Edward Snowden. Traitor or Hero?

[StinkyFingers]

As more information comes out, it appears that this guy fancied himself as a wanna-be spy. So, I'm not so certain that what he did was partly the doing of a off-kilter personality with an enormous fantasy ego as much as a "patriotic" act of defiance.

Clearly, he did not think the whole thing through in coming forward and identifying himself and having a back-up plan. But, I guess he needed the attention more than the security of discretion.

My two-cents is that a fucking self-delusion idiot with a spy fantasy was given access to sensitive information.

NSA's been doing this for years, nothing new there. Lots of media coverage and "outrage" but nothing will change.

[boardman]

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were traitors and technically criminals.
Rosa Parks was arrested for civil disobedience for not obeying a fucking bus driver.

I don't know enough about exactly what Snowden did to determine if he is a criminal and we will apparently only get one side of the story anytime soon.

I know it's not apples to apples but the point is that sometimes it takes someone with the courage to stand up, sit down, say no, say yes or whatever to effect change. Courts or even public opinion may decide his fate but only time will tell whether he is a traitor or a hero.

[Guest050715-1]

Originally Posted by jbravo_123

He should be afforded whatever protections whistle blowers get under our laws. However, if it turns out that he exposed more than the whistle blower laws protect, then he should be prosecuted for it as well.

These are my exact sentiments. Don't think I'd have chosen Hong Kong to exile myself to though.

[WTF]

From what I have read....he did not go through the correct procedure to be considered for the whiste blower act.

Traitor or Hero just depends which side you fall more under. Freedom or Safety.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by boardman

The men who signed the Declaration of Independence were traitors and technically criminals.
Rosa Parks was arrested for civil disobedience for not obeying a fucking bus driver.

I don't know enough about exactly what Snowden did to determine if he is a criminal and we will apparently only get one side of the story anytime soon.

I know it's not apples to apples but the point is that sometimes it takes someone with the courage to stand up, sit down, say no, say yes or whatever to effect change. Courts or even public opinion may decide his fate but only time will tell whether he is a traitor or a hero.

The same could be said about the 911 hijackers...from a Muslim POV.

[Don T. Lukbak]

Originally Posted by WTF

The same could be said about the 911 hijackers...from an islamist POV.

...and from a strict military direct action POV, those 19 weren't just whack jobs, they were skilled and focused special operators.

[TransAm]

I don't know what to make of the guy, but like others, the hanging out in Hong Kong and dangling his remaining info in China's face does NOT endear me to him. I'm not so much concerned with whether he "broke a law" as whether he did the right thing, and I favor disclosure of these programs so that Americans can make decisions about how we're going to deal with it.

That said, anybody that thinks this is new is dangerously deluded. Forget, for a moment, that the radical expansion of the FISA Court's jurisdiction came in 2001 under the previous Administration, and that these programs and their predecessors have been steadily taking more and more liberties with information that most Americans would consider "private". I say "forget for a moment" because the government has, since the early 1900's with the advent of radio and television, firmly established that government owns the airwaves, and only licenses their use. So if you choose to send your info out there, the privacy claim is somewhat dubious, legally, to begin with.

Secondly, far too may of you sat quietly while the Patriot Act and it's ramifications have been debated since 2002. Military tribunals? Gitmo? Torture? FISA data collection warrants? While there are legal nuances with each instance, it's all under the umbrella of the same argument. Your votes and your money count, and for a long time, the people of this country told the government, with their money and with their votes, "Take our freedom, really... we're not using it." For f***'s sake, the NSA's warrantless wire tapping was revealed in 2006! PRISM is just an extension of the same program, but under the cover of a general warrant issued by a secret FISA court, despite the 4th Amendment's provision that no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause.

So, because Americans, by and large, are too stupid to keep an eye on these things themselves, we're forced to rely on this Snowden monger. Yes, his woman is hot, and I give made props. But does anybody really want him trading our secrets to China for protection? And not for nothing, but don't you think there might have been a way to reveal what he knew, get it into the public domain, without disclosing his identity? THAT would have been heroic. The more interviews I see him give, the more I'm convinced this is grandstanding.

[lostincypress]

Terrorist training 101 - all forms of electronic communication are monitored............US Private Citizen.....what, someone can retrieve the dumbass things I say, text, and post.....all the bullshit I post in chat rooms, my delusional rants about the Federal Government, and those pictures on Facebook intended for only my closest friends.....no way.

[boardman]

Originally Posted by WTF

The same could be said about the 911 hijackers...from a Muslim POV.

Exactly.

Those who give up freedom in the name of security will soon have neither.

[LittleSpike]

Question, "When does the war on terror, end?". In truth, it will never end, because it's an excuse to take more of our freedoms, and more of our taxes. We are called upon to sacrifice our liberties, our labor, our money, and our children for absolute bullshit!

LS

[spear88]

What I see when I look at our system now, (and that is BOTH parties so don't fool yourselves you partisans). Is an increasingly maniacal and fascistic elite who are using war and terror threats as an instrument to control the population. Meanwhile the middle class shrinks, cronyism rules the market, and the poorer people are being jailed and replaced by new cheaper and more compliant immigrants.

I really don't see how much longer this can go on. The whole system will collapse like a house of cards, or erupt into violence. We had a real good thing going for a long time but I fear that it is all over unless you are rich and can leave quickly for someplace else.

So as far as I am concerned, the guy was a hero because he struck a blow at the elites.

[BatteriesNotIncluded]

State control has been expanding since the Civil War. But the new tools of technology allow for an invasion of privacy never comprehended by the founding fathers. The NSA program needed to have light shone on it. The "Patriot Acts" are Orwellian at best.

Sadly, I'm starting to lean towards traitor with this guy, given his coziness with China and potential offer of Asylum from Russia. If you're going to take the fall for the many... Man up.

[JBravo]

Right there BNI !! A true patriot thinks down that road; you, not him. If you don't defend your country with honor and dignity... then yer ass should be swingin', especially if you're suckin the enemy's dick. Good on ya' there yank.

[TheAntichrist666]

I say Edward Snowden is a hero.

[pravda]

I don't think he's a hero. I don't think he's a whistle blower. The NSA didn't break any laws. If he truly believes that he is saving Americans from an injustice, he could have done so anonymously and without running to China. He has stated he doesn't believe he did anything wrong, so why is he hiding in Hong Kong?