I can't watch this right now, but I'm looking forward to seeing it later tonight.
[0] http://www.opb.org/news/article/npr-sxsw-snowden-speech-has-...
If there is one thing I don't understand about this entire issue, it is how partisan politics are actually playing out. Normally I just look at what people in my extended family think, but all of the Republicans/conservatives in my extended family think that all of this NSA stuff is A Big Deal(tm) and think Snowden a patriotic hero (presumably because they think that it paints the Obama administration in a bad light, which they are always all for.)
I agree with their conclusions, though I have a different motivation for doing so.
Furthermore, I would say that all or almost all of the pro-NSA viewpoints I have heard from people around me are from not necessarily liberals, but people who buy into the Democratic party line very hard. They seem to have the same basic motivation as my conservative relatives, though different political alignment.
What is the deal with pro-NSA Republicans/conservatives though? I haven't actually met any in person so I haven't been able to grill any. Has anybody else had the opportunity?
"We need public oversight ... some way for trusted public figures to advocate for us. We need a watchdog that watches Congress, because if we're not informed, we can't consent to these (government) policies."
A somewhat ok paraphrasing is here: http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/10/tech/web/edward-snowden-sxsw/
One remark stuck with me "....the NSA surveillance was setting fire to the future of the Internet". Absolutely!
2. It's a shame no-one asked him about his opinions on Russia's recent actions. I know it isn't anything to do with the revelations he exposed, but seeking asylum in Russia makes him part of the broader political game.
I'm as politically cynical as just about anyone I know. I have no faith in either party. Ron Paul was the only remotely interesting candidate in the primaries, but after he lost I couldn't care less about the Obama vs Romney election. Both are empty suits beholden to the highest bidder. Sure, the parties are great at focusing on polarizing issues like abortion and distribution of wealth, but neither one apparently gives a fuck about reforming the rot at the core (e.g. campaign financing, congress beholden to corporate interest, defense spending, moral hazard post bailouts, cost of college skyrocketing along with student aid keeping pace, etc).
So yes, I'm a doom and gloom kind of guy who sees no clear way out of the mess that the US is in. I'm not patriotic, though I'm still grateful to be a US citizen. I scoffed at the Tea Party's obsession with the US Constitution since I saw very little evidence that they really understood what it's all about. If I saw any politician giving an interview with a US Constitution as the backdrop, I'd roll my eyes and wonder what they were trying to sell me.
BUT, Snowden is the best example that I know of as a person that really values the plan for the US as laid out by the Constitution and who saw first hand an insidious threat to ignoring those principles without the public even being aware. If there's anyone who has earned the right to call himself a true patriot and defender of the Constitution, it's Edward Snowden. So the backdrop may not be such an odd choice given that perspective, IMO.
This is naïve at best. At most, he's shown some interest in a tiny portion of the Constitution but his alignment with Russia and his appeal to dictatorships for asylum shows he doesn't value freedom of speech and other values enshrined in the Constitution.
It was a very interesting interview. Combined with the Aaron Schwartz documentary and a cross to Assange it's been quite an intense couple of days!
Regardless of whether it might reveal either a gap between his stance and his hosts or between him and US opinion, it just isn't relevant. Might as well ask him about his stance on drug policy, nuclear energy or GMO food.
The Saul Goodman backdrop, though -- pretty funny as a tongue in cheek reference, I guess, pretty cheesy otherwise.
http://blog.inside.com/blog/2014/3/10/edward-snowden-sxsw-fu...
