4 ms·

Laura Poitras: I Am Guilty of Violating the Espionage Act

29 points by mitchbob 6y ago

dave_4_bagels 6y ago
Maybe The Intercept will get slightly better once she's in prison? Let's not forget how the Obama admin was the driving force behind the silencing and prosecution of Snowden and Manning (and whom they shilled for the 2020 election)... To really make the claim that going after journalists with the espionage act is purely a Trump position is laughably poor "journalism". Sort of ironic given they kicked out Glenn Greenwald, the last real journalist left at The Intercept.
- margalabargala 6y ago
  Did you read any of the article? Trump isn't mentioned at all, nearly the entire article is about Obama and his administration's misuse of the Act.
  - dave_4_bagels 6y ago
    Yes, I read the article. Clearly, you've missed the title that obviously seems to imply that the "fascist" Trump regime is behind the push to target Poitras. Thanks for being condescending, it really added to the substantive productive discourse I come to HN for ;)
    - spfzero 6y ago
      “Obviously seems to imply...” Thats an interesting phrase.
    - margalabargala 6y ago
      What does "I am guilty of violating the Espionage Act" have to do with Trump? >To really make the claim that going after journalists with the espionage act is purely a Trump position It's hard to see the connection between the article and the above quote. No one made any claim about Trump, and even if they had, the piece is almost entirely about the Obama admin, so it certainly isn't "purely" about Trump.
- laurex 6y ago
  Poitras is a documentary filmmaker, an excellent one, and in my experience of working with her as a film distributor, fearless and incredibly ethical. While I can't comment about the Intercept overall, since clearly there are issues within that organization, I'm not sure why there would be vitriol aimed at Poitras for 'not being a journalist.'
tomcam 6y ago
Chilling. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-media-trump-reporters-sources-obama-0611-20180608-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec...
tw25502454 6y ago
> Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; ... The rule of law is a myth, a fig leaf hiding the fact that we are ruled by the whims of people in power. Edit: Shadowbanned. Neat. Related to the Espionage Act specifically, here is an excerpt from Christopher Hitchens [1]: "Everyone knows the fatuous verdict of the greatly overpraised Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who, asked for an actual example of when it would be proper to limit speech or define it as an action, gave that of shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. "It's very often forgotten what he was doing in that case [2] was sending to prison a group of Yiddish-speaking socialists -- whose literature was printed in a language most Americans couldn't read -- opposing President Wilson's participation in the first World War, and the dragging of the United States into this sanguinary conflict, which the Yiddish-speaking socialists had left from Russia to escape. "In fact, it could be just as plausibly argued that the Yiddish-speaking socialists ... were the real fire fighters, were the ones who were shouting "Fire!" when there really was a fire in a very crowded theatre indeed." [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2uzEM0ugY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2uzEM0ugY [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States
mariusor 6y ago
I'm glad more mainstream journalists are raising the alarm about Assange's extradition, especially the ones that dislike him. No matter one's personal opinions on him, the fact that he's now waiting for a decision that might send him to an American prison for 175 years is a despicable act of the US judicial and diplomatic apparatus.

29 points by mitchbob 6y ago

Maybe The Intercept will get slightly better once she's in prison? Let's not forget how the Obama admin was the driving force behind the silencing and prosecution of Snowden and Manning (and whom they shilled for the 2020 election)... To really make the claim that going after journalists with the espionage act is purely a Trump position is laughably poor "journalism". Sort of ironic given they kicked out Glenn Greenwald, the last real journalist left at The Intercept.

margalabargala 6y ago
Did you read any of the article? Trump isn't mentioned at all, nearly the entire article is about Obama and his administration's misuse of the Act.
- dave_4_bagels 6y ago
  Yes, I read the article. Clearly, you've missed the title that obviously seems to imply that the "fascist" Trump regime is behind the push to target Poitras. Thanks for being condescending, it really added to the substantive productive discourse I come to HN for ;)
  - spfzero 6y ago
    “Obviously seems to imply...” Thats an interesting phrase.
  - margalabargala 6y ago
    What does "I am guilty of violating the Espionage Act" have to do with Trump? >To really make the claim that going after journalists with the espionage act is purely a Trump position It's hard to see the connection between the article and the above quote. No one made any claim about Trump, and even if they had, the piece is almost entirely about the Obama admin, so it certainly isn't "purely" about Trump.
laurex 6y ago
Poitras is a documentary filmmaker, an excellent one, and in my experience of working with her as a film distributor, fearless and incredibly ethical. While I can't comment about the Intercept overall, since clearly there are issues within that organization, I'm not sure why there would be vitriol aimed at Poitras for 'not being a journalist.'

tomcam 6y ago

Chilling. https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-media-trump-reporters-sources-obama-0611-20180608-story.html https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec...

tw25502454 6y ago

> Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; ... The rule of law is a myth, a fig leaf hiding the fact that we are ruled by the whims of people in power. Edit: Shadowbanned. Neat. Related to the Espionage Act specifically, here is an excerpt from Christopher Hitchens [1]: "Everyone knows the fatuous verdict of the greatly overpraised Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes who, asked for an actual example of when it would be proper to limit speech or define it as an action, gave that of shouting "Fire!" in a crowded theatre. "It's very often forgotten what he was doing in that case [2] was sending to prison a group of Yiddish-speaking socialists -- whose literature was printed in a language most Americans couldn't read -- opposing President Wilson's participation in the first World War, and the dragging of the United States into this sanguinary conflict, which the Yiddish-speaking socialists had left from Russia to escape. "In fact, it could be just as plausibly argued that the Yiddish-speaking socialists ... were the real fire fighters, were the ones who were shouting "Fire!" when there really was a fire in a very crowded theatre indeed." [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2uzEM0ugY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z2uzEM0ugY [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schenck_v._United_States

mariusor 6y ago

I'm glad more mainstream journalists are raising the alarm about Assange's extradition, especially the ones that dislike him. No matter one's personal opinions on him, the fact that he's now waiting for a decision that might send him to an American prison for 175 years is a despicable act of the US judicial and diplomatic apparatus.