My weekly column at Souciant this time is not Mideast related at all. In the wake of Chelsea Manning’s revelation about herself, I take a look at the progress that has been made on transgender issues and the long way we still have to go, particularly in communities that should already be much farther along, in my view. More than usual, I welcome your feedback, either online or you can message me directly through the contact link on this page.
Bradley Manning
Don’t Make a Hero of Snowden — Yet
Edward Snowden must not be made a hero! That probably comes as a surprise to anyone who read my previous two pieces on PRISM,
This guy gets it.
but it’s a genuine concern. The question of Snowden as hero or traitor threatens to derail the much more important conversation that we need to have in the United States.
Bipartisan attacks on Snowden are already being levelled. Senators Dianne Feinstein and Bill Nelson, both Democrats, and the Republican Speaker of the House, John Boehner have all called Snowden a traitor. Others are praising him as a hero. And, as the go-to newspaper for lobbyists, POLITICO has already pointed out, the debate itself is precisely what President Obama wants. While we debate the pros and cons of Ed Snowden, we’re not discussing PRISM. Continue reading
America’s Digital Stasi
This week at Souciant…well, I had a different article idea, and I was halfway through writing it. But the whole PRISM thing is just overwhelming. As much as what it says about the state of freedom and democracy in the US, it says even more about the utter and shameless phoniness of Barack Obama. How much will we take?