
The SidToday Files - aestetix
https://theintercept.com/snowden-sidtoday/
======
slg
>The articles are written in accessible, non-technical language and offer a
window into the NSA’s culture and operations. They originate from within the
Signals Intelligence Directorate, or SID, the NSA’s core spying division, and
were provided by whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Sorry, but since when is "offering a window into... culture and operations"
whistleblowing? These articles are going to be crazy interesting, but I have a
hard time believing they are things that _deserve_ to be exposed. This is my
problem with Snowden. If he stuck to the unconstitutional domestic spying
stories, I would be his biggest fan. Instead he seems to have a problem with
the idea of spying in general and is willing to release anything that puts it
in a bad light.

EDIT: After clicking through a few pages I came to this [1] which admits that
this release is a big departure from the previous Snowden releases. It still
doesn't really explain why this is being done, how this is in the public
interests, or why this should qualify as whistleblowing.

[1] - [https://theintercept.com/2016/05/16/the-intercept-is-
broaden...](https://theintercept.com/2016/05/16/the-intercept-is-broadening-
access-to-the-snowden-archive-heres-why/)

~~~
thisjustinm
If I was in Snowden's shoes and I realized the scope of NSA spying and that I
had virtually unlimited access to internal documents I likely would have
downloaded everything possible too.

How would you know what was significant and what was not? Think about how many
man-hours it has taken to analyze the various documents released so far.

Is Snowden responsible for all the documents he gave to the press? Sure.

Should he have carefully filtered them all one-by-one before downloading them
from the NSA? No way - it's far too much and too subjective work to be done by
just one person.

Should The Intercept have published these? That's open for debate but I don't
for a second question Snowden's gathering of them in the first place.

~~~
slg
>How would you know what was significant and what was not?

Do you realize the irony in this statement? This is the exact problem with
mass surveillance. Neither Snowden nor the NSA should be able to ignore the
law, grab everything they have access to, and justify it by saying the good
outweighs the bad. That isn't how the law is supposed to work. These
restrictions apply to both good and bad guys.

The people who are defending Snowden's actions with this logic are using the
exact same line of thinking that inspired these programs in the first place.

~~~
PhasmaFelis
What should he have done instead?

A more circumspect whistleblower who worked within the system could have
exposed wrongdoing without risking legitimate secrets, yes. But whistleblowers
aren't _allowed_ to work within the system. Snowden tried and was rebuffed.
The tactic he eventually chose was _less_ harmful than allowing the NSA to
continue running wild with no effective oversight.

~~~
slg
>What should he have done instead?

It could have been something as simple as telling the journalists "You only
have the documents because I leaked them to you therefore everything you
publish is my responsibility both legally and ethically. In turn, as long as I
am alive I request editorial approval of everything you publish on the
subject."

>The tactic he eventually chose was less harmful than allowing the NSA to
continue running wild with no effective oversight.

Like mass surveillance is less harmful than potential allowing the next 9/11?
Don't you see the flaw in this logic? You can't just ignore the law because
you personally think the ends justify the means. This applies equally to both
sides of the debate.

~~~
sjburt
Snowden does not have access to anything he leaked any more. He physically
turned everything over before he left Hong Kong and did not bring copies with
him to Russia. Since he's undoubtedly under surveillance in Russia, there's
not any safe way for him to review anything.

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nomoba
Why there is no upvote button in this post?

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jgrahamc
You already upvoted it?

~~~
nomoba
No, you see it?

~~~
retox
I see it.

Tried to upload to imgur but I think you need an account. Any IMG hosts that
don't? Imageshack has long since turned to the dark side.

~~~
soylentcola
Off-topic, but I don't believe you need an account to upload to imgur.
Honestly the only reason I use it is because it's the first site that pops
into my head when I need to do a quick, no-fuss image upload where the link
won't break anytime soon due to bandwidth limits a-la photobucket and friends.

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jgrahamc
The one thing I really want to know from these leaks is whether the chink I
found in Kryptos IV is actually the route to break it.

[https://twitter.com/jgrahamc/status/709648710398054400](https://twitter.com/jgrahamc/status/709648710398054400)

