I don't see this mentioned on Kos today and I think it warrants notice. It doesn't change what was disclosed last week by Edward Snowden. It doesn't diminish the concerns that I have about the preservation of civil liberties in this country. In fact, it makes me wonder if we don't have a bigger problem than people realize when it comes to our freedom. For some time, I've wondered why the US press sometimes covers a story differently from the way it was covered abroad. Sometimes the differences are resolved sooner or later as facts are added. Sometimes the differences are never reconciled. It leaves me wondering whether we truly have a free press anymore.
The Hong Kong newspaper, South China Morning Post, is reporting today that it conducted an hour long candid interview with Edward Snowden, the National Security Agency whistleblower. The article is headlined:
Edward Snowden: US government has been hacking Hong Kong and China for years
The interview is summarized in four bullet points:
• US National Security Agency’s controversial Prism programme extends to people and institutions in Hong Kong and mainland China;
• The US is exerting “bullying’’ diplomatic pressure on Hong Kong to extradite him;
• Hong Kong’s rule of law will protect him from the US;
• He is in constant fear for his own safety and that of his family.
The full interview is available at the English language online edition of the
South China Morning Post. It appears that there must be heavy traffic trying to access the website which has been unavailable intermittently today. Hopefully those problems have been resolved. Here’s a screen shot taken at around 2PM Eastern.
South China Morning Post
Checking US news sources, the interview has been mentioned by a number of publications today without any reference to the intelligence gathering that the South China Morning Post says the US conducted.
The Hong Kong paper’s sub-headline is
Former CIA operative makes more explosive claims and says Washington is ‘bullying’ Hong Kong to extradite him
Between the US and China, it would be more of a surprise to learn that anyone is surprised by news of spying. It could be considered a confirmation of what was already assumed. Nor does it change what was disclosed last week about the NSA’s covert policy of collecting data on US citizens from a number of sources. The federal government is still on notice as to its primary function which is to guarantee the Constitutional rights of Americans so that they are never subordinated to any other objective.
What I find interesting is something that I’ve noticed when travelling overseas. It’s not unusual that the foreign press and the US press cover the same stories but with notable differences. It's not just that portions of a story seem to be left out. It's the specific content that's omitted. Is it considered unsuitable for a domestic audience and censored? Am I making a mountain out of a molehill? I don't see or hear other people talking about this and I can't be the only one who notices it.