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I can't believe we label this guy a traitor. I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the la

I can't believe we label this guy a traitor. I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the law is a bad thing. We need less politicians and more people like him in office. America needs to stop being solely capatial driven and more democracy driven. Money buys laws.

19ylram49 7y ago
Now, wave at your camera to the lovely NSA agent tracing you.
emilsedgh 7y ago
Hire a PR firm to "pivot" and "get ahead" of the story. It's Ed Snowden, with limited availability vs. PR firms and "patriotic" media with limitless budget. War is peace.
- YinglingLight 7y ago
  Your skepticism is healthy, but its directed on the wrong target.
- alvern 7y ago
  Freedom is a police state.
dboreham 7y ago
We?
dfxm12 7y ago
Keep this in mind as there are some important elections coming up soon in America.
chooseaname 7y ago
> I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the law is a bad thing. The U.S.A. is now a country where laws like the "Patriot Act" have survived both parties being in control. There's really no going back.
johnfactorial 7y ago
> I can't believe we label this guy a traitor. I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the law is a bad thing. I can give a few reasons for those genuinely wondering. 1. Ends can not justify means. 2. He fabricated auth keys to gain access to confidential material he didn't have access to. 3. He shared the information so-gained as soon as he could. 4. He shared it with geopolitical foes of the United States. 5. Many reasonable people recognize Wikileaks' objectives are well-aligned with Russia's and feel strongly they are collaborators. 6. My knowledge is limited here, but does Snowden claim he used any of the actual, legal whistleblower processes before escaping to Julian Assange? My understanding is that he did not. In short, he could have been a whistleblower, but instead acted against the USA's interests, preferring to break into government systems and share the data with anti-US actors. In so doing he exposed truth it's good for citizens to know, but did so in a way that has had far-ranging, still-harmful effects on the USA today. * https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa-surveillance https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/snowden-... * https://www.thedailybeast.com/greenwald-snowdens-files-are-out-there-if-anything-happens-to-him?account=thedailybeast&medium=twitter&source=socialflow https://www.thedailybeast.com/greenwald-snowdens-files-are-o... * https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB436/ https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB436/ * https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/europe/wikileaks-julian-assange-russia.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/europe/wikileaks-ju... * https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-calls-wikileaks-a-non-state-hostile-intelligence-service/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-calls-wikileaks-a-...
- pstuart 7y ago
  > acted against the USA's interests" acted against the USA Government's interests These are two very different things.
- peterburkimsher 7y ago
  Regarding objections 5 and 6, Snowden distributed documents to the Guardian, Washington Post, and Der Spiegel - not Wikileaks. He did insist that these newspapers only publish information that is in public interest, and warn the government according to correct whistleblower protocol [1]. The Wikileaks legal team helped Snowden once he was already in trouble. He also said that "Even the NSA admits that Russia wasn't my intended destination." [2] so objection 4 is also moot. [1] "the journalists would then in advance of publication, warn the government about the story they were about to break." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-nsa-cbs-this-morning-interview-today-2019-09-16/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-nsa-cbs-this-mor... [2] https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-edward-snowden-about-his-story-a-1286605.html https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-ed...

19ylram49 7y ago

Now, wave at your camera to the lovely NSA agent tracing you.

emilsedgh 7y ago

Hire a PR firm to "pivot" and "get ahead" of the story. It's Ed Snowden, with limited availability vs. PR firms and "patriotic" media with limitless budget. War is peace.

YinglingLight 7y ago
Your skepticism is healthy, but its directed on the wrong target.
alvern 7y ago
Freedom is a police state.

dboreham 7y ago

We?

dfxm12 7y ago

Keep this in mind as there are some important elections coming up soon in America.

chooseaname 7y ago

> I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the law is a bad thing. The U.S.A. is now a country where laws like the "Patriot Act" have survived both parties being in control. There's really no going back.

johnfactorial 7y ago

> I can't believe we label this guy a traitor. I never understood how someone who tells the American people/journalist's that their government is breaking the law is a bad thing. I can give a few reasons for those genuinely wondering. 1. Ends can not justify means. 2. He fabricated auth keys to gain access to confidential material he didn't have access to. 3. He shared the information so-gained as soon as he could. 4. He shared it with geopolitical foes of the United States. 5. Many reasonable people recognize Wikileaks' objectives are well-aligned with Russia's and feel strongly they are collaborators. 6. My knowledge is limited here, but does Snowden claim he used any of the actual, legal whistleblower processes before escaping to Julian Assange? My understanding is that he did not. In short, he could have been a whistleblower, but instead acted against the USA's interests, preferring to break into government systems and share the data with anti-US actors. In so doing he exposed truth it's good for citizens to know, but did so in a way that has had far-ranging, still-harmful effects on the USA today. * https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/snowden-sought-booz-allen-job-gather-evidence-nsa-surveillance https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1268209/snowden-... * https://www.thedailybeast.com/greenwald-snowdens-files-are-out-there-if-anything-happens-to-him?account=thedailybeast&medium=twitter&source=socialflow https://www.thedailybeast.com/greenwald-snowdens-files-are-o... * https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB436/ https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB436/ * https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/europe/wikileaks-julian-assange-russia.html https://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/01/world/europe/wikileaks-ju... * https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-calls-wikileaks-a-non-state-hostile-intelligence-service/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cia-director-calls-wikileaks-a-...

pstuart 7y ago
> acted against the USA's interests" acted against the USA Government's interests These are two very different things.
peterburkimsher 7y ago
Regarding objections 5 and 6, Snowden distributed documents to the Guardian, Washington Post, and Der Spiegel - not Wikileaks. He did insist that these newspapers only publish information that is in public interest, and warn the government according to correct whistleblower protocol [1]. The Wikileaks legal team helped Snowden once he was already in trouble. He also said that "Even the NSA admits that Russia wasn't my intended destination." [2] so objection 4 is also moot. [1] "the journalists would then in advance of publication, warn the government about the story they were about to break." https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-nsa-cbs-this-morning-interview-today-2019-09-16/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/edward-snowden-nsa-cbs-this-mor... [2] https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-edward-snowden-about-his-story-a-1286605.html https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/interview-with-ed...