Letter to Amnesty International: stop abetting the work of Edward Snowden

I sent a letter to Amnesty International yesterday, complaining of their uncritical support for the work of Edward Snowden, the former NSA programmer and contractor who revealed the workings of the NSA's surveillance programs and threatens to reveal thousands of secret files and protocols. You can read about Amnesty's efforts on their web site here.

I would support Amnesty's work if they protected Snowden's rights to a fair trial, to speak freely without fearing harm. But they've gone farther than that in this case -- they've glorified him and his actions. Here is the letter:

Dear Amnesty International,

As a longtime supporter of Amnesty International and your wonderful work, I am unhappy with your uncritical support for Edward Snowden, and AI's efforts to abet his work. Snowden's intentions are at best ambiguous, and he is quite possibly a traitor to the country he pledged to protect and that protected him for his entire life.

He has revealed the presence and details of secret surveillance programs run by the United States in its efforts to defend its people against enemies who have ruthlessly killed thousands of noncombatants, Americans and people from other nations. These programs are overseen by our elected representatives. He has threatened to reveal secret files, codes and protocols that will harm American intelligence agents and activities. And he has humiliated our country by placing himself and his document stash in the protection of Vladimir Putin's Russia (of all countries).

These are not the actions of a whistleblower. If he were a whistleblower, he could have quit his position and gone to the NY Times, Fox News, 60 Minutes -- or Amnesty International.

I don't know what Edward Snowden is. The issues of privacy and governmental intrusion (in an era when all our communications are stored on servers and networks around the world) are real. But his course of action has been to harm the United States.

Amnesty International has diluted its resources and moral effectiveness by forcefully supporting Snowden and lionizing him. Until this stops, I will not send any further financial support to AI, and will urge my friends to do likewise.

Sincerely,

John Melithoniotes

Watertown, MA

USA

 As I say, I don't yet know what Snowden is, whether he's a whistleblower genuinely interested in exposing a massive unnecessary surveillance into the lives of millions of people, or if he's an egotistical paranoid man who sees himself as a kind of savior and who became a traitor. I feel Amnesty International overstepped their mandate by abetting his work and flight from the American justice system.

How life crumbles: the play "Absurd Person Singular" at the Central Square Theater

Absurd Person Singular, a play by Alan Ayckbourn, by the Nora Theater Company at Central Square Theater. Directed by Daniel Gidron.

We saw this performance July 21st. At first, I thought the mannerisms and quips came off as a bit dated and tedious, not unlike the British domestic comedies from the 80s and 90s that are still repeated on PBS. But slowly, I began to feel that we were really into something. A couple puts on a Christmas Eve party, and is slyly treated with contempt by the better-established guests. Sidney (played dry and convincingly by David Berger-Jones) comes off as an early John Cleese. Jane (Samantha Evans) as his frantic wife.

Over the course of three Christmas Eves, the fortunes of the various couples are reversed, until the first couple are avenged, calling the tune, sadistically forcing the others to dance and pretend merriment. Good performances, some genuinely funny spots. I was not entirely convinced by the play itself. The lives of the various characters crumble, as lives do, and we start to feel some affection and sympathy for them. But the route to Sidney and Jane's sadistic vengeance seems a little faked -- we don't see it in them until the very last scene.