
Snowden Sees Some Victories, from a Distance - dankohn1
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/20/world/europe/snowden-sees-some-victories-from-a-distance.html
======
cyphunk
_" ISIS was one of the terrorist groups that learned from Snowden, and it is
clear his actions played a role in the rise of ISIS"_

Despite how seriously misleading this statement is I can't help but laugh.
Been rolfmao way too much since the Snowden leaks. From the .gov puppets
desperate to find a angle on the debate, to the FBI desperate to counter the
tides of technological evolution.... im laughing. Will probably continue
laughing even after their baton's hit my back because some citizens actually
took these absurd statements from the CIA/NSA/FBI/WhiteHouse as something
other than a joke.

~~~
higherpurpose
Jesus, I promised myself I would stop upvoting any NYT or BBC (usually
propaganda) stories, but that's just ridiculous.

~~~
nl
The OP should have made it clear that the NYT was quoting a book by Morell.
The entire quote is as follows:

 _“ISIS was one of the terrorist groups that learned from Snowden, and it is
clear his actions played a role in the rise of ISIS,” Mr. Morell writes in
“The Great War of Our Time,” offering no elaboration._

I think the fact that the NYT editorialised with the comment "offering no
elaboration" changes it entirely.

~~~
shit_parade2
"Haha no elaboration, what a zinger! That'll show those swarmy conservatives",
said the well off Marin county progressive as he sipped his morning smoothie
and read another New York times article.

------
olefoo
We'll know the American government has truly gone sour if an earnest attempt
on his life is traced to the "Intelligence Community". Until then, he is our
beloved revolutionary sweetheart telepresent in our thoughts.

~~~
spacehome
Who are you kidding? The intelligence community has been rotten for at least
decades.

------
jgrahamc
I sometimes think that HN is pro-Snowden. Are there folks here who see him as
less a hero more a villain?

~~~
karmacondon
Edward Snowden seems like a good guy, but what he did was wrong. Betrayal and
theft should not be condoned under any circumstances. He made the wrong
choices and should be held accountable for them in a court of law.

If someone I trusted unilaterally decided that I was breaking the law and then
used that as a justification to steal documents from me and give them to
journalists, I would be very upset. That's just wrong, man.

Snowden was essentially in charge of doing data backup transfers from the
pacific to Washington, DC. This means that the NSA trusted him like many of us
are trusted every day. The world would descend into chaos pretty quickly if we
all decided to start reviewing and passing judgement on the data that we're in
charge of, instead of just making sure that it goes where it's supposed to go
without incident. No matter how noble his intentions or how despicable the
actions of others were, what he did was unethical, illegal and immoral.

It's not about heroes and villains. We have a system of rules that must be
enforced equally, for the good of all of us. We can't make exceptions because
someone is popular or because we agree with their motives. If a jury of Edward
Snowden's peers are so taken by his celebrity and upstanding moral character
that they find him not guilty, then so be it. But all of us should be hoping
that he comes home to face that jury. Because it's the right thing to do.

~~~
jordigh
> We have a system of rules that must be enforced equally, for the good of all
> of us.

Off the top of my head, here are some ways that laws have been broken:

* By refusing to sit at the back of the bus.

* By refusing to pay taxes on tea.

* By housing Jewish refugees.

* By helping runaway slaves.

* By marrying someone of a different ethnicity than your own.

* By declaring a country's independence.

* By telling people what their government was doing.

* By writing software that could be covered by patents.

Not all of these had or could have had a resolution in courts. Breaking laws
is sometimes the only way to make any progress.

In conclusion, laws should be broken when they are unjust. For the good of us
all.

~~~
atom-morgan
Exactly. A law being a law doesn't mean it's right.

------
Tepix
I'm glad to see that Snowden gets to witness the changes that his revelations
have initiated.

The failure of governments worldwide to protect their citizens from being
spied upon by foreign intelligence services is distressing. Thanks to Snowden,
everyone is aware of it and the administrations can no longer pretend to be
clueless.

------
zz1
Unable to read it with TorBrowserBundle, I get redirected to
[http://www.nytimes.com:8123/glogin?URI=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyti...](http://www.nytimes.com:8123/glogin?URI=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2015%2F05%2F20%2Fworld%2Feurope%2Fsnowden-
sees-some-victories-from-a-distance.html%3F_r%3D1)

Anyone else, any clue?

------
INTPenis
Wait, he appeared before the Swedish parliament to receive and award?

As a swede, I had no idea this happened. Also, it surprises me considering the
hunt of Assange began here. I really have to see if there's video of that
award ceremony.

------
peter303
He is called "Snow-dumb" around here. Exiled for life with the possibility of
assassination for saying what everyone knew what was happening.

~~~
nitrogen
Where is "around here"?

