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Topic: BitCoins for Edward Snowden. - page 18. (Read 30964 times)

full member
Activity: 126
Merit: 100
June 09, 2013, 10:11:35 PM
#11
If he is in hiding (not stashed in some hotel in Hong Kong), sending him bitcoin will potentially out him.

As much as we like to pretend bitcoin is untraceable, the fact is the block chain holds all the records.  If I give 1btc to an account set up for him, following that btc to it's destination will tell folks where he is.

He truly needs to go primitive.  Hard currency.   No formal employment.  No residence.

Personally, I think he is screwed unless he is willing to live entirely off the grid in the fashion of Ted Kaczynski.  I can't see a sys admin doing that for the rest of his life.

The next question is what government is willing to protect him (deny extradition) and does said government have living conditions he is willing to submit to?

IF the seastead folks had a working platform, he would be a first citizen.
legendary
Activity: 1330
Merit: 1000
June 09, 2013, 10:02:46 PM
#10
It's entirely possible that the existence of Bitcoin is what enabled this whistleblower to stand up and do the right thing.

He was basically working for the Federal Reserve, helping the CIA/NSA to obtain trade secrets, etc.  Without an alternative, anonymous currency, the options for someone in his position, after leaking, would have been limited to moving into a self-sufficient shack a la Ted Kaczinski, an embassy a la Julian Assange, or a brig a la Bradley Manning.
legendary
Activity: 3920
Merit: 2349
Eadem mutata resurgo
June 09, 2013, 10:01:59 PM
#9
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/video/2013/jun/09/nsa-whistleblower-edward-snowden-interview-video

Here's the video interview. He says he is a systems guy, engineer, admin type... I tend to believe him. It is is time for the sys admins to stand up for what they believe in and stop taking this shit that the technophobes keep dishing out to use technology to abuse other people's right. Go the good guys! Sys admins, you have the bridge, out.
legendary
Activity: 905
Merit: 1000
June 09, 2013, 08:52:32 PM
#8
His allegiance to internet freedom is reflected in the stickers on his laptop: "I support Online Rights: Electronic Frontier Foundation," reads one. Another hails the online organisation offering anonymity, the Tor Project.
legendary
Activity: 3920
Merit: 2349
Eadem mutata resurgo
June 09, 2013, 08:48:56 PM
#7
Quote
The Guardian said Snowden had mostly remained ensconced in his Hong Kong hotel room since boarding a flight on May 20, stepping outside for only about three times during his entire stay.

Worried about being spied on, he has lined the door of his hotel room with pillows and places a large red hood over his head and laptop when typing passwords so that any hidden cameras can't record them, the newspaper added.

Sounds like a bitcoiner ....

Edit: Electronic Frontier Foundation is in another stoush shows why what this guy has done is so important. Basically, they have set-up a legal labyrinth that allows for operation without oversight and widespread Fourth Amendment violations. Without whistleblowers there is no way to break the legal blockade that is allowing for a full totalitarian State to develop in secrecy.

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/06/justice-department-electronic-frontier-foundation-fisa-court-opinion
legendary
Activity: 905
Merit: 1000
June 09, 2013, 08:46:44 PM
#6
He described as formative an incident in which he claimed CIA operatives were attempting to recruit a Swiss banker to obtain secret banking information. Snowden said they achieved this by purposely getting the banker drunk and encouraging him to drive home in his car. When the banker was arrested for drunk driving, the undercover agent seeking to befriend him offered to help, and a bond was formed that led to successful recruitment.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Social Engineering is one way to defeat strong encryption.
hero member
Activity: 520
Merit: 500
June 09, 2013, 08:45:16 PM
#5
Respect. Giving up all that to do the right thing. He's a hero.

He seems smart. He has probably already stashed away enough money to live well for many years...

He works for the friggin' CIA. He's probably move to some remote place in Asia, find a nice asian woman to be with, and he probably has changed identity too.

Hopefully he didn't stash it away in any fiat bank accounts.

I wonder if he's on this board? Seems likely based on his age, profession, and beliefs and right to privacy.
legendary
Activity: 3598
Merit: 2386
Viva Ut Vivas
June 09, 2013, 08:37:18 PM
#4
At first I was outraged...$200k working for Booz Allen in Hawaii!!!  Shocked

Then I saw the end:
Quote
Snowden left the CIA in 2009 to work for a private contractor that gave him an assignment at an NSA facility on a military base in Japan.

$200k makes sense. So does that mean his position is open?
hero member
Activity: 490
Merit: 500
June 09, 2013, 08:15:49 PM
#3
Respect. Giving up all that to do the right thing. He's a hero.

He seems smart. He has probably already stashed away enough money to live well for many years...

He works for the friggin' CIA. He's probably move to some remote place in Asia, find a nice asian woman to be with, and he probably has changed identity too.
hero member
Activity: 756
Merit: 500
June 09, 2013, 08:07:56 PM
#2
Hong Kong?  In the next few decades will be directly under the Chinese rule.   It is also obvious that the Chinese is meddling with Hong Kong political affairs.  I guess there are better destinations.
legendary
Activity: 3920
Merit: 2349
Eadem mutata resurgo
June 09, 2013, 08:02:37 PM
#1
Edward Snowden is a modern day hero and deserves support for everyone who wants to preserve basic liberties, democracy and privacy. Do not let them demonise this guy.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

Quote
In footage shot by The Guardian newspaper, Edward Snowden said he packed his bags for Hong Kong three weeks ago, leaving behind a "very comfortable life'' in Hawaii, a salary of $200,000, a girlfriend, a stable career and a loving family.

"I'm willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building." Snowden said.

Quote
But he believed that the value of the internet, along with basic privacy, is being rapidly destroyed by ubiquitous surveillance. "I don't see myself as a hero," he said, "because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."

Once he reached the conclusion that the NSA's surveillance net would soon be irrevocable, he said it was just a matter of time before he chose to act. "What they're doing" poses "an existential threat to democracy", he said.

We just need to snag a BTC address for him Smiley.
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