When Will Glenn Greenwald Return to the United States?

[Titonwan]

Glenn Greenwald hasn't been back to the United States since he began publishing a seemingly never-ending string of Edward Snowden-fueled stories about the NSA and government surveillance last year. Greenwald is an American citizen but lives primarily in Brazil, so it's not exactly a surprise that he's opted to stay out of the country given the prosecution-themed rhetoric that's been coming from the mouths of some U.S. lawmakers and government officials.
But while talk of prosecuting Greenwald for his role in the Snowden leaks has shown little sign of slowing down, the journalist is now suggesting that he may nonetheless return the United States in the not-to-distant future to force the issue. Here's what he told Brian Beutler in an interview yesterday with Salon (http://www.salon.com/2014/02/06/exclusive_greenwald_tells_salon_government_intimidation_has_discouraged_him_from_visiting_u_s_for_now/), where Greenwald used to work before departing for the Guardian (emphasis added):

“My parents are getting older, my nieces (live in the United States) — none of that is something I’m going to go home for now…. I had a foundation that wanted to sponsor and pay for and market aggressively a six-city speaking tour to talk about the NSA story and the revelations. I would have completely loved to have done it… on the assurance that nothing would happen. And because we couldn’t get it from the U.S. government, I had to cancel.”
When we last spoke in August, Greenwald was cognizant of the risks he’d face if he visited the United States, but he was also pointedly defiant. “I take more seriously the Constitution’s guarantee of a free press in the First Amendment,” he said at the time. “So I have every intention of entering the U.S. as soon as my schedule permits and there’s a reason to do so.” Today he remains defiant — “I’m going to go back to the U.S. for many reasons, but just the fucking principle is enough…. On principle I’m going to force the issue”...

http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/02/06/glenn_greenwald_u_s_journalist_says_he_will_force_the_issue_with_u_s_visit.html

Congrats on the Polk Award for excellence by your peers. I do look forward to Mr. Greenwald returning soon to accept it. Bully for him.

[Rex]

1. Why in the Wild Wild West would he come back to the USA?

Death wish?

[Titonwan]

2. For practicing journalism?

If you read the article you'd discover Glenn has been awarded the famous Polk Award for excellence- a direct rebuke of the government's attempts to restrict the first amendment and freedom of the press.
When this country starts killing the reporters, it's a sad sad day.

[Rex]

3. Well then come home then.

I'm sure he won't be arrested on the spot. Hey if that is what he wants to make as his point then more power to him. I would probably never think about going home, but that is just me.

[Titonwan]

7. He's got cozy digs in Rio

Wouldn't blame him if he stayed but he's coming back on the principle of the thing. If by chance he got arrest- the biggest papers in the country would be shouting the injustice. The veritable New York Times has called for amnesty for Edward Snowden so what makes you think they'd be any different in protecting one of their own?
Glenn's brave enough to put a thumb in Mike Rogers (R-peeping tomsville) eye.

Fun Fact: Glenn's vice is adopting homeless dogs (and finding new owners)- although he keeps a permanent herd at home.

[Rex]

10. The NYTs helped make sure Bush got elected in 2004.

Why in the world would you believe a thing they say? If they decide to come to the USA, they will be arrested on the spot. I think that would be pretty obvious.

[sabrina 1]

4. Why should a journalist have to fear coming home to a country

with a first Amendment right to be a journalist?

That is a rhetorical question of course. But it demonstrates how far gone we are regarding human rights. Shameful.

[Titonwan]

6. Somehow

I knew you'd show up

[Rex]

12. YES! They should trust the NYT! You know...the rag that MADE SURE

Bush got his 2003 invasion and then in 2004 a second stolen election! And that is supposedly a gaggle OF journalists!

If the NYT told me it was safe to jump off the Brooklyn bridge...no doubt I would already be leaping to my death!

[tridim]

5. Don't worry, Greenwald will tell everyone when he arrives... Very loudly. nt

[Titonwan]

8. GOOD! n/t

[tridim]

9. Greenwald is very skilled at self-promotion.

He is even better at using people who trust him to self-promote.

It will certainly sell a lot of books to a lot of Rand Paul supporters.

[sabrina 1]

13. He is a very good journalist if that's what you mean, I definitely agree.

[tridim]

14. No that's not what I meant.

I meant what I said. He uses people that trust him for personal gain, like his partner.

[sabrina 1]

23. lol, like I said, someone is paying a lot for the smear campaign HB Gary lost the

contract for. And not even new material either.

Let me ask you something. All you've contributed so far are personal attacks on the journalist himself. You have not said one word about his work.

So, what I want to know is, how does a journalist who prints facts = 'self promotion and personal gain'?

Remember Judith Miller? I don't recall people here attacking her personally, we attacked her on her 'work', the lies she perpetrated that helped lead this country into war.

But it seems those who are opposed to transparency regarding our government, don't talk about Greenwald's work, they resort to personal attacks, not just on him, but on his family.

Btw, his 'partner' has spoken for himself, he appears to be a very intelligent man. How insulting of you to dismiss his own statements that 'NO ONE uses him', that he is 'an independent person who makes his own mind up about what he does or doesn't do'.

I guess he saw this particular insult to his intelligence and addressed it personally.

I believe HIM. You don't know him from adam, yet proclaim his stupidity here as if you knew something about it.

[AgingAmerican]

24. Yeah, right

He has gained soooo much here by speaking truth to power.

[Titonwan]

16. Hitler liked dogs- I like dogs, therefore I'm Hitler?

That Rand Paul association is weak tea. We might both be 'civil libertarians' but that is ALL we share in ideology. I'm to the left of Hugo Chavez (rip) and believe in lower class socialism not the upper crust socialism we have here. Sheesh.

[tridim]

18. No, Greenwald is an admitted Libertarian and Rand Paul supporter.

But I'm certain neither you nor he are Hitler. Hitler is dead.

[Luminous Animal]

19. Actually, he has flat out said that he is neither.

[tridim]

20. LOL, yea right Glenn. Whatever dude.

Is anyone going to let the Cato Institute know?

[Titonwan]

22. Luminous Animal is Glenn Greenwald?

Hi Glenn! You're a brave man and patriotic journalist!

[Cali_Democrat]

29. ...

[Luminous Animal]

34. Has anyone let the socialist conference know? He's spoken there at least 3 times.

[Titonwan]

21. You seriously need to put up a link for that assertion.

People who've read him for years can't make that distinction (me, included). He gave a speech sponsored by the CATO institute about the decriminalization of drugs in Portugal--
The paper, published by Cato in April, found that in the five years after personal possession was decriminalized, illegal drug use among teens in Portugal declined and rates of new HIV infections caused by sharing of dirty needles dropped, while the number of people seeking treatment for drug addiction more than doubled.

"Judging by every metric, decriminalization in Portugal has been a resounding success," says Glenn Greenwald, an attorney, author and fluent Portuguese speaker, who conducted the research. "It has enabled the Portuguese government to manage and control the drug problem far better than virtually every other Western country does."



Read more: Decriminalizing Drugs in Portugal a Success, Says Report - TIME http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1893946,00.html#ixzz2sZoZRZr5

Glenn isn't a one hit wonder- he speaks on many issues to many different people. That's the beauty of his journalism- he takes no sides and criticizes ALL (or praises them when it's deserved, regardless of ideals). He's the REAL Constitutional expert (and lawyer).

[sabrina 1]

26. Greenwald is an American Citizen and a Journalist.

He has spoken openly about his political affiliations so no one needs to turn to you to find out what they are, WHICH HAVE ZERO TO DO WITH the facts he reports on.

What you are saying is that journalists should be Democrats and that they should ignore facts and only publish what makes Democrats look good.

If we are to have that kind of system, it would be called Propaganda and you realize that Republicans would agree and demand that all journalists be Republicans and only publish material that makes Republicans look good.

Fortunately we have standards for journalists which have zero to do with their own personal political affiliations.

Greenwald has passed that journalism test. He has published the facts regardless of his own political affiliations, which as I said, he has been very open about.

[Titonwan]

28. To be honest

to this day I still don't know his political leanings as I've never read him stating them. And I was reading him shortly after he arrived at Salon. Maybe I missed it, but I totally agree with your post. He doesn't let agenda's drive his reporting, contrary to the meme a select few put out here.
I do know he's spoken out about the bank bailout and the collusion of both Democrats and Republicans caving on this Socialism for the Leisure Caste... er Class.
He definitely wants gay rights. He shows a lot of liberal tendencies, if you ask me.
Thanks, sabrina 1, for bringing up the professional teams hired to try to smear him. You know you're in dangerous territory when big money gets worried.

[sabrina 1]

11. That is necessary when you live in a country that threatens journalists. So of course

he will, he's not a fool and has been watching and writing about all of this since the old Bush days when journalists were silenced also.

Also he knews, thanks to Anonymous, that even as a relatively obscure blogger he was the target of a bid for a Contract for a Smear Campaign due to his writing about Bank Corruption.

I am certain once that Contractor was exposed, HB Gary, the contract went to someone else because the smears are obvious. Someone is getting paid a lot to try to silence people. At least now we know for sure it is not our imagination when we see these smear campaigns against journalists and whistle blowers.

Imagine, they were planning to look up 'his family, children, wife' to see what they dig up to smear him with.

Any decent, citizen in any democracy, no matter who is that target of this kind of corrupt, deceptive campaign, should be outraged. And fortunately the more the public learns the more outraged they are becoming.

Greenwald should hire security and lawyers and make sure everyone knows when he is arriving in the US. The only 'crime' he is guilty of is 'journalism'. Much like Saudi Arabia and Egypt now under that military regime. Journalists who tell the truth are the enemy.

I hope this country will one day recover from this awful era we are living through where the American people are being spied on by their own government and journalists have to fear for their safety and whilstle blowers are threatened sit death by government agencies.

We sure are not in any position to point fingers at anyone else anymore.

[2naSalit]

15. [phone]!!!!!!! nt

[Titonwan]

17. Amen to that, sis

and I ain't even religious!

[Whisp]

39. I think I'll go to Journo School so then I can fence stolen classified government property

and not be held for any responsibility of wrong doing.

wow. Jorno's rule without rules.

GG isn't a journalist anyway, he's an activist blogger.

While various existing codes have some differences, most share common elements including the principles of—truthfulness, accuracy, objectivity, impartiality, fairness and public accountability—as these apply to the acquisition of newsworthy information and its subsequent dissemination to the public.[2][3][4][5]

[Titonwan]

40. Or maybe you can strive further.

Like become a lawyer from a prestigious school (NYC), then practice for high end firms before becoming bored/troubled by injustice practiced daily by other barristers that just earned money without any ethics whatsofuckinever. You know, whores.
Glenn Greenwald isn't going anywhere and neither am I. WE can and will be replaced by others, if it comes to it. The truth will trudge on, through the cold and the hate of the ill informed. Until the realization. It's all good, better late than never! Peace.

[Whisp]

48. He no longer has a license to practice law. And Activists Bloggers

are all about Subjectivity, not Objectivity. Not saying that's a bad thing in general, but this is GG we are talking about. The big swaggering mouth blowing hot air for Dollars.

[Titonwan]

50. "And Activists Bloggers are all about Subjectivity"

Right. And so is every single blogger, writer, journalists or news broadcaster. Glenn even argues that every one has an agenda whether they're conscious of it or not. He's been in several long interesting arguments with others about this. Here's one--
Former NYT Editor Fears Glenn Greenwald Is the ‘Future of News’

http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/nyt_columnist_fears_glenn_greenwald_is_the_future_of_news_20131028?ln

Is Glenn Greenwald the Future of News?
By BILL KELLER

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/opinion/a-conversation-in-lieu-of-a-column.html?_r=0

[sabrina 1]

44. You mean you will go to Whistle Blower school. Greenwald received leaks from a Whistle

Blower. As a journalist, he doesn't steal documents, and those documents btw, belong to We the People. We have, or we pretend to have, protections for Whistle Blowers. That is what Democracies do, they protect those who have the courage to expose corruption in business, in government and anywhere they see it.

Naturally the Perpetrators are not going to be happy when a Whistle Blower exposes their crimes. And the more powerful the perp, the more danger the Whistle Blower and in extremely oppressive societies, the Journalist, is in. Which is why we, as a Democracy, have protections for them.

We also have protections for Journalists. It's called the 1st Amendment. And you don't have to go to 'journalism school' to be a journalist. Greenwald has now established himself as one of the best investigative journalists we have and is recognized as such worldwide. He has many friends among Democrats in Congress who are no doubt grateful to him for revealing what they were prohibited from revealing. Ron Wyden eg, has tried to warn us about what has now been revealed.

Greenwald has published FACTS. He has documentation, as have other journalists who received leaks from Whistle Blowers, to prove they are facts. As a result the American people have been provided with information of wrong doing, now established by one court so far, and no doubt there will be others when the lawsuits begin to pile up, which they are entitled to.

See the SC ruling on Ellsberg, you might find it interesting. I'm sorry you are upset that these violations of our Constitutional Rights have been revealed. But a majority of the people are not sorry, they are, as Ron Wyden predicted when he said 'if the American people knew what they are doing they would be very angyr' very angry.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

25. “News is what somebody somewhere wants to suppress; all the rest is advertising.” Lord Northcliffe

[sendero]

27. Greenwald.

.... perhaps as much as only a few people in the world, now has a firsthand knowledge of how our government operates. He won't be setting foot on US soil for a long time IMHO.

[Titonwan]

31. Ah, but they won't get anything by that stunt.

From reading him and him responding back to me, I know Glenn is a man of integrity. He regularly responds to comments and values his readers perspective (sometimes). I know he feels just the way I do about ethics and bravery and it won't surprise me one bit when he shows up accept his latest honor. He won the Izzy Award several years ago.

He lectures at colleges, appears on all media and writes in newspapers worldwide.
Yet people still insist he's a glory hound. Yeah- for justice accorded by the Constitution.
Edit One: forgot to remind you that Glenn has a 'doomsday' back up contingency (like Julian Assange) to where if he's killed or anything untoward happens, the files will still be revealed. Julian used a downloadable encrypted file that many people participated in (including me). If he goes down, the key gets broadcast. Insurance.

[TheMathieu]

30. Greenwald's fate ultimately doesn't increase my wage,

put more food on my table or a roof over my head.

So it's not too important and shouldn't be an issue going into election season.

[Fumesucker]

33. Exactly, it's stupid to care about anything that doesn't effect you immediately and directly

[Titonwan]

38. Sarcasm. At it's best.

&feature=kp
Now, is the time for people to be 'brave' as in Lakota. You can only depend on this life, even if you believe in another. What if there's not?
Live.

[sabrina 1]

36. The fate of freedom of the press affects this country. It won't put food in my family's

mouth either, but what would that have to do with protecting the rights we supposedly are granted in the US Constitution?

[Titonwan]

37. It doesn't. It's deflection.

[sabrina 1]

45. I know.

[Bodhi BloodWave]

32. And the money he owes in taxes has nothing to do at all with him not returning to the US i'm sure nt

[Titonwan]

35. What taxes does he owe when living in Brazil?

He's earning his money living in another country. He pays taxes there. You'll notice Apple gives a shit less about taxes by moving operations to Ireland. That's how it works. Except Glenn ain't sellin' cheaply made phones for big bucks. He's pushing back against Big Brother.
Bitch about Boeing or General Electrics' tax exemptions if you want big time cheating.

[Titonwan]

42. This is my 700 hundreth post (weep)

and I just cain't hep me self worryin' if Pat Robertson's just as kray kray as when he started the 700 Club. Prolly.

[jazzimov]

41. Funny, that's not what he said last June

Why Glenn Greenwald Can’t Live in the U.S.

The gay columnist who broke the story revealing NSA spying methods chooses not to live in the U.S. because his marriage isn’t recognized by the federal government.

BY Jase Peeples
June 11 2013 11:22 AM ET

http://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/06/11/glenn-greenwald-can%E2%80%99t-live-us

[Titonwan]

43. Don't know where you're going with this.

Glenn has long refused to come back to a country that doesn't recognize gay rights but as of the way laws are getting relaxed- he's constantly stated he's reconsidering coming back. (I'd still keep those cool digs in Rio, but that's just me)
No, you seem to think that is the same situation and it's not, by a long shot. Now, you have representatives and senators implying that journalists are now money whores selling your mom's sex tapes to black pimps for mo money, mo money while these flame throwing MIC paid flunkies are just generally talkin' out their asses because they've been caught red handed gettin' all in the American peoples grill for power and dossiers to fuck em in the rear view mirror if they take an attitude. Revenge, blackmail, intimidation- you know, the regular strokes.
People dream of being as brave as Laura Poitras and Glenn Greenwald and the man that put them ALL on the map- Mr. Edward Snowden.
Hero patriot citizen

[sabrina 1]

46. Good for him. He has always been a huge advocate for Gay Rights.

But he's been a huge advocate for all Human Rights which is why he was and is so well respected by Liberals. He has never changed his views on Civil Rights. He, unlike some people, doesn't ignore violations of rights depending on who is in power. He is saying nothing different now than he was saying, on the same issues, that he was saying when Bush was president. Funny, some of the same people who agreed with his views then, are now have hissy fits over the same views.

That is how you know someone is an honest person. They focus on issues and do not conveniently change their views because someone they like is in power.

[Luminous Animal]

47. You do know that living in your own country to be with your partner is different than visiting your

own country lest you be arrested.

Your gotcha is a failure.

[msanthrope]

49. FATCA will spur a renunciation of citizenship...but he will probably travel here and try to provoke

incident for cover.