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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.
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Snowden is also the member of a generation that joins the NSA apparently utterly clueless and naive about what intelligence services sometimes do or don't and apparently principled enough to come out with it... recruiting problem?
I'm sure that Snowden knew what the NSA claimed to be doing and was probably not unhappy about that. The problem arose when he discovered they were doing A LOT more than their official brief. Like secretly spying on innocent Americans' calls and e-mails as well as those around the world. Same problem with GCHQ in the UK.
This secret spying which serves NO USEFUL PURPOSE to protect the nation's security interests - and clearly has other motives - is what sticks in the throat. Snowden sought to expose all that. Rightly so IMHO.
Bingo Smacker!!
The problem arose when he discovered they were doing A LOT more than their official brief.
In short, violating the Constitution ... which he did swear to defend ... from all enemies foreign and domestic.
Happy 4th of July.
Thanks Gordo.
Why does anyone join the army or spy agencies? Few actually believe they will do wrong in the false name of their nation.
A few know it but most think they're going to be patriots. Surprise, fuckers.
Yeah, their heads have been filled with false ideas. They are made to think they are serving a higher purpose and many do manage to reach the end believeing the bullshit. Its the intelligent ones who have the most problem. They soon figure out the disconnect between what they're being told (patriotism) and what's actually happenning (criminal activity to enrich a few elite) and get disillusioned. This is how Snowden's are made.
Smedley Butler described just that decades back. Shame it seems to never have changed.
Looking at those Arstechnica chat logs, I see that the poor kid believed that the puppets of state are actually in charge of things.
I can only hope he now sees things with a different perspective.
Well done, Gordon.
What has Snowden said that wasn't true?
What has he done, that didn't desperately need to be done?
Where are the candy-assed fools of the press corp, when history is being made?
That's not the point of what "he" did. The majority public reaction (other than on ZH) has been to endorse the central government spying and demonise those opposed to it. The public has therefore given IMPLIED CONSENT to Big Brother and the Central Politburo.
THAT's what this PSYOP is about!
He reported a crime in progress and now he's on the run for it.
We must also keep in mind that religion, colour, race and politics is not what ultimately divides people. What divides them is the political agenda of the moneyed elite who inflame the differences to suit their own purposes. Once people realise they are being egged on to feel hatred for other groups or nations, they just might all focus on the key cause of their grievances.
you could vote libertarian.
If you vote, you are part of the problem (that is, you are sustaining the central planning charade ... which is, by definition, not libertarian).
The charade will only be defeated when central government elections are boycotted almost entirely and popular energy is devoted entirely toward local government elections and issues.
In other words, keep one's nose out of other people's business and stop voting for central planning empires (whether American, or European, or Pan-Arabic, or whatever).
Exactly. Keep our focus. Must overthrow the liberal/fascist powers.
You've got the wrong focus. Power cannot be "overthrown" as all that does is to replace one set of power-mongers with another.
What needs to be done is to disempower the very structure of power itself. Which can only be done by individuals deciding to stop supporting it. Once the threshold of critical mass is reached, the structure will collapse upon itself, as it is not otherwise sustainable.
NotApplicable,
You are the onlyone who really understands what is really going on.
All well and good however, a just and truthful order of tangible substance must stand ready to fill the void. Sadly, I see no such just and truthful order waiting in the wings.
a just and truthful order of tangible substance must stand ready to fill the void.
Agreed. The Millenium Falcon could be here any minute with details.
How about this for a just and truthful order? We all play in the Heart of Gold Band.
Yep, the Wealthy Elite certainly have perfected the good ole "Divide and Conquer."
Personally, I like a good Class War where the everyday working people beat the crap out of the Banksters.
Edward Snowden is a hero. He makes Thomas Jefferson look average.
Madeleine Albright - The deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children was worth it for Iraq's
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RM0uvgHKZe8
.
not that I watch this guy but ..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cU8vR9DEhdE
.
Hawaiian Pidgin English | Siri vs Hawaiian Pidgin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zyplVPJuF4
.
Step Right Up- Tom Waits
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y8YcEmKleJk
.
"...delivers the pizza." that line kills me even
after all the years. " it's only a dollar" . t.w.
.
I have discovered that the world does not care about
anything or anyone. it is designed as it is and we
evolve and adapt to it's design or perish.
the people are either of themselves, the world or
otherwise oriented.
one cannot count on them or the world to change to suit
your insights or likings.
best to you !
You're absolutely right. If nature allows governments to exploit people, it also allows people to overthrow governments. Both are adaptations by different people. Our only job here in this life is to keep doing what feels right and good and satisfies us and not worry about any specific outcome. Which is what I'm doing here. I'm just gonna keep writing what I feel must be written and let the chips fall where they may. Whatever happens I'll be happy that I've done what I wanted (such as writing this article) and I'm satisfied with that reward.
Stay anonymous my friend . . .
Correct-a-mundo.
"If nature allows governments to exploit people, it also allows people to overthrow governments. Both are adaptations by different people."
The natural progression of all government is to slowly constrict the peoples liberty. I would argue that we ask for it on multiple occasions -overtime- but there is no disputing that this is so.
We ask government that the sick & the poor be tended to because we are too tired or lazy to do it ourselves...it happily obliges and it grows more powerful as a result, until we are all too tired or lazy to work, its easier.
We ask government that we be protected from common criminals because we cannot stomach taking or injuring a human life that would have no problem taking or injuring us...it happily obliges and it grows more powerful as a result, until everyone is a suspect, nay guilty and is accosted by the kings highwaymen at every stop light for their papers.
We ask government that our children be educated...it happily obliges and it grows more powerful as a result, unitil our children emerge from it and cannot balance a checkbook or fill out a job application and are too ignorant to discern right from wrong, .
"The price of liberty is eternal vigilance."
I simply say, stop asking them to do shit, its killing us ;-)
Marked you up, but I personally have never asked the government to do anything. I refuse to allow myself to be spoken of as any collective "we", insomuch as "we" seems to include a consent that I never gave. In fact I have endeavoured to extricate myself from this "we" for many years now.
Don't want to undermine your point though.
I understand completely my brutha.
But there is voluntary action that can be taken by groups to defend against the coercion of the individual.
You didn't undermine it at all, you added to how we think ;-)
that's right ! best to you!
Very well done Gordon and it is important that people like you eloquently voice the disquiet, the anger and the rage of people who are bombarded by clowns espousing the government position.
Unless people like you keep this issue alive, the sheeple (how I hate the insult to real sheep) will succumb to the daily menu of swill they readily and greedily they already take down.
The crying shame is that I personally believe that if the world was handed over to poets, engineers and book keepers (not accountants), it would be capable of recreating itself.
The world needs not be handed to anyone, as that is precisely the problem.
What the people need is simple; to be left alone to manage their own affairs. Anything less, is tyranny emanating from a madman with a gun.
You misunderstand where I am coming from because I also agree that the world should not be handed over to anyone in particular.
The choice of poets, engineers and book keepers was simply meant to illustrate the type of basic professions we need in order to be inspired (poets), kept in the picture (book keepers) and provided with doable projects to maximise our potential (engineers) with best and minimal use of resources.
These professions stand in stark contrast to lawyers, politicians and bankers.
That was simply my point. I thought it would be obvious to most that you would not have the world run just by poets, book keepers and engineers.
Exactly, just leave folks the fuck alone.
If it 'takes a village' in 2016, I'm going off the fucking deep end.
tick... tick... tick....
+100 Gordon, for what many of us want to say.
Snowman is pulling back the curtains to show us the walls of Prison Planet.
All Peoples in all nations must now take their destiny in their hands.
We are all Egyptians.
Hypocrisy, by the US Congress for formulating rules that don't affect themselves while they affect everyone else.
Hypocrisy for the French Surrender Monkeys who blame the US for information that Snowden exposed but then role over in abject fear of the US wrath.
they are both smelling up the weekend of the 4th....
At the end of world war two, German officers wer prosecuted in Nurnberg for war crimes and crimes agains humanity. Their defense was that they were following orders, but the prosecution argued that they had HIGHER orders, orders that came from morality and decency. They were convicted and summarily executed by hanging. Only Rudolf Hess lived to an old age as the sole occupant of Spandau prison. So, now we have a young man who disobeyed his direct orders to follow those very HIGH orders of morality and decency that the German officers failed to follow...yet Snowden is considered a criminal. So what we have is the hypocrisy of political theater and the fact is even if you do the right thing, if TPTB don't like it, you're a criminal. Wow, and I thought the US did not have a justice system that ran like in a banana republic. Between scaring the journalists and their sources into submission to cover up their lies and all the other criminal activity this administration has been involved in, the US has gone from one with many freedoms to the eye in the sky big brother dictatorship. I worry where this will lead becasue in the long haul there will be more than a few decent people who oppose these tyrannical measures, and it wil get scary when a large group of disatisfied people in oppostiton to the government stand up in confrontation.
Snowden reveals entire East/West, EU/US, US Cuba Venezuela Cold war paradigm to be bullshit.
All the Socialists are on the same page as our government. (not a good sign)
Forget the "rest of the world", we have 50 sovereign states with their own governors and legislators purportedly representing US Citizens, NOT 1 has offered Snowden sanctuary or limited state sovereign immunity for testimony, all 50 of them apparently think Amerika is better off with Snowden staying with a "real" American enemy (unlike those phony Ecuadorans and Venezuelans) like North Korea or Iran or in an airport in Russia.
I bet the NORKS wouldn't take him either.
we have 50 sovereign states with their own governors and legislators purportedly representing US Citizens, NOT 1 has offered Snowden sanctuary or limited state sovereign immunity for testimony
excellent point that very few are able or willing to understand. unfortunately all those 50 sovereign states are firmly tied to the DC teat, so any meaningful dissent and NO SOUP FOR YOU.
Re. 50 states. It may be better, easier to have some success to work locally to remove the octopus.
Before the Bankster Era, states used to select senators, making power more diffuse. Now, with it all packed into DC, it's easier for Wall Street to corral.
Coincidentally, I just watched the Ken Burns biography on Thomas Jefferson. The ink was barely dry on the constitution, when factions fought over strong central gov (Alexander Hamilton) vs. state sovereignty (Jefferson).
Too bad Hamilton can't see the result of the monster he helped create.
It's a shame Snowden threw his life away. A few months on ZH and he would have known the sheeple wouldn't stand behind him.
Hey, Simon Black -- you asshole. This proves every gov is as good or bad as the next.
Correction, tip e., we have 50 future sovereign states (or at least, for starters, some combination thereof), at which time relations with the United States Government will be a thing of the past.
Independence Day, indeed.
Has one single US politician spoken openly about Snowden?
That speaks volumes. Be afraid indeed. Bravo Mr. Gekko.
Only Ron Paul, who is not so much a politician as a statesman (in the most honorable sense of the term).
Congressman Ron Paul, please go to the Moscow airport and intercede.
That figures.
The rest of them should do the right thing.
Clean out their (our) desks and fuck the fuck off...
If I thought I could keep the guy safe, I'd let him stay at my place, no problem.
This guy deserves better than he's likely to get from any politician.
Who wants to live in a world where honesty and decency are punished and fraud is rewarded?
We need more like him.
Too far down the rabbit hole now. Truth is Treason ( Age of TIT ) .
"Truth Is Treason".
This sounds like Orwell wrote it. Good title for an underground paper too.
Time to see how "1984" ends in real life.
Gordon thanks for pointing out that Putin, Correa etc. are all full of shit and this kid must be absolutely terrified that he had to put himself in their care in order to try to wake up a bunch of medicated slugs glued to their spoonfed bullshit.
Maybe if these hollywood asshats actually wake up, they could help this kid.
http://www.politico.com/blogs/click/2013/07/john-cusack-goes-off-about-nsa-coverage-167509.html
Terrorized? Fearful maybe.
Don't expect to hear much from the co-opted political posers like: Jolie, Penn, Bono, etc.
+ 1 to Bastiat and fonzanoon