Moby Dick I I was watching this and thought "Wow. Olivier just destroys him." Luckly in the end it wasn't so bad.

+Demogorgon White I don't think John Oliver was trying to 'destroy him' more then he was attempting to bring a topic that most people are ignorant about to light in an entertaining manner while still actually being informative. Its sad, but as John Oliver so eloquently put it, "People just don't give a shit" about the serious matters that we are faced with these days...

ezekeil33 I realise that. And he did real good job making Snowden explain things in understandable way. Then again first part of interview seem a bit agressive. Just like MobyDickI said: You can see the man heart breaking when he realises that people in USA don't give a shit.

ezekeil33 I agree, besides these sorts of interviews usually have off-camera conversations to bring everyone to speed. It's not that candid. This interview was very well done, it's funny, it's catchy, it's important and it allows for the message to get more coverage. However, I think it still sad that the message was only temporarily noted. Security has only gone up, and resistance has not been that much more significant. It's pitiful, and it's going to get worse.

+Demogorgon White Take away the comedy from it, this was a pretty hard-hitting interview. Dude was pretty harsh, but at the same time, I think Oliver is actually sympathetic to Snowden on this, and I daresay I see more journalistic integrity here than with reporters and commentators that are not comedians.

Khorothis Perfect video description mate.

Very smartly put mate!

***** I dont agree with "stupid being normal". I agree with people being more and more concearned about the important issues and be able to debate about those issues, but not all concepts are easy to grasp for everyone. Its kind of like how Neil deGrasse Tyson is able to "translate" astrophysics' terms to people who are interested in it, but do not understand the complexity of its language/concepts. So i agree with Khorothis . Hopefully, this will get people more involved because they can relate to the problem.

Khorothis haha I read it in John Olivers Cadence tone!

Khorothis I found that in Academia or even high level corporate world (ive worked in both) that people do have issues relating back to the populus. I believe its in our best interest AND responsibility to translate their expertise to the average layman.

exactly this. comedy/satire shows somehow always do the best job at researching a topic and actually make it enjoyable to watch the resulting report

it took a Snowden to leak this info. It took a Oliver to frame it in a concerning way to the american public. Much like his framing on the picture he gave Snowden.

Oliver's really asking some uncomfortable questions with full confidence.

As far as journalism goes really Andrew Callaghan is doing the best. Oliver and most of MSM are just parroting what their federal handlers tell them

@@strangebrew1231 "federal handlers" lmao you must think highly of news anchors if you think they're all secretly in league with the feds. Also john would've shut the fuck up about coal if that was true.

its a well known issue that very few humans care about anything that doesnt IMMEDIATELY affect them. Its why "save the world" stories are almost never as compelling as "Save your Family", and coincidentally why so many apocalypse movies focus on the main character trying to save their family. We cant relate to a big picture problem

Same, I was a bit shocked at how crass Oliver was being at first, but he was exactly right at the end. Most American’s only care about things that relate to them.

@@BobTheTesaurus I believe they make these types of movies too make Americans THINK that we as a country are united and to make us belive that as Americans we are always prevail. Belive that the heroes (government)will always save America when enemies attack = you as a citizen will not question your heroes (governments) real intentions, because they are here to protect and save you.

@@BobTheTesaurus especially in the US! In Europe people are more aware of the problem.... 🤷🏻‍♀️

@@BobTheTesaurus people say the selfish gene doesn't exist, but we see it everywhere.

Hey! It's Bruce Willakers! Fancy seeing you here.

BruceWillakers :D Didn't know you watched this series. I'm right there with ya'! Also, good taste in comedy ;)

Earn Money for Motoring, Enroll in "Get Paid To Drive Programs In US' at VehicleCommercial.com

Anyone remembers Justin Long's birthday?

trepid23 June 2nd! HOW DARE YOU FORGET! He's going to be so upset this time! ugh...

Ha! Good one!

Genius! lol

You did it for him and that's all that really matters. So thank you.

I BROKE THIS COMMENTS LIKE BUTTON!!!

XD

I think he knew how stupid the average person was, but it still hurts to see it.

As stupid as they are its not completely their fault. You have poorly designed and underfunded school systems that get worse every year making them more stupid. Mass poverty and and overworking culture that makes putting food on the table and paying rent your sole purpose of existence. More sugar, salt, fat and other unnecessary crap being shoved into almost every food source making the country more obese, lethargic, unhealthy and lazy. Add all this up and being spied on would be the last of an average joe's concerns. The american government and corporations have successfully broken down the American fighting spirit and their desire for freedom when it comes to these matters.

He knew, but it's one thing to know, and other to actually see it.

This was like torture. You basically sacrifice your life for this cause and here comes a guy showing you no one gives a fuck... A bit too harsh from John

This is the happiness I get is he will never get to to return to the US and yes his relevance was a flash in the pan. Enjoy Russia sounds like an amazing new homeland.

True even though It was a bit heavy handed at times

26:03

I was thinking that too! :(

when did he say biggest traitor?

+Dan K 16 08...when snowden entered the room.."the most famous hero and or traitor"

It's at around 22:40

Agreed.

Chelsea Manning too?

Snowden is an American traitor, end of story.

Hero hahaha hardly... Troops fighting for your lives overseas and dying for their country are heroes. A guy sneaking around copying every little goodie he can as fast as he can, fleeing and running away like most thieves and buglers, and dumping all out there screaming I did it for everyone!!! Not reading what he stole and releasing it all anyway then begging a country that violates its neighbors sovereignty for protection (Cold War enemy again) refusing to come home a face the music like we expect our children to do when they break the rules. Congratulations your ""hero" is a coward and a traitor, enjoy your dick pic....

+Mercer806 I see you value loyalty over ethics. You'd make a great Nazi general.

Amen to that!

I was 100% in Snowden's corner in the beginning, now I'm not so sure. Only after re-watching this interview today, after having seen it when it first aired. He decided to open the pandora box and make the American people aware of what our government was doing, and the fact virtually no one in America even knows who he is tells me he failed miserably. Only making life no better for anyone else, and a total living nightmare for himself.

@@Gambit22003lol there was literally a movie made about him, maybe back then “no one” knew who he was but that’s ridiculous to say now. And also, you have the benefit of hindsight. Super fun to have I know, but try putting yourself in his shoes at that place and time. Had he done nothing, said nothing and kept his head down I would’ve called him a coward. Instead he risked his *entire life* to try and expose the fact that the US government is spying on literally everyone. And now he can’t go home, because he tried to make the world a better place. People like you kinda disgust me. You sit here with the benefit of hindsight and have the audacity to criticize him simply because he’s not famous, like Beyoncé or some bs. Wtf is wrong with you? THOSE are you values? You value someone only if they’re rich and famous? You don’t actually care about their actions or intentions, just whether or not some redneck hillbilly knows your name? Maybe you’re right, maybe Americans aren’t worth protecting.

It just shows how degraded we have become in the West...that's no fault of Snowden.@@Gambit22003

@@Gambit22003 I'm not really following how his message not getting the sucess he wanted somehow should mean you aren't in his corner anymore or that he isn't brave for it lol.

hard questions

I noticed that also.

Yeah, that kinda broke my heart

+Aida Aman this is fake

+G Mail sure, it is. And the Bowling Green Massacre is real

KRealm and look on the bright side, Jonh here helped him out through the manic of Dick Pics.

Check out the ted talk he did. He talked a lot there

Google it lol

www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&ei=lkIjVcTqGtO9ugTXm4G4Cg&url=www.ted.com/talks/edward_snowden_here_s_how_we_take_back_the_internet%3Flanguage%3Den&ved=0CB4QyCkwAA&usg=AFQjCNF8hz-o4_tJz1IEZNeksJprribAIw&sig2=V_diCW6ZIosQisUYe-YDUA

Problem is, as much as John Oliver brings disturbing news to the public eye, he still is the host of a comedy show.

***** why is that a problem?

I will go ahead and toss in a "Bravo" note from my end, if I can, please?🙏😂

The way you describe your leaders reaction. It's almost like our NSA has dirt on all your politicians lol.

I'm greek so pretty much anyone can Google how our national security changed its qualifications (to easier ones) to have our prime ministers PERSONAL SECURITY as chairman of our national security organization and LITERALLY SPY on political opponents. I don't understand how Americans are so fucking naive and don't understand that spying on your people without any litigation or even any criminal suspicion is extremely dangerous for democracy

It's also depressing to hear people get Snowden confused with Assange and WikiLeaks.

@@gho5trun3r68 When parents have the attention span of a cat thrown on the floor at a Stompin' Tom concert, they teach their little clones to be the same... Most folks 'hear' the newscasts but the stories are presented one after the other, and in such quick succession the general population doesn't actually get a chance to really LISTEN to what is being relayed, nor are they given time to critically think over such things, so they don't. Ergo misinformation and the world of media relations.

Can I hear what government to which you are referring?

It's sad isn't? When the media is corporate owned and linked to the government agenda, that's what you get. Everybody is in each-others pockets. Keep the American public afraid and keep them distracted. John Oliver is a fucken journalistic hero. Props to HBO as well, for letting him even do this kind of show.

Very well put! Let me quote you on that :)

Beautiful! I loved that!

This is satire. Political satire is notably good at pointing out problems everywhere, not just in the US.

I think "Welcome to America: where the comedians are the journalists and the journalists are the joke." would be more appropriate, but your version works too.

@@desireeochoa1354 Because I love america thats why!

@@ANURAGIAM You Are A True Patriot. 🇺🇸❤🇺🇸❤

truly

Amin brother, Amin you should just accept it as you accept that the sky is blue.

This was posted in 2015, it is now 2019 and the US has the most corrupt and compulsive lying president and criminal and treasonous administration in US history and supported all the way by the Republican party that refuse to facilitate impeachment proceeding of a Republican, no mater what, and the US leads the world in shootings, mass shootings and mass school shootings while criminal Trump makes a mockery of the US and democracy every day!

He was incompetent.

@@sillygoose635 Thank you! You can even tell that John thinks so as well. People want to fight any criticism of this man and I get why. Regardless of people's opinions of this man's motivations/actions, we all should be able to admit that he made mistakes. What person in that position wouldn't make some errors in judgment?

@@letsplay7828 at the end of the day he is a hero who did the right thing, and anyone honest can admit that of course he made mistakes

but the people only care about these in movies and don't want to know about this difficult topic even if it's important,it's just so boring that people not even give a shit.

+mad bro yeah make a movie with Bruce Willis of his story and maybe people would start giving a shit

lol, that's genius. go snowden!!! I'd hide you in my house if only the CIA wasn't tracking me right now :(

Omar Martell Guys they are making a movie about Snowden, that is supposed to be released this year (October I think). Though not starring Bruce Wilis.

***** Yeah, but the US government is naturally very insistent that they don't. And foreign Western media (such as here in Europe) really wants to follow the US lead in such cases. Besides selling fear of the "other", sells much better than selling fear of the US government. They also need to have space for all the useless junk people seem more interested in. Like who Paris Hilton has fucked now. Who the fuck cares? We have two lying and horrible people that should be put in jail running for the presidency of the US. And you want to talk about how big some shallow idiots butt has become? Civillian's are being MURDERED by a foreign government in the middle-east, and that isn't worth even a damn side note?

+MetaLink Pretty much, yeah. Ain't that a doozy?

+MetaLink What a Twest..

True dedication

Thanks for telling us James Bond..

nikhil khanna so trueeeeeeee

*brillent

The not even american part is the important bit. I actually believe more people from non-US know more about this issue than americans do.

Dead Pool I actually think youre right Ryan Reynolds, but in all seriousness I do believe that..

I think John Oliver describes the reason pretty well: For a lot of (of course far from all, though) US-Americans, the idea of intruding the privacy of people in other country's for (the USA's) national security isn't a very big deal at all. UNICEF data, the movements on foreign bank accounts owned by people who have never even been to the US is almost a whole different "world" of privacy. (It isn't really, of course, but it's easy to look at it that way.) For those foreign citizens, meanwhile, it's bordering on an agressive act - and we often find out that out own government knew of this and didn't bother to inform us either (I'm German... Merkel was pretty cool with the whole thing until it turned out that her phone data had been colelcted, too, which I realize is going even a step further, but she still didn't voice her criticism early enough). tl;dr: Almost everybody here seems to know Edward Snowden. There debate about this was strong, too - interesting to see how little reactions there seem to have been in the US; I didn't know that.

AJay Reads so true

There are so many random people in New York and every city in the world that don't know sh*t about anything.

Frank Schleicher I'm American and I consider him a hero as well :D

Well, our government screwed us over as well, the BND (foreign surveillance) declared everything on the Internet foreign and gave tons of data to the NSA, because they did not have the technical knowledge of the NSA. So they let German data be analysed by the NSA... Of course they said "We carefully filtered any German data", well, that German data is defined by the statement on the top. So we owe a lot to Snowden, and that was only one if the direct impacts, I could rant over an hour how the NSA is hurting global internet security, but that is for another time.

I am American and I think Manuela Schwesig is sexy

Frank Schleicher I'm from Sweden, And right now I'm not wearing any pants.

Charles Shilling​ What if I told you, I have no clue who you are taking about, I guess by the name it's a German celebrity, we don't really care about more than boring German politics, Ukraine, middle East and soccer, I get really mad when soccer is on top news before 120 kids being kidnapped by Boko Haram. Oh, and the NSA affair was on top news as it was hot, now you rarely see anything about it.

it's the responsibility of journalists to parse it in a way that is understandable. If a body didn't understand what Snowden did, perhaps they might consider changing to a different media source.

@ Raven Rose... agreed... it really shows what are priorities are and that gives a good clue as to why we're so stupid. Ask this same group of people when "Black Friday" is and I'll bet 99% of them will get that right.

So it's the END OF WORLD again... darn... I missed the last one, and the one before that and the one before that etc. I'll mark April 8th on my calendar so I won't have to bother with cleaning my house or doing my dishes that day... and if YOU'RE WRONG that means that YOU ARE THE ANTICHRIST... and I will report you to the Pope's secret Jesuit hit squad and they will take you out... I marked your site

I'd argue that it's the best episode. But that's just my opinion

All the best episodes were in 2015. When he started talking about Trump's every move - something for which information is obvious and satire unnecessary - it was all downhill.

I agree, these days whenever i see a non-trump episode i get happy.

Didn't get that.

MangoMotors Snowden was definitely made aware of what type of interview it would be

candice greene Hhahaha! I see what u did there :)))

Vaibhav Gupta "John Oliver answers brillent UKposts comments" was a segment

Eduardo Saldana He probably didn't need to be made aware, because I'm pretty sure he watched Comedy Central and follows Last Week Tonight like we do. But he was smart enough to understand the strategy of the interview.

Yet noone gives a shit. Of we were smart we'd ALL get rid of our smart phones. Collectively say we don't want this shit. I didn't vote or ask for this. I thought this was our country?

I agree completely. He sacrificed his life, just so we can be informed on how we are being governed. Like it or not we are surveilled but we should know how and when.

yeah, it was pretty bad

mequable well he actually is quite happy with the outcomes of his actions. He stated many times (and even briefly in this interview) that he didn't anticipate his revelations to bring so much attention overall. Despite those folks on Times square not giving a damn, his actions have clearly influenced the political discourse a lot.

aaron west Yes, apples are also red.

Yeah Mikhail, but to be confused with Julian Assange? He must have thought "son of a bitch".

I agree. It's scary what the average intelligence level must be in the USA. People are too busy sending dick pics. ; )

+SanchoKobe watch some tedtalks. americas media doesnt give shit about important news first cause britney news or whatsoever are cheaper than going to iraq or cover stories like this, if the propaganda does its job by keeping americans stupid and uninformed then the rest of the world thinks that is better than that and only americans have to pay, every fucking country recycles old and/or edited reportages to save money, propagandized people and leave us in apathy and oblivion, capitalism is safe and our minds closed to let politicians etc divide and conquer since the dawn of humanity. its not a new world order, or other effectively organised new age shit conspiracies to terrorizing people like grimm fairytales its the world order since humanity started to write

It was a hyperbole for USA Id say that about 40-50% if population knows about the issue, but as the 2 years have passed we are still immobile, about the NSA constant surveillance relying on 'if i dont search anything bad ill be dine online'... sacrificing 'little' freedom for safety...

+Tristan Möller Not all news is this informative. Most is just Grade A United States BS. And that is why those of us who care enough, go searching for sources usually foreign sources of real world news. Because American news only cares about what the fuck Celebrities are doing, funny videos, and is Kanye running for president?

+SanchoKobe "as uninformed as possible"... You do realize that this video is about the stuff you think the Government / Media is trying to hide from you, right? Also, I'm 40. I don't know a single person who could give a rats ass about Justin Bieber

+Ulises Medina Oh man, Kanye West should definitely run for president. That's just about the only way this election year could be any more hilariously dreadful.

Aurora Octane There's a little gray arrow at the top left of your comment that let's you edit your comment.

Lol

You are so true

+supercoolguy43 Too bad she wasn't educated enough to figure that out on her own without someone having to tell her about it. She probably does not see the irony.

Aurora Octane There is also a button that allows you to reply to comments.

So Americans only 'understand' serious issues if they are wrapped up in comedy?

they also understand them if they're not wrapped up. They just don't bother dealing with them.

+edgehill66 pretty much yeah...

Absolutely

pretty much, yeah. well, it's not so much "understanding" as it is "giving a shit."

Why don’t ya marry him? Lol jk I’m actually going to read his book

Actually the House Intelligence Committee explained why Snowden is a traitor and a fraud in a rare bipartisan report in 2016. They found Snowden caused tremendous damage to U.S. national security. He was not a whistleblower and was a poor performer and a disgruntled employee. He was and remains a serial exaggerator and fabricator and The NSA and other U.S. intelligence agencies have not done enough to prevent another massive unauthorized disclosure. I think to say a person who breaks the law is a hero is a bit crazy.

Deanna Delmar So does Hillary to be fair. Anytime someone is about to speak out against her or Bill they end up dead.

Good to know I'm not the only one re-watching old lwt shows

Oh he was very likely on a list already

Same here and I don't even live in the US

lol

good for you man. I was trapped in my own bubble back then

+TheSutton Well, at least u gots one a dem dere ejumacations unlike the people on the streets of New York apparently.

+TheSutton im 13 and from canada

+TheMagicalMysteryTour You know, that comment is... magical... mysterious even, if you will. But no one can say it was too tourible. Ba-zing!

+TheMagicalMysteryTour You need to be stopped. ahahahaha

FML, I am the king of puns and I was beaten. I resign.

+TheMagicalMysteryTour nice

+TheMagicalMysteryTour i didn't get it!:-(

citizenfour explains his opinion a little bit more. A great watch if you want more on Snowden.

but where would that have left snowden, it cannot be about our carnal need for information as so gracefully put.

its funny how they wont tell the ppl how to contact the previous youtubers. but as i always say- dont give up. they block me soon enough. just watch me. excuse misss spells as it may happen in forums as a single mom i am usually rushed

I like to think he only cut Snowden off when he felt he was headed towards saying something that was dangerous or too difficult for people to understand.

good point

I actually thought he was very rude and asked myself why Snowden kept up with his bullshit until I realized this

I still wish he would've done it in a way that was more respectful to Snowden, and at least I hope he was notified beforehand of John's intent and what he was going to do. I like what he was trying to do but the way he did it was very offputting for me. But maybe he did a good job at making me sympathize more with Snowden? I dont know I just had very mixed feelings.

Sad but 100% true and appropriate.

Consider the average is 100...50% is below that....ah, average conversations about the weather and average STUFFY STUFF is...well, do you get it? I want the general average to raise, and/or the up 50% just realize the vigilant- care they need to ALLOW(f'ed up, right? allow.) the lower 50% to live their perception of reality...to much is given, much is expected. Can the smart be those on the protective side of the rest...ah, please.

@E Fox you didnt get it, you're getting pissed off on your own dude. rewatch the video.

Well he had to. Snowden realized part way through the interview that John was trying to help him out. Took him long enough.

Balls of steel! Respect.

He chose John Oliver out of a multitude of different options. He knew what he was getting into and decided that Mr Oliver had the most effective and neutral approach.

@@griffindowns8426 donno about neutral. John olivers greatest strength is his ability to pick a side, but seem like he's giving both sides. The world is never black and white, it's shades of grey, if the news makes you feel like "this is pure good/common sense" or "this is pure evil/dumb" you know you are being manipulated.

@@ericjourdain892 now, literally balls of steel!

Noïl Paprika look how they treated Hillary over crimes trump is getting away with. Obama with the Tan suit and Trump has Kurds killed. Look how they made Dr Christine Ford a villain and the drunk, a fucking hero. Republicans in power need to be gone. Not just from office but from the face of the earth. They have voted against the best interest of America for companies who want to make a quick dime from you human piñatas. They always vilify those who fight the corrupt. I don’t even have to go through history before and after King to make a point about it.

Some of us will never forget.

Learn more about Snowden he isn't what you think ukposts.info/have/v-deo/oKdymq-qqWNh0X0.html

Toori Baba You’re watching John Oliver and you’re talking all this shit which was debunked ages ago. This isn’t a Fox News segment and trump isn’t watching.

@@sabastian4858 He is not defending her. And you are stupid if you think he is. He is saying that she was made to be worse than she is, when Trump has done MUCH MUCH worse things..... And people compare her wrongdoing to his - there are no comparisons, it's like comparing theft to mass murder and saying "Well both guys are the same"....

And if he keeps it up, he might end up having an 'accident' because he was a terrorist, as he was trying to "stimulate the crowds of simpletons to riot against the government", or something like that... Damage control at it's best... >:P "Calm down people, we don't have your dick picks! That doesn't mean some of our people don't keep them stored on their private data drives, nor that we don't have access to them, it also doesn't mean we didn't see them BUT! We *don't* have them here, so don't riot or we'll publish them so everyone can see your dicks! Right here, right now! And it doesn't matter if you're a woman - if you have a dick, we'll show it to the world! So keep calm and carry on, and in two years you won't even remember this, as we'll simply cover it up and everything will be fine once again! 'Cause 'Murica! Fuck yeah! Freeedoooom!" xD

Nah, I doubt that. Politically motivated hit jobs aren't a thing in this country. At least not these days. There's really no point. Most any slimy thing our politicians want to get done, they can do within the system without a problem. The only thing they actually fear is losing their jobs. So they just pass the bills that people get angry about so people stop caring and move on to whatever thing they were doing before.

Alex Harris It was just a joke :P But I I must say, I do agree with your opinion on the subject.

Haha, sorry. Sometimes you never know what things people are willing to believe on the Internet. XD

Alex Harris Or they could be a major thing that theyve gotten really good at covering up...

@Senna Taylor Well he was. Snowden just made a huge sacrifice and for the common person to not even know what his sacrifice meant is just heartbreaking. From a higher standpoint, I think John just did Snowden a favor: not make his sacrifice go to waste. I'm not an American, but me knowing all this perhaps wouldn't matter to Snowden. American kids would though.

At 23:07 , johns face should tell you the actual atmosphere during thqt time and that everything was a skit mixed with an interview. Im guessing it was edited to look harsh but ultimately was meant as a comedy segment.

oliver is stupid when it comes to interview

@@zfazzershroudvietcynide64e58 it was actually pretty well done. He oriented the information in a way average people would care about. Do you think normal people would pay attention to him talking about the inner workings of foreign surveillance when they didn't even care enough to know who he was?

Oliver was harsh and dismissive because he wants to keep his job. Had he acted sympathetic or supportive of Snowden, he would have been sacked by next week.

neozasshi at least it expired!

Alannis Croft Not really. They just reinstated it and called it the _Freedom Act_. www.aclu.org/news/senate-passes-usa-freedom-act

Alannis Croft totally! arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2015/06/justice-department-plotting-to-resume-nsa-bulk-phone-records-collection/

eddydelo i dont think you even read the article you just linked...

What a Swagget*The passage of this bill is an indication that comprehensive reform is possible.* *But it is not comprehensive reform in itself* Did you?...

Well, he did work in intelligence. So this kinda tracks.

He's straight bllshtng. Changing the subject & dancing around instead of answering

I was thinking the exact same thing

@@foreversocal1 Congratulations, you are wrong.

@@Vespyr_ what's your challenge? Snowden didn't answer the questions in regards to his treatment of classified documents & the responsibility of knowing the contents of the documents before handing them to media outlets & whether placing trust in those outlets to properly vet the info was the best decision

Same kind of thing happened during the Democratic Convention last year. The news was about to show Bernie supporters protesting when CNN just had to cut to Boys To Men or whatever that hack group is called who were performing inside.

DatK9 You do realize this is being cut and pasted?... Lol

Justin Biever is NOT a good distraction. Lol

that's the impression i got too, excellent and a very important episode

Yes. Yes. Yes! You achieved the remarkable goal of the MERITS of this whole interview. (and lots of people have made excellent comments here)

Most will say BORING and stop watching if they don’t have a funny looking guy with a British accent making jokes throughout

a sad commentary on our times

John in general is an unnecessary ass, almost all the time.

@@railpressureflip oh yeah for sure dude. how many more people are informed about the NSA leaks after this video who wouldn't have been previously? it can't be many, right? edit: shit i just saw the views

John is taking in the role of the average American, in other words he is acting like an uncaring idiot. It’s a nice way to make people change their opinions without even knowing they’ve changed their opinions. You have someone who gives a smart and astute argument backed up by information and evidence and then have someone represent an opposing party to that argument act like a moron and/or say things that can be easily disproved by the other person. There is a nice example of this in Assassins Creed Odyssey where you are trying to lower support for an Athenian politician or something like that and Socrates invites you on stage to play the role of the moron. You attempt to make claims that Socrates can easily disprove and so on.

Hicks > Carlin. Also, ever heard of "Epic Rap Battles of History"? Because they're proving your thesis invalid.

+kaustubh upadhyay Thats what you get from Andrea Mitchell! That Greenspan whore that MSNBC bought. Actually, calling her a whore is an insult to the word "whore".

I don't know what was the worst part, because of HIM or because was in Florida....

Are you fucking serious.

Fifth-Why such anger towards her? Please feel free to share articles etc to show how she has harmed you. Lets open this up to the 18 people who 'liked' the comment. Why do you hate AM so much?

Its like the stunts they talk about on Newsroom happening in real life fucking ridiculous how bogus our news and media has become there is no moral or ethical duty to inform its all about ratings money and entertainment

Sometimes a hero doesn't want to be seen doing the heroism, as to them the act of heroism isn't about making sure someone is watching or talking about them next day. Snowdon has an odd awkwardness about him, like the person in a group who laughs after everyone else is long finished..I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't score on the spectrum..And b4 anyone attacks me I score as well..actually most if not all artists, mathematicians, etc score so not an insult but a badge of honor in my mind at least. He has "loosened" up over the years since this was done tho.. And he is a hero of mine and a true patriot to what America and her citizens! I believe that his face was showing two thoughts simultaneously, possibly 3. 1 he was glad they didn't recognize his name because he didn't do it for fame, 2 affirmation that in fact Americans are illiterate to what their country does in their name but yet know every single thing their neighbors done the past week, an and sadness at the realization of the previous one was beginning to sink in that he risked everything not for money or his own UKposts channel,but the people he risked everything for only were con being laughed at due to the size of their sausage. A sadness most common sense literate are feeling now or should be.

Same thing today. New people.

showed me he likes attention and it dented his ego

@@AjarnSpencer it’s not even about attention, he sacrificed what he did to spread awareness-so seeing how unaware people still were probably made all the sacrifice feel a little pointless

I'm pretty sure this interview was scripted. We don't know the real Edward Snowden and never will. I still have a positive opinion of him.

@@lordflufffluff There are many other interviews with him and you can see just how well balanced and intelligent the guy really is.

Was it scripted...I’d say no. Was it edited so answers line up with questions to follow a narrative that the show wanted? Absolutely. Still a great interview.

He has a great joe rogan interview

@Gordon Fornow I think he was trying to act in a way that would get across to us, the audience, how these issues can seem disinteresting if they do not relate immediately to something an average american citizen cares about. It did make me cringe, but the fact that a bunch of adults in Times Square had no idea what Snowden did is telling. The public doesn't seem to care all that much, and I think the only way they had to get viewers to understand not only how important it is to care, ut also how dickish not caring comes off was Oliver acting like that. I may be looking too hard into this but Oliver suddenly fucking up to this scale is a bit strange

did he call Snowden a can of smelly soup?

@@user-vl9mj8th9c The audience being recorded is the studio audience. In which there definitely is one. I think you're confusing our post-Covid reality with pre-Covid reality. This was recorded FIVE years ago.

If this was shown on screen to a live audience, then there is a natural lag time from the video to the viewing. Especially when something is coming from Russia. But I suspect this was shown in the studio when John was there.

@@marlenen6130 i

@@willsofer3679 no iinn. My o

You pay a tribute to Dark Souls and your profile photo is Shameless season 4 ending, you made my fucking day

Pretty sure John Oliver does as well

+makiiavely well it's a D&D reference, not a Dark Souls reference...unless it's the name of the user?

same

CIV EDM If they don't dumb things down, 99% of the population wouldn't be able to understand it. This applies to basically any field.

Vigilante1O9 I know. But that was seriously dumbing it down. Might as well whipped out some crayons and started drawing pictures for everyone. I was under the impression that snowden was a bit disappointed with having to dumb it down as such.

CIV EDM It's good to dumb things down. Nothing wrong with that. It was a clever way of explaining.

CIV EDM To be fair, what John Oliver is doing here is taking his point (that problem is so complex many just let it slide), which in itself is very valid, to the extremes for added impact and humorous effect. I bet that Snowden, to some degree, was aware of this, and even if not, we're all humans who sometimes need a good laugh. I'm sure Snowden appreciated the interview. It was funny, but yet sincere.

CIV EDM At least someone with an audiance is brave enough to tell the truth. I tip my hat to him.

couldn't agree more!!!

Its actually not the media. They just do what they think the people want to be informed of. And the people dont want to get bothered by important news. They just want to be entertained. Otherwise Trump wouldnt be President. I follow him on Twitter just because it is fucking hilarious. And i am not even American.

Maybe also a possible explanation why we have, esp after this clip, the feeling that Americans (yeah yeah....not all of them, of course) are pretty uninformed, uneducated or just plain "stupid". Looks like America is all about lowest entertainment....sad

south park level shit

I half expected to hear the congresswoman in the background saying something to the effect of "are you fucking pranking me right now? seriously? this is for real?"

I did a spit take when I saw it. Then I just said: Oh it's MSNBC....

Boon2Dock But unfortunately, it's not just MSNBC who does stuff like that. Every "news channel" cuts to random celebrity misbehavior stories because fame is much more attention grabbing than some boring story on government programs.

yea at first i thought she was gonna be interupted by something stupid like Benghazi or some domestic shooting..............When i saw what it really was i literally got up out of my chair and crawled into a corner thinking to myself "whyyyyy oh whyyy oh how can you be this stupid."

Chad Walter Not to those of us who are worried about our freedoms that have been lost to the US regime

Comedy like Mark Twain's comedy ;3

Brilliant man.

Fully developed trumpanzee,maybe you should have watched "Frontline".

Immigrants. What would we do without them?

LMB222 nothing considering the fact that practically everyone in the US (unless you are Native American) is technically an immigrant

Agreed! But here is some good news: Just droppin by to let you know that Section 215 of the Patriot Act expired last May 2020. Hurrah for progress! (though it comes from a weird place, apparently Trump threatened to veto it, he didnt like it because he thinks it was helping investigators in the Russia probe, although per CNN's reporting the FISA courts had nothing to do with it; totally a weird backstory to why it is dead, but regardless im glad to know that it is! Hopefully congress doesnt bother renewing it.)

Old comment but yeah. Oliver was a mastermind in this interview, because he kept the context simple. Oliver knows that the government is pretty good at twisting words, and they did that with Snowden, so he kept the subject extremely simplistic and relatable. Not only that, he pretty much entered a "common american" character, where he didn't want to learn, nor did care about other people, except himself. That made Snowden change the entire perspective to how to address. Because Snowden didn't put any of that in a simple term, he is the "wikileaks guy". After Oliver made the transition from complicated government issues with "simple governamental abuse", Snowden is now hailed as a hero, which by the way, he deserves.

Actually this interview was very annoying for me. It really bothered me how John Oliver oversimplified this important issue, nearly turning it into a joke. It seems to me that Snowden was annoyed as well. Are dick pics really the most important problem here?

Of course it is not the most important thing. But what Oliver did here wasn't about going through everything like a more serious news outlet, but simplifying things for the mass to be able to understand what the problem is in a general way, something that had not been done before, and which is a fundamental step if you want it to change, since the more people understand a problem, the more they are to be able to have a somewhat informed way of talking about it. Even if it's about dick pics, people can understand and basically extrapolate the concept of "government is spying on all americans".

blingbling is not about being arrogant but yes unfortunally for the majority of people in certain countries unless you explain things in an extremely basic way including metaphors so people understand how it can affect them. The reality is the American public focuses on the wrong things and ignores the important ones most of the time. Goverment access to your everything doesn't seem like a big deal now because we have a fairly okay goverment (well... ill get back to you on that). But if you read any novels like Farenheit 451 and 1984, those society are not that many centuries away from our society. That public survey explains it better than anyone. You dont have to be doing illegal things to be worried that the goverments knows way to much about us. China is going to literally put scores on people that will not allow them to travel if its bad or get better internet if its good. Seems harmless right? But that is a dangerous precedent. Its not that irracional that some people don't love the idea of the goverment having too much access to its people. In the majority of phones now you even speak about lets say "cupcakes" to someone in front of you and then youtube starts suggesting cupcake recipes. We were literally talking about this yesterday in our bookclub. It may seem harmless that through your phone theres no privacy (even by just having it in your pocket) now, but again: dangerous precedent.

I actually hated this interview. Came away liking Snowden a lot more and Oliver a lot less.

Mad regards of appreciation to BOTH Edward and John... From up here, in the frosty air of west coast Canada!

Up to 37 million views now! Probably even more considering HBO!

And your junk.

37M worldwide => not many american znd the interview in the street, in a city like ny of all made it clear: people neither care, know or understand about it znd that was years back so elt make it clear: the guy sacrifice his life ..... for nothing, 0, nada

+James Kidd We are ALL under surveillance! loooooool

I really don't think "lol" is a good thing to tag on to the end of that sentence. It's like saying "the world is doomed, lol," or "my life is over, lol," or "the government is tracking my phone-calls, emails, and internet usage, lol."

Thats because he's Captain America, a well known figure and super hero. Edward Snowden was an ordinary data cruncher until he did what he did

Rockerchavnerdemo That's real life to you mate. Strange indeed.

Rockerchavnerdemo People trust Captain America. They felt he was justified in his second movie. Snowden was himself an NSA contractor who revealed the information during a Democratic presidency. Obama's very name is enough to get the partisans in line over stuff that would've been reviled if it were done by a Republican, and especially by a Bush.

Undertaker9711 Right, sure, but I mean in the context of people not 'getting' who Snowden is or what he did when there's an exceedingly popular film that illustrates (albeit very dramatically with lots of explosions- think theme and we're okay) the same conflict between liberty and security and how dangerous it is for people to have access to all that information. So it's not as if people are ignorant of it or can't fathom how important it could be (otherwise the movie'd flop). Ironically of course there were a few ordinary civilian characters in the movie that stood up to orders they couldn't follow, who were again treated as unambiguously good. So superpowers aside the movie tacitly backs Snowden. Thing about Captain America is that in his comics he always comes down hard on the side of whatever makes the moral sense, even to the point of turning his back on his country in some instances. And that's why he's a hero.

Rockerchavnerdemo I think you are given people to much credit. I think they were on captain america's side because his name has america in it. If they did a few things different with the movie, like have Captain america took over Hydra and said he was going to use those same weapons and surveillance to protect americans and to go after the bad guys and obliterate them, many would cheer america, america and fall right in line and think that is ok because captain AMERICA is in charge. What do you think about that scenario?

Thanks, KGB

Hello from the future. We fucked up.

Kenna hello from the future... You already know

He can't be pardoned because he hasn't been convicted. He would have to come home and face trial first, and I seriously doubt that's going to happen. Edit: JK you totally don't have to be convicted before being pardoned so now I feel like an idiot. Sorry.

Well not when Trump is president he won't.

​@@juliahcornell Was Nixon convicted of anything before Ford pardoned him???

@@ryanzeeland nope. Turns out I actually don't know anything

When ill be king, hen i will pardon Snowden

will broccolo #Ifeelyou

will broccolo I wasn't expecting Jon to be able to keep it comedic whilst keeping it a rather tough interview.

If was a perfect mix of both. Kudos.