Thread: Snowden made the right call when he fled the U.S.

Snowden made the right call when he fled the U.S.

By Daniel Ellsberg, Published: July 7


Daniel Ellsberg is the author of “Secrets: A Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon Papers.” He was charged in 1971 under the Espionage Act as well as for theft and conspiracy for copying the Pentagon Papers. The trial was dismissed in 1973 after evidence of government misconduct, including illegal wiretapping, was introduced in court.


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. The country I stayed in was a different America, a long time ago.
After the New York Times had been enjoined from publishing the Pentagon Papers — on June 15, 1971, the first prior restraint on a newspaper in U.S. history — and I had given another copy to The Post (which would also be enjoined), I went underground with my wife, Patricia, for 13 days. My purpose (quite like Snowden’s in flying to Hong Kong) was to elude surveillance while I was arranging — with the crucial help of a number of others, still unknown to the FBI — to distribute the Pentagon Papers sequentially to 17 other newspapers, in the face of two more injunctions. The last three days of that period was in defiance of an arrest order: I was, like Snowden now, a “fugitive from justice.”




Yet when I surrendered to arrest in Boston, having given out my last copies of the papers the night before, I was released on personal recognizance bond the same day. Later, when my charges were increased from the original three counts to 12, carrying a possible 115-year sentence, my bond was increased to $50,000. But for the whole two years I was under indictment, I was free to speak to the media and at rallies and public lectures. I was, after all, part of a movement against an ongoing war. Helping to end that war was my preeminent concern. I couldn’t have done that abroad, and leaving the country never entered my mind.
There is no chance that experience could be reproduced today, let alone that a trial could be terminated by the revelation of White House actions against a defendant that were clearly criminal in Richard Nixon’s era — and figured in his resignation in the face of impeachment — but are today all regarded as legal (including an attempt to “incapacitate me totally”).
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.
He would almost certainly be confined in total isolation, even longer than the more than eight months Manning suffered during his three years of imprisonment before his trial began recently. The United Nations Special Rapporteur for Torture described Manning’s conditions as “cruel, inhuman and degrading.” (That realistic prospect, by itself, is grounds for most countries granting Snowden asylum, if they could withstand bullying and bribery from the United States.)
Snowden believes that he has done nothing wrong. I agree wholeheartedly. More than 40 years after my unauthorized disclosure of the Pentagon Papers, such leaks remain the lifeblood of a free press and our republic. One lesson of the Pentagon Papers and Snowden’s leaks is simple: secrecy corrupts, just as power corrupts.

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In my case, my authorized access in the Pentagon and the Rand Corp. to top-secret documents — which became known as the Pentagon Papers after I disclosed them — taught me that Congress and the American people had been lied to by successive presidentsand dragged into a hopelessly stalemated war that was illegitimate from the start.

Snowden’s dismay came through access to even more highly classified documents — some of which he has now selected to make public — originating in the National Security Agency (NSA). He found that he was working for a surveillance organization whose all-consuming intent, he told the Guardian’s Glenn Greenwald, was “on making every conversation and every form of behavior in the world known to them.”



It was, in effect, a global expansion of the Stasi, the Ministry for State Security in the Stalinist “German Democratic Republic,” whose goal was “to know everything.” But the cellphones, fiber-optic cables, personal computers and Internet traffic the NSA accesses did not exist in the Stasi’s heyday.
As Snowden told the Guardian, “This country is worth dying for.” And, if necessary, going to prison for — for life.
But Snowden’s contribution to the noble cause of restoring the First, Fourth and Fifth amendments to the Constitution is in his documents. It depends in no way on his reputation or estimates of his character or motives — still less, on his presence in a courtroom arguing the current charges, or his living the rest of his life in prison. Nothing worthwhile would be served, in my opinion, by Snowden voluntarily surrendering to U.S. authorities given the current state of the law.
I hope that he finds a haven, as safe as possible from kidnapping or assassination by U.S. Special Operations forces, preferably where he can speak freely.
What he has given us is our best chance — if we respond to his information and his challenge — to rescue ourselves from out-of-control surveillance that shifts all practical power to the executive branch and its intelligence agencies: a United Stasi of America.

Read more on this topic:
Eugene Robinson: We can handle the truth on NSA spying
The Post’s View: Plug these leaks
Marc A. Thiessen: The danger of what Edward Snowden has not revealed
David Ignatius: Fallout from Snowden’s sharing of NSA secrets





http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...y.html?hpid=z2

Socialist Latin American countries offer Snowden asylum

AIM Newswire — July 8, 2013






WASHINGTON — The more time goes on, it seems a few countries have chosen to defy the United States by hiding wanted NSA leaker Edward Snowden. After Russia, only Bolivia, Venezuela and Nicaragua are offering him political asylum.
Reuters reports that Snowden is thinking of moving on from his temporary home in a Moscow airport terminal. Iceland also offered asylum, but the country’s parliament put the decision on the back burner.
The list of countries that withdrew from consideration had grown to the extent that some wondered, will Snowden ever find a home?
U.S. President Barack Obama is taking a backseat approach to the case and asked the press on why he should have to directly talk with Chinese and Russian leaders to pressure them to hand Snowden over to the U.S. authorities.
Bolivian President Evo Morales, Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro and Nicaragua’s Daniel Ortega officially offered Snowden asylum in their countries. All of these three countries have been hostile toward the U.S. under these leader’s presidential terms.
Morales denied American drug agents from entering the country to combat the Bolivian drug trade, while Maduro echoed his predecessor Hugo Chavez’s virulent and critical anti-American rhetoric upon his election (which is still disputed). Ortega has had icy relations with the U.S. due to his leftist-socialist ideology.
But, Ecuador had offered Snowden asylum until its authorities decided against it. People had thought it would be Snowden’s hideout because it is hiding Wikileaks founder and wanted criminal Julian Assange.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was apparently upset at Snowden’s decision to withdraw his application for asylum in Russia after Russia appeared to be the only realistic location for Snowden to hide from American authorities.

http://www.aim.org/newswire/socialis...nowden-asylum/

Liberty is Rising Truth in Media Project

We are speaking truth to power through media, culture, and technology to empower the voice of the people toward liberty and freedom.

It does not take a majority to prevail... but rather an irate, tireless minority, keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men.” - Samuel Adams
Problem:

1. Our culture is truth deficient. The historical centers of truth have broken down.
2. The average U.S. citizen has lost their voice to the affluent with money and power.
3. Voters are disenfranchised from the party system. The rise of “independents” has simply defined what people are not, but has struggled to bring clarity to who they are.
Who is Ben Swann?

Ben Swann, Investigative Journalist
I have spent 14 years working as a journalist in broadcast news. I won’t bore you with all the details but suffice to say I began my career as a news photographer and moved up the ladder to reporter, morning anchor/reporter, prime time anchor/reporter. Along the way I won two Emmy Awards and two Edward R. Murrow awards. For a number of years I covered Mexico’s drug war. At that time, I realized that national media was not interested in the truth of what was happening in Mexico or the problems associated with the failed “war on drugs” in the United States.
In 2010, I moved north to Cincinnati, Ohio to take a prime time anchor job with WXIX and there I became the producer/writer/anchor of a segment called “Reality Check”. It was while covering the 2012 Republican Presidential primary that I began to confront the problems in the American electoral process, the stranglehold of America’s two party system and the suppression of voters' choices by mainstream media.
In 2012, I became the first journalist in the nation to confront President Barack Obama directly in an interview about the Constitutionality of his “kill list” and the only journalist to confront Mitt Romney about the railroading of duly elected delegates during the 2012 Republican National Convention.
Thanks to a passionate following, my work has become an internet phenomenon with over 10 million video views in over 140 countries.
My Passion For Journalism


Journalism in its purest form is a high calling. In its worst (current) form, it is nothing more than propaganda and distraction for the masses. The Fourth Estate, as journalism has historically been called, was derived for the purpose of holding elected leaders, legislators and public servants accountable to the people. Nearly every major issue the United States faces today; loss of civil liberties, the drug war, foreign wars and intervention, the growing police state, the endless printing of currency, the rise and fall of the petro-dollar, drone strikes, American soil as a battlefield, total disregard for rule of law, and so on, can be directly traced to a lack of exposure by, or understanding from journalists.
Journalism is more than just creating and reading headlines. When any lawmaker, public servant or military member takes an oath of office, they make that oath to the Constitution or rule of law. Journalists similarly should be fighting to protect the rule of law, because it is our Constitution that protects all people, citizens and non-citizens, Republicans and Democrats, the 1% as well as the 99%.
This is a chance to restore the 4th Estate
Unfortunately, journalism is no longer the profession of watchdogs, rather it is the profession of entertainers.
Solution:

Liberty Is Rising Truth In Media Project

New Look For Reality Check
This project is a three step process. The first step in that process happens here on Kickstarter with the creation of high-end, high-quality Reality Check style segments that can be presented to the public via streaming content sites such as Netflix, Hulu, Spotify, or devices such as Roku and on BenSwann.com.
With the funding we receive from our fans through Kickstarter, we will produce 100 high quality five to six minute digital cinema episodes of "Ben Swann Full Disclosure". By launching this project independently, the restrictions on subject matter by corporate bosses will not be an issue.
Shooting With Richter Studios
Why do the "videos" need to be so high quality? Simple, we need to spread this message as far out as we can. Like it or not, we live in a very media-savvy culture and if the public at large is to take this kind of journalism seriously, they need to be able to hear and see it in a way that is deemed credible. You can watch network news programming all day and never hear anything of substance but it sure looks pretty. If we are to educate and inform the public on issues of war, the drug war, monetary policy, drone strikes, the NDAA, CAFR, crony capitalism, etc... it MUST be done in the style and format generations of Americans have been trained to accept as "professional".
The films will be distributed via multiple platforms. First, we continue to share new content via Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, BenSwann.com, and continue to allow alternative media blog sites to use our films without charge and embed them, as long as they are shown in their entirety. This is important because we want as many people exposed to our journalism as possible. Also, as I mentioned, we are going to attempt to spread these films into new arenas such as streaming sites like Netflix, Hulu, and Spotify. Again, the goal is to engage the largest audience possible.
In addition, We will also be rolling out a highly interactive, informative website that will include all Full Disclosure episodes, a forum, Ben Swann podcasts, and a mobile app.
Keep in mind, at no time in history have we seen this kind of collision between technology, information and opportunity.
Why Kickstarter?

Ben Swann Full Disclosure
I want you to be my financiers and my audience so I can pursue stories and change that no other media outlet will touch. I don’t have a desire to pursue sensationalism or scandal for the sake of “making a name” for myself. By now, those who have followed me know that I am in pursuit of truth no matter where that pursuit takes me. Together, I believe we have a chance to shatter the current media model and create something that will shape our nation moving forward.
Why Should I Be A Part Of This?

Crowdsourcing returns power to the people
This might be the easiest question of all. There is a generational change in how American's view journalists. For people under the age of 35, the majority say they get their news from.. wait for it... the Daily Show! That tells me two things.
1. Americans under the age of 35 consider “comedians” journalists
2. Americans under the age of 35 consider “journalists” a joke
I have heard from literally tens of thousands of people who say that I am helping to restore journalism. That the work I have been doing puts networks to shame. Simply put, this is a chance to take that journalism to the next and best level. One where we are not dependent upon an established news network. That means we have the power to cover any story no matter how controversial, to give the people a voice in the stories we investigate on their behalf, and a process by which we don’t simply sit back and complain about all that is wrong in America but where we act to change things.
What do I do?

To become one of our backers, just click on the big green button to the right of our video. Kickstarter will ask you for your pledge, which reward you want, and how you want to sign up. Signing up is easy; you can even do it through Facebook.
Ron Paul Said It Best:

Jeremy Richter, Ron Paul, Ben Swann
I recently had the chance to interview Dr. Paul and we talked in depth about the changing media landscape. How has media changed for a man who has spent his entire life attempting to change the system?
""When I first started in politics in the 70's, we basically had three major networks and they were very, very close together on philosophy…..But now the options are great…..Now the information is going out differently. It's going out on handheld devices and computers and telephones and they can turn you on and off when they want. They have so many more choices.
Dr. Paul then added: "I'm optimistic that things are going to do well and I'm optimistic because you're (Ben Swann) involved in this fight with us."
Please support the first step in our project. To learn more, about this project and our larger platform, go to www.benswann.com






Risks and challenges Learn about accountability on Kickstarter

The biggest challenge about this project is without question the distribution model. While we will certainly be able to place our video content on BenSwann.com, YouTube and even create our own Roku channel, there is no guarantee that Hulu, Netflix, or Spotify will be willing to carry our content. In order to compensate for the fact that we are still an unknown commodity we would likely place that content on those sites at no upfront cost in order to ensure placement. In exchange this would mean that no one site would be allowed to exclusively license our content which would make it available to bloggers and independent media as well.
Another challenge we face is creating the quality product and simultaneously keeping relevant subject matter for the news cycle. We will accomplish this by connecting with quality writers and continuing to rely on social media so that we can remain on the forefront of the news cycle.

FAQ

Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.

video at link below

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...edia-project-0