Editor’s Note: The three most basic issues upon which all others depend are media reform, the rule of law, and election integrity. If I could waive a wand and magically choose just one, it would be media reform – with media reform election integrity and the rule of law would be possible and likely, without it election integrity is of little consequence. I spend my time on election integrity because the problems and workable solutions come naturally to me based on my knowledge, education, and experience.” Today, I would add a third basic issue upon which all others depend, the rule of law and not of people [or corporations. Two previous book reviews focus on the rule of law and media reform/freedom.
Highly recommended reading. New York Times magazine, yesterday: How Laura Poitras Helped Snowden Spill His Secrets <read>
This is a tale of three individuals Laura Poitras, Glenn Greenwald, and Edward Snowdon focusing on the less known of the three, Poitras, and her struggles with a country bent on suppressing information required of its citizens to participate in, direct, and obtain democracy. It would be quite a movie trailer or book sample text, yet perhaps too unbelievable. As reality it is deeply disturbing, a profound call to action. Well written and engaging we recommend reading the entire article.
Once again we are in agreement with a Hartford Icon:
“It’s no wonder that truth is stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.” – Mark Twain
*******Update #1.The intimidation spreads to family and to the UK, Glenn Greenwald writes: Detaining my partner: a failed attempt at intimidation <read>
This is obviously a rather profound escalation of their attacks on the news-gathering process and journalism. It’s bad enough to prosecute and imprison sources. It’s worse still to imprison journalists who report the truth. But to start detaining the family members and loved ones of journalists is simply despotic. Even the Mafia had ethical rules against targeting the family members of people they felt threatened by. But the UK puppets and their owners in the US national security state obviously are unconstrained by even those minimal scruples.
If the UK and US governments believe that tactics like this are going to deter or intimidate us in any way from continuing to report aggressively on what these documents reveal, they are beyond deluded. If anything, it will have only the opposite effect: to embolden us even further. Beyond that, every time the US and UK governments show their true character to the world – when they prevent the Bolivian President’s plane from flying safely home, when they threaten journalists with prosecution, when they engage in behavior like what they did today – all they do is helpfully underscore why it’s so dangerous to allow them to exercise vast, unchecked spying power in the dark.
******** Update #2. Meanwhile a “journalist” by everyone’s definition but the media’s dishes it out but cannot take it: Assassination TIME: Sr. journalist ‘can’t wait’ to justify drone strike that will kill Assange <read>
