
Snowden has done a service- Former Bush official applauds the whistleblower - Osiris30
http://www.salon.com/2016/03/24/snowden_has_done_a_service_former_bush_official_lawrence_wilkerson_applauds_the_whistleblower/
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binarnosp
Obama OS changelog:

\-- Obama 2.0

"President Barack Obama has harshly cracked down on whistle-blowers, using the
World War I-era Espionage Act to punish whistle-blowers who leaked to
journalists more than all previous U.S. presidential administrations
combined."

\-- Obama 1.0 RC1

"Protect Whistleblowers: Often the best source of information about waste,
fraud, and abuse in government is an existing government employee committed to
public integrity and willing to speak out"

from
[http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/](http://change.gov/agenda/ethics_agenda/)

~~~
colejohnson66
Keep in mind Obama voted to renew the PATRIOT Act as Senator. The writing was
on the wall; everyone just ignored it

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benevol
_“I credit Snowden for having a great deal of courage, because he’s ruined
himself forever,” he told Salon.

“I don’t think he has a future,” the former Bush administration official
added._

I'd say it depends on the American citizen/voter. What future do we want?

Not pressuring the government to bring him back means giving the government a
clear thumbs-up for ever-increasing mass surveillance. And it sends any
potential whistleblower a clear signal to turn a blind eye to corruption and
out-of-control government activity.

Is that really what we want?

~~~
hartator
In the meantime, no current presidential candidate is willing to pardon
Snowden.

~~~
virtuabhi
Actually, Sanders is pro-Snowden. Sanders has said that he will bring back
Snowden and will make sure that a reasonable settlement is reached wrt.
copying data and public benefit.

Edit: "In my view," Sanders continued, "the interests of justice would be best
served if our government granted him some form of clemency or a plea agreement
that would spare him a long prison sentence or permanent exile from the
country whose freedoms he cared enough about to risk his own freedom." (added
the actual comment)

~~~
hartator
I don't think this position qualify as pro-Snowden. The trial facing by
Snowden is for "treason", which is by definition false because no third party
government was involved.

I think it's pretty binary debate. It's not 5 years jail time vs. life
sentence like Sanders seems to imply.

~~~
elevenfist
The US will not seek the death penalty for Snowden. [1] So functionally what
Sanders is describing is the same.

[1]
[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LzcZPxv...](http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:LzcZPxvq_X8J:www.cnn.com/2013/07/26/us/nsa-
snowden/+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=safari)

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jessaustin
I suspect I agree with this guy on most things, but it is a bit tone-deaf to
suggest McCain should be in prison. Most people would say he has done his
time. That kind of statement calls to mind McCain's famous mic-drop: " _I wish
I could have had the luxury, like you, of growing up and living and spending
my entire life in a nice place like the First District of Arizona, but I was
doing other things. As a matter of fact, when I think about it now, the place
I lived longest in my life was Hanoi._ "

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percept
"The whistle-blower himself says he has always been incredibly careful about
what exactly he discloses, and to whom. “I carefully evaluated every single
document I disclosed to ensure that each was legitimately in the public
interest,” Snowden told the Guardian. “There are all sorts of documents that
would have made a big impact that I didn’t turn over.”"

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homero
Snowden as a service, saas

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ck2
Really hope Snowden is never foolish enough to give himself up for trial
thinking he is going to get a fair hearing someday.

They will make him rot like Manning until everyone forgets about them and they
die in prison.

Pretty sure Snowden will be snatched under Clinton, she seems to have peeve
about him.

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Laaw
When are we bringing this guy home? I'm so sad we haven't righted this.

~~~
criddell
Unless you are talking about bringing him home in handcuffs, I don't think
anytime soon. In fact, it seems less likely today than it did a year ago.

~~~
Laaw
Plead no contest to charges, no jail time, life on parole.

He could do the talk circuit, give graduation speeches, participate in panel
discussions, it'd be great.

~~~
criddell
There's no way in hell he would get off that lightly. People want to see the
guy executed for treason.

~~~
Laaw
People want to prevent gay folks from getting married.

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madengr
While whistle blowing unconstitutional surveillance on American citizens may
be a service, mass dumping of info on classied programs to China and Russia is
almost treason (we are not at war).

