Edward Snowden Gets Sam Adams Award 3361

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Ray McGovern and the Sam Adams party have presented the Sam Adams award to Edward Snowden.  I am delighted.  This from Ray’s account of the event:

In brief remarks from his visitors, Snowden was reassured — first and foremost — that he need no longer be worried that nothing significant would happen as a result of his decision to risk his future by revealing documentary proof that the U.S. government was playing fast and loose with the Constitutional rights of Americans.

Even amid the government shutdown, Establishment Washington and the normally docile “mainstream media” have not been able to deflect attention from the intrusive eavesdropping that makes a mockery of the Fourth Amendment. Even Congress is showing signs of awaking from its torpor.

In the somnolent Senate, a few hardy souls have gone so far as to express displeasure at having been lied to by Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and NSA Director Keith Alexander — Clapper having formally apologized for telling the Senate Intelligence Committee eavesdropping-related things that were, in his words, “clearly erroneous” and Alexander having told now-discredited whoppers about the effectiveness of NSA’s intrusive and unconstitutional methods in combating terrorism.

Coleen Rowley, the first winner of the Sam Adams Award (2002), cited some little-known history to remind Snowden that he is in good company as a whistleblower — and not only because of previous Sam Adams honorees. She noted that in 1773, Benjamin Franklin leaked confidential information by releasing letters written by then-Lt. Governor of Massachusetts Thomas Hutchinson to Thomas Whatley, an assistant to the British Prime Minister.

The letters suggested that it was impossible for the colonists to enjoy the same rights as subjects living in England and that “an abridgement of what are called English liberties” might be necessary. The content of the letters was so damaging to the British government that Benjamin Franklin was dismissed as colonial Postmaster General and had to endure an hour-long censure from British Solicitor General Alexander Wedderburn.

There has been a determined attempt by government to justify the need to intercept everybody’s communications, all the time.  We have, yet again, had MI5 claim there are many thousand violent Islamic terrorists running around the UK, (yet somehow not managing to kill anybody).  The cry of “paedophiles” is raised, as always.  I can imagine them suggesting the entire population be shot dead, and justifying it as making sure they get the paedophiles.  The tabloids would go with that.

There still had not been a single credible claim by the mainstream media that any named individual has died, despite that contingency being trotted out all the time as the reason Snowden and Manning should not have revealed state crimes and abuse of power.  I am hopeful that, with the internet still largely free to the dissemination of information, out next massive whistleblower is only weeks away.

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3,361 thoughts on “Edward Snowden Gets Sam Adams Award”

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  • Rehmat

    American Jewish editor, author and blogger, Sheldon Richman, said on October 23, 2013: “Even if the Iranian government were to agree to stop enriching uranium beyond the low level needed to produce electricity, limit the number of centrifuges operated for enrichment, and accept broadly intrusive surprise inspections by the International Atomic Energy Commission – all of which the Iranians may be willing to accept – the war party could refuse to lift the sanctions on the grounds that Iran had not fulfilled these other extraneous and unreasonable demands, which would amount to regime change and humiliating subordination to the United States and Israel.”

    http://rehmat1.com/2013/11/03/israel-after-syria-iran-to-be-neutralized/

  • Mark Golding - Children of Conflict

    Just to expand on your statement Rehmat:

    Iran has put forward a new proposal to resolve the nuclear crisis that includes a freeze on production of 20% enriched uranium, a pledge to convert its stockpile to fuel rods and an agreement to relinquish spent fuel for a still-to-be completed heavy water reactor, according to an Iranian source who has proven reliable in the past.

    Iran offers to freeze its 20% enrichment of uranium but still wants to complete a reactor that could yield plutonium, another potential bomb fuel.

    Author: Barbara Slavin

    The offers, combined with increased scrutiny by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), are meant to provide confidence that Iran could not quickly break out of its nuclear obligations and make nuclear weapons.

    It is clear the Obama administration has succumbed to pressure from Israel/Saudi and has agreed it must effectively manage Iran’s nuclear program, determining which Iranian nuclear facilities must be closed and which might be allowed to remain opening, determining not how many additional centrifuges Iran might be allowed to install in the future but how many centrifuges it must dismantle to satisfy the United States and Israel.

  • Daniel Rich

    I went to Vegas. Upon entering MGM Grand I was asked to leave any weapons I carried behind at the desk. I didn’t like it, but I really wanted to play. Then management asked me if I had any more guns in my hotel room and I said, “Yes.” I was then asked, for safety’s sake, to hand them in as well in case anyone wanted to break into my room and go on a spelling killing spree. I didn’t make much sense, but I really wanted to play, so I went back up and handed them in as well. On return I was asked if I intended to play cards dressed like a hobo and I said “Yes, I do.” They explained to me that due to new safety and health concerns, potential players were expected to dress accordingly. I went back to my room and changed. Upon return they looked me up and own and noticed that one shoelace was shorter than the other. They then explained to me the dangers of tripping over and causing bodily harm to others and urged me to take all possible precautions. I went back up again and changed shoes. When I’d almost reached the first blackjack table I’d had my eyes on right off the bat, one member of the vast security detail stepped in front of me and blocked my way. “This is an all female table,” he declared, with a straight face. “I’m afraid you have to find another place to try your luck.” I could clearly see 3 guys sipping drinks at the same table, but alas, I didn’t want to cause a stir or something and went for the slot machines instead. I pulled a loaded CC out of my wallet and looked for a place to cash in. A female staffer, who’d obviously seen me look around, came to the rescue. “A CC, sir? I’m afraid this a cash only casino. Perhaps you would like to try in the casino next door? They do except CC there, sir.” I went next door. “A MiniMax CC, sir? I’m afraid we don’t except those in this casino. Perhaps you would like to try the casino across the street. I’ve heard they do except MiniMax CC. Good luck, sir…”

    Aka The Palestinian Pieces Peace Process or the Iranian Nuclear Deal, Reach out, Stand Off.

  • Mary

    Wouldn’t want all those intimate little chats bugged now, would we?

    Wednesday 30 Oct 2013
    Hague: GCHQ modified my phone to stop bugging

    William Hague has revealed that GCHQ, the British intelligence gathering operation in Cheltenham, has modified his telephone to stop people bugging it – the Chinese especially. The foreign secretary made his remarks during a dinner of the Hammersmith and Fulham Conservatives held in Shepherd’s Bush last week.

    http://blogs.channel4.com/michael-crick-on-politics/hague-gchq-modified-phone-stop-bugging/3580#sthash.2iLBpV1i.dpuf

    And then the FCO put out a statement denying that he had said it although Miles Goslett had three witnesses.

    Then they rowed back, calling it a ‘light hearted remark’.

    Perhaps Billy Fourteen Pints should have a minder. What a vile country it is now. Liars and war mongers at the top.

    Who was that man who said the country is ‘corrupt at the top and for a long way down?’

  • Mary

    I will be listening to Desert Island Discs this morning on Radio 4 at 11.15 when Sir Kenneth Robinson is the guest.

    I wonder if he has ever had the opportunity to present his views on education to Poison Gove. Probably not in the light of recent revelations about untrained teachers in academies and free schools and other fiascos.

    ‘Ideas on education

    Robinson has suggested that to engage and succeed, education develop on three fronts. First, that it should foster diversity by offering a broad curriculum and encouraging individualization of the learning process; That it should foster curiosity through creative teaching, which depends on high quality teacher training and development; And finally that it should focus on awakening creativity through alternative didactic processes that put less emphasis on standardized testing, giving the responsibility for defining the course of education to individual schools and teachers. He believes that much of the present education system in the United States fosters conformity, compliance, and standardization rather than creative approaches to learning. Robinson emphasizes that we can only succeed if we recognize that education is an organic system, not a mechanical one. Successful school administration is a matter of fostering a helpful climate rather than “command and control”.’

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Robinson_%28educationalist%29

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    Mary. 8 16am

    Thanks for the link re Meshud’s drone-delivered Peace Prize.

    US state department spokesman “…the United States and Pakistan continue to have a vital, shared strategic interest in ending extremist violence so as to build a more prosperous, stable, and peaceful region.”

    Well, as our favourite Middle East Peace Envoy reminds us all the time, making the world safe involves painful and brave decisions. Can you imagine the inner anguish of the poor drone pilot as he drives home through suburbia after such a dangerous mission?

    But, as the saying goes, you can’t make an omelette without breaking a few eggs.

  • Mary

    Sofia That was Macky @ 8.16 not me. You’ll have those trolls at it again charging us with impersonation!

  • John Goss

    Dady Chery’s latest article on western imperialism and what to do about it.

    “In any contest, it is imperative to choose one’s weapons well. One does not fight an expert marksman with a sword anymore than one fights a giant military with a small one. The US, Europe, and Israel, for example, are ever inviting military aggression because this is the arena in which their advantage is greatest. It would indeed be despairing to fight on their terms. By contrast, non-cooperation favors those on whom everything depends: the people.”

    http://newsjunkiepost.com/2013/11/02/in-the-fight-against-imperialism-beware-the-peddlers-of-despair/

  • Guano

    Habybouncer

    H seems to have got very excited yesterday in his baby bouncer. Drooling as well, maybe cutting teeth.

  • Guano

    Darlings.
    Russia works for Israel. They want firepower to steer their war their way. Every single mercenary on the ground in Syria is placed there by Israel. Every single battleship in the sea.

    Do we not know that every single terrorist act in global sports events are staged by Israeli agents/ So why are we discussing agent Bandar winding up Putin, when we they are both happily tied up and playing in their cots like a Ceausescu orphanage?

    If Israel is going to take control on the ground of the Middle East everyone will want a share of the goodies at the end of the party, so they have to be good children and sound happy and noisy by playing a lot of war when the music is playing. And sit quietly and tidy up when the music stops.

  • nevermind

    The unprovoked attacks by the Israeli airforce on Latakia, citing dubious and suspiucious claims of preventing future harm by Hezbollah, a threat that is being pulled out of the drawer whenever it suits the most ardent middle east aggressors, are war crimes and they should be rought to court un der in ternational law.

    Thanks for all the links Mary, Daniel, Craig,Mark and, off course, Andy for helping our resident ‘it’ to understand the intricacies of the zionist with fascists tendencies currently in power in Israel, although I fear Andy’s effort will be futile.

    Would have loved to link to the sentencing of Michael Souter article, an ex BBC radio presenter on Radio Norfolk and an ex employee of Norfolk County council and the Scouts Association and a paedophile who used his connections and his stanbding i9n society to prey on vulnerable young boys,

    BUT, the EDP has taken down all artricles that related to the man as to not prolong the embarrassment he has caused to the BBC, NCC and all the tawdry establishment figures he used to hobnob with during his life. The EDP is so establishment and the company it belongs to ‘Ar(se)chant’ makes all the right noises to the Tories.

    sorry no link, but we won’t forget.

  • Guano

    YesYes NoNoor(no-Light) Maliki was with Obama yesterday. I didn’t know donkey foals were born with so much black hair. Plans are afoot to reward the mercenaries carving up Syria for Israel with a chunk of Iraq. Noor will not stand for it, he can barely keep his head up.

    Also from Iraq, the owner of Chavy Land, the US sponsored Disneyland clone which I visited last month in Kurdistan, has been shot in the legs with illegal exploding bullets through his armour-plated car. He also owns a TV station which is often critical of the status quo political powers.
    This is how you get to know what you are supposed to be saying on your independent TV station in the Middle East.

  • Mary

    Oh dear the spam bots have bred and have arrived on this thread. What if we all shout ‘F… off’ to them? Are not their comments trite?

    Guano I thought you winding us up with your Chavy Land stuff. ‘Tis true though.

    http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/slideshows/day-in-pics/august-18-2013/chavy-land-amusement-park-in-sulaimaniya-province/slideshow/21895875.cms

    Wonder if Chavy Land’s owners know of the connotations to the word ‘chav’ in the UK?

    Advertorial from Kevin Connolly based in Jerusalem and pro Zionist.
    28 October 2013
    Iraqi Kurdistan: State-in-the-making?http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-24708736

    The two are very pally of course.

    Israeli–Kurdish relations covers the historical, political and economic relations between the State of Israel and the Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as the general background of relations between the Jewish and Kurdish peoples.

    Iraqi Kurdistan and Israel do not have an official status of relations, though there are claims that there are numerous contacts between the entities on government and business levels. Iran and Syria have accused Iraqi Kurdistan of having relations with Israel.[1] Massoud Barzani, president of Iraqi Kurdistan and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said in 2005 that “establishing relations between the Kurds and Israel is not a crime since many Arab countries have ties with the Jewish state.”[2]

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Kurdish_relations

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    John. 10 11am

    Thanks. Your links are always worth clicking but I think this one’s brilliant.

    “It is not the empires’ job but ours to promote our methods of fight and to celebrate our victories. We cannot afford to lose heart. To lose heart is to fail to think rationally, and to fail to think cogently is to expose oneself to becoming conquered.”

    Here it is again.
    http://newsjunkiepost.com/2013/11/02/in-the-fight-against-imperialism-beware-the-peddlers-of-despair

  • Sofia Kibo Noh

    Mary.12 49pm

    “Oh dear the spam bots have bred and have arrived on this thread.”

    Go easy on the poor spam-bots.
    They make a thousand times more sense than Dad and his mates.
    They aren’t bent on world domination, and they seem to keep them busy.

  • Jemand

    For JFK conspiracy theory lovers –

    Oz detective, Colin McLaren, presents an excellent documentary on JFK’s assassination based on a solidly researched theory of American ballistics expert, Howard Donahue. Donahue’s theory convincingly describes how a secret service agent accidentally fired the shot that killed Kennedy. The theory also confirms Oswald’s role but does not explore any conspiracy that Oswald might have been involved in. 

    Another commentator here has already dismissed the theory on another thread without having first seen the doco. It shows how people prefer elaborate, sexed-up but ultimately unprovable theories to those that are simple and well supported with scientific evidence.

    I am unsure of access to SBS video from outside Oz but you can try. 

    Info about the doco –
    http://www.sbs.com.au/thesmokinggun/

    Watch the doco –
    http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/video/54228035712/JFK-The-Smoking-Gun

  • Rehmat

    Iranian will be celebrating the 34th anniversary of the US embassy take-over on November 4. The Hollywood’s Oscar-winning movie Argo is based on Zionist distortion of the history. The six American who “managed to escape the US embassy compound” were not work of CIA – but Kenneth Taylor, Canadian ambassador in Tehran, who also acted as head of CIA operation in Iran during the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

    http://rehmat1.com/2013/11/03/iran-death-to-israel-slogan-to-stay/

  • Mary

    B.Liar news.

    If I ruled the world – Tony Blair’s lessons in how best to govern
    How do politicians deliver the changes they have been elected to deliver?
    http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/if-i-ruled-the-world–tony-blairs-lessons-in-how-best-to-govern-8916245.html

    by John Rentoul, B.Liar acolyte and biographer.

    ~~~

    Tony Blair suffers ‘selective amnesia’ on spending, Michael Howard says
    Michael Howard, former Tory Leader, reminds Tony Blair that the 2005 election was defined by a battle over public spending http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/tony-blair/10423125/Tony-Blair-suffers-selective-amnesia-on-spending-Michael-Howard-says.html

    ~~~

    Former B.Liar spin doctor employed as P/T PR by the BBC. No. Not Campbell. Godric Smith. Who’s he? Never heard of him. Who recruited him? Why! Purnell of course.

    BBC pays Tony Blair’s former spin doctor £150k to be part-time PR man
    Godric Smith, 48, was hired to restore the corporation’s battered reputation
    Appointment followed Jimmy Savile scandal and fat-cat salaries
    Tory MPs furious as BBC already spend £5m on in-house PR department
    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2483900/BBC-pays-Tony-Blairs-spin-doctor-150k-time-PR-man.html

  • Mary

    I have just posted about the BBC hiring a P/T PR to act as their air freshener. Chairman of BBC Trust. Lord Patten of Barnes.

    Then I looked up this Indian offshoot of Common Purpose. Who did I find there? Lord Patten of Barnes. Also Liam Byrne, cabinet colleague of Purnell in B.Liar’s government who appointed said BBC PR man.

    The incestuous relationships amongst the gangsters-in-charge are remarkable are they not.

    http://www.commonpurpose.org/dishaa#people

    Note the stated FCO involvement.

    The Common Purpose trustees. http://www.commonpurpose.org/who/our-people#trustees

  • Ben

    AA; ISON still an enigmatic image which has no details no matter how much closer to our observers.

    Let’s get a larger image of that leading jet, if it’s still there.

    Everyone; Suspicious Observers has links under ‘about’ for related info.

    This was interesting, even though pretty brief. Are bees our canary in a coalmine?

    http://www.unh.edu/news/releases/2013/10/bp24bees.cfm

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