Slightly over a year ago the world was introduced to Edward Snowden, an obscure contractor (aren’t they all?) who had a few things to say about the way things were running over at the NSA. Since then, Snowden has been called everything from “hero” to “savior of democracy” to “traitor” to “grandiose narcissist” to, and we’re not kidding, “a cross-dressing Little Red Riding Hood”. Angel or devil, his revelations have sparked a national conversation about privacy vs. security, transparency vs. accountability, government power vs. citizen involvement that never would have happened without them. But after a full year, it can be hard to keep everything Ed’s said straight. How to keep up?
Frontline, the PBS show offering some of the best in-depth reporting anywhere, put together an exhaustive resource on the Snowden affair called “The United States of Secrets” that’s a veritable buffet of Fury. Start with an appetizing primer on NSA technology before choosing your main course. Will it be their full-length television reports? Ways to protect your personal data? NSA history? Legal options? Why not sample them all; there’s enough to satisfy the appetite of anyone hungry for knowledge. Wash it all down with a very special dessert- an interactive timeline from Al Jazeera of every event in the whole sordid story. It’s enough to turn your stomach, to give you indigestion, to fill you “up to here”, but most of all it’s enough to make you Furious. Guaranteed!
