Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald warns that he will publish many more documents about the British government’s surveillance activities, after his partner was detained and questioned at a London airport this weekend.
From Reuters (via Huffington Post):
“I will be far more aggressive in my reporting from now. I am going to publish many more documents. I am going to publish things on England too. I have many documents on England’s spy system. I think they will be sorry for what they did,” Greenwald, speaking in Portuguese, told reporters at Rio’s airport where he met Miranda upon his return to Brazil.
“They wanted to intimidate our journalism, to show that they have power and will not remain passive but will attack us more intensely if we continue publishing their secrets,” he said.
Greenwald’s partner David Miranda was questioned for nine hours this weekend under a controversial anti-terrorism law, and asked specifically about the Guardian journalist’s NSA reporting.
Miranda had been visiting in Berlin with Laura Poitras, the US filmmaker who produced the video interview that unmasked Edward Snowden to the world as the source of the NSA surveillance program leaks, and collaborated with Greenwald on the NSA reporting. Authorities are said to have questioned Miranda about Poitras as well. Several pieces of his electronic equipment were confiscated.
British authorities and the US both deny that the US directed any of the activities related to Miranda’s detention.
From NBCNews.com:
The White House on Monday directed questions about Miranda’s detainment to the British government, saying that the decision to question him was made without the involvement or direction of the United States.
The British government did provide a “heads up” to American authorities that it planned to question Miranda, but “the United States was not involved in that decision or that action,” said spokesman Josh Earnest.
“This was the British government, making a decision based on British law, on British soil about a British law enforcement action,” Earnest said.
Greenwald has previously warned that information yet to be released from Snowden’s stash of leaked files could prove to be the US’ “worst nightmare” if released.
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Comments
So Snowden stole classified information and passed at least some of it along to Glenn Greenwald who is now threatening to release it. Seems to me that there are far less elaborate ways to commit suicide.
The whiners who are protesting the fact or the length of Miranda’s detention are speaking out of their anuses. They have no idea why he was detained or why it took as long as it did. It’s knee-jerk response at best.
Greenwald has spent months now bragging about how much more classified information he either has or can access and has been threatening to publish more (as he does again here). These are CRIMES. There is no journalist shield or whistleblower law which permits the possession or publication of classified materials.
You don’t have to approve of everything the NSA does or of the current oversight to realize that very little of what Snowden and Greenwald have produced actually directly affect the privacy of American citizens. Much of it has been about foreign intelligence gathering. It’s just espionage with a reporter’s cap.
Greenwald has been over-hyping stories and himself his whole life. He has lied over and over and over, deceived his readers and those of other reporters. Trusting him – or anyone he brings to the world’s attention – is not the default position of a sensible person.
It seems to me that the Zimmerman haters and the Snowden apologists have something fundamental in common: they didn’t like a particular law (SYG and NSA surveillance) and rather than using the rather inconvenient means of the democratic process to have those laws changed, they instead choose to lionize those who broke the law (Martin’s assault and Snowden’s espionage) thinking that at least they could make a lot of noise and put a thumb in the eye of the people who created or enforce the laws they disagree with. At the end of the day though, it doesn’t do anything to actually get the laws changed (and may in fact crystalize support for those laws) but at least it makes them FEEL better. Which I suppose is the whole point.
To Everybody:
Please remind every one you know and come in contact that
Obama (Obama and Holder) did this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Especially remind “The Gays” and all the “Professional Gays.”
It is Barry Obama and Eric Holder prosecuting innocent gays!
Last time I checked it was the Brits since, you know they’re a sovereign country and the detention was on their soil under color of their laws.
Professional Gays? Are there Minor League Gays? What about Laymen Gays, any of those? I’m already aware of those pretty-as-a-flower Nose Gays, as well as that famous sports trainer, Ben Gay, who would also, I assume, be a Professional Gay?
There’s no proof that Miranda was detained to put pressure on Greenwald, but it definitely has a ‘trout in the milk’ look to it. ‘Innocent until proven guilty’ is designed to protect us from the government, not it from us, and the cautionary principle (which government dearly loves) tells us to presume the worst.
POP: Other than being held under a terrorism law?
Why can’t Glenn Greenwald just vanish? Disappear. You know, no longer exist. There’s big ocean around ole England…lots of room.
Greenwald and Snowden both seem hell bent on proving they aren’t the noble whistleblowers/journalists/truth tellers they want us to see them as. Using information as retaliation for the question of his partner comes off as vindictive. So the dissemination of the whatever information he has must not be purely altruistic, right?
Liberals proceed on emotion, and his man got pinched.
I’d say the British and American governments are hell bent on reinforcing their new reputation as jackbooted thugs. When you’re caught violating the rights of your citizens, the proper response isn’t to double down.
Estragon is way funny describing the source of certain people’s speech. I mean, no Freudian slip there right?
But seriously, hell hath no fury like a … oh, wait…
I think it’s called ham-fisting.
Snowden initially did a great service with his initial revelations. However it should be noted that he did so because of “stopped clock syndrome” — we just happened to check the time at the time the clocks hands were stopped on.
At this point, further revelationsa re likely to do more damage then do good and is likely to get a lot of people killed. People who are trying help against actual terrorists.
Snowden, Potrias, Greenwald are just a bunch of wacked out occupiers who have done useful stuff but have outlived their useful and risk doing a lot more harm.
I hope someone at the NSA sees this and decides to “drone” them. Then we can investigate the NSA and clean house.
Let us not forget that the reason that the NSA exists as it is now is because in the 70s a bunch of wacked out predecessors to the occupiers took powers away from the CIA. Turns out that those powers were needed and so the NSA got them. Take them away from the NSA and another agency will get them. It’s just the evolution of espionage.
Instead of trying to get rid of those powers and playing this detrimental game of wacj a mole, we should be putting something in place that makes sure that those powers aren’t abused.
An agency whose activities are so classified that those who are supposed to exercise oversight aren’t cleared to conduct that oversight shouldn’t even exist.
Apparently they thought he was being used to ferret special instructions or information around the globe. Sounds about right, given they downed the Bolivian President’s plane to get their hands on Snowden. This retaliation is a very well known psychological tool to control the behavior of adversaries, a sword of Domacles. If a missile site even shoots at one of our planes, we destroy the missile site to make the operators fearful of attacking us. Now if Greenwald releases very damming information on the UK, and its probably true has Snowden has basically beaten the entire coalition of Western Governments single handedly, this week will be very informative. I don’t think Greenwald or Snowden will be touched, there is information that he is carrying that is being used as a threat to prevent them from doing do. The NSA knows it, Obama knows it.
The bigger issue for the US now, is that Snowden has proved them to be liars during this destroying their credibility. Snowden could now release false information and it would be believed. Such a play could bring down an administration.
Well, he was.
“The Guardian – after updating its original story last night – has now admitted that Mr Miranda was detained while travelling on tickets paid for by the paper. Why, if Mr Miranda were merely the partner of Mr Greenwald, would this be the case? According to The New York Times, it is because he was essentially acting as a document mule, carrying sensitive information with him as he travelled to and from a meeting with Laura Poitras, a documentary maker who has worked on the Snowden leaks.”
Britain’s anti-terror laws still suck, but this wasn’t the case of “Ooooh, they’re targeting Greenwald’s boyfriend just because he’s his boyfriend!” that it was originally made out to be.
The whole premise is rediculous. They can’t detain people because of who paid for the tickets. Companies often book travel for their employee’s personal travel so the employees can get the corporate rates and perks as part of their fringe benefits. You then get the travel deducted from your paycheck, or greenwald could simply have used his frequent flyer miles.
Why bother sending encrypted documents via mule when you can just email or send via some special encrypted channel? It’s not like they can prove anything if the docs are fully encrypted. If the channel is encrypted, they wouldn’t even know it was documents.
How would they know who was carrying what? Are they wiretapping them?
The law for detainment is for terror suspects, not espionage suspects. This is nothing but pure intimidation. Greenwald has them by the balls and they are trying to threaten the people he knows and loves. If they have a case arrest greenwald. If you have enough evidence to detain Miranda, you just have enough to arrest Greenwald, so do so or shutup.
Who in their Right Minds believes the Old Grey Lady, aka
Who in their Right Minds believes the New York Times?
RE: “Snowden has proved them to be liars”
What you said!
Summer – Autumn relationships are very difficult to maintain without overseas excursions.
Where can Glenn & David go now?
If Glenn & David break up it is the fault of The British .
If I were Greenwald, I’d avoid driving in LA. Just sayin’
Greenwald takes it up the ass? Who knew?
Mr. Sock Puppet Greenwald should avoid long trips down short roads, even those in Patagonia, perhaps it should be “especially those” in Patagonia.
NINE HOURS OF DETENTION. With the Americans having full knowledge David Miranda was on the flight from Berlin. To Rio, in Brazel. With a “stop over” at Heathrow.
HEAD’S UP! This means someone in the American Government was in contact, behind the scenes with “police” in the UK, who knew there was “terrorist” legislation that allowed them to SECRETLY detain people!
As soon as Miranda comes off the flight, he is arrested. And, ALL his items are taken from him. Luggage. Plus carry-on. Plus cell phone. Plus laptop.
Now for some background. Laura Poitras is a documentary photographer whose work has been honored at the Oscars. And, at Sundance. She was with Glenn Greenwald in Hong Kong … where she met and filmed Ed Snowden.
What’s all these powerful men looking for? To see if they can find Ed Snowden somehow electronically linked to David Miranda’s “devices.” Like the secret court we have in the USA, no judge’s name shows up. VERY SECRETIVE STUFF!
David Miranda’s first language is Portugese. English is a second language. And, he’s not particularly flent. Germany is very protective of people’s privacy. Which is why, when Laura Piotras is not living in Berlin, she’s living at Glenn Greenwald’s house.
Laura, who travels a lot in her line of work, has been subjected to MANY interrogations. (Particularly, because two of her films deal with Irak.) She’s been on American radar since 2004. Sure. If you go to Amazon you can buy her films.
Not too many people know where Glenn Greenwald lives in Brazil. (So, 3 hours into the interrogation, David Miranda must have given up his password on his cell phone.
This is when an unidentified policeman (probably using the cell phone) wakes Greenwald up at 5:30 AM. (Do you think by now David Cameron knows who the policeman was?)
Do you think by now the White House “might” be somewhat afraid of some of the connecting dots … So that it leads to Obama’s impeachment?
I know in the House that Boehner is a drunken fool. But Darrell Issa isn’t. And, impeachments start in the House.
IF that 5:30 AM phone call was supposed to intimidate Glenn Greenwald, gee. It sure did have an opposite effect, no?
At the airport (where Miranda was kept BY CUSTOMS, not able to actually enter England) … as Miranda was told he could go home. These “policemen” had every intention of ALSO keeping his passport. Here, Miranda started to YELL. (And, given some sort of legal assistance was sent there by the Guardian) … before Miranda left, his passport was returned. But not his personal stuff. And, not his electronics.
Both Snowden and Poitras are “hard core” when it comes to encryption. I’m sure everything electronic that needs to be protected from “prying eyes” … has been “fixed.”
Plus, how in less than nine hours REDDIT was flagged. And, Drudge did, too. This “tidbit” of “terrorism law” which isn’t applied to terrorists … but can be applied to citizens whose rights get flushed down the toilet …
Has given the story legs … it didn’t have, before.
Because there was organized political bullshit calling Snowden a traitor. (NOT.) And, the media was also going to be used to discredit this NSA reach.
What happens, if instead, the sleepy giant of people who thought they had Constitutional protections … saw it all evaporting. And, at the hands of elected incompetents?
Even if Boehner falls off his bar stool … I think he’s gonna get sobered up.
And, what would be the icing on the cake?
If Glenn Greenwald publishes a flow chart, showing how all these “entities” are arranged like birds of a feather … all in a row?
You think only Filner in San Diego has woes?
Only Anthony Weiner has woes?
As to Greenwald being afraid … Nah. I don’t think so. Just like WiliLeaks. All that’s needed is “something to happen” … and the key(s) fall into the public domain.
Abuse of power is when you hoax the People. Claim what you’re doing is in the name of “terrorism.” And, it’s like George Orwell said. Calling it the “Patriot Act” … when there’s nothing patriotic about it … is about to expose some fannies to the fire. Maybe, even, Diane Feinstein’s.
HOORARY FOR CAROL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
.
Like I already say….
.
“Obama (Obama and Holder) did this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
That’s my opinion and I’m keeping it!
HOORAY that is!
“White House knew Glenn Greenwald’s partner David Miranda would be detained” CNN
“Obama (Obama and Holder) did this!
http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/19/world/europe/greenwald-partner-detained/index.html
I know in the House that Boehner is a drunken fool. But Darrell Issa isn’t. And, impeachments start in the House.
Sorry, but I agree with Rush. Obama is a “cool, black” president, and he could sodomize a group of schoolkids at high noon in front of the White House, in front of Congress …. and he wouldn’t be impeached. He is “bulletproof” ….
Some one said … jackbooted thugs …
If there were jackbooted thugs around there’d be no trace of Snowden or Greenwald anymore. Just gone. Poof.