Streetwise Professor

I’ve written several pieces on the contradictions between Snowden and Snowden, Snowden and Greenwald, and Greenwald and Greenwald.  It seems that they are finally getting their stories straight, though there are still some glaring conflicts.

At one time Snowden said he had vetted every document to ensure that nothing damaging to US security was leaked.  (Ha!) Then he said that he had no control over what was released, but left that up to the journalists to whom he’d given the documents.

Greenwald has said that he speaks with Snowden daily, and coordinates with Ed on what to release.  But now Greenwald has changed his tune, and is now singing off of Ed’s latest score:

Mr Greenwald says that he and Ms Poitras are in charge of the documents, and that they decide how and when the documents are disseminated.

“We each have a complete set, and Snowden is not the one making the decisions,” he says. “That’s Laura and myself.”

There is one major problem with this story.  It is hard to reconcile with Greenwald’s repeated claim that he communicates daily with Snowden.  What do they talk about?  The weather?  Or is Greenwald (who practiced law) engaging in lawyerly evasion?  He and Snowden talk about what to do but the final decision is his.  Or something.

There is an obvious reason to converge on this story, despite the fact that it contradicts previous iterations.  Kucherena has said that any stories based on documents that Snowden gave to reporters before leaving Hong Kong do not violate the risible condition of Snowden’s asylum, viz., that he does not make further revelations that harm the US.

As if.

It is evident that every revelation is deliberately intended to harm the US, notably by causing problems with US allies.  It is also evident that Russia is a major beneficiary of these rifts.

Greenwald, for his part, has the audacity to say crap like this:

Their goal, he says, is simple: “We want to inform people about what’s being done to privacy.”

What tripe.  Most of the revelations after the very first (which really weren’t revelations, if you’d been paying attention) have had zero to do with individual privacy.  They have had to do with US intelligence operations in, and sometimes against, foreign counties.

The privacy meme was developed to make Snowden a sympathetic figure, and to immunize him against criticism.  This identity as civil liberties crusader is trotted out every opportunity to preempt and respond to criticisms of other leaks which are related to the kinds of operations intelligence services have been carrying out since time immemorial.

One last thing.  Snowden has released a “Manifesto for Truth,” which is just more preening, self-serving, self-justifying gas-baggery.

Rule of thumb: only grandiose twats release manifestoes.