Not even slightly dramatic. I have seen someone be utterly destroyed for trying to speak out on something deeply unethical a state was doing, and is probably still doing.

He was dragged by the head of state in the press and televised announcements, became untouchable overnight - lost his career, his wife died a few days later while at work at her government job in an “accident”. This isn’t in some tinpot dictatorship, rather a liberal western democracy.

So - no. Career-ending is an understatement. You piss the wrong people off, they will absolutely fuck you up.

A "liberal democracy" where the head of state can have random citizens murdered? And I guess despite being an internet anon, you won't name that country because they will come after you and kill your family as well?

That's either a very tall tale or the state is anything but liberal.

> A "liberal democracy" where the head of state can have random citizens murdered?

Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki (also spelled al-Aulaqi, Arabic: عبدالرحمن العولقي; August 26, 1995 – October 14, 2011) was a 16-year-old United States citizen who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Yemen.

The U.S. drone strike that killed Abdulrahman Anwar al-Awlaki was conducted under a policy approved by U.S. President Barack Obama

Human rights groups questioned why Abdulrahman al-Awlaki was killed by the U.S. in a country with which the United States was not at war. Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, stated "If the government is going to be firing Predator missiles at American citizens, surely the American public has a right to know who's being targeted, and why."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Abdulrahman_al-Aw...

>Abdulrahman al-Awlaki's father, Anwar al-Awlaki, was a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

Missed highlighting that part. The boy also wasn't the target of the strike anyway. Was the wife from the other user's story living with an al-Qaeda leader as well?

> Abdulrahman al-Awlaki's father, Anwar al-Awlaki, was a leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula

You are a terrorist if you don't want a foreign power to install a government* over you and you fight to prevent that?

*that has to be noted were literally pedophiles

I think the WH spokesperson's response just adds to the level of disturbing:

>When pressed by a reporter to defend the targeted killing policy that resulted in Abdulrahman al-Awlaki's death, former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs deflected blame to the victim's father, saying, "I would suggest that you should have a far more responsible father if they are truly concerned about the well-being of their children. I don't think becoming an al-Qaeda jihadist terrorist is the best way to go about doing your business".

I’ve spoken about it here somewhat and circumspectly before - but I prefer to keep the SNR low, as I don’t want repercussions for him. Me, good luck finding.

It’s the U.K. It happened under Cameron. It related to the judiciary. That’s as much as I’ll comfortably reveal.

I will also say that it was a factor in me deciding to sell my business, leave the country, and live in the woods, as what I learned from him and his experience fundamentally changed my perception of the system in which we live.

In France, between 2013 and 2016, 40 people were killed (~one per month) by the French state (French) on direct order of President François Hollande:

https://www.lemonde.fr/police-justice/article/2017/01/04/fra...

Yeah, the point that Obama literally executed US citizens without trial is often lost on people on this site, and on much of the "liberal" intelligentsia. They'll just say he was a "terrorist", but folks, you can't say whether he was or not, without trial. And even if he was, his son, who was also killed in that strike, was not a "terrorist". This is an extremely slippery slope, and the fact that people don't acknowledge this just because it was Obama who ordered the murder (let's call a spade a spade) is a damning indictment of "neoliberal values".

I have long thought that there ought to be an independently funded International Association for the Protection of Whistleblowers. However, it would quickly become a primary target of national intelligence agencies, so I don't know how long it would last.

Ask Snowden.

Can someone explain why every govt official that was ever in the news talking about Snowden acuse him of being the worst sort of criminal? Specifically what is the case, they are never forthcoming about details.

I personally am very glad to know the things he revealed.

For the same reason they’ve been torturing Assange for the past decade. They view us as little more than taxable cattle that should not ask any questions, let alone embarrass or challenge the ruling class.

Saying no isn't what ended his career.

> Saying no isn't what ended his career.

Within NatSec, saying No to embarrassing the government is implied. Ceaselessly.

Equally implied: The brutality of the consequences for not saying no.

Considering the launch tempo that NASA had signed up for, and was then currently failing at? Yes, a single 'no-go' on the cert chain could easily result in someone being shunted into professional obscurity thereafter.