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Fugitive ex-U.S. spy Snowden in talks on returning home: lawyer
- Thread starter NYCmetsfan
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Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
About what? Did Putin offer asylum because he is morally opposed to surveillance or because Snowden serves Russian interests?
AyaisMUsikWhore
Member
He does deserve a fair trail that does not lead to an automatic death penalty and the likes.
But I can't shake this feeling that he really did cause a lot of good and a huge amount of bad for his actions. A part of me wishes he just stayed in Russia.
But I can't shake this feeling that he really did cause a lot of good and a huge amount of bad for his actions. A part of me wishes he just stayed in Russia.
1.21Gigawatts
Banned
Why are german lawyers still involved?
I know that german goverment wants him as a witness in the NSA spying on german politicians case. But he will only speak if germany grants him asylum and as far as I know german parliament was torn on that matter but Merkel said no.
But that was many months ago. Are they still working on that?
I think it would be a good message if germany grants him asylum.
I know that german goverment wants him as a witness in the NSA spying on german politicians case. But he will only speak if germany grants him asylum and as far as I know german parliament was torn on that matter but Merkel said no.
But that was many months ago. Are they still working on that?
I think it would be a good message if germany grants him asylum.
He is already judged a hero in every country except the US.
probably because we have awesome lawyers.
Yep, going back is like forfeiting your life or something even worse.
dehydratedbabies
Member
Where would you have gone instead?
By the way, OP:
https://firstlook.org/theintercept/...ts-come-home-stories-case-study-media-deceit/
Elfforkusu
Member
Eh, Russia is liable to turn him over for political points at some point. He knows that.
Can't imagine that coming home is really an option for him, but it'd be awesome if they did let him return to normal life. (lol, fantasy land)
Russia doesn't want him. He is just a convenient pawn. They have beat any info they want out of him already and they have paraded him on Russian TV where he talked about how evil America is and how amazing Putin is.
Like all pawns you eventually aren't useful anymore. We know what Putin does with pawns.
Elfforkusu
Member
:lol, this didn't actually happen.
What did happen is they had him ask a staged question that Putin used to talk about how awesome Russia is.
unpopularblargh
Member
None of what you said is true. Also Snowden isn't in Russia because Russia wants him. He's stuck there because the U.S. government cancelled his passport literally stranding him there.
homeworkfilms
Member
An excellent article written by the person anyone should be asking first when these stories arise.
It was compliant propaganda. Very popular tool in war. Japanese would do it with American POWs in WWII. Promise them luxury and safe living in Japan versus a war camp if they would only go on the airwaves and set up how great Japan was and how America was wrong and going to lose and die.
He got on TV and tossed a underhanded softball to Putin allowing Putin then go on the offensive about how shit America was compared to Russia.
He is in Russia because the Russian Government decided it was ok for him to stay and provided him with work and a place to live etc. They could have just as easily put him on a plane and sent him directly to the United States. Lets not pretend Russia got nothing out of this
unpopularblargh
Member
Russia did get nothing. Snowden had no documents on him while there. He'd already handed over everything the The Washington Post and Greenwald.
didn't it come out that meta-data was being used as a basis for drone strikes? when you're killing people over meta data, it must tell enough of the story to be problematic.
http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2014/05/ex-nsa-chief-we-kill-people-based-on-metadata/
CesspoolofHatred
Member
I would like to ask you your sources on your assertion that Russian officials have "beat any info out of him".
Especially when he would have had nothing to give. Seeing as how he left all the copies of the information he took in Hong Kong.
As for "parading him on Russian TV", well, I guess you missed this then.
I would have gone to the press. Immediately.
He could stay in Russia or be in jail here.
I applaud what he did, I don't think he realized what the consequences of his actions were going to be though.
He probably thought there might be actual change and the entire public would laud him as a hero, but I guess he didn't realize how brainwashed/ADD most of the populace here is.
I applaud what he did, I don't think he realized what the consequences of his actions were going to be though.
He probably thought there might be actual change and the entire public would laud him as a hero, but I guess he didn't realize how brainwashed/ADD most of the populace here is.
Guileless
Temp Banned for Remedial Purposes
His lawyer is a Putin sycophant who does work for the FSB. I'm sure he's just getting his pro bono hours representing Snowden.
Also, Greenwald leaked documents about Sweden cooperating with the US to spy on Russia after Snowden was there. There is no plausible whistleblowing aspect to that behavior. The only effect is for Swedes to pressure their country to withdraw cooperation, to Russia's benefit.
But since reality is not a libertarian fantasyland, Sweden (Sweden!) is increasing its military budget because Swedes are scared of Russia. The big bad NSA had nothing to do with that.
it's ok though because some of it was about domestic spying! or something.
I guess I should've specified actual physical harm rather than economic. I don't care if Brazil backs out of a deal with us because they don't trust us, because it's clear they shouldn't.
dehydratedbabies
Member
He... did?
And then he fled to Russia. I'd have gone public, stayed in the spotlight and probably hired a pr firm and a famous lawyer.
Of course I wouldn't have stolen secret documents to begin with. ..
GloriousBagel
Banned
I wonder why....
Elfforkusu
Member
You would have been arrested, been in solitary for 18 months, and then finally put on trial in a private courtroom where you aren't allowed to make a legal defense, because any evidence you could present is classified. Guilty, life in jail.
America!
He did the right thing, 100%, all the way. It's pretty astonishing.
Snowden should have been more disciplined in what he released. If he had just revealed the illegal domestic spying that the NSA and CIA has done then I could see him garnering more support. But he revealed a lot of the world wide spying that the US was doing. I don't see anyone like Obama or any future presidents pardoning him for that.
Laieon
Member
But we knew this was happening long before Snowden.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/16/politics/16program.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
I'm sure there's plenty of examples before 2005 as well, but I'm lazy and don't feel like looking for them. The point is, the government was spying on it's citizens in some capacity as early as 2002.
Snowden is deeply flawed. On one hand he is definitely a hero, exposing the NSA's illegal (and not to mention completely unnecessary) spying on Americans e-mails, telephone convos, instant messages, etc...
On the other hand he leaked a lot of sensitive intelligence information on things like foreign targets. He shot himself in the foot really, and lost a lot of legitimacy because of it. If he loved his country as much as he says he does he would have stopped short of exposing the things beyond unjustified spying on Americans.
If he ever steps foot on US soil again, he's completely fucked. He will never get a fair trial. He should stop thinking he's got another chance here and just spend all of his time and energy trying to become a permanent Russian citizen.
On the other hand he leaked a lot of sensitive intelligence information on things like foreign targets. He shot himself in the foot really, and lost a lot of legitimacy because of it. If he loved his country as much as he says he does he would have stopped short of exposing the things beyond unjustified spying on Americans.
If he ever steps foot on US soil again, he's completely fucked. He will never get a fair trial. He should stop thinking he's got another chance here and just spend all of his time and energy trying to become a permanent Russian citizen.
dehydratedbabies
Member
Princess Carl
Member
Guys listen, whats the problem? Rosa Parks went through the official channels in order to ignite change remember? I mean, the law is the law, I don't know why all those black people were so mad...
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