Scientists estimate that 60 billion alien worlds could support life

Image credit: Lynette Cook

A new estimate suggests that 60 billion planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone may support life.
It was only recently that scientists used data from NASA’s Kepler space telescope to conclude that one Earth-size planet is likely in the habitable zone of each red dwarf star (which happens to be the most common type of star). But as Space.com explains, “a group of researchers has now doubled that estimate after considering how cloud cover might help an alien planet support life.”

So what does cloud cover have to do with potential habitability? Dorian Abbot, assistant professor of geophysical sciences at the University of Chicago, and member of the research team, explains, “Clouds cause warming, and they cause cooling on Earth . . . They reflect sunlight to cool things off, and they absorb infrared radiation from the surface to make a greenhouse effect. That’s part of what keeps the planet warm enough to sustain life.”

Red dwarfs are dimmer and cooler than our yellow dwarf sun, which makes the habitable zone of red dwarf systems much closer to the star than it is in our solar system. Because of their tighter orbit, these habitable planets around red dwarfs would apparently become tidally locked–the same side of the planet would always face its star.

Simulated cloud coverage on a tidally locked planet. (Credit: Jun Yang)

According to Space.com, researchers modeled air and moisture movements over tidally locked planets using 3D simulations. And based on these simulations, “The team found that any surface water would result in water clouds. What’s more, highly reflective clouds would build at the point of the star-facing side where it’s always high noon. This would have a cooling effect in the inner ring of the habitable zone, meaning the planets there would be able to sustain water on their surfaces much closer to their star.” The research conducted by this team of scientists from the University of Chicago and Northwestern University was published on June 27 in the journal Astrophysical Journal Letters.

Source:
http://www.openminds.tv/scientists-estimate-that-60-billion-alien-worlds-could-support-life-1066/

Office of Poofness – Key Events Approach – 6/30/13

Greetings and Salutations, 
 
Many of you have have asked us to pass along your questions for ZAP to respond. Below are a few questions and answers that you may be extremely interested in.


From ZAP……….HI ALL

Q&A

Every week we hear “this is the week” for us to get deliveries, after a while we become immune to the propaganda. We see nothing week after week yet are asked to believe that all is going well and we will be greatly rewarded for our patience without any logic or reasoning behind the statements. You may see progress at higher levels moving funds all around the world but we need to see and hear some type of progress that we can monitor at our level to know it’s real.

ALTHOUGH THIS IS PERFECTLY UNDERSTANDABLE, THROWING OUT SENSITIVE INFORMATION WHILE THE FORCES BATTLE BEHIND, WILL UPSET THE BALANCE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. IF YOU WERE DOING BATTLE WITH A FOE, WOULD YOU WANT THAT FOE TO KNOW WHAT YOU WERE UP TO?

Why at this point in the process can’t someone speak in “plain talk” and be more accurate on exactly where we are right now in the pay out process? With the events of the last few weeks behind us now please let us know our current status and provide your reasoning as to why you think we will be notified and an update on when.

THIS CAN NOT BE ABOUT THE MONEY, ALTHOUGH MONEY IS IMPORTANT TO BUY FOOD AND KEEP A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD. HOWEVER, RIGHT NOW, WE ARE ABOUT TO EXPERIENCE MASSIVE FUNDS RELEASES WHICH WILL BEGIN THE WEEK OF THE 8TH. THESE FUNDS RELEASES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE F&P THOUGH, AND ARE COMING FROM ANOTHER DIRECTION.

By what method will we be notified for F&P? Mail Carrier, Public Courier, Bank Courier or other?

COURIER PIGEON. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A RECEIVING COOP, YOU WON’T GET THE NEWS…. IT WILL BE VIA SECURE MAIL DELIVERY. (SORRY, COULDN’T HELP THAT ONE) (I WAS THINKING OF SEMAPHORE THOUGH…)

When we are notified will it just be a number to call the bank and set up an appointment or other information? When we go into the bank to do our paperwork will we find out the schedule and the amount of our payout?

THIS IS INFORMATION I DO NOT KNOW. MY WORK IS AT A DIFFERENT LEVEL THAN THE F&P, BUT I DO HEAR SOME SALIENT DETAIL FROM TIME TO TIME AS IT CORRELATES TO MY WORK.

We have been told it could take 90 days to settle everyone. If this is true and since many are in immediate need, in your opinion, would we be able get a loan based on our future income if we find our payout to be several weeks or months away?


FROM MY UNDERSTANDING, IT IS A LUMP SUM PAYMENT. USE IMMEDIATELY, BUT REMEMBER, DON’T GET STUPID ABOUT IT…USE SOME FOR IMMEDIATE BILLS AND SOME STUFF, BUT KICK BACK AND REFLECT ON THE REST. BE WISE.

Many people have been involved in the PP for more than 10 yrs to 15 yrs when sign ups were closed. Yet you have commented that everyone will benefit from the PP. Are there any special benefits for those of us who have been involved and waiting for the last 10 yrs to 15 yrs for this to finally payout? Is it that we will be given cash pay outs through F&P and PP settlements to pay off our loans, salt some away and help others while people that will participate from now forward will not be receiving cash settlement funds but will be able to participate through volunteering to help with a humanitarian program? Please explain because some folks feel as though they have been waiting all these years for settlements and now new people will not have to wait and receive the same benefits.

REMEMBER FIRST AND FOREMOST IT IS NOT ABOUT THE MONEY. IT IS ABOUT PEOPLE AND THIS BLUE BALL WE CALL HOME. THOSE THAT RUSHED IN TO GET IN ON THE MONEY WAITED. THOSE THAT WAITED ON THE OUTSIDE DID NOT GO THROUGH THE DAILY ANXIETY OF “WHERE’S THE MONEY”. CONSIDER YOURSELF FORTUNATE. YOU DID NOT HAVE TO HAVE THAT DAILY BURDEN ON YOU. IN THE END, EVERYBODY WILL HAVE A PACKET OF MONEY TO TAKE CARE OF THEIR IMMEDIATE NEEDS, TAKE CARE OF BILLS, AND BREATHE, WITH THE ONES IN THE PROGRAMS RECEIVING FIRST. THEN WE ALL GET TO THE REAL WORK AT HAND: THE RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS, AND THIS IS WHERE I/WE COME IN WITH A HELPING HAND

Why were the RVs attached to the PP when that was not the original plan? THEY ARE NOT
It seems unfair that we have been made to wait on RVs when the F&P and the PP are ready to be paid out. AS ABOVE.

Nearly 200 hundred currencies have been agreed upon and are ready to RV why has it taken some long to prepare the Dinar and the Dong? Is it true that while the Dinar is approx. $3.42 in country and the Dinar currently being held by folks in the US will payout at a rate nearly double the $3.42 rate?

I AM NOT ALLOWED TO REVEAL THIS. BUT THE BASE RV POINT WILL BE ACROSS THE BOARD TO PREVENT ARBITRAGE.

How can Iraq afford to pay out such a high rate? Can the Iraqi economic system sustain such a high payout?

A CURRENCY IS BASED ON THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE COUNTRY. IRAQ IS PARTICULARLY RICH IN OIL AND METAL. COMMON SENSE HERE

Please list the 5-10 major currencies of the world that will be moving us forward into this new era.

THE MARBLE, THE LUMP OF COAL, THE MAPLE SYRUP, THE ROAST BEAST,….THE QUESTION DESERVED THAT AS THE ANSWER IS: ALL CURRENCIES WILL BE DONE AND THEY WILL ALL MOVE FORWARD AS ONE. STABILITY IS KEY, NOT PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT (THE OLD WAY).

Are there any current or historical documents regarding the “Prophesies” or the “Divine Plan” that you can point us to so we can read and learn more about the history of the changes our planet is going through now?

OH BOY…I AM SURE THERE ARE, BUT I GET MY INFORMATION DIRECTLY FROM UPSTAIRS (WHERE WE WILL ALL END UP TOUCHING EVENTUALLY). THE URANTIA BOOK IS PRETTY GOOD FOR CLARITY AND FINDING OUT ABOUT OURSELVES, WHERE WE CAME FROM, WHAT WE ARE DOING HERE, ETC. THE DIVINE PLAN IS ABOUT EVOLUTION OF OUR HUMANITY, AND THE PRESERVATION OF LIFE (AND THE GENE POOL).

Are the changes going to be shared equally around the planet in order to put all countries on a more even keel? Will medical, mechanical and electronic advancements be readily shared around the planet?

YES AND YES…THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT IN A BIG WAY.

Can you provide us with anymore news about the “Republic.” Can you provide any news updates about returning to the original US Constitution?

NOPE. NOT YET. JULY 1 WILL BE INTERESTING THOUGH.

IN OTHER NEWS, THE SASQUATCH HAS BEEN SIGHTED IN UPPER MONGOLIA…AGAIN. WHEN YOU MEET UP WITH ONE OF THAT SPECIES, DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE CALL THEM A WOOKIE. THEY TAKE GREAT OFFENCE TO THAT. THEY ARE QUITE ARTICULATE IN FACT.

THE OLD MAN HAS APPROVED THE PUSHING OF THE BUTTON, AND THAT EVENT WILL BE FELT IN THE WEEK OF JULY 8 AS I SAID ABOVE. MANY CHANGES WILL BEGIN AT THAT TIME, AND A RELEASE OF MASSIVE AMOUNTS OF FUNDS…MORE THAN 300T INTO THE SYSTEM TO BEGIN THE REBALANCE. ALSO, I UNDERSTAND THAT OBAMA WILL TAKE A VACATION AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH, AND MAY EXTEND THAT TIME TO A YEAR OR TEN. WOULD BE INTERESTING IF THE REPUBLIC WAS ANNOUNCED IN HIS ABSENCE…WOULD HE COME BACK TO VOTE FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT? TIME WILL TELL.

Now listen up, this is important.

WHEN THE TIME COMES, THE RECONSTRUCTION WILL BEGIN. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? WELL….WHEN A TORNADO GOES THROUGH A TOWN AND DESTROYS IT, WHAT HAPPENS? THE TOWN IS REBUILT BIGGER AND BETTER, AND ON MORE SOLID FOUNDATION AD TECHNOLOGY SO IT CAN WITHSTAND THE NEXT TORNADO. THIS IS A GOOD METAPHOR TO THINK ABOUT. THE RECONSTRUCTION PROJECTS WILL TRANSFORM AND HEAL THIS BLUE BALL, AND PROVIDE FOR THE PEACE AND PROSPERITY THAT IS OUR LEGACY.

SHORTLY, IN THE NEXT WEEK OR SO, A SPECIAL WEBSITE WILL BE CREATED BY A SATELLITE TO INTAKE PROJECT SUBMISSIONS. THE CRITERIA FOR THE PROJECT SUBMISSIONS, BOTH LARGE AND SMALL, WILL BE: “HELPS OTHERS, AND DOES NO HARM”. IT CAN BE FOR PROFIT, OR NON PROFIT. MAKES NO DIFFERENCE. AS LONG AS IT HELPS OTHERS AND THE HUMAN CONDITION. SO NO CASINO, OR OIL, OR TOXIC WASTE DISPOSAL IN SEWER SCHEMES PLEASE, OR THEY WILL BE POSTED ON THE WEBSITE WITH A BIG “NO” PASTED ON THEM.

THE PRIMARY CRITERIA FOR PRIORITY PROJECTS WILL BE: KIDS FIRST, SENIORS SECOND, AND EVERYTHING ELSE THIRD. GROK?

DO NOT RUSH TO SUBMIT AS THAT WILL ONLY OVERLOAD THE SERVERS I THINK. TAKE YOUR TIME, AND THINK YOUR PROJECT THROUGH. IT CAN BE A SUMMARY OR FULL BUSINESS PLAN. IF IT IS A SUMMARY, WE WILL HELP YOU WITH FLESHING OUT THE BUSINESS PLAN AT THE RIGHT TIME. ALL PROJECTS WILL BE CONSIDERED.
FUNDING FOR THESE PROJECTS IS ALREADY IN PLACE IN THE MANY Q’S, SO DO NOT WORRY ABOUT GETTING IN FIRST BECAUSE THE MONEY MAY RUN OUT. IT WON’T.
AND SO BEGINS THE NEXT PHASE OF THIS OUR WORK.
 
MUCH FUN AHEAD.

AND A SPECIAL HUG AND KISS TO CHRIS/TOM FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND HELPING HAND DURING A TIME OF NEED. THANKS.

“BE GOOD, BE LEGAL, TELL TRUTH”

GOD BLESS.

IN LOVE AND LIGHT IN OUR SERVICE

ZAP Poof says…….“Keep your feet on the ground and take no wooden nickels. By now, most know, the political parties are the opposite sides of the same coin and it’s about money. Hold all things in common, is the wisdom as old as dirt. Yes, it can be hard, with emotions and other points of view banging on your head all the time. That’s where your own state of peace needs to be guarded as the most precious to you…never mind, the loudest voice in the room or the ‘internets’. When what we’re all waiting for happens, I will tell you in advance, seek the silence. The world will be skidding sideways and you’ll need to find your bearings. There’s no repeat of the past happening here so unfamiliarity will be the norm for a while until you get used to the new ‘norm’. At this point even the dogs and cats know, something is different and are acting accordingly.” Consultations upon request until the doorbell rings.

Love and Kisses,

Susan & Staff

Office of Poofness

Vatican bank director, deputy resign amid scandal

ROME (AP) — The director of the embattled Vatican bank and his deputy resigned Monday following the latest developments in a broadening finance scandal that has already landed one Vatican monsignor in prison and added urgency to Pope Francis' reform efforts.

An undated photo of Monsignor Nunzio Scarano in Salerno, Italy.

The Vatican said in a statement that Paolo Cipriani and his deputy, Massimo Tulli, stepped down "in the best interest of the institute and the Holy See."

Cipriani, along with the bank's then-president, was placed under investigation by Rome prosecutors in 2010 for alleged violations of Italy's anti-money-laundering norms after financial police seized 23 million euro ($30 million) from a Vatican account at a Rome bank. Neither has been charged and the money was eventually ordered released.

But the bank, known as the Institute for Religious Works, or IOR, has remained under the glare of prosecutors and now Francis amid fresh concerns it has been used as an offshore tax haven.

Last week, a Vatican accountant was arrested as part of Rome prosecutors' broadening investigation into the IOR. Monsignor Nunzio Scarano is accused of corruption and slander in connection with a plot to smuggle 20 million euro ($26 million) into Italy from Switzerland without reporting it to customs officials.


Scarano, dubbed "Don 500" by the Italian media because of his purported favorite euro banknote, acknowledged under questioning Monday that his behavior was wrong but that he was only trying to help out friends, attorney Silverio Sica told The Associated Press.

According to wiretapped phone conversations, Scarano was in touch regularly with both Cipriani and Tulli to get the required bank approval to move large amounts of cash into and out of his IOR accounts. Scarano had two such accounts: a personal one and one called "Fondo Anziani" to receive charitable donations for projects to help the elderly, prosecutors say.

In addition to his Rome arrest, Scarano is also under investigation in the southern city of Salerno for alleged money-laundering stemming from a 560,000 euro cash withdrawal he made from his IOR charity account in 2009. Sica, the attorney, has said Scarano arranged complicated transactions with dozens of other people and eventually used the money to pay off a mortgage.

The group of five cardinals overseeing the IOR accepted the resignations of Cipriani and Tulli and tapped the IOR's current president, German financier and aristocrat Ernst von Freyberg, to serve as interim director, a Vatican statement said.

Von Freyberg, who was named IOR president in February following the clamorous ouster last year of Italian banker Ettore Gotti Tedeschi for incompetence, thanked Cipriani and Tulli for their years of work and said much progress has been made in recent years to bring greater transparency to the Vatican's finances.

"While we are grateful for what has been achieved, it is clear today that we need new leadership to increase the pace of this transformation process," von Freyberg said in a statement.

Italian banker Rolando Marranci was named as acting deputy and another banking expert, Antonio Montaresi, has been brought into a new position as chief risk officer to help ensure the IOR complies with anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism norms. Both belong to the Promontory Group, an expert in the field of anti-money laundering which has been retained by the IOR to help it comply with international norms.

The IOR's board has begun the process of finding a permanent director and deputy director, the statement said.

The Vatican bank was founded in 1942 by Pope Pius XII to manage assets destined for religious or charitable works. Located in a tower just inside the gates of Vatican City, it isn't open to the public — only to Vatican employees, religious orders and diplomats accredited to the Holy See.

Last week, Francis announced a commission of inquiry into the bank's activities and legal status to ensure it is in "harmony" with the Catholic Church's mission. It's part of his overall reform effort of the Vatican bureaucracy, mandated by the cardinals who elected him pope in March.

The reason for concern about the IOR is well-founded: The bank has long been the source of some of the greatest scandals of the Holy See, famously implicated in a scandal over the collapse of the Banco Ambrosiano in the 1980s, in one of Italy's largest fraud cases.

Roberto Calvi, the head of Banco Ambrosiano, was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge in London in 1982 in circumstances that still remain mysterious.

Banco Ambrosiano collapsed following the disappearance of $1.3 billion in loans the bank had made to several dummy companies in Latin America. The Vatican had provided letters of credit for the loans.

While denying any wrongdoing, the Vatican bank agreed to pay $250 million to Ambrosiano's creditors.

The late Archbishop Paul Marcinkus, an American prelate who headed the Vatican bank at the time, was charged as an accessory to fraudulent bankruptcy in the scandal, but Italy's Constitutional Court eventually backed the Vatican in ruling that under Vatican-Italian treaties Marcinkus had immunity from Italian prosecution. Marcinkus long asserted his innocence and died in 2006.
___

Follow Nicole Winfield at www.twitter.com/nwinfield

http://news.yahoo.com/vatican-bank-director-deputy-resign-amid-scandal-182224080.html

Presence of Higher Entities energy has engaged local Higher Grids…

Presence of Higher Entities energy has engaged local Higher Grids and provides Illumination within communities at all levels.

Remnants of non-Light-oriented beings and groups continue dissolution as Higher Entities presence is accompanied by lower frequency higher density dissolution organisms.

Higher Entities presence at this time was called forth by raised consciousness levels achieve during preceding 11 day period.

http://gaiaportal.wordpress.com/

Benjamin Fulford: Major Offensive Against Cabal Control Continues on Multiple Fronts

The push to end the illegal rule of the West by a criminal cabal is escalating on multiple fronts as seen by a spate of incidents that seem, on the surface to be un-related. These incidents include the “murder” of a journalist in California, the ongoing NSA leaks scandal, the un-reported kidnapping of US ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, the murder of three free energy researchers last week and escalating riots.

There are also multiple sources predicting some sort of banking black swan event, possibly next week. In Japan, for example, all banking ATM machines in the entire country will be shut down on June 29th and 30th for undisclosed “technical maintenance.” Pentagon sources also talk about some sort of planned bank take over. The Asian secret society is also planning a big banking move soon, society sources say.

The gnostic illuminati, for their part, have also promised a renewed offensive against the cabal at the street level. The riots in Turkey and Brazil will be followed by major upheaval in Egypt expected in the run up to June 30th.

The kidnapping of US Ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, was reported to this writer by his fiancé who is a member of the Italian aristocracy. A Dr. Ben Morgan working for the UN in Syria and a UN official by the name of Kingsley Adogbeji in Nigeria are involved, she says. US special forces have been informed of his location. Ford is a moderate career diplomat who is not involved in the violence now wracking that country.

The seizure of Ford seems to have been carried out by frustrated mercenary armies working for the Saudis and other Zionist enemies of Syria because of his persistence in seeking a peaceful resolution to the conflict there.

It is very clear though that despite all the screaming about “no-fly zones” and US intervention in Syria by the Sabbatean (Zionist) mafia and their proxies, the fact is the pentagon, the Chinese and the Russians have already agreed not to be provoked into a war there. The Zionist slave governments of the UK and France do not have the military might to stop Russia in Syria. This means Western Europe will not be able to import natural gas from the Zionist colonies of Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Not only that, Turkey has now clearly sided with the White Dragon alliance against the Sabbatean mafia and has stopped the flow of weapons to Sabbatean mercenaries in Syria. The mercenary terrorist armies in Syria are now doomed. The Nazi Muslim brotherhood government in Egypt is also going to be targeted by massive demonstrations on June 30th, and is expected to be overthrown. The Saudi Arabian gangster government is the ultimate target of the push to free the Middle East of Nazi, Al CIAda, Salafist and Muslim Brotherhood terror, according to Green Dragon Society sources.

The Russians and Germans have also reached a secret agreement to dominate post-cabal Western Europe, according to Russian FSB sources. That is why Germany does not support the French and British efforts to get non-Russian sources of energy, the sources say. The Vatican is also now clearly pitted against the Sabbatean cabal and this can be seen in statements by the Pope about financial tyranny. It is also seen in the form of Vatican support for anti-plutocratic riots in Brazil.

The real question, though, is what is going to happen to the rogue terrorist government in the United States. Here there are signs of a real struggle between two factions, the Department of Homeland Security, the Washington D.C. corporate government and the Zionist corporate slave media are fighting the Pentagon and patriotic elements of the agencies.

The fact that the corporate slave media is making a huge fuss about the Snowden NSA leaks is a good indicator they are somehow involved. These are the same media that try to make Julian Assange of Wikileaks a big hero even though Assange follows the Zionist BS line about things like 911. Neither Snowden or Assange have revealed anything truly important (come on, we know the NSA has been watching everything since the end of WW2) and yet they get huge publicity, meaning they must be a form of controlled opposition.

The apparent “murder” of Rolling Stone journalist Michael Hastings also raises red flags because the photos of his burning Mercedes are obvious fakes (one shows it hit a lamppost another a tree) and because he was supposedly heading to an Israeli Consulate before a “missile” hit him.

We also got a call from a US source who said that three (un-named) free energy researchers had been killed by cabalists and that Dr. Steven Greer of the disclosure project has gone into hiding out of fear of assassination. We have not been able to confirm this independently at the time of this writing.

In any case, the Pentagon and the agencies are fighting back against the Sabbatean corporate media machine with their own internet outlets like Prison Planet (CIA white hats and Bronfman family), Tom Henegan (?), Sorcha Faal (Naval Intelligence) and Veteran’s today (Defense Intelligence Agency).

Judging from what Zionist slave press outlets like the New York Times writes (check out the anti-New York times for a good analysis: http://www.tomatobubble.com/idxxx.html), my vote is with the white hats at the pentagon and the agencies. Please note that while I have contributed articles to Veteran’s today, I have not been paid to do that.

For their part, pentagon and agency sources continue to say that the Sabbatean control of the process of creating dollars and Euros will soon be taken away from them. When the money dries up, the whores will go elsewhere for business. Let us see if their latest promises for big changes by the Fourth of July Independence Day celebrations actually happen this year.

The gnostic illuminati have also promised to intensify their campaign to completely overthrow the Western establishment. They have renewed their web-page http://armageddonconspiracy.co.uk/ to indicate this. Please note they spend a lot of time insulting me on that site. However, since their attacks are ad-hominem, I will simply respond with the Sufi saying: “the dogs bark but the caravan rolls on.” In any case, they promise dramatic events over the coming months, presumably including lots more street demonstrations, riots and bizarre plots like the “Boston bombing.”

However, the real key battle for the planet earth remains the one of getting control of the central bank money printing presses. To this end, big secret moves are being made.

Source:
http://benjaminfulford.net/2013/06/25/major-offensive-against-cabal-control-continues-on-multiple-fronts/

Huge saucer UFO over the USA on 31st May 2013

UFO sightings – New video footage of a saucer shape UFO recorded while hovering in the night sky somewhere above USA on 31st May 2013.

Witness said:
Tony Grubber records a UFO saucer using a weapon what is unknown to humans over the U.S. The UFO thats very low over the area with no sound or means of levitation and its saucer shape with port lights that are fully visible and its ejecting hundreds of odd lights in different colours like a sort of night effectivement. This footage is spectacular for night time footage, dont miss this!

Ron Paul gives thanks for leaker

Posted by

CNN Political Unit
 

(CNN) – Former Republican Rep. Ron Paul praised former intelligence worker Edward Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald for exposing details of U.S. surveillance programs, saying Americans should be "thankful" for their efforts in speaking out, "despite the risk." 

"They have done a great service to the American people by exposing the truth about what our government is doing in secret," Paul said Monday in a statement.

Paul made his comment on the website for Campaign for Liberty, a political organization founded by the former congressman and three-time presidential candidate from Texas.

"The government does not need to know more about what we are doing. We need to know more about what the government is doing," he also said.

Snowden's decision to come forward this weekend has sparked an intense debate over whether the 29-year-old contractor is a hero or a criminal. While the Justice Department said Sunday night that it had begun a preliminary investigation, others have heralded Snowden's cause. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee, for example, is raising money for his legal defense.

Greenwald, who works for The Guardian, published multiple articles last week on the government's monitoring of phone records and PRISM, a program that allows National Security Agency analysts to extract the details of people's online activities.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said the programs have been reviewed by courts, Congress and the administration, and are legal.

Snowden also appears to be a fan of Paul, as well. Federal Election Commission records show an "Edward Snowden" donated $250 to Paul on two different occasions last year, when the former congressman was running for president.

In the first entry (March 18), Snowden lists Dell as his employer and Columbia, Maryland as his residence. The second entry (May 6), Snowden lists his residence as Hawaii. The information falls in line with details Snowden revealed about himself this weekend when The Guardian publicly identified him as the NSA leaker.

In his interview with the news outlet, Snowden talked about his political leanings and suggested he voted for Paul as a presidential candidate five years ago.

"A lot of people in 2008 voted for Obama. I did not vote for him. I voted for a third party. But I believed in Obama's promises. I was going to disclose it [but waited because of his election]. He continued with the policies of his predecessor," he said.

Republican Sen. Rand Paul, son of Ron Paul and another staunch defender of civil liberties, has also been aggressive in condemning the government programs. The Kentucky lawmaker said Sunday he's looking into suing the federal government.

"I'm going to be seeing if I can challenge this at the Supreme Court level. I'm going to be asking the internet providers and all of the phone companies; ask your customers to join me in a class-action lawsuit," Paul said on FOX News Sunday.

– CNN's Ashley Killough, Kevin Liptak and Greg Clary contributed to this report.