Former NSA contractor Snowden had access to lots of delicate information within the U.S. National Security Agency.
Some reports indicate Snowden escalated his concerns to his NSA supervisor, but Snowden's concerns were dismissed.

So Snowden went public with some information that might have been OK; perhaps somewhat akin to The Pentagon Papers.

Is Snowden right, that the next gen thought we'd given up too much liberty* for security, and have backlashed? Or is the timing coincidental?

And while it seems Snowden seems to consider himself a hero, what he doesn't mention is, in addition to some legitimate concerns; Snowden also needlessly released much more classified information, that doesn't do individual citizens any good, yet severely harmed our intelligence gathering.

Is Snowden a hero?

Time to make this traitor disappear permanently.

And not even a trial? I guess some principles or laws can be bypassed to fit a personal misconception if it fits a misguided belief some might hold........

And to think you work in an industry that deals with law enforcement....

The govt sponsored media narrative is what you are basing your opinion on. The opinion of those who feel our Constitutional rights are "granted, given, or allowed" by govt, abusing them daily under their definition or agenda, and not inherent as our Constitution (the SUPREME law of the land) states.

And some wonder why the world, and our rights, are in the shape they are in......

F*** Snowden....He leaked secret N.S.A. docs...That puts him on the wrong side of the law...Some things are black and white and this is one of them...All he is entitled to is a trial,,hopefully a fair trial, but even that is not a guarantee...The Patriot Act may have been premature and civil rights must prevail, but every single second of every single day people voluntarily give up their privacy on FB, Twitter, and a myriad of other web sites...They give it up every time they try to secure a loan for something they need or want, every time they apply for government help, public utilities, cell phone contracts...I absolutely do expect government to respect my civil rights, but then again.....I don't have a damn thing to hide from them either....

yea he leaked secret NSA docs, about them doing illegal activities against the american people. he is a whistleblower and should be treated like so. if the government wasnt doing illegal $h1t this wouldnt be an issue, but they are. why hate the guy who exposes government wrongdoing? you should be more pi$$ed off that the government is knowingly violating your rights on a daily basis.

"I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end," he wrote in early May, before making his first direct contact. He warned that even journalists who pursued his story were at risk until they published.
The U.S. intelligence community, he wrote, "will most certainly kill you if they think you are the single point of failure that could stop this disclosure and make them the sole owner of this information."

edited for space {click on the link for the entire article}
**********
When Snowden was asked about national security concerns, he responded:
We managed to survive greater threats in our history ... than a few disorganized terrorist groups and rogue states without resorting to these sorts of programs," he wrote. "It is not that I do not value intelligence, but that I oppose ... omniscient, automatic, mass surveillance .... That seems to me a greater threat to the institutions of free society than missed intelligence reports, and unworthy of the costs."
On Sunday afternoon, as his name was released to the world, Snowden communicated with Gellman from a Hong Kong hotel room, not far from a CIA base in the U.S. consulate.
"There's no precedent in my life for this kind of thing," he wrote. "I've been a spy for almost all of my adult life - I don't like being in the spotlight."

http://www.nbcnews.com/id/52153592/ns/local_news-raleigh_nc/t/snowdens-cautious-approach-post-reporter/

Military:
He (briefly) served in the Army: Snowden was brought up in Elizabeth City, N.C., but his family later moved to Maryland, where he attended a community college. He said he was trying to get credits to obtain a high school diploma, which he lacked. He never finished the college program, but did eventually obtained his GED.
In 2003, Snowden enlisted in the U.S. Army, wanting to join the Special Forces and fight in the Iraq war because he felt like he had an obligation as a human being to help free people from oppression, Snowden told the Guardian. He became disenchanted, however, saying his trainers seemed pumped up about killing Arabs, not helping anyone. Snowden was eventually discharged after breaking both legs.

He worked in the CIA:
Following his brief stint in the Army, he got a job at an NSA facility, where he worked as a security guard. He eventually went to the CIA where he worked on IT security. In 2007, Snowden was stationed in Geneva, Switzerland, and was responsible for maintaining computer security. This is, according to him, where he had access to a number of classified documents and learned about the U.S. surveillance program. Snowden left the CIA in 2009 to take a job working with the NSA as an employee of various contractors. Most recently, he was living in Hawaii with his girlfriend.
He claims he had big-time access: While working for the government, Snowden claimed: I had full access to the full rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the entire intelligence community, and undercover assets all around the world. In a video posted on the Guardians website, Snowden said that any analyst at any time can target anyone, adding, I, sitting at my desk, certainly have the authorities to wiretap anyone from you or your accountant, to a federal judge, to even the president.
He fled to Hong Kong: On May 20, Snowden told his superiors at Booz Allen Hamilton, a firm where he said he earned $200,000 a year working on a contract with the NSA, that he was seeking treatment for his epilepsy and would need some time off. He then flew to Hong Kong where he spoke to reporters. Snowden said he picked Hong Kong because they have a spirited commitment to free speech and the right political dissent.
He's hoping for asylum:
Snowden said he's left his hotel room about three times and is worried about being spied on. According to the Guardian, he lined the door of his hotel room with pillows to prevent anyone from listening in and wears a hood over his head while on his laptop entering passwords to prevent any hidden cameras from seeing him. His plan? The only thing I can do is sit here and hope the Hong Kong government does not deport me, he said. My predisposition it to seek asylum in a country with shared values. The nation that most encompasses this is Iceland.
And there is more>>>
http://tv.msnbc.com/2013/06/10/8-things-to-know-about-the-nsa-leaker/

L2
I'm w/ you part way on that.

Pentagon Papers whistle-blower Daniel Ellsberg is regarded as a hero by many.
But Ellsberg released the important information, without doing much if any collateral harm.

What Snowdon did was massive; and much of it, profitless.

Letting us know about the meta-data was fine, as I believe SCOTUS may already have demonstrated.

But many of Snowden's other disclosures didn't benefit the U.S. citizens, and severely harmed U.S. intelligence.

Whistle-blowers are quite often demonized.
But they are often useful to healthful growth.

If a practice is beneficial, then:
a) it should not be illegal. And
b) if it's illegal than congress should change that.

Clearly the rule of law was not adhered to here, by either Ed Snowden, or Uncle Sam.

"...He did none of us any favors..." L2

"The real gain from his theft belongs to China..." L2

And numerous others, adversaries and allies alike.

Chancellor Angela Merkel got grumpy when she learned Obama was listening in on her phone conversations.

Rightly so.
But for all we know, she listens in on him too, but just hasn't been caught yet.

And not even a trial? I guess some principles or laws can be bypassed to fit a personal misconception if it fits a misguided belief some might hold........

And to think you work in an industry that deals with law enforcement....

The govt sponsored media narrative is what you are basing your opinion on. The opinion of those who feel our Constitutional rights are "granted, given, or allowed" by govt, abusing them daily under their definition or agenda, and not inherent as our Constitution (the SUPREME law of the land) states.

And some wonder why the world, and our rights, are in the shape they are in......

yea he leaked secret NSA docs, about them doing illegal activities against the american people. he is a whistleblower and should be treated like so. if the government wasnt doing illegal $h1t this wouldnt be an issue, but they are. why hate the guy who exposes government wrongdoing? you should be more pi$$ed off that the government is knowingly violating your rights on a daily basis.

And not even a trial? I guess some principles or laws can be bypassed to fit a personal misconception if it fits a misguided belief some might hold........

And to think you work in an industry that deals with law enforcement....

The govt sponsored media narrative is what you are basing your opinion on. The opinion of those who feel our Constitutional rights are "granted, given, or allowed" by govt, abusing them daily under their definition or agenda, and not inherent as our Constitution (the SUPREME law of the land) states.

And some wonder why the world, and our rights, are in the shape they are in......

British spies removed from operations after Russia and China crack codes to leaked Snowden files

MI6 has been forced to pull spies out of operations due to Russia and China cracking encrypted documents stolen by US whistleblower Edward Snowden

By Nicola Harley 12:06AM BST 14 Jun 2015

Britain has had to remove its spies from live operations after Russia and China allegedly cracked top secret files stolen by US whistleblower Edward Snowden, a source has claimed.

MI6 has been forced to pull spies out of operations due to Russia and China cracking encrypted documents stolen by the former contractor to the US National Security Agency, a government source has told the BBC.

The source said the countries "have information" that led to agents being moved but added there was "no evidence" any had been harmed.

It comes after Home Secretary Theresa May told the Commons' home affairs select committee in March the leaks about Britain's surveillance capabilities had caused "damage" to the country's security.

She said Snowden's actions, after he stole and disclosed thousands of top secret files, had led to "an impact on the ability of our agencies to do the work they need to do".

According to the Sunday Times, Western intelligence agencies have been forced to pull agents out of "hostile countries" after "Moscow gained access to more than one million classified files" held by Mr Snowden.

"Senior government sources confirmed that China had also cracked the encrypted documents, which contain details of secret intelligence techniques and information that could allow British and American spies to be identified," the newspaper added.

Last year the Telegraph revealed GCHQ had lost track of some of the most dangerous crime lords and has had to abort surveillance on others after Snowden exposed their tactics.

The spy agency has suffered '��significant'�� damage in its ability to monitor and capture serious organized criminals following the exposes by the former CIA contractor.

Intelligence officers are now blind to more than a quarter of the activities of the UK'��s most harmful crime gangs after they changed their communications methods in the wake of the Snowden leaks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11673533/British-spies-removed-from-operations-after-Russia-and-China-crack-codes-to-leaked-Snowden-files.html

Former NSA contractor Snowden had access to lots of delicate information within the U.S. National Security Agency.
Some reports indicate Snowden escalated his concerns to his NSA supervisor, but Snowden's concerns were dismissed.

So Snowden went public with some information that might have been OK; perhaps somewhat akin to The Pentagon Papers.

Is Snowden right, that the next gen thought we'd given up too much liberty* for security, and have backlashed? Or is the timing coincidental?

And while it seems Snowden seems to consider himself a hero, what he doesn't mention is, in addition to some legitimate concerns; Snowden also needlessly released much more classified information, that doesn't do individual citizens any good, yet severely harmed our intelligence gathering.

Is Snowden a hero?

**UP DATED**
So ask yourself; do you still 'THINK' he's a HERO?

last paragraph in my link >>>

Last year the Telegraph revealed GCHQ had lost track of some of the most dangerous crime lords and has had to abort surveillance on others after Snowden exposed their tactics.

The spy agency has suffered '��significant'�� damage in its ability to monitor and capture serious organized criminals following the exposes by the former CIA contractor.

Intelligence officers are now blind to more than a quarter of the activities of the UK'��s most harmful crime gangs after they changed their communications methods in the wake of the Snowden leaks.