{"id":7245,"date":"2013-06-09T20:12:39","date_gmt":"2013-06-10T00:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/?p=7245"},"modified":"2013-06-11T10:08:41","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T14:08:41","slug":"my-re-tweet-edward-snowdens-amazing-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.artsjournal.com\/herman\/2013\/06\/my-re-tweet-edward-snowdens-amazing-interview.html","title":{"rendered":"My Re-Tweet: Edward Snowden’s Amazing Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"

Watch Edward Snowden speaking to Glenn Greenwald<\/a>. According to the British newspaper The Guardian: <\/p>\n

Snowden will go down in history as one of America’s most consequential whistleblowers, alongside Daniel Ellsberg and Bradley Manning. He is responsible for handing over material from one of the world’s most secretive organisations \u2013 the NSA.<\/p>\n

In a note accompanying the first set of documents he provided, he wrote: “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.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And read this Q&A with Snowden<\/a> about “why he carried out the biggest intelligence leak in a generation– and what comes next.”<\/p>\n

Postscript:<\/strong> June 10 — Bill Osborne’s comment<\/a> says what needed to be said: <\/p>\n

The abuse of Julian Assange and Bradley Manning was designed to intimidate whistle blowers like Edward Snowden. It is good to see that at least in this case it has not worked.<\/p>\n

We should soon expect a campaign of character assassination against Snowden similar to the ones conducted against Assange and Manning.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The most interesting thing about Bill’s comment is that he offers more than just a probing opinion. Typically, he gives striking information. For which my thanks. Yours, too, I hope. A clarification is needed, however, for this:<\/p>\n

It’s telling that the expos\u00e9 and interviews appeared in a foreign paper. We can no longer count on our own media to report the revelations of whistle blowers.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Yes, the American press alone cannot be relied upon to give us undiluted or unbiased news of U.S. gummint surveillance, intimidation, and so forth — partly because too many reporters simply repeat official “talking points” without challenging them, as Greenwald has often noted, but in larger part because corporate media have a craven, vested interest in maintaining good relations with the gummint. But credit where due: The Washington Post has been on the Snowden story from the beginning.<\/a> The fact that Snowden’s information was leaked to The Guardian first and foremost is because Snowden trusted Greenwald, and The Guardian is where Greenwald’s column appears. It must be said, of course, that no mainstream American newspaper would likely carry Greenwald’s column, especially given the unfettered editorial authority he demands (and deserves).<\/p>\n