A Little Perspective, Please

Are we losing all perspective on the threats posed by terrorism? While there is no doubt that all perils to public safety need to be taken seriously (yes, even those posed by pipeline ruptures that Enbridge seems to treat as state secrets), one cannot escape the conclusion that the Harper regime sees it in their best electoral interests to convince us that we cannot go about our daily lives without a massive surrending of freedoms, à la Bill C-51.

Edward Snowden, the NSA contractor who leaked classified information, suggests we need to get a little perspective.

In an online chat with Ryerson students yesterday, he had this to say about the Harper bill:

The former National Security Agency employee said only Canadians can decide on whether C-51 is a good or bad bill, but “Canadian intelligence has one of the weakest oversight frameworks out of any western intelligence agency.”

In Canada, terrorism kills fewer people than lightning strikes and it is extraordinarily rare, Snowden said.

“No matter what we do, no matter what laws we pass, we cannot throw away all of our rights, all of our liberties, all of our traditional freedoms because we are afraid of rare instances of criminal activity,” he said.

Snowden sees Canada going down the same pernicious route as the United States, asserting that C-51 is

just like the U.S. Patriot Act, the law passed following the 9-11 terrorist attacks to bolster the powers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency.

Under Bill C-51, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service would gain police-like powers to “disrupt” threats to Canada — including, but not limited to, terrorist threats.

Despite the fact that most people are innocent,

the freedoms and liberties people enjoy are being changed without their consent, Snowden added.

I think we can all rest assured that Snowden's warnings will go completely unheeded by the Harper regime.

A Timely Warning From Edward Snowden

But will anyone listen?

Edward Snowden, the man wanted for leaking U.S. security documents in 2013 says Canadians should be “extraordinarily cautious” in reference to an anti-terror bill proposed by the Harper government. Snowden and journalist Glenn Greenwald spoke to a group of Toronto students Monday evening.

On Bad Days And Defiance

Yesterday was not a good day for me. First, I awoke to read about the government raid on the Guardian office resulting in the destruction of computers containing some of the material leaked by Edward Snowden on illegal state surveillance. Eerily reminiscent of the U.S. Department of Justice raid on the Associated Press back in May, there is little doubt in my mind that these are actions designed to cast a deep chill, not only on journalists themselves, but also on their sources, many of whom demand an anonymity that can no longer be guaranteed.

The second blow to my day was learning that Elmore Leonard, a peerless master of crime fiction, a writer of prodigious output, had died at the age of 87. If you have never read one of his post-western novels, give one a try. If, like me, you have an affinity for things slightly off-kilter, you will appreciate Leonards's slightly bent characters and impeccable ear for language and dialogue. Even though he enjoyed a long life, I am saddened that I will never again read a new work by him.

While nothing can stop the tide of time and mortality, much can be done to stand together against the tyranny of the state. The basis of that stand has to be access to information that allows us to decide for ourselves where truth lies, not where the state and the corporate-driven media wants us to believe it lies. And the basis for that information must be unfettered journalism, not journalism cowed and confined by intimidation tactics. In today's Star, Heather Mallick writes passionately about the issue.

Entitled Like food, we need good reporting to survive, Mallick, reflecting on the outrage at the Guardian, observes that there is a

... common attitude floating in the ether: that secret information must not be reported. Citizens — including in Canada, a most secretive country — must not know about who governs us, how they behave and how they keep us under surveillance so that we may be quickly pulled in on a hook.

She goes on to make two assertions that seem irrefutable to me:

Opposing reporting is like opposing food. We need food the same way we need information about where and how we live, globally, nationally and locally. Those intolerant of lactose and gluten may not like traditional milk or bread. But we still need and like food.

And:

Without reporting, we fail as a democracy.

Creeping state interference with our ability to know, understand and assess information and activities does not bode well for our way of life. People who think otherwise, embracing and/or promoting willful ignorance instead of enlightenment, are doing great harm to each of us.

They are the real enemy we should all be on guard against.

Freedoms? What Freedoms?

For anyone still under the illusion that our rights and freedoms are sacred trusts protected by our democracies, you might want to read this little item, the beginning of what I suspect will be a very long period of payback for Glenn Greenwald's act of bringing Edward Snowden's inconvenient truths to the world's attention.

H/t Min Reyes

Oh, How The U.S. Right Must Hate Him

If you're not sure why, watch this short Noam Chomsky video, in which he shares his thoughts on Edward Snowden and American hypocrisy:

Why Is A Free Press Important?

Watch this video of an interview with Glenn Greenwald for part of the answer:



H/t Popular Resistance

If Woodward And Bernstein Were Dead

.... I'm sure there would be reports of seismic activity in the vicinity of their graves over this question asked of Glenn Greenwald by Meet the Press host David Gregory about the propriety of his bringing Edward Snowden's story to the world:

Heroes and Villains

There is little doubt in my mind that the economic chaos defining the lives of millions of people is intentional, not just so their labour can be exploited as cheaply as possible, but also because desperate citizens make for compliant and disciplined drones. Historically, it has usually been thus, with the elites calling the shots while the rest scramble for meager existences, through no fault of their own other than their place in the embryo lottery.

When you are in a position of economic security, it is much easier to follow the corporate/political intrigue that continues to debase our democracy and degrade our humanity. Unfortunately, that position of security is constituted by an increasingly small segment of the non-elite population.

So if your life isn't consumed by trying to simply keep body and soul together, you might find some articles on Edward Snowden of real interest, especially given the questions that they raise about what limits should exist in a democracy, and whether people living in a putative democracy have the right to know whether they are being spied upon en masse:

Why Edward Snowden, NSA whistleblower, is more hero than traitor by Tony Burman.

Edward Snowden is messenger, not message by Heather Mallick.

In praise of Bradley Manning and Edward Snowden by Rick Salutin.

And from the man who brought Snowden's revelations to the world, On Prism, partisanship and propaganda by Glenn Greenwald.

Another Portrait In Integrity

While Edward Snoden will undoubtedly be portrayed in the days and weeks to come as a traitor to his country, his courageous revelation of the domestic spying that the NSA is engaged in earns my admiration. Not only has he demonstrated his personal courage and convictions by his willingness to be publicly named, he has also shown for those who have any lingering doubts that, despite his high-flown rhetoric, U.S. President Barack Obama is a complete fraud in portraying himself as a moderating agent of change:



Says Snowden:

"I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions," but "I will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."