Share this action on Facebook Share this action on Twitter Four months ago, the State Department revoked the passport of NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.[1] Snowden’s “crime” was to educate Americans and the world about the dangerous growth of the U.S. surveillance state. Tell Secretary of State John Kerry to give Snowden back his passport. Freedom to travel requires a passport. It’s a basic principle.[2] Government efforts to revoke a U.S. citizen’s passport have a shameful place in U.S. history. Amid the hysteria of the McCarthy Era, in 1950 the government revoked the passport of the African American singer/actor/activist Paul Robeson -- and didn’t reinstate it for eight years. Click here to tell Kerry to reinstate Snowden’s passport now. Ed Snowden didn’t get the due process he deserves. In late June -- after he released documents on the NSA’s mass surveillance programs -- the State Department suddenly revoked Snowden’s passport in an effort to prevent him from reaching any country willing to grant political asylum. The surveillance state that he exposed is spying on leaders in democratic countries[3] and collects electronic data on millions of U.S. citizens -- including, we learned this week thanks to Snowden, our e-mail address books and instant messaging “buddy lists.”[4] Snowden’s moral, democratic and heroic action is increasingly honored and appreciated.[5] To send an email now to Secretary of State Kerry, click here. Please forward this link to like-minded friends: http://SupportEdwardSnowden.org -- The RootsAction.org team P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Coleen Rowley, Frances Fox Piven, and many others. P.P.S. This work is only possible with your financial support. Please donate. Footnotes: 1. Reuters: U.S. Revokes Snowden's Passport 2. Universal Declaration of Human Rights 3. Guardian: Brazilian President: U.S. “Breach of International Law” 4. Washington Post: NSA Collects Millions of Address Books 5. Ray McGovern: Snowden Accepts Whistleblower Award www.RootsAction.org

Share this action on Facebook Share this action on Twitter Well, that was awkward. A Nobel Peace Prize nominee meets with a Nobel peace laureate and his family, and asks him to stop killing innocent people in her country with drones. President Obama invited Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani advocate for girls' education, to meet with his family. And she promptly explained that what he is doing works against her agenda and fuels terrorism. Register your awareness and agreement here. Malala is a victim of violence in Pakistan, having been attacked by religious fanatics opposed to her work. But Obama may not have expected her to speak up against other forms of violence in her country. Malala recounted: "I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education, it will make a big impact." President Obama may also have not expected most people to notice or care. The corporate media have virtually ignored this part of a widely-reported meeting.[1] It's up to us to surprise everyone with the depth of our interest and concern. Please sign the petition to ban weaponized drones, and tell every person and organization you possibly can about BanWeaponizedDrones.org. Please forward this email widely to like-minded friends. -- The RootsAction.org team P.S. RootsAction is an independent online force endorsed by Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Cornel West, Daniel Ellsberg, Glenn Greenwald, Naomi Klein, Bill Fletcher Jr., Laura Flanders, former U.S. Senator James Abourezk, Coleen Rowley, Frances Fox Piven, and many others. Footnote: 1. FAIR: Drones, the Media, and Malala's Message Organizations Supporting This Petition (partial and growing list): Alaskans For Peace and Justice Antiwar.com Arlington Green Party Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests BFUU Bill of Rights Defense Committee Campaign for the Accountability of American Bases Code Pink Drone Free Zone Fellowship of Reconciliation Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space Granny Peace Brigade-NY Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace Jeannette Rankin Peace Center KnowDrones.com LA Laborfest Montrose Peace Vigil National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance Nevada Desert Experience The Northampton Committee to Stop War On Earth Peace Peace of Mind Project People United for Peace of Santa Cruz County (PUP) RootsAction.org Santa Cruz Against Drones (SCAD) Sitkans for Peace and Justice United for Peace and Justice Veracity Now Veterans For Peace Veterans For Peace Chapter 10 Veterans For Peace Chapter 27 Veterans For Peace Chapter 91 Veterans For Peace Chapter 154 Veterans For Peace, Phil Berrigan Memorial Chapter, Baltimore, MD Voices for Creative Nonviolence WarIsACrime.org War Resisters League Wasatch Coalition for Peace and Justice West Suburban Faith-based Peace Coalition Women Against Military Madness (WAMM) Women Standing Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, U.S. Section World Can't Wait Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament www.RootsAction.org

Monk On A Bench
( Gandhi Statue, San Francisco Bay)

Photo by Li Lightfoot