Edward Snowden: the whistleblower behind revelations of NSA surveillance

reply to post by JayinAR


As I said Im from UK so crimes against the state and people normaly just fall under treason.

But its seem both crime are very very serious matters.

And its not just the president it is all the congressman, past presidents and CIA, NSA and FBI officuals that are guilty in this.

Originally posted by RickinVa


Snowden has committed treason by any standard of the measure.......... he deserves death, no less than life making little rocks out of big rocks.

So the Goverments allowed to break the law and no one is allowed to speak out? It should all be kept quiet even though its illegal?

As I stated NAZI Germany had that attitude and look what happened? Or do you have a micro memory?

reply to post by crazyewok


Yep. Any crime, to include breaching the Constitutional rights of the American public all the way down to perjury, made by an official under oath, constitutes a High Crime. And every one of them are grounds for immediate removal from office.

Not that that crap matters to these shart stains. They do this crap all the time without recourse.

Does anyone doubt the veracity of this statement?

"I, sitting at my desk, certainly had the authorities to wiretap anyone, from you or your accountant to a federal judge or even a president," Snowden said.

"Even if you're not doing anything wrong, you're being watched and recorded. You simply have to eventually fall under suspicion from somebody, even by a wrong call, and then they can use the system to go back in time and scrutinize every decision you've ever made, every friend you've ever discussed something with."

www.cbsnews.com...

If the average russian hacker can steal your ID online from an internet cafe lickety-split...

What do you think a well trained NSA hacker can do with multi-billion dollar infrastructure directly piped into the worlds ISPs?

So the question becomes, not what can they do, but what are they doing. What are they allowed or encouraged to do. Snowden raised flags, expressed concerns...he was told to stop asking questions....with each passing year the technology becomes more powerful. The NSA is building a 2 Billion dollar data center in Utah as we speak.

Snowden is not even saying that the PRISM program is bad...he is just saying it has become so powerful and constitutional breeches are happening and those in charge don't care...and it is growing.

If we are a democracy...then the people need to be aware so that we can demand rules, oversight aka...keep the Constitution and principles we have fought and died for ...for the past two ceturies.

His goal was making the people aware of thier government's disregard for the Constitution. And it was as legit a leak as I have ever seen.

Not to go all Libertarian on you folks, most know I am anything but that...but Ben Franklin would be the first to stand up and demand a pardon for this young man...ya'll know the qoute Often overused, but it applies here.

Charge him and pardon him.

reply to post by crazyewok


Could you explain precisely how Snowden committed treason?

Thanks in advance.


ETA: oops. That was meant for RickinVA

Originally posted by JayinAR
Something to consider in this situation is that this guy may have signed his own death warrant for a number of reasons.
Most importantly, and this may have been a HUGE mistake on his part, is that he actually went public with how much access he has. Lists of the entire intelligence community, total access to NSAs systems, etc. He is now a prime target for every terrorist organization on Earth, not just the US Gov. And this fact right here shows that even if you don't consider him a hero, you gotta recognize the bravery he is displaying.

I mean, the Gov has their hands full with this guy. Right now I'm SURE they are scrambling to determine what ELSE he has. If he has too much sensitive info on him, they WILL kill him before he is compromised.

It's my opinion that Snowden did not act on his own. I just don't see it. It's also my opinion we've witnessed the first shots fired in the next American revolution. Everyone has been talking about it, but when it happens, no one recognizes it.

Se my other post in this thread for an explanation.

The media is already playing... the Washington Post is saying that America WANTS to be spied upon...

"Most Americans back NSA tracking phone records, prioritize probes over privacy"
EDIT: The story exists at the WP but my link does not work from here... no sharing, just story telling I guess. My apologies.

There are 300+ million Americans... and now the WP and other media outlets are already telling us what we think?

My initial response was that Obama could speak to the people and open the door since the big secret is out. It might head off a lot of ugliness. But... he seem,s to be holding to the imperial line. This is disappointing... it does take the whole idea of Big Brother and make more real and not less.

Originally posted by JayinAR
reply to post by crazyewok

 

Could you explain precisely how Snowden committed treason?

I like the question...

trea·son
/ˈtrēzən/

Noun

1.The crime of betraying one's country, esp. by attempting to kill the sovereign or overthrow the government.
2.The action of betraying someone or something.

So if "country" means government...he is guilty of Treason.

If "country" means a government "of the people, by the people, for the people" then what he has done is protect his country "the people" from those in government who have broken thier oath to uphold the constitution...

Is the Government gathering data from ATS?

Originally posted by redoubt
The media is already playing... the Washington Post is saying that America WANTS to be spied upon...

"Most Americans back NSA tracking phone records, prioritize probes over privacy"
EDIT: The story exists at the WP but my link does not work from here... no sharing, just story telling I guess. My apologies.

There are 300+ million Americans... and now the WP and other media outlets are already telling us what we think?

My initial response was that Obama could speak to the people and open the door since the big secret is out. It might head off a lot of ugliness. But... he seem,s to be holding to the imperial line. This is disappointing... it does take the whole idea of Big Brother and make more real and not less.

edit on 10-6-2013 by redoubt because: (no reason given)

Watch the spin. There are a lot of strange bedfellows forming. The media is trying to shape the argument in Obama's favor. That is clear.

Originally posted by SeekerofTruth101
May one day your blinders fall off and your eyes and brains open fully and see the realities everyone ( or at least most, as there are still fools that tries to justify their blindness) sees in this international fight against terrorism and terorists whom hide amongst us.

The irony of your statement is the fact that there are two sets of blinders. Yes, the planet is at risk of terrorist attacks from religious and philosophical radicals who hate the Western way of life and the average citizen wears blinders to prevent seeing that. HOWEVER, the second set of blinders shields against the average citizen also seeing that the very governments which have supposedly waged war against the religious extremist terrorist are, themselves, terrorists against their own people.

Merriam Webster defines terror as

a state of intense fear

One who causes and/or spreads such terror is, by definition, a terrorist.

For the most part, the government is what has terrorized the American people, not the jihadists. Everytime some freaking Pez dispenser flip flop head in DC distruibutes their words of fear and control, it terrorizes America. They are terrorizing us all into voluntarily pissing all over ourselves and our own rights and freedoms. I salute Ed Snowden 100%. If the guy ever finds himself in my neck of the woods, he's welcome to break bread with my family. He's fighting terrorist and terrorism, which is a lot more than I can say for the majority of those claiming to be America's "leaders."

reply to post by burdman30ott6


You, sir, make me wish members could give mods applause.

reply to post by beezzer
You know rabbit, that guy, ED, did me and a lot of others a favor. You see I used to suspect that the government was watching, listening, but now I know for a fact. He got them, the government, to admit it.

OBAMA V. SNOWDEN LIVE DEBATE! OMG PLEASE MAKE THIS HAPPEN!

petitionswhitehousegov...

Just found this petition on whitehousegov ....I would give my left nut to see this, and I don't even have nuts. Please sign it and forward to everyone you know!
(Also, there were quite a few other awesome petitions that would be worth signing. And some so ridiculous they're worth reading for a good laugh!)

reply to post by ladyvalkyrie


Yeah right.
As if that would ever happen.
You guys remember Hussein challenging Bush to live debate? He also challenged him to settle their differences like men...with guns.

reply to post by Indigo5


Exactly. I cannot see how Snowden committed treason at all. Although I wouldn't expect to see eye to eye with a FED on any subject, let alone one involving abuse of power by the folks that sign his paychecks.

Originally posted by burdman30ott6

Originally posted by SeekerofTruth101
May one day your blinders fall off and your eyes and brains open fully and see the realities everyone ( or at least most, as there are still fools that tries to justify their blindness) sees in this international fight against terrorism and terorists whom hide amongst us.

The irony of your statement is the fact that there are two sets of blinders. Yes, the planet is at risk of terrorist attacks from religious and philosophical radicals who hate the Western way of life and the average citizen wears blinders to prevent seeing that. HOWEVER, the second set of blinders shields against the average citizen also seeing that the very governments which have supposedly waged war against the religious extremist terrorist are, themselves, terrorists against their own people.

Merriam Webster defines terror as

a state of intense fear

One who causes and/or spreads such terror is, by definition, a terrorist.

For the most part, the government is what has terrorized the American people, not the jihadists. Everytime some freaking Pez dispenser flip flop head in DC distruibutes their words of fear and control, it terrorizes America. They are terrorizing us all into voluntarily pissing all over ourselves and our own rights and freedoms. I salute Ed Snowden 100%. If the guy ever finds himself in my neck of the woods, he's welcome to break bread with my family. He's fighting terrorist and terrorism, which is a lot more than I can say for the majority of those claiming to be America's "leaders."

Awesome! I have said (and it was duly noted) Obama is #1 on my terrorist watch list.
Hi NSA!!!!

So two things are certain with Snowden being a former NSA employee...

(A) He signed a non-disclosure agreement, stating that he would not disclose secret information etc.

(B) He was required to take an oath to uphold and obey the Constitution of the United States of America.

What to do when those two promises collide?

The disconnect between those two promises was not his doing, it was his government's doing....

The impossibility of Snowden being able to maintain both of those promises was created by the NSA when they instituted a program that no longer abided by the United States Constitution.

So from my perspective...one of those docs was signed by Edward Snowden and counter-signed by the Director of National Intelligence and the other document he pledged to was signed by Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers.

He made the right choice.

Something stinks to high heaven on this whole story.

This guy says that he first saw stuff that he didn't agree with working for the NSA contractor that he'd been working for "for under three months", which puts his start of employment sometime in March.

However, this morning, the reporter who broke the story says that Snowden came to him in February with a "Groundbreaking story you won't believe".

So he had the information BEFORE he started working for the NSA contractor?

If I may add, just a word to those who fear his safety, I wouldnt worry too much at this point- He has become too high profile at this point in which it would be in the govts best interest to make sure that he is well protected- rather than being a lone wolf target, that would not be good for the image of this administration at this point.

So I damn well believe that if this guy were to be harmed by anyone- that they would instantly become an enemy of the united states of america, even if its by the united states govt themselves.

its in the best interest of the govt to make sure he stays safe.

thats my position.

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