
Snowden applies for asylum in Russia - thomasjames
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23328074
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oleganza
Reminder: the real reason Snowden cannot walk out of the airport not because
of some virtual passport that US "revoked". It is because there are real armed
obedient guys on the border who will not let Snowden go his way.

This whole story is not about privacy, spying or politics. It is about your
personal inability to choose your phone company, internet provider, or a bank
without confronting armed "state" which dictates what is allowed to you. Don't
like NSA spying through Verizon? Build your own phone company. Oops, there are
feds with an order to "cooperate".

Guns and violence are the problem, not all these abstract things like "rights"
or "privacy".

~~~
eli
Actually this particular story is just about Snowden, not the details revealed
in what he leaked, and certainly not about your personal freedom from
government tyranny.

~~~
oleganza
That's why I said "the whole story". This article about Snowden seeking asylum
is written only because Snowden revealed some nasty stuff about his government
and now this government is after him. And this stuff is "nasty" for some
people only because they have no way to escape or debate it. It is
unilaterally imposed on them without any discussion. And those who'd try to
disobey would face big troubles from federal government. That's why Snowden is
in trouble and that's why people are interested in what happens about him.

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jdmitch
I find it very odd that this article, along with most, repeatedly claims that
Snowden needs to have a travel document in order to claim asylum. Many asylum
seekers have no travel document at all when they enter the country where they
seek asylum. In the UK most asylum seekers have no legal way to enter the
country, as you technically can't switch from most other types of visa - they
simply have to arrive and claim asylum on arrival.

~~~
vidarh
There are two problems: First he'd need to be let onto a flight without valid
travel documents. Secondly, he'd need for that flight to actually arrive at a
location where he will not be apprehended and handed over to US authorities.

Russian asylum will alleviate both issues: It gives him easier access to
commercial flights, and it makes it politically far more difficult for those
European states that for example were willing to prevent Morales' plane access
on a mere rumour he was aboard to justify forcing down a plane he is on.
Consider the political fallout if an Aeroflot plane with someone granted
political asylum by Russia gets turned back.. Or for that matter another
diplomatic mission with him aboard their plane with asylum status.

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salimmadjd
This is what US wanted. To corner him into taking asylum in a country like
Russia. This turns Snowden into a spy in minds of many Americans than a
whistleblower (or I like to call public informant).

The stories on media will focus more on, "Spy or whistleblower" instead of
domestic spying by NSA. Future whistleblowers are discouraged and the nature
of spying is off the front page. Mission accomplished!

~~~
euroclydon
Well, it's effective. If the end result of Snowden's choice to take 3-4 NSA
laptops into the two largest strategic competitor nations of the United States
is nothing more than exposing the domestic surveillance, then an argument can
be made for him being a noble whistle blower, but if the Russians and Chinese
image those laptops and it costs lives, then Snowden's choice not to remain in
the U.S. and blow the whistle will be viewed as cowardice.

~~~
JonSkeptic
Something to consider as well: if Russian or Chinese intelligence agencies
image those laptops and it does not cost lives, but causes the failure of many
ongoing operations, is he still a coward?

~~~
mcantelon
The operations of an organization sketchy enough to lie to congress and ignore
the Constitution might be operations that really should fail.

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rangibaby
Interesting use of the word "fugitive" in this article. They son't even bother
calling him by his name in some cases; just "the fugitive".

~~~
jgrahamc
The article uses the word "fugitive" five times and the name "Snowden" seven
times.

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squozzer
Well, at least he's not stuck in an airport for the rest of his life. Stay in
one long enough and even jail begins to look good.

But the problem remains -- what are we going to do about PRISM, or even more
to the core of the problem, about the cult of secrecy in our government?

Senators Graham, McCain, and Pelosi would have you believe the cult is for our
own good, because we're not informed enough to know what's good for us.

Of course, we don't have access to the information that would help us make up
our own minds, so the circular argument closes itself and we have to resort to
Plan B -- which is, "If you don't know national security, know those who do."

And I'd nominate the aforementioned senators, but they seem to know just a
little more than I do -- by their own design, the executive branch's
reluctance to be honest in hearings, and the judicial branch's own complicity
in rubber-stamping requests.

By analogy, if a major US corporation hired whites 99.99% of the time over
non-whites, the AG would be all over them.

Given the state we're in today, why did the founders even bother revolting? If
you took what some of our senators are saying, replace "national security"
with "monarchy", you'd probably have a speech uttered by some Tory back in
1770.

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znowi
I think Russia is the safest place for Snowden. Any western country is a no-go
for obvious reasons. And South America is also questionable. Given how
casually the Bolivian presidential plane was grounded and searched, the US may
as well send a SEAL team to one of those "second class" countries for a
recovery mission.

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Bjoern
Personally, I feel whats really important is that we focus on the Elephant in
the room, namely the things which were released by him.

It feels like we are focusing on perception and if he will be labeled a
'traitor' or not.

