Wednesday, March 5, 2014

"Edward Snowden to Speak at SXSW Interactive Via Videoconference"

"On Monday, March 10 at 11:00 am, join us for a conversation between Edward Snowden and Christopher Soghoian, the principal technologist of the American Civil Liberties Union. The conversation will be focused on the impact of the NSA's spying efforts on the technology community, and the ways in which technology can help to protect us from mass surveillance. Hear directly from Snowden about his beliefs on what the tech community can and must do to secure the private data of the billions of people who rely on the tools and services that we build."
This session will be moderated by Ben Wizner, who is director of the ACLU's Speech, Privacy & Technology Project and Edward Snowden’s legal advisor. Audience members will have the opportunity to ask questions.

However, if you cannot be at SXSW Interactive on Monday, March 10 at 11:00 am CST, then you can watch a free livestream of the session courtesy of The Texas Tribune.
If you had the opportunity, what would ask Snowden?

I would ask Snowden for his thoughts on his obfuscatingneighbor invading, missile test lunching host, Vladimir Putin. But, maybe, I would not be allowed to ask that.

SXSW Interactive

15 comments:

Icepick said...

Well, we've initiated hostilities against many more countries under Obama than Putin has during his reign. Four to one, by my count. Five to one if you count our efforts at overthrowing not one but TWO Egyptian governments. Six to one if you count our backing the French in Mali. Seven to one if you count that we backed the overthrow of the government in Ukraine which started off the current mess. Although, unlike Russia, we haven't attacked countries in our immediate vicinity with which we have long, intertwined histories. Instead we've attacked nations on the other side of the planet.

But the revisionism is thick in this country right now, and people insist on stating that Putin invaded Georgia unprovoked, refusing to believe what actually happened: which is that the Georgian President, believing that the USA would back him up, violated a fifteen year-old agreement to keep the peace and attacked territory under the protection of Russia AND the Organization for Cooperation and Security in Europe.

That's even how Robert Gates and Condoleeza Rice put the story of the Russia-Georgia war of 2008 in their autobiographies. But it doesn't serve the purposes of starting a war between the US and Russia, so it is getting ignored.

Icepick said...

It should also be noted that while the SecDef testifies about the importance of territorial integrity and inviolability today, in 2008 we had the opposite opinion concerning Serbia, and in 2011 had a different opinion concerning Sudan. (And I believe we continue to have a different opinion on territorial inviolability with regard to Sudan.)

Icepick said...

So I'd ask, why was it important for South Sudan and Kosovo to be allowed to go their own way (under ultimate threat of US military action) but that it absolutely vital for Crimea to remain under the auspices of a government that it does not support? (Crimea was strongly in favor of the now deposed President.)

Michael Haz said...

"If the NSA knows everything, why didn't the Obama administration see Putin's takeover of the Ukraine coming?"

"Or did the Obama administration know it was going to happen, and tacitly agree to do no more than some blustering?"

deborah said...

""Or did the Obama administration know it was going to happen, and tacitly agree to do no more than some blustering?""

I have the feeling that Putin and Obama are working in concert to manage the region. We get northern passage out of Afghanistan, Putin gets to play kingmaker in Syria and keep the Russian base there. Obama opens Iran with Putin as intermediary, Putin gets the Crimea. And this all works toward keeping China and Russia from allying too closely.

Leland said...

Icepick, were you counting Honduras? Just asking.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Did I missed linking back again? Ouch. Will fix soon as i get home.

Icepick said...

Icepick, were you counting Honduras? Just asking.

I forgot about Honduras.

Rabel said...

Mr. Snowden, would you prefer the blindfold or the hood?

Icepick said...

deborah, at what point has anyone on the Obama foreign policy team shown enough confidence to believe that they can tie their own shoes unassisted, much less pull off that kind of grand strategizing?

Icepick said...

And today comes word that the CIA has been "investigating" Congressional staffers that haven't been playing ball with the CIA.

Why am I supposed to be worried about PUTIN'S government instead of my own?

deborah said...

Ice, it just seems Obama's doing his damnedest not to follow the Neocon lead.

Icepick said...

Ice, it just seems Obama's doing his damnedest not to follow the Neocon lead.

Not really. His European policy has been set by that Nuland woman, one of Dick Cheney's advisers and the daughter-in-law of the ur-Neocon, Donald Kagan. Obama has largely differed from the Neocons in that he hasn't (a) been willing to go to the mat on Iran, and (b) hasn't been enamored of putting boots on the ground, preferring drones, air-power, covert action (which is funny because you know he just hate-hate-HATED Reagan doing that in the 1980s), withdrawal of aide and assassinations. And I think that is more of his watching his back, politically, and being a feckless dilettante, than of any disagreement on goals.

rcommal said...

'Pick: : )

deborah said...

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see your comment last night. I think there's only so much a one-term senator can do in office. He's at the mercy of people like Nuland. I give him props for letting Putin save his bacon in Syria.

I think it's time to move away from the Cold War intrigue with Russia. The dismantling of the USSR was a fiasco, with a money grab of the national assets, as I'm sure you know, and the gentleman's agreement between Bush I and Gorbachev that NATO not to move 'one inch' eastward was broken.