Edward Snowden

You have to arrive at a position yourself, for yourself, that's what your life is for. Otherwise, why even talk about democracy or a republic or liberal humanism if you can't find a position for yourself.

One of the tricks of technology is its ability to create the illusion of open access and transparency, and to have those illusions be used against you in a court of law in a country that purports to be open and democratic.

Yes, it's your right to say anything, the state says so, you're living in a 24 hour 'open mic night'. It's just that you can't choose who will be listening, or why, or what they'll do with your words once they've heard them.

This has always been the case, but never more so than now.

On the other hand, our moral superiority as a state is astonishing. We can't sink low enough or fast enough because we know so much, know things that no one else knows, and knowing all this isn't good for us, particularly when we lie about it and say we don't know how we knew.

I saw Snowden last night. He was wearing a white Hanes T-shirt. I'd been told he was in Moscow.