Ecuador has renounced its multi-million dollar trade relationship with the US. “Ecuador will not accept pressures or threats from anyone, and it does not traffic in its values or allow them to be subjugated to mercantile interests,” stated government spokesman Fernando Alvarado, who also made a sarcastic comment about the US need for human rights training. Mr. Alvarado’s remarks occurred after Robert Menendez, chairman of the US Senate foreign relations committee, suggested punishing Ecuador economically if it offered asylum to Edward Snowden, who has requested asylum in Ecuador. WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, stated Ecuador had issued a special refugee travel document to Mr. Snowden, whose US passport has been revoked. Speaking before a gathering in the West African nation of Senegal, President Barrack Obama stated “I am not going to be scrambling jets to get a 29-year-old hacker,” referring to Snowden, who apparently fled Hong Kong, to escape further US extradition efforts, flying to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport where he remains in a transit zone. Russia has no extradition treaty with the US, but Washington demands extradition without delay. Beijing has accused the US of “double standards” on cyber security. Cutting through Obama’s diplomatic double speak and exploring other developments about Edward Snowden, it is clear that the US will stop at nothing to silence him, including “scrambling jets”. If a Russian airliner suddenly and mysteriously went missing over the Atlantic, it would certainly be tragic. Conspiracy theorists would have a hay day, but the US Government would have plausible deniability. Such an act would be an act of war, and we would never do that, or would we? Barrack Obama’s having dropped his thoughtful, academic nice guy act, involving himself, publicly, about a “29-year-old hacker”, emphasizes America’s desperate insecurity. His comments were chilling. What else does Snowden know, which he might declare? How ugly are the Americans? The US Secretary of state, John Kerry, has commented about Snowden. Kerry called Snowden a traitor. Such a statement is somewhat hypocritical from a man who once threw away his service medals, on the steps of the US Capitol. It must be one thing to protest America’s involvement in an illegal, immoral war, but quite another to protest America’s illegal, immoral eavesdropping on its own citizens. With America’s track record of drone murders and political assassination, nothing should be ruled out. Doublespeak and hypocrisy reign supreme. America’s international standing is at another all-time low, just as it was during the Bush era, with Ecuador renouncing its trade relationship, in answer to US threats, Russia’s refusals to bend over, Hong Kong’s failure to blindly cooperate, and China’s declaring our double standards in cyber security. Washington will feel free to denounce Beijing for cyber espionage, but will not admit to its own use, furthermore becomes aggressive, when it is exposed. What about Bradley Manning?
Related articles
- Julian Assange: Snowden Is ‘Healthy, Safe and in Good Spirits’ (swampland.time.com)
- International Community Rejects American Hegemony In Efforts To Capture Snowden (personalliberty.com)
- US Warns Against Snowden Travel; Fugitive Asks Ecuador for Asylum. (greatriversofhope.wordpress.com)
- Obama’s Stubbornness and the Risk of Snowden (emptywheel.net)
- Ecuador breaks US trade pact to thwart ‘blackmail’ over Edward Snowden (guardian.co.uk)
- ‘World order unjust and immoral!’ Ecuador’s Correa rips into Snowden coverage (rt.com)
- Ecuador rejects U.S. trade preferences in fight over Snowdens fate (miamiherald.com)
- Obama Administration Seeks to Ease Tensions Over Snowden – Bloomberg (bloomberg.com)
- Putin: Snowden in Russia, will not be extradited to US (euronews.com)
Herne Speaks 