Thread: Snowden on his way to Venezuela?

I think the Microsoft death squads will be looking for Snowden now.

There are red faces in Redmond after Edward Snowden released a new batch of documents from the NSA's Special Source Operations (SSO) division covering Microsoft's involvement in allowing backdoor access to its software to the NSA and others.

Documents seen by The Guardian detail how the NSA became concerned when Microsoft started testing Outlook.com, and asked for access. In five months Microsoft and the FBI created a workaround that gives the NSA access to encrypted chats on Outlook.com. The system went live in December last year – two months before Outlook.com's commercial launch.

Wow, so the NSA know all my flight and hotel bookings. I'm terrified. ***


*** I'm not really, they're already on computers duh.

Having visited Venezuela, then I think he is getting what he deserved.

RickThai

MOSCOW -- Edward Snowden said Friday that he has no regrets over leaking details about U.S. electronic spying networks and is seeking temporary asylum in Russia until he can reach one of the Latin American countries that has offered to take him in.

"That moral decision to tell the public about spying that affects all of us has been costly, but it was the right thing to do and I have no regrets," he told a group of human rights activists and other public officials at a meeting at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where he has taken refuge since June 23.

The 30-year-old former defense contractor, who fled first to Hong Kong then Russia, said he did what he believes was right to go public with information on the National Security Agency's surveillance and data-gathering networks in an effort to "correct this wrongdoing."

"I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell U.S. secrets," he said in a statement released through WikiLeaks. "I did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee my safety. Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice."

Snowden, whose U.S. passport has been revoked, said he has formally accepted an offer of asylum from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, as well as all others which have expressed support "and all others that may be offered in the future." He said he would ask Russia for permission to remain in the country until he resolve his travel problemss

"I will be submitting my request to Russia today, and hope it will be accepted favorably," he said.

Dmitry Peskov, spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Russian news agencies that Russia had not received a new bid for asylum from Snowden and that Putin would continue to insist that Snowden stop leaking information.

In Washington, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama has a pre-scheduled call Friday with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, and the topic of Snowden would likely come up.

The meeting included Vyacheslav Nikonov, chairman of the Russian state Duma, Sergei Nikitin, head of Amnesty International Russia, Vladimir Lukin, Russia's presidential human rights ombudsman, attorney Genri Reznik, and Tanya Lokshina, of Human Rights Watch.

WATCH: A clip from a video of Snowden's remarks

READ: Full statement by Edward Snowden

Nikonov told Rossiya 24 that he asked him about Putin's previously stated conditions, and that Snowden told him he had. "He does not want to harm U.S. interests because he is a law-abiding citizen and a patriot," the Russian lawmaker said.

Carney also said granting even temporary amnesty to Snowden would "run counter" to Moscow's assurances that it did not want the Snowden affair to damage U.S.-Russia relations.

"Providing a propaganda platform for Mr Snowden runs counter to the Russian government's previous declarations of Russia's neutrality," Carney said.

"It's also incompatible with Russian assurances that they do not want Mr Snowden to further damage US interests."

Snowden, in his remarks at the meeting, said governments in Western Europe and North American are acting outside the law by preventing him from traveling and called on the rights activists to intervene with Putin on his behalf.

He also indicated that his world had turned upside down since he went public in May in leaking information that published in The Washington Post and The Guardian.

"A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort," Snowden said. "I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone's communications at any time. That is the power to change people's fates."

RELATED STORY: NSA fears Snowden saw details of China spying

Snowden said the U.S. government and intelligence agencies have tried to make an example of him as "a warning to all others who might speak out as I have."

"I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression," he said.

He also invoked the principles declared at the Nuremberg trial of Nazis in 1945 that "individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."

Snowden complained that he had been placed on a no-fly list and that countries had been threatened if they offered him support. Snowden also said the U.S. had taken "the unprecedented step" of ordering its military allies to ground a Latin American president's plane in search of a political refuge.

He was referring to a decision by some European countries to deny airspace to the plane of the Bolivian president who was flying home last week from Russia. The plane eventually landed in Austria, where it was searched in an apparent belief that Snowden was on board.

moscow airport
Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport, where National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is said to be staying in the airport's transit zone.(Photo: Sergei Grits, AP)
"This unlawful threat makes it impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there in accordance with our shared rights," Snowden said.

The American Civil Liberties Union, meanwhile, issued a statement Thursday asserting that the former defense contractor "has serious claims for asylum and has a legitimate right to seek asylum irrespective of the human rights record of the country that he ultimately ends up in."

The statement charges that the USA has interfered with Snowden's right to seek asylum by revoking his passport and appears to have prevented him from receiving fair and impartial consideration of his application in many of the countries to which he has applied.

Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU human rights program, and Chandra Bhatnaqar, senior attorney for the program, also warn that by infringing on Snowden's right to asylum, "U.S. actions also create the risk of providing cover for other countries to crack down on whistle-blowers and deny asylum to individuals who have exposed illegal activity or human rights violations.

"That's a very dangerous precedent to set," the statement says.

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Originally Posted by Butterfly

^ 404 file not found

I apologize - copy/paste was too difficult for me.
Thank you for showing.

So the kid is stuck in Moscow...how'd that happen? I'm sure his support by the folks at Humanitarian Watch, and the ACLU will become "valued," friends.

Why not just return to the scene of the crime, go International with the assistance of MSM in the USA? I think this guy could put up a pretty good defense from inside America. Lots of supporters, plenty of cash and the legal system is in his favor.

Nobodies going to execute him, that should be pretty obvious to everyone, even him. If they wanted that he'd been DOA in Hong Kong.

Putin needs to put on his big boy pants and request that he depart the arrival lounge and walk like a man into the waiting arms of the US Marshall's.

He'll get good treatment, good lodging and will no doubt get bail inside of two weeks.

Next the trial and the fiasco will never see anything except a lot of posturing by legal beagles and in the end Snowden will serve 4 years suspended for time served and good conduct. At most probation.

He can write his books, make speaking tours and pretty much live the quality life of an American Dream...not to bad an option imo.

Originally Posted by ltnt

So the kid is stuck in Moscow...how'd that happen? I'm sure his support by the folks at Humanitarian Watch, and the ACLU will become "valued," friends.

Why not just return to the scene of the crime, go International with the assistance of MSM in the USA? I think this guy could put up a pretty good defense from inside America. Lots of supporters, plenty of cash and the legal system is in his favor.

Nobodies going to execute him, that should be pretty obvious to everyone, even him. If they wanted that he'd been DOA in Hong Kong.

Putin needs to put on his big boy pants and request that he depart the arrival lounge and walk like a man into the waiting arms of the US Marshall's.

He'll get good treatment, good lodging and will no doubt get bail inside of two weeks.

Next the trial and the fiasco will never see anything except a lot of posturing by legal beagles and in the end Snowden will serve 4 years suspended for time served and good conduct. At most probation.

He can write his books, make speaking tours and pretty much live the quality life of an American Dream...not to bad an option imo.

So far, the odds are against your suggestion: ask Bradley Manning, who showed the world a.o. videos of attacks by the United Stasi of America on innocent people. And who has been in jail since.

There is no evidence that anyone died as a result of the leaked information, yet Bradley faces life in prison or possibly death. The greatest charge against him is that of “aiding the enemy,” a capital offense. As the public who benefited from this information, does that make us the enemy?

I am Bradley Manning

Originally Posted by Warrior

Here is the statement made by Snowdon on July 12 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport:

Statement by Edward Snowden to human rights groups at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport

This willingness by powerful states to act extra-legally represents a threat to all of us, and must not be allowed to succeed.

Thailand's MICT is blocking it. Non-NATO treaty ally..

^


Hello. My name is Ed Snowden. A little over one month ago, I had family, a home in paradise, and I lived in great comfort. I also had the capability without any warrant to search for, seize, and read your communications. Anyone’s communications at any time. That is the power to change people’s fates.

It is also a serious violation of the law. The 4th and 5th Amendments to the Constitution of my country, Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and numerous statutes and treaties forbid such systems of massive, pervasive surveillance. While the US Constitution marks these programs as illegal, my government argues that secret court rulings, which the world is not permitted to see, somehow legitimize an illegal affair. These rulings simply corrupt the most basic notion of justice – that it must be seen to be done. The immoral cannot be made moral through the use of secret law.

I believe in the principle declared at Nuremberg in 1945: "Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore individual citizens have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring."

Accordingly, I did what I believed right and began a campaign to correct this wrongdoing. I did not seek to enrich myself. I did not seek to sell US secrets. I did not partner with any foreign government to guarantee my safety. Instead, I took what I knew to the public, so what affects all of us can be discussed by all of us in the light of day, and I asked the world for justice.

That moral decision to tell the public about spying that affects all of us has been costly, but it was the right thing to do and I have no regrets.

Since that time, the government and intelligence services of the United States of America have attempted to make an example of me, a warning to all others who might speak out as I have. I have been made stateless and hounded for my act of political expression. The United States Government has placed me on no-fly lists. It demanded Hong Kong return me outside of the framework of its laws, in direct violation of the principle of non-refoulement – the Law of Nations. It has threatened with sanctions countries who would stand up for my human rights and the UN asylum system. It has even taken the unprecedented step of ordering military allies to ground a Latin American president’s plane in search for a political refugee. These dangerous escalations represent a threat not just to the dignity of Latin America, but to the basic rights shared by every person, every nation, to live free from persecution, and to seek and enjoy asylum.

Yet even in the face of this historically disproportionate aggression, countries around the world have offered support and asylum. These nations, including Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador have my gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations carried out by the powerful rather than the powerless. By refusing to compromise their principles in the face of intimidation, they have earned the respect of the world. It is my intention to travel to each of these countries to extend my personal thanks to their people and leaders.

I announce today my formal acceptance of all offers of support or asylum I have been extended and all others that may be offered in the future. With, for example, the grant of asylum provided by Venezuela’s President Maduro, my asylee status is now formal, and no state has a basis by which to limit or interfere with my right to enjoy that asylum. As we have seen, however, some governments in Western European and North American states have demonstrated a willingness to act outside the law, and this behavior persists today. This unlawful threat makes it impossible for me to travel to Latin America and enjoy the asylum granted there in accordance with our shared rights.

This willingness by powerful states to act extra-legally represents a threat to all of us, and must not be allowed to succeed. Accordingly, I ask for your assistance in requesting guarantees of safe passage from the relevant nations in securing my travel to Latin America, as well as requesting asylum in Russia until such time as these states accede to law and my legal travel is permitted. I will be submitting my request to Russia today, and hope it will be accepted favorably.

If you have any questions, I will answer what I can.

Thank you.

For further information, see:

Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer

If the US really wanted to grab Snowden, they could send two unarmed, under-cover agents in plainclothes on a connecting flight from, say, Bangkok to New York via Moscow (change of plane there), timed for when he's giving his news conference in the transit area, grab him with the Interpol arrest warrant

How old are you?
I ask this because your seem to possess a wealth of absolutely no idea about how anything works.
INTERPOL is not a law enforcement agency. They can't arrest anyone. There is no such thing as an INTERPOL arrest warrant.
The only people who can arrest Snowden are Russian law enforcement.

^
Thanks for the transcript. The point of the post was just to indicate the US did indeed have a way to try and grab him. The Interpol dispatch would be the reason they were pursuing him outside of US territory. At the end of the day he wasn't "in Russia" - that was the main point - hence in a grey area for arrest.

He is "in" Russia for the purpose of law enforcement.
US forces do not have jurisdiction or power in transit lounges.
There is no grey area.

Originally Posted by Warrior

So far, the odds are against your suggestion: ask Bradley Manning,

Actually there's a big void in difference between Bradly Manning, (An active Military volenteer) and Snowden, (an civilian consultant working for NSA).

One would and is receiving trial by UCMJ and the other Snowden would receive trial by the CJS of the United States court system. Open and free to a completely different set of jury laws and constitutional rights.

Snowden could make a lot of headway in his defense if he chose the right set of legal representatives as well as MSM support. I would almost bet the farm that Snowden would get off on all but minor charges and be freed mostly by pressure from the "Court of Public Opinion."

Say what you like - this guy has awoken those who surely were only in a coma by now. Ready to take back your country? You know what that will mean.. a 'restructuring' is the polite word. Surely a parent with any brains in the US can realize their kids are facing a bleak corporate controlled future? Effective change can't and should'nt happen through violence, nor Wall Street rallies. It will take another approach. The American individualist, pioneer approach.

Originally Posted by Warrior

United Stasi of America

That's an apt phrase.

Originally Posted by Warrior

But I guess, thats not what you tried to say, aint it? __________________

The court of public opinion, brings about the scrutiny of the judicial system and the case against or for is highlighted to all who participate.

This is a "Very High Profile Case." The visibility of those involved to the public eye will definitely influence the trial as well as its outcome.

Why is this unusual? the courts are always influenced by the participants. The participants are influenced by all sources of information and advice.

That's what I'm saying. Nothing new anywhere in the worlds judicial system.

This week its Jam, next week its jelly...

Originally Posted by Albert Shagnastier

Originally Posted by Warrior

United Stasi of America

That's an apt phrase.

Thank you. But I must admit, I borrowed it, so all the praise should go to a German artist, Oliver Bienkowski. A Guerilla Marketing Expert

'United Stasi of America': Light Artist Wanted by Berlin Police

Stefan Svallfors, sociology professor at Umeå University, nominated Edward Snowden for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In a letter addressed to the Norwegian Nobel Committee and published in Swedish newspaper Västerbottens-Kuriren, Professor Stefan Svallfors nominated Snowden for his 'heroic effort at great personal cost' shedding light on the expansive cyber-spying conducted by the U.S. National Security Agency.
Edward Snowden nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Swedish Professor | Mail Online

According to BBC News, Snowden has now left the Moscow airport where he has been staying since June. He is now on Russian territory.

A new episode.

putin has given him asylum ,that will enrage the yanks no end

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been granted temporary asylum in Russia.

Russia's decision to grant the former CIA technician temporary political asylum has allowed the 30-year-old to leave the transit area of Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport - where he has been stuck in limbo for weeks following his flight from Hong Kong on 23 June.

US authorities revoked his passport shortly after Snowden outed himself as the source of leaks about the NSA's controversial planet-wide internet surveillance programs.

The resulting lack of travel documentation meant Snowden could neither leave Russia nor enter it, dumping him in the airport's neutral transit area.

Snowden's legal representative in Russia, Anatoly Kucherena, confirmed that papers allowing the ex-NSA contractor to live and work in Russia for a year had been obtained. Snowden has already fled the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Russia Today reports, citing eyewitness reports from a crew on the scene.

RT further claims to have obtained a picture of Snowden's temporary visa, in a still captured by one of its news crews at the airport:

Edward Snowden skips into Russia as Putin grants him asylum

One year, then what ?

USA officials have extraordinarily long memories.