Partner of journalist behind NSA stories detained at airport under terrorism laws

First off, thank you very much O.P. What happens in countries eyeing totalitarian control is that they first have to eliminate access to information for the populace. This includes journalists and the internet, of course.

The reason the government has to do this is because it is not a Democracy anymore - for if it was truly looking out for the people, it would not have to hide anything.

The only reason that the truth has to be hidden is if the citizens of the U.S. or the U.K. are being given the short end of the stick, or no stick at all, or being tossed into fires, I don't know, any of that could happen.

It is fairly obvious to me the direction we are heading in at an even faster pace than before, especially with drone strikes immediately being proposed to use against Assange.

reply to post by darkbake


In the worst-case scenario, which is where we are heading, it will be nearly impossible to know what is right or wrong or what is going on because access to that information will be impossible to come by - I mean the people like Assange who want to expose the truth are more than likely good.

Quite frankly, I am surprised at the pace we are headed in that direction, it certainly adds some credibility to conspiracy theorists and the idea that Boston was used as a testing ground for martial law.

reply to post by darkbake


I am not convinced we are at the Martial Law state just yet, something bigger needs to happen for us to give up that kind of freedom. While things seem to be progressing that way, and the events in Boston could certainly have been a test run for it, i still believe that TPTB would find it very hard to impose that kind of control unless we faced an event that was truly unprecedented in recent history.

What that event would be is still open to debate.

reply to post by Thorneblood


That is a good point, I wonder what it would be? And I think you are right, for sure. But I also think it is probably already in the works

reply to post by darkbake


Your assuming it would/could be a controlled and planned event but i am not. It would also need to be something that was on-going, something that wouldn't just end in a few days so that the expectation of normality would eventually fade from our collective memories.

Of course the problem with this is that it would also need massive media coverage and control, and frankly i am not sure that the TPTB could pull that off anymore.

Maybe if the fuel rods at Fukushima reached criticality or Yosemite blew, but beyond that i can't think of anything currently in view that could do it effectively.

reply to post by Thorneblood


It would have to be a biological outbreak then.

reply to post by Thorneblood


Double post - or economic collapse, but that doesn't seem as potent. But the fact that any random event could set off martial law actually makes it... a bit scarier.

Originally posted by Agit8dChop
So they had 9hrs to completely pull apart his laptop, phone, email accounts etc..

I'd say this was an intelligence gathering exercise more than intimidation.

They seized his phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles, I dont think he got them returned to him when he was released.

It just goes to show that 'schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000' gives you no rights when you are in airports/ports/border areas. Journalists under scrutiny need to be very careful when travelling these days.

A couple of extra links which might be of interest:

Deafening press silence greets arrest of Guardian journalist's partner

from the link Lady_Tuatha posted, but worth it's own mention:

Glenn Greenwald: detaining my partner was a failed attempt at intimidation

It was good to log in today and see while so far this might be being quietly dealt with/passed over by the UK mainstream press ATS already had a thread going. Good stuff, thank you Lady_Tuatha.

Information is the new bullet.

Anyone getting on a plane with sensitive information is MORE dangerous than a terrorist with a booby-bomb - a bomb only hurts the people on the plane - information will hurt an entire country.

You can bet his electronics will have bugs and spy software's installed before being returned to him.

Journalists deal in privileged information and are the new threat to the 'world'.

Well I, for one, feel safer. Doesn't everyone else feel safer?

The authorities are doing such a bang up job keeping us safer, I most certainly feel safer.

/sarc

reply to post by JAK


From this article by Glenn Greenwald:

But the Guardian's lawyer was able to speak with him immediately upon his release, and told me that, while a bit distressed from the ordeal, he was in very good spirits and quite defiant, and he asked the lawyer to convey that defiance to me. I already share it, as I'm certain US and UK authorities will soon see.

That final line is clearly a warning. I have a feeling the authorities have done nothing but awaken a sleeping dragon.

reply to post by PW229


He is now my favourite journalist.

You really cant blame him for being angry either, he has every right to be.
I will definitely be following all his articles from now on, he is bound to release something substantial after that.

Originally posted by queenofswords
As much as I think freedom of the press is under fire, I still think there can be legitimate reasons to stop certain people, including journalists, if there is a reasonable suspicion that that person may have knowledge of terrorist activity.

I'm not saying I think Snowden is a terrorist....I'm saying I think the government is considering him such----as in cyber terrorist. They just haven't announced it yet. (Give Eric Holder a few more weeks and he will find a way.)

Let's take a look at David Miranda's itinerary details:

**Miranda was on his way to South America after having visited in Berlin with Laura Poitras, an American documentary film director and producer. This trip was paid for by The Guardian according to the article.

**Laura Poitras is on the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) watch list herself. Hmmm....red flag.

**According to Greenwald, she is one of two people (him and her) that has full archives of the 2013 mass surveillance disclosures and she helped Edward Snowden publish the NSA revelations.

If DHS has put Ms. Miranda on their watch list, for whatever reason, and if she is aiding and abetting what they consider a criminal and cyber terrorist, anybody collaborating with her that has an association with an additional (Greenwald) aider and abetter, will be detained, questioned, and investigated.

IMO, the authorities did the right thing in stopping David Miranda to question him. In this case, the dots were connected rightly. Regardless of how much the government is trying to minimize the seriousness of Edward Snowden's activities, I think they consider it top priority to stop the revelations and Miranda's recent travels were uniquely connected to an individual that had assisted Snowden in what the government considers illegal and dangerous to national security.

Although I personally agree that journalists should have more leeway, in the post 9/11 world, governments are becoming a bit paranoid of everybody. The government may be considering Snowden and his helpers and affiliates terrorists out to destroy the infrastructure of national security. They may consider such people just as dangerous as a group of extremists blowing up a couple of airplanes or bombing a marathon. If this is the case, I am simply saying that they are connecting dots--------something they failed to do with the Boston bombers who had recently visited Dagestan, a hot bed of terrorist training camps.

I'M NOT saying I think Snowden is a cyber terrorist to be treated as such. I'm saying the government may be considering him such, but they haven't wrapped it up in the legal language as yet. Watch out when they do! It is going to affect us all.

reply to post by Lady_Tuatha


Human nature is to rebel against what others want us to do. We tend to be creatures that believe in freewill and choice. When anyone tells you, you have to do something, or don't do something it is in our nature to defy those requests. The governments crackdown on freedoms, will no doubt spark many who would take subtle risks to engage in more bold attempts. Those who take no risk, will no doubt be fearful to engage in anything those risk-takers would do against their masters.

I agree with the journalist. This emboldens anyone who believes the governments actions are not justified. It causes us to draw a line of acceptability. To those who already feared it does nothing but make sure they don't follow the others leading. And so, the government targets those that lead. Its been the same throughout history and it is just repeating.

It is a real shame we cannot detain and question folks who work for the NSA. I really enjoy watching the spy thrillers on TV where somebody is politely invited into the trunk of a car and taken to an abandoned warehouse and given cupcakes and ice cream.

I bet 90 percent of the population would vote for the outright and total destruction of the NSA. We really need politicians who represent us instead of politicians who RULE OVER US.

Disgusting and reprehensible display of abuse of power. When are the people going to pull their heads out of their collective rear-ends? How far is too far? I guess we'll find out...

Wait, let me work on my surprised face.
CNN

The White House knew the move was coming.

"There was a heads up that was provided by the British government," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday.

So the United States knew it "was likely to occur, but it's not something that we've requested and it's something that was done specifically by the British law enforcement officials there," he said.

He would not comment on whether the United States has obtained material from Miranda's laptop -- and would not say whether President Obama condemns the detention.

Mind-blowing article !

www.theguardian.com...

Anonymous strikes back for Greenwald
Global Post

Following the nine-hour-long detention by British authorities of Glenn Greenwald's partner, David Miranda, Anonymous posts personal information of US government officials and their families as 'vital anti-terror surveillance information.'

Anonymous hackers behind the @OpLastResort twitter account have hacked UK and Chinese government websites in response to the nine-hour detention of Brazilian national David Miranda, partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Fired right across their bow.

I could put up the