Ed Snowdon Hero Or Villan

[jake-the-peg]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/09/edward-snowden-nsa-whistleblower-surveillance

The man behind blowing the whistle on the American NSA's Prism project engineering direct access into the servers belonginging to Google, Facebook, YouTube, Skype Microsoft and Yahoo and who knows maybe even Answerbank.

Now hiding out in Hong Kong - is he a hero or a villan?

[FredPuli43]

Yes, em and she is now playing the "poor little me" line. She must have had notice, several times, that if she continued to be in breach she would be jailed. The fact that she continued and then didn't attend in consequence can hardly be a defence, can it?

[emmie]

Fred, if i thought my parent was in the wrong place, and at risk, i would do the same. You shouldn't be carted off to jail, why did she get no chance to defend herself, nor was she the only one in the family that was concerned over her fathers treatment. Nor is this the only case cited.
Surely it's still a matter of innocent until proven guilty, and that you can throw someone into a jail for 6 weeks, seems highly inappropriate, in the circumstances. I wonder some don't see having secret courts in family matters, disputes as the thin end of the wedge.

[emmie]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/law-and-order/10022789/The-opposition-to-secret-courts-is-gathering-pace.html

[chrisgel]

//What essential liberty is being given up here//
The freedom for me to say what I want to whoever I want via whatever medium I want without the government knowing about it. Simple

[emmie]

chrisgel, i couldn't agree more, why don't others see that.

[chrisgel]

em10 - It seems that the main argument is the "I've got nothing to hide" sort of snobbery.
What puzzles me is that real terrorists and criminals etc. would avoid Facebook, Twitter and emails etc. like the plague knowing that they can be discovered. I would think they would find other ways to remain in contact that aren't so easy to spy on.

[jno]

What essential liberty is being given up here

"Here" is a good word. The British have few liberties, and seem to prefer it that way, though their ancestors would be shocked, considering how they fought for freedoms. However, the Americans do have the liberty of privacy in their constitution.