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In reply to the discussion: Lawrence O'Donnell: Edward Snowden's Christmas Message Was 'Wildly Overblown,' 'Provably Untrue' [View all]JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)of technology available to the NSA will permit the NSA to do than does O'Donnell.
Snowden is very gifted, possibly a genius, with regard to technology. He knows what he is talking about. He is making predictions based on what he has seen and what he knows about where the technology is going.
It is easy and may feel good to ridicule what he is warning us about, but it is not wise. Snowden worked at the NSA in a fairly responsible position, at least in a position in which he had access to a wide range of documents and information including most likely plans for future operations. I do not think he is exaggerating that much when he says that in the future we will not be able to enjoy private thoughts. I suppose there could be machines in the future that are like MRIs that are small devices and can almost or even fairly precisely read what parts of a brain are active at a given moment, whether a person's thoughts are angry or happy, etc.
What can be read from DNA at this time is already just amazing. We all give off electrical charges. Who knows what we will learn to "read" from vital signs like electrical charges, MRIs, DNA. Really.
1984 was prophetic. Snowden is also warning us about what the future is likely to bring.