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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

#91

Post by jlgreco »

olalonde wrote: post #63
junto wrote: 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?

If nothing else, he will probably have more luck blending in with the local population, if that is the route he wants to go.

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

#92

Post by jbooth »

rfctr wrote: post #89
andreypopp wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Putin is a man of his word :-)

Any reasons to believe otherwise? The only thing I hold against him is his failure, as promised, to hang Georgian president by his balls. Eating necktie is a weak substitute.

Being president of a large country pretty much guarantees you've had to lie and cheat at least a little bit to get there.

For one random example (not being a huge student of 21st century Russia), he promised Bush that he wasn't arming Saddam's troops. Turned out they were outfitted with a lot of Russian anti-tank and night vision gear when we got there.

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

#93

Post by rfctr »

ihsw wrote: post #51
mikemoka wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Granting asylum to Snowden will just influence relations between US and Russia,and is not done to be coherent with previous standings of the country on the topic of human rights,almost always different. We have to be careful not to associate concepts like "freedom of speech" and "example of democracy" with countries like Russia, given the actual situation the people there live under I am not sure we can say Russia ho…

Exactly, imagine how the situation would've played out if Snowden were gay (or a woman).

Let me think... it would be... the same?

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

#94

Post by brown9-2 »

petercooper wrote: post #83

There's an inch thick of delicious, buttery irony spread over a slice of Onion-tasting bread here. Asylum granted by a state that once sent 14 million people, primarily those who didn't agree with the authorities, into forced labor camps with millions meeting their deaths from malnutrition, exposure, and summary executions.. and which is still attempting to outlaw homosexuality. Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

I don't think you need to look that far into Russia's past to find more relevant ironies, just look at the Navalny case: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16057045

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

#95

Post by rfctr »

alan_cx wrote: post #13
tomelders wrote: post #7

Well I think this is more to do with Russia thumbing it's nose at the US rather than protecting an individual from tyranny. But fair play to Snowden, it's good news for him. But If I were Snowden, I'd be quietly sneaking out of Russia very soon lest the political winds change and he suddenly finds he's a very valuable pawn in a very dangerous game that he can't win.

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.

May be Vatican.

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

#99

Post by mkup »

olalonde wrote: post #63
junto wrote: 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?

because

https://twitter.com/ChapmanAnna/status/352480982101798913

:)

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

#100

Post by mseebach »

qznc wrote: post #46
dotcoma wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Germany should, as explained here: http://ind.pn/12ix0rD But unfortunately it won't :-/

He applied to Germany and was rejected due to "missing requirements". No official statement was given what requirements exactly were missing. Probably, because you have to be on german ground (or very near) to apply. The application itself is declared confidential due to privacy reasons. Essentially, our government does not want Snowden to enter Germany.

So, it's obvious that it's not politically convenient for Germany (or most other western countries) to grant Snowden asylum, even if they wanted to.

But legally, he doesn't have a very clear-cut case: The 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees which is the legal framework for asylum, defines the criteria as having a well-founded fear of persecution because of one's race, religion, nationality, political opinion or membership of a particular social group.

The only category that might fit is "political opinion", but holding a certain political opinion is not a license to commit a crime (which, unambiguously, Snowden is guilty of), especially when laws against the exact same activity is on the books in the countries he's applying to.

Has it not been for the much too heavy-handed treatment of Manning, he couldn't even claim fear of prosecution: getting a fair trial in a court of law isn't prosecution.

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