Thread: Edward Snowden and his stay in Russia

I found a sample of Edward Snowden's handwriting at this site: http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/st...%D0%B0%3F.html

The sample is his application for asylum in the Russian Federation, and it appears to have been made in a hurry on whatever paper he could find, ostensibly because he is stuck in the transit zone at Sheremetevo.

snowden asylum app.jpg

I am a certified handwriting analyst and just briefly looking at this sample, I can make the following observations:

1. Snowden's signature where he scratches out his name but also forms a strong triangle shape on the end - reveals self loathing but also determination. This could have to do with the current situation he is in rather than referencing a constant frame of mind. He also seems angry, annoyed (with himself).

2. The writer's preference for printing rather than cursive, while typical of his generation, also reveals someone who prefers privacy, hides his personality from others

3. The round o's with no inner loops show honesty, bluntness

4. he is very attentive to detail, but tends to be a selective listener.

Originally Posted by Deborski

I found a sample of Edward Snowden's handwriting at this site: http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/st...%D0%B0%3F.html

The sample is his application for asylum in the Russian Federation, and it appears to have been made in a hurry on whatever paper he could find, ostensibly because he is stuck in the transit zone at Sheremetevo.

snowden asylum app.jpg

I am a certified handwriting analyst and just briefly looking at this sample, I can make the following observations:

1. Snowden's signature where he scratches out his name but also forms a strong triangle shape on the end - reveals self loathing but also determination. This could have to do with the current situation he is in rather than referencing a constant frame of mind. He also seems angry, annoyed (with himself).

2. The writer's preference for printing rather than cursive, while typical of his generation, also reveals someone who prefers privacy, hides his personality from others

3. The round o's with no inner loops show honesty, bluntness

4. he is very attentive to detail, but tends to be a selective listener.

He really did himself write that thing huh?

Originally Posted by Eric C.

He really did himself write that thing huh?

I have no reason to doubt it, plus there is a signature.

Originally Posted by Deborski

I found a sample of Edward Snowden's handwriting at this site: http://www.rts.rs/page/stories/ci/st...%D0%B0%3F.html

The sample is his application for asylum in the Russian Federation, and it appears to have been made in a hurry on whatever paper he could find, ostensibly because he is stuck in the transit zone at Sheremetevo.

snowden asylum app.jpg

I am a certified handwriting analyst and just briefly looking at this sample, I can make the following observations:

1. Snowden's signature where he scratches out his name but also forms a strong triangle shape on the end - reveals self loathing but also determination. This could have to do with the current situation he is in rather than referencing a constant frame of mind. He also seems angry, annoyed (with himself).

2. The writer's preference for printing rather than cursive, while typical of his generation, also reveals someone who prefers privacy, hides his personality from others

3. The round o's with no inner loops show honesty, bluntness

4. he is very attentive to detail, but tends to be a selective listener.

Yeah, but people are TAUGHT to write letters in a certain way! For example, I was taught to make a little loop inside the "o" !!!
Part of it is just convenience; how to write as fast as possible while still making it look legible.

I was taught the "new" Scandinavian cursive, then moved to a school that preferred the "old" cursive and had to change.
This looks different from, for example the German cursive which has different.

And if you write a language that uses a lot of vowels, like Finnish, then of course you get a bit sloppy with all the vowels!
etc! Swediish has very long words and you get a bit sloppy towards the end of the word sometimes, whereas English has shorter words.
Also the flow is halted if you constantly have to stop and put umlauts and accents on the words.
Surely it can't be a reliable representation of the personality!

I'd say this would only work if you apply it on people who were taught the same type of cursive. For example comparing yours and mine would be apples with pears, wouldn't it? We were taught different cursive applicable to different languages.

But perhaps with you analyzing Snowden, it's a relevant match; same language at least but possibly he was taught a different type of writing from you? He's not even writing cursive at all.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Yeah, but people are TAUGHT to write letters in a certain way! For example, I was taught to make a little loop inside the "o" !!!
Part of it is just convenience; how to write as fast as possible while still making it look legible.

I was taught the "new" Scandinavian cursive, then moved to a school that preferred the "old" cursive and had to change.
This looks different from, for example the German cursive which has different.

And if you write a language that uses a lot of vowels, like Finnish, then of course you get a bit sloppy with all the vowels!
etc! Swediish has very long words and you get a bit sloppy towards the end of the word sometimes, whereas English has shorter words.
Also the flow is halted if you constantly have to stop and put umlauts and accents on the words.
Surely it can't be a reliable representation of the personality!

I'd say this would only work if you apply it on people who were taught the same type of cursive. For example comparing yours and mine would be apples with pears, wouldn't it? We were taught different cursive applicable to different languages.

But perhaps with you analyzing Snowden, it's a relevant match; same language at least but possibly he was taught a different type of writing from you? He's not even writing cursive at all.

Well, I don't want to take over the thread with a discussion on handwriting - outside of what pertains to Snowden. But yeah, every country has its own methodology about teaching cursive, and there is a school of thought that kids are taught negative habits which can actually affect their behavior. For example, in the US, kids are taught to cross their lower-case t's low on the stem, which is a classic sign of low self-confidence. There are conspiracy theorists who think it's intentional. I have seen graphotherapy in action, where people learn to write letters differently and it changes their behaviors. As for loops in O's - there are actually many ways you can make them and they can all mean different things. A "lying o" has a very distinctive double inner loop, sometimes with an aggressive hook on it.

Ok, back to Snowden )))))

‘America has no functioning democracy’ – Jimmy Carter on NSA — RT USA

Former US President Jimmy Carter is *not* in lockstep with the current democratic administration about Snowden. He speaks out very strongly against government surveillance and calls it "undemocratic".

Originally Posted by Deborski

‘America has no functioning democracy’ – Jimmy Carter on NSA — RT USA

Former US President Jimmy Carter is *not* in lockstep with the current democratic administration about Snowden. He speaks out very strongly against government surveillance and calls it "undemocratic".

While such mediums have normally been associated with freedom of speech and have recently become a major driving force behind emerging democratic movements, fallout from the NSA spying scandal has dented their credibility.

There's a "slight" difference though; how many ppl in the U.S. have been arrested for their political views/views on the system that they exposed through platforms like FB over the last 5-10-... years? I can't think of any, can you? While the dictatorial regimes use spying on ppl's FB & Twitter accounts to spot anything that poses a potential threat to their ruling, the American services MIGHT be collecting info that may be really helpful to spot terrorists threatening national security; that's a HUGE difference.

Originally Posted by Eric C.

There's a "slight" difference though; how many ppl in the U.S. have been arrested for their political views/views on the system that they exposed through platforms like FB over the last 5-10-... years? I can't think of any, can you?

Sure I can. Sex offenders are arrested all the time for posting stuff on FB or harassing kids. That doesn't bother me.

However, political protesters are ALSO followed on FB. When they are arrested, the FBI/CIA/NSA/DHS/etc doesn't say they nabbed them on FB of course. But that is how they followed the Occupy Protest and knew what all of its plans were, so that riot police could be sent to the protests (to protect the banks and businesses and arrest protesters often for no reason except to harass them). Have you been watching FOX news? That might explain why you haven't heard of this...

Originally Posted by Eric C.

There's a "slight" difference though; how many ppl in the U.S. have been arrested for their political views/views on the system that they exposed through platforms like FB over the last 5-10-... years? I can't think of any, can you? While the dictatorial regimes use spying on ppl's FB & Twitter accounts to spot anything that poses a potential threat to their ruling, the American services MIGHT be collecting info that may be really helpful to spot terrorists threatening national security; that's a HUGE difference.

Satire is dead: Cops question German after he jokes about NSA on Facebook — Tech News and Analysis

NSA PRISM Program: Facebook Gets Busted Again, This Time For Scooping Up Phone Numbers

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...rking-NSA.html

Eric just can't see the big picture. The other poster, '*-Mom' has a similar affliction, 'if we already know ABC, then who cares.' The US government has it easy. When you have enough zombies who volunteer stupidity and ignorance or even indifference, you don't have to try very hard to control them.

Originally Posted by Deborski

‘America has no functioning democracy’ – Jimmy Carter on NSA — RT USA

Former US President Jimmy Carter is *not* in lockstep with the current democratic administration about Snowden. He speaks out very strongly against government surveillance and calls it "undemocratic".

Please, who can explain these two phrases from the article:
"at the Atlantic Bridge meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia", the Atlantic Bridge meeting = ???, sounds like a name of a organization etc.
"...he condemned the Obama administration for the use of drone attacks in his article "A Cruel and Unusual Record" published in the New York Times". "A Cruel and Unusual Record", what does "record" mean here? Is it sort of a "mention"? It sounds weird to me.

Originally Posted by Paul G.

Please, who can explain these two phrases from the article:
"at the Atlantic Bridge meeting on Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia", the Atlantic Bridge meeting = ???, sounds like a name of a organization etc.

Pasha, it is a type of conference meeting in the state of Georgia.

Mid-Atlantic Bridge Conference of the American Contract Bridge League