Is Edward Snowden A Hero?

"Hero" is a word that gets thrown around way too easily. IMHO there are damn few of them around. A police officer who pulls a crash victim from a burning car one day, may be bashing a suspect's head against concrete the next. A priest who runs a church that serves the people of their community regardless of faith or color may be diddling kids on the side. A state legislator who serves honestly and diligently may be a rapist victimizing young people who are trying to lay the groundwork for a career in public service. By my lights Snowden is not a hero. Talleyrand once said "What is treason? A matter of dates." Even that, as cynical as it may be doesn't cover Snowden's actions, unless you believe that humanity will be better off if the side he chose ends up dominating the world and, thus, is able to write the history. If you believe that heroes are role models, choose carefully. The great philosopher Charles Barkley caught all kinds of shit when he made a public service announcement in which he said "I am NOT a role model." Chuck has pissed away millions of dollars gambling, had a good old time with plenty of wimmens and probably a few things we don't know about. But I admire him more than I admire Snowden, simply from the standpoint of self-awareness. Chuck knows what he is and doesn't try to be anything else. Snowden committed treason. If that offends your sensibilities, I am truly sorry, but he is showing no signs that he sees himself as anything other than a misunderstood "hero". The lack of self-awareness is staggering. It reminds me of John Le Carre recounting that Kim Philby couldn't understand why Le Carre didn't want to meet him during a trip to Moscow (I presume for a nostalgic chat over old times). Le Carre said, something to the effect of "Perhaps it's because of all the people you got killed." Historians a century from now may have the luxury of time and perspective to decide that he was justified. I can only judge on the hear and now. When it comes to judging whether Snowden is a "hero", I've decided that he doesn't measure up.

Oh, he definitely committed treason against the state. It just so happens that treason against the state is to the benefit of the people who live under the authority of that state. AFAIC, and I know it's different for everyone, he did the right thing for the right reasons, against an unjust system that has, quite frankly, committed heinous crimes against humanity all in the name of furthering its own self-serving imperial goals lead by the handful of billionaires who own it. I'm all for committing treason against the state when the state is committing acts of violence against whole populations. It's like being accused of theft by a serial killer because you found his plans for murdering more people. It's a badge of honor.

Guy steals a bunch of secrets. Sets course first to China, then to Russia, then to Ecuador, Nicaragua, Bolivia, or Venezuela - but is thwarted and stuck in mother Russia...nah he's as American as can be. Steals secrets and decides to vacation in some great places!

I think Snowden thinks he's a hero and a patriot and doing everything for the greater good, but in reality he's naive as hell and dangerously arrogant and getting played by much, much smarter people.

-Intelligence agencies are spying on everyone, including private citizens and allied governments? What reasonably informed person didn't already know or at least strongly suspect this? That's been the case basically forever with every serious government that's ever existed. And since the internet took off, most individuals gladly trade away their personal information for "free" access to useful or entertaining apps and websites every day.

-How does a seemingly intelligent person develop such a distrust of the American government yet put his faith in the Russian and Chinese governments, or any other government for that matter? Is he so blinded by his dislike of the American government that he's willing to crawl into bed with much worse entities?

-I read that blog post of his, it reeked of entry level anti-American propaganda.


Snowden is no hero. He's a traitor with delusions of grandeur.

NEW: WikiLeaks says more than 300 doctors have signed an open letter calling for the release of Julian Assange.

But an examination of the signatures, which include names such as "Dr. Boner 69," suggest that not all are legitimate.


https://twitter.com/mikaelthalen/status/1582480046882951169?s=46&t=UnqympUdV8poiGkhZ1tY8A

Hey, Dr. Boner 69 cured my Boogie Fever!

Said Doctor:

Snowden “swore an oath of allegiance to Russia and has collected his Russian passport…‘He is, of course, happy, thanking the Russian Federation for the fact that he received citizenship’,” added his attorney.

https://twitter.com/petestrzok/status/1598704571987111938?s=46&t=FVlKlzDo6rROvEpy9fexvQ

Fucking shitbag traitor.

Guess who is not talking about the Vulkan Files exposing Russian activities? Correct:

Wikileaks

This obscure organization which claims to support whistleblowers and even bears "leaks" in the name "suspiciously" omits the revelations which embarrass Putin-Russia. One might assume that this is exactly that kind of event which would have them all over the place, but it's not, and it is not even the first time.​

In 2016 the so-called "Surkovleaks" dropped. That leak revealed that Russian paratroopers (VDV) were directly involved in the battles in Donbas back in 2014, proving that the Russian military was directly involved and dispelling any claims of any kind of rebellion there. Wikileaks didn't mention the Surkovleaks even once.​

Little earlier in 2016 before the Surkovleaks the Panamapapers dropped. Wikileaks was in the beginning very giddy to report on the Panamapapers since it involved many political enemies of them (and Russia). They changed, however, the tune once Putin and his friends got into crosshairs. Wikileaks was then quick to call it an "attack by Soros" (see first screenshot). This dogwhistle Anti-Semite claim is widely used by right-wing operators around the world. It was clear that Wikileaks didn't want Russia to be involved and tried to deflect all scrutiny where Putin has accumulate wealth on foreign bank accounts.

There have been numerous cases where Wikileaks reacted with critical and deflective responses when it was about Russia. Each separate event might have been a coincidence but the sheer amount of following cases prove a system behind it which cannot be even explained with "selective bias". This went far beyond that.

I have called out Wikileaks for their practices and the result can be seen in the 2nd screenshot. Therefore, I have no problems when Assange is treated like a criminal, because he is a Russian spy.

Wikileaks is a FSB front. A fighter for democracy, transparency and truth would never selectively treat all those leaks in such a different manner or even attack leaks unfavorably for a specific party.

#VulkanFiles #Surkovleaks #PanamaPapers #Ukraine #Assange
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https://twitter.com/tendar/status/1641779403662192640

If the discussion is going to continue about all whistleblowers, perhaps we should change the title of the thread. I was expecting a post about Snowden and got Assange.

Both are Russian assets so I figured it a good fit.

But if folks want I can move it.

If it's not an issue, then it's not an issue. I am sympathetic to Snowden but not Assange.

Got’em!

So your type is Uncle Albert and traitors

Fascinating