SO this little film is based around U.S. whistle blowers in regards to the NSA's information gathering programs. I will say that overall it is interesting and a decent film. There are some parts of this that are absolutely legitimate, and another part that is ridiculous. It also features Ed Snowden.
The NSA data collection is a bit of a tricky subject. The NSA collecting data on U.S. citizens is something I think is absolutely wrong and an invasion of privacy. Snowden, in my opinion should not be treated as a hero. I do, however think exposing the domestic spying program was a noble thing and I have no problem with him for that. This is something that should not be done, especially when they lied to Congress in hearings over this. This has been going on for years and I am almost baffled on why people did not know about this before Snowden because PBS did a documentary on this years earlier. That and the questions of privacy are legit.
Now let's get into the weeds a bit. Snowden did not expose JUST the domestic spying program He also exposed operations outside the United States on foreigners and other nations. Why are people upset over that? The NSA is a spying organization. God forbid they actually spy... It also represents a double standard. After 9/11 intel agencies had to shoulder a lot of blame with a lot of people thinking they should have known about 9/11. A lot of people blame intel agencies for having bad intel when it comes to Iraq. Well, what do you want? They are not doing enough if something happens, but they are doing too much when nothing happens and we are safe. I understand foreign countries getting angry that we spied on them. Then again every country spies on others. It's part of securing your own country and when another world leader acts shocked, it is faux shock.
Although I a do not condone this gathering of U.S. citizen data, non U.S. citizens in foreign nations are not subject to the U.S. constitution and to get out raged about spying abroad is just plain idiotic.
Another part of this is an overblowing of what is going on. I agree personal communications should be off limits (when done on U.S. citizens) but the meta data collection pales in comparison to the amount of that can be gathered legally from things like social media. When you post something on social media you are pitting it out to the world. It is very easy for someone to just send a friend request and a lot of people play the "Lets see how many friends I can get," and will approve any and all requests. This makes a lot of things very public. Most sites you join come with disclosures that no one reads. So the NSA has no problem gathering info on us without invading your privacy.
The going after reporters thing is also wrong. We have freedom of the press and the press isn't going to turn down leaks. Publishing is simply what they do and should do. In defense of the NSA though, the existence of these data gathering programs are a genie you cannot put back into the bottle. They exist and because they exist and have the potential to stop some violent acts, the government will do with the tools they have at their disposal. Given what we have seen with the Boston Marathon bombing, two men who the Russian government actually warned us to keep an eye on, it's likely that this is not as big of a threat at this time in comparison to the reach and abilities that Snowden has attributed to it. I will also say that Snowden comes off as paranoid, somewhat delusional and reeks of a young idealist who was intent on trying to make a name for himself in these disclosures. Don't sit and tell me the merits of what you exposed when you expose things other than domestic spying. Especially when it has national security implications. Every U.S. ctizen should have zero problem with a spy agency keeping an eye out on other countries unless you take for granted the relative safety we enjoy.
The NSA data collection is a bit of a tricky subject. The NSA collecting data on U.S. citizens is something I think is absolutely wrong and an invasion of privacy. Snowden, in my opinion should not be treated as a hero. I do, however think exposing the domestic spying program was a noble thing and I have no problem with him for that. This is something that should not be done, especially when they lied to Congress in hearings over this. This has been going on for years and I am almost baffled on why people did not know about this before Snowden because PBS did a documentary on this years earlier. That and the questions of privacy are legit.
Now let's get into the weeds a bit. Snowden did not expose JUST the domestic spying program He also exposed operations outside the United States on foreigners and other nations. Why are people upset over that? The NSA is a spying organization. God forbid they actually spy... It also represents a double standard. After 9/11 intel agencies had to shoulder a lot of blame with a lot of people thinking they should have known about 9/11. A lot of people blame intel agencies for having bad intel when it comes to Iraq. Well, what do you want? They are not doing enough if something happens, but they are doing too much when nothing happens and we are safe. I understand foreign countries getting angry that we spied on them. Then again every country spies on others. It's part of securing your own country and when another world leader acts shocked, it is faux shock.
Although I a do not condone this gathering of U.S. citizen data, non U.S. citizens in foreign nations are not subject to the U.S. constitution and to get out raged about spying abroad is just plain idiotic.
Another part of this is an overblowing of what is going on. I agree personal communications should be off limits (when done on U.S. citizens) but the meta data collection pales in comparison to the amount of that can be gathered legally from things like social media. When you post something on social media you are pitting it out to the world. It is very easy for someone to just send a friend request and a lot of people play the "Lets see how many friends I can get," and will approve any and all requests. This makes a lot of things very public. Most sites you join come with disclosures that no one reads. So the NSA has no problem gathering info on us without invading your privacy.
The going after reporters thing is also wrong. We have freedom of the press and the press isn't going to turn down leaks. Publishing is simply what they do and should do. In defense of the NSA though, the existence of these data gathering programs are a genie you cannot put back into the bottle. They exist and because they exist and have the potential to stop some violent acts, the government will do with the tools they have at their disposal. Given what we have seen with the Boston Marathon bombing, two men who the Russian government actually warned us to keep an eye on, it's likely that this is not as big of a threat at this time in comparison to the reach and abilities that Snowden has attributed to it. I will also say that Snowden comes off as paranoid, somewhat delusional and reeks of a young idealist who was intent on trying to make a name for himself in these disclosures. Don't sit and tell me the merits of what you exposed when you expose things other than domestic spying. Especially when it has national security implications. Every U.S. ctizen should have zero problem with a spy agency keeping an eye out on other countries unless you take for granted the relative safety we enjoy.