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Snowden Ridicules David Cameron For Defending 'Private' Matter of Panama Papers Leak
An anonymous reader writes: Edward Snowden, a former contractor with the NSA who worked with journalist to reveal a number of classified mass surveillance programs, has criticized the UK Prime Minister's insistence that his father's implication in the list of high-profile tax avoiders was a "private matter." Ian Cameron's firm Blairmore Holdings Inc managed tens of millions of pounds for the wealthy but has never paid taxes on the profits. Cameron responded to the news saying: "This is a private matter, I am focused on what the government is doing." In response to a Reuters story on Cameron's response, Snowden wrote: "Oh, now he's interested in privacy." Snowden followed up with a second tweet after the Prime Minister of Iceland resigned over his implication in the Panama Papers leak: "Resignation of Iceland's PM may explain why the UK PM is so insistent public has no right to know a PM's 'private' finances."
He has no connection to this.
However, Edward Snowden could not be reached for comment.
Preferably he'll off himself in his troll hideout.
I thought that if you had nothing to hide then you would not care. I guess he has something to hide then. Privacy is only for those at the top, right!?
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US Traitor hiding in Russia attempts to raise his wanted level in UK.
Cameron is exactly the kind of smug corporate sleazebag with different morals prescribed for big and little fish who'd employ tax evasion schemes.
That's not what is putting me aghast. What's putting me aghast is how reliably the scum rises to the top and sticks there in Western democracies. Makes one almost suspect that one would have better odds with aristocracy instead. Not good odds, mind you. Just better than the processes governing the current representative systems.
Unlike say myself or jsut about anyone else, the private finances of a Prime Minster and his family ARE a thing of public interest. The man not only has to be seen to be doing the right thing but also the transparency of investments and where income comes from. So you know, make sure he is not being unduly "influenced" in policy decisions for his and his family's financial gain, ie handing out a govt contract that will boost the shit out oa shareprice to a company he or his family has interests in.
So basically Cameron, the question is -YOU are a public official and thence the expectation of privacy is much reduced. Your position is extremely important and you should be under scrutiny and that also includes your family. You dont get to plead privacy, you gave that up the moment you stepped forward to be Prime Minister.
"Nothign to fear if nothign to hide" is a common BS meme - good squads gets a fucking warrant if you think I've done something wrong so stay the fuck out of my life. However.... THAT does not apply to Mr Cameron. So Mr Cameron, what are you hiding? There is not an expectation of privacy in regards to the financial affairs of an elected Prime Minister.
Politicians need to have a healthy diet, with plenty of vitamins and irony...
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
I'm obviously not surprised that a dreadful shitsack like Cameron would have an utterly awful and self-serving hypocritical sound bite; but I am always impressed at how the professionals manage to keep their facial expressions so...neutral...when delivering this sort of tripe.
what his dad did, is still not illegal, just distasteful. now it will be interesting to see if the laws do change. but probably not since most people with any money use trusts to bypass inheritance tax. i think its 40% at anything over $700k or so. in US its atleast after 5 mil or so.
the real issue here is the actual tax and not the people who find legal ways to bypass the tax.
its almost as if the tax system is designed to punish those that don't try to evade it...
anyway i am not sure what the right answer here is.
Just sayin
In other news rt.com suggests this is all a George Soros trick to impugn Putin. Should be believe their propaganda machine or their spy?
He's living consequence-free in Putin's Russia, which the Panama Papers suggests has large number of government officials (including Putin himself) engaging in wholesale money-laundering of Russia's oil wealth. I'm sure we can expect him to criticize his hosts any tweet now.
Feeling forgotten because nobody's talked about you in ten minutes?
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Scum bags. All of them. Most of all the dirty politicians that partake in these schemes. You love your country enough to not feel you need to partake in it's financial stability...really? I can't think of any greater example of interest conflict. Tax evasion is stealing from your countrymen. For a political leader to do so of any stripe is ethically treason.
what a "ruling class" is, do you?
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special privileges they wouldn't be the elite, now would they? Don't you just feel silly now?
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I can't begrudge the guy not wanting to die a painful death at the hands of my countries brutal regime. He's still one of the bravest men alive, and a hell of a lot braver than most of American (which never fights a war without overwhelming tactical and resource superiority...).
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The fact no US politicians demonstrates the agency is effective.
So how is this different than members of parliament whining when they learned that all the surveillance laws they passed were being used on them as well as the plebs?
Edward Snowden is going to die screaming and vomiting. They'll find the lining of his stomach on the floor outside of his body. :)
His eyes will be as big and round as dinner plates.
The disproportionate response to this particular example of tax-evasion is not because it is especially egregious. It is because the accused is the PM's father. A modicum of self-critical restraint would be in order before jumping on the band-wagon, lest we muddle the picture with political agendas disguised as righteous outrage instead of justice.
I have no opinion of Cameron as I'm not subjected to his politics, but dishonorable opportunism is always rife in incidents like these. In fact, I find that it is one of the core problems of our society today.
From what I've read here and there, the PM of Iceland did not officially submit his resignation, but termed it more of a temporary 'break'. Given what a manipulative, deceitful greed pig he is, I wouldn't be shocked if that's what he did (or didn't).
You are one of the people who says so.
Should Obama be held accountable for everything his father did? Or would it be ok for him to say that it's a private matter and has nothing to do with his functioning as President? Cameron's father is a private citizen unless he is a member of the government, isn't he? Saying it's a private matter doesn't mean that Cameron says there is a connection to him, but he wants it to remain private. He is saying that the connection he has to the individual (his father) is private and is not related to his function in the government (the Prime Minister). As long as no wrong doing is claimed by the PM himself, why shouldn't he continue to insist that his father is his father (even if he is by some chance convicted of some crime such as tax evasion)? His relationship with his father is still a private matter -- not a government matter.
Any guest worker system is indistinguishable from indentured servitude.
Its about time the UK got rid of Cameron. He's not only been shamelessly using the GCHQ to spy on the entire planet (apparently collecting naked Yahoo webcam images are for "national security") but even engaging in draconian surveillance in the UK. I can't believe this Bush wannabe is still in office in a normally rational Britain. I can hardly blame the nearly 50% of Scots that want out with so many morons voting for Cameron.
And I'm a flaming, pants on fire hypocrite!
I'm focused on government business. To wit, invading the privacy of innocent civilians on a massive scale and outlawing the very encryption technologies which are the only effective means of keeping criminals and terrorists out of the lives of those innocent civilians.
Laws are for the great unwashed masses. I'm a maker of laws, a keeper of the law, I'm above the law. In fact I believe that I am the law. Remember the figure of Lady Justice, blindfolded as a symbol of how the law is blind to privilege, wealth and status? Yeah, I don't really believe in any of that nonsense.
However let's say that hiding wealth in offshore tax havens isn't illegal. As a political animal I instinctively know that the politics of using such tax havens smells bad. I can't have that image and be successful politically. Therefore I will invoke the privacy rights I deny my citizens because I am privileged, wealthy and arrogant. It may not be enough politically but it is all I have and therefore it must be enough.
I am a hypocrite, see my pants burn and my reputation wither.
You make the claim, but the only evidence is your faith in it.
What we've seen has shown that there's little, if any difference, and that it may even be more corruptible in democracies, since there's more leeway to get out of it entirely. If you're the inherited prince, you can't just graft for 10 years and then retire to a comfy non-voting board directorship of a few companies you helped, and proclaim "Private Industry!" when people want to look at what you did.