Freedom Of The Press And Freedom Of Speech Are Incredibly Important And Are Under Active Assault By The National Security State And Its Collaborators In Congress
This goes beyond Assange, Manning, and Snowden - odious legislation is now before Congress which would utterly curtail free speech, under color of law.
First, the Belmarsh Tribunal - rather long (I’ve just begun listening to it) - but worth paying attention to. Amy Goodman is a liberal, as may be many of the speakers, but such laws cut against dissidents from and opponents to government policy of whatever ideology or political philosophy they may choose, and such laws and governmental structures must be opposed in a free society, or essential liberties are lost to only be regained through blood, toil, tears, and hard effort.
(video begins at 10m30s)
The video referred to above: “Video footage from a U.S. Apache helicopter in 2007 leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Bradley Manning to Wikileaks. The video shows Reuters journalist Namir Noor-Eldeen, driver Saeed Chmagh, and several others as the Apache shoots and kills them in a public square in Eastern Baghdad after they are apparently assumed to be insurgents. After the initial shooting, an unarmed group of adults and children in a minivan arrives on the scene and attempts to transport the wounded. They are fired upon as well. The official statement on this incident initially listed all adults as insurgents and claimed the US military did not know how the deaths ocurred.”
Coming from much more conservative sources, Jacob Hornberger at the Future of Freedom Foundation, and Richard L Ebeling of The Citadel, voice many of the same concerns:
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