Dhamma Wheel Buddhist Forum

http://www.examiner.com/article/edward- ... rican-hero

It is sadly ironic that the U.S. Govt considers Snowden a traitor, when in fact, by spying on their own citizens in a way that goes against not only the spirit but also the letter of the U.S. Constitution itself, it is the Govt who are the traitors, not Snowden. I hope he finds a safe place somewhere, where he won't be found by their agents.

Sadly and ironic that all governments speak about Democracy and so on, while in reality use double standards )

Putin covers him in Moscow, because "he did bad to the US", while at the same time he forges false cases and throws to jail Russians who fight with massive corruption and theft in the country ))

Sad but true, our world is quite far from the Universal Monarch rule ))

There is an interesting aspect to this: if we manage to continue to develop at the same pace, I predict that in 20-30 years every individual have the means to do what the US and UK governments are doing. It's at the same time scary and reassuring. Reassuring, because there will be a balance of power in information access.

In face of that, this action by Snowden is even more heroic and idealistic!

manas wrote:http://www.examiner.com/article/edward- ... rican-hero

It is sadly ironic that the U.S. Govt considers Snowden a traitor, when in fact, by spying on their own citizens in a way that goes against not only the spirit but also the letter of the U.S. Constitution itself, it is the Govt who are the traitors, not Snowden. I hope he finds a safe place somewhere, where he won't be found by their agents.

Actually, he is a jerk.

tiltbillings wrote:

manas wrote:http://www.examiner.com/article/edward- ... rican-hero

It is sadly ironic that the U.S. Govt considers Snowden a traitor, when in fact, by spying on their own citizens in a way that goes against not only the spirit but also the letter of the U.S. Constitution itself, it is the Govt who are the traitors, not Snowden. I hope he finds a safe place somewhere, where he won't be found by their agents.

Actually, he is a jerk.

Could you elaborate on that, maybe give some specific reasons for your negative appraisal?

manas wrote:

tiltbillings wrote:

manas wrote:http://www.examiner.com/article/edward- ... rican-hero

It is sadly ironic that the U.S. Govt considers Snowden a traitor, when in fact, by spying on their own citizens in a way that goes against not only the spirit but also the letter of the U.S. Constitution itself, it is the Govt who are the traitors, not Snowden. I hope he finds a safe place somewhere, where he won't be found by their agents.

Actually, he is a jerk.

Could you elaborate on that, maybe give some specific reasons for your negative appraisal?

Have seen his interview where he grandiosely claims to have all this knowledge and all this power to wiretap anyone he sees fit (if he wished), including the POTUS?

"Hero" is just too strong for me to accept. It took guts. There is also the off chance that he is an idiot.

I'm surprised it is such a big news story. What did the people think the Patriot Act was? Certainly not giving us more freedoms and privacy! The Patriot Act was perhaps the biggest move away from privacy and freedom since the Alien and Sedition Act under Pres. Adams (and then later repealed under Jefferson). I thought it was common knowledge that the government had the power to do these things when Bush took away our freedoms.

What's surprising is the Obama administration claiming this level of surveilance is normal, and there's nothing wrong with it, for those of us who supported him, He's turning out to be a big dissapointment.

In my opinion, I think there are some legitimate and compelling reasons why the US, or for that matter the UK or Australia would engage in surveillance on its own citizens. Without surveillance on its own citizens how could nations neutralize internal terrorist threats or combat well-organized crime?

Ben wrote:In my opinion, I think there are some legitimate and compelling reasons why the US, or for that matter the UK or Australia would engage in surveillance on its own citizens. Without surveillance on its own citizens how could nations neutralize internal terrorist threats or combat well-organized crime?

No government needs to conduct surveillance on all communications, all the time, in secret, based upon secret laws and secret courts, without meaningful oversight, without even informing its citizens that's what it's doing.

what secret laws?

Ben wrote:what secret laws?

http://reason.com/blog/2013/06/10/russ- ... secret-leg

kirk5a wrote:

Ben wrote:what secret laws?

http://reason.com/blog/2013/06/10/russ- ... secret-leg

oh for gods sake!

I'm about as liberal as you can get as far as American politics are concerned, but let's face it--by now, everyone knows electronic media is surveilled.
This guy made a big fuss, wasted his future, and accomplished nothing. Seems more like a loser than a hero.