He has left the airport and is on his way to an undisclosed location. His lawyer states '_Because he is the most wanted person on earth, his security will be a priority_' He has been granted temporary asylum status for one year.
The Kremlin is whistling in the dark:
'Ties between Russia and the United States will not suffer because of the "relatively insignificant" Snowden case, a senior Kremlin official has said. Yuri Ushakov told reporters:
Our president has … expressed hope many times that this will not affect the character of our relations.
He said there was no sign that Barack Obama would cancel a planned visit to Moscow in September.
Not too sure of that, but let's wait for the response of the Americans
Ready for the long discussions on this topic…
Hooray! He can walk out of the airport and get his own borscht now!
This is amazing news. I wonder if the Manning verdict helped push Russia to act.
Brian, I hope so. But it is seriously sad that it had come to this.
It's unbelievable that we here in the US are now beginning to have a national conversation about what he revealed, and he's still "wanted" as a criminal.
+Brian Titus The really sad part is that it took any revelations at all for people to realize what powers the Patriot Act gave the government, and that all of the revelations were probably nothing illegal.
Good on Putin
It's almost like people don't understand that constitutional limitations of government are there for a reason…
;-p
Wow ! Not the war, sure, but this is a very big victory !
I guess folks really do not see the complete big picture. Only part is being discussed.
Yes, you're right +Calvin Henderson . But I'd disagree with those who said that the fate of Snowden himself was not a big issue, and that he has been used by the media as the tree to hide the forest of the NSA wrongdoings.
The war against global surveillance is just beginning, and it will be better fought with an Edward Snowden alive, in good health and free !
It's a question of the importance of the blow to the Obama administration.
As a former member of military intelligence and someone who worked in SIGINT, with the NSA and the FSTLC – I would absolutely like to thank Russia for their gift to the American people in letting Snowden not end up being victimized like Manning has been.
Our country does repulsive things around the world, for ostensibly good reasons but in reality self-serving ones.
It is important that if any member of an organization sees illegal and unethical behavior that they have recourse to call attention to it. That we feel the secrecy of the "mission" is worth circumventing the constitution is terrible. I think the Post WWII war trials showed that using the excuse that you are following orders or prevented by rule/law is not an excuse.
Secrecy for actions that circumvent/threaten the Constitution is not only not justifiable, it is a form of treason.
There is no mission worth losing the freedoms that thousands of Americans died over multiple wars to keep and it spits in the eye of their sacrifice that when people try to justify it. Especially a half-war against a nebulous "terrorist" threat that at its height could not do the damage in lives and cost that we have spent fighting it.
Amen, +Michael Kelly .
Interesting
Tell me more.
Will I ever get US visa if I +1 this?
http://news.yahoo.com/google-pressure-cookers-backpacks-visit-feds-140900667.html
Very disturbing, if taken at face value.
Was just reading about that, earlier.
Yeah, me too…
Едвард Лонијевич Снежданов…
Sounds Russian enough. 🙂
🙂