He only bought time with that information - and that he knew there would be people willing to shield him if they had a copy.

He came in and left with the intent of betrayal.

Any glorified status left him when he decided to go about taking whatever he could, hoping that some of it had PR value.

Given how consoles have gone with China, I wouldn't be surprised to see a corresponding increase in piracy.

The problem is that it's more than just the military, it's practically everyone there with any competency in computers. The rest are accessories.

Oh, and it doesn't take cheap shots at the NSA to know that.

Well, it doesn't matter if the US helps its friends and acts to defend against enemies (such as the BRIC countries and their allies).

It'll be more pleasant when people are penalized for aiding and abetting anti-US countries like China. Now if it only extended to guest worker programs as well.

There's always the rest of the world(read: countries within the NATO-defined First World) that doesn't want the US's head on a plate.

The only solid (and court-tested) proof exists on the Chinese against the US (and about every First World country).

Snowden will only count when he and his case comes before a US court. Until then, any statements, materials, or positions held by him / his supporters are only conjecture.

The Chinese don't have solid proof to the level that the US has on the Chinese. The Chinese only can cite a person that handed over US secrets, while the US can cite private and public sector examples (much less Chinese history of stealing from their own).

That, and it doesn't look like the US wants much from the US aside from a compliant labor pool.

Given how much they've already stolen from us and other First World countries, it would be a good thing.

A different time, and for a different objection completely - but don't let that get in the way of your rant.

Then again, you're asking for an educational model that is not only less free, but also reduces opportunities for the rest of one's life based on that lack of freedom. If you want mandatory streaming in education, move to another country.

Given that most international academic testing doesn't control for admission criteria, the testing itself is defective. Countries that engage in mandatory streaming can look better academically(Europe, Asia) versus those that accept about everyone(US mostly).

Guest worker programs are the new company town. Between the restrictiveness of transferring between employers, the conditions usually encountered in "body-shop" agencies, and the nearly non-existent naturalization rate, you have all the same conditions experienced in the old company town.

No wonder employers will do everything to ensure that no citizen can take that spot, since it is the most business-friendly type of employment.

Only if it's in a country that maximizes business friendliness to the detriment of its own population.