





















III. Leaker Fears for His Family, Girlfriend


Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower [Image Source: Reuters]

He comments:

All my options are bad. 






IV. The Formation of a Whistleblower











V. President Obama Defends Spying Program, Some Details Get Declassified



President Obama himself addressed the concerns, commenting in an interview:







VI. Supporters of Snowden Rally


Daniel Ellsberg, the Pentagon Papers leaker, comments to CNN:








Comments     Threshold


RE: This story doesn't add up.
By BRB29 on 6/10/2013 8:43:13 PM , Rating: 2
This is not anything new. Telecoms have already been compliant to these types of orders for decades. Mobile sector is new because is new lol compared to land lines.

The story is lacking. If you think the missing info is the less important aspect of the story.....then i don't know what the hell you're thinking lol. The missing part is probably bigger since that is why it is missing. If this guy is really running away with real info, this is nothing more than a distraction.

Let me give you some facts I see missing.

1. Why doesn't he have a National Defense Medal? That's fishy since supposedly he qualified for it.
The requirement is 90 days of active service. Training is always considered active service. His story is he broke both legs and was discharged. Army says no medal, no training complete. At the very least, he should've completed basic in that time. I'm guessing he never made it past basic. No branch currently or ever guarantee an MOS for special forces. They only let you try out. You cannot try out unless you at least finish basic training(boot camp).

2. He had no education besides a GED. Never completed anything in the army.

3. NSA hired him as a security guard. I find that odd that they would hire him when he was discharged for 2 broken legs supposedly. I know when I applied to do security, I was medically declined. They can still hire him if he proves to be fit for duty. That's a hard contradiction to being discharged because he was found UNFIT for duty due to his broken legs.

4. He was then hired as an IT specialist without any education or certification. Usually they require at least a bachelor or a lot of experience and certifications. Either the government was desperate or something is misssing here. If you doubt what I say then go to usajobs and look up IT announcements for IT information security specialists positions.

5. He worked for 3 years in the NSA and moved to work as a contractor. This is weird as everyone I know wants the federal position instead of the contractor positions. Federal positions pay competitively, better benefits, guaranteed employment, and never a pay decrease(except furloughs). I also doubt that he gets paid 200k a year. With his years of experience and lack of education, he should be 100k-125k mainly for his security clearance. With a Masters, he would be making 150k+

I could go on about the shady details but there's more than enough for everybody to think about. His story sounds fake at first glance and still is.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By nafhan on 6/10/2013 10:19:41 PM , Rating: 2
Again, I agree there's probably more to the story.

Whether or not his story "sounds fake" (do you mean unlikely?), there's still the little factoid that US intelligence agencies and the President are agreeing with details of the released info. At the very least, that's extremely interesting and unusual given the content. Since I guess I wasn't very clear: the guys life story is the less interesting thing here , and the released info and it's validation by the US gov. is the interesting part . (lol?).

Also agree that it could be nothing more than a distraction (which begs the question: distraction from what? Now THAT would be something crazy). If additional details and info do come to light, I may change my mind regarding what the more interesting aspect of this story is. Although long disregarded online, changing ones opinion is acceptable in some circles!

Additionally, regarding your #1: I worked with someone pre-accepted into the PJ's - there was of course a provision that he pass through all the training (reserve unit, so requirements may be a little different). The never finishing basic seems to fit, though. #3: some jobs are less strenuous than special forces. Specifically, I've seen the elderly work as "security guards". #2 and #4: experience and connections go a LONG way - especially with contractors. That said: #5 Agreed, very odd. Although, if they really were paying 200k, there's your reason for moving away from a "safe" gov. job where he was getting 100-125k.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By BRB29 on 6/10/2013 10:47:15 PM , Rating: 2

I actually know how it works because I was in it. Regardless whether you are reserve or active, you are going through the same basic and MOS school. It's not different, it's the exact same way. The only difference being the active duty guy stays active and join a regular unit while the reserve guy joins a reserve unit. Up until they receive those orders, they are both active duty in training.
On top of that, army basic is 9 weeks long. He was well past that and didn't finish the training.

Yes, but if he got out because he broke his legs then he would be collecting disabilities. Usually, when I see people get discharged for medical reasons they are on Temporary Disability Retirement List unless you are obviously missing limbs then you are permanent immediately. If you are on TDRL, and you took a job that says you are fit for duty that contradict your disability then you have major problems. You either get sent back to the military, lose your benefits, or just don't get the job because you're lying.


Yes it does IF you qualify. Federal employment is also as fair, transparent and objective as they get. Every job has to be publicly announced on The resume is also scanned by a computer before it spits out the top 5 or whatever most qualified. Then the HR and management do the interviews. While you CAN hook someone up, if someone is more qualified and proves that then you still cannot beat them.

There's very rare chance he's paying them 200k. Just look at their websites. These contractors usually post a salary range because they are contractors and they get paid a fixed amount. It's either project by size or cost + % usually. That is why you cannot hook someone up with an overinflated salary since you are in a bidding for contract. The lowest bidder wins. Overpaying employees don't win contracts. On the other hand, there is pretty much a standard pay scale for contractors. Sure you usually get paid more than federal employees but you are not guaranteed a job. Many of my friends that are contractors sometimes go 6 months to a year between contracts. It's normal and hence the higher pay. I just don't see how this guy is getting 200k when there are plenty of people much more qualified making less.

Go ask any contractor which they would choose and I'll bet just about every single one of them will choose to be a federal employee. I don't know why anyone wouldn't. You get all the benefits, huge amounts of vacation time and sick leave. You also get a retirement pension and TSP(like 401k) matching up to 5% of income. Did I mention your job is secured? Even if you are involuntarily laid off because of closing of an office, then you are given displaced employee priority for other positions.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By Lord 666 on 6/10/2013 11:30:46 PM , Rating: 2
Distraction from the pending Immigration legislation or Manning trial would be my guess.

Concur about your theories of the official Snowden story not adding up.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By BRB29 on 6/11/2013 7:40:55 AM , Rating: 2
What? this is not a distraction from anything. This whole thing was blown up by the media BTW. If anything, you can say the media wants more hits since TV industry is struggling.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By Reclaimer77 on 6/11/2013 8:38:46 AM , Rating: 2
The lengths you go to be an apologist for this administration is just stunning, get a life.

So let me get this straight, only you, using Google has figured out that this guy's entire life and everything he claims to be and his whole career is a lie. Just you? Nobody else did any research they just ran with the fake story? Yeah that's real believable.

And your claims that the media, which has been extremely pro Obama would go to these lengths is laughable.

RE: This story doesn't add up.
By BRB29 on 6/11/2013 8:42:45 AM , Rating: 2
watch the video in the article and tell me if that politician defending the NSA is rep or dem.

