Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations

[Plasmaball]

He is not a hero.

He is not a villain necessarily, either.

But let's not get all carried away.

The laws exist for a reason and he intentionally took it upon himself to decide what worth the law was in regard to the secret nature of this information.

It was not his call to make. Nobody elected him.

being elected is not a qualifier for releasing info.
That doesnt make him a hero, it makes him human.

NOT being elected means he had NO right to take the law into his own hands, choose to break it and then hope to be hailed as a hero.

He is not a hero. He is a law-breaker.

so what? I didnt claim he was a hero, that term has been whored out so much its lost any meaning.

Being elected does not give you the right either. It is not a qualifier.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

He is not a hero.

He is not a villain necessarily, either.

But let's not get all carried away.

The laws exist for a reason and he intentionally took it upon himself to decide what worth the law was in regard to the secret nature of this information.

It was not his call to make. Nobody elected him.

being elected is not a qualifier for releasing info.
That doesnt make him a hero, it makes him human.

NOT being elected means he had NO right to take the law into his own hands, choose to break it and then hope to be hailed as a hero.

He is not a hero. He is a law-breaker.

The two are not mutually exclusive.

 

[francoHFW]

Our reps and judiciary disagree that any laws were broken. There's informed reasonable doubt, and there's ignorant, fear mongered paranoia.

 

[Lakhota]

On May 20, he boarded a flight to Hong Kong, where he has remained ever since. He chose the city because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right of political dissent", and because he believed that it was one of the few places in the world that both could and would resist the dictates of the US government.

In the three weeks since he arrived, he has been ensconced in a hotel room. "I've left the room maybe a total of three times during my entire stay," he said. It is a plush hotel and, what with eating meals in his room too, he has run up big bills.

He is deeply worried about being spied on. He lines the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent eavesdropping. He puts a large red hood over his head and laptop when entering his passwords to prevent any hidden cameras from detecting them.

Though that may sound like paranoia to some, Snowden has good reason for such fears. He worked in the US intelligence world for almost a decade. He knows that the biggest and most secretive surveillance organisation in America, the NSA, along with the most powerful government on the planet, is looking for him.

More: Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind the NSA surveillance revelations | World news | guardian.co.uk

 

[deltex1]

There are better ways to blow the whistle....evidently Snowden has a record of complaining...he should have used official contacts rather than rat to the British press.

Oh, yes, he should have complained to the people doing the spying, rather than alert the American people to what the U.S. government is doing. That makes sense.

Our reps and judiciary disagree that any laws were broken. There's informed reasonable doubt, and there's ignorant, fear mongered paranoia.

And thers those like yourself with their head up their ass.

 

[TemplarKormac]

being elected is not a qualifier for releasing info.
That doesnt make him a hero, it makes him human.

NOT being elected means he had NO right to take the law into his own hands, choose to break it and then hope to be hailed as a hero.

He is not a hero. He is a law-breaker.

so what? I didnt claim he was a hero, that term has been whored out so much its lost any meaning.

Being elected does not give you the right either. It is not a qualifier.

Strange. I see our president defending the NSA's behavior. He acts like it gives him the right.

 

[Lakhota]

I can't help but wonder if Edward Snowden is Democrat, Republican or Libertarian?

 

[Plasmaball]

NOT being elected means he had NO right to take the law into his own hands, choose to break it and then hope to be hailed as a hero.

He is not a hero. He is a law-breaker.

so what? I didnt claim he was a hero, that term has been whored out so much its lost any meaning.

Being elected does not give you the right either. It is not a qualifier.

Strange. I see our president defending the NSA's behavior. He acts like it gives him the right.

your point? of course he would defend it, Everyone in government has been basically defending it outside a few people.

Doesn't mean he or they are right in supporting this spying on the public.

If you think i am going to defend Obama on this issue, then you would be wrong.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

I can't help but wonder if Edward Snowden is Democrat, Republican or Libertarian?

He apparently donated money to Ron Paul.

 

[Missourian]

Regardless of the outcome...the guy has guts.

He thought things would change after the 2008 election...they didn't...they only got worse.

He determined a course of action where no persons would be at risk, only operations and techniques.

He showed the people what was going on behind their backs, then took responsibility for his actions publicly.

Whatever you may think of his actions, his intentions seem pure and his motivations honorable.

 

[deltex1]

I can't help but wonder if Edward Snowden is Democrat, Republican or Libertarian?

Most likely a gay liberal.

 

[SFC Ollie]

First and foremost our Government has overstepped its bounds on this. The Pat Act did not mean for this to go so far and our regulators in Washington need to pull a few all nighters and get it fixed.

That being said, the whistle blower is still guilty of revealing defense secrets.........A hero he is not.......

 

[Lakhota]

RedStateEclectic : Edward Snowden Donated To Ron Paul In 2012

 

[TemplarKormac]

As much as I admire him for his actions, he should be extradited and tried for treason. Anyone who willfully endangers my country or it's men overseas is not my kind of hero.

 

[Lakhota]

Well, if he donated to Ron Paul in 2012 - he definitely has a mental problem.

No, he is not a hero.

Yes, he should be extradited.

I believe China trumps Hong Kong in foreign relations - so what will China do?

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

As much as I admire him for his actions, he should be extradited and tried for treason. Anyone who willfully endangers my country or it's men overseas is not my kind of hero.

How exactly has he endangered anybody?

 

[TemplarKormac]

As much as I admire him for his actions, he should be extradited and tried for treason. Anyone who willfully endangers my country or it's men overseas is not my kind of hero.

How exactly has he endangered anybody?

How has he not? Revealing secrets about your government can come with a price, Kevin. You can alert other countries as to the flaws in the internal mechanisms of your government, they in turn can work ways to exploit them. This behavior only broadcasts these kinds of things to foreign governments that hate us. Whether or not we played a role in their hating us is beside the point.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

As much as I admire him for his actions, he should be extradited and tried for treason. Anyone who willfully endangers my country or it's men overseas is not my kind of hero.

How exactly has he endangered anybody?

How has he not? Revealing secrets about your government can come with a price, Kevin. You can alert other countries as to the flaws in the internal mechanisms of your government, they in turn can work ways to exploit them. This behavior only broadcasts these kinds of things to foreign governments that hate us.

"They" hate "us" for the actions of the U.S. government. You can't blame Snowden for that. Regardless, we have to be able to hold our government accountable for its illegal actions, and whistleblowers are an integral part of that process.

 

[C_Clayton_Jones]

he stole classified info and leaked it to the press.

That's theft, at the least.

He should have informed other authorities, in secret, if nothing was done, then contact lawyers.

he's in deep shit and has given the nsa time to cover themselves from what may have been uncovered.

The only theft here is that the government is stealing our data.

Irrelevant.

The new improved Constitution signed by President , Barack Obama, Kenyan for Ben Dover, allows the President to screw us in the ass.......in the name of national security, of course.

.

It’s posts such as this as to why no one takes you seriously.

 

[Lakhota]

Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.) on Sunday called for the prosecution of Edward Snowden, the admitted leaker of top secret documents detailing the National Security Agency’s phone and internet surveillance programs.

“If Edward Snowden did in fact leak the NSA data as he claims, the United States government must prosecute him to the fullest extent of the law and begin extradition proceedings at the earliest date,” King said in a statement.

In the video dated June 6, he said that he was in Hong Kong – a country with which the U.S. has a bilateral extradition treaty.

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) said the national security leaks would endanger American lives.

Rogers said the leaker had other ways to bring about a change in policy.

He could come to the committees, if they had concern. We have IGs that they can go to in a classified way if they have concern,” he said.

More: Rep. King: Prosecute NSA leaker to 'fullest extent of the law' - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room