NSA snooping leaker- hero or criminal

Discussion in 'In the News' started by goodlove, Jun 10, 2013.

  1. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    Sen. McCain Defends NSA To Crowley: We Wouldn’t Be Arguing ‘If This Was September 12, 2001?

    “There have been criticism on the part of people like me about us not doing enough,” McCain said. “The Boston bombers obviously were communicating with people…Mr. Al-Awaki was recruiting people through the internet, and possibly through phone calls back and forth to America.”

    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/sen-mcca...dnt-be-arguing-if-this-was-september-12-2001/

    Obama administration finds backers on NSA snooping

    Several prominent congressional Republican, joined by the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, sprang to the defense of the Obama administration on Sunday, saying the National Security Agency's gathering of data on individuals' telephone and Internet use is a necessary and legally sound program that has thwarted terrorist attacks in the past.

    http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-250_162-57588402/obama-administration-finds-backers-on-nsa-snooping/

    Man claiming to be NSA whistleblower comes forward


    The man who claims to be the whistleblower behind the revelation that the National Security Agency is gathering troves of data on individuals' telephone and internet use stepped forward on Sunday.


    Edward Snowden asked Britain's Guardian newspaper -- which along with The Washington Post first broke the story -- to release his identity.

    To watch the full interview at GuardianNews.com, click here.

    Snowden, a 29-year-old former CIA employee who currently works as a contractor for the National Security Agency as an employee of contracting giant Booz Allen Hamilton, claimed responsibility for the leaks that have roiled Washington for the last week, saying: "I have no intention of hiding who I am because I have done nothing wrong."

    Obama administration finds backers on NSA snooping
    NSA seeks criminal probe of program leaker
    NSA surveillance "myths" rebutted by U.S. intel chief James Clapper

    Booz Allen confirmed later Sunday that Snowden worked for their firm for less than three months, assigned to a team in Hawaii.

    "News reports that this individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of the code of conduct and core values of our firm. We will work closely with our clients and authorities in their investigation of this matter," the company said in a statement.

    Edward Snowden, in a screengrab from a video shot in Hong Kong by the Guardian newspaper
    Edward Snowden, in a screengrab from a video shot in Hong Kong by the Guardian newspaper
    / Screengrab via The Guardian
    Working out of an NSA office in Hawaii, Snowden copied the documents he subsequently disclosed to the Guardian and asked his supervisors for time off to receive treatments for epilepsy. The Washington Post reports he told no one -- not even those closest -- about what he was doing.



    On May 20, Snowden departed for Hong Kong to monitor the results of his disclosures, a city he chose because "they have a spirited commitment to free speech" and because he believed the Asian island metropolis would afford him some level of insulation from the prying eye of the U.S. government.


    Snowden said that his best opportunity at evading punishment would be to seek asylum in Iceland, which has a reputation for championing Internet freedom, but conceded: "All my options are bad."


    He will likely face prosecution if he is extradited to the United States. On Sunday, an official with the Director of National Intelligence confirmed to CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett that the NSA has asked the Justice Department to investigate the leak. Reuters has described the formal request as a "crimes report," signaling the likelihood of some kind of prosecutory action.



    The Obama administration has shown itself willing to aggressively pursue those who leak confidential information, and Snowden says that he fully expects to be held accountable for what he did, but he remains unapologetic.


    "I am not afraid, because this is the choice I've made," he told The Guardian


    Noting that he enjoys a relatively comfortable life -- a stable career, a girlfriend with whom he lived in Hawaii, a close relationship with family -- Snowden said he is "willing to sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building."


    He says he does not see himself as a hero, "because what I'm doing is self-interested: I don't want to live in a world where there's no privacy and therefore no room for intellectual exploration and creativity."

    ."The government has granted itself power it is not entitled to," he added. "There is no public oversight. The result is people like myself have the latitude to go further than they are allowed to."

    CBS News' national security analyst Juan Zarate said he thinks Snowden might be "aggrandizing" the level of his access, but the leaks do bring cause for legitimate concern.

    "It strikes me he may be overstating his access and what he was doing or could do," Zarate said. "But there is no question that the NSA, the government has access to lots of information and these leaks have revealed the big data that it had access to. It also has checks on what can be done with that information, and the NSA and other agencies make sure that analysts and others who have access to it are not doing things that are illegal and improper.

    Department of Justice spokeswoman Nanda Chitre said they are in the initial stages of the investigation into the NSA leaks and declined further comment "in order to protect the integrity of the investigation."
    ========================================================


    is the contractor a criminal or a hero for leaking the NSA prism files? remember this guy went to china to release his confession.
     
  2. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    Most Americans – 56 percent – say the National Security Agency’s surveillance of telephone records of millions of Americans is an acceptable way to investigate terrorism, the Pew Research Center reports today, while “a substantial minority” – 41 percent – see it as unacceptable.

    And while the public is “more evenly divided over the government’s monitoring of email and other online activities to prevent possible terrorism, these views are largely unchanged since 2002, ” Pew reports.

    Asked about the surveillance of email to prevent possible terrorism, 52 percent oppose that, which 48 percent support it.


    The Pew Research Center and The Washington Post ran a survey of 1,004 adults June 6-9. The email question was asked June 7-9.

    Sixty-two percent of those surveyed say it is more important for the federal government to investigate possible terrorist threats, even if personal privacy is invades, while 34 percent say it is more important for the government not to invade personal privacy even if that limits its ability to investigate terrorist threats.
     
  3. jaisee

    jaisee Well-Known Member

    HERO.

    Soon enough, the US Government will come into our homes and fuck our wives, we'll sit in the sofa in the living room cautiously OK with it because it's in the interest of 'national security'.

    The US Government is supposed to be a government that represents the people, which it does not., and the US Government is supposed to protect our freedoms, which the Government ITSELF is robbing us of.

    More specific to the topic. I don't care if the US Government acquires my phone records. I called my mom a few times, my friend James and my boss. They can do as they wish with it.... who cares. Truth be told, they probably are doing nothing with the data collected on the 'average citizen'.

    My ONLY concern with this and the US Government in general is at some point, Americans have to say 'enough is enough', and begin taking their country back.
     
  4. Ches

    Ches Well-Known Member

    This!
     
  5. Gorath

    Gorath Well-Known Member

    He is neither a hero or a villain in my opinion. After September 11th, the Bush administration went past courts to listen to phone calls and look into emails and internet chatter. After that news was leaked, the program continued(but it had better oversight that time around). And it will continue in one form or another. Inevitably, right now, when we use the net to post, chat, shop and browse, we are leaving a profile for anyone to follow. The NSA wants to hire hackers now. There is a reason why things are kept secret from people(the U.S. Government has billions of things that are classified as secret to Top Secret). There are over a million government employees that have access to and are entrusted with this information. It is treason to betray that trust. Look at the film The Falcon And The Snowman and Breach. These films were based on true happenings. I am all for privacy, too. But, if I am entrusted with secrets, I will not betray that trust. Snowden did not work directly with the Government, he worked for a contractor that had access. Perhaps he is seeking martyrdom. Perhaps, he wanted to stick it to the government like everyone else with a chip on their shoulder about the government. If I had that knowledge I would not want to use it to fight the government( I wouldn't want that knowledge). The government is bigger than me and God is bigger than all of us. When people say, "I don't want to hurt people, but I am committed to exposing the facts," I have to wonder for what purpose do they want these exposed facts for. Do these people want all of the facts or just enough to for their own purposes?
     
  6. orejon4

    orejon4 Well-Known Member

  7. 1449225

    1449225 Well-Known Member

    Hero.

    How long will it be before he is vilified,killed or 'commits suicide'? He's pretty much going to get blacklisted from doing anything else.
     
  8. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    Ugh, he's about to be arrested and extradited. They're rushing to put charges together as we speak.
    He's trying to find a country with no extrad-policy.

    Hero! In my heart!
    Criminal, possibly, by the Law.

    I don't see what he did as compromising National Security. Puleeze. Like the terrorsts don't know they're being watched and listened to for the last decade.

    Fooking Patriot Act abuse makes me sick.
     
  9. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    yeah, al sharpton dont like what the nsa is doing due to historical references.

    me...I see it differently.

    yeah, I have my reservations about it but when the boston bombers were known in contacting people overseas via fone and internet and travel ...people were mad that we didnt probe enuff.

    now? we mad that we will be doing so now.

    its like when rand paul was all grandstanding about the drones and the conservative talk shows were carrying his jock about it.

    well, a conservative friend of mine talk about the nsa and he was all upset. I live in alabama. I stated "rand paul gave his speech on the drones and you guys were all behind him. the very next week that kid from tuscaloossa got kidnapped from the bus and no one said shit about those drones being used. where was the outrage."

    of course there was no come back.
     
  10. shellshock30

    shellshock30 Member

    Traitor

    Obamas my prez but if Bush were in office I would feel the same way. Running your fuckin mouth puts our soldiers and operatives in danger....Fuck him. The next time a bomb goes off killing scores of people, let's call this hero to find the killers...sorry guys but being a veteran myself I can't stand the thought of self serving assholes like this throwing my brothers and sisters under the gun and for what?....a book deal?....reality show?
     
  11. TheHuntress

    TheHuntress Well-Known Member

    Traitor and criminal.

    He won't live to see a court of law, anyway. The target's on his back as sure as my name is TheHuntress.
     
  12. FG

    FG Well-Known Member

    He got refuge in Russia. Wonderful place to live out the rest if his life.
     
  13. Ches

    Ches Well-Known Member

    As much as I earlier agreed with Jaisee's post, I kinda have to agree with this as well. I'm not surprised by anything our government does any more. Black ops happen all the time, highly classified information is kept from the public - why should this type of privacy invasion surprise us?

    Having said that, how many times might this type of surveillance saved our country from harm? I'm with anyone else - I don't like the thought of my privacy being invaded. But then again, if I'm doing nothing to harm anyone, particluarly my country or our troops, I have nothing to fear if my conversations are recorded.

    Found an interesting article this morning. I like Shia LeBeouf and this article related to the NSA investigation caught my eye:

    http://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/Blog/2013/06/11/Shia-LaBeouf-issued-warning-in-2008-about-NSA-implications/1991370960606/
     
  14. Morning Star

    Morning Star Well-Known Member

    He's neither hero, nor criminal...he's just a dumbass.
     
  15. Ches

    Ches Well-Known Member

    Who knows? Maybe it will come to that. Do I agree with it? No. People do need some place to be private (not for the purpose of doing wrong) but just because we don't need everything about ourselves to be made public. Otherwise I'd be a nudist. :p
     
  16. archangel

    archangel Well-Known Member

    The patriot act is what brought this crap. Complete intrusion on the average citizens rights. The NSA got caught in the bush administration for this crap and now they did it again. They have got to go. one too many violations.
     
  17. goodlove

    goodlove New Member

    paniro....read below and respond

     
  18. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    What kid on a bus? Don't know the story, sorry.

    As for the Boston Bombers - are you kidding me? They surveiled those 2 assholes for years! They even paid the moms a visit. In fact, screw the phone-tapping on them, Russia straight up told our Govt - twice - and the Govt did shit about it.

    So, if they can't stop two stooges from pulling off a bombing, what are they good for?

    Also, the NSA tried to take credit for stopping any bombing in NY following it, when it was actually good old-fashioned detective work by the NYPD that stopped any attack. Not the NSA.
     
  19. Bliss

    Bliss Well-Known Member

    While I deeply dislike the 4th Amendment circumvention the Patriot Act allows, at least under the Bush Admin, NSA needed permissible and probable cause FIRST. Under the Obama Admin, they have taken (been given??) a huge collective authoritative license that no suspicion is required, and bullying the companies to hand over all records of every citizen, stat. That's where they cross the road, forget the line.
     
  20. archangel

    archangel Well-Known Member

    What they needed and what they did are two different things.:smt042
    that permissible and probable cause did not stop in the bush era.

    That's like a cop searching your house without a warrant and you saying well this section of the law was there. They're are invading privacy!!!!!!

    The patriot act pushed them closer to invading the privacy.
     

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