BREAKING: Glenn Greenwald's partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

[99th_Monkey]

Glenn Greenwald's partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours
David Miranda, partner of Guardian interviewer of whistleblower Edward Snowden, questioned under Terrorism Act
Guardian staff * The Guardian * Sunday 18 August 2013

The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro.

David Miranda, who lives with Glenn Greenwald, was returning from a trip to Berlin when he was stopped by officers at 8.30am and informed that he was to be questioned under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000. The controversial law, which applies only at airports, ports and border areas, allows officers to stop, search, question and detain individuals.

The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. According to official figures, most examinations under schedule 7 – over 97% – last under an hour, and only one in 2,000 people detained are kept for more than six hours.

Miranda was then released without charge, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/aug/18/glenn-greenwald-guardian-partner-detained-heathrow

[dkf]

1. Who requested that action I wonder.

[NightWatcher]

3. I bet Obama did it for shits and giggles

He'd already got bored of golf....

[MannyGoldstein]

2. Oh fabulous.

Remain calm. All is well.

[MotherPetrie]

4. The message could not be more clear.

[Luminous Animal]

5. Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000

Stop and search without reasonable suspicion
No right to legal advice
A criminal offense to refuse to cooperate with questioning thus no right to silence
May be held up to 9 hours

[99th_Monkey]

19. Holy Crap! Is that for reals?

[drokhole]

29. The irony that his last name is 'Miranda' is certainly not lost...

[HardTimes99]

82. Between Snowden ("Catch-22") and the eponymous Miranda, the mind boggles

at the synchronicity. Maybe pure serendipity but one does wonder at times.

[LearningCurve]

121. Somehow, I missed the Catch-22 connection

Thanks

[drokhole]

122. Wow, good catch!

[sabrina 1]

30. Ironic that his name is Miranda.

So, now not just Journalists are terrorists but their wives, husbands, partners, mothers, fathers, children, aunts and uncles, grandparents.

That's just about everyone.

This has got to stop. That was pure harassment and intended to be. THIS is why all these 'terror' laws are so dangerous. Because they can be and are being used to terrorize people who have zero to do with terror.

[Luminous Animal]

33. Yep. An attempt at harassment and intimidation

Greenwald writes about it here:

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa

[sabrina 1]

44. So stupid of them. This will only enhance support for journalists and whistle blowers and

increase opposition to these draconian policies. They must be desperate for some reason. What are they so afraid of??

[MisterP]

32. this is exactly what Rowling was rapping when she wrote Crouch, Sr., and Scrimgeour

heck, even the Blairite water privatization got into Order of the Phoenix

[grasswire]

6. on what basis did they seize all his electronics?

Can they do that without charging him with a crime?

[FirstLight]

9. ya, that part is bullshit, IMO.

What, are they looking for something of Snowden's on Greenwald's PARTNER'S electronics? where's the subpoena?

[KoKo]

11. Article doesn't say..... But, that sounds really agressive...n/t

[Luminous Animal]

13. Yes. Schedule 7 allows for confiscation of personal property up to 7 days.

[hootinholler]

17. I don't know about the UK, but the US can and will.

Always send electronics you actually need via FedEx or DHL, etc.

[valerief]

78. Who'll stop them? OTHER men with guns? nt

[KoKo]

7. Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act has been widely criticised

From the Article:

"Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act has been widely criticised for giving police broad powers under the guise of anti-terror legislation to stop and search individuals without prior authorisation or reasonable suspicion – setting it apart from other police powers. Those stopped have no automatic right to legal advice and it is a criminal offense to refuse to cooperate with questioning under schedule 7, which critics say is a curtailment of the right to silence.

Last month, the UK government announced it would reduce the maximum period of detention to six hours, and promised a review of the operation on schedule 7 amid concerns that it unfairly targets minority groups and gives individuals fewer legal protections than they would have if detained at a police station."

[sabrina 1]

46. And now it targets the partners of Journalists. I hope this increases the pressure to get rid of it

certainly this is prime example of why it has been so controversial. Abuse of power to the max and more cynical use of the phony 'terror' war.

[RKP5637]

74. It is yet another clear indication of where society is headed on the current path. And it's

going to be a horrid place. ... and for many already is ...

[burnodo]

8. Ahh the Nazi state

come home to roost

[totodeinhere]

41. Not funny. n/t

[burnodo]

42. Sounds homophobic to me

[TeamPooka]

53. FYI , I'm the person who alerted on your gay slur post.

Don't do that.

[TeamPooka]

73. jury results 4-2 to hide it

At Sun Aug 18, 2013, 01:48 PM you sent an alert on the following post:

They thought his penis pump was a bomb that's all
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=3483284

REASON FOR ALERT:

This post is disruptive, hurtful, rude, insensitive, over-the-top, or otherwise inappropriate. (See <a href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=aboutus#communitystandards" target="_blank">Community Standards</a>.)

YOUR COMMENTS:

gay slur.

A randomly-selected Jury of DU members completed their review of this alert at Sun Aug 18, 2013, 01:54 PM, and voted 4-2 to HIDE IT.

Juror #1 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #2 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to HIDE IT and said: Hide is automatic. Also forward to MIRT
Juror #5 voted to HIDE IT and said: No explanation given
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE and said: No explanation given

[Luminous Animal]

113. Thank you for alerting...

The other day I alerted on a anti-semitic slur against Greenwald and I was pleasantly surprised that the commenter was shown the door.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. It is a mistake...really

[Downwinder]

14. Hope everything was well encrypted, just for the harassment value.

Reciprocity.

[NYC_SKP]

15. How many posts will it take to blame Obama???

Not many!

[KoKo]

18. The thought would naturally occur..though.

Last edited Sun Aug 18, 2013, 04:37 PM - Edit history (1)

Wouldn't it? 's After the Bolivian incident.

[NYC_SKP]

20. No doubt. Leader of the free world.

...or so they say.

Sometimes I think Cheeenie's still behind the wheel.

[SidDithers]

37. For the record..

it took 3 replies.



Sid

[Scurrilous]

88. Slower than usual.

Then again, it is the weekend.

[Comrade Grumpy]

47. Looks like you were the first to raise that theme. ON EDIT:

Well, there is post #3. But I think that may have been sarcastic.

[Vinnie From Indy]

16. Remember people! This action had to be done to keep us safe

from terrorists.

[JDPriestly]

79. And. . . . . don't we feel safe~~~~~~~

[NuclearDem]

21. Awful lot of trouble for "just hype."

[99th_Monkey]

22. Yes, this may require yet another new "meme" to be launched

as the "it's all hype" one is wearing out fast.

[sabrina 1]

43. It was to help push the Libertarian/Rand Paul agenda.

[AZ Progressive]

23. The Obama yes men / yes women must be cheering at this

[Luminous Animal]

24. Greenwald's article on this incident.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/aug/18/david-miranda-detained-uk-nsa

The stated purpose of this law, as the name suggests, is to question people about terrorism. The detention power, claims the UK government, is used "to determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism."

But they obviously had zero suspicion that David was associated with a terrorist organization or involved in any terrorist plot. Instead, they spent their time interrogating him about the NSA reporting which Laura Poitras, the Guardian and I are doing, as well the content of the electronic products he was carrying. They completely abused their own terrorism law for reasons having nothing whatsoever to do with terrorism: a potent reminder of how often governments lie when they claim that they need powers to stop "the terrorists", and how dangerous it is to vest unchecked power with political officials in its name.

Worse, they kept David detained right up until the last minute: for the full 9 hours, something they very rarely do. Only at the last minute did they finally release him. We spent all day - as every hour passed - worried that he would be arrested and charged under a terrorism statute. This was obviously designed to send a message of intimidation to those of us working journalistically on reporting on the NSA and its British counterpart, the GCHQ.

Before letting him go, they seized numerous possessions of his, including his laptop, his cellphone, various video game consuls, DVDs, USB sticks, and other materials. They did not say when they would return any of it, or if they would.

[sabrina 1]

51. We've been misunderstanding the word 'terrorist'. What it really means is 'Journalists not

under the control of the Corporate Media who tend to tell the truth and don't submit to this kind of intimidation'.

I hope Greenwald and his Partner have protection.

What are they so afraid of? What are they so desperate to hide? What have they been up to?

I keep thinking of Ron Wyden's statement that what we have seen so far is 'just the tip of the iceberg'. And you have to consider that even what he has seen, is the tip of an even bigger iceberg.

[reusrename]

111. Nailed it.

Basically,

anti-fascist = terrorist.

[JEB]

25. Will this horseshit never end?

[99th_Monkey]

34. Going after a persons "loved ones" is pretty low in my book.

something only thugs do.

[JEB]

35. The stuff of repressive totalitarian regimes.

Smells like global fascism.

[Luminous Animal]

39. Indeed. "journalists [and] their family members were targeted for arbitrary detention or arrest"

The U.S. State Department on China
http://www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2010/eap/154382.htm

[KoKo]

67. It slams what we tell the rest of the word to do right back in our face...

And, that this can be done to any citizen in the word passing through London without them even having a lawyer present is frightening. Do we know how many people might have been flagged and who didn't have good connections who might have been whisked away to one of our Detention Centers. Who would know?

[CakeGrrl]

56. Do you have a theory about which particular "thug" or "thugs" are responsible?

[99th_Monkey]

58. Going after a persons "loved ones" is thuggery, as in a TACTIC

... a tactic that has a distinctly unsavory smell to it, at that.

[frylock]

60. gee, who do you think wields that kind of influence?

[CakeGrrl]

70. Just confirming that

the formerly RW "Chicago Thug" meme is looking to go mainstream here.

[JDPriestly]

83. We are what we do.

Pretty is as pretty does. Thugish is as thugish does I suppose.

If you act like a Democrat, you will be respected as a Democrat.

If you act like a thug, you will be called a thug.

Not naming any names. Don't need to.

[Autumn]

71. I would bet that it would be the US Government.

And if this is exactly how it happened it's going to make the administration look very bad.

[HardTimes99]

86. If I remember Mario Puzo correctly, even the Mafia declared 'loved ones' off limits. I may

be mis-remembering, but I'm pretty sure La Cosa Nostra had a code of honor, such that 'civilians' were not touched.

[99th_Monkey]

89. I believe you are correct

but there is some confusion about it, because it was sometimes breached, but never-the-less,
I think there was indeed such a code of honor.

[HardTimes99]

93. I just read the full Greenwald statement on another thread and discovered he

made a similar point. I guess great minds think alike

[99th_Monkey]

107. I love it when that happens. eom

[Ichingcarpenter]

26. Government Conspiracy Proven

and reason for some paranoia

Eat that PS.

[Luminous Animal]

27. +1

[alcibiades_mystery]

85. PS?

Who's that?

[NorthCarolina]

87. I know, I know!

[Dr. Strange]

98. It is difficult to make sense of...

I must profess.

[Cha]

103. Another poster obsessed with ProSense.. poor things have

terminal PSDS.

[alcibiades_mystery]

106. That can't be true

That would mean that the poster was trying to avoid a rule violation through stealth naming presumably recognizable to the posters friends, but vague enough to be denied to authorities, and that can't be the case, because that would make the poster not only a juvenile shithead acting like a bully with a pack of likeminded junior-high level bullying assholes, but also an extreme fucking coward who can't even stand behind the force of his or her accusation, and I know that neither of those scenarios (shithead bully winking to other bully friends, and/or pathetic cowardly asshole) can possibly be true of Ichingcarpenter, who is a long-serving member in good standing and would never stoop to pathetic, cowardly, bullying call-outs of that sort.

I reject your claim categorically!

[Cha]

109. lol.. Exactly.

[Rex]

28. Last name is Miranda?

Is the universe trying to crap out a secret message or something?

[99th_Monkey]

31. lol - nice catch. nt

[HardTimes99]

94. +1 - nt

[cantbeserious]

36. America The Beautiful - Land Of Despots And Tyrants - Home Of The Oligarchs And Corporatists

eom

[SidDithers]

38. You do know that Heathrow is in England, don't you?...

Sid

[cantbeserious]

40. Yes - Do You Know We Pay The Brits To Spy On American Citizens

eom

[iamthebandfanman]

55. all english speaking nations

have been spying on each others citizens to avoid said countries laws since the late 40s :p

[sabrina 1]

120. Yes, most of people do know that. Some who know probably approve of it. I wonder how the British

people feel now that they know for sure that their Government is just another puppet Government. Those leaks confirmed what many suspected when Blair earned himself the title 'Bush's Poodle'.

[burnodo]

45. And England acts totally independent of the United States...

right Candadian Sid?

[iamthebandfanman]

54. oh noes!

the new world order has begun! NOOOO!!!

[East Coast Pirate]

48. They've gone completely fucking crazy.

[Autumn]

49. This has nothing to do with terrorism. This does reveal who our government considers

to be terrorist though. Yes it happened in the UK but this was done for the US.

[SidDithers]

50. One...nt

Sid

[Matariki]

52. It would be great if this high profile occurrence will effect law and policy change.

Because this bullshit cannot stand.

[geek tragedy]

57. Seems like an abuse of authority, an explanation is morally required. nt

[Aerows]

62. At least they don't have children together

It could have been worse with a child in the mix, since that IS his spouse.

[geek tragedy]

63. Not sure I understand what you're saying. nt

[Aerows]

65. I'm saying that it's a good thing that they don't have adopted children

or weren't a heterosexual couple because a child in the mix would have been worse, since this was obviously targeted to the spouse and/or family members.

[LuvNewcastle]

59. They seem to love shitting on South Americans. n/t

[Octafish]

61. Because he tells the truth, Greenwald is considered a dangerous man.

Hope he can keep safe. As for Miranda's Miranda rights. Like in the UK, he hasn't got any, any more, in the USA.

[sabrina 1]

75. Fortunately they live in Chile, which itself was a victim of the US's Massive Surveillance

program and they are not happy about it.

Now might be a good time for both of them to ask for protection in Chile, asylum actually. Because this incident is a warning to them imo.

Next we may see charges against Greenwald for 'espionage' and they might wait for him to be on his way somewhere.


If that sounds surreal, it is no more so than what has happened to other journalists, and/or organizations, like Wikileaks, or Al Jazeera during the Bush years.

[tammywammy]

77. They live in Brazil. n/t

[sabrina 1]

81. Thank you, anywhere in S. America is a good place for Western Journalists to be right now.

Brazil also was a victim of US spying and most of South America learned what the US thought of them from the Wikileaks cables.

It's a shame that US allies tend to be Dictatorships around the world, while refusing to deal honestly with true Democracies like those emerging in South America.

We never have liked Democracies very much, looking at our history over the last century, Dictators were far more popular with the US and its European, former Imperialists, allies.

[msanthrope]

117. Rio De Janeiro is in Brazil, not Chile. nt

[MjolnirTime]

64. Glenn will be detained much longer once Snowden is brought in.

[Aerows]

66. Because no one cares anymore, HammerTime

You say this in every single thread that pops up about this. EVERY single one. No one cares. You can't seem to quit following it, though.

[JoeyT]

76. Quite prolific, since

he seems to be typing one handed while fantasizing about torture and indefinite detention.

I don't creep easily. Some of his posts about Greenwald/Snowden have managed it in spades.

[Union Scribe]

92. Kinda like that Time magazine guy

who recently tweeted how he looked forward to defending the drone strike that takes out Julian Assange. It says a lot more about the person saying such things than it possibly could about their "target."

[MjolnirTime]

96. unlike Snowden, I don't need a fan club. But thanks for caring.

[Aerows]

102. But can you dance? n/t

[MjolnirTime]

95. The Public at large has moved on. I know that saddens you.

That doesn't mean Snowden and Greenwald won't be tried for conspiracy to steal state secrets.

Both things can happen at the same time.

For example,
Bradley Manning was just convicted for his crimes.
Yet most of the American Public doesn't know or care who Bradley Manning is.

[Aerows]

100. Again, you haven't

[Union Scribe]

91. You've been saying that for awhile now. nt

[Aerows]

101. I think he's trying to convince himself

"It's HammerTime"

[Bonobo]

114. I imagine the Jüdische Ghetto-Polizei must have sounded like that. nt

[theHandpuppet]

68. "We have met the enemy and he is us." -- Pogo

We have successfully become what we once most despised.

[HardTimes99]

97. I was just thinking "We defended the Brits from the Nazis for this?" So the Walt

Kelly reference is quite a propos, imho.

[muriel_volestrangler]

69. Wanting to get all the electronic data would be part of the motive

In case Greenwald has put some of his data there as a back-up if he is detained. This might, conceivably, include looking for the encryption code for the Wikileaks 'insurance' data.

Plus a bit of intimidation too.

This makes me ashamed for my country. Sorry, Rest of the World.

[DetlefK]

72. And I bet he got a trojan on his smartphone for free!

Seriously. He can scrap all that electronic equipment and start anew.

[Douglas Carpenter]

80. knr

[alcibiades_mystery]

84. The Grand Farce of a Soap Opera continues

Oh no. Not Greenwald's partner!



This is a clownfest.

[99th_Monkey]

90. I venture a guess

that if it were your partner, you wouldn't be laughing.

[HardTimes99]

99. +Infinity! The Empathy Deficit Disorder on display is really something, isn't it? - nt

[Hell Hath No Fury]

104. I am seeing some seriously ugly shit here -

the kind that makes my skin crawl. The ignore button is looking better and better....

[Luminous Animal]

115. That comment was horribly cruel. If my husband was held by authorities

for 9 hours and I was unable to speak to him directly or by proxy through a lawyer, I would be in great distress.

[Arkana]

105. Yeah, I'm not really getting the "Illuminati" vibe here.

[Savannahmann]

108. What does a Free Press get us?

It means we can debate the topics that matter freely. It means that in the 1850's, people could write about Slavery, and the public could consider the issue. It means that during the 1960's, we could consider the issues of the war in Viet-Nam.

So where in history can we find a time when things could not be discussed? Foreign history, plenty of examples. American History, some examples too. In the 1950's you couldn't print that the Government was using the Red Scare to intimidate people into compliance. You couldn't print that while there may be Communists in Government, that hunting them with such a dense instrument was asinine. You couldn't write that it was a witch-hunt of the worst sort.

It's amazing that so many people on our side, the traditional side of Civil Rights, have abandoned those principles of late.

[99th_Monkey]

116. "uninformed consent" is an oxymoron.

"consent" that is based on lies and deception is not real consent.

[WillyT]

110. K & R !!!

[struggle4progress]

112. ... Mr Miranda ... had spent the previous week in Berlin visiting Laura Poitras ... who has .. been

helping to disseminate Mr Snowden's leaks. The trip had been paid for by The Guardian, Mr Greenwald said ...
Snowden journalist's partner detained under terror law
August 19, 2013 - 10:22AM
Charlie Savage
http://www.smh.com.au/world/snowden-journalists-partner-detained-under-terror-law-20130819-2s5vz.html

[msanthrope]

118. The Guardian paid for the trip? A bit odd, no? nt

[99th_Monkey]

119. "More than 97 percent of people stopped under the provision are questioned for under an hour,

Last edited Sun Aug 18, 2013, 10:17 PM - Edit history (1)

... according to the British government." Miranda was held for exactly 9 hours, the absolute maximum allowed. If that doesn't suggest that this was deliberate harassment I don't know what would.

“What’s amazing is this law, called the Terrorism Act, gives them a right to detain and question you about your activities with a terrorist organization or your possible involvement in or knowledge of a terrorism plot,” Mr. Greenwald said. “The only thing they were interested in was N.S.A. documents and what I was doing with Laura Poitras." {i.e. they were NOT questioned about anything to do with terrorism, which is what the law says the purpose of the questioning is supposed to be)

[JEB]

123. Sounds like good old repression to me.