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9606. vonKreedon - 8/1/2013 6:00:05 PM Chiming in to agree with Judith's entire post. 9607. alistairconnor - 8/2/2013 1:15:04 PM Fair enough Judith, you didn't call him a traitor. You supported Ellsberg, but you consider Snowden a thief rather than a whistleblower, because he fled.
Ellsberg disagrees with you.
Ellsberg has a point on Snowden “Many people compare Edward Snowden to me unfavorably for leaving the country and seeking asylum, rather than facing trial as I did. I don’t agree,” Ellsberg writes. “The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago.” Ellsberg added, “I hope Snowden’s revelations will spark a movement to rescue our democracy, but he could not be part of that movement had he stayed here. There is zero chance that he would be allowed out on bail if he returned now and close to no chance that, had he not left the country, he would have been granted bail. Instead, he would be in a prison cell like Bradley Manning, incommunicado.” 9608. robertjayb - 8/2/2013 4:11:27 PM Here is another hero:
Julian Assange, "This has never been a fair trial.
"Bradley Manning isn't guilty of anything in that he's actually very heroic for demanding government transparency and accountability and exposing the American people and the rest of the world to the crimes committed by the American government.
The only victim in the case had been the US government's "wounded pride".
Assange, Snowden, and Manning know that the military-industrial-surviellance complex would like nothing better than to see them locked away to rot in a supermax prison. 9609. robertjayb - 8/2/2013 4:15:17 PM Assange comments from BBC. 9610. alistairconnor - 8/23/2013 9:48:12 AM 35 years for Bradley Manning (Chelsea Manning henceforth).
The USA are very keen to get their hands on Snowden. Their lackeys in the UK are happy to do stuff that would be illegal in the USA to help them, as the detention of David Miranda and the seizure of his data makes clear. (Get ready for revelations about how the UK helps the USA snoop on its own citizens, I'm pretty sure that'll come out soon.)
The US and the UK are clearly at war with the journalists Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras. Despite constitutional protection of freedom of the press, I think they would be well advised to steer clear of their home country for a while. Snowden's choice not to "face the music" should be seen in that light. I'm beginning to think that his asylum in "unfriendly" Russia is a pretty smart move -- from just about anywhere else, the US would have been able to apply enough pressure to get him "renditioned" home.
None of this is directed against the national interests of the USA nor any other country, nor is it intended to weaken or undermine the fight against terrorism. But the vast secret administrations that are looking over our shoulders need to be held to account. 9611. judithathome - 8/23/2013 5:52:05 PM And so does Snowden...he broke the law.
I guess you'd be hunky-dory with the situation if someone had stolen your personal information and that of your daughters...and Greenwald had abetted the thief by writing about your children in the Guardian. I have a sneaking suspicion you'd be howling for their hides. 9612. vonKreedon - 8/26/2013 10:56:47 PM I respectfully disagree with Mr. Ellsberg's assessment of Snowden's decision to not press his fight for openness in the US courts. It's pretty hard to be a cause celebre for openness when you're hiding, and your credibility takes a dive in the crapper when you're hiding in Putin's Russia.
It would be harder, and more illuminating, to try and disappear Snowden like Manning. Snowden's a civilian, Manning's a member of the military. 9613. Trillium - 8/27/2013 10:44:09 PM Judith, some of Snowden's point is that information about your children (and neighbors, and employers etc.) is being collected as a tool for later targeting, should they voice opinions that are unpopular with ruling authority.
9614. Trillium - 8/27/2013 10:48:52 PM I don't know what to make of the Syria mess. I'm not ready to turn Mennonite, but it does seem that war is inevitably a path of atrocities, more or less, no matter who's involved. It just ends up that way.
One article on this topic had an interesting comment from a man who opposes intervention. He said that we aren't qualified to intervene in the Middle East, just as he isn't qualified to do brain surgery, and it doesn't matter what the situation is. We should just leave it alone.
Again, I don't trust any of the news sources on this fiasco, and I feel sick to my stomach for anyone caught in the Syrian war zone because they can't escape... or stuck in refugee camps. A few years ago a friend's son did an internship for Al Jazeera in Syria; it all seemed stable then. I wish I could hear from the former intern about what he thinks of all this. I'd like to hear from people who live there (or lived there) more than our politicians' pronouncements about morality. It all seems immoral, every which way, and since when do politicians actually care about morality? it's manipulation. 9615. bhelpuri - 8/28/2013 7:16:55 AM The bombing of Syria is another criminal fiasco-in-the-making despite everything we know about Alawite stubborness. America is carefully setting itself up for yet another generation of meaningless warfare, and knows it. 9616. judithathome - 8/28/2013 5:02:36 PM I'm not sure ALL of America knows it, at least not the segment that seems to be voting people like Ted Cruz into office.
But I fear you are correct....one step toward war with Iran is not the best way way to walk, big stick or not. 9617. iiibbb - 8/28/2013 8:41:09 PM I wonder if I'll live to see peace in the Middle East.
I am certain most of the powerless are good people just trying to make a life. But, it is very hard for me to feel like the people who hold power there are dedicated to the prospect of peace or have any love for their own people.
It is very hard to believe that any side we choose would ever be an true friend or ally to the US. 9618. Wombat - 8/28/2013 10:33:24 PM I suspect that if there is military action, it will be some missile strikes at various uncontroversial targets with no follow-up. Hopefully, there will be little blowback. The both sides can get on with killing each other through--hopefully--conventional means. Frankly, if the French are so eager to avenge the "atrocity," let them take the lead. 9619. Trillium - 8/30/2013 7:48:11 AM Thank you Britain for voting down further entanglement with The Syrian civil war.
Now if US leadership will please respect the constitution and allow congress here to turn away from this disaster also...? 9620. ricknelson - 8/30/2013 2:02:52 PM The US appears willing to go alone against Syria.
At this point I've not seen incontrovertible proof Assad was behind the gas attack.
However, I have seen compelling evidence the rebels were responsible.
http://shoebat.com/2013/08/27/evidence-syrian-rebels-used-chemical-weapons-not-assad/
Shoebat as source does not instill confidence, but it does create clear doubt that Assad is responsible. 9621. arkymalarky - 8/30/2013 10:43:05 PM Hey RICK!!!! 9622. arkymalarky - 8/30/2013 10:46:01 PM Surely Wombat is right about the likely extent of US response. 9623. alistairconnor - 2/11/2014 12:45:18 PM Glenn Greenwald, Laura Poitras and Jeremy Scahill have launched their news/investigation site (funded by eBay founder, Pierre Omidyar, and his organisation Firstlook Media)
Welcome to The Intercept The Intercept has a two-fold mission: one short-term, the other long-term. Our short-term mission is limited but critically important: to provide a platform and an editorial structure in which to aggressively report on the disclosures provided to us by our source, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden. We decided to launch now because we believe we have a vital and urgent obligation to this story, to these documents, and to the public. Over the past seven months the journalists who have reported on these documents from the National Security Agency have been repeatedly threatened by a wide range of government officials. Sometimes, the intimidation campaign has gone beyond mere threats. These attempted intimidation tactics have intensified in recent weeks and have become clearly more concerted and coordinated. None of this will deter the journalism we are doing. A primary function of The Intercept is to insist upon and defend our press freedoms from those who wish to infringe them. We are determined to move forward with what we believe is essential reporting in the public interest and with a commitment to the ideal that a truly free and independent press is a vital component of any healthy democratic society. Our first two news articles at The Intercept are now published. The first, by Jeremy Scahill and Glenn Greenwald, documents the NSA’s use of highly unreliable methods to target individuals around the world for assassinations by drone, resulting in the deaths of innocent people. It relies upon a new well-placed source, as well as new NSA documents from the Snowden archive, to tell the story.
9624. Trillium - 2/17/2014 2:16:55 AM A friend who grew up in Venezuela sent this to me and asked that it be shared as widely as possible. I'm not usually quick to fall into line for those sorts of requests, but this one moved me:
what's going on in Venezuela
9625. Wombat - 2/17/2014 6:58:39 AM Ah, life in the socialist paradise that is post-Chavez Venezuela. Right Bhelpuri?
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