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U.S. Fears, Not Evil, Motivate Desperate Search for Snowden (Pagina Siete, Bolivia)

 

"PRISM (the espionage program revealed by Snowden), the persecution of this former agent, and the intolerable prison at Guantanamo, are all reactions of fear: fear caused by a sense of uncertainty that U.S. citizens feel. This is understandable, but at the same time dangerous, leading nations to sacrifice freedom in the name of security. This is an outbreak of authoritarianism in a democratic environment. ... This is a bad day for liberal Bolivians."

 

By Meridiano Fernando Molina*

 

Translated By Rachael Bradley

 

July 9, 2013

 

Bolivia - Pagina Siete - Original Article (Spanish)

President Obama: 'There is nothing wrong with having another backyard in Europe.'

[La Jornada, Mexico]

BBC NEWS VIDEO: Barack Obama says he 'won't scramble jets for Snowden', June 27, 00:03:55RealVideo

Desperate to prevent former NSA analyst Edward Snowden from seeking asylum in Bolivia, it appears that several European countries denied the plane of President Evo Morales from refueling in any of the their airports. The president was returning from Russia, which is where Snowden is now located. These events have fed into the worldview that forms the basis of Morales' politics: all evil that happens in the world is the result of an imperialist plot.

 

Thanks to Austria and Spain, which finally allowed the presidential aircraft to refuel, Morales escaped to accuse the United States of "kidnapping" and "attempting to kill him." Everything that has occurred in an attempt to silence Snowdon, the rising star of anti-northamericanism, who had the courage to prove the lengths to which Washington will go to maintain its control over the world, is no example of democratic behavior, and in any case, is not an example of practicing what one preached.

 

No, the United States doesn’t practice what it preaches, neither when spying on its enemies (and even on allies), or when acting like a kind of "bully diplomat" to silence the boy who caught them with their trousers down and exposed them to the world. This nonsense involving Evo Morales, which had all the signs of an "inspired" demonstration of gringo strength, can be compared to the roar of a wounded male elephant.

 

It would of course be illogical to conclude that the United States has ceased to be a democracy (the fact that Snowden's revelations were immediately admitted by the U.S. government demonstrates this eloquently). Nor does any of this mean that the United States has carried out these acts for malevolent or totalitarian reasons and with the sole purpose of increasing its "imperial power." The truth simpler. PRISM (the espionage program revealed by Snowden), the persecution of this former agent, and the intolerable prison at Guantanamo, are all reactions of fear: fear caused by a sense of uncertainty that U.S. citizens feel. This is understandable, but at the same time dangerous, leading nations to sacrifice freedom in the name of security. This is an outbreak of authoritarianism in a democratic environment.

 

The spirit of the group, defense of the group, reappears like a throwback to squelch the civilizing progress that has been made over the centuries. For the moment it has weakened the concept of freedom, i.e., freedom based on values that were unknown in antiquity, like the right to privacy and the honesty of leaders. This "negative liberty," is abdicated, in favor of "positive liberty," which is the idea that the state can intervene in the lives of its people, lie to them, and define what is good for all: the PRISM system entirely encapsulates this vision of freedom.

 

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Fears of Bolshevism lead Europe to Nazism. Fear of terrorism (and the anticipated victor thereof) has relativized democratic convictions, and in my view, the sincere convictions of citizens of the United States. Yet this analogy should not lead us to delusion: in a democracy, the imbalance between negative and positive liberty can be corrected without bloodshed. Despite recent events, the Obama Administration has made efforts in this direction.

Posted By Worldmeets.US

 

Having said that, who will convince Latin American politicians of this, particularly those that use the United States as a scapegoat, and who condemn negative liberty (the power of control) as a "liberal illusion."

 

This episode has given ammunition to all of those skeptical of democracy and of the possibility of building a rule-bound international community. It is a disservice to those struggling against authoritarianism in Latin America.

 

Beyond the shock Morales may have suffered, this episode has given a great boost to his politics: not only does it allow him to appear on the front line of the global anti-imperialist struggle, but it confirms his deepest convictions: If things are going badly, it is the fault of the empire. Therefore, the reasoning goes, to improve the situation, nationalist states must be strengthened so that they can better cope with this powerful and criminal outside power.

 

This is a bad day for liberal Bolivians.

 

*Fernando Molina is a journalist and writer.

 

SEE ALSO ON THIS:
O Globo, Brazil: Brazil 'Gravely Concerned' Over Massive NSA Espionage
Kommersant, Russia: Snowden's Presence May Scuttle Obama's Visit to Russia
Le Monde, France: French Big Brother is Watching You!
Guardian, U.K.: The NSA's Indiscriminate Mass Spying on Brazilians
Le Monde, France: French Political Class Holds 'Outrage Contest' Over NSA Spying
DNA, France: Espionage ... From Washington, With Love
Liberation, France: The NSA 'Panopticon'
Izvestia, Russia: 'Servile Europeans' Inflict Huge Insult on Bolivians
Der Standard, Austria: Mass NSA Surveillance Implies 'Bizarre Presumption of Guilt'
Guardian,U.K.: NSA/GCHQ Metadata Reassurances are 'Breathtakingly Cynical'
Observer, U.K.: U.S. Attempts to Block Edward Snowden 'Bolsters' Case for Asylum
Der Tagesspiegel, Germany: NSA: Merkel Ignores the Nightmare of 'Stasi Squared'
El Nacional, Bolivia: Snowden: South America Must Take Stand Against Old Europe
Der Spiegel: What's All the Fuss About U.S. Spying?
Guardian, U.K.: Britain Blocks Crucial Espionage Talks between U.S. and Europe
Guardian, U.K.: France 'runs vast electronic spying operation using NSA-style Methods'
Guardian, U.K.: Venezuela and Nicaragua offer asylum to Edward Snowden
Elsevier, The Netherlands: Snowden's Revelations are of 'No Benefit to Society'
El Universal, Venezuela: Maduro Uses Snowden Asylum to Distract Venezuelan People
Der Spiegel, Germany: NSA Spying on Germany: How Much Did Angela Merkel Know?
Der Spiegel, Germany Bolivia Irate Over Forced Landing
Der Spiegel, Germany: Germany Rejects Asylum for Snowden
News, Switzerland: Humanity's Cyber-Hypocrisy Overload
El Comercio, Ecuador: Wanting to Keep U.S. Trade Privileges is Not Treason!
Der Spiegel, Germany: Spying 'Out of Control': EU Official Questions Trade Negotiations
Der Spiegel, Germany: Growing Alarm: German Prosecutors To Review Allegations of U.S. Spying
Guardian, U.K.: New NSA Leaks Show how U.S. is Bugging its European Allies
Der Spiegel, Germany: Partner and Target: NSA Snoops on 500 Million German Data Connections
Hoy, Ecuador: Snowden Highlights Ecuador's Decision-Making Paradox
Diario de Noticias, Portugal: America 'Summons World' to Renewed Cold War
Guardian, U.K.: Ecuador Rejects U.S. Trade Pact to Thwart Snowden 'Blackmail'
Guardian, U.K: Glenn Greenwald on Personal Side of Taking on NSA - Personal Smears
Guardian, U.K: How NSA Continues to Harvest Your Online Data
Guardian, U.K: Edward Snowden's Next Step: Live Q&A
Gazeta, Russia: Why Russia, China, and Others, Love 'Poking America in the Eye'
Guardian, U.K.: Snowden Affair Revives Politics of the Cold War
Guardian, U.K.: 'History will be Kind' to Edward Snowden
Guardian, U.K.: Latin America is ready to defy the US over Snowden and other issues
Guardian, U.K.: Putin Confirms Snowden in Moscow Airport; No Extradition
The New York Times, U.S.: China Said to Have Made Call to Let Leaker Depart
People's Daily, China: U.S. Internet Hypocrisy Creates Global Suspicion
Global Times, China: Internet 'Muckraking Frenzy' Damaging China's Global Interests
Huanqiu, China: 'Demented' Hacking Charges Betray U.S. Scheme for Cyber Domination
Guardian, U.K.: Snowden Leaves Hong Kong for Moscow: Seeks Asylum in Ecuador
Financial Times, U.K.: Snowden Fallout Impacts China and Russia
Russia Today, Russia: VIDEO: Former MI5 Agent Judges Snowden 'Canny'
Folha, Brazil: Trust in the State Inadequate as a Pretext for NSA's Spying
Les Dernieres Nouvelles d'Alsace, France: Edward Snowden is Not the Issue
El Pais, Spain: Powerless, Europe Must Nevertheless Stand Up to NSA Spying Program
Global Times, China: Demonizing China Will Backfire on Americans
Global Times, China: Extraditing Snowden Would Be a Mistake
Xinhua, China: 'Idealistic' Edward Snowden Should be Welcomed by China
Mediapart, France: 'Autonomous Machines': World Reawakens to U.S. Web Dominance
Guardian, U.K.: Britain's GCHQ Intercepted Data from Foreign Politicians at G20 Summits
Le Monde, France: French Lawmakers Scramble Over News of NSA Surveillance
Le Temps, Switzerland: Last Resort for Confronting 'Electronic Big Brother'
The Frontier Post, Pakistan: On Global Spying for Selfish National Interest
Mediapart, France: The NSA is Spying on Us! What a Surprise!
El Espectador, Colombia: Please Consider Yourself Watched!
Le Monde, France: NSA Surveillance Storm Gathers Over Cloud Market
Folha, Brazil: Being 'Carioca' Helped Glenn Greenwald Break NSA Surveillance Story
Sol, Portugal: WikiLeaks and Facebook: What Came Before Will Soon Be Rubble
Guardian, U.K.: World Leaders Seek Answers on NSA Data Collection Programs
Guardian, U.K.: Artist Ai Weiwei: The U.S. is 'Behaving Like China'
Russia Today, Russia: Putin: Government Surveillance 'Should Not Break the Law'
Guardian, U.K.: Russia Offers to Consider Edward Snowden Asylum Request
Handelsblatt, Germany: Obama's Data Nightmare is Europe's
FAZ, Germany: Protect Us from Terrorism ... and Government Snooping
SCMP, Hong Kong: What Will Hong Kong do with Snowden? ... The World is Watching
SCMP, Hong Kong: Why Hong Kong? Chinese Wonder if Edward Snowden is in Wrong Place
Suedostschweiz, Switzerland: Exposed: Spy Powers that Obama Shouldn't Use
Le Temps, Switzerland: Exploring the Limits of Sino-U.S. Compromise
Business Day, South Africa: Obama Sets 'Dubious Example' on Freedom
Economist, U.K.: The Reason We Fear Broad Surveillance
Guardian, U.K.: The NSA's Secret Tool to Track Global Surveillance Data
Guardian, U.K.: Like Google, Facebook: Obama is 'Once Hip Brand Tainted by PRISM'
Guardian, U.K.: Edward Snowden - Saving Us from the 'United Stasi of America'
Guardian, U.K.: NSA Collecting Phone Records of 'Millions' of Verizon Customers
Guardian, U.K.: Data on Citizens has Been 'Collected for Years'
Guardian, U.K.: NSA Taps into Internet Giants' to Mine User Data
Guardian, U.K.: EDITORIAL: Civil Liberties: American Freedom on the Line
Guardian, U.K.: Obama Orders U.S. to Draw Up Overseas Target List for Cyber-Attacks
Guardian, U.K.: Facebook, Google Insist they Didn't Know of PRISM Surveillance
Guardian, U.K.: U.K. Gathers Secret Intelligence Via Covert NSA Operation 'PRISM'
Guardian, U.K.: Ministers Challenged Over GCHQ's Access to Covert U.S. Operation PRISM
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Die Zeit, Germany: If Only WikiLeaks Existed Before the Iraq War Began
Folha, Brazil: Testimony of Sex Charges Against Assange Don't Belong in Public
Guardian, U.K.: Ten Days in Sweden - The Full Allegations Against Assange
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Le Monde, France: Le Monde Names Julian Assange Man of the Year
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El Heraldo, Honduras: The Panic of 'America's Buffoon' Hugo Chavez
Jornal de Notícias, Portugal: If West Persecutes Assange, it Will What it Deserves
Correio da Manhã, Portugal: WikiLeaks: A 'Catastrophe' for Cyber-Dependent States
Romania Libera: WikiLeaks Undermines Radical Left; Confirms American Competence
Le Figaro, France: And the Winner of the Bout Over WikiLeaks is … America
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Tal Cual, Venezuela: If Only WikiLeaks Would Expose President Chavez
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Posted By Worldmeets.US June 9, 2013, 3:18pm