Edward Snowden is probably the second most notorious whistle-blower of the currently ongoing millennium, only to be shadowed by the founder of Wikileaks, Julian Assange. Snowden has managed leak several details on top-secret U.S. and British surveillance programs which are now considered to be a mass breach of privacy and freedom. The U.S. government retorted by charging Snowden with theft of government property, unauthorized communication of national defense information, and willful communication of classified intelligence to an unauthorized person (June 2013). Snowden is currently on the run from the United States Government.
Snowden was born and raised in North Carolina, U.S.A. He grew up reading Japanese manga and later studied the Japanese language. He also has a basic understanding of Mandarin and has an obsession with martial arts. On official records, he lists Buddhism as his religion.
After completing his unsuccessful education, Snowden decided to enlist in the United States Army. He wanted to combat in the Iraq war. He felt that it was his destiny to free people from oppression and tyranny happening around the world. Irony really has a twisted sense of sarcasm as now he must fight for his own freedom. Unfortunately, his days in the army were cut short after he broke both legs in a training accident. After his recovery, he started working as a security guard for the Center for Advanced Study of Language at the University of Maryland. Snowden later received a job offer by the CIA as an IT Security agent, which he happily accepted. According to The Guardian, Snowden left the CIA to join an NSA contracting company, later identified as Dell (Shocking, isn’t it? Dell was a contractor for the NSA). For a single man in America, earning $200,000 per year is well beyond a shabby lifestyle. After learning about NSA's surveillance programs, which clearly violated the constitution, he transferred to Hawaii by accepting a lesser payroll of $122,000 per year. This is where the plot thickens.
Edward Snowden
Christ or Anti-Christ?
- Srimoudgalya Sanagavarapu