Snowden Granted Temporary Asylum In Russia

The man committed a crime. Like Manning, he should be put on trial. He knew what he was doing, he knew it was illegal.
If he was truly a whistleblower, he'd have taken his information to a member of the Congress/Senate and then had the relevant protections.

May I remind you of the definition of TSR on the Urban Dictionary:

"An online message board for students. Most users are smug preening tossers who think anything lower than an A* grade means you fail at life forever and will be doomed to work at McDonalds unless you do Physics, Maths or Chemistry. TSR also has an unhealthy obsession with Oxbridge, engaging in daily masturbation sessions to the Times Online League Tables and exiling anyone who doesn't get into a university within the top 5.

TSR users won't hesitate to use their signatures to remind you exactly of their A* grades, what their UCAS choices are along with some 'hilarious' lolcat picture that takes ages to scroll past. Politically, TSR users are extremely left wing, so if you dare say anything bad about immigration, multiculturalism, Islam, feminists, the EU, Marx or the Labour party, you will be torn to pieces, called any combination of the words 'scum', 'racist', 'sexist', 'fascist', 'bigot' or worst of all; 'Tory'. Yes, support the Tories and you might as well tattoo a Swastika on your arse and put "HEIL HITLER" as your sig. There is also a 'rep' system. If you aren't a raging left winger who bums Marx and hails multiculturalism as the Second Coming, prepare to get negged to hell and back. If you want rep, start arse-licking the members with high rep. These tend to be the biggest ***** of all, holding themselves in such high esteem that if their head were any further up their arse, they'd be ingesting stomach acid."

Thank you.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 21

username1214455

21

It's ridiculous that it's even a crime to tattle on your own country when they are clearly in the wrong. He'll soon be suicided by the CIA though.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 22

TheHistoryStudent

11

Original post by Drewski

The man committed a crime. Like Manning, he should be put on trial. He knew what he was doing, he knew it was illegal.
If he was truly a whistleblower, he'd have taken his information to a member of the Congress/Senate and then had the relevant protections.

Who would have probably either done nothing about it or, even if they had, would have never allowed it to become public knowledge.

I would, to some extent, agree with you if this were a case where the US were using some fairly dubious tactics in say, afghanistan (but even then there's a strong case for the public to know), but in the case of what Snowden leaked, we're talking about surveillance on an enormous scale, not just of Americans, but of foreign citizens as well. The public has a right to privacy, and thus, a right to know when its violated without their consent, if this were revealed to be happening in any other country I'd be willing to bet pretty much anything the Americans would condemn it, but as these leaks show, they seem perfectly happy to do things which do not support their own supposed values.

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 23

rakusmaximus

10

Original post by Drewski

I'd go along with this.

It's a crime, but it was an "acceptable crime". It was a murder to prevent someone breaking into your house. Killing a person is still wrong, even if you can see why he did it.

Exactly, so I think he should be tried for it, just as those who kill home invaders are. I don't know enough about the whole thing to imagine his sentence, if I was in charge he would be jailed for a long time and obviously never allowed near such information again.

Reply 24

rakusmaximus

10

Original post by Kiss

So if reporting a crime is illegal he should be put on trial? He was doing what any liberty loving citizen would have done - if he's a criminal for taddling on his country then America should be a criminal for spying on several nations, including their allies. I have nothing but contempt for American foreign policy, and Snowden exposed what most people already thought was happening.

No, doing it in the way he did was illegal, leaking classified documents. Whether it was morally right or wrong, it was still a crime, just as shooting a home invader is still a crime as you killed someone.

Reply 25

rakusmaximus

10

Original post by Kiss

Marital rape isn't a crime in China, but it is in the UK - the fact you can phrase something 'a crime' is irrelevant, what the 'crime' in question entails matters. And in this case he did what any freedom loving man would have done.

But everywhere, it is a crime to leak classified documents.
Even if it was morally right, it's still illegal!

Reply 26

ImNew

Original post by rakusmaximus

But everywhere, it is a crime to leak classified documents.
Even if it was morally right, it's still illegal!

In Nazi Germany being Jewish was illegal.

Reply 27

Bart1331

Original post by Drewski

The man committed a crime. Like Manning, he should be put on trial. He knew what he was doing, he knew it was illegal.
If he was truly a whistleblower, he'd have taken his information to a member of the Congress/Senate and then had the relevant protections.

Why would he take it to someone who is almost certainly in on the corruption?

It's the stinking hypocrisy of this that gets me. When someone defects from Assad's government and leaks government secrets to US intelligence, they praise that person for "standing up for human rights". But when someone exposes the US government's crimes against their own people, they call him a "traitor" and a "terrorist".

Reply 28

username1214455

21

Original post by rakusmaximus

Exactly, so I think he should be tried for it, just as those who kill home invaders are. I don't know enough about the whole thing to imagine his sentence, if I was in charge he would be jailed for a long time and obviously never allowed near such information again.

He'll get the Death Penalty.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 29

Drewski

19

Original post by Bart1331

Why would he take it to someone who is almost certainly in on the corruption?

Many US politicians have come out against all the revelations, arguing in favour (well, 'favor') of privacy laws. If Snowdon had put his head into it he could easily have identified one of those people.

And again, I'm distinguishing the crime from what he revealed. None of the US' actions were proper. Understandable to some extent, but wrong. But so were Snowdon's.

Reply 30

Cannotbelieveit

15

Poor bastard, he'll have to live the rest of his life in fear.

Reply 31

rakusmaximus

10

Original post by ImNew

In Nazi Germany being Jewish was illegal.

Exactly, whether it's right or wrong, it's still the law.

Reply 32

Drewski

19

Original post by Obiejess

He'll get the Death Penalty.

Posted from TSR Mobile

No he won't.

Manning hasn't.

Reply 33

Cannotbelieveit

15

Original post by Obiejess

He'll get the Death Penalty.

Posted from TSR Mobile

None of his potential charges carry the death penalty. So he'll be alright in that regard.

Reply 34

username1214455

21

Original post by Drewski

No he won't.

Manning hasn't.

Even if not officially, he'll be suicided or have an 'accident'.

Posted from TSR Mobile

Reply 35

Drewski

19

Original post by Obiejess

Even if not officially, he'll be suicided or have an 'accident'.

You need to stop reading the spy books, they're doing funny things to your head.

Reply 36

rakusmaximus

10

Original post by Obiejess

He'll get the Death Penalty.

Posted from TSR Mobile

I doubt that, just look at Manning, he leaked much more and he's just going to get life in prison.

Reply 37

K the Failure

2

Under the assumption that the mass surveillance programs were unconstitutional and that Mr Snowden had a moral duty to rectify this, what other course of action could have an effect as immediate and as forceful as whistleblowing? What you should do (and what Mr Snowden wishes you would do) is to change your focus onto the matter at hand which is unlawful spying on domestic citizens. One step backwards from Big Brother is infinitely more momentous than a step forwards for the welfare of Winston Smith. That being said, I wouldn't automatically interpret adherance to international law as willing advocacy of personal freedoms.

Reply 38

ImNew

Original post by rakusmaximus

Exactly, whether it's right or wrong, it's still the law.

Einstein should have been sent back to Nazi Germany immediately?

Reply 39

Bart1331

Original post by Drewski

Many US politicians have come out against all the revelations, arguing in favour (well, 'favor') of privacy laws. If Snowdon had put his head into it he could easily have identified one of those people.

But every form of communication he has in the US would almost certainly be monitored, so that's hardly wise is it? The NSA get intercepts that show an employee is asking around about what politicians are friendly to whistleblowers. I'm sure that wouldn't have got them suspicious.

Once he had made his mind to release the information that the government was acting against it's own people, he HAD to get out of the country fast before they began persecuting him for speaking out against them.

It says a lot about the US government that they consider people who speak out against government corruption to be "traitors". Yet when someone speaks out against government corruption in other countries, they are praised for supporting human rights. What about the human rights that the NSA violate by spying on their own people every day?

How is it OK for the people in other countries to speak out when the government is acting against the interests of the people, but wrong for Snowden to speak out when the US government is acting against the interests of the people?

Original post by Drewski

And again, I'm distinguishing the crime from what he revealed. None of the US' actions were proper. Understandable to some extent, but wrong. But so were Snowdon's.

Letting the people know that the government were acting against their best interests was wrong?

Snowden Granted Temporary Asylum In Russia

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