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NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

express.co.uk

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Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#11

Post by josephlord »

simonsez1808 wrote: post #4

Erm. How exactly is he detrimental to the public good?

They probably mean detrimental to the governments good. They wouldn't want to say no to US requests but they would been seen as the bad guys while the extradition (and/or asylum) proceedings dragged on for months.

They are also trying to pass legislation (Communications Data Bill) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-22891845 to allow[1] communications logging of metadata. Having him in the country would make it even more newsworthy as there would be a human interest angle.

[1] Whether they are doing it now without legal standing is an interesting question. My guess is yes and the former Labour home secretaries are aware and complicit and would really like it legitimised.

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#12

Post by andyhmltn »

arethuza wrote: post #2

As a UK citizen I feel that he certainly hasn't done me any harm and probably has done quite a lot of good so I find it bizarre that the government would make such a statement, especially as he would be mad to consider coming here! I presume the real reasons for this are: - To show solidarity with the US (presumably the NSA and GCHQ are as thick as thieves) - So he doesn't give anyone at GCHQ ideas I'm going to write…

Great link, I will write to mine now. Any ideas what kind of thing to write and how to structure it? I've never done this kind of thing before so any help would be great :-)

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#13

Post by rurounijones »

FuzzyDunlop wrote: post #8

"The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to discuss the matter publicly." The irony is delicious.

"The ship of state, dear Bernard, is the only ship that leaks from the top" - Sir Humphrey Appleby

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#14

Post by venomsnake »

That is fun. But they do have the right according to wikipedia.

The treaty has been claimed to be one-sided[3] because it allows the US to extradite UK citizens and others for offences committed against US law, even though the alleged offence may have been committed in the UK by a person living and working in the UK (see for example the NatWest Three), and there being no reciprocal right; and issues about the level of proof required being less to extradite from the UK to the US rather than vice-versa.[4]

So basically Toni Blair has bent over, spreaded cheeks and prelubed himself.

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#15

Post by ig1 »

weavie wrote: post #9
ig1 wrote: post #5

I'm not sure it's actually a bad thing. Realistically if he was in the UK he'd face extradition to the US. The home office putting out this alert means they won't have to do that. The US would be happy for Snowden to enter the UK where he could easily be arrested.

It's a bit irrelevant. There's not a chance that he would have even considered coming to the UK.

Well hypothetically say he wanted to go to Iceland, you can't fly from HK to Iceland so you'd have to change in Europe.

The obvious route is changing via London Heathrow, this stops him doing that.

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#16

Post by megablast »

arethuza wrote: post #2

As a UK citizen I feel that he certainly hasn't done me any harm and probably has done quite a lot of good so I find it bizarre that the government would make such a statement, especially as he would be mad to consider coming here! I presume the real reasons for this are: - To show solidarity with the US (presumably the NSA and GCHQ are as thick as thieves) - So he doesn't give anyone at GCHQ ideas I'm going to write…

Maybe it is a warning for him. Don't come here, or we may be forced to hand you over. We are too weak to protect anyone, so just stay away? Can I be that optimistic?

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#18

Post by kintamanimatt »

ig1 wrote: post #15
weavie wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's a bit irrelevant. There's not a chance that he would have even considered coming to the UK.

Well hypothetically say he wanted to go to Iceland, you can't fly from HK to Iceland so you'd have to change in Europe. The obvious route is changing via London Heathrow, this stops him doing that.

He would have a lot of options in Europe, and even from Canada on certain days.

http://www.kefairport.is/English/Timetables/Arrivals/Yesterd...

http://www.kefairport.is/English/Timetables/Arrivals/

Re: NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden not welcome in the UK

#19

Post by arethuza »

megablast wrote: post #16
arethuza wrote: post #2

As a UK citizen I feel that he certainly hasn't done me any harm and probably has done quite a lot of good so I find it bizarre that the government would make such a statement, especially as he would be mad to consider coming here! I presume the real reasons for this are: - To show solidarity with the US (presumably the NSA and GCHQ are as thick as thieves) - So he doesn't give anyone at GCHQ ideas I'm going to write…

Maybe it is a warning for him. Don't come here, or we may be forced to hand you over. We are too weak to protect anyone, so just stay away? Can I be that optimistic?

Possibly, but I doubt if the warning is intended for his benefit - I would suspect it is meant more along the lines of "Don't you dare come here and cause an embarrassing political mess".
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