Snowden's Revelations Have Strengthened the NSA

[Chef Ramsay]

h/t LRC http://www.lewrockwell.com/2014/05/gary-north/the-mob-is-sickening%E2%80%A8/

How Snowden's Revelations Have Strengthened the NSA

http://www.garynorth.com/public/12446.cfm

Gary North (14 May 2014)

It has been a year since Edward Snowden blew the whistle on the NSA.

I appreciate what Snowden did. His decision to leak the stolen documents has done the conservative movement an enormous favor. It has blown to smithereens the greatest single myth of conservatism: "If the American people knew about this, there would be an uprising." No, there wouldn't.

Here is a variation: "If the voters knew what is being done to them by the Conspiracy, they would throw out the conspirators at the next election." No, they wouldn't.

I have heard variants of these arguments for 50 years. Conservatives don't learn. They think that by exposing the Bad Guys, they will defeat the Bad Guys. They're wrong.

Snowden has proven, as no one in my era has better proved, that exposure of the Bad Guys in government has no negative effect on them.

If exposure does come, and the public does nothing to thwart the hidden Bad Guys, then the Bad Guys no longer have to worry about further exposure. It will be old news. At this point, they can do even more to secure their position of power. The pressure blows over. There may be a time of bad publicity, but this does not change anything fundamental.

Before Snowden, the best examples were the big bankers, who were bailed out a taxpayers' expense in 2009. They got richer. The public knows. The public groused a little. Did this hurt the bankers? No. They got bonuses for their failures. Congress bailed out the big banks, and there were no negative public sanctions on either Congress or the big banks. It's business as usual.

The voters know. The voters have done nothing. It's old news.

But Snowden's revelations have gone far beyond the big bank bailouts of 2009. They have thrown light on a power grab by the government that is perpetual. It was generally hidden. James Bamford's book, The Puzzle Palace (1983), did good work. It had no negative effect on the NSA. But he did not have incontrovertible evidence. Snowden did, and he released it. He got worldwide publicity.

The NSA is more powerful than ever. From now on, any further exposure is old news. No harm, no foul.

Sen. Paul does have a class action suit going and something may or may not come from it. But ultimately, if and when he does run for President I hope the crypto community will be more well off by then to be able to fund a campaign like he's going to run.

[Mike Christ]

It makes sense: evil people are supported by evil people; why would evil wish to oust evil?

[Hazir]

This again proves one thing - people just does not care anymore. Most people are sheeps and muppets anyway. As long as they can live happily without bothering much these people can be exploited and sheared everyday. System won again.

[Elwar]

The only people who care about what Snowden is saying pretty much knew everything he revealed anyway.

Everyone else either justified it in their minds or ignored it.

I believe he destroyed his own life for nothing.

[bryant.coleman]

I believe he destroyed his own life for nothing.

No. Disagree with that. Even if the American general public remain indifferent to the Snowden revelations, people living in Europe and other parts of the world have come to their senses. The NSA is exposed and its reputation tarnished.

[Balthazar]

I believe he destroyed his own life for nothing.

Too strong words. He's young, talented and has a good job. He need to meet a girl, marry and have kids.

[5flags]

Snowden's revelations have certainly cemented the police state in the US. The revelations were met with an almighty yawn from the herds in the US. This is hardly surprising, it's the most comfortable tax farm on Earth.

I think the revelations have been useful globally, as they have highlighted that the Internet giants are essentially humint sources for American TLAs. Hopefully it will lead to a bit of a drive to more decentralised efforts.

[validium]

I believe he destroyed his own life for nothing.

I disagree, i remember him saying that given the chance he would do it again, does that sound like a man who regrets what he did.

[Ron~Popeil]

I think he was a Russian agent. I am glad he did what he did but I think his motives were less noble than is generally believed by his supporters. 

[bryant.coleman]

Too strong words. He's young, talented and has a good job. He need to meet a girl, marry and have kids.

In my opinion, he will be better alone. If he does marry and have children, then his family will be targeted by the CIA. Even if he retires to some remote corner of Siberia, his family won't be safe.

[Balthazar]

Too strong words. He's young, talented and has a good job. He need to meet a girl, marry and have kids.

In my opinion, he will be better alone. If he does marry and have children, then his family will be targeted by the CIA. Even if he retires to some remote corner of Siberia, his family won't be safe.

That's not a problem... He can fake own death through gas explosion or car accident and get a new identity, for example.

[5flags]

I suspect he has a better-than-average knowledge of how to go off the grid.

[validium]

I suspect he has a better-than-average knowledge of how to go off the grid.

This maybe true, he must have access to some kind of info on how to disappear completely, while he was working for nsa.

[Nathonas]

I think it is a bit early to say that what Snowden has done was completely pointless/ or even helping the NSA. For one thing, a lot of supposedly juicy documents have not been released yet, as hinted at by Greenwald. Plus the leaks have made the ENTIRE WORLD aware of how their governments are spying on them. But it is really disheartening to see how the American people have reacted to the leaks...I feel bad for Snowden, the guy gave up a perfect life, hoping people would join him and are instead completely apathetic.

[bitsmichel]

I believe he destroyed his own life for nothing.

His life is not destroyed, he is just living a different kind of life now. Perhaps he has a nice girlfriend, healthy food and plays video games 2 hours a day.. we can only speculate, but to live in Russia does not mean your life is destroyed.

Anyway, about what it is really about in the end: dragnet surveillance.
These guys (and many others) do not agree:


(tor is an anonymity network)

This again proves one thing - people just does not care anymore. Most people are sheeps and muppets anyway. As long as they can live happily without bothering much these people can be exploited and sheared everyday. System won again.

People do care, for example there is a recent phenomena of 'revenge sex', in which some people post nudes/sexual videos of their ex gfs. There has been some legal trials and all on these matters. People care about (some) of their data, most of them are just a little naive.