13 July 2013
Snowden documents could be 'worst nightmare' for U.S.: journalist
By Mitra Taj; Edited by Sandra Maler
Reuters

Former intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden and Sarah Harrison (L) of WikiLeaks speak to human rights representatives in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport July 12, 2013.
Credit: REUTERS/Human Rights Watch/Handout

Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist who first published the documents Snowden leaked, said in a newspaper interview published on Saturday that the U.S. government should be careful in its pursuit of the former computer analyst.

"Snowden has enough information to cause harm to the U.S. government in a single minute than any other person has ever had," Greenwald said in an interview in Rio de Janeiro with the Argentinean daily La Nacion.

"The U.S. government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare."

Former intelligence agency contractor Edward Snowden (C) and Sarah Harrison (L) of WikiLeaks speak to human rights representatives in Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport July 12, 2013.
Credit: REUTERS/Human Rights Watch/Handout

Snowden, who is sought by Washington on espionage charges after revealing details of secret surveillance programs, has been stranded at a Moscow airport since June 23 and is now seeking refuge in Russia until he can secure safe passage to Latin America, where several counties have offered him asylum.

Greenwald told Reuters on Tuesday that Snowden would likely accept asylum in Venezuela, one of three Latin American countries that have made that offer.

Snowden's leaks on U.S. spying secrets, including eavesdropping on global email traffic, have upset Washington's friends and foes alike.

Latin American leaders lashed out at the United States after Greenwald reported in a Brazilian newspaper that the U.S. targeted most of the region with spying programs that monitored Internet traffic.

Washington has urged nations not to give Snowden safe passage.

Greenwald said in his interview with La Nacion that documents Snowden has tucked away in different parts of the world detail which U.S. spy programs capture transmissions in Latin America and how they work.

"One way of intercepting communications is through a telephone company in the United States that has contracts with telecommunications companies in most Latin American countries," Greenwald said, without specifying which company.
 

14 July 2013
Snowden information can cause USA ‘worst damage in history’ and even to others.
By K.Gajendra Singh,
Mayur Vihar, Delhi

Washington’s  NASA project to monitor and store all email, telephone and other cyber exchanges all over the world including at home in USA has turned out to be like the escaped genii gone rogue . Moscow, China and others and those with whom Snowden has shared or stored this massive and top secret information has Washington wriggling like a fish caught in the hook.

It is a bit like President Nixon recording all his Oval room conversations, which led to his ignominious fall and resignation.

How about the secret exchanges between US govt and its departments and bully corporations being leaked out to the world and exposing US aggressive military plans, also including its weaknesses, both of the govt and its corporations.

But do not expect Moscow or Beijing to do that .They will utilize the info for their national benefit and not for the good of the humanity .Perhaps Havana or Caracas might release some such information. Or Wikileaks.

Thus it is in the interest of humanity that the evil doings of the powers led by 5 P in UNSC are exposed .Let us hope and pray that journalists who have this information do so.

We should be grateful to Julian Assange and his supporters ,the founders of the website wikileaks.org ,which was registered on 4 October 2006 and published its first document in December 2006.Assange  is now holed up in the Ecuador embassy in London with a subservient Swedish and UK govt wanting to hand him over to Washington for ultra cruel punishment .

According to the WikiLeaks website, its goal is "to bring important news and information to the public... One of our most important activities is to publish original source material alongside our news stories so readers and historians alike can see evidence of the truth." Most govts whose secrets have been spilled are unhappy, especially USA.

But the real hero is Private Bradley Manning, a 22 year old intelligence analyst with the United States Army in Baghdad, who released the information .He, was charged for disclosing the truth including a criminal slaughter of Iraqis by helicopter pilot in Iraq .He has been imprisoned in solitary confinement as a warning to other honest whistle blowers.

There seems to be tacit agreement among govts not to provide protection to whistle blowers and by the parties affected adversely .In India, they are punished by the govt or even murdered by private parties exposed.

13 July 2013
Greenwald: Snowden has enough information to cause US govt 'worst damage in history'
By K.Gajendra Singh,
Russia Today

Former NSA contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden possesses dangerous information which could potentially lead to America's "worst nightmare" if it is revealed, according to the journalist who first published Snowden's leaked documents.

"Snowden has enough information to cause more damage to the US government in a minute alone than anyone else has ever had in the history of the United States," Glenn Greenwald, the Guardian journalist responsible for publishing some of Snowden's first leaks, told Argentina-based newspaper La Nación.

"But that's not his goal. His objective is to expose software that people around the world use without knowing what they are exposing themselves to, without consciously agreeing to surrender their rights to privacy. He has a huge number of documents that would be very harmful to the US government if they were made public," Greenwald said.

He added that Washington should be exercising care in dealing with the Snowden because he has the potential to do further damage to the US.

"The US government should be on its knees every day begging that nothing happen to Snowden, because if something does happen to him, all the information will be revealed and it could be its worst nightmare," he said. 

Greenwald said that "the most important thing [for Snowden] is not to end up in US custody," describing  the government's approach to people who reveal uncomfortable truths as "vindictive." 

When asked whether he believed that someone would attempt to harm or kill the whistleblower, he said that Snowden has "already distributed thousands of documents and made sure that several people around the world have their entire file," stating that it would be beneficial for anyone to attempt assassination.

He added that the US should be praying that no one would attempt to take Snowden's life.

"If something happens, all the information will be revealed, and that would be [America's] worst nightmare," he said.

Snowden is wanted in the US on charges of espionage after revealing details of the country's covert surveillance programs. 

He has been in limbo at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23. The whistleblower is seeking to find a safe, secure transit route to Latin America, where he has made several successful asylum requests. Greenwald told Reuters on Tuesday that it was likely that Snowden would accept Venezuela's offer. 

Snowden broke three weeks of hiding in the airport to speak with human rights activists on Friday, mentioning that he would immediately request asylum from Russia. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Saturday: "We are not in contact with Snowden," adding that he has to contact the Russian Migration Service to formally apply for asylum. 

Migration officials said on Saturday that they had not received asylum requests from Snowden. 

"As of today, we haven't gotten any applications from Edward Snowden," Konstantin Romodanovskiy, head of Russia's Federal Migration Service, told Interfax. He added that the plea will "be considered in accordance with Russian law" if it is received.

Greenwald told La Nación that although few countries have the power or will to defy the US, "Russia is one of those countries."

Snowden's leaks have upset Washington and its friends and enemies alike. Latin American countries were especially concerned with the extent of spying being conducted on their internet traffic.

"Latin America feels a natural sympathy for the United States, yet there is a great resentment for specific historic policies of Washington toward the region. What happened to [Bolivian President] Evo Morales' plane in Europe induced a strong reaction. Bolivia was treated as a colony and not a sovereign state," said Greenwald.

Greenwald hinted that further leaks are possible which are relevant to South America, including documents which outline how the US collects traffic information, the programs used, and the number of interceptions made on a daily basis.

It was revealed at the end of June that the US spies on dozens of foreign embassies and missions. A leaked document published in the Guardian listed 38 foreign embassies and missions which were spied upon in the US, describing them as "targets" under surveillance.

News that the EU member states were targeted by US intelligence has sparked outrage among the allies. France even expressed willingness to delay the start of negotiations on a huge free trade deal between the EU and the United States, demanding an explanation for the spying practices.

"We cannot accept this kind of behavior between partners and allies," Hollande told journalists at the beginning of July."There can be no negotiations or transactions in all areas until we have obtained these guarantees," he said.

"Bugging friends is unacceptable," said Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert. "We are no longer in the Cold War."