Snowden Revisited

[The Minsky Moment]

I've seen nothing to suggest he was motivated by money, nor some ideological commitment to Putinist Russia.  Possibly fame.  The useful idiot explanation seems to fit best based on the facts I've seen.

[viper37]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

[garbon]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

[CountDeMoney]

Snowden's not a whistleblower.  There's no evidence whatsoever that he had in mind any reforms.  He didn't take his case to anyone with the power to reform the abuses he supposedly decried.  All the evidence we have is that he was a regular old spy who blew his cover to give the Russians cover for publicly releasing the documents he stole that the Russians thought would embarrass the US.  90% of what he gave the Russians was never published.

People are forgetting he was debriefed by the Chinese first.

And really, if you look at the docs and fiiles that have been released, it's all interdepartmental memos and PowerPoint presentations.  No real nuts-and-bolts.  All he did was download briefing material  from shared drives and SharePoint.  Compared to Ames, Walker, and Hannsen, his treasure is baby shit.  Just a lot of "Yeah, we do that," but no real stereo instructions.

The hilariously ironic thing is, before 9/11 and the explosion of the National Security-Industrial Complex when anybody who could program HTML was needed to fight Teh Evildoers, he never would've been given a clearance.  High school dropout? Underachiever with an inflated sense of self-worth? Readily identifiable counter-culture affiliations known to friends and acquaintances?
Siunds like prime Soviet recruitment material to me.  Funny how things turned out.

[Berkut]

Why would you assume that the documents he has released comprises the total of what was stolen?

I would assume the more interesting stuff is not going to get released by his handlers.

[CountDeMoney]

Why would you assume that the documents he has released comprises the total of what was stolen?

I have not assumed that, and nowhere in my statement do I say I did, or make such allusions.

I would assume the more interesting stuff is not going to get released by his handlers.

True, by all accounts only a small percentage of his total haul has been released to date, and most of it is stuff thay makes for bad PR.  But he was a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor.  They can only go so deep.

[DGuller]

So what if he were just a contractor?  It sounds like access restriction mechanisms at NSA were about as robust as age restriction mechanisms on porn sites.

[viper37]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

It's not helpful.  Just a reminder that your country is going to play friendly with Russia for the foreseeable future, he has a Congress full of sycophant agreeing with him and soon a Supreme Court filled with his people.  Doesn't matter how we feel about Russia, your country is going to normalize relations with Russia and Russia will keep expanding its territory until it's a serious threat to Western Europe.

[Berkut]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

It's not helpful.  Just a reminder that your country is going to play friendly with Russia for the foreseeable future, he has a Congress full of sycophant agreeing with him and soon a Supreme Court filled with his people.  Doesn't matter how we feel about Russia, your country is going to normalize relations with Russia and Russia will keep expanding its territory until it's a serious threat to Western Europe.

Europe has been telling the US to stop sticking our nose in other countries business and messing up the world for the last 30 years.

Well, Trump might just them what they've been asking for, a US willing to let them handle their security without our interference.

[viper37]

Well, Trump might just them what they've been asking for, a US willing to let them handle their security without our interference.

yes, and they will regret it.

Anyway, for Snowden, I'm expecting a full presidential pardon within 4 years.  Trump will find a way to make him a hero of some anti-Obama crusade.

[grumbler]

yes, and they will regret it.

Anyway, for Snowden, I'm expecting a full presidential pardon within 4 years.  Trump will find a way to make him a hero of some anti-Obama crusade.

Europe doesn't have to worry.  Canadas will come to their rescue.

[garbon]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

It's not helpful.  Just a reminder that your country is going to play friendly with Russia for the foreseeable future, he has a Congress full of sycophant agreeing with him and soon a Supreme Court filled with his people.  Doesn't matter how we feel about Russia, your country is going to normalize relations with Russia and Russia will keep expanding its territory until it's a serious threat to Western Europe.

Seems like a snarky, irrelevant aside to Berkut's post.

[The Brain]

Seems like a snarky, irrelevant aside

[grumbler]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

It's not helpful.  Just a reminder that your country is going to play friendly with Russia for the foreseeable future, he has a Congress full of sycophant agreeing with him and soon a Supreme Court filled with his people.  Doesn't matter how we feel about Russia, your country is going to normalize relations with Russia and Russia will keep expanding its territory until it's a serious threat to Western Europe.

Seems like a snarky, irrelevant aside to Berkut's post.

Viper seems the exact type that would cite Trump as an authority. 

[Zoupa]

He stole a bunch of documents and then handed them to a dictator who is the clear and unambiguous enemy of the United States.

Your President disagrees.

How is that helpful? Also, last time I checked the current president is Obama and he agrees.

It's not helpful.  Just a reminder that your country is going to play friendly with Russia for the foreseeable future, he has a Congress full of sycophant agreeing with him and soon a Supreme Court filled with his people.  Doesn't matter how we feel about Russia, your country is going to normalize relations with Russia and Russia will keep expanding its territory until it's a serious threat to Western Europe.

Seems like a snarky, irrelevant aside to Berkut's post.

Scared that other posters are moving in on your schtick of irrelevant and snarky posts?