A Conversation With Edward Snowden

Megalith

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Neil deGrasse Tyson’s featured guest on StarTalk this week is none other than Edward Snowden. This is more of an informal conversation that involves everything from encryption to communication with aliens.

Neil deGrasse Tyson chats with whistleblower Edward Snowden via robotic telepresence from Moscow. The two card-carrying members of the geek community discuss Isaac Newton, the difference between education and learning, and even how knowledge is created. They also dive into the Periodic Table and chemistry, before moving on to the more expected subjects of data compression, encryption and privacy.
 
A man of science with a blues like voice and a modern day American hero defending civil liberties. What else could one want?
 
Geniuses, heroes and genius-heroes are rarely appreciated in their own time.
 
Well, it's no surprise that these two sub-normal, self-loving dummies would go kissy face with one another. This is another reason why people without college educational background don't belong in positions that require thinking or responsibility.
 
Well, it's no surprise that these two sub-normal, self-loving dummies would go kissy face with one another. This is another reason why people without college educational background don't belong in positions that require thinking or responsibility.

Please share with the rest of us whatever it is your smoking, or do you prefer to vaporize. I'm guessing it's a mixture of Adrenochrome, PCP and Salvia. :confused:
 
Well, it's no surprise that these two sub-normal, self-loving dummies would go kissy face with one another. This is another reason why people without college educational background don't belong in positions that require thinking or responsibility.

Good thing the colleges are getting more expensive. God damn peasants were starting to think they mattered.
 
I assume anyone that clicked on that link is now a traitor of the USA?
 
You should look up Tyson's record about truth telling. He's as believable as Bill Nye The Science Guy as far as I'm concerned.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=neil+degrasse+tyson+lie

Yeah, he is an entertainer, with a LONG track record of making up information and getting called on it. I personally like watching his shows, but as far as him being a legitimate source of truth, i take it with a grain of salt, as he has an agenda.

I'll stick with Mchiu Kaku or Brian Greene when I want real science.
 
LOL @ all the Snowden deification. He's a tool on a fool's mission.

It's true, a fool's mission is to try defending the country's founding principles. That stuff is out of style, and people are too poor, dumb and uneducated on average to even wrap their heads around anything beyond servitude these days.
 
It's true, a fool's mission is to try defending the country's founding principles.

Not at all. I don't think most people have a problem with what Snowden did. But no matter how it happened, defending the country's founding principles from Russia under the control a Vladimir Putin, a man trained specifically to spy on his enemies and undermine those principles by any means at his disposal, I mean seriously? I can't trust this government but hey, Snowden and Putin are totally trustworthy?
 
I think it's a sad state of affair when you closest enemy is your safe haven against a government that wants to kill you for following the principals that formed the country you live in.

I'm not supremely educated on the situation with Snowden but oddly I don't think he is exactly as bad as the US government.
 
He is just another traitor, that decided he was more important than reality dictated.
Some people want to ignore the truth, and deify him, well I suppose that is their right. They are free to lie to themselves and say his actions were guided by principle, and true patriotism, rather than the reality of greed and glory seeking. Don't expect me to believe that stupidity any more than I believe in the Abrahamic God.
 
Not at all. I don't think most people have a problem with what Snowden did. But no matter how it happened, defending the country's founding principles from Russia under the control a Vladimir Putin, a man trained specifically to spy on his enemies and undermine those principles by any means at his disposal, I mean seriously? I can't trust this government but hey, Snowden and Putin are totally trustworthy?

TBH, its hard not to think of them as more trustworthy. Snowden aside, Putin is seemingly pretty open about the shit he does. Most of the time, that weird shit with Croatia wasn't though.
 
Not at all. I don't think most people have a problem with what Snowden did. But no matter how it happened, defending the country's founding principles from Russia under the control a Vladimir Putin, a man trained specifically to spy on his enemies and undermine those principles by any means at his disposal, I mean seriously? I can't trust this government but hey, Snowden and Putin are totally trustworthy?

It's all a matter of which one wants to use "enhanced interrogation" techniques on you. Snowden has value to the Russians, he is far safer there than he is in black-bag-and-rendition-istan. The information he has/had is of virtually no value to foreign states, it's just valuable as far as embarrassing two American presidencies goes.

Honestly, though, if he turned himself in to American authorities now that this is all out, he would probably be safe for the most part. He would be tried, convicted, and pardoned after a few years.
 
It's all a matter of which one wants to use "enhanced interrogation" techniques on you. Snowden has value to the Russians, he is far safer there than he is in black-bag-and-rendition-istan. The information he has/had is of virtually no value to foreign states, it's just valuable as far as embarrassing two American presidencies goes.

Honestly, though, if he turned himself in to American authorities now that this is all out, he would probably be safe for the most part. He would be tried, convicted, and pardoned after a few years.

Pretty much agree with this especially the last part. Snowden hiding in Russia has significantly diminished his personal credibility and after two years of everyone trying to pry all of his secrets I doubt he has much left. I pretty sure the Russians kept him FAR away from their spy apparatus.

He did what he did, and that was great, but few give a shit anymore. Just like any of the zillion other bad things this country has done through the centuries. Like a Constitution that Snowden is valiantly defending that sill refers to me as 3/5ths of a person. Like government spying is my biggest concern about government wrongdoing.
 
Pretty much agree with this especially the last part. Snowden hiding in Russia has significantly diminished his personal credibility and after two years of everyone trying to pry all of his secrets I doubt he has much left. I pretty sure the Russians kept him FAR away from their spy apparatus.

He did what he did, and that was great, but few give a shit anymore. Just like any of the zillion other bad things this country has done through the centuries. Like a Constitution that Snowden is valiantly defending that sill refers to me as 3/5ths of a person. Like government spying is my biggest concern about government wrongdoing.

Where would you suggest he hide? There aren't many countries that can stand up to the US.
 
Where would you suggest he hide? There aren't many countries that can stand up to the US.

A lot of people gave up a great deal so that I could legally piss in the same public facilities as everyone else around here and they didn't run away looking to protect themselves. Had they, I have no idea if most of pisses up to this day would have been legal. And this is just a black guy wondering where it would be legal to piss in a men's bathroom today without all of the other stuff that's going on about this subject today.

Again, I have no issue with what Snowden did, but the bottom line is that it's a problem for the 1% who apparently until now have had few issues with this government that's been committing atrocities for centuries. Which many people in a place like this never gave a damn about in the first place.
 
Well, it's no surprise that these two sub-normal, self-loving dummies would go kissy face with one another. This is another reason why people without college educational background don't belong in positions that require thinking or responsibility.

Huh? Snowden was no dummy and Neil deGrasse Tyson is smarter than you (and likely everyone else that's posted so far).
 
Not at all. I don't think most people have a problem with what Snowden did. But no matter how it happened, defending the country's founding principles from Russia under the control a Vladimir Putin, a man trained specifically to spy on his enemies and undermine those principles by any means at his disposal, I mean seriously? I can't trust this government but hey, Snowden and Putin are totally trustworthy?

Have you seen Citizen 4 (and if that's the wrong title, it's a Documentary on Snowden that's available on HBO/HBO GO). Snowden comes off as totally trustworthy and it looks like his exit to russia was not planned by him, nor does it appear that he has the means to decrypt what he gave to the journalists.

I'm not an Obama basher (voted for him 2x) but on this issue, I trust Snowden more than Obama (or anyone else in the government, regardless of their politics).
 
Pretty much agree with this especially the last part. Snowden hiding in Russia has significantly diminished his personal credibility and after two years of everyone trying to pry all of his secrets I doubt he has much left. I pretty sure the Russians kept him FAR away from their spy apparatus.

He did what he did, and that was great, but few give a shit anymore. Just like any of the zillion other bad things this country has done through the centuries. Like a Constitution that Snowden is valiantly defending that sill refers to me as 3/5ths of a person. Like government spying is my biggest concern about government wrongdoing.

Technically that part of the constitution has been amended. As I said in the last message, I don't believe he can provide that much to Putin. He generated a PW for the data he handed over that he doesn't know. And if you've seen Citizen 4, it's pretty clear that if Wiki Leaks hadn't intervened, he'd already be in jail.

And FWIW, I have no doubt that if he turned himself in, he'd rot in jail for the rest of his life (unless Rand Paul became POTUS, which will never happen). We generally Agree Heatlesssun, but on this one I totally disagree, and if you haven't seen it, watch Citizen 4 on HBO/HBO GO. Snowden comes off as 100% credible. Russia took him, because what he did is a big FU to the U.S.A. Furthermore, from Putin's POV, by taking him in, he looks like a defender of truth, justice and [what should be] the American way.
 
A lot of people gave up a great deal so that I could legally piss in the same public facilities as everyone else around here and they didn't run away looking to protect themselves. Had they, I have no idea if most of pisses up to this day would have been legal. And this is just a black guy wondering where it would be legal to piss in a men's bathroom today without all of the other stuff that's going on about this subject today.

Again, I have no issue with what Snowden did, but the bottom line is that it's a problem for the 1% who apparently until now have had few issues with this government that's been committing atrocities for centuries. Which many people in a place like this never gave a damn about in the first place.

Maybe, but there's a lot of us white guys who did care. I won't lie. I didn't know that blacks in the south were being tapped in the 60's, but I don't support it...and if I'd known 30 years ago I wouldn't have supported it. Before that, I doubt I would have understood why it was right/wrong (OK, I'm old...so maybe a few years before that I would have).

No doubt there are many snowden supporters that only support him, because Obama is president, but I'm not one of them. I'm not Libertarian, but I definitely have a libertarian streak, and I'd support himi regardless of who was in office (the fact that I voted for Obama 2x proof of that)
 
It's all a matter of which one wants to use "enhanced interrogation" techniques on you. Snowden has value to the Russians, he is far safer there than he is in black-bag-and-rendition-istan. The information he has/had is of virtually no value to foreign states, it's just valuable as far as embarrassing two American presidencies goes.

Honestly, though, if he turned himself in to American authorities now that this is all out, he would probably be safe for the most part. He would be tried, convicted, and pardoned after a few years.

I completely disagree with the last part. Snowden would be put on a pike and made example of as a traitor. That would force anyone in the future to not attempt letting the American people know what illegal unconstitutional infractions the government is exploiting in secrecy.
 
I look at the argument "What he did hurt America" or "..hurt the American Intelligence Apparatus"

If America, or its Intelligence Apparatus are depending methods and programs that are blatantly against the laws of our land THEY DESERVE TO BE HURT!

ESPECIALLY if the illegal surveillance is against their own innocent citizens!

I'm sorry, but "Maybe we might catch someone bad" isn't a good enough reason. EVER.
 
Have you seen Citizen 4 (and if that's the wrong title, it's a Documentary on Snowden that's available on HBO/HBO GO). Snowden comes off as totally trustworthy and it looks like his exit to russia was not planned by him, nor does it appear that he has the means to decrypt what he gave to the journalists.

I'm not an Obama basher (voted for him 2x) but on this issue, I trust Snowden more than Obama (or anyone else in the government, regardless of their politics).
It's been explained to heatlesssun multiple times that Snowden was en route to Cuba but the US threatened Cuba and cancelled his passport.
 
It's been explained to heatlesssun multiple times that Snowden was en route to Cuba but the US threatened Cuba and cancelled his passport.

And I've pointed out every time this has been mentioned that not everyone is simply going to overlook, however it came to be, that Snowden is being protected by a man that was trained as a spy, worked for one of the most notorious spy agencies in history and has absolutely no problem with government spying or oppressive government. It's just plain common sense, why so many have a problem with the obvious is bewildering.
 
Can't wait for Snowden to come out with a detailed explanation of Russia's spy program and how they abuse it... Fuck this traitor.
 
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