memeorandum: “I Am Sorry That It Has Come to This”: A Soldier's Last Words (Kiese Laymon/Gawker)

7:55 PM ET, June 23, 2013

Top Items:

WikiLeaks Statement On Edward Snowden's Exit From Hong Kong — Mr Edward Snowden, the American whistleblower who exposed evidence of a global surveillance regime conducted by US and UK intelligence agencies, has left Hong Kong legally. He is bound for a democratic nation via a safe route …

Discussion: Reuters, Hit & Run, Crooks and Liars, News Desk, Guardian, Business Insider, The Moderate Voice, TechCrunch, New York Times, Red Alert Politics, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Yahoo! News, Post Politics and Politico

The Huffington Post:

David Gregory's Shocking Question To Glenn Greenwald — “Meet the Press” host David Gregory asked columnist Glenn Greenwald why he shouldn't be charged with a crime for working with NSA leaker Edward Snowden. — Greenwald was on to discuss his source's Sunday morning flight from Hong Kong to Moscow.

Discussion: NewsBusters, Ed Driscoll, The Hill, The Gateway Pundit, Hullabaloo and Washington Free Beacon, more at Mediagazer »

Ben Smith / BuzzFeed:

You Don't Have To Like Edward Snowden — Reporters have always been comfortable ignoring their sources' motives. Now everybody else needs to get used to that. — Via: @MiriamElder — One of the most difficult features of the new news environment is that everybody gets to see the utter mess …

Discussion: Mediaite, Politico, The Verge and Guardian, more at Mediagazer »

New York Times:

Snowden, in Russia, Said to Seek Asylum in Ecuador — MOSCOW — Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive former National Security Agency contractor wanted by the United States for leaking classified documents about global American surveillance, fled his Hong Kong hide-out for Moscow on Sunday aboard …

James Pomfret / Reuters:

Hong Kong lets Snowden leave, with Cuba among possible destinations — (Reuters) - A former contractor for the U.S. National Security Agency, charged by the United States with espionage, was allowed to leave Hong Kong on Sunday, his final destination as yet unknown, because a U.S. request …

Discussion: Xinhua News Agency, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, addictinginfo.org, Joe. My. God., Hit & Run, The Huffington Post, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Guardian, Associated Press, TalkLeft and The Lonely Conservative

BBC:
Edward Snowden asks Ecuador for asylum

Discussion: Guardian, Outside the Beltway and Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Kevin Liptak / CNN:
Schumer: Putin 'aiding and abetting Snowden's escape'

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette, Politico, The Moderate Voice and USA Today

Guardian:
Edward Snowden asks for asylum in Ecuador - as it happened

Discussion: Politico, Michelle Malkin, Mediaite, Reuters, The Gateway Pundit, The Raw Story and Balloon Juice

ABCNEWS:
‘This Week’ Transcript: NSA Director Gen. Keith Alexander

Discussion: Sydney Morning Herald, ABCNEWS, Guardian, msnbc.com and Firedoglake

Reuters:
Snowden has ticket to Cuba, may go to Venezuela: Russian reports

Discussion: Connecting.the.Dots, The Hinterland Gazette, Alan Colmes' Liberaland and The Gateway Pundit

Guardian:
Edward Snowden arrives in Moscow

Discussion: Mediaite and Towleroad News #gay

RT:
NSA leaker Snowden arrives in Moscow en route to ‘third country’ with WikiLeaks help

Discussion: The Hinterland Gazette and Blogs of War

Guardian:
Spy row: US accused of hacking China

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Firedoglake, New York Times, The Hinterland Gazette, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and Little Green Footballs

Meghashyam Mali / The Hill:
NSA leaker Snowden lands in Moscow, seeks asylum in Ecuador

Discussion: Politico and CNN

Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post:
Snowden departed Hong Kong for a ‘third country,’ government says

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Gawker, Post Politics, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, The Fix, The Moderate Voice, Taylor Marsh and CBS News

BuzzFeed:

LGBT Military Group's Board Ousts Leader, Prompting Staff And Board Resignations — Allyson Robinson took over the helm of OutServe-SLDN last October, the first out transgender leader of a national LGBT rights organization whose primary focus is not solely transgender issues.

Discussion: Washington Blade, AMERICAblog and Towleroad News #gay

Bil Browning / The Bilerico Project:

OutServe/SLDN Exec Dir Fired; Senior Staff Resigns [Updated] — OutServe/SLDN Executive Director Allyson Robinson was fired after a board coup yesterday according to a leaked email sent to Bilerico Project. Robinson was the only transgender leader of a major LGBT organization that is not specifically trans-related.

Discussion: Advocate, LGBTQ Nation and Joe. My. God.

Eric W. Dolan / The Raw Story:

Morality study finds conservatives show a ‘general insensitivity to consequences’ — When it comes to topics like abortion or assisted suicide, there seems to be no common ground between conservatives and liberals. Why is there such a noticeable rift between the two political orientations?

Lila Shapiro / The Huffington Post:

Equality House Hosts Gay Wedding Across From Westboro Baptist Church — On Saturday night, Kimberly Kidwell, a 31-year-old EMT, married Katie Short in a wedding ceremony on the front lawn of the Equality House in Topeka, Kan. — directly across the street from the Westboro Baptist Church.

Discussion: Advocate, The Raw Story, LGBTQ Nation and Towleroad News #gay

Washington Post:

Taliban kills foreign climbers in Pakistan — PESHAWAR, Pakistan — Gunmen stormed a camp on Pakistan's second-largest mountain Sunday, killing nine foreign climbers, including a U.S. citizen, in a brazen assault that could deal a blow to the country's efforts to jumpstart its tourism industry.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, BizPac Review and The Gateway Pundit

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Schumer predicts mass demonstrations if House blocks path to citizenship — A senior Democratic senator predicted Sunday there could be massive demonstrations in Washington if House Republicans try to block a bill to grant legal status to millions of immigrants.

Discussion: BizPac Review and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Hugh Muir / Guardian:

Boat Race protester Trenton Oldfield ordered to leave UK — Australian activist, whose wife is expecting a child this week, will appeal against Home Office ruling that he must leave country — The Australian activist who disrupted the 2012 Oxford v Cambridge Boat Race in protest …

Discussion: Natalie Solent

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:

One More Metaphor for the Gang of 8 — Preliminary Search for Loopholes in a Cloud: I've been trying to think of the right metaphor for the giant Corker-Hoeven amendment, the one that is reportedly giving the Gang of 8′s immigration bill enough votes to pass the Senate.

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The Hugh Hewitt Show