Snowden Was Justified 

Snowden is a true American Hero, standing up for the principles this country was founded on and for.

Complete bull, the idea that he could have gone up the chain to complain,.. it's so childish to believe that you could convince people who known and approved the program that it's wrong.

Had there not been men like Daniel Ellsberg and Edward Snowden, we'd all still be speaking with an English accent.

Snowden is an American Hero. we thank him for the love of USA just like we all do no matter the Consequences .

Did he say Henry Kisingher? The man who prolonged the war in Vietnam by 4 years, costing USA another 22000 lives? And he is still free, and not in jail?

I'm in full agreement with the audience's final decision on this motion, and very happy to see that the number of undecided went down from 42% before the debate down to just 11% afterward. I was particularly impressed with Daniel Elsberg's analysis and comments. He was a hero for me when he released the "Pentagon Papers" over 40 years ago, and he remains one to this day.

I am laughing so hard at the idea that any member of congress would have given Snowden and appointment. More likely he would have called Snowden's boss. 90% of the people our elected representatives actually see are people who donated to them. What a joke.

Way to go Daniel Ellsberg!

CIA director great American lol that's an oxymoron. The amount of crimes and blood and drug dealing on his hands would make make Al Capone look like a joke

Are we safer? Yes. Freedom is never guaranteed. It requires vigiliance. Our constitutional freedom must be defended from the enemy and that includes the enemy within. To paraphrase Ben Franklin, "Those who give up freedom for a little bit of safety, deserve neither"

Should one break the letter of the law, to save it's spirit?

Do as I say and not as I do seems to be recurring theme of the opposing side of the debate. Evidently Edward Snowden is the only person working in our current government who is obligated to honor his oaths and fulfill his obligations. I AM SO SICK OF THIS HYPOCRITICAL ARGUMENT! I feel like we are trying to rationalize with kindergartners.

The outcome should be 100% that Snowden was justified.

One of my favorite ISQ debates. I'm still waiting for the most important debate though which is 9/11 and what happened that day because all the debates that are going on today are built on a false premise which is 9/11.

The real owners of the country, need secrecy, hence, not letting people know what their government does in their name.

Wolsey, this government can not seem to help the human trafficking victims in the US.

Snowden is indeed a hero, in that he held the constitution in higher regards than not only the nationalistic sense of being American, but also the capitalistic mindset of being selfish, which makes him more American and closer to the teachings of the Enlightenment fathers than merely being born on American soil would entail.

you can't compare metadata with letter envelopes - first of all they also contain actual location data (not just a sender's address which isn't necessary nor needs it be correct) for every single data set, also the sheer amount of data collected allows other, more personal information to be reconstructed very easily - like who is in a relationship with whom, places of work and residence, interests and political views etc.

I wish more people would watch this debate. I can honestly say it was humans exercising real emotions vs government robots. Just the half- hearted responses and dodging on the anti-Snowden side shows their attitude towards average Americans and their contempt for freedom of speech. Snowden was justified if he had to work in this corrupt system. I want to hear more about the content and not the meta-data.

I have a real question. What would've happened to Snowden under the Bush/Cheney administration?

Good topic. But I wish it was in 720p.

Snowden DID NOT hurt America. He did kick the Bully in the NUTS, and RAN LIKE HELL. Will Smith had a sit com about it, except he ended up in Belle Aire. Save yourself if you can.

Nicely done 'for' guys!

That's very strange how American people love their constitution. In other countries we just know that our constitution is a boring piece of legal papers...

Goota love how at 25:00 he was saying that if the U.S. was reading all of ISI's (Islamic State of Iraq) emails "prior" to 9/11 we could have avoided the attacks. Yet the alleged terrorists were almost all Saudis not Iraqi, and we said that it was Bin Ladin that planned it, not Saddom Housain!

I hate debate that starts it's justifications through scare tactics

I think we need to make a clear distinction between National Security "The Branch of Government" and our countries acualt state of security. That way when he says that edward snowden caused "A major setback in National Security," we understand that he speaking of the Agency!

Lol, yes a few thousand people "overseeing" is really quite efficient.. its not true at all that adding a bunch of people to the same positions simply diminishes the responsibilities of the individual overseers.

I have to say three of the four gentlemen in this debate presented fact and reason on an ascendant level.

Edward Snowden is was and always will bea hero, period, as is Julian Assange, although a world hero Assange is. Thanks to Assange, Snowden, Manning, Wiunner Kirakoia,and UK's Murray and yes even now Scott Ritter for resigning over Iraqi war.

25:40 Transparent fearmongering at it's most explicit lol. This fuckin' guy

So was it *just* harmless metadata being collected or was it important data that was damaging to the United States? Opposition needs to make up their minds on that one.

There is very little truth in this, with statements that are highly suspect. Should have used Douglas Murray.

Glen Greenwald is missing...???

He didn't achieve anything. What Snowden did was patriotic However they shut down that program renamed it and started it right back up. Probably in the same day. And they are still doing it today.

Perhaps the most influential underlying motive of Snowden was to gain notoriety with which he could then leverage into a long line of doe eyed sexual partners. A geek version of a rock-n-roll star whose reason for being in a band was not for the muse but rather for the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll of it all. This is clear in that he is currently sleeping quite comfortably in fine linen sheets courtesy of Vladimir Putin, fully able to sleep without his “driving” sense of liberty being trouble whatsoever. if Snowden were Thomas Paine he would have said “Give me liberty or give me panties”. These guys arguing that Snowden was right has simply said that the editors of the Guardian are better at protecting the public interest than the state….. on what basis I ask. The individual will have to rely on some insititution larger than their self….ALWAYS….media, state, church, markets, god or God. There are no other “sovereign” entities at play in this story. These pro-Snowden folk seek to move media into the “top spot” without acknowledging that just as the state is prone to manipulation the media maybe more so but without ever being forced to give account at the polls.

Snowden is a hero

So all you need to do is vote against your views in the first round of voting and the for your views in the second round. this way you guarantee a wider gap thus giving your side better opportunity to win.

Who does Daniel Ellsberg remind me of..that voice?

1:02:10 That sounds so disingenuous. It sounds like with the meta data collected on a massive level, it would be child's play to figure out the name, address and specifics.

I am torn on this to be honest. I think Snowden took far more information than was needed to bring out the problems that needed addressed. I think Manning did the same thing. I think Snowden did more good than harm, but I think he did harm.

1:09:20 lol is that the prankster andrew hales?

It's an obvious problem that these debates are determined by an audience in New York City, which is not representative of the entire US on many cultural, political, and economic issues. Regardless of the outcome of any debate, it bears keeping this in mind.

*FRONTLINE PBS May 13 & May 20, 2014 May change you mind or not*

Wow. Some people are simply impervious to logic. Seriously depressing. I wonder if we have all become so committed to our perceived "side" that conflicting information is simply ignored in favor of narrative consistency. Wait, of course you all have. Sad to see the New York pseudo-sophisticate scene has been so infiltrated. Otherwise it was a lop-sided debate in favor of the opposition. LOVE THE IDEA OF THIS THOUGH. I'll probably be donating.

he hasn't fled to Russia. That would be a dumb argument. He was locked in Russia by US revoking his passport.

I think at some point of the debate they all kind of accepted it was justified but rather if the means he used was correct.

Bad debate question. Snowden was Justified, -- for what? for forcing a national debate = YES for the slightest chance the might have endangered American lives? = HELL NO The only consensus that is derived from this particular debate was that Snowden was justified for enforcing a national debate, that's all. Nothing else.

LOVEINT: On his first day of work, NSA employee spied on ex-girlfriend arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/09/loveint-on-his-first-day-of-work-nsa-employee-spied-on-ex-girlfriend/ NSA keep tabs on your ex-girlfriend.

🐑Our Heavenly Father spoke of the lambs and i challenge the elite to move his Bible of Oath and see who got power.

48:23, is she sleeping? lol

First FTW! LOL. Can't wait to watch this

You lot need to come to Chicago more often.

1:25:06

One day this politically correct approach to a benevolent society will no longer exist. Like if a comment doesn't fit the margin of what is socially accepted it shall be deleted. And when that day comes I'll be there to tell you that I love you.

woolsey's presentation is surprisingly lame. juvenile, even... perhaps he thinks/hopes american people are juvenile as well? lol

Snowden is evil. The points the former cia director made should have been enough.