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Edward Snowden Still Stuck At Airport, May Be Permitted Entry Into Russia Soon

Posted by Unknown on from the jump-the-gun dept.

sl4shd0rk writes "Edward Snowden, the enlightening NSA Whistleblower, may have been granted refuge in Russia as reported by Interfax News. He has apparently been given papers (and a change of clothes) by the Russian government to allow him to soon leave the Sheremetyevo airport. The delay in exodus, cited by a Russian official, is apparently due to the 'uniqueness' of the situation being cause for thorough review of Snowden's Asylum request." Reports are conflicting; WaPo and Reuters say Snowden's Asylum application is still in limbo, whereas other sources are claiming only minor details are blocking his exit and he may be allowed to leave as early as tomorrow. What is certain is that he's not leaving today despite early reports claiming he could.

19 of 205 comments (clear)

  1. He should just go to America and face the music by jellomizer · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I am sorry.
    I gave him points for what he did, but they were loss by how he is just hiding across borders, because he doesn't want to face the consequences for his action.

    Good job man on following your morals. However you are dumb ass, for not standing up and realizing your actions have consequences. A real hero would gladly go to jail to prove his point. A politically radicalized scumbag would just run away.

    --
    If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
    1. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by TWiTfan · · Score: 5, Insightful

      What good is disappearing into a hole forever, with no further contact with the world, going to do for his cause? People will just forget about him. At least this way, he and Assange can blog and publicly comment. That's way more than Bradley Manning will ever be able to do again.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    2. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      He probably would've stayed in US. However, he saw how US government was torturing Mannings, and he saw how easily US government assassinated their own citizens. I don't blame him at all for escaping. I hope he exposes our corrupt government more once he gets to the safety of Venezuela.

    3. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by intermodal · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Every time I hear that argument, I have to laugh. If we had any reason to believe Snowden's constitutional rights would be upheld and he'd be given what he has a right to (a fair, speedy, and public trial) I might agree with you. The problem is, Snowden exposed the government in their violations of the basic rights theoretically protected by our Constitution, and it's not as if the government is acknowledging the other rights therein outlined. That's what is at hand here.

      Snowden has been in an airport terminal for several weeks precisely because he is aware that his actions have consequences. Neither you nor the US government gets to micromanage what those consequences are, no matter how much Uncle Sam wants to pretend they do.

      --
      In SOVIET RUSSIA... erm...NSA AMERICA, the Internet logs onto YOU!
    4. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by dkleinsc · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I gave him points for what he did, but they were loss by how he is just hiding across borders, because he doesn't want to face the consequences for his action.

      This isn't like Martin Luther King Jr spending a few days in jail in Birmingham. The United States government has made it clear its intentions towards Snowden: They've already caused at least one major diplomatic incident involving violating the rights of a foreign head of state to try to get to him. I have every reason to believe Snowden is on the short list for getting the Anwar Al-Awlaki treatment if he goes to somewhere that the US can get a drone to, and the Bradley Manning treatment if he otherwise ends up in US hands.

      I'd be on the run too.

      --
      I am officially gone from /. Long live http://www.soylentnews.com/
    5. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by serviscope_minor · · Score: 4, Insightful

      That makes him a traitor in my book, regardless of what he ended up finding out.

      So investigative reporters who specifically try to dig up all the bad things they can about their own country are traitors. You have some seriously skewed priorities if you believe that someone trying to expose government malfeasence is the wrongdoer.

      --
      SJW n. One who posts facts.
    6. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by meta-monkey · · Score: 4, Insightful

      To paraphrase George C. Scott paraphrasing George S. Patton, "You don't win wars by dying for your country, you win wars by making the other poor bastard die for his."

      Also, have you noticed what's happened to the prison system in the past twenty years? Not that it was a peachy keen hotel before, but, yeah, this ain't like spending 30 days in the county jail with a window, a bunkbed and a harmonica. He'd be in solitary, in conditions the U.N. considers torture, and unable to communicate his message to the rest of the world.

      Jail is one thing. Torture is something else entirely.

      --
      We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
    7. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by TWiTfan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      You die for your principals

      As the great General Patton once said, you don't win by dying for your principles.

      --
      The cow says "Moo." The dog says "Woof." The Timothy says "Thanks, valued customer. We appreciate your input."
    8. Re:He should just go to America and face the music by spire3661 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      What part of 'WE DONT TRUST THE GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT A FAIR TRIAL' do you not get. They have PROVEN they are quite happy to ignore the law, torture people and hold them for very long periods of time without trial or representation. Your suggestion is like letting a rape victim be judged by the rapist.

      --
      Good-bye
  2. Re:We still don't know much of the situation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unreported: how much contact Snowden has had personally with the Russian authorities, just like we have no idea how much contact he had with Hong Kong's.

    Is he trading info for asylum?

    Let me rephrase this unfounded speculation with the purpose of impugning his character:

    Is Edward Snowden selling US secrets because he hates freedom?. We don't know. We're just asking the question. Next on Fox News, why don't we know if Snowden has terrorist connections? Is the mainstream media covering this up? We report, you decide.

  3. Amazing how he became the narrative.. by ducomputergeek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    He is the story now. What the governement is doing in terms of spying on its own people is now largely forgotten in the news cycles.

    --
    "The problem with socialism is eventually you run out of other people's money" - Thatcher.
  4. Re:What happened to the real freedom fighters? by Shajenko42 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    They're in jail or dead.

  5. Re:What happened to the real freedom fighters? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Bradley Manning's treatment got to them. Going to jail for your beliefs is one thing. Spending a year in solitary confinement with guards refusing to let you sleep for *months* and making you strip naked at random times...before you're even *charged*, is quite another. Indepenent of Manning's guilt/innocence, his treatement before his trial was shameful.

  6. Re:Exclusivity by PraiseBob · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Because causing their greatest geo-political competitor massive embarrasment in front of the whole world isn't enough incentive for Russia to let him stay? What does Russia have to gain by throwing him out? Many of their top allies all support giving Snowden asylum. They get to paint America as the bad guys, and themselves as pro-freedom. Why on earth would they need extra incentives above and beyond that? Any intelligence Snowden could offer has less value than his presence.

  7. Re:Too bad .... by Rude+Turnip · · Score: 1, Insightful

    The government astroturfers are out in full force today.

    --
    Bill Clinton: Pimp we can believe in. - The Shirt!!!
  8. Re:Exclusivity by runeghost · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Former KGB General Oleg Kalugin, who is an American citizen and critic of Putin, stated in an interview that he doesn't believe that Snowden has much if anything Russian intelligence didn't already know. http://ianmasters.com/content/july-2-julian-assange-now-speaking-edward-snowden-kgb-general-standoff-moscow-could-deadly-n

  9. Re:We still don't know much of the situation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    That poll is bullshit. If a third of people don't know who he was, then the number was larger when the propaganda campaign started. All that this poll shows is that most people are ignorant and influenced by propaganda.

    And as far as his lawyer, your claims are ridiculous. In his case he needed to hire a lawyer with connections. In Russia than means that he would likely have contacts with the FSB. If he hired someone unconnected, he would be fucked. But that does not mean that Snowden is giving information to the FSB.

    All that you are doing is trying to smear Snowden by association, comparison to a spy, and by misleading polls. Your post is nothing but a smear piece. I have to wonder if your fingers felt greasy before clicking 'submit'. Looking through your comment history reads like the posts of a neo-con. You justify the Iraq invasion, you talk about how Afghanistan is better now, you discount the idea of proportionality, and you unequivocally support spying on US citizens. And that is only in the past couple of days. You are a zealot who has no connection to reality, which explains your above post.

  10. Re:We still don't know much of the situation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    To return your ad hominem attack with another based on your own postings:

    "They hate us for our freedom" post
    http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2867991&cid=40084835
    Iraq is better off because we invaded post
    http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2867991&cid=40084745
    The Iraq invasion was worth it post including the quote:

    "By historical standards the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan have been cheap in terms of American lives lost. For dealing with Saddam and al Qaidas state within a state and training base turning out thousands of trained terrorists per year in Afghanistan, it was worth it."

    http://entertainment.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3981499&cid=44305701
    America's fucking with everyone in the world and starting wars, arming contras, etc., was justified because of communism post
    http://it.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=2725743&cid=39362143
    Gitmo prisoners are well treated post
    http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3749765&cid=43727743
    Waterboarding isn't torture post
    http://news.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3749765&cid=43730807

    I found all of this in just a 5 minute search. Holy fuck. I now understand why you don't like Snowden. Your moral alignment is 180 degrees off.

  11. Re:We still don't know much of the situation by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    You are a fucking neo-con and you call my ideas from the fringe? How many wars started, people killed, and rights crushed will it take for your to realize that history has rejected your bullshit?

    It is not Snowden's fault that the government created a surveillance program that violated the 4th Amendment. He bravely exposed that. And working at the CIA and NSA, if his goal was to give information to the Russians for asylum, he could have collected far more valuable information on foreign intelligence than domestic spying. He is a whistleblower, not a spy. And as anyone who has taken an official oath in the US knows, all oaths go to the US Constitution first. You claim that he has violated trust and lied, while it is clear that he has upheld a trust that even high levels of our government can't. And unlike them, he has never lied under oath. So screw your broken philosophy where there is no government accountability over spying programs and when somebody points this out they get thrown into an oubliette. And screw all of your other philosophies where you believe the ends justifies the means. The US Constitution was based on principle, not your Machiavellian bullshit.