowden-nsa-leaker-is-no-hero.html

Oh, and just to point out a touch of irony in your own post:

"Just because you are following orders does not make it right."  This guy followed those orders for YEARS, yet you are willing to pardon him for that *and* for the actual bona fide crime of leaking classified information?

[acceptance2]

People like you are part of the problem, not the solution.

There is a difference between right and wrong ... that is what the Nurenberg trials were about.

Just because you are following orders does not make it right.

Many of the US govt employees are now well outside constitutional law and they know it. So they are using secret courts and kept politicians heading the 'oversight committees' to cover it up. You should also be advocating for putting those people in jail, that is what THEY signed up for, to protect the constitution ... yet you want to persecute the whistleblower? .... wtf kind of person are you?

There are two separate issues here.

First, yes, the government should operate within the law.  Oversight committees have direct responsibility for making sure that happens.  There should be consequences for illegal activities.  Heads should roll.  Time for everyone to consider the legality of what the NSA does.

None of that changes the fact that one of our most important men - a person entrusted with US national security - is now HIDING IN CHINA after leaking information on an almost daily basis.

Fucking China, the irony!  (Or what he calls a place with "a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent".)

Just putting himself in China has potentially exposed other US national secrets or security interests, by the way.

There were other ways and he decided to do at that way.

An alternative view, with which I tend to agree:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/06/edward-snowden-nsa-leaker-is-no-hero.html

Oh, and just to point out a touch of irony in your own post:

"Just because you are following orders does not make it right."  This guy followed those orders for YEARS, yet you are willing to pardon him for that *and* for the actual bona fide crime of leaking classified information?

Do not confuse Hong Kong with China.

They are not the same. Not by a long shot.

A clever tactic on your part though.

[runam0k]

Do not confuse Hong Kong with China.

They are not the same. Not by a long shot.

A clever tactic on your part though.

Thanks.

Let's not pretend Hong Kong doesn't ultimately answer to Beijing
either though.

Strange gamble on his part, especially after telling the Guardian newspaper that he had "full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth."  Way to make himself a target.

[cypherdoc]

Do not confuse Hong Kong with China.

They are not the same. Not by a long shot.

A clever tactic on your part though.

Thanks.

Let's not pretend Hong Kong doesn't ultimately answer to Beijing
either though.

Strange gamble on his part, especially after telling the Guardian newspaper that he had "full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth."  Way to make himself a target.

he probably knows alot more than you do about which is the safest place to go after doing what he's doing.

there are probably investment bankers staying in the rooms right next to him.

[oakpacific]

Do not confuse Hong Kong with China.

They are not the same. Not by a long shot.

A clever tactic on your part though.

Thanks.

Let's not pretend Hong Kong doesn't ultimately answer to Beijing
either though.

Strange gamble on his part, especially after telling the Guardian newspaper that he had "full access to the rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world, the locations of every station we have, what their missions are and so forth."  Way to make himself a target.

It may sound like news to you, but Hong Kong indeed doesn't ultimately answer to Beijing, at least not always.

Many spiritual organizations like Falun Gong, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_gong#Suppression which are pervasively suppressed/banned in the mainland China, have large bases and many believers in Hong Kong and do lots of propagandas there. Lots of anti-CCP books are also published there, and in the June 4th of every year there was a massive assembly of people gather to commemorate those killed in the Tiananmen Masscare, all these would have been impossible had Hong Kong needed to obey Beijing's order when it comes to evictions/deportations.

[runam0k]

he probably knows alot more than you do about which is the safest place to go after doing what he's doing.

Maybe, but he does seem to be missing at the moment.  Whisked away to Beijing, perhaps, or maybe our National Hero is already living the high life in Russia?

It may sound like news to you, but Hong Kong indeed doesn't ultimately answer to Beijing, at least not always.

I have been Hong Kong (China too), so I am under no illusion that the people of Hong Kong live under the same strict regime as the people of mainland China.  That doesn't mean China isn't in control.  And Snowden seems to be betting on exactly that - if he is allowed to stay in HK, it will be because China has stepped in under Article 3 of the US-Hong Kong treaty (which allows Hong Kong to refuse to hand a person over if it believes that it might impact China's "defence, foreign affairs or essential public interest or policy").

[BTCLuke]

The bickering about the power structure of HK is pointless; Snowden could be on the moon by now.

He seems smart enough to formulate a simple plan like: "Tell everyone I'm trying to head to Iceland next, but sneak down to my secret bungalow in the Seychelles the minute this reporter leaves the room."

People like you are part of the problem, not the solution.

+1

yes, the government should operate within the law.  Oversight committees have direct responsibility for making sure that happens.  There should be consequences for illegal activities.  Heads should roll.  Time for everyone to consider the legality of what the NSA does.

NOT GOOD ENOUGH.

Did you hear about that country that started up in the 1770s as the greatest experiment ever in small government?
It only took ~230 years to become the world's most bloated and restrictive government in history.

This has happened before a few times... But never this large.

Sadly, it always ends the same way, so we can fully expect for that particular experiement to end a lot noisier:

(Hence many people's interest in bitcoin here.)


Anyway, what we learned from that failed experiment is: The smaller you make a government without actually removing the government entirely, the less structure there is in place to actually curb the growth of the government.

So with all of this in mind, are you really trying to just keep the status quo moving along as usual? More oversight committees? More regulations? Hoping the problems will go away if we just get one more good man in some public office somewhere?  

An alternative view, with which I tend to agree:
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/06/edward-snowden-nsa-leaker-is-no-hero.html

EL OH EL at the 700+ DEATH THREATS the author got in the comments below.

Here's one for you too:  Please go die in a fire.

[aceking]

that guy is traitor for me , he is bought by the Chinese government.

[TippingPoint]

He does not sound like a ChiCom to me:

The Guardian describes Snowden as intensely passionate about the value of privacy; his laptop displays stickers supporting internet freedom organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor Project.  In the 2008 presidential election, Snowden voted for third-party candidates. He said he "believed in Obama's promises," yet "he continued with the policies of his predecessor."  For the 2012 election, political donation records indicate that he contributed to the primary campaign of Ron Paul.

[Its About Sharing]

Interesting to see big media defending the government here. The whole Prism thing really has them on their heels.

I now wonder if Snowden becomes the straw that broke the camels back for others wanting to blow the whistle.

[BTCLuke]

Collections for Snowden, with almost 0% chance of ever reaching him, are already up to $12,232:

http://www.crowdtilt.com/campaigns/reward-edward-snowden-for-courageously-leaking-nsa-docs/description

[runam0k]

He does not sound like a ChiCom to me:

The Guardian describes Snowden as intensely passionate about the value of privacy; his laptop displays stickers supporting internet freedom organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor Project.  In the 2008 presidential election, Snowden voted for third-party candidates. He said he "believed in Obama's promises," yet "he continued with the policies of his predecessor."  For the 2012 election, political donation records indicate that he contributed to the primary campaign of Ron Paul.

So wtf was he doing at the NSA? Their sole purpose is to monitor comms.

[marcus_of_augustus]

He does not sound like a ChiCom to me:

The Guardian describes Snowden as intensely passionate about the value of privacy; his laptop displays stickers supporting internet freedom organizations including the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Tor Project.  In the 2008 presidential election, Snowden voted for third-party candidates. He said he "believed in Obama's promises," yet "he continued with the policies of his predecessor."  For the 2012 election, political donation records indicate that he contributed to the primary campaign of Ron Paul.

So wtf was he doing at the NSA? Their sole purpose is to monitor comms.

... you must be particularly dense. His greater purpose was revealed to the world for all to see 3 days ago. Which part of that did you miss?

Without his privileged position (and years of graft) his statements would have been worthless. As they are, they pop the bubble of arrogance and cut through the thicket of laws, secret court rulings and red tape being used to cover up the govt. criminality. He is now a genuine witness to their crimes.

Keep trying to demonize the truth and you are looking worse and worse. Just think like Snowden that of all the crap you are going through in your life could actually be preparing you for a greater calling if you open your heart and mind to the truth and the good.

[runam0k]

... you must be particularly dense.

[snip]

Just think like Snowden that of all the crap you are going through in your life could actually be preparing you for a greater calling if you open your heart and mind to the truth and the good.

I guess I'm just not quite ready for my calling. Blame it on my incredible density.

Respectfully, I'll bow out of this thread.  Go send your bitcoins to Snowden.

[MagicBit15]

He is a gentleman and a scholar. 

[bg002h]

From what I have read, these are facts:

• He was not working for a foreign government
• He did not reveal the info for money
• He concluded that his agency was breaking the law
• He was selective about what he revealed
• He went public at a great personal cost

He revealed a CRIME in progress. 

I thought it interesting how Obama turned Bush-esque and said, even with a sort of stupid look on his face, "No one is listening to your phone calls."  Of course not.. He didn't say, which would have been accurate and more descriptive, "We are recording every one of your phone conversations and, should it prove useful, we can listen to the recording without anyone else knowing about it."

He revealed a crime of the highest order: treason.  The NSA was attacking the fundamentals of democracy (which I could explain in great detail at a later time). 

[worldinacoin]

Just read the news, they seemed to be trying to chase him to Hong Kong.  Safer for him to be in some remote islands.