
WikiLeaks' Assange urges support for Snowden - finspin
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/06/22/world/europe/uk-wikileaks-assange/index.html
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tptacek
Here it would be worth mentioning Ecuador's track record on press freedom,
which is among the worst in the world:

[http://www.cpj.org/americas/ecuador/](http://www.cpj.org/americas/ecuador/)

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twelvechairs
Its worth noting that most of the press issues in Ecuador centre on national
politics. The big news organisations are highly partisan (fox-news like), pro-
right wing and anti-Correa. Correa won a big law suit against one last year
for libel (mentioned in your link). Is this state-enforced intimidation of
journalists? I don't think there is an easy answer...

(Not trying to put my own opinion on this, just state some complexities of the
issue)

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foobarqux
In that case, which was decried by Ecudorean media as a crackdown on press
freedom, the journalist wrote Correa "...ordered fire at will and without
warning against a hospital full of civilians and innocent people..." and
"committed crimes against humanity". Correa later pardoned the defendants.
This was in relation to an attempted coup where the police force trapped
Correa in a hospital.

Also important to note owners of the media in Ecuador are opposed to Correa
since he does not support their interests.

As Chomsky said about this incident: Can you imagine if a coup against the
President, supported by the press and executed by the police occurred in the
United States? They would be put against a wall and shot.

So while there may be problems with press freedom in Ecuador they should be
put in the proper context and investigated more carefully than a "freedom of
the press index" can convey.

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Correa#Lawsuit_against_t...](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rafael_Correa#Lawsuit_against_the_El_Universo_newspaper_and_Big_Brother_authors)

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tptacek
Correa pardoned the defendants who were later brought back up on civil charges
in the same matter.

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uvdiv
Iceland's Pirate Party lawmaker advised him to go to Cuba.

 _" If I was his legal counsel I would urge him to look at many countries, not
just Iceland," [Jónsdottír] added. “Maybe New Zealand, Ecuador, Cuba—many
countries."_

[http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/icelandic-
lawmake...](http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/06/icelandic-lawmaker-
asylum-for-nsa-leaker-far-from-a-sure-thing/)

~~~
danenania
I know little about the legal issues, but that strikes me as ill-advised. It's
clear that US intelligence agencies aren't concerned by laws, so the power
these organizations are able to project in a country is at least as important
as its legal framework for extraditions. Snowden may be safe legally in Cuba,
but would he be safe extralegally and safe physically? It seems that Hong Kong
was chosen specifically as a place that would present more than just legal
obstacles for the US.

~~~
uvdiv
I'm amazed there's any expectation of ideological commonality with Cuba, a
repressive state with near-totalitarian control over information, where
connecting to the internet is functionally illegal:

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Cuba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Cuba)

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mpyne
How did that advice work for McAfee, or the _2_ instructors that have been
caught in the past year on the FBI Top 10 Most Wanted list?

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gesman
This works well for alimony non-payers and for puny tax cheats. For global-
scale celebrity like Snowden - anyone's guess. Too much at stake.

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SurfScore
These two are nowhere near the same. Assange leaked information that actually
put people's lives in danger. He directly named operatives undercover in
places with governments that wouldn't think twice about chopping their heads
off. This gives Snowden a bad name, and in my opinion devalues what he has
done.

~~~
jjoonathan
That wasn't Assange
([http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62299.html](http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0811/62299.html)).

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cpeterso
So where _is_ the best refuge for whistleblowers? Is going underground
(figuratively!) the best option?

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dhughes
Sealand? Vatican City?

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krapp
Yeah, no one ever raids Sealand...

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ownagefool
I find it kinda cute that the advice is that in order to get further away from
the US, one should move closer.

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dnautics
assuredly, I think it wouldn't be a dumb move for him to wind up in say,
northwest idaho, or somewhere seriously remote.

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rdouble
Like where Ruby Ridge happened?

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throwaway10001
No can do. The LatAM will change leadership and he'd be screwed sooner or
later. Sadly, USA probably pushed him to commit treason and spill the guts on
what USA does to China. He's very valuable to the Chinese; USA should have
granted him a pardon, if he stopped talking and secured the materials. Bad
precedent but...

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dnautics
how is what he spilled treason? Article III:

"Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against
them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person
shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the
same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court."

~~~
drgath
They don't need to actually convict him, only accuse him so he can be locked
up indefinitely.

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dnautics
point taken

