US whistleblower Edward Snowden wins Swedish human rights prize

[webfact]

US whistleblower Edward Snowden wins Swedish human rights prize

STOCKHOLM: -- Fugitive US intelligence agent Edward Snowden has been awarded a Swedish human rights award for his work exposing state surveillance programs.

Snowden won the Right Livelihood Honorary Prize, often referred to as the Alternative Nobel Prize, for showing "courage and skill in revealing the unprecedented extent of state surveillance violating basic democratic processes and constitutional rights".

The prize is awarded annually "to honour and support those offering practical and exemplary answers to the most urgent challenges facing us today".

As an honorary award winner, Snowden - who has lived in exile in Russia since 2013 - will not receive the customary 500,000 kronor ($78,000) prize money.

But the Stockholm-based foundation said it would "fund legal support for him" without disclosing the amount.

Snowden shared the award with editor in chief of Britain's Guardian newspaper, Alan Rusbridger.

Full story: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-25/us-whistleblower-snowden-wins-swedish-rights-prize/5767516

-- ABC NEWS 2014-09-25

[Tredz]

Freedom for Mr Snowden !!!

thanks to him !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[squarethecircle]

Arrest him. He went over and beyond exposing state surveillance programs, and placed confidential information into the hands of out-and-out mobster governors like Mr. Putin. He didn't need to do this to expose possible abuses, hence I say: he is a traitor, issue an arrest warrant.

[Jingthing]

Freedom for Mr Snowden !!!

thanks to him !!!!!!!!!!!!!

He can't be "free" in Russia?

[quicky]

Arrest him. He went over and beyond exposing state surveillance programs, and placed confidential information into the hands of out-and-out mobster governors like Mr. Putin. He didn't need to do this to expose possible abuses, hence I say: he is a traitor, issue an arrest warrant.

One persons traitor is another person freedom fighter, the US needs 1000 more Snowden's maybe that might put a dent in that tyrannical American government.

[EnglishJohn]

I hope they show videos of the recent beheadings by ISIS at the presentation - because that kind of thing is the end result of giving state secrets to terrorists. They have surely modified the way they operate as a result of his information.

It will soon start happening on the streets of a country near you and he has contributed to making it possible.

[Phuket Stan]

^{Yeah....those whistle-blowers....paragons of virtue each and everyone of them}

^{Tell that to those who were affected by loved ones lost in 9/11}

^{Or closer to Thailand the Bali bombing deaths and injuries}

^{Snowden and his mate Assange should both be done for treason and whatever other charges they can be fitted with..}

^{Then drop testing rope would be a suitable punishment...nah maybe a beheading or some crippling bomb blast inflicted on them}

^{Free rights etc are over ...just keep out of bother and its not a pain....I don't care how many people know what I am doingor what I have}

[Emster23]

Snowden did the world a favor by exposing the rot in US spying. There was so much it was too bad he didn't look over and could have cherry picked rather than wholesale release. I am an American and when government that is supposed to represent American values acts more like 1984, I want to know about it. And the world. It is not okay with me to give up freedom (including freedom to be left alone) in order to defend it. Same goes for torture and rendition. Those in power always want more power, and lose sight of what they say they are fighting for....

[phuketrichard]

as an American i side with the Swedes on this one

[iReason]

Edward Snowdon:

A true American Patriot.

And a true Hero.

Thank you Mr. Snowdon.

[DeepInTheForest]

I hope they show videos of the recent beheadings by ISIS at the presentation - because that kind of thing is the end result of giving state secrets to terrorists. They have surely modified the way they operate as a result of his information.

It will soon start happening on the streets of a country near you and he has contributed to making it possible.

So now the abrupt rise of ISIS and the beheadings are the result of Snowden's revelations? That's interesting. What were those crazy Swedes thinking, anyway?

Apparently the Western military invasions, bombings, and policy decisions did nothing to destabilize the region then, and the recent chaos is coincidental-- excuse me, I meant the fault of Snowden and a few other whistleblowers of conscience.

It seems odd that the US government hasn't made public the connections between Snowden's posts and any terrorist attacks or Western casualties. You would think that any such evidence would be rushed to the mainstream press.

[Thakkar]

These Snowden discussions always devolve into whether the man is evil, stupid, traitorous, heroic, naive, etc.

Whether Snowden is a hero or zero is irrelevant. What matters are the revelations. It is clear that NSA spying was egregious, illegal and breached international norms. Two concerned American congressmen on the intelligence committee tried to warn us of that, but due to their positions, couldn't be specific.

Governments whose job it is to administer the law, broke the law. Instead of addressing this important issue, which is at the core of ANY democracy, Congress people and others Point elsewhere and say, "Oh, look: Snowden is such a poo-poo head!" And all you idiots look there and say, "yeah! Snowden is a poo-poo head." Or "no he's not!", forgetting that nobody's been held accountable for breaking the very laws that underpin American democracya democracy that the government is supposedly protecting from the terrorists!

If Democracy is compromised by the loss of privacy, the terrorists have already won, no matter how many bad guys all that spying helps you kill.

T

[DeepInTheForest]

^{Yeah....those whistle-blowers....paragons of virtue each and everyone of them}

^{Tell that to those who were affected by loved ones lost in 9/11}

^{Or closer to Thailand the Bali bombing deaths and injuries}

^{Snowden and his mate Assange should both be done for treason and whatever other charges they can be fitted with..}

^{Then drop testing rope would be a suitable punishment...nah maybe a beheading or some crippling bomb blast inflicted on them}

^{Free rights etc are over ...just keep out of bother and its not a pain....I don't care how many people know what I am doingor what I have}

You may not care how much your life is monitored, but it is only a matter of time before a government will abuse its power. As Snowden documented, abuses were/are already occurring. People were spying on their own partners. Without oversight-- and there is none-- it will be only a matter of time before info will be sold to interested parties-- business rivals, personal enemies, drug cartels, whoever. If this isn't already being done, that is.

The US also spied internationally, and it is pretty clear that this information was used to give itself an advantage in trade treaties.

On an average day, the NSA monitored about 20m German phone connections and 10m internet datasets, rising to 60m phone connections on busy days, the report said.

Officials in Brussels said this reflected Germany's weight in the EU and probably also entailed elements of industrial and trade espionage.

http://www.businessinsider.com/key-us-eu-trade-pact-threatened-after-latest-leaks-about-nsa-spying-on-europe-2013-6

So much for the free market and fair competition and all that.

Even more worrying is the possibility of abuse by the government in terms of political spying. There is no meaningful oversight, as mentioned previously. This opens the door to an absolute degradation of the democratic political sphere. There is really nothing to stop the people in power from spying on their opponents. If you love dictatorships, you will have no problem with that. But if you do not…

Edited September 25, 2014 by DeepInTheForest

[realenglish1]

As an American I support Snowden. Hats off to you

[jesimps]

Traitor Snowden wins prize from loony lefty Swedes. No surprises there.

[toooa]

Arrest him. He went over and beyond exposing state surveillance programs, and placed confidential information into the hands of out-and-out mobster governors like Mr. Putin. He didn't need to do this to expose possible abuses, hence I say: he is a traitor, issue an arrest warrant.

You speak as if the State represents some moral "good", an idea which is highly debatable. You wouldn't be/have been a state employee at all would you? One rule for "the State", one rule for everyone else right? So its ok for the State to lie, thieve and abuse its citizens privacy on a massive scale, but for a citizen you get locked away if you do those things. Sweden obviously know the score don't they?

Aren't the people with the guns and the industrial apparatus and gulags of the state, the ones people should be worried about? Not the guy who's pointing out the gun in the room? Nope...it's "National Security" so everything's just dandy.

[Bwanatickey]

Well done Sweden, this award is more honest than the Nobel peace prize.

Who is the Noble Peace Prize winner actively bombing the enemy, right now.

[saakura]

Well done Sweden, very deserving candidate for this honour. Snowden, may your tribe increase!

[SilverBeast]

<script type='text/javascript'>window.mod_pagespeed_start = Number(new Date());</script>

^{Yeah....those whistle-blowers....paragons of virtue each and everyone of them}

^{Tell that to those who were affected by loved ones lost in 9/11}

^{Or closer to Thailand the Bali bombing deaths and injuries}

^{Snowden and his mate Assange should both be done for treason and whatever other charges they can be fitted with..}

^{Then drop testing rope would be a suitable punishment...nah maybe a beheading or some crippling bomb blast inflicted on them}

^{Free rights etc are over ...just keep out of bother and its not a pain....I don't care how many people know what I am doingor what I have}

He exposed the government for its illegal spying. The man is a hero...

I hope they show videos of the recent beheadings by ISIS at the presentation - because that kind of thing is the end result of giving state secrets to terrorists. They have surely modified the way they operate as a result of his information.

It will soon start happening on the streets of a country near you and he has contributed to making it possible.

Right....The whistleblowers made some crazies on the other side of the world cut peoples heads off... I think you are missing a logical step here, lol.

[kamahele]

In reality, Snowden didn't do anything to make the world safer. As a US citizen I knew already what the NSA was doing. It had been reported on before, however his traitorous behavior in providing specific details of the activities probably put lives at risk. And look, has the NSA changed how they are doing business? Not much and the world keeps turning and most of America has forgotten about it already.

[Davedub]

Arrest him. He went over and beyond exposing state surveillance programs, and placed confidential information into the hands of out-and-out mobster governors like Mr. Putin. He didn't need to do this to expose possible abuses, hence I say: he is a traitor, issue an arrest warrant.

Mr Snowden's actions have rightfully been recognised. He will go down as a hero in history, unlike the government and it's programs that he has exposed, of this there is no doubt. Stop being so naive and trusting these evil people in power! You and your ilk's trusting nature is aiding and abetting their wrong doing. It's heart breaking to watch good people getting duped. Wake up you fool.

[kingalfred]

Freedom for Mr Snowden !!!

thanks to him !!!!!!!!!!!!!

He can't be "free" in Russia?

in the USA he would be in gitmo and a sham trial to follow.

[sgtsabai]

Snowden, Manning, all whistle blowers are the true heros. The real criminals from cheney/bush et al to those that have protected them, Holder, obushma ops, Obama, etc. belong in GitMo.

[Scott]

Off-topic, conspiracy posts and replies removed.

[atyclb]

Arrest him. He went over and beyond exposing state surveillance programs, and placed confidential information into the hands of out-and-out mobster governors like Mr. Putin. He didn't need to do this to expose possible abuses, hence I say: he is a traitor, issue an arrest warrant.

If Snowden is a traitor / treasonous then so are Paul Revere, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, etc etc.

[Trouble]

as an American i side with the Swedes on this one

+1

Snowden exposed something that the US Government (NSA) was doing illegally to the American people and without the knowledge of the American people. He did not expose secrets that actually put the country or its operatives in danger. They were spying on American's without court orders. We need more like him. Unfortunately that issue, like so many others was exposed and nothing done about it and no one punished. If the local police wiretapped my phone without a court order it was be illegal. It seems to be alright now for the government to listen to my telephone conversations and read my email. Sorry but that is not what the Constitution allows, national security or not. Sorry, but I am willing to live with some risk to keep my freedoms in tact under the Constitution. If they violate one part of it what stops them from violating other parts?

[ravip]

Snowden and Assang should be honoured. They have done a great favour to the entire planet, in a way very few would have the guts to do.

The corrupt are powerful - woe be unto him who act against the corrupt.

This is the law of this world - wherever it is, without any exception.

[Kabula]

Some in the U.S. say he was a US government op. I have no opinion on the matter.

However, being ex military, I'm surprised he was not killed, or captured immediately as that is an option anywhere in the world, including Russia.

Now it's reported he may go to Switzerland and be as free as he was in Russia.

Very strange....

[cloudhopper]

Some in the U.S. say he was a US government op. I have no opinion on the matter.

However, being ex military, I'm surprised he was not killed, or captured immediately as that is an option anywhere in the world, including Russia.

Now it's reported he may go to Switzerland and be as free as he was in Russia.

Very strange....

Is that so? As an ex military what do you think the US would have to gain by assassinating Snowden (if that's whom you are addressing in your post)? He already gave up his info before the US knew anything about it and before he arrived in Russia.

Hope he makes it to Switzerland; he couldn't possibly get a fair trial in the US, unlike that of Daniel Ellsberg, who was tried back when the US government was respecting its constitution.

edit - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentagon_Papers

Edited September 27, 2014 by cloudhopper

[atyclb]

Some in the U.S. say he was a US government op. I have no opinion on the matter.

However, being ex military, I'm surprised he was not killed, or captured immediately as that is an option anywhere in the world, including Russia.

Now it's reported he may go to Switzerland and be as free as he was in Russia.

Very strange....

perhaps he would have been eliminated or captured if they were aware of his actions and intent at an earlier stage before he became well known. now if he was eliminated they'd likely make him into a martyr thus awakening many more people, not good for the agenda.

supposedly the generation gap creates conflict and it is not from my generation but not infrequently music can bridge time. "some of those who work forces are the same that burn crosses" ratm

much of bob dylans music is as relevant as ever today eg; masters of war, its alright ma i'm only bleeding