I don't intend this site to become home to movie commentaries - so this will likely be the last on this topic. But, I wanted to publish something about Oliver Stone's new 'biopic' as a 'compare and contrast' to Eastwood's Sully. Unlike Sully - I have seen 'Snowden'. Excellent.
Here's a review of the movie from the Intercept - Glen Greenwald's site. I haven't done a fact check on the movie, but I suspect that if it deviated too much from the truth (rubik cube and other film points aside), I think Glen and his team would be all over it.
Meanwhile - it is apparent that the Washington Post has no shame .... publishing this article this weekend. They believe that he should be prosecuted to the full.
They miss two key points ... (well probably more - but lets go with two)
1) They were one of the newspapers who originally published his story - even accepting a Pulitzer for their story. If they feel they way that they suggest in their editorial - why did they do the story to begin with?
2) They want him to come home and face the music ...
Ideally, Mr. Snowden would come home and hash out all of this before a jury of his peers. That would certainly be in the best tradition of civil disobedience, whose practitioners have always been willing to go to jail for their beliefs. He says this is unacceptable because U.S. secrecy-protection statutes specifically prohibit him from claiming his higher purpose and positive impact as a defense — which is true, though it’s not clear how the law could allow that without creating a huge loophole for leakers. (Mr. Snowden hurt his own credibility as an avatar of freedom by accepting asylum from Russia’s VladiÂmir Putin, who’s not known for pardoning those who blow the whistle on him.)
For the record - so does he - but in an open court with jury - which The American Government has not agreed to. They want it behind closed doors - probably those same un-checked closed doors where it all started.
Oh - and the asylum in Russia thing ... he was on his way to somewhere else - when he landed in Russia - the state department revoked his passport. So the only way he now can travel is back to the US direct to the US authorities. (see above).
Apart from the PR bennies - I suspect that Russia didn't want to turn one of their airports into a real life case of this other Hank's movie.