The Surveillnance State - Interview with whistleblower

Every one of these whistlblowers is a hero.

Guardian interview -

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'

Ex-CIA worker source of US spy agency leaks

Washington: A 29-year-old government contractor has been revealed as the source of bombshell leaks about US monitoring of internet users and phone records

SMH,

10 June, 2013

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Edward Snowden told the Guardian newspaper on Sunday he was motivated solely by a desire to inform the public about the ‘‘massive surveillance machine’’.

‘‘I have no intention of hiding who I am because I know I have done nothing wrong,’’ he said. But with the US government seeking a criminal investigation into the leaks, he admitted: ‘‘I do not expect to see home again.’’

The newspaper, which posted a video interview of Mr Snowden clearly showing his face, said it was revealing his identity at his request.

A former technical assistant for the CIA, Mr Snowden worked for four years at the National Security Agency as an employee of various outside contractors, including Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton, his current employer.

‘‘My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them,’’ Mr Snowden said.

Three weeks ago, he packed his bags for Hong Kong and left a salary of about $US200,000 ($A210,150), a girlfriend with whom he lived in Hawaii, a stable career and a loving family, according to The Guardian.

‘‘I’m willing to sacrifice all of that because I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building,’’ Mr Snowden said.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper earlier called for a criminal probe into the leaks, slamming the ‘‘gut-wrenching’’ disclosures for causing ‘‘huge, grave damage’’ to US intelligence capabilities.

‘‘The NSA has filed a crimes report on this already,’’ Mr Clapper told NBC, referring to the leaks to The Guardian and The Washington Post.

With NSA Leaker in Hong Kong, US Looks to Blame China

Former CIA Officer Says Snowden Should've Leaked From Someplace Else

Anti-war,

9 June, 2013

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and others have made it clear that they are offended by the notion that the American public now knows about the NSA’s broad surveillance of everyday life, and have promised to see the leaker severely punished for threatening their regime with “reckless disclosures” of their untoward behavior.

The promises of a prosecution, seemingly just for spite’s sake, took another turn today when Guardian identified former CIA contractor Edward Snowden as the leaker, and revealed that he is in Hong Kong.

And since Hong Kong is in China, this sparked immediate speculation that the whole matter is China’s fault, as though the Chinese government was the only one who had some vested interest in making the American public aware of just how little privacy they have.

Former CIA officer Robert Baer said that if Snowden seriously just wanted to let the American public know the truth, he should’ve leaked the data from somewhere that it would be easier to extradite him from, or better still from the US itself.

“We’ll never get him from China. There’s not a chance,” lamented Baer. Though Hong Kong has an extradition agreement with the US, Snowden cited the city’s long-standing support for free speech as a factor in his being there. He added that he is interested in asylum from any countries that might oppose the US surveillance state.