In either case, he can no longer be portrayed as a concerned employee who saw things pass his desk, which sparked his conscience to spring into action in order to save our democracy! Now, it sounds much more like espionage to me. If so, who was he working for? Perhaps, who is helping him escape, and where he wants to go, can give us some clues. 
...............I'm highly skeptical of any info from this Government or the main stream media. All this surveillance BS reminds me of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe under Communism.
I am also having great difficulty figuring out the difference between the former Soviet Union spying on its own citizens and US spying on its own citizens.
One would have thought, the public would be irate about it but it seems, most are happy to live in their suburban homes, unconcerned about what is happening to their constitutional rights. As long as they have their Beemer’s, Mercedes and are able to go out to dinner couple of times week, who cares what happens.
I'd call Snowden determined as well as courageous.
The chagrinned NSA and its lockstep automaton is "making" Snowden look/act like a criminal the same way Cannabis and prostitution prohibition laws make the otherwise law abiding citizen conduct and consort with hard-ball criminals.
The NSA as well as the Patriot Act has over stepped their authority, and Snowden has shined a very bright light on it. Prove to me he had willing intent on harming American citizens by his actions and I may be swayed. Otherwise it’s just a case of a very courageous young man exposing and embarrassing the fuck out of a dangerously out of control policing agency
Frontline: Spying on the home front.
Bush allows NSA to spy on U.S. citizens without court warrant: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p6d&continuous=1
NSA evesdropping at AT&T: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p6d&continuous=1
FBI secretely accesses private database of U.S citizens: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/generic.html?s=frol02p6d&continuous=1
To me the real criminals are the Administration and their accomplices in the senate and congress.
Wait, worse things are going to happen if the Patriot Act lives.
How does that work? He did not get his security clearance until 2011.
So where did he acquire knowledge of these programs?
I wonder how much real info they use for educational purposes?
He wanted to take classes in mixology.
Now put down the strawberries and cream, turn off the Wimbledon recap, or PBS, or whatever crap you're watching, and turn your TV to ESPN.
And NO, I'm not taking that stupid Duke +6 bet in June.
So over this sensationalism by the politicians and media. When Wikileaks happened couple of years ago, the sky was falling, Americans were going to get killed all over the world, terrorists are going to attack, blah, blah, blaah.
Not fucking thing happened. This is also ploy to distract the public from the real crimes politicians committed in the name of National Security and scaring the public to death which seems to be working quite well for the politicians.
Remember Snowden, the radio/gunner from "Catch 22?"
Yossarian was cold, too, and shivering uncontrollable. 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 entrails. Man was matter, that was Snowden’s secret. Drop him out a window and he’ll fall. Set fire to him and he’ll burn. Bury him and he’ll rot, like other kinds of garbage. The spirit gone, man is garbage. That was Snowden’s secret. Ripeness was all.
"I’m cold," Snowden said. "I’m cold.
Don't be stupid about trashing of Amendment 4, FISC Court farce or NSA continually lying on minimization. They listen to phones in US and read emails all the time without a warrant from FISC.
Stupid TV and print media focuses on Snowden, not the intel dragnet.
Read www.emptywheel.com
Read New Yorker article on NSA.
Demonizing Ed Snowden
http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/johncassidy/2013/06/demonizing-edward-snowden-which-side-are-you-on.html
Greenwald: If anything happens to Snowden adverse, he [Snowden] has all documents ready for immediate release. Sounds like a plan.
@ggreenwald
@emptywheel
@attackerman