[News] What should happen to the NSA Whistleblower?

[sixpackshaker]

I hear there is a job opening that pays well in Hawaii...

 

[Terrik]

So turns out we've been doing to China exactly what we keep hyping and saying China has been doing to us. Sure makes Obama's position weaker when confronting Xi Jinping about Cyber security.

 

[Chad Sexington]

So turns out we've been doing to China exactly what we keep hyping and saying China has been doing to us. Sure makes Obama's position weaker when confronting Xi Jinping about Cyber security.

Anyone who doubted this was the case is naive.

 

[Terrik]

Anyone who doubted this was the case is naive.

Obviously, but now that it's out in the open, it gives the Chinese government more ammunition.

 

[Dave]

Snowden is doing a Q&A live right now.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/17/edward-snowden-nsa-files-whistleblower

 

[Hailey Knight]

The more time passes, the more the Obama administration feels like Bush-lite. Not as bad, but not doing anything to reverse the problems introduced post-9/11.

But then, I guess it's nothing new for the government to go "It's against the law for you to show we're breaking the law." Snowden noted Nixon, after all. I know that's not what he's charged with, he did break real laws, but the reason some have called him a traitor is pretty clear--the government doesn't like being caught doing shit it's not supposed to. No one does, but a lot of people have the sense to stop doing it. With a no-accountability government like we have today, it's just an amorphous unit going "Do as I say, not as I do." Obama should've been the one ridding us of these issues, before they were uncovered. I'm tired of this Bush era "if you question us, you're a traitor" shtick.

Snowden broke the law and for that he should be held accountable, but the coloring of what's gone on is a symptom of what we've become in the last 12 years.

 

[Cog]

Snowden asked asylum in Ecuador. That is kind of ironic with all the critics about free speech on this country.

 

[strawman]

He flew to Russia, and is now in the pre-immigration area of the airport, technically not on Russian soil, and while the US has called on Russia for extradition, Russia is indicating that he isn't in Russia, and therefore cannot extradite him. He was supposed to get on a flight to Venezuela, but did not show up. Purportedly he's heading for Ecuador, and has asked them for asylum.

Don't know that Ecuador really wants a fugitive who isn't already on their soil that's on the run from the US government. They're already taking care of Julian Assange (wikileaks) in their London embassy, also wanted by the US.

Regarding Snowden (NSA whistleblower), though, the charges do not, at the moment, include treason. Keep in mind that treason has the possibility of the death penalty, though, and many countries have extradition treaties with the US which allow refusal in cases where capital punishment is a possibility. They could be holding back on the charges to make extradition less problematic.

"He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence."

 

[GasBandit]

Hey, Napalitano said "If you see something say something," so if he saw unconstitutional abuses of power against U.S. Citizens...

 

[Covar]

...he should be brought up on espionage charges! BRILLIANT!

 

[AshburnerX]

Regarding Snowden (NSA whistleblower), though, the charges do not, at the moment, include treason. Keep in mind that treason has the possibility of the death penalty, though, and many countries have extradition treaties with the US which allow refusal in cases where capital punishment is a possibility. They could be holding back on the charges to make extradition less problematic.

"He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information and willful communication of classified communications intelligence."

The US has done this before when suspected murderers have fled into Canada. I wouldn't be surprised if they are trying it now.

 

[bhamv3]

Remember when Snowden said he revealed his identity so the spotlight wouldn't be on him, and instead would be on the stuff he leaked?

 

[strawman]

Remember when Snowden said he revealed his identity so the spotlight wouldn't be on him, and instead would be on the stuff he leaked?

He revealed it so the government couldn't hide him away or kill him without it becoming publicly known, regardless of the reasons he said he revealed it.

 

[SpecialKO]

Putin says, "okay, okay, we've had our fun, time to knock it off."

 

[Tress]

Either:
A) the US offered something Putin wants more than the intelligence Snowden has to offer.
or
B) they've already gotten whatever they wanted out of Snowden.

 

[SpecialKO]

or C) Putin doesn't want the US to actually stop surveillance of him, because it's a mark of pride.

 

[Gared]

or D) Putin knows that most of the intel Snowden has to leak is already in the hands of Glen Greenwald and the Washington Post - so he can make it look like he's being semi-cooperative with the US government, without actually having to restrict anything.

 

[Hailey Knight]

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Monday he didn't know the details of the allegations, but tried to downplay them, maintaining that many nations undertake various activities to protect their national interests. He failed to quell the outrage from allies, including France, Germany and Italy.

No shit.

 

[Sparhawk]

With how he's behaving now, I would change my vote in the poll to Criminal Charges and honestly he is just digging a deeper hole for himself.

 

[bhamv3]

Can we add "marry a Russian spy" to the list? Cause Anna Chapman just proposed to Snowden over Twitter.

 

[Terrik]

Hmmm....

 

[GasBandit]

Can we add "marry a Russian spy" to the list? Cause Anna Chapman just proposed to Snowden over Twitter.

Bet he's thinking about it.

 

[strawman]

An interesting opinion on the case:

http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/14/opinion/sagar-snowden-secrets/?iref=obinsite

...

To be clear, the fact that secrecy has long been seen as being in the public interest does not give officials carte blanche to do as they like. Secrecy needs to be balanced against important civil liberties.

The central question is: Who should do the balancing? The reason the Constitution entrusts the business of balancing values to the three branches is because the officials in charge are chosen by the people and are in a position to check each other, especially with respect to secret policies or operations that it would be self-defeating to make public.

So when an individual decides to short-circuit or circumvent this careful arrangement, he must only do so when there is reason to believe that representatives from all three branches have allowed grave wrongdoing to go unchecked. Otherwise, an unauthorized disclosure is nothing more than an effort to impose one's own narrow political view on one's fellow citizens.

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