Edward Snowden Declared "Human Rights Defender", Deserving of Asylum in European Vote

Members of the European Parliament Vote No to Criminal Charges Against Snowden

Jesse Ventura called Snowden an “American hero” back in February 2014. Now, the continent of Europe has joined the Governor in celebrating a man who deserves to be lifted up on our shoulders, not brought before a court of law.

In a vote of 285 to 281, Members of the European Parliament — made up of representatives from the 28 constituent European Union states — called on all E.U. countries to “drop any criminal charges against Edward Snowden, grant him protection and consequently prevent extradition or rendition by third parties, in recognition of his status as whistle-blower and international human rights defender.”

I highly doubt that if we took that same vote in the U.S. Congress, the numbers would be nearly that close, or that the winds would be in Snowden’s favor. Early last year, Pentagon officials were fantasizing about putting a bullet in Snowden’s head, and this month, Hillary Clinton said in the first Democratic Presidential Debate that Snowden “broke the laws of the United States.”

We are also living in a country where the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) passes with ease in the Senate -- 74 to 21 -- just this week! Instead of more opportunities and laws passed for the NSA to spy on its citizens, we need more whistleblowers, more Edward Snowdens, more John Kiriakous, and more Thomas Drakes.

The government will argue that if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to worry about. Then, why do they redact pages, classify documents for decades, and keep SEVENTEEN SPYING AGENCIES ON THE PAYROLL (all at the taxpayers’ expense). We’re tired of our every move being spied on. Stop breathing over our shoulders, Big Brother, and we can begin to start trusting you to get your damn job done.

Written by

Alex Logan

As cohost of the political commentary series, Jesse Ventura's Off the Grid, Alex Logan is The Body's body man. Alex and the former governor, action star, wrestler, and everything else in between, tackle the headlines of the week with an uncensored and independent spirit as we hold the two parties' feet to the fire. A deserter of Dayton, Ohio, Alex graduated from the University of Southern California Film School with a degree in Writing for Screen and TV. Alex has assisted in the booking of live acts for the Creative Artists Agency; written jokes, sketches and stunts for MTV and producer Johnny Knoxville; developed treatments and scripts for Anonymous Content and Mark Gordon Productions; and co-founded the Improv Olympic West’s headliner sketch group, The Mutiny, who play sold out shows around LA and at the Chicago and San Francisco Sketch Fests, as well as producing numerous videos for the front pages of YouTube, College Humor, and Funny Or Die. He did a stint as Editor and Technical Producer on Larry King’s Hulu talk show before partnering with Larry and Jesse to co-create Off the Grid. In the first season, Alex co-headed the entire production, writing, producing, and cohosting over 150 episodes. And he's back for Season Two, now serving as producer and host of a series of Man on the Street field pieces called, On the Grid. He also wrote this professional bio with his own two hands.

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