The Putin chess game
So, I come here to point this out. As many of you have no doubt missed on the news 2 months ago, rumours have begun circulating that Putin is considering extraditing Snowden, possibly as a way to get in Trump's graces and improve relations between America and Russia. But not only am I outraged that Putin, after so far supporting Snowden by allowing him to stay in Russia, may be reneging on that precedent, but also that this will be a major blow to what little remains of the movement towards government transparency, freedom of information, and the rights of the public.
Since the release of information regarding PRISM and other communications trawls used by the NSA, CIA, and others, Snowden has been looked up to as someone willing to risk his life for the cause. He threw his life on the line to get that information out, and he knows that. He accepts that if he is killed or thrown in jail, he did what was right. I admire his courage in the face of what might happen, but I think we all need to look towards his example, and kickstart the movement. Its been hard to show people just how important privacy is, and how governments' have been twisting their way into everything we do. It is time we bring the fight to them. Sources of the rumors are being posted below. Complacency gets us nowhere, indeed, it leaves us worse than it found us. Just because Snowden may be extradited, and Trump and his CIA head call for his execution, does not mean we should lay down.
To quote Martin Niemöller:
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I wasn't a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
Don't allow your fellow man to fall, for then none will be around to help you when you need them most.