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I don't think your comment deserved the merciless level of downvotes it received. I too personally find it strange that leaks about US activities against forei

by tome 13y ago

I don't think your comment deserved the merciless level of downvotes it received. I too personally find it strange that leaks about US activities against foreign powers are receiving as much support as leaks about US activities against its own citizens.

wavefunction 13y ago
As an American citizen, I feel it is of paramount importance to know what "our" government is doing in our name. Especially since a lot of it seems to be poorly considered, unethical, and somewhat intended to benefit a few at the expense of the many.
- tome 13y ago
  Yes, this is a strong counter point.
lhnz 13y ago
It's indiscriminate information gathering behind closed doors. I'm not a US citizen but I am a UK one. My government is allegedly doing far worse. Look - the fact is, this guy publicised some information supposedly politically beneficial to a foreign power [0] and this happened hours before he left Hong Kong unscathed. Looking at what has been done to Bradley Manning I think you would have to be fairly ignorant to expect anything different if he had not done this. What Snowden has done is pro-freedom, pro-individual-privacy and anti-government-secrecy. Even if you are not courageous enough to do so yourself, you should be glad that there are still people willing to risk themselves for the values that made your country the greatest in the world. It honestly seems like you rationalise against it for some reason? Without people willing to make a stand you are on the way to total corruption; the few will benefit and the mass will lose. And then your only option to regaining power will be revolution and blood-shed. [0] I would assume that the Chinese government would have been well aware about this already due to having their own spies. (I wonder how many foreign powers had direct access to Prism?) All it has allowed is sabre-rattling due to redefining the public space.
- tome 13y ago
  I fully support the leaks which relate to surveillance of private citizens. I don't support the leaks which relate to activities against foreign enemy powers (or rival powers, if "enemy" is too strong a word). I don't think that's an inconsistent position.
kghose 13y ago
Thanks tome. As a sidenote, I was interested that my total Karma went down by more than the negative votes I can see on the comments here. I don't care about the Karma, I was just curious how this could happen. Do you have an idea? Are motivated people going through my other comments on the site and downvoting them? Like slashdot, HN, has become a slightly more vicious place, or maybe I just notice it more! It makes finding more mature people here more valuable.

by tome 13y ago

wavefunction 13y ago

As an American citizen, I feel it is of paramount importance to know what "our" government is doing in our name. Especially since a lot of it seems to be poorly considered, unethical, and somewhat intended to benefit a few at the expense of the many.

tome 13y ago
Yes, this is a strong counter point.

lhnz 13y ago

It's indiscriminate information gathering behind closed doors. I'm not a US citizen but I am a UK one. My government is allegedly doing far worse. Look - the fact is, this guy publicised some information supposedly politically beneficial to a foreign power [0] and this happened hours before he left Hong Kong unscathed. Looking at what has been done to Bradley Manning I think you would have to be fairly ignorant to expect anything different if he had not done this. What Snowden has done is pro-freedom, pro-individual-privacy and anti-government-secrecy. Even if you are not courageous enough to do so yourself, you should be glad that there are still people willing to risk themselves for the values that made your country the greatest in the world. It honestly seems like you rationalise against it for some reason? Without people willing to make a stand you are on the way to total corruption; the few will benefit and the mass will lose. And then your only option to regaining power will be revolution and blood-shed. [0] I would assume that the Chinese government would have been well aware about this already due to having their own spies. (I wonder how many foreign powers had direct access to Prism?) All it has allowed is sabre-rattling due to redefining the public space.

tome 13y ago
I fully support the leaks which relate to surveillance of private citizens. I don't support the leaks which relate to activities against foreign enemy powers (or rival powers, if "enemy" is too strong a word). I don't think that's an inconsistent position.

kghose 13y ago

Thanks tome. As a sidenote, I was interested that my total Karma went down by more than the negative votes I can see on the comments here. I don't care about the Karma, I was just curious how this could happen. Do you have an idea? Are motivated people going through my other comments on the site and downvoting them? Like slashdot, HN, has become a slightly more vicious place, or maybe I just notice it more! It makes finding more mature people here more valuable.