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Government surveillance then and now SUMMARY
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Is Edward Snowden public enemy number one? Some say yes; some say no. Edward Snowden leaked the National Surveillance Agency (NSA)’s mass surveillance program. For this, Snowden was convicted as being a traitor and an enemy of the United States of America. His actions led to the government becoming vulnerable. This vulnerability from the public view could very easily have caused a domestic incident or a revolution. Snowden violated a contract he signed that swore him to secrecy. That should be enough to not just get him fired, but imprisoned. Snowden is a traitor to the U.S. because he failed his country and he failed his people. Edward Snowden used to work for the NSA, a secret government surveillance program that collects private information. Snowden decided that keeping the program secret from the American people was immoral and tricked one of his superiors into giving him access to the database. He stole thousands of confidential documents created by the NSA, many of which are documents of personal and private information recovered from communication devices. This collection incriminated the NSA in illegal spying activities. After doing this, Snowden went to the media with the information, and the whole scandal was born. The general consensus was negative towards the NSA for spying on the public. America’s allies such as Great Britain we very unpleased too. It seemed that in the heat of the scandal, everyone had turned on the american government. All because of Edward Snowden. Snowden was wanted by the government for charges of espionage as an enemy of the country of the U.S.A. Instead of facing the courts, Snowden fled the country and managed to seek temporary asylum in Russia. Snowden is currently in Russia avoiding U.S. sp... ... middle of paper ... ...hai-Brown, Lisa Appignanesi, Marina Warner, and Blake Morrison. "On Liberty: Edward Snowden and Top Writers on What Freedom Means to Them." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 22 Feb. 2014. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Nicks, Denver. "Swampland." Swampland NSA Memo Says Snowden Tricked Colleague to Get Password Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Nicks, Denver. "Swampland." Swampland Snowden Congratulates Chelsea Manning Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Feb. 2014. Scheer, Robert. "Edward Snowden Is Not a 'Traitor' and Glenn Greenwald Is Not an 'Accomplice' | The Nation." Edward Snowden Is Not a 'Traitor' and Glenn Greenwald Is Not an 'Accomplice' | The Nation. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. Smith, Lewis. "Video: Edward Snowden Tells Oxford Students That Government Secrets Undermine Democracy." The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2014.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
Kevin M. Gallagher. 2013. Freedom of the Press Foundation. Glenn Greenwald, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden: 'I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things'. Video file posted on YouTube on June 9, 2013.
He felt goose pimples clacking all over him as he gazed down despondently at the grim secret Snowden had spilled all over the messy floor. It was easy to read the message in his entails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he will fall. Set fire to him and he will burn.
Glenn Greenwald, a talented and widely read columnist on civil liberties for the Guardian newspaper, failed in his attempt to alarm his readers to the flagrant and widespread violations of American privacy. Although his article was full of facts, documentation, and quotes from top rank officials, the article did not convey any sense of wrong doing or outrage. Rather it was dull, lacked passion and a sense of persuasion. In fact, the only attention grabbing part in the whole article is the title.
Keck, Zachary. "Yes, Edward Snowden Is a Traitor." The Diplomat. N.p., 21 Dec. 2013. Web. 21 Feb. 2014
If someone broke the law trying to help the American keep their constitutional rights, would you consider them a hero or a criminal? Well that’s exactly what’s going on today with Edward Snowden. In 2013 Edward Snowden leaked classified information to the American people, information that shined a light on the dark things that the U.S government was doing behind closed doors. He revealed that the U.S government has been going against the constitution and taking away our freedoms. The U.S government has been taking away our freedoms however, Snowden is being called the criminal. Thesis Statement here.
In May of 2013 Edward Snowden who was then working at a National Security Agency office in Oahu, Hawaii began copying top secret documents that belonged to the American government as he believed the documentation contained unethical and immoral content that he believed the American people and the world in general needed to know about. (Snowden, 2014) The documentation that he collated contained information regarding projects such as Prism, which is a top secret NSA surveillance program that has the ability to access the data servers of some of America's large...
In early June 2013, Edward Snowden, a 29-year-old former defense contractor who had access to NSA database while working for an intelligence consulting company, leaked classified documents reports that the National Security Agency (NSA) is recording phone calls of millions of Americans along with gathering private data and spying foreign Internet activity. The Washington Post later broke the news disclosed PRISM, a program can collect data on Internet users. The leaked documents publicly stated a vast objection. Many people were shocked by the scale of the programs, even elected representatives were unaware of the surveillance range. A nationwide debate over privacy rights have been sparked. Although supporters claim that the NSA only does its best to protect the United States from terrorists as well as respecting Americans' rights and privacy, many civil rights advocates feel that the government failed to be clear about the limit of the surveillance programs, threatening Americans' civil...
Everyday citizens often live unaware of their government’s inner workings. The knowing of political espionage is often too heavy of a subject to be inducted in conversation. True, prima facie, modest twists and turns of information may not be considered substantial, but this inconsideration leaves much to be uncontrolled. It is easy for political leaders to become power crazed, to not realize the massive implications that come of their actions. Only after all is said and done do the people actually realize their government is an opaque mask of deception. The Watergate Scandal substantially impacted Americans’ trust in their government.
Before all of the top secret NSA (National Security Agency) documents on which details of a global surveillance system run by NSA were breached, Edward Snowden was an American computer specialist, a CIA member, and an NSA contractor. Edward Snowden was a regular, wealthy, government employee with some great positions and credentials. He was an American born man and was serving his country. He won the Sam Adams award which is given once a year to an intelligence professional who shows great integrity to the CIA. Many other recipients of this award have also been whistle blowers like Snowden. Before all the leaking and background information is given keep the question of hero or villain in your mind.
Rather than allow the numerous repercussions Snowden now faces stop him, Snowden chose to make the public aware of wrongs committed against them, even if it meant going against the government. The American people and their right to their privacy drove Edward Snowden to make a personal decision, and the result was not that of a traitor, but that of a hero and a man undeserving of the hatred and rejection made by the country he was striving to support.
The American government used to be able to keep the people in happy ignorance to the fact that they watch every move they make. After certain revelations of people like Edward Snowden, the public knows the extent of the government spying. On June 5, 2013 Edward Snowden leaked documents of the NSA to the Guardian (The Guardian 2). The whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed to the world how the American government collects information like cell phone metadata, Internet history, emails, location from phones, and more. President Obama labeled the man a traitor because he showed the world the illegal acts the NSA performs on US citizens (Service of Snowden 1). The government breached the people’s security, and now the people are afraid because everyone is aware of how the US disapproves of people who do not agree with their programs. Obama said that these programs find information about terrorists living in the US, but he has lit...
Mr. Snowden left for Hong Kong after he leaked his information, but once there he flew to Moscow because Hong Kong had a treaty with the U.S. to extradite prisoners (BBC 3).... ... middle of paper ... ... Those against the NSA’s national security tactics find that Snowden was a hero, and consider his current circumstances a worthy sacrifice.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
2009: 10+. CPI.Q (Canadian Periodicals) -. Web. The Web. The Web.