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Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

nytimes.com

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Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#21

Post by eli »

irishcoffee wrote: post #16
shrikant wrote: post #10

So Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, called a member of the human rights delegation today and asked her to pass on to the message to Snowden that he is not considered a whistleblower [1]. This is deliciously ironic timing -- just yesterday, the US Embassy in Russia released a statement condemning the posthumous conviction of tax fraud whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky [2]. [1] https://twitter.com/RyanLizza/st…

I do not think he is considered a whistle-blower. I think he is considered a traitor.

I don't know about traitor, but clearly a fugitive and not legally qualified for US whistleblower protection.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#22

Post by freehunter »

JonFish85 wrote: post #19
freehunter wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US wouldn't need to execute him. Look at Bradley Manning: they could just lock him away in a foreign country until the world forgets about him.

Look, I forget Kansas exists every so often too, but let's not pretend it's a foreign country!

It was kind of a failed reference to Snowden being trapped in Russia. If the US can keep him there, he's effectively imprisoned until he can be forgotten. I didn't use enough words, I guess.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#23

Post by graedus »

fixxer wrote: post #18
phaus wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not this administration or the last administration. It's almost all politicians. The next time we have an election, we will get to pick a new one out of a pool of several hundred people who are almost universally just like Obama, Bush, and all the rest. As a whole, American voters have a really short memory. After 8 years of one party running the country into the ground, they will gladly elect a member of the ot…

That might be true, but where the hell are all the "Bush is a nazi" idiots now? It strikes me as very quiet on the left... do they not realize Cheney's vision is alive and well in Obama's house?

Because a big chunk of what we once might have thought of as the "left" in the US are really just cheerleaders for the blue team, without paying any attention to actual policy.

Of the remainder, a lot of people seem to buy the narrative that Obama's hands are in some sense tied, or believe that his judgement should be trusted and that he has our best interests at heart etc etc.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#24

Post by thomasjames »

fixxer wrote: post #13
jere wrote: post #2

>...Mr. Snowden could stay in Russia only if he agreed to “cease his work aimed at inflicting damage on our American partners.” Mr. Snowden told the gathering of activists that he did not see an obstacle in this condition. “No actions I take or plan are meant to harm the United States,” he said, according to the activists present. “I want the United States to succeed.” A few days ago: >Edward Snowden has withdrawn an…

> I'm getting more and more skeptical of any claims that all of Snowden's actions are part of some brilliant plan. This is a very dynamic situation. I'm not going to fault the guy for trying, but he is obviously out-gunned. Everyday he avoids U.S. custody is a win. Personally, I think there needs to be greater efforts made at home to protect his status as a whistle blower. The current administration obviously isn't l…

He is already a civilian and will not be court marshalled, which is why Bradley Manning is in a military prison. Ellsberg enjoyed the full rights of being a civilian when he leaked from RAND Corporation. The thing that a lot of people do not get is that the Snowden case would go through the civilian courts system. Sure the more sensitive subjects would be subject to injunctions and have be argued before being admitted to court, but the same thing is going to happen with the EFF case in the Northern District of California.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#25

Post by fixxer »

thomasjames wrote: post #24
fixxer wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm getting more and more skeptical of any claims that all of Snowden's actions are part of some brilliant plan. This is a very dynamic situation. I'm not going to fault the guy for trying, but he is obviously out-gunned. Everyday he avoids U.S. custody is a win. Personally, I think there needs to be greater efforts made at home to protect his status as a whistle blower. The current administration obviously isn't l…

He is already a civilian and will not be court marshalled, which is why Bradley Manning is in a military prison. Ellsberg enjoyed the full rights of being a civilian when he leaked from RAND Corporation. The thing that a lot of people do not get is that the Snowden case would go through the civilian courts system. Sure the more sensitive subjects would be subject to injunctions and have be argued before being admitte…

I tend to agree with Ellsberg regarding the unlikelihood of Snowden being free on bail. I think this government will claim whatever they need to lock him up and throw away the key.

Flag waivers aren't going to mind because the government is "just trying to keep them safe".

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#26

Post by eli »

fixxer wrote: post #18
phaus wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not this administration or the last administration. It's almost all politicians. The next time we have an election, we will get to pick a new one out of a pool of several hundred people who are almost universally just like Obama, Bush, and all the rest. As a whole, American voters have a really short memory. After 8 years of one party running the country into the ground, they will gladly elect a member of the ot…

That might be true, but where the hell are all the "Bush is a nazi" idiots now? It strikes me as very quiet on the left... do they not realize Cheney's vision is alive and well in Obama's house?

Still around http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler...

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#27

Post by fixxer »

eli wrote: post #26
fixxer wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That might be true, but where the hell are all the "Bush is a nazi" idiots now? It strikes me as very quiet on the left... do they not realize Cheney's vision is alive and well in Obama's house?

Still around http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler...

Refreshing; thanks for that.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#28

Post by mark_l_watson »

Long time NYT subscriber here. I am fairly sure I am going to cancel my subscription. I don't like that they didn't even include Snowden's short statement; wasn't that newsworthy? I thought the opening sentence in the article did not set an impartial tone -far from it.

This reminded me of when the NYT helped the Bush administration make a case for invading Iraq.

The writing in the NYT is good and I generally enjoy it, but I want impartial news coverage that seems easier to get by a random sampling from a few international news sources on any story I am interested in.

Re: Snowden Is Said to Renew Plea for Asylum in Russia

#29

Post by mark_l_watson »

mark_l_watson wrote: post #28

Long time NYT subscriber here. I am fairly sure I am going to cancel my subscription. I don't like that they didn't even include Snowden's short statement; wasn't that newsworthy? I thought the opening sentence in the article did not set an impartial tone -far from it. This reminded me of when the NYT helped the Bush administration make a case for invading Iraq. The writing in the NYT is good and I generally enjoy it…

A comment on my comment: I just looked at other news media in the USA and a sampling from countries that are close allies of the USA. The NYT article was the worst as far as censoring the relevant news, that is, what Snowden said. All other news stories were both critical of Snowden, yet covered the news without censorship.

Loud flushing noise: my cancelled New York Times subscription.

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