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Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

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Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#71
post #36
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I'd rather do 2 years at Club Fed in the US than be under FSB control in Russia. I mean, Putin straight kills journalists.

"I mean, Putin straight kills journalists." So does the United States of America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0 The United States government wants to make an example out of Snowden. There's no way he would serve just two years in prison.

That isn't remotely the same thing.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#72
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At the moment I can't think of a more politically stable country for Snowden to be in. Latin American countries are historically fickle when it comes to flip-flopping between pro and anti US governments. Russia seems to be a good choice. Much better than China anyway.

> Much better than China anyway. Why do you think Russia is a much better choice for him then China?

China is fairly stable politically, but they practice more active censorship and have worse human rights violations compared to Russia today. They have strict visa regulations, a strict national ID system, and they definitely spy on people's e-mails and phone conversations. Skype had to release a special, wiretapped version specifically for China. They lack even a semblance of democracy, and protests are forbidden. Just seems like a very bad fit for Snowden. Russia is at least sort of trying to be a democracy.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#73
post #55
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Probably. But can any one name one trust-able perfect country that would give a Snowden type asylum purely on principle, rather than for political reasons? I'll be honest, Im struggling to think of one.

He should buy a fake identity and go somewhere else, I'm sure fake passport is easy to get in Russia.

:-)

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#74
post #59

It seems he accepted Putin's terms to not release anymore information. I wonder if that means no more information coming out, period, or that since most/all of the information is now with third parties that it's their responsibility. I doubt Putin likes being disrespected with loopholes and technicalities, but I more-so doubt that Snowden would halt the revelations altogether for the sake of his own safety. I suspect…

I think that Putin simply cares about appearing cooperative with his American "friends", so as to avoid any repercussions. Also there is definitely some play on words here, since we know that Snowden cannot have any control about the information he has already given to various individuals. So yes, he probably won't release any more info personally .

But imagine he violates the requiements and releases more information. Would that actually be a problem for him?

Putin already said that he won't send him to a country where he may be sentenced to death. So even in that case, he probably won't be sent to the US but to some other country than grants asylum to him.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#75
post #8

I wonder why Glenn Greenwald or the Guardian hasn't written anything about this yet?

They have now. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/24/edward-snowden-m...

Quoting Reuters. As far as I understand, Greenwald wouldn't make an aricle that would just involve tracking Snowden's steps like it would of some celebrity. It's exactly the distraction of talking about the messenger instead of the message.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#76
post #69
post #59

It seems he accepted Putin's terms to not release anymore information. I wonder if that means no more information coming out, period, or that since most/all of the information is now with third parties that it's their responsibility. I doubt Putin likes being disrespected with loopholes and technicalities, but I more-so doubt that Snowden would halt the revelations altogether for the sake of his own safety. I suspect…

Snowden will halt the revelations abruptly. He would be a fool to break the agreement with Putin. Putin is a man of his word, and expects the same from Snowden. Information may continue to leak, but not from Snowden. His part of the show is finished (and luckily for him, he's not even bruised!).

> Putin is a man of his word

:-)

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#77
post #36
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I'd rather do 2 years at Club Fed in the US than be under FSB control in Russia. I mean, Putin straight kills journalists.

"I mean, Putin straight kills journalists." So does the United States of America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rXPrfnU3G0 The United States government wants to make an example out of Snowden. There's no way he would serve just two years in prison.

Would it stretch your moral intellect too far to identify a key distinction there? Namely, intent matters: The U.S., as far as anyone has demonstrated, does not set out to kill journalists because what they write is inconvenient.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#78
post #62
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I'd rather do 2 years at Club Fed in the US than be under FSB control in Russia. I mean, Putin straight kills journalists.

I tried searching for the charges that the US brought against Snowden and then the penalty for those charges. According to Yahoo[1] (which isn't a great source but it is the best I could find in the short time I have), the charges brought carry a max of 30 years in prison, along with fines. That is a whole lot more than just 2 years. On top of that, you can bet that US government is going to go for broke on that case…

Max sentence is unlikely. Libby and Kiriakou both got 30 months and they exposed covert agents which Snowden did not (I know Libby served no time, but he was still sentenced). If Snowden is brought home to face charges, he will probably get a worse sentence now because he fled.

Re: Snowden asylum still under review, stays in airport for now

#79
post #67
post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think I'd rather do 2 years at Club Fed in the US than be under FSB control in Russia. I mean, Putin straight kills journalists.

Manning is charged with "aiding the enemy" which carries a life sentence. http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/nation/2013/07/18/judge-mann...

UCMJ. He was active duty military, not a civilian.
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