Today in a speech President Barack Obama took first steps to smash the web of deceit that has characterized the surveillance state gone berserk. The stark warning, only implied in his words, is that freedom is very costly. A good man, a good citizen, had to become a fugitive and be prepared to live the rest of his life like a hunted animal in order to throw light on horrific actions by the state. Those few who rose to help him at the beginning had to face the same prospect.
The greatest irony is that many wanted to put Edward Snowden on trial. It was always they who were on trial.
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