Scott
Verified User
I personally recommend taking a look at Oliver Stone's Snowden film, as well as the Citizenfour documentary. Both explain what got Snowden to decide that blowing the whistle on what the U.S. government was doing was the right thing to do.
So American media is allowed to take Snowden's side?
Depends what American media we're talking about. In the case of Oliver Stone, my understanding is that he's been a thorn in the establishment's side for some time now, though I've heard that even he's been coerced into not covering some things. Similarly, Glenn Greenwald and others who participated in disseminating what Snowden had to say certainly have have some things to say regarding U.S. censorship. Here's an article that Mr Greenwald recommended on the subject from February:
https://greenwald.locals.com/post/5...ad-and-pernicious-than-most-of-us-already-kno
If they even tried to opposition's side in Russia(even legal opposition), they would be murdered.
My understanding is that Putin's main political opposition in Russia is the Communist Party, and they're still fairly strong there. This doesn't mean that I believe that Putin definitely hasn't harmed or even killed some of his political rivals, but then assassination of political figures is something that happens in the U.S. too. Surely remember the assassination of JFK and his brother RFK? Are you aware that RFK Jr., who is currently running as a Presidential candidate, was also apparently targeted for assassination? Here's a story on it:
Armed man impersonating US Marshal arrested at Robert F. Kennedy event ID’d | New York Post
From the article:
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On July 31, Adrian Aispuro posted a threatening and often incoherent TikTok video in which his gun and fake marshal’s badge were prominently on display.
“My name is Adrian Paul Aispuro,” he said. “I need to speak to the Hell’s Angels, I need to speak to the Mongols.”
“Contact me,” he said — offering an email address.
“Let’s f–king break some kneecaps … Let’s f—k it up. I’m putting this planet on lockdown … Take care of each other, protect the women and the children. If I don’t make it back, call the f–king president. Your commander-in-chief, Donald J. Trump.”
**
Despite this incident, the Biden Administration continues to refuse to give him Secret Service protection:
RFK Jr.'s Latest Secret Service Request Cites Specific Assassination Threat | Newsweek
Maybe leaking was the right thing to do, but it was illegal.
I'm sure the Nazis would have said much the same thing to anyone leaking what was happening in the concentration camps, don't you think? There's a line from one of Frank Herbert's books that I think covers the law quite well:
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Law always chooses sides on the basis of enforcement power. Morality and legal niceties have little to do with it when the real question is: Who has the clout?
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And more importantly, it was legally not whistle blowing. It was at best leaking.
In the case of the U.S. military's gunning down of reporters, I think we can agree that Assange facilitated Chelsea Manning's whistle blowing by publishing it widely.
Snowden may never be able to go to the U.S. again, at least if he values his freedom.
Manning stayed behind, and served his time. He was released, and now is 100% free.
Do you believe that he should have been jailed at all?
Snowden has been unwilling to face his consequences.
Nonsense. He was quite willing to face the consequences of his actions, he just didn't want jail time in the U.S. to be one of them, so he took steps to avoid this. He still faces the consequence of not being able to return to the U.S. and remain free.
Heroes have to face consequences. The facing of those consequences is what makes them heroes.
Agreed, but I think it's truly tragic that these days, rather than cheer the heros on, the U.S. government is frequently the villain in the story. Snowden, Manning and Assange have all faced negative consequences for revealing the dark underbelly of the United States military industrial complex.
Manning should have been declared a hero for what she revealed, not jailed.
I don't completely agree with everything Manning did, but I have no doubt she has a strong moral compass.
What of her actions didn't you agree with?
I know that Navalny died while in prison, but I've seen no evidence that Putin murdered him.
Putin tried to murder him repeatedly. Putin has basically taken credit for murdering him.
Do you have any evidence for either of these assertions? As I pointed out in the post you're responding to, there is certainly evidence suggesting he wasn't the culprit.
Again, the article I linked to last time on this:
The First Question One Must Ask Is Who Benefits From Navalny’s Death? Certainly Not Putin | Scheerpost
Furthermore, there's evidence that Navalny wasn't better than Putin, but rather more amenable to what western powers wanted:
For Russian leftists, Western favorite Navalny represents same corrupt elitism | The Grayzone
Navalny is able to work with opposition leaders, and does not kill them... That makes him absolutely better than Putin.
You haven't established that Putin killed Navalny.
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