Greg Mitchell's Blog, page 259

Backing Snowden--and Also, Prosecuting Him

That's the new TIME magazine cover at left with Snowden, Bradley Manning and.....who?  (Aaron Swartz?) Anyway, here's link to story, also a poll that shows most concerned about snooping and back what Snowden did--but calling for authorities to nail him anyway.  But there's a major "generation gap" on this, with much more support for Snowden's action  among those 19 to 34.  Also a video.

Mental Health Break

Helene Grimaud and conclusion of Beethoven's "Choral Fantasia."  Saw her do it in small town in Westchester, NY two weeks ago--where she has returned to live near the famous wolf sanctuary she founded.

Talking Terror

Funny or Die solution for Americans to negate government snooping: "Talk Like a Terrorist All the Time."  In all your communications make vague or specific terror threats, making effective surveillance meaningless.


NSA Wiretapping Public Service Announcement - watch more funny videos

King vs. Greenwald

It took no time for Glenn Greenwald to fire back at rabid Rep. Peter King on Twitter, after the latter called for prosecuting him for his role in NSA leaks (on Fox News, of course):  "Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason."  Of course, he refers to King's support for years for the IRA.

King had warned, "when you have someone who's disclosed secrets like this and threatens to release more, then to me, yes, there has to be, legal action should be taken against him. This is a very unusual case with life and death implications for Americans."   

UPDATE #1 Greenwald just tweeted,  "Just watched the King video; everything he said is based on the blatant lie that I threatened to disclose names of CIA covert agents."  He also tells Greg Sargent that King's attacks will make him even more bold and determined in his own work on this issue.

Greenwald also tweeted this afternoon,  "Sen John Tester makes clear: Edward Snowden's disclosures did not harm national security - hails them as 'helpful.'"

UPDATE #2  The Guardian issues a statement:

We are surprised and disappointed by comments from Rep. Peter King R(NY), chairman of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, saying "legal action should be taken" against Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald for his reporting on NSA surveillance.
This is especially troubling in light of comments from Eric Holder, US Attorney General who stated: "As long as I am attorney general, we will not prosecute any reporter for doing his or her job." Holder went on to say he was “troubled by the possibility that leak investigations may chill the investigative journalism that holds government accountable."

UPDATE #3  Greenwald on Chris Hayes' MSNBC show just now on the phone from...somewhere.
Claims few take King seriously and most Americans find "repulsive" threats on journalists trying to bring truths out of the "dark."  But he doesn't "dismiss it lightly" because after all he is a "sitting member of Congress." He calls a King "lie" that he had names of covert CIA agents and had threatened to disclose them-- not like "Scooter Libby," he joked. 

On being careful with documents:  From the start Snowden said he had studied docs and would only release certain ones.  Then of the ones he showed to Greenwald he asked him to be careful and make sure not harming U.S.  Indeed, "vast majority of documents" and slides they have not published.  "Every single thing we have revealed is in the public interest" and "does not harm national security."  Merely told American citizens what they "didn't know" but terrorists already knew.

After Snowden interview today, what is the leaker's game plan?  When he talked to Snowden when first met it was clear he had "rationally" weighed the threats and his self-interest and still went ahead.  "I have not specifically talked to him about what his plans are" but he's clearly aware of dangers.

What about criticism of his reporting on claiming "direct access" by NSA to the big tech companies such as Google?  Says the Wash Post "walked back" part of their PRISM story but says his paper reported that part differently.  Still don't know what shared and how,  and how much--lot of "discrepancies" and need transparency on this angle.

Take Me Out to the Brawl Game

It's not a Koufax no-hitter or anything, but if you've ever wanted to hear Vin Scully call a mass brawl--last night, Dodgers vs. D-Backs.

'Explosive' Snowden Interview

It seems that the only person, so far, to find Edward Snowden, still in Hong Kong apparently, is a local reporter, not any law enforcement officer or chief renderer.  And he's given an interview today, now updated, for the paper, the South China Morning Post, in which he rejects the labels "hero" and "traitor" and explains why (despite the mockery) he came to that locale:  not to be most safe but to reveal more "criminality."  He will resist extradition and put his faith in the locals to shield him.  The paper promises "the full story" with "explosive" revelations "soon."

Just Making Shit Up

We covered last month the budding controversy over a NYT Magazine column by a writer breathlessly describing an airline "emergency" he experienced n his passenger seat.  The details seems so implausible they raised red flags for many and then we awaited the Magazine's response.  When it came it was laughable--hey, it's how this guy remembered it, and memories can be faulty, and of course subjective, and blah-blah.   You know, the usual memoirist's excuse--hey, it probably didn't happen this way but that's how it felt to me.

Now James Fallows at The Atlantic, also bothered by this (but giving it a fair shake), reports on an expert actually finding the logs for the alleged incident and discovering that, indeed, the whole tale is bogus, "tilting his entire account from one of eye-rolling embellishment toward one of outright fabrication."  I love the pilot's line about "artisanal Brooklyn fiction."  Now will the Times respond? 

Pundits vs. Snowden

My new piece at The Nation on mainstream pundits--such as Tom Friedman, today--hitting Edward Snowden.

Stephen and Snowden

Fun and biting segment from Colbert last night, from describing the leaker as "looking like a nerd trying to look like a cool guy trying to look like a nerd" to hailing the NSA for reducing our freedoms--now terrorists who "hate us for our freedoms" have less reason to attack us.


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Don't Mess With Bill

My old friend Bill Kunstler--also a regular contributor for me at Crawdaddy during the 1970s--speaks here on a subject relevant to the NSA debate today:  the "aura of legality."  The argument we hear today about NSA surveillance--"it's completely legal"--has been used by "tyrants" throughout U.S. and world history, he observes, in brilliant two-minute argument.  Bill was a great guy as a friend, by the way, warm and witty and generous.  (h/t Andrew Hennigan)