Opinion of Edward Snowden

[Leftbehind]

No, Snowden revealed himself very quickly to be a delusional narcissist who makes sanctimonious pronouncements about Civil Liberties (and implying he'll be assassinated like Malcolm X) while seeking asylum in Putin's Russia.

lol yeah, he should've came to (Western) Europe or wherever so he could be immediately deported and given the Manning treatment.

It's just fortunate it wasn't Russian national security secrets he was leaking or he'd have been poisoned months ago!

"The Manning treatment" being, er, standing trial and facing the consequences of your actions?

Well, great, he wasn't murdered...and? Your naked attempts at character assassination would only be effective if Snowden was holding Russia up as the model, and not just a last resort, blatantly taking advantage of geopolitical hostility as one of the few destinations that won't sell him down the river to the USA.

Consequences?! Yes, he must suffer 'cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment' before being locked up for the best part his life simply for alerting the public they're being covertly spied on without their consent, signed off by their supposed representatives - or, the horror, giving some PR ammunition to Putin and Latin American leaders, as if it's his fault America's undone its own reputation for freedom.

[Oakvale]

FF.

Betraying one's country isn't in and of itself a 'bad thing,' especially if you justify your actions on a power that transcends human-established laws: morality.  Moral wrongs need to be rectified somehow.

Lol. What "moral wrong" did Snowden rectify?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance_in_the_United_States

Yeah I'm aware of the topic at hand. What "moral wrong" did Snowden's actions rectify?

[Darth Plagueis]

FF, NSA IS THE REAL TRAITOR.

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

FF.

Betraying one's country isn't in and of itself a 'bad thing,' especially if you justify your actions on a power that transcends human-established laws: morality.  Moral wrongs need to be rectified somehow.

Lol. What "moral wrong" did Snowden rectify?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_surveillance_in_the_United_States

Yeah I'm aware of the topic at hand. What "moral wrong" did Snowden's actions rectify?

Unchecked surveillance of innocent people?

[RI]

Inconsequential person.

[Bandit3 the Worker]

Freedom fighter and national hero!

[Darth Plagueis]

HP, traitor.

Far less of one than the NSAstapo.

[Darth Plagueis]

Freedom fighter.

Surely you d***s can understand that one has to be a traitor to be a real freedom fighter?

The thing is, the REAL traitors are those in NSA and those who support aiding islamic terrorists in Syria (aka McCain, Kerry, Obama, Bohner, Graham).

[opebo]

Freedom fighter.

Surely you d***s can understand that one has to be a traitor to be a real freedom fighter?

The thing is, the REAL traitors are those in NSA and those who support aiding islamic terrorists in Syria (aka McCain, Kerry, Obama, Bohner, Graham).

Well, actually the entire US government is a capitalist (fascist) entity that exists only to oppress the masses on behalf of the wealthy elite.. so freedom is only accessible through treason.

[Knives]

HP.

 civil liberties. (not sarcastic)

[Franzl]

FF.

Betraying one's country isn't in and of itself a 'bad thing,' especially if you justify your actions on a power that transcends human-established laws: morality.  Moral wrongs need to be rectified somehow.

Although the moral wrongs haven't been (and won't be) rectified, I think he did us a great service by making this public.

I certainly consider him an FF.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

FF. There's one big question I have not yet to be heard answered, which is why what he did was wrong and who it hurt. The only points I hear are that his supporters are annoying (completely irrelevant) and that the NSA surveillance is fairly overblown (true but not really my point.) However the question is not that, but is the NSA surveillance programs a good thing. You see, I have a tough time seeing how one can justify that it is without resorting to circa 2004 right wing rhetoric like "OMG TERRORISM! DEFENDING OUR FREEDOMS!" which is utter bullsh!t and always will be. If you can make a good case that the stuff he exposed is the only thing preventing another 9/11 (because of course al-Qaeda is known for communicating in those venues) and that his actions actually assist terrorists, then go ahead, but I can't see how it's the case. Therefore he did nothing wrong.

[RosettaStoned]

 Epic FF.

[Deus Naturae]

Literal FF.

[ElectionsGuy]

He's definitely a FF overall in my book.

[Paul Kemp]

Tool.

[Knives]

FF. There's one big question I have not yet to be heard answered, which is why what he did was wrong and who it hurt.

It sets a precedent that any government official can freely release confidential information without any repercussions, it's reckless behavior.

[Antonio the Sixth]

FF. There's one big question I have not yet to be heard answered, which is why what he did was wrong and who it hurt. The only points I hear are that his supporters are annoying (completely irrelevant) and that the NSA surveillance is fairly overblown (true but not really my point.) However the question is not that, but is the NSA surveillance programs a good thing. You see, I have a tough time seeing how one can justify that it is without resorting to circa 2004 right wing rhetoric like "OMG TERRORISM! DEFENDING OUR FREEDOMS!" which is utter bullsh!t and always will be. If you can make a good case that the stuff he exposed is the only thing preventing another 9/11 (because of course al-Qaeda is known for communicating in those venues) and that his actions actually assist terrorists, then go ahead, but I can't see how it's the case. Therefore he did nothing wrong.

It says something when BRTD is the one making most sense in a thread.

[Warren 4 Secretary of Everything]

He didn't really release anything we didn't already know. The Obama Administration had already stopped the spying on foreign  leaders, so all he really did was cause a lot of unnecessary confusion and antipathy.

HP

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

He didn't really release anything we didn't already know. The Obama Administration had already stopped the spying on foreign  leaders, so all he really did was cause a lot of unnecessary confusion and antipathy.

HP

That's some good Kool-Aid you're drinking.

[free my dawg]

GREAT GUY FF

[All Along The Watchtower]

GREAT GUY FF

NO WAY MAN HP 9/11 CHANGED EVERYTHING

[SUSAN CRUSHBONE]

FF.

Betraying one's country isn't in and of itself a 'bad thing,' especially if you justify your actions on a power that transcends human-established laws: morality.  Moral wrongs need to be rectified somehow.

Although the moral wrongs haven't been (and won't be) rectified, I think he did us a great service by making this public.

I certainly consider him an FF.

^^^^^

If Snowden believes that he did the right thing, as he claims to, he should have stayed in the US and stood trial,

dont be so f[inks]ing naive

[TNF]

Freedom fighter and national hero!

[Cory]

Tool.