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US Charges Edward Snowden With Espionage
cold fjord writes "Further developments in the controversy engulfing Edward Snowden and the NSA. From the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors have filed a sealed criminal complaint against Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked a trove of documents about top-secret surveillance programs, and the United States has asked Hong Kong to detain him on a provisional arrest warrant,... Snowden was charged with espionage, theft and conversion of government property ... The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, a jurisdiction where Snowden's former employer, Booz Allen Hamilton, is headquartered, and a district with a long track record in prosecuting cases with national security implications...it is thought that he is still in the Chinese territory. Hong Kong has its own legislative and legal systems but ultimately answers to Beijing, under the so-called "one country, two systems" arrangement. The leaks have sparked national and international debates about the secret powers of the NSA to infringe on the privacy of both Americans and foreigners. Officials from President Obama down have said they welcomed the opportunity to explain the importance of the programs, and the safeguards they say are built into them. Skeptics, including some in Congress, have said the NSA has assumed power to soak up data about Americans that were never intended under the law."""
To know that's what was going to happen.
I thought that only those with something to hide needed privacy?
If Obama's arming of al-Qaeda friendly rebels in Syria isn't "adhering to their enemies, giving them aid...", I don't know what is.
In Liberty, Rene
Only if you consider American citizens enemies of the American government.
Obama has openly admitting to planning to arm Al-Queda associated rebels in Syria. That is the DEFINITION of treason. Edward Snowden has not given anyone weapons. He has merely aired Obama's dirty laundry. If this country was run by the people rather than a bunch of plutocrats, Obama, Bush, Cheney, et. al would be on trial for crimes against humanity.
How people voted for this guy is beyond me. I knew Obama was a liar from day one. Democrats and republicans work for the same causes and the same people; any perceived differences are merely staged for the benefit of the American voters and never go deeper than the surface. It is classic divide and conquer and the end result is that this country is effectively run by a two-party dictatorship that stays in power by manipulating and rigging the elections to exclude competition and creating staged conflicts on trivial issues like gay marriage (which *IS* a trivial issue compared to the fact that this country is descending into a police state). When it comes to the things that matter, both parties act in lockstep and it is NOT to the benefit of the American people or to the cause of freedom. The only people the Republicrat party answers to is their corporate masters.
He exposed crimes against the American people perpetrated by the US government. He is the exact opposite of a traitor.
That's not the petition to pardon Snowden, that's the volunteer list for hidden cameras in your dwelling.
Report a crime, go to jail.
With the trial of Private Manning underway, and Snowden now indicted, it looks like it will be a summer full of heated discussion.
Here is a discussion topic that seems to be somewhat overlooked at the moment.
Why did a low ranking army private like Manning have access to the high level info that he leaked? Why did a low level private contractor like Snowden have access to the high level info that he leaked? Sure an army private or low level contractor may need access to some secret info to do their jobs but both seem to have had access to or knowledge of way too much.
Because if you want to know the truth, it's the grunts who have to spend all day long with their hands down in the dirty stuff.
The brass are "too important" to be bothered with such details. They only really care about the Executive Summaries. Plus, they're usually part of the problem, so don't expect them to rush to be part of the solution.
You mean the pre-order list for the Xbox One with always-on Kinect?
You know your civil liberties are in trouble when you're desperate enough to pretend that involving the UN wouldn't be an even bigger anti-freedom clusterfuck.
Space game using normal deck of cards: http://BattleCards.org
Only if you consider American citizens enemies of the American government.
Apparently you confuse the Taliban, al Qaida, the People's Republic of China, North Korea, Iran, Syria, et. al., with American citizens. You tell the world and everybody knows, including the very terrorists against whom you are trying to protect the American people. He could have gone to the inspector general or Congress, but didn't. Who knows what the damage will be?
The Inspector General and Congress are part of the problem.
Terrorism isn't dangerous on its own. It never was and never will be. The point of terrorism is to provoke a disproportionate response that harms the target more than the terrorists would be able to do directly. The world's terrorists' primary partners are western governments. The United States have spent over a trillion dollars in the last 10 years to "fight terrorism," with absolutely no indication that they're doing anything other than breeding resentment and planting the seeds for greater terrorism in the future. If you want to know why world leaders are willing to spend so much money to "fight" something that causes similar physical harm to bee stings, look at who received those trillion dollars and their relationships with governments.
Additionally, it's extremely unlikely that anything Snowden shared about spying will have any impact on our espionage efforts against "terrorists." So far it's all been information about spying on Americans and foreign noncombatants. Furthermore, everyone who's cared to pay attention in the last twenty years already believed the strong but indirect evidence of exactly this sort of spying. In other words: the terrorists already knew about these programs, or something like them. The only people who see this as a revelation are naive American citizens and our allies, and the only thing in jeopardy is the NSA's unjustified unaccountability.
"I zero-index my hamsters" - Willtor (147206)
FYI, the petition to pardon Snowden is just a few thousand short of the 100,000 mark as of midday on Friday. There is still time to sign. Probably a waste of time, but
it might be worth it.
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/pardon-edward-snowden/Dp03vGYD
And what do you want to bet the response will be, "We cannot comment on an ongoing criminal matter."
Snowden swore an oath when he took his security clearance. It is essentially the same one sworn by soldiers.
The first thing he does is swear to protect the constitution against all enemies both foreign and domestic. And finally to follow the orders of his chain of command and perform the duties of his position.
Snowden was put in a position where following the last part of the oath would violate the first part, and following the first part would violate the last part.
I am not an expert of US laws, but in reasonable countries, there is a hierarchy of laws. An oath cannot be enforced against a law, and a law cannot be enforced against the constitution.
In the empire of lies, truth is treason. -Ron Paul
Interesting counterpoint to that of celebrated statesman, Sir Winston Churchill, who recognized the importance of secrecy in wartime, and the value of deceiving the enemy..
"In war-time, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies." -- Winston Churchill
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
I voted for Obama because:
It had nothing to do with "total s**t that Obama's people threw at Romney" and everything to do with Romney seeming instantly untrustworthy from the very first minute. By contrast, Obama struck me as someone who was unlikely to be able to keep his promises, but not entirely because he didn't want to. My opinion of him has gradually degraded, mind you, but Romney immediately struck me as a stereotypical used car salesman.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.
No. I believed *Romney* when he said he loaded his dog on the roof of his car, and kept him up there until he was covered in his own shit. I believed *Romney* when he said the 47% would never take personal responsibility and care for their lives. I watched in horror as Romney went to England, and in a canned, pre-arranged situation any moron could have handled, managed to say exactly the wrong thing to the wrong people at the wrong time. I heard him say "Corporations are people" when I know damn well they are not. I listened in amazement when he demonstrated that his science knowledge stopped at about 3rd grade, when he plaintively queried why they can't open the windows in an airplane when it's on fire. I laughed when he said "Syria is Iran's only ally in the Arab world. It's their route to the sea" demonstrating his geographical knowledge was right "up" there with his science.
By the time the ballot box rolled around, I was quite sure that Romney was a complete idiot and a tool.
Under Obama, some good things got done; he had failed at others, and particularly so when blocked by the republicans in congress. But we got consumer credit reforms, we got a reverse in the jobs mess the republican administration had presided over, we got a marked improvement in gay rights, and most importantly, we got the ACA, which, while not what Obama had asked for -- congress really mangled it -- is at least a step in the right direction.
So my choice was more of the latter, or pick the man who hadn't a clue, and no idea what do do when sent off with a clue in his pocket. The decision was easy.
Now, compare my post to yours. There are some differences. You might want to think about that.
I've fallen off your lawn, and I can't get up.
There were computers before World War II? In what sense, and what kind? I mean, I know there were adding machines, and a more complex type, the comptometer. Further, there were slide rules and specialized types such as the is-was. But computers? You mean the analog firing solution mechanisms such as used for main batteries on capitol ships? The rudimentary TDC? Tabulating machines? What?