I do understand you.

I agree, there should be no limits on free speech. Indeed, it is the difficult stuff that is most important. Whether or not I agreed with Lira is irrelevant. He had a different view. Even if his only real interest was attention that doesn't change the fact that he's entitled to speak his mind.

I write because I can't not write. Yet I am not the writer. Whoever, whatever is writing you here is not me. I'm another person listening to the keys click and the words appear on the screen wondering why I can't sleep. Why am I up at 5 am writing another story about war which makes me anxious and unhappy?

It doesn't seem like you write in a way that puts you out there. It's more likely someone might show up at my house one day and take me to prison. Maybe something I wrote on Facebook? Do you write what you really think on Facebook? Do you write anti-EU stuff there?

Have you ever been a whistleblower on anything? I'm NOT saying you should. I'm not saying I'm better than you because I write. Or that you're wrong about free speech because you don't seem to risk your ability to make money, etc.

In your short bio its says "US expatriate living in the EU, seeing the world from both sides of the Atlantic". That's important. Again, all views are important.

I am not "ex-" my country. I am here engaged. At some point all ideas should be checked against reality, right? Have you tested your ideas? You probably did and determined there isn't free speech so you're not going to try anymore but will remind everyone there should be no limit on free speech.

Again, comes back to those of us who must engage, who must write. If we do that we end up in prison or censured as you just pointed out about Snowden etc!

So yeah, I understand you better than you think ;)

Hope I haven't said anything too offensive. I greatly value your comments!