Did someone set Edward J. Snowden up to be the fall guy for the NSA Prism program?
I admire your unwillingness to accept the standard narrative. When Snowden's first revelations came out, I thought it was someone kneecapping the FBI's "Going Dark" rhetoric.There are also a number of things that just don't seem to jibe with other things. Nonetheless, it appears that Snowden genuinely prepped for his work and planned. It's possible he had allies, but it's not clear that "fall guy" is the right term. If these had come out and Snowden was still in Hawaii, doing whatever he was doing, then perhaps he'd be a fall guy. But he planned and moved on his own, from all we see.Of course, we'll learn more in the coming months and years, and I'm sure that there are things we think are so now that will turn out to be different. But presently, no, no fall guy is definitely not what he seems to be.
Is Edward Snowden ever going to be able to leave Russia?
Yes, Eventually.There are a number of scenarios under which Edward Snowden will be leaving Russia:The snowballing effect of Snowden's revelation is slowly turning public opinion in his favor. Companies big and small are rewriting their privacy policies to protect individuals' privacy better. Companies and municipalities are hiring Chief Privacy officers. Here in Oakland,CA I helped write the toughest privacy policy for any US municipality, and it is so good and fair that cities all over US are requesting copies. Compliance like PCI and HIPAA which contains strong privacy protections will reach ubiquity nationwide. Soon the majority of Americans will no longer shrug at privacy but will consider it a basic human right as a citizen and voter. When this happens Snowden will be seen as an upholder of the constitution and a national hero and not a traitor. At that time Snowden will either receive a jury trial in friendly jurisdiction (Think San Francisco Bay area) or a presidential pardon.The US surveillance programs will eventually upset a country so much that they will grant citizenship to Snowden as a political move. The proposition has been raised in Germany a number of times.A country that has build its identity on being a thorn in the side of the US will grant him Citizenship. Venezuela, under the late Hugo Chavez comes to mind.Edward Snowden outstays his welcome in Russia which will happen when 1) he loses his usefulness for the Russian regime 2) Russia will gain something in trading him with the US or 3) Russia will score points with the US for no longer hosting him at which time they might ship him to a 3rd party country.
Why hasn't the US government brought Edward Snowden to justice if he was a traitor to America for leaking confidential information to the world?
While the traitors in Washington might love to persecute the patriot Snowden for exposing some of their secrets to their greatest enemies-us-, he has wisely stayed in Russia [not the best place, but any port in a storm].While getting him out of Russia is about impossible, our secret rulers have other reasons not to push hard on the subject. He would have to be tried in public, where they would have to explain why they were violating the law wholesale and how else he was supposed to expose this lawbreaking since they jailed several other whistleblowers who tried legal means. Since they classify almost everything as secret, the trial would mean exposing a lot of secrets. And there is the chance of a not-guilty verdict. Washington may be just as happy to have him stay in Moscow.
Can the USA give you a job if you have skillset like Edward Snowden?
Me? No. I’m even more of a security risk than Snowden. I believe in open government and full disclosure. I have very lofty ideals, but not very pragmatic viewpoints.You? Maybe. Can you pass the background check for necessary security clearances? (Which may have been upgraded since Snowden left.) READ MORE at: Here's How Edward Snowden Got 'Top Secret' ClearanceBy the way; Edward Snowden worked for an NSA contractor, not directly for the USA government.
Do you agree with this statement "Department of Justice going after Assange poses an existential threat to journalism"?
Do I agree that the DOJ’s pursuit of Assange poses a threat to journalism? Interesting question! In short, yes but let me qualify that for you.First off, the DOJ is looking to stem the ongoing leaks of secret & embarrassing/incriminating info from its various Intelligence agencies. The problem is that they are going after the (supposedly) easy target in Assange and ignoring all other targets.By their stated logic that the dissemination of these secrets is what's illegal, they should also be targeting the New York Times, Washington Post, The Guardian, Der Spiegel and so on. But those newspapers have the means to fight back in court AND to make a very public 1st amendment argument while Assange & Wikileaks don't necessarily have the same resources. So this DOJ attack appears targeted against the little & independent “journalist”, not the established mainstream, and therefore not an unbiased enforcement of the law.The government's assertion that Assange/Wikileaks somehow compelled Manning and others to break the law by stealing and then providing classified information is somehow misguided. I don't argue that anyone who breaks their oath of secrecy isn't breaking the law but the act of disseminating this info isn't necessarily illegal and it also is the way stories get written and the public gets informed! This is akin to trying to stop a water leak in your kitchen by blaming the faucet.Finally, under who’s jurisdiction are they going after Assange/WikiLeaks? Last time I checked, Assange is Australian, living in Bolivian sovereign territory and WikiLeaks isn't an American company, run from America by Americans so where's the American jurisdiction?This all boils down to the USA being embarrassed by their own hypocrisy… AGAIN. The Attorney General (with a tenuous grasp of the law already) rattling his sabre in an effort to scare WikiLeaks and appear tough on Law & Order.The sad thing though is the USA may proceed with their prosecution regardless. Assange can't rely on Article 19 from the UN for protection (Freedom of speech - Wikipedia) and they could try him in absentia. This may not lead to jail time but would possibly give pause to anyone else thinking of leaking info.That's the real crime here. When the government will so casually ignore the spirit of one of their own founding principles in order to save face.