In contrast to my cynical comments following the disclosure last week in The Guardian, I am now quite convinced that this whistle-blower is authentic and the information that he disclosed about massive spying on US citizens was not deliberately leaked to the media by government operators.
With such a massive program the probability that persons of conscience will provide leaks is very high. More and more such people (for example, see this), in contrast to our sociopathic masters and their collaborators, are now doing so. The fact that he went public with this disclosure is probably the safest way to save his life. With widespread public knowledge of his actions--and it is getting extensive media coverage--ruling class directors will likely engage in more conservative tactics for the immediate future. I predict that they will wait until the public furor dies down and the story is forgotten by the media, and hence the public anger fades--then they'll move against him. It goes without saying that if they, the directors of our police state (known in polite circles by the Orwellian term "national security state"), can smear him in any way based on any dirt they can dig up, they will. In any case, it will be interesting to see how they deal with Snowden.
You may also want to read what Yves Smith has found in an early survey of reactions from various sources across the political spectrum.
I share his fear that he so eloquently expressed in the interview:
The greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change.
People will see in the media all these disclosures, they'll know the length that the government is going to grant themselves power unilaterally to create greater control over American society and global society. But, they don't be willing to take the risks necessary to stand up and fight to change things....The video interview is obviously an extract of what is described in the article as an interview lasting several hours.