Edward Snowden - Hero or Traitor? (POLL RE-OPENED)

[Bandung_Dero]

Been following this thread for days and still can't make up my mind. IMHO the labels Hero or Traitor are too extreme, he made a brave decision and carried it out but in doing so has turned his life into hell.

He did something I wouldn't do.

[WhoUrDaddy]

agree

i'm really glad he did it, but i certainly wouldn't of done the same. 200+ k USD salary at CIA 'processing' info, would be plenty to put my conscious at ease at least till i made a mill or 2, then IF i would do anything, certainly not the way he did it.

work there 5 years, and retire a happy idiot in HermitVille....

[KHONDAHM]

Ok, so NOW we are hearing that Snowden has "revealed" the USA has been spying on it's allies [insert shock amazement here].

That pretty much confirms it for me that there is something not quite right here. It's looking more and more like a political ploy to besmirch O's legacy. Grasping at straws to hopefully stir up a legitimate scandal in the same way Republicans finally got the Blue Dress during Clinton's 2nd term - and BAM! never mind all of Clinton's accomplishments - the world remembers only the Blue Dress.

I mean, for crying out loud...we have ALWAYS spied on our allies and they have ALWAYS spied on us. It's simply the intelligence community doing their jobs and every country knows it.

Again: It's all just silly...shame on those perpetrating it and those gullible enough to be distracted and suckered by it.

[merchant seaman]

Everybody does it, but not everyone gets caught. The Obama Administration got caught.

[parrot]

Everybody does it, but not everyone gets caught. The Obama Administration got caught.

And the point is??

[LilRed]

Snowden put nobody in harm's way, didn't expose CIA agents, locations, compromise any military operations.

There's a whole lot more to this... Some stuff, we may never know about.


Best wait before judging him hero or traitor.


Bring him back. Try him.

If innocent of the charges, free him. If not, maybe Atmore?...


ATB

[Quanteen]

It's telling that while this UK snooping story made headlines worldwide just two weeks ago, it's been completely ignored by this and other forums. The braying hoards are too busy assailing evil Americans to recognize simple truths. Hypocrisy -- like water off a duck's back.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/ ... ckles.html

Associated Press
June 17, 2013
LONDON—A newspaper report that British eavesdropping agency GCHQ repeatedly hacked into foreign diplomats’ phones and emails has prompted an angry response from traditional rival Russia and provoked demands for an investigation from Turkey and South Africa.

Although spying on diplomats is as old as diplomacy itself, the Guardian’s report laid out in explicit detail steps taken by GCHQ to monitor foreign officials’ conversations in real time, saying that British spies had hacked emails, stolen passwords and gone so far as to set up a bugged Internet cafe in an effort to get an edge in high-stakes negotiations.

There is an irresistible urge among a large segment of posters to be critical of the US, even when their governments are embroiled in the same scandalous shenanigans. Why don't others criticize the UK for these identical actions?
Think about it.

[jackspratt]

There's a whole lot more to this... Some stuff, we may never know about.

Do you mean secret stuff, that we never get to know about?

Unless/until it is exposed by whistleblowers like Snowden/Assange/Manning etc etc.

[jackspratt]

There is an irresistible urge among a large segment of posters to be critical of the US, even when their governments are embroiled in the same scandalous shenanigans. Why don't others criticize the UK for these identical actions?
Think about it.

You should read a bit more deeply Tex - in fact, it was in the OP

Edward Snowden - Hero or Traitor?

Postby jackspratt » June 27, 2013, 8:57 pm
Thumbs up to China and Russia in cocking a snoot at the overweening arrogance of the NSA/CIA/GCHQ/ASD et al. =D> =D> =D>

[trubrit]

It's telling that while this UK snooping story made headlines worldwide just two weeks ago, it's been completely ignored by this and other forums. The braying hoards are too busy assailing evil Americans to recognize simple truths. Hypocrisy -- like water off a duck's back.




There is an irresistible urge among a large segment of posters to be critical of the US, even when their governments are embroiled in the same scandalous shenanigans. Why don't others criticize the UK for these identical actions?
Think about it.

Oh dear. Another Mc Carthy sniffing Brits under the bed, or is it another forum re-incarnation?
Hi Tex :-"

[WBU ALUM]

Hi Tex :-"

We're back to this sophomoric stuff again?

He used to be this, and he used to be that, and he hides his online status, and he goes to other forums under other names, and he, and he, and he ...


It does add some humor to the topic though.

[Galee]

There is an irresistible urge among a large segment of posters to be critical of the US

Lets face it Tex, America shoots itself in the foot so often, (maybe a change in the gun law? ) that it's inevitable that posters are going to point out that America is not the country it once was.

[WBU ALUM]

There is an irresistible urge among a large segment of posters to be critical of the US

Lets face it Tex, America shoots itself in the foot so often, (maybe a change in the gun law? ) that it's inevitable that posters are going to point out that America is not the country it once was.

So now we get the justification to bash America's laws. =D> And of course, another reference to the gun laws.

[Quanteen]

Is it hard to admit the British government is setting up fake Internet cafes outside a G-8 summit to spy on diplomats and their staffs? Or is it just something you pretend isn't significant?

[WBU ALUM]

America is not the country it once was.

I'm not interested in examining another country or what they once were in the world -- or playing tit-for-tat with you -- but since you were so ready to point out some so-called hypocrisy on my part, I'll leave this for you to chew on from history: "The sun never sets on the British Empire."

Name a country that is still what they once were. Name a country that has not evolved into something better or worse.

Do you see any Americans coming on here making an issue of what Britain used to be or is now? I don't. People in the UK can do whatever they wish. It's their country. They have to live there.

[trubrit]

America is not the country it once was.

I'm not interested in examining another country or what they once were in the world -- or playing tit-for-tat with you -- but since you were so ready to point out some so-called hypocrisy on my part, I'll leave this for you to chew on from history: "The sun never sets on the British Empire."

Name a country that is still what they once were. Name a country that has not evolved into something better or worse.

Do you see any Americans coming on here making an issue of what Britain used to be or is now? I don't. People in the UK can do whatever they wish. It's their country. They have to live there.

Oh Dear Mark or Ricihoc/WBU or whatever name you prefer, you certainly have got a bee in your bonnet about us Brits Yank bashing. Got you a well deserved holiday last time . When will you cotton on that the more you yell the more it will happen? Lighten up, it's only a forum and we are all, Americans , Brits and Uncle Cobbly all now living in Thailand. So lets be honest, none of us really rate our home country very much. Do we? No I admit your countrymen don't tell us how to run the Great Britain, neither do we constantly tell you that you would be speaking Japanese if it wasn't for us, do we? :-" Its your country day on the 4th. Have a great time and raise a glass,if not to my Queen, then to the President.Whats his name? Obama?

[WBU ALUM]

Lighten up, it's only a forum and we are all, Americans , Brits and Uncle Cobbly all now living in Thailand. So lets be honest, none of us really rate our home country very much. Do we?

When the argument is lost, make it personal. True to form.

You can only speak for yourself. Certainly not for me; and I doubt that if you were in my presence you would be so bold [redacted].

Even though I don't agree with much of what you post or how you think or how you conduct yourself here or in public, I always considered you to be an intelligent man -- until today. [redacted]

Let's put it like this. If the "lightening up" had to be done by the Brits because of Yanks coming on here and busting your chops over the UK and how far the Union Jack has fallen, the forum would only be populated by Brits because the rest of us would all be banned.

Now you can go back to being the intelligent man who I always thought you were, or you can keep making a weak argument for bashing someone else's home country. If you don't like me personally, I don't care, but there's no excuse for bashing someone's home country, and you know it.

[trubrit]

Lighten up, it's only a forum and we are all, Americans , Brits and Uncle Cobbly all now living in Thailand. So lets be honest, none of us really rate our home country very much. Do we?

When the argument is lost, make it personal. True to form.

You can only speak for yourself. Certainly not for me; and I doubt that if you were in my presence you would be so bold with your typically arrogant, pompous and condescending attitude.

Even though I don't agree with much of you post or how you think or how you conduct yourself here or in public, I always considered you to be an intelligent man -- until today. You're letting your mouth overload your knickers.

Let's put it like this. If the "lightening up" had to be done by the Brits because of Yanks coming on here and busting your chops over the UK and how far the Union Jack has fallen, the forum would only be populated by Brits because the rest of us would all be banned.

Now you can go back to being the intelligent man who I always thought you were, or you can keep making a weak argument for bashing someone else's home country. If you don't like me personally, I don't care, but there's no excuse for bashing someone's home country, and you know it.

Before the mods get to it . Let me thank you for the compliment. I think it was ! Sorry you still don't understand. No one here is bashing the US, certainly not me. Its you we are having a laugh at and yes I would say that in your presence. Why?What makes you doubt that?

[WBU ALUM]

Now you can go back to being the intelligent man who I always thought you were, or you can keep making a weak argument for bashing someone else's home country. If you don't like me personally, I don't care, but there's no excuse for bashing someone's home country, and you know it.

Still trying to make it personal, tb. I'm not biting.

To sit here and say that because we live in Thailand that we don't like our home countries anyway and that it is okay to bash away is hollow, weak and beneath you. You know better. You and whoever else comprises the "we" getting a good laugh out of me defending my country can laugh away. I'm certainly not here to impress you or gain any favor with you -- at all.

There's no excuse for bashing someone's home country, and you know it.

[gudtymchuk]

"America Bashing" is a frequent pastime on this and other forums. Sometimes lighthearted and other times very derogatory. The fact is and history confirms when you are on the top of the heap all those underneath are more than happy to try to pull you down. It's only natural. It's so much easier to see fault in others rather than looking at your self. Otherwise their would be a change at the top of that heap.

Any American worth his salt would be offended with those malcontents who get so much pleasure in their bashing. It's kinda like, hey, I can call my family an ass but don't appreciate a petty outsider doing it. A country leading the free world is a selfless task