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Russia Extends Edward Snowden's Asylum To 2020, To Offer Citizenship Next Year (cnn.com)
Whistleblower and former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden has been allowed to remain in Russia for another three years and will next year qualify to apply for Russian citizenship. From a report on CNN: Edward Snowden's leave to remain in Russia has been extended until 2020, Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has confirmed to CNN. Snowden, a former US National Security Agency contractor, sought asylum in Russia in June 2013 after leaking volumes of information on American intelligence and surveillance operations to the media. On Tuesday, Zakharova announced an extension of a "couple of years" in a Facebook post that criticized former CIA acting director Michael Morell for an opinion piece he wrote suggesting that Russian President Vladimir Putin should consider returning Snowden to the United States as "the perfect inauguration gift" to President-elect Donald Trump. Snowden settled in Moscow after initially traveling to Hong Kong following his 2013 public disclosure of classified information. The Russian government granted him asylum soon after. In August 2014, Snowden received a three-year extension to his leave to remain in Russia. That extension was due to expire this year.
Umm.. he sought asylum in Russia not because if he flew to England they wouldn't let him in, but because if he flew to England, they would put him in chains and on a plane to the US.
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So, by "hacking the elections", which is pure hyperbole, meaning "hacked the democrates, the DNC, HRC campaign and exposing the collusion with the MSM and even some Republicans, the criminal enterprise known as the Clinton Foundation, you're saying that all of that was .. done by the Russians to help Trump?
So, the Russians made the democrats, Hillary and all the rest do all those unsavory (criminal??) things just to get Trump elected. You're a special kind of person aren't you.
Sorry, but the Hillary loss can be placed at the feet of Hillary, the Democrats, the MSM and the RINOs who were conspiring against the american people. But yeah, keep blaming the Russians!
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That would certainly complicate a lot of people's opinions of Donald Trump around here.
Not for me. I'd still think he was an asshole who has no business being president. One good deed doesn't excuse a lifetime of douchebaggery.
Posting AC because I've moderated.
President Obama did not pardon Manning. He commuted her sentence. Commuting leaves the crime and punishment intact but reduces the time spent in jail.
A pardon essentially wipes the crime from the person's record. This CNN article explains more clearly the difference between the two acts:
A presidential commutation reduces the sentence being served but it does not change the fact of conviction, whereas a pardon forgives a certain criminal offense.
Yes. Timing is the key to understanding it. Sanders would have defeated Trump easily. The timing of the releases were carefully placed so as to build suspicion with independants while not hurting her primary bid. Then once she clenched that, proof that it was a rigged primary sent a lot of independants away from the DNC to either Green, Libertarian, and even a number to Trump.
If they had released it all in the beginning, we would be swearing in Sanders tomorrow.
43% of likely voters said federal corruption was the issue that affected their decision the most.
Trump owes his election to some extent on the Snowden revelations which caused ordinary Americans to diminish their view of the government, especially under the administration.
Make him head of the FBI or something like that. Let him throw out with impunity the critters who monitor the emails.
Snowdens passport was revoked by the US the day before he flew from Hong Kong to Moscow .
He left Hong Kong and entered Russia using a revoked passport - he didn't seek asylum in Russia because of the revoked passport, he entered Russia because that had already been agreed with the Russian authorities. Snowden had been talking with the Russians during his stay in Hong Kong.
Snowdens application of asylum in Russia was after he handed his treasure trove over to a reporter in Hong Kong.
So its not fake news - the sentence you cite is actually 100% accurate. What we really have here is you trying to discredit CNN.
So, the Russians made the democrats, Hillary and all the rest do all those unsavory (criminal??) things just to get Trump elected.
Whatever "unsavory" thing you imagine the Clintons to have done, Donald Trump can match it or top it for sheer asshattery. And judging by the Bond villians he's nominating for cabinet positions he's just getting warmed up on the unsavory activities. Is Hillary a saint? Hell no. Nobody who runs for high office is without sin. But Trump is worse in pretty much every imaginable way when it comes to being a criminal and an all around terrible person.
Sorry, but the Hillary loss can be placed at the feet of Hillary, the Democrats, the MSM and the RINOs who were conspiring against the american people.
"Conspiring against the American people"? Snort... That's rich. I think you might be off your medications if you think the republican party is any more concerned about the well being of the American people than the democrats are. Doubly so if you think Trump has the best interests of you and me at heart.
Putin has many reasons to hold on to Snowden and almost no reasons to turn him over to the US.
Turning him over to the US _might_ curry favor with Trump, however
A: Trump is too inconsistent for something like that to have a dependable long term effect, and
B: More importantly we're pretty sure Putin already owns Trump, probably along multiple lines. You don't need to curry favor with your pawns.
C: And whether Putin owns Trump or not, it certainly doesn't benefit him to _appear_ as if he owns Trump any more than he can avoid, and sending him Snowden as an "inauguration gift" would definitely lend itself to that appearance.
On the other hand, Snowden is an embarrassment to the US (or more accurately, he brought to light and continues to emphasize the way in which the US has embarrassed itself) which is valuable PR for Russia. Even if Putin owns the president it never hurts to have multiple lines of attack available.
Keeping Snowden in good standing encourages other people who might have negative information about the US or whose mere existence and freedom might embarrass the US to look to Putin for support, potentially giving him more ammunition in the future.
And as long as he has Snowden under his control Putin can always offer him up as a bargaining chip in the event that the puppet strings on Trump fail and he really needs to make a deal for some reason. (At which point of course the FSB will suddenly discover evidence that Snowden has been betraying Putin all along, so that it won't be a betrayal on Putin's part to return him to the US.)
Or alternately if he orders Trump to do something for Russia that is so outrageous that it strains credulity he can offer up Snowden as an excuse for Trump making the deal. (Again, shortly after the FSB "discovers" evidence against Snowden.)
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My hope is that the Trump administration will continue to highlight the inequalities that are baked into the current system.
Unless there is some path to actually do something about them what exactly would be the point of that? I have close to zero confidence that anything will meaningfully change any time soon.
The two party system must come to an end.
Only way that will happen is if we change the voting system to be something other than First Past the Post and we get rid of Gerrymandering. However since both of those things support the interests of the two major parties neither is likely to see any meaningful reform any time soon.
Because the ACA Medicare expansion pays for his meds. He almost died a couple of times because we couldn't afford them. So yeah, people are gonna die because of that leak. Lots of them.
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And there is no way in hell Russia will ever release Snowden. They have coerced him for example to "call" into the Putin's Propaganda hour show (either that or Snowden is really really naive). The Russians will not release
His interview question was fair in my view. It at the very least put Putin on record as being a liar when competing information enters the public domain.
Snowden so he can talk about his treatment or detail what he released to the Russians. They have absolutely nothing to gain.
What impressed me about Snowden was what he has actually said about the Russian government while in Russia.
Some tweets from Snowden:
"Signing the #BigBrother law must be condemned. Beyond political and constitution consequences, it is also a $33b+ tax on Russia's internet."
"#Putin has signed a repressive new law that violates not only human rights, but common sense. Dark day for #Russia."
How could they "release it all in the beginning?" How are they supposed to release emails about how Hillary got the debate questions in advance from CNN in March 2016 when the primary season started in summer 2015? Did the Russians hack time, too? Why the fuck not apparently they've hacked everything else.
We don't have a state-run media we have a media-run state.
Anyone who watched the process KNEW full well that there was massive collusion by the DNC and Media to INSTALL Hillary as the candidate. In the first election, she won 6 straight coin tosses to take Iowa. That was day 1. So did Russia fix all of the coin tosses, card flips, and dice rolls of which Hillary won 100% of the "tie breakers"?
Good grief, I honestly wonder how much medication some of the people spreading these conspiracies are missing. I personally really enjoy researching conspiracies, which has led to me personally debunking most of them. What people are claiming over this last election cycle fails the most basic of scrutiny. Russia did not make Hillary attack women who accused William J of rape. The Russians did not make Hillary setup an illegal server. The Russians did not make her spread the lie that a crappy Youtube video caused 4 Americans to die. The Russians did not make her give 2-4 Hundred thousand dollar speeches where she said foolish things about erasing borders. The Russians did not make Hillary praise Sanger and Byrd. Those are things off the top of my head which have been public information for a very long time, all reported by sources OTHER THAN RT.
The Democrats ran a worse candidate than the Republicans. That is why Hillary lost! Not some baseless allegations. Good grief, think about the allegation. "Trump hates Obama so much that he paid hookers to piss on the bed that the Obama's slept in."
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.