He's a traitor.

... what the hell is this thread?

(I'm sensing a pattern)

Yes.  Maybe we should try this poll one more time...

Is Snowden...

a) a traitor
b) a hero
c) an idiot
d) delicious

And, Bara, regarding the cheese curds, yes, you are right that fresh cheese curds are essential for truly 'authentic' poutine.  But you must agree that just as essential for truly 'authentic' poutine is a real, home-made gravy. 

All I am saying is that for such gravy to be available at your run-of-the-mill diner or fast food joint is near impossible, and, therefore even if they were to have the cheese curds on hand, such would be wasted due to the poor quality of the gravy.

Let's be honest, in all likelihood, the only occasion one could ever acquire truly 'authentic' poutine is if you happen to have both the proper, homemade gravy AND the fresh cheese curds on hand. 

And such would happen only if one had prepared a roast beef dinner the night prior, AND if one happened to be in vicinity of a cheese factory so as to acquire the fresh cheese curds.  Well, Bara, not all of us are so fortunate, and, as such, it is my opinion that using elemental Swiss is a perfectly acceptable, PRACTICAL compromise.

@baratheon
"There is no option for "delicious" on the poll."
I'm not gay either

@xeno
"Yes.  Maybe we should try this poll one more time..."
Its a miracle zarf didn't ban me already for spamming. Must be real good tv lately.

The man is an idiot.  I can't say he's a traitor, because there were proper ways he could have disclosed the information, many of which he did not avail himself of.

There is a big differance between being an anonymous whistleblower, to a household name whistleblower.  Now, not only did he systematically destroy years of intelligence data, which help secure the lives of many world citizens, but his own life as well.  If he has codes, passcodes, or backdoors to PRISM, then almost every nation we are not friends with, or luke warm feelings, will want that information.  These other nations, including North Korea and Russia would gladly, "host this hero of the hour", but would take necessary steps in order to "disappear" the fellow into a private security building for "debriefing".

So now his life is in danger.  If he is caught, he will be tried for breaking NSA trust networks resources at best, espionage at worst.   But I figure his idealism got the better part of him.  Sure, morally he can state that he has the high ground.  But in so doing endangered the life of many intelligence community members in the field, who may even now be at risk.  He's endangered his own life, because the intelligence community of other nations will want the information stored in his head.  All a nation needs to do is make a bank account, under Snowden's name or a fictitious name that links Snowden to it.  After that his life is completely worthless.  Because then he will be blackmailed into departing to a specific nation for "debriefing", or "amnisty".

Mr. Snowden did not even begin to scratch the surface of how much his life is in danger, and the possibility that other lives are now in danger, because of his actions.

He's not a hero.  For the Freedom of Information Act of 1971...he's not a traitor either.

He's just an idiot.

[Unnecessary]

If I were to leak, classified national security information...I wouldn't put my damn NAME on it!  The stupid, idiotic, moronic, dumb schmuck, put his name on it.  "Hello! My name is Snowden!  I signed an agreement not to discuss, leverage, or make public the information that i'm about to reveal!  The United States has a SECRET program called PRISM that sifts and sorts data on citizens of other countries, and may have been used against United States citizens abroad!"

When I signed my Non-Disclosure Form, on the operations of S.I.N.C.G.A.R. manual systems...it clearly stated that I could be court-martialed, stripped of rank, dishonorably discharged, THEN jailed for a term of up to 20 years...minimum.

Snowden, signed a non-disclosure form binding agreement, that has the United States Government Seal on it.

He, was an idiot.

Now.  His idiocy has not only placed the lives of fellow Americans in Jeopardy, but possibly the lives of other citizens abroad overseas.  His own life is now in jeopardy, because other countries WANT his ass, so they can learn more of the inner working of American branches of security.  Which places American citizens east to west coast in danger.  So now it's been confirmed, that China...Russia, Nigeria, Chechnia (sp?), and about a dozen other countries wish to "host" him.  Which means they're willing to hide his ass, from United States prosecution.  And the only way to gain that hosting program is delivering classified information or knowledge.

Does this clear things up?  [Unnecessary]

It's this little thing you see, at the center of this web.  Except you don't see all the strings branching out to the center of that web, or the danger at the edge of the web, as the spider waits to feed.

Snowden is at the center of the web, and does not see the actual danger the web represents.  And he very well may pay with his own life, because he didn't think before he acted.

He's not a hero.  He's done nothing heroic.  He's not a traitor, because he believed in the conscious decision that he was right.

But he was an idiot, because there were better ways in which he could have unloaded the knowledge of the program in a way that probably would not have implicated him as the leaker.   

Now, he can't keep good eyes, working in the system, sniffing out other wrong doing.  He's been outed.  He shouted PRISM...but he won't be there, when the next secret program surfaces.

Oh...in a private memorandum, the PRISM program was officially shutdown.

They are in the process of creating a new system, with checks and balances...that does the exact same thing that PRISM does, under the same government agency.  Go figure.  Sounds like something out of The Bourne Identity.  "Ohyes, Briarpatch was shutdown, it's gone....now let me direct you to a new operational mandate, which we will call something completely different but would do a better job..."

So yah.  He was, and always will be, a complete moronic idiot.

Snowden didn't get the big picture.  Neither do you.

Fine, Key, making me have to actually do my job.

Warned for personal attacks, Key.

riiiiight

his death will really be an accident...

I don't know what info does he have that could surprise anybody in the world about USA procedures, so from that point, he's an idiot.  He may say "blah, blah, blah, Obama this, CIA those, bleh" and then we'll say "it's OK, do a movie!"

^ that's all that matters, the movie for Hollywood, it will be a great income.

...However, inside my complete ignorance of the matter, there here lies a terrible question, ... he 'was' a CIA agent, right? or worked for CIA, whatever, ... and he's hiding on a terminal of a russian airport, in a 'land of nowhere'  (technical term).  WHAT would have happened, if, after 9/11, Bin Laden was hiding in the same russian airport terminal???? (saying of course he had nothing to do with 9/11 and russia believing it, like most of us)

EDIT: C insertion. 

C is actually a pretty redundant letter.

we have S for 's'-sound, and K for k-sounds; there's no need for the letter c.

unless he dies by hanging while masturbating in a closet

yes of kourse if you want to and that helps peopel understand