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.
@ Jemad
I would like to hear your thoughts on the following prepositions:
1) No matter when you live, you’ll always be living in ‘modern times.’
2) Today’s ‘Modern Times’ will be very much ‘Ancient History’ 100 years from now.
Sofia KN, you are clearly not posting in good faith. Finding the worst elements of Western expansionism and then generalising its effects as if they were the intrinsic foundations of Western culture is an exercise in liberal propaganda. And your allusion to deliberate infections of native people is another myth that has been long discredited. I cannot imagine a more stupid tactic in trying to kill off people than spreading a disease of unknown origin and pathological behaviour at a time when science knew nothing of viruses and bacteria nor who would and wouldn’t fall victim to infections. Who used this method of genocide and how was it deployed and managed?
And I see that you’ve wiggled out of the primitive-lifestyle challenge that I set for you. I didn’t think that you’d be so keen to give up your internet, morning coffee, Tuesday night-flick and Saturday pub outing. I don’t blame you, I wouldn’t be so keen either. But I’m honest about it and won’t make bullshit excuses for being a prisoner of modern times.
@Daniel Rich
I like both. But I’d change “ancient history” to ‘olden days’, 100yrs might not be long enough for the ‘ancient’ markup – although 25yrs is still vintage.
Makes you think how things have changed in recent times. When was the last time anyone here handwrote a letter and posted it? School children walking around with mobile phones that send pictures. Jet aircraft take you to the other side of the globe in 24 hrs when your grandparents might have taken two months by sea. I have a digital guitar amp, the size of a loaf of bread, that authentically models five different classic valve amps. And a GPS that tells me where to go, like a wife, in an annoying Australian accent. . . . And yet despite these modern developments, human nature remains stuck in its primitive past, as evidenced on this blog.
“US officials declined to comment on Qadri’s findings”
Because defending the indefensible is the job of the “You Hate the West” Trolls, like the ones infesting this Blog;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-24557333
(BTW Jemand, to help in filling the immense voids in your general knowledge; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Native_American_disease_and_epidemics)
Jemand. 9 41am
Sofia KN, you are clearly not posting in good faith. Finding the worst elements of Western expansionism and then generalising its effects as if they were the intrinsic foundations of Western culture is an exercise in liberal propaganda…”/em>
Listen mate. When the cockroache geologists a few million years hence analyze the thin but toxic strata of our era I think they’ll draw the conclusion that these are the consequence of those worst elements which not only defined, but quickly put an end to, thick bloody humans and their delusion of “progress”.
Homo Sapiens Sapiens my arse!
Must go. Back tonight.
Be nice to each other!
Oops!
My last post I offer as today’s gift for the Typo Police!
Sorry for making it so easy for you.
Seems I’ll never learn. Post in haste, regret at leisure.
I’m really off now.
From Macky’s link we read this –
“There is current scholarly dissent to the theory that the outbreaks of smallpox may have been aided by the intentional spreading of disease. The outbreaks that occurred specifically in this region may have resulted from sporadic cases already occurring amongst Indians rather than from this scenario.
Historians also say that though blankets containing smallpox may have been distributed to Native Americans by the Europeans, they may have been given with good will and intentions, instead of for the purpose of disseminating disease. Additionally, scholars such as Gregory Dowd, are of the opinion that disease was spread by Native Americans returning from battling infected Europeans. Therefore it may have been carried by Native Americans to their own people and spread.”
. . . .
This story hinges on an alleged suggestion made by ONE regarding the dispensing of smallpox infected blankets to Native Americans in order to cause their deaths by the disease. So all of Western culture now has a blood libel based on a story about one man who suggested something bad at a time when he could not have even understood the true nature of smallpox disease transmission let alone wield it as a genocidal weapon.
Sorry, but I’m interested in facts, not cracked pottery.
Someone’s opinion about this story –
http://robertlindsay.wordpress.com/2011/01/07/the-smallpox-infected-blankets/
FWIW IMO Jemand Read:scroll / 24 hr = 15:15 = 100%
Speaking of population control do you think Habby and ResDis use villager as their condom?
sorry, 15:0
(God help us if they were to reproduce)
Speaking of population control do you think Habby and ResDis use villager as their condom? (sorry to mention again – I think its important we debate this)
Is everyone aware of the propaganda from the Isr@eli side that attempts to equate the military threat of a few pissy Palestinian rockets with the overwhelming power of state of the art American and Isr@eli ordnance?
It’s a tactic that attempts to conceal the scale and significance of the elements of a conflict to create the illusion of false equivalence.
We can see this in all sorts of conflicts. Say – someone stabs someone else and justifies it by saying “he attacked me”. We say, fair enough, until we later discover that the attack was a slap across the face for which he gets a knife in the guts. You see, through the careful choice of language, you can tell the truth and completely distort its character at the same time.
And we see this with history as stories are told with omissions and false scaling to create an illusion that we call propaganda. The smallpox blanket story is one such example.
Ben. Technicolour.
My internet ears were burning, I see my name has popped up in the comments. No, don’t have a blog, though I sometimes think of starting one.
As to my ‘vaguely humiliating’ comment, it was but an idle thought of course. But if it chimed with anyone who read it, that would be interesting, I think. I don’t think being on camera all day is even remotely normal. Indeed one might say it’s embarassing, a little shameful. I couldn’t quite say why, other than a feeling of distant unease, but I think this unease is perfectly natural – perfectly human. Actors choose to be on camera, but you and I do not.
And as Funny asked in follow up, how much of an impact does this surveillance have on our behaviour? The designers of the Panopticon, so I read, felt that it would have a beneficial effect on criminals – that was it’s purpose – but what about people wandering about their day, doing nothing unusual?
An interesting question, though I don’t have an answer of course. I guess we have just all gotten used to these camera’s, this internet spying, and have assimilated it all, perhaps subconciously, into our daily lives. And this cannot be good. Orwell would be horrified, I’m quite sure.
It’s a well known fact that Hamas rockets rain down on Israel every day, and their intention is genocide. The State of Israel is entitled to defend its non-Arab population against this rain of death, and the terrorists who cause it. Also against the nitpicking researchers who (can you believe it?) present different figures to the IDF’s official and unquestionably true ones*. I am delighted to say that to date Israel has consistently achieved the deaths of 100 negligible terrorist scum and their not-very-hard-working families for every noble Israeli murdered in cold blood in defence of our Jewish theocratic state. Possibly more: self-hating Jews and antisemites even question the veracity of our wonderful army – as here –
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/11/dissecting-idf-propaganda-the-numbers-behind-the-rocket-attacks.html
*
http://www.globalresearch.ca/israel-s-military-censorship-and-war-reporting-in-lebanon
Jemand: “And we see this with history as stories are told with omissions and false scaling to create an illusion that we call propaganda. The smallpox blanket story is one such example.”
The first sentence is of course true, but that like stating water is wet, and thinking that is revealing a great insight; the second sentence remains contested. Anyhow it’s very obvious that you knew nothing about this subject beforehand.
I wonder if your local historical knowledge is any better ?;
“The first major smallpox epidemic among Aborigines was in April 1789, fifteen months after first settlement. The second was in 1829-31, its origin never determined, according to Frank Fenner in his monumental work on the disease [19]. The third major epidemic occurred between 1865 and 1869, generated almost certainly by the visits of Malayan trepang fishermen. Goldsmid has posited three possibilities about 1789: first, that it was deliberate decimation, as in America where, as an American scholar asserts, smallpox-infected blankets were introduced to “extirpate this execrable race”; second, Aborigines stole bottles of “variolous matter” brought by the surgeons of the First Fleet and subsequently became infected; third, accidental Aboriginal infection from a local “variolate” colonist [20].”
http://www.kooriweb.org/gst/genocide/tatz.html#4
Again the deliberate premeditation theory is contested, but it should be known to exist at least as a possibility, but as to if all these events were intentional or accidental, it is actually irreverent in the context of Sofia’s original point.
@Macky
“Because defending the indefensible is the job of the “You Hate the West” Trolls, like the ones infesting this Blog;”
You really are quite pathetic – just because those you deem to be trolls are not “defending the indefensible” you seem to want to whip up us to do so – isn’t that just being deliberately provocative and creating a straw man which I suspect if you look in your troll bible will both be covered. I should also add that given your many many contributions just consist of insults and provocations and as far as I can see you contribute precious little in the way of content and argument, or nothing in the way of an attempt to engage with those who agree with your world view it is pretty dam clear to me that it you who is the troll rather than any of your targets. You really haven’t demonstrated the intellectual capacity to act as anything else.
BTW – I started as Anon, I then had a brief period where I used my handle as a placard to call for the return of Habba and I am now using ESLO – I have never been anyone else and I am afraid the rest is just what your rather limited brain has dreamt up. That said I wouldn’t want to discourage your creativity since you have become rather boring and uninteresting of late.
Dear ישראל בכל מקום, (“Israel’s everywhere” @ Google translator)
Making life difficult for Palestinians is hardly likely to make them better disposed to yourselves. If Israel did not prevent the Palestinians building an economy and giving their young people employment, perhaps their families would be as hard-working as yours, and you wouldn’t have to worry so much about foolish young men firing rockets into Israel. The sooner you see this and try to IMPROVE the quality of life for your Palestinian neighbours, the better for your country’s long-term security.
The smallpox blanket story remains as an example of selective research to prove a libel that has no credible evidence. Even if it were true, it would merely be an example of one incident in which someone did something bad. To then extrapolate that misdeed to support an indictment of all European migration is both “racist” and disingenuous.
I wonder how asylum seekers to Oz will be viewed in the future? Better than now? Maybe not. Not when they spread disease in attempt to wipe out indigenous and non-indigenous inhabitants. All we need is for one of them to admit that it is all deliberate, then we can write history to reflect this terrible tale of attempted genocide.
Asylum seekers are not disease free –
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/asylum-seekers-blamed-for-spreading-tb/story-e6freuzr-1225937374050
Asylum seeker kids have STDs, might receive condoms –
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/policy/std-fears-over-asylum-seeker-kids/story-fn9hm1gu-1226669819289#
Mad-Dog Morrison froths over diseased asylum seekers –
http://noplaceforsheep.com/2012/02/28/scott-morrison-and-diseased-asylum-seekers/
ESLO: “you seem to want to whip up us to do so”
You & your fellow like-minded “contrarians”, including all the associated numerous false identities, have not ever needed to be “whipped up” to frequently & ridiculously smear people here as being “Anti-West”; but telling that you identify yourself as one of the “You Hate the West” Trolls.
Not sure this is quite on topic here so posted it on a previous thread about the Uzbekistan ‘comedy series’.
http://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2013/10/murder-in-samarkand-now-a-major-tv-series/comment-page-2/#comment-434779
I’m surprised Habba hasn’t come back on the subject of Orwell’s “shitty little orthodoxies”. Orwell’s phrase of course came from his essay on Charles Dickens and was aimed at those “left wing intellectuals” who could not or would not recognise the greatness and truth of Dickens writings just because he didn’t fit in entirely with their own narrow world view. Orwell was never one to ignore the truth just because it didn’t fit in with a particular political perspective and he spent most of his life rebelling against those who made the automatic assumption that you are not with us you are against us mentality. The sad thing is that there are still substantial numbers who claim to be on the left politically, a number of whom can be found here, who would still be in Orwell’s firing line if he were still alive today. As for Jives and Macky’s sneers on the subject of Orwell (and that is all they are) might I suggest that even though you may have read some Orwell you certainly have not understood him.
I should also add that for most of life Orwell was a hate figure for a substantial portion of the Left and the same attitudes continue to exist in relation to those who challenge the sacred cows to which they are currently attached.
“but telling that you identify yourself as one of the “You Hate the West” Trolls.”
Is this to be taken seriously as a debating point – if so, perhaps I was just using your label so that the reference would be clear to your evidently limited intellect. Why don’t you just grow up – you wouldn’t speak to me like that in person, at least not twice – and stop behaving like an 8 year old boy.
Exexpat
I can see why how you have to keep moving your home if your latest postings are examples of how you would normally speak to people. Why don’t you link up with Macky as I can see you have a lot in common and you might find something more constructive to do with your life.
Smile, be happy, god damn you!
How the American dollar and power stifles truth – Mediastan
It’s the story of a group of WikiLeaks people travelling around central Asia, the UK and US trying to share information with the media/news outlets, including their discussion of the “invisible borders” that they come across. It is an interesting, insightful account of the ways our flow of information is controlled.
http://www.childrenofconflict.org.uk/Mediastan.mp4
@ESLO, I guess you didn’t like my description of your friends over at Harry’s Place as “knuckle draggers” ?
Anyhow I’ve got a v busy rest of the day ahead, so feel free to continue posting your brain farts here, maybe somebody will feel sorry enough for you to bother replying.
I think this anti-West mentality has its origins in the psychological need people have for a unique identity and a desire to not be mistaken as just another compliant idiot who comprises the bulk of humanity.
Some also want to present a faux image of inscrutable complexity and independent intellect to enhance their self-esteem.
It is, I think, the very same juvenile, emotional trait that is observable in teenagers who, naturally, get irritable when their parents make assumptions about them. So they reflexively reject parental observations about them even when those observations are valid.
Maybe it is just a vestigial part of emotional development that drives individuals to branch away from the pack by using contempt and antipathy. And it manifests as irrational hostility, as we can see in the comments section here – every day.
Some people just don’t seem to grow out of it.
Dear Abe,
Are you questioning Israel’s right to exist? As Moshe Dayan said, Israel must behave like a mad dog in order that everyone is scared of attacking it. It doesn’t seem to work for the unintelligent ex-residents of much of Judea and Samaria, nor for the current residents of Gaza, you wouldn’t believe how much we are helping them to increase their economic presence in the parts of our lovely country we don’t need, and this is the gratitude they show us.
Your Lord Tony Blair has the right idea. He doesn’t worry about the non-citizens’ human rights, he’s got a big plan to make them all rich and functioning in the eretz-Israel economy. All he wants of us is to ease up on the checkpoints and let them trade. Did you ever hear such nonsense? But we let him think we agree and get on with clearing the bastards out anyway.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/israel-stifles-palestinian-growth-says-world-bank-8867325.html
ישראל בכל מקום – nowhere man. Wall to wall casus belli; your brickbat fails to deliver and is far removed from an eretz Israel movement which is much more sophisticated in it’s doctrine and hype, aware that enlightenment means a need to beguile.
“an eretz Israel movement which is much more sophisticated in it’s doctrine and hype”
….but with exactly the same objectives. Think of me as an honest Zionist, if you will. Cutting through the dissimulation necessary until our fait is accompli….
🙂