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Update: DannyB adds: United States Files Civil Lawsuit Against Edward Snowden
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-nsa-cbs-this-morning-interview-today-2019-09-16/
When pressed on whether he considers what he did unlawful, Snowden refused to take a position but said "it's not hard to make the argument that I broke the law." He went on to say that the government continues to allege that his disclosures caused harm but, according to Snowden, has yet to show evidence of that harm.
"They never show evidence for it even though we're now more than 6 years on, it would be the easiest thing in the world to show. We've never heard that story," he said. "If they had some classified evidence that a hair on a single person's head was harmed, you know as well as I do, it would be on the front page of The New York Times by the end of the day."
Snowden also took issue with the common refrain that leaking classified documents violated the oath of secrecy he took upon entering the CIA. He said an oath of secrecy does not exist.
"One of the common misconceptions in one of the earlier attacks, that we heard in 2015, that we don't hear of so much anymore is that I violated this oath of secrecy. That does not exist. There is a secrecy agreement, but there is also an oath of service. An oath of service is to support and defend, not an agency, not even the president, it is to support and defend the Constitution of the United States of America against all enemies – direct quote – foreign and domestic. And this begs the question, what happens when our obligations come into conflict."
(Score: 4, Insightful) by DannyB on Tuesday September 17 2019, @03:43PM (5 children)
Obama took office Jan 20, 2009. Then again in 2013.
Snowden's revelations were May 20, 2013.
Obama, the entire administration, took the position Snowden was a traitor instead of a hero. CNN stepped right in line with the administration. That is when I completely cut off watching CNN, and have never gone back. Amazing how much time I got back. I almost dropped CNN when they failed to cover, but also were supporters of SOPA. CNN's total failure to even make a pretense of objectivity is what pushed me over the edge.
Off topic: I also realized how much of a black hole for time that CNN and other news media really are. BREAKING NEWS. But after the break will be this interesting story . . . yeah . . . after the break and at the very end of the hour will be that story, and it will be a fizzle rather than what was implied. Everything is BREAKING NEWS. The most frivolous new fact is BREAKING NEWS.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by ikanreed on Tuesday September 17 2019, @03:52PM (2 children)
Man, my mental order of events was all wrong. This comic came out 5 years before Snowden [thisishistorictimes.com]
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 17 2019, @03:58PM
As I get older, I find I sometimes mis-remember events. I try to remember specific dates that go with those events to help keep them straight. Or I can use the amazing power of google. :-)
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.
(Score: 2) by PinkyGigglebrain on Tuesday September 17 2019, @05:16PM
Thank you for that link.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 4, Interesting) by meustrus on Tuesday September 17 2019, @04:17PM (1 child)
If it took you evidence of political bias to stop watching CNN, you are the problem. The reason not to watch CNN is because it's just low quality journalism.
They chase eyeballs, not headlines. They are very careful to avoid offending advertisers. If something seems controversial, they either won't report on it, or they will take the establishment side.
Meanwhile, people are making a false dichotomy between CNN and Fox News. They are not opposites. In many important ways, they serve the same masters. Your preference comes down to whether you prefer some explicit right-wing bias in your news or a laughably thin pretense of objectivity.
You're getting pro-corporate bias either way, whether it's the bias against government regulation or the bias in favor of expanding the labor pool to include more women, minorities, and immigrants. Oh, and also bias in favor of the very profitable military industrial complex. Which is what this whole "intelligence" scheme is really about.
CNN is crap. That's not a political statement. It's a criticism of its journalism. Luckily, we have access to so many less-filtered sources now. Unfortunately, less-filtered sources means that trash and propaganda is mixed in too. CNN at least filters some of the crap and sticks to US propaganda, but it also filters out lots of real news that displeases its corporate overlords. If you want better, you need to work for it.
If there isn't at least one reference or primary source, it's not +1 Informative. Maybe the underused +1 Interesting?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday September 17 2019, @04:41PM
I didn't stop watching CNN because of any politics. But because of its journalism. I did say . . .
CNN had no objectivity about Snowden. They took one side. It was in line with the then current Obama administration and military.
I then pointed out a 2nd instance from earlier which almost, but just didn't quite push me to stop watching. That was SOPA. On the day when all the major internet sites had black pages "the internet went dark", brought national attention to SOPA. Suddenly all congress critters who were behind it now distanced themselves from it. Everyone could read about how bad SOPA actually was, and it wasn't just a secret back room thing anymore. But CNN totally ignored this newsworthy item.
So that's two instances I point out of bad journalism. SOPA almost made me stop watching CNN. Snowden pushed me over the edge.
I might (but won't) say I might agree with CNN's politics actually, but I don't watch them any more, so I can't say that -- and I don't see them as objective at all, and thus can't trust their politics even if I might agree.
The lower I set my standards the more accomplishments I have.