Snowden's new book "Permanent Record" is a brilliantly insightful commentary on the state of the world. It's a chilling examination of the current global surveillance apparatus that he helped to build, and a nostalgic look at the early internet and everything that we've lost since then.

I go over my favorite passages, and my biggest takeaways from the book.

Snowden’s organization: https://freedom.press/

1:17 - why the book is important, Snowden's philosophical view, why we might not want to trust what the government tells us

3:28 - bitcoin, today's crash, DOJ suit will "be good for bitcoin", Snowden's bitcoin usage how private is bitcoin?

6:44 - this book will be good for bitcoin, why the govt wants to ban the book, how to donate crypto to Snowden, learning about encryption and privacy techniques at Snowden's organization visit https://freedom.press/

9:22 - encryption is important (for everything, not just money), how the internet functions (different protocols), why you shouldn't use credit cards or bank cards: use cash and hard money

12:52 - First thoughts on book - I went from thinking sovereignty of money was the most important thing we can do as a society, to realizing that maintaining privacy was just as important -- not just for ourselves, but to protect everyone

15:54 - Our superficial understanding of surveillance and how it goes much deeper than we realize. We understand PRISM intellectually since 2013, but the scope of surveillance outlined in this book is mind boggling. Every single phone call, email, photo, conversation had close to a microphone, thing typed on a keyboard (even if never searched for) is recorded and stored FOREVER in a permanent record and this information is accessible and easily searchable by huge numbers of NSA workers who have "the keys to the kingdom" with almost no oversight, and no prosecution for breaking the law and searching our private histories (because to charge these people would be to admit these illegal govt programs exist).

27:48 - the solution is encryption. "Deleting" things doesn't delete them. Encrypt, don't delete. Rely on yourself, don't rely on a broken system to fix the problem they created.

30:15 - history of the cypherpunks. They knew cryptography was the answer. What happened since? How was the early internet different from today? "To this day, I consider the 1990s online to have been the most pleasant and successful anarchy I've ever experienced."

36:05 - Move from early internet of freedom to current internet where online identity is inextricably linked to real identity. How it creates a more polarized society. How a permanent record hurts children growing up in the digital age, and enforces "fidelity to memory, identarian consistency, and ideological conformity"

43:00 - difference between your country and the state. The deep state is not the underground cabal we expect. We're in the Orwellian nightmare we always dreaded, we just haven't figured it out yet because it's comfortable.

47:50 - We need to face the fact that we're in an Orwellian surveillance state, reject the idea that "it's not that bad" because it's already sinister and going to get progressively worse for our children, and start taking individual responsibility and make informed choices. Snowden's first encounter with "the chain of command" and "proper channels", and how these failed him because our system is broken.

53:33 - Why the system is designed to never allow change, why our democracy currently isn't work, and those in power are disincentivized to change regardless of the opinions of the majority. "Getting its rules changed to serve the interests of the majority would involve persuading the rule makers to put themselves at a purposeful disadvantage ... the people who create the rules have no incentive to act against themselves."

Permanent Record - Edward Snowden

https://amzn.to/305negc

video: https://youtu.be/bd900ZsYlx4