Representing Edward Snowden is 'no ordinary legal representation'

ACLU's Wizner will attend his client's Park City event

It's like something from a James Bond film.

Computer engineer, Edward Snowden, formerly with the CIA, is assigned to help the United States' National Security Agency (NSA) defend themselves from Chinese hackers.

He is quickly promoted to being an expert in "cyber counterintelligence" and a "cyberstrategist."

During this time, Snowden stumbles across unconstitutional misconducts and abuse of power in the intelligence community regarding privacy and surveillance.

After fleeing to Hong Kong and revealing documents to the press, Snowden is charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act and theft of government property. So he flees to Russia, which has granted him three years of temporary asylum.

Park City will get the opportunity to hear from Snowden when the Park City Institute kicks off its 2015-16 Main Stage Season with "Live from Russia: Edward Snowden" at the Eccles Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Dec. 5.

Snowden will appear via a video messaging service and will be interviewed by KUER's Doug Frabrizio, according to his lawyer, Ben Wizner of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Read more @ http://www.parkrecord.com/ci_29189099/representing-edward-snowden-is-no-ordinary-legal-representation

 

He didn’t flee to Russia, he was trapped in Russia when the US revoked his passport…..

 

Snowden’s biggest European fan stays loyal

As the lead negotiator for the European Parliament on data protection, Jan Albrecht’s voice carries far.

Edward Snowden is one of Jan Philipp Albrecht’s folk heroes. The Paris attacks didn’t change his mind, but the terrorists made his job harder.

As the lead negotiator for the European Parliament on the General Data Protection Regulation, the German Green is the driving force behind a law that will harmonize data protection rules across Europe.

The aim is to give people more power over what happens with their data, ranging from financial information to family photos, ensuring it is only processed, stored or sold with their consent. The law would also make it easier for people to switch services, like cloud photo storage, by making data more portable. Finally, companies could be fined for failure to comply or to notify authorities when breached.

The legislation is expected to be finalized by the end of December, but the tenor of the debate shifted after the Paris attacks coupled with the level-4 terror threat in Brussels. A growing number of political leaders are listening to frightened voters who are willing to sacrifice more privacy in order to feel more secure.

“[Snowden] didn’t reveal any intelligence about terrorist investigations but just information about the unlawful extent of intelligence agencies activities.”

 

Read more @ http://www.politico.eu/article/snowdens-biggest-european-fan-stays-loyal/

 

Edward Snowden, Deep Throat and the NSA 

Park City Institute's Teri Orr discusses Snowden's streamed appearance.

Teri Orr is the director of the Park City Institute, where she worked since 1996, before the Eccles Center in Park Center was built in 1998. But she is also a journalist, having served as an award-winning, former editor of the Park Record newspaper where she remains a columnist today. After hearing Edward Snowden speak at the 2014 TED conference via live stream, she had the idea to bring the infamous leaker of government confidential data to Utah. "I came into that experience neutral and left feeling I needed to understand more about the National Security Agency and how whistleblowers are treated," she writes in an email. "The entire freedom-of-the-press issue hit me in the gut. And I understand in a new way, nothing electronic is private, anymore." Her idea will become a reality this Saturday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m., the Eccles Center in Park City will host Edward Snowden streamed live from Russia (see City Weekly's Entertainment Picks for more information).

After hearing Edward Snowden talk at the Ted Conference, how did you come to view him—a patriotic whistle blower or a traitor who former CIA director James Woolsey claims has blood on his hands for the recent Paris attacks?

The more you study Edward Snowden—what he actually did and did not do, and his concerns for our country—you have to admire his bravery. If you saw the Oscar award-winning documentary, CitizenFour, you understand the enormous sacrifice and risk. When you understand his military family background and his own military service, you shift again. And when you see his Twitter feeds, you understand he also has a quick sense of humor. I think we will come to view Edward Snowden as we once did Deep Throat or Daniel Ellsberg. We will discover we initially misjudged him and come to understand him as a remarkable patriot. He deserves amnesty and a return to the United States and there are increasing calls for this to happen from New York Times editorials to former Attorney General Eric Holder suggesting we re-consider bringing him home and suggesting to make a deal to do so.

Read more @ http://www.cityweekly.net/utah/chat-with-teri-orr-about-chat-with-edward-snowden/Content?oid=3090263

 

Want a secure messaging app on desktop? Signal has announced a private beta

Open Whisper Systems has announced the launch of Signal on desktop, available in closed beta today. The messaging service is a favorite among privacy advocates, including NSA surveillance whistleblower Edward Snowden.

Signal offers end-to-end encryption for text, image, and video messages — both single and group conversations are available. The end-to-end encryption stops snoopers from being able to access or read the conversation.

Read more @ http://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/signal-desktop/

 

Watch: The Kremlin’s fantasy of an Edward Snowden presidency

RT, the Russian state-funded English news network, marked its tenth anniversary this month with a new promotional video. It imagines a world 20 years from now where a doddering President Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry, impersonated by actors, putter about in their retirement.

In the background in Obama's kitchen, RT blares away on Obama's television, showing a news conference where exiled whistleblower Edward Snowden is now the U.S. president and heralds a new era in transparency.

"Damn propaganda bullhorn," says Kerry, a reference to an actual remark he made about RT last year. Obama echoes his colleague's opinion.

Read more @ https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2015/12/04/watch-the-kremlins-fantasy-of-an-edward-snowden-presidency/

I think Snowden would make a brilliant US president..... because he has strong principles and stands by them, and he is for the people.


"What lies behind us and what lies before us are small matters compared to what lies within us."  ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~