During the carefully manipulated session, there was a "surprise" caller.
Courtesy of NBC News:
NSA leaker Edward Snowden put a direct question to Vladimir Putin during a live televised question-and-answer session Thursday, asking Russia's president about Moscow's use of mass surveillance on its citizens.
Speaking via a video link, Snowden asked: "I've seen little public discussion of Russia's own involvement in the policies of mass surveillance, so I'd like to ask you: Does Russia intercept, store or analyze, in any way, the communications of millions of individuals?"
Putin replied by stating Russia did not carry out mass surveillance on its population, and that its intelligence operations were strictly regulated by court orders.
"Mr Snowden, you are a former agent, a spy, I used to work for the intelligence service, we are going to talk one professional language," Putin said, according to translation by state-run broadcaster Russia Today.
"Our intelligence efforts are strictly regulated by our law so...you have to get a court permission to stalk that particular person.
"We don't have as much money as they have in the States and we don't have these technical devices that they have in the States. Our special services, thank God, are strictly controlled by society and the law and regulated by the law."
He added: "Of course, we know that terrorists and criminals use technology so we have to use means to respond to these, but we don't have uncontrollable efforts like [in America]."
One of the call-in program's hosts introduced Snowden's video message by saying: "We've got really sensational, really outrageous video message from a person who revolutionized the world by leaking information about American secret services."
So the Snowden has now completely transformed himself from a "reluctant whistle blower who felt compelled to reveal the NSA's data gathering techniques" to a propaganda tool for an ex-KGB agent turned Russian tyrant, who identified him directly "a former agent, a spy."
There is nothing to take from this except for the fact that Snowden did indeed provide Russia with the material that he took from is time working for Booz Allen Hamilton, and that now he is functioning as fully cooperating operative of the Putin administration.
One who is now allowing Putin to shrug off charges of being a despot by using the NSA scandal to provide cover for his actions, and to paint him as more sympathetic character, while blaming the Ukrainian situation on interference from President Obama. A tactic that is helped in no small way by John McCain and conservatives in this country.
Earlier there had been speculation that the information Snowden provided Putin might have been what enabled Putin to slip Russian forces into Crimea undetected, and I think this is just one more piece of evidence which supports that contention.
I think for those who are still supporters of Edward Snowden there are some very serious, and very troubling questions you have to ask yourself.
Number one is was Snowden a Russian spy all along?
Very disappointed in you. You provided zero evidence in this post that Edward Snowden did anything more than pose a question to Vladimer Putin. You should apply for a Fox News job.
ReplyDeleteSeriously?
DeleteFor one thing Snowden knows full well the capabilities of the Russian spy network, he has undoubtedly seen the data or at the very least heard the stories while working for Booz.
For another thing there is NO way that this call came through if Putin did not want it broadcast. Therefore Snowden is allowing himself to be used by Vlad, for the purpose of providing him the opportunity to dispute charges that Russia has a very invasive domestic spying network of its own.
And third, what he stole from the US has allowed Putin to outmaneuver our surveillance capabilities, and provided Putin with powerful ammunition to use against the President and the US.
Gryphen- do you ever stop to consider that the NSA and its power, purpose, capabilities, secrecy, largess, and lack of any true transparency or accountability might be the real underlying issue? If the NSA did not exist- neither would Snowden.
DeleteI'm more convinced than ever that the Snowden critics are just bent because this happened during Obama's term.
10:12 data surveillance began under Bush-Cheney. Duh. It's called the Patrior Act.
DeleteWho'd have guessed -- Gryphen's a Neocon like Sarah Palin. Do you people not read the f'ing news. Everything going on in Ukraine was orchestrated by the US as part of our Neocon strategy to choke off Russia. Did you not hear the taped phone calls from Victoria Nuland of the U.S. State Department basically dictating which US Stooges should be in charge after the coup?
Delete10:45 - yes everyone is aware of the patriot act from the Bush admin, duh. You tell me what this administration has done to remove it, neuter it, stop its tentacles etc... oh wait, they have only let it get bigger and stronger, duh.
DeleteWhen people die because of this immature beyond belief Snowden you, Prut, will disappear off the internet.
DeleteHow convenient.
Damn, Prut, quit beating around the bush.
DeleteNo need for all your histrionics.
Just go ahead and call Jessie a Gay lover.
11:03 So you actually missed that part in jr. high about how the branches of the government works--huh? Duh. Or are you just being willfully ignorant?
Delete11:05 please explain in detail who you think is going to die, the situation and/or circumstances they will be in that contributes to their death, why they are going to die or who is going to kill them, and exactly what snowden has provided that will be the cause of this.
DeleteHoly cow! You all act as if Gryphen has said that Palin is the greatest thing since sliced bread!
DeleteYou know that he doesn't go right wing. I think he goes too far left sometimes, but for him to point out one thing that concerns him (Our National security!) You all jump on him like a pack of wolves.
You won't agree with someone 100% of the time. So when you don't agree you can't say "I disagree, but I understand the point". You jump on him like a pack of wolves.
Way to show tolerance!
DumbAss!
Were I Snowden, I'd probably be inclinded to be a little more deferential to the man who is protecting me agains the country that wants to jail/torture/murder me.
ReplyDeletePrut must be Russian.
DeleteBullshit!
DeleteNo one is fooled by this crap. And the idea that you think anyone is makes you a bit of a moron.
We are supposed to believe Putin, a man who is overrunning a sovereign nation and stolen billions from his own hasn't already squashed Snowden like a cockroach? Snowden is acting for his life and anyone with one eye and half a brain sees and knows it.
So I guess that would make you blind and brainless.
Putin is not protecting him...he is merely using him. I suspect Snowden is pretty much persona non grata in Russia and is being kept around just to poke the US in the eye when they desire to do so.
DeleteI doubt Snowden is leading a very happy life at this point (as other traitors take in by the Soviet Union/Russia have discovered).
Prut.
DeleteI have no sympathy.
For the moment, Putin can use Snowden. Don't think his question was not prepared, rehearsed along with the answer. No free give or take for Mr. Putin.
DeleteBeaglemom
Putin as protector? Hilarious!
DeletePutin would jail, torture, AND murder Snowden as soon as look at him.
Really, ANony 11:33? If that istrue was did Putin give Snowden asylum?
DeleteHmmm 1:08. Can you think of a reason why Putin would give Snowden asylum? Because Putin is such a good guy who believes in democracy and privacy of the common citizen?
DeleteOr maybe...just maybe...it's because Snowden is useful at the moment.
Anon 1:08 Uuuuuummmmm-----a buttload of American intel that Snowden spirited out of the country . . . .
DeleteSnowden did not publish anything, nor has he given anything to any foreign government. Everything he took he turned over to professional journalists at the Washington Post, the Guardian and others around the world and left it up to them to decide what was relevant and what needed published. He's a hero.
DeleteThat's the definition of investigative journalism.
DeleteI sincerely hope that Snowden is captured and brought back to the USA. He would be put on trial, found guilty and likely put to death. He should be hung from the rafters is my humble opinion!!! He's a traitor and non American!
ReplyDeleteJohn McCain's mouth should be sewn shut! He is also a traitor to America!
ReplyDeleteYes, I have always thought he was a spy. He was fishing for someone to bite into his information gathering. First China, then Russia. Who else would take him in? He is definitely not a whistle blower.
ReplyDelete10cats
I was hoping he would end up in North Korea.
DeleteMaybe read the new Vanity Fair article about Snowden; you couldn't be "wronger-er."
DeleteAnon 2:15
DeleteSo was the article written today after Ed played around with Putin? No?
This could also be proof that Snowdon is an idiot.
ReplyDeleteHe really is stupid. He's sure not thinking of the long game/big picture.
DeleteIt's interesting that two posts down you say America is an oligarchy run for the benefit of the wealthy and powerful few, then in the next breath you are regurgitating propaganda from this same oligarchical government.
ReplyDeleteZactly.
DeletePropaganda?
DeleteSnowden cannot be trusted.
He is an attention whore for sale.
No one was willing to pay the dolt, though.
Now he is just somebody looking for anyone to love him.
You are getting your ass kicked by repeating the same propaganda as fox news. Let it go....America is an oligarchy, a plutocracy with its own spin cycle. It is as bad if not worse than Russia....we invade, we take, and call it spreading democracy. Really??? Don't blow snowden off.
ReplyDeleteAhem. We're certainly not a perfect union, far from it, but we're a lot better than Putin's one-man growing dictatorship. When we, the people, work together we defeat oligarchs: Romney didn't win, did he? Snowden betrayed his country when he sneaked off to China or maybe he didn't know that Hong Kong belongs to China now to sell his stolen secrets. Back in the day, he could have faced execution for what he did.
DeleteBeaglemom
LOL!
DeleteA lazy, empty comment.
Defect to Russia like your hero, Snowden.
I assure you, no one will notice your absence.
We aren't an oligarchy yet. Ask the Koch brothers. They wouldn't be throwing do much money around trying to undo all of our civic protections and undermine our democratic processes if they had succeeded in their aim of creating an oligarchy that suits their aims.
DeleteM from MD.
10:16 AM If anyone is 'BLOWING SNOWDEN OFF' it is you. If that is how you get your kicks, enjoy your Traitor.
DeleteWow - a Glenn Greenwald fanboy club has hit this thread.
ReplyDeleteYes, he's a traitor; he gave up our country's secrets to our enemies. Covert agents in service of our country are now in harms way.
Was anything he said news? If so, you weren't paying attention to the Patriot Act, which began under Bush- Cheney,
Snowden is also a coward.
DeletePrut = Sarah.
ReplyDeleteNo, Sarah has no idea what's going on in the world.
DeleteTruw, that is way she hires people to do her work for her. :-)
DeleteClearly Snowden doesn't fathom the hypocrisy of his situation. Then again he probably does but is just pulling a "ohnevermindthat" on himself.
ReplyDeleteA better question to Putin would have been "How many of your political opponents do you murder or jail on fabricated charges?"
~Canuck~
Levi: "Turn around and assume the position."
ReplyDeletePrut: "Yes, Daddy."
The Prut (also spelled in English Pruth; Romanian pronunciation: [prut], Ukrainian: Прут) is a 953 km (592 mi) long river in Eastern Europe. In part of its course it forms Romania's border with Moldova and Ukraine.
ReplyDeleteNice!
DeleteActually, we did not know where Dad's folks were from. Just had one of those DNA tests done. They were from the former Soviet Republic of Georgia (possibly Turkey). That was just 15 percent of my DNA though, the rest is French. So I admit to being a cheeseeatingmuslimsurrendermonkey.
DeleteI think, Snowden recently tried to make contact with the outside world again, and Putin publicly just put a BIG, GIANT damper on him, reminding him just WHO is the boss.
ReplyDeleteAnd, YES, I have believed all along, that Snowden was a Russian spy. Why else would he (as well as 'Anonymous'...) just have info on WESTERN issues, but never on anything from the Eastblock?!
Yes, Snowden is and has always been a traitor and as you point out probably was from the begining.
ReplyDeleteAll ofthis may have been avoided or at least discovered before he defected, if the US Government was not being run by private coorporations under the guise of "reducing the number of government employees" and saving money. The last is a bold faced lie. As a federal employee who is not allowed to hire directly, I know how much more it costs. And although "contractors" are required to go through background checks, the background check they are subject to is minimal: nothing that would be required of a regular employee.
Outsourcing.
DeleteIt destroyed the Roman Empire and will destroy us too.
Meh, don't really care about Snowden one way or the other.
ReplyDeleteSnowden is a great American hero
ReplyDeleteHe exposed Obama's surveillance state
A hero ain't nothing but a sandwhich . . . .
DeletePatriot Act 2001.
1:43 You are a friggin' idiot! The NSA has been in play under past Republican and Dem POTUS.
DeleteYou cannot blame our current POTUS. How about trying the one before him too? I believe his name was President Bush.
Check your history and facts!
It was never a big secret that the US Government was recording details of all phone calls and emails (all over the world)- it just wasn't talked about at polite cocktail parties. As soon as Bush said, "Trrrrrrsm", foreign governments rolled over .... but Putin probably told him to go fuck himself.
ReplyDeleteGet real. The NSA director - who answers to President OBAMA, NOT President Bush - flat-out lied to Congress that the NSA was NOT doing this invasive data-collecting on Americans.
DeleteDid he suffer any repercussions whatsoever for his lie?
Nope.
NSA directors lying about it is neither here nor there. It's all semantics.
DeletePlus, the NSA has been in play for years under both Republican and Democratic POTUS. President Obama does NOT get the blame here!
DeleteEVERY president who has let NSA ride illegally roughshod over Americans' privacy deserves blame, and that includes Obama.
DeleteYour post makes no sense, 3:20. Try being intellectually honest instead of hypocritical, and you won't have to hide behind your own semantics.
It was not known that they were bugging our allies and even members of Congress. Don't you think the idea behind it was to find stuff with which to blackmail them so that they would not threaten the security state?
Delete4:52 Do you even know what national security is? You sound about 14.
DeleteWas it really ever up for discussion?
ReplyDeleteIt's true he never faced an official judicial proceeding to make such a legal determination, but he made it rather inconvenient to address the matter in the customary manner.
Just because some positive developments may have resulted from his actions - and that's yet to be seen - doesn't make him a hero.
Everyone who's calling Snowden a traitor just doesn't understand the importance of his question. It's not about Russia's technical expertise - it's simply about physical access /time /money/influence. What they don't have is the privileged access to key data transit points that the five eyes have.
ReplyDeleteCan they hack a western server and pull some data? No doubt they could. But can they mass-collect 5 billion mobile phone location records a day and process hundreds of millions of European phone calls in bulk, via privileged access to the transatlantic fiber backbone infrastructure...all without the West knowing? No way NO HOW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_surveillance_disclosures_
Read that and come away feeling good about the USA World Surveillance Dominance. You cannot. It's truly staggering capability.
Where have you been for the past 75 years? Eisenhower first foretold this. So did Orwell. It's not NEW.
DeleteSnowden is exactly where he belongs, doing exactly what he's kept to be..... Putin's private houseboy and prop.
ReplyDeleteFinally,you stop hero-worshipping this guy.
ReplyDeleteGryphen stopped a long time ago.
DeleteNot necessarily OT. JFK speech about freedom of the press and the absolute need for newspapers to be unfettered in truth-telling while considering national security and the required censorship them security entails.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avR5kQkZaU0
dowl
Yes. But can we require them to tell the truth?
DeleteI'm thinking Fox News and Obamacare, et al.
How can anyone who claims to be a journalist, be against journalism?
ReplyDeleteSnowden is not a journalist. He's a spy. You're welcome.
DeleteMark your calendars. On this day Gryphen agreed with Sarah Palin.
ReplyDeleteGAG.
Well, I always maintained he was a traitor.
ReplyDeleteSo I guess, "told you so".