This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
The U.S. vs. Edward Snowden: Does the World Not Have the Courage or Decency to Protect Mr. Snowden?
For previous articles by the author go to: Gordon Gekko's Blog - http://www.gekkosblog.com
Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary — the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there's a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trimtab. It's a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trimtab. Society thinks it's going right by you, that it's left you altogether. But if you're doing dynamic things mentally, the fact is that you can just put your foot out like that and the whole big ship of state is going to go.
So I said, call me Trimtab.
--Richard Buckminster Fuller
Who is Edward Snowden?
Actions speak louder than words, and by his actions alone Edward Snowden has proved himself to be a real American Hero, a Patriot and somebody worthy of being called a Citizen of the World. The sheer amount of personal risk he took was by no means trivial, and the reason he took it for makes it even more significant. I know some people are doubting his credentials and motives now, but it only exemplifies how cynical and cruel we - our current so-called “civilization” - has become. I’ve read his posts on Arstechnica, and to me he just comes across a normal kid of our generation who’s sick and tired of the corrupt and decaying system – the only difference being that he had the courage to do something about it. Moreover, the fact that he’s being hounded by the western global leadership only further goes to prove that he’s done NOTHING wrong. He put his and his family’s life on the hook just so millions could benefit. He had the courage and conviction to stand up to the most powerful government and military force in the world on the grounds of principle alone. He EXACTLY represents what America was and is all about – an individual standing up against tyranny, an individual standing up for his beliefs - and he is doing EXACTLY what the Constitution of the United States demands of its Citizens. And instead of hailing him as a patriot for being a defender the Constitution, many in the public are calling him a traitor. Indeed:
Every nation gets the government it deserves.
--Joseph de Maistre
So far people of the United States have shown to be extremely deserving of their current government.
The morons and mafia agents in Congress (who, by the way, had special exemptions for themselves from NSA surveillance – the mind BOGGLES at the SHEER HYPOCRISY here) decrying Edward’s actions as treasonous are themselves guilty of treason. They have utterly and completely FAILED to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Read the following from the Declaration of Independence and tell me if we are in a different situation today or if Edward’s actions were not aligned with what the Constitution required of him (or all of us, for that matter):
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security
The oppressive regime of the current US Government - running an increasingly violent global empire whose sole aim is to exploit people for the personal benefit of the few - exactly fits the definition of the type of Government the founding fathers were trying to overthrow.
Ironically, the ONLY saving grace for the US in this whole fiasco is probably the fact that Edward Snowden is an American. If the founding fathers were alive today, no doubt it would pain them greatly to witness the transformation of the country they founded into all out tyrannical dictatorship. But seeing Americans like Ed Snowden exist, seeing the words they wrote hundreds of years ago continue to inspire and enlighten people in current generations , they would know they had done something right – that their efforts had not gone completely in vain. Edward, we salute you proudly brother, and wish that there are more like you in America and all other countries around the world who have the guts to stand up to increasingly fascist (but proclaiming themselves to be “democratic”) governments. Have no doubts, you have done the right thing, even though at great personal costs for which the people of this world shall forever be indebted. The world would be a much a better place if there were more like you. You are definitely a “Trimtab”.
The Rationale for Global Spying
The US government has provided as justification for its global spying operations the need to protect itself from “terrorists”. The fact of the matter is that if you do some digging, you’ll find that most of the so-called “terrorist organizations” in the world today were either created or supported militarily/financially at some point by the US government itself. Case in point is the current dictatorship in Egypt headed by an American puppet:
Saddam was a US Government puppet before he went rogue, the Taliban was also created by the CIA, among many others. Currently the US is busy arming terrorists in Syria. In fact, while it pretends to be running scared of “terrorists” all around the world – the US Government is itself the biggest terrorist on Earth. The people of Egypt have realized the truth, so must the rest of the world. The truth of the matter is that the people controlling the US government need these spying operations in order to have information on and thus control over the global slave population which are needed to run their empire.
A Corrupt and Bankrupt Global Bully
The US Government is a morally and financially bankrupt entity that in its megalomaniac delusion expects the world to “obey” it. It has the GALL to demand the very countries that it’s openly mocking and decrying to obey its demands. It is threatening them with “consequences”.
"We've got to start dealing with Vladimir Putin for what he is. [Putin is] an old KGB colonel apparatchik who disdains democracy [and] continues to stick his thumb in our eye."
"Mr. Snowden's claim that he is focused on supporting transparency, freedom of the press and protection of individual rights and democracy is belied by the protectors he has potentially chosen - China, Russia, Ecuador, as we've seen,"
"I wonder if Snowden chose Russia or China for assistance because they are such bastions of Internet freedom...[I] would be deeply troubled [if Russia and China knew of Snowden’s plans] and there would be, without any question, some effect and impact on the relationship and consequences.”
(All emphasis mine)
And instead of making use of the opportunity that destiny has provided them to call the US government on its bullshit and expose its hypocrisy; instead of using the opportunity to show some semblance of gratitude for Mr. Snowden’s efforts to reveal the US Government’s attacks on their sovereignty and do the right thing; instead of showing the world that US hegemony will not be tolerated and people who expose tyranny and risk their lives in service of humanity will be protected; instead of showing the people of this world that there are truly independent nations unwilling to accede to the demands of a dictatorial regime, none of the other countries has done anything. Ecuador and its president Rafael Correa seems to be a petty little man who’s in it only for the fame. He was happy so long as he was gaining all the popularity and sympathy from his nation and the world with the Assange case, seems suddenly to have become goody two-shoes obedient little boy of the master when Biden came with a beating stick and Assange’s role and media coverage in the case threatened to overshadow his:
“The moment that he arrives, if he arrives, the first thing is we'll ask the opinion of the United States, as we did in the Assange case with England," Correa said. "But the decision is ours to make.”
Bullshit. BULLSHIT.
But is this what we have come to? The world is relying on one small unpredictable nation to do the work that must be shouldered by all? Why doesn’t a single nation have the courage to stand up to the Imperial American Government? It can’t be military power, for it is unlikely the US is going to launch a military strike, especially against countries like China or Russia just to get Snowden back. What then, the United States won’t “buy” any more of your stuff with borrowed and/or freshly printed paper money? Great. Who the hell wants a deadbeat customer offering nothing in exchange but worthless paper money? The world must realize that the US Government is a paper tiger simply surviving on the basis of running a global financial scam. All its power is based on lies and deception which is EXACTLY why disclosures, such as by Snowden, threaten it to the degree they do and why the US Government is hell bent on prosecuting the leakers. The US government is a bankrupt entity pretending to be a superpower expecting the world to obey its dictats. It’s time the world showed the US a mirror and told the emperor he’s naked.
Feckless Countries and Politicians
Sadly, the countries which denigrate the US have themselves shown to be no better. They claim to be “independent” nations yet are afraid of offending the United States. None of them seem to be able to stand up for themselves or for the greater good. The feckless politicians ruling them are hiding behind “laws” and technicalities but who otherwise have no hesitation in looting the public treasury or starting wars or killing their own citizens when their personal agendas or profit motives are involved. Apparently Mr. Snowden cannot travel because his passport has been (unlawfully, mind you) revoked. So what? Are we supposed to believe it is so difficult to issue him one by one of the other nations? Let me tell you, if he were a spy for some nation or even a low level operative helping the banksters in one of their looting schemes, TEN passports would have been issued to him instantly. This only goes to show that most governments today, “democratic” or otherwise either belong to or are subservient to the same criminal mafia. They have demonstrated that they aren’t independent nations but mere colonies/puppet states of the US Empire. In fact, most of the political leadership of the world seems to be in cahoots with each other sharing the same bed. These so-called countries are mere prisons with their political “leaders” prison wardens appointed by and/or serving at the pleasure of the US government. They are happy to exploit their prison populations for personal enrichment but with the permission of and in collaboration with the US and the cartel controlling it. This is the only explanation for the deafening global silence and inaction in the Snowden case.
Mr. Snowden’s Shameful Treatment
Letting Mr. Snowden loiter indefinitely in a transit area, is this how the world, especially Russia, want to be seen and recorded by history as having treated those have made the ultimate sacrifice for the greater good? Whatever treatment the US government has in store for Mr. Snowden, he is already being punished by being forced to sit inside an airport terminal in God knows what conditions. Is this how the world intends to thank Mr. Snowden for his services? To the leaders of Russia and China: It’s not some spy we are dealing with here – here is a person who has taken a stand to protect the greater good – and unless, like Europe, you were a subscriber of the NSA “data sharing plan” – exposed massive US spying on your government and citizens. Instead of celebrating and taking the opportunity to reveal the hypocrite bully that is the US Government, you are debating and hiding behind technicalities? It’s your chance. If you fail now, you lose your face in the world and your standing to criticize the US on ANY issue EVER. Moreover, it gives us reason to believe YOU WERE IN ON IT.
The world needs to come together if this banking cartel’s US Government’s tyranny has to end. If the rest of the world can’t protect somebody like Snowden then they have no right to complain against whatever atrocities the US Government commits. They have NO right to complain against NSA surveillance.
Today I am – as we all must be - ashamed to be a part of this world, this race and the current feckless iteration of the human civilization. We have shown ourselves not worthy of the courage and sacrifices of people like Mr. Snowden. The way Mr. Snowden is being treated, it almost seems better not to do anything and leave this world to the fate it deserves. If there is not even one person or one country able to stand up to this tyranny, we are all doomed to exploitation and extinction and rightly so. If we don’t do something NOW, then the day is not far when there will be a Nazi concentration camp in each and every country on earth. No more Snowden’s will sacrifice themselves for us.
A Warning to Global Politicians
Let’s be very careful about who we call "traitor". Edward Snowden is one of us. Bradley Manning is one of us. They are young, technically minded people from the generation that Barack Obama betrayed. They are the generation that grew up on the internet, and were shaped by it. The US government is always going to need intelligence analysts and systems administrators, and they are going to have to hire them from this generation and the ones that follow it. One day, their generation will run the NSA, the CIA and the FBI. This isn’t a phenomenon that is going away. This is inevitable.
And by trying to crush these young whistleblowers with espionage charges, the US government is taking on a generation, and that is a battle it is going to lose.
(All emphasis mine)
Rest assured, people around the world are watching the Snowden case VERY carefully. The means adopted were peaceful and motives genuine. If they determine that the world politicians will not support honest conscientious people and their actions; if it comes to light that the world governments were pretending to be surprised while being neck deep with the NSA and US government in this quagmire, no one else will offer themselves at the altar – not so easily. If the US Empire and its minions think they can control the population by gathering information and spying on them, they are sadly mistaken. Truth is like a virus without symptoms and no cure – you will never know who has been infected and they WILL destroy your empire from the inside much like a termite slowly destroys grand structures. Snowden and Assange have only fired the first warning shots. The war has not even started yet.
The slaves – once aware – will conclude that the current global leadership must be dealt away with and their regimes will be overthrown and new governance installed. The clock is ticking on the current world order of FAKE puppet fascist “democracies”.
In the end the Obama administration is not afraid of whistleblowers like me, Bradley Manning or Thomas Drake. We are stateless, imprisoned, or powerless. No, the Obama administration is afraid of you. It is afraid of an informed, angry public demanding the constitutional government it was promised — and it should be.
(All emphasis mine)
Be afraid. Be very, very afraid.
»
- advertisements -
Our views are always changing as we come across new information, are they not? There was a lot of stuff five years ago that I believed in that I now know to be false. So to hold that 5 years old comment against him doesn't make sense to me.
to be quite honest i have ZERO idea who this guy is actually. if the State wasn't attacking him so mercilessly to be honest i don't think i care. now that he is in the limelight i am curious actually. i can't think of anything he would know...but what the heck...let him come home and let's see him testify...if he's been accused of anything of course. I mean this guy makes Ellsberg look like a total amateur. the Pentagon Papers which stated that the Sec Def knew the Vietnam war was lost in the later 1960's (later to be confirmed even earlier by Robert McNamara as "1965") i really don't think was a big deal. this guy has had some extraordinary allegations...none of which you present of course. the most interesting one is that the President himself can be spied upon! I would VERY much like to know more about that and how that works. Needless to say the odds of that happening are still slim to none but now that he has been forced upon us...who knows, right.
I would VERY much like to know more about that and how that works.
Sad to say that you sound militantly ignorant, but at least you are attempting to cure that ignorance if you are to be believed, therefore:
Sibel Edmonds explains it quite nicely during this interview,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU7TvL4GlQyMBLlUsTrN_C4Q&v=Pc3esnkqM7E&feature=player_embedded
And these two articles, plus this blog posting by GG, explain it quite nicely,
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/26/why-the-ruling-class-is-so-upset-about-edward-snowden/
http://www.counterpunch.org/2013/06/28/treason/
OK. Thanks for responding.
I wasn't trying to hold it against him as I pointed out.
His chat exchanges at that time are fairly consistent with his reported earlier life ...college dropout etc. As you say, fairly typical of many young people. But it seems to me that in the last five years he has morphed into a very thoughtful, intelligent person with some sincere morals and standards, able to express himself orally and in writing, very eloquently and with precision. That's unusual for a guy of 30 who was very different five years earlier. No?
It is this magnitude of change in him - now 30 years old - that puzzles me. I DO NOT subscribe to the view that he's a NSA-CIA 'plant', but it's not difficut to see why some others take that view. IE they cannot reconcile his two different characters.
(PS: a very nice piece btw - I enjoyed reading it.)
smacker - we are subjected to amazing amonts of propaganda, from birth over here.
It takes time and work to bust through some of it to see what's going on.
I will say that the pace of this busting through the PTB illusion is picking up. Congradulations Egyptians.
The US uses everything in its' arsenal (including nuclear) to get it's point across.
What keeps the world in check (or off kilter) is that even when we get a fucking dildo in office it isn't forever.
Nixon, the "gold standard" for one fucked up administration, has been replaced, and it was just a matter of time.
That it is a democrat who took the honor, really doesn't matter.
The best anyone can do is throw a spanner in the works whenever you can.
The US govt through the biggest spanner in the works when it got off the gold standard (blame Nixon).
All thaty has to happen now is the US dollar losing reserve currency status.
The US thinks that by spying on everyone it can blackmail them into doing its' will.
Looks like it is working to.
of course not, the vampire squid controls all.
The U.S. vs. Edward Snowden: Does the World Not Have the Courage or Decency to Protect Mr. Snowden?
Unequivocally not.
The people of the UK are sick and tired of the nonsense on a daily basis but will do nothing about it through fear, they need to realise that there is nothing to be afraid of we need to take to the streets and claim back our own country from the people that pretend to be our leaders.
None of us have the courage of Mr Snowden. Sir I salute you.
He is a HERO that's for sure
Sad that I'm wondering what Hugo Chavez's reaction to all this would have been, or Qadaffi's, or Saddam's...
Probably supportive of Snowden, driven by anti-Americanism.
But that should not lead us to think that any of those loons were in any way decent people. With the exception of Chavez, the other two were responsible for slaughtering large numbers of their own people, often through torture and grisly deaths.
Wasn't implying that they were "decent people". Far from it. However, they had the balls to tell the Imperial West to go and fuck themselves, didn't they?
Besides, what do we really know about them anyway, except that they're dead?
Little known fact bout Saddam ... he was recruited by CIA in 1959 to assassinate then-leader Qasim. Plot was botched and a wounded Saddam was spirited out of country to recuperate. Wheels within wheels.
Being anti-American is only fair. Just as it is fair and correct to be anti-fascism and anti-communism.
The US is in the final stage. Terminal empire cancer stage IV
When you fly that flag this week, just clearly understand what and who it is you are supportive of.
Nothing to be proud of. Absolutely nothing left. History doesn't count as the events of the presence are putting all historical achievements during US history in doubt.
walkuere - Sie haben das leading-italics probleme.
As a result, you have disabled the vote-script [it's a known bug] and I can not up vote you.
Here's you +1
Just want to say re. The US is in the final stage.
Wait and see. Something better could emerge after the collapse.
A 2.0 version with improved safeguards against this type of silent coup that's done us in for the time being.
Being anti-american (Gov) is rational; "fair" is subjective bullshit and has nothing to do with the state of condition of the present USSA.
PS dont use italics... I couldn't down vote your fairness doctrine.
Quite so. I am not American and always endevour to ensure that other people do not scoop up and include the vast majority of American *people* when they rant about America etc. It is the American *government* that is deserving of criticism, not the people who are generally at least as good as any other nation. The strong commitment that many American people have to their Constitution and everything it stands for is something that people all over the world should aspire to emulate. Sadly they do not.
Some years ago a very well read friend put it thusly: "America is the world's best, last hope of holding back the onslaught of socialism and a new Dark Ages".
Then along came Bush and Obama :-(
That's a very interesting thought.
Interesting group of dots...
'Sadly, the countries which denigrate the US have themselves shown to be no better. They claim to be “independent” nations yet are afraid of offending the United States. None of them seem to be able to stand up for themselves or for the greater good'
The problem is, the people making decisions for these nations are not the nation itself, but greedy little scumbags looking out for themselves, and couldnt give a crap less about Snowden or their own citizens, but they do cower and lick the boot of uncle almighty dollar Sam
It's human nature. We are nothing more than apes with car keys no matter how much we try to elevate ourselves onto a pedestal.
For some reason I picture Jacque Fresco holding car keys in one hand, a banana in the other and peeling it with monkey lips.
C:\Setup US_Government_2.0.exe /force /verbose
<enter>
Aaaaaaaaand BSOD.
Your title makes me want to add this: during the McCarthy era the US similarly went completely and utterly insane. Citizen was told to spy on citizen. We had censorship & control of media (especially Hollywood). Finally one day during one of the bogus Congressional Communist witch hunts, a Congressman finally had to courage to blurt out: "but have you no decency sir?"
This became the watershed moment and McCarthyism went down in flames.
So who today will ask the question: have you no decency?
(...sound of crickets chirping...)
You must read McCarthy's book on George C. Marshall, of the infamous Marshall Plan. It will provide you with the paradigm switch you so desperately need.
Ron Paul and others have said that every day. It doesn't work in a world of Jerry Springer. No decency is the norm now.
Better read a few of the latest books on the Venona Interecpts. It seems that McCarthy was right, and would have been proven right but the CIA wouldn't release the decoded intercepts till years later. Some have still not been realeased.
When McCarthy found out the same bankers that funded the commies were also in charge of our own government and military, THAT is when he was brought down. Can't have the masses find out they're being played for suckers, marks and dipshits with all that Cold War bullshit, now can we?
Mubarak had Egypt under emergency powers for 30 years. USA adopted on January 24, 1997, and subsequently renewed since then, the emergency powers act...effective right up to this second. Shame on the sheep for not paying attention < again >
Dear Mr. Gecko, While I very much like this post, I believe you have badly misread the basis of the US's global power. First, I will make a bold assertion I hold to be true. Most global leaders are primarily motivated by self-interest. Thus, it is not nations that are reluctant to earn the enmity of the US by granting Snowden asylum, it is those nation's leaders, motivated primarily by self-interest/self-preservation that are reluctant to buck the U.S. This is evident in Correa's deference to process - we'll listen to the US, but the decision is ours. This is Correa's way of saying - don't blame me if Ecuador offers Snowden asylum, it was the process. This kind of hand-washing has been going on at least since Pilate allowed the rabble to determine who he should pardon and who he should execute.
So, what could the US do to these foreign leaders that has them paralyzed? Ask Saddam. Ask bin Laden. Ask Ghadafi. Ask Mossadegh, Allende, anon, anon.
It is we who must stand up and protect Edward Snowden.
"So, what could the US do to these foreign leaders that has them paralyzed? Ask Saddam. Ask bin Laden. Ask Ghadafi. Ask Mossadegh, Allende, anon, anon."
What all these former leaders have in common is no nuclear deterrent. North Korea, Pakistan and Iran are far more of a terrorist haven than Iraq ever was. Yet they have been left alone because of their nukes.
Snowden's mistake was not having enough ammunition. He needed some kind of insurance to protect himself. It was not enough to expose the broad generalization of "spying on Americans". He needed to find specific instances of major crimes committed, or at least dirt on key politicians of both parties. If he had done that, he'd be touring the world lecture circuit -- writing books and raking in the dough, while educating the sheeple.
I take issue with your characterization of Pakistan and Iran as terrorist-havens.
The real terrorist have is closer than you think.
"Ask Saddam. Ask bin Laden. Ask Ghadafi. Ask Mossadegh, Allende, anon, anon."
Ask former Prez Mohammed Morsi.
It's a good post but I'd add the following. This is the result of Rumsfeld's formulation "you're either with us or you're against us". In the end, EVERY country, including England and Germany, does not have interests that align 100% with the US. So in the end, EVERYONE is against us and the US is against EVERYONE. Including its own people.
Is that really the way forward?
Do you really not get it that Rumsfeld purposeful formulated a False Dilemma there?
A million assassins are waiting in the shadows. And they do not represent the US people. This is Israel's gig.
This post articulates so very well the reasons why I wish Snowden had not gone on the run, but had stayed here in the States. The fact of the matter is that his greatest, his largest base of support is RIGHT HERE in his home country. It saddens me to no end to think of him languishing away in the transit zone of some shithole airport in Russia, while the rest of the world dithers and consigns him to a slow death on the other side of the globe.
I'd say it beats being tortured in some "facility."
I retract any criticisms I ever had on your previous articles. Fully, unreservedly apologise for mistaking that you had only a single track narrative.
Superb impassioned article you can be rightly proud of, and proud to read. Many thanks for your efforts.
Even these fuckers must be wondering how fucking come we can get away with this bullshit!
All this time the ordinary folks await leadership not realising that "we" are the leadership.
Thanks GG for bringing attention to this matter, I really apprediate your sentiment here. That being said, I cringed a bit at your use of the phrase "the greater good" which has been soiled by its association with just about every despotic socialist/communist/collectivist movement on planet earth. I hope you won't be offended that, in my mind while reading your piece, I substituted that phrase with the term "humanity". Cheers.
It is soiled not due to said movements, but due to the fact that it is about as anti-human of an ideology as one can imagine.
What kind of healthy society could ever consider its members to be expendable, when without said members, there is no society? If one life has no value, then NONE of them do.
For anyone still doubting the credentials of Snowden, ask yourself: if this is all theater how come multiple nations are blocking transport of the leader of ANOTHER nation, Bolivia, to sustain the act?
That breaks any plausibility of the "Snowden is an act" story.
"It's time we made Obama our bitch"
---American People
The current owners of the bitch are unwilling to give him up.
-TPTB
Well, not without someone making it worth their while.
Regardless of quality, ALL tools are replaceable. Even ones with potentially greater uses.
Abzolutely correkt mein colonel. Zay are ze vuns vit ze big bucks. Ve only haf votes.