The plane carrying whistleblower Edward Snowden has landed at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. The former CIA contractor, who left Hong Kong in a bid to elude US extradition on espionage charges, is on his way to a ‘third country’ via Russia.
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino announced via twitter that Snowden had applied for asylum.
Interfax news agency is citing an unnamed source in Sheremetyevo airport management, saying that Snowden is still at the airport.
"Snowden is a transit passenger, his next flight is to Cuba, he remains in the airport complex – where he’s supposed to be, waiting for the next flight," the source said.
A source at Aeroflot Russian Airlines told the agency that the whistleblower, who is accompanied by WikiLeaks representative, Sarah Harrison, has rented a suit at the airport’s «V-Express» Capsule Hotel.
“He arrived. But he can’t leave the terminal because he doesn’t have a Russian visa,” the source said.
Two cars with diplomatic license plates of Ecuador – the country named among Snowden’s possible destinations – were spotted at Sheremetyevo airport.
Ecuador’s ambassador to Russia, Patricio Chavez, arrived at Sheremetyevo Airport after Edward Snowden's plane touched down in Moscow.
Okay I am not going to prejudice any discussion by telling all of you what I am thinking about this whole thing right now, though I ma thinking quite a lot actually, and instead open up the floor to discussion on whether you think Snowden a hero, a criminal, a dupe, or a facade for others to hide behind.
I will weigh in with one opinion however. I saw Glenn Greenwald on MTP today, and he came off as a complete asshole. Not that assholes can't be right, but he did not do himself too many favors with his attitude and arrogance.
I'm just saying.
I was on his side till he went to Hong Kong and now Russia. If he really wanted to go to Ecuador or Venezuela why not go their right off the bat. Something doesn't smell right.The whole time he is traveling he says he has classified documents in his possession. He's a traitor plain and simple. My next question is how does someone with his education get the job he had with the clearance he had to begin with.
ReplyDeleteHe's already flying to Ecuador with the assistance of the Ecuadorean embassy and Wikileaks "legal team". Correa will be looking over his shoulder constantly since laws have been passed banning newspapers and the national intelligence service closing down twitter accts that criticize him.
DeleteI agree with Ed Schultz who called him a punk.
He just gave all those classified documents to China. They mirrored his hard drives.
DeleteHe also took the job with Booz specifically to have access to all of the NSA documents he stole.
That makes him a spy and a traitor.
How is Snowden paying for all of this?
ReplyDeleteI doubt he is.
DeleteI guess you've never been single and cleared 6 figures. More like married and living off your wife's SSI.
DeleteWhy did he rent a suit at Moscow airport? Is he getting married to the pole dancer?
ReplyDeleteHe could have got a nice custom one made in Hong Kong.
Pretty weird to pass up Hong Kong suits for a Moscow suit.
DeleteIt has possibly been planned all along that pole dancer will meet up with him at some point. Too weird he would leave so much behind. His parents and his main squeeze. He does act like an agent of some type.
DeleteY'all are funny and too vicious on typos. In fact, I'm afraid to go behind some of my drunk comments where I've been skewered.
DeleteEcuador, of course, is known for its summer-weight linen leisure suits. You can't get those mid-late 1970's styles just anywhere. I guess only us NSA-types know where to shop for the best deals.
Since Greenwald himself said there is no doubt that Snowden had committed felonies in this charade (my word, not Greenwald's), I'll go with a plea bargain down to 18-24 months in exchange for a guilty plea. And make one of the terms of his probation that he must update his resume'.
He's no hero. Unless in the unlikely event he's given the death penalty, he's probably not a traitor. He's screwing the pooch with his zigzagging across the world to prevent extradition, and will lose support of those who immediately revered him as a whistleblower.
I'm with you on Greenwald being an asshole.
ReplyDeleteAs for Snowden, he should be brought back to the US. In my opinion, he should have never had the job he had. He was a high school dropout and a military dropout, as well. He is not in this alone. Someone has footed his bills and he should be brought back to the US and made to talk.
DAMN! Exactly the same thoughts I have. Plus I think the company that hired Snowden should be barred from any further government contracts.
DeleteDuring the cold war the US had divers tap into underwater Russian phone cables.
ReplyDeleteRussia and all other countries knew the US was hacking into their computer systems.
Snowden just confirmed what they already knew.
Don't think that the Russians as well as the Chinese are not up to the same kinds of hanky-panky.
DeleteExactly, 3:19. The difference is that the US no longer needs to hack communications. Even countries that are fair-minded and have no cultural enemies have been made paranoid by a decade of Americans yelling trrrrrrrrrrrrrrst all the time- and are spying on their citizenry and handing over their data to the US for any reason or no reason.
DeleteCorrect, 3:42. But Snowden isn't outing any of the sensitive spying missions for China or Russia. He's working AGAINST our intelligence agencies.
DeleteWhy didn't he contact his Congressman or the House Chm of Intelligence Committee, who's obviously going to want to rat out "the Obama Administration"?
His actions do not pass the smell test.
Sweden, a "neutral" country has a long history of helping the US spy on Russia. A few popular writers have tried to bring this to American's attention through their novels (Henning Mankell, Leif DW Persson.) That is why the US wants Assange in Sweden. Not to mention Karl Rove is a chief political adviser to Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.
DeleteAnd that makes what Snowden did OK?
DeleteCan I murder someone dying of cancer without consequences? After all, they're already dying so what's the harm.
Snowden broke the law, whether you think he's a hero or not. He put the country in a precarious position. And he's running to countries that are not always friendly to the US. (China has done the same if not more to us).
ReplyDeleteIt just smells to me. Why was there no "leaks" during Bush's term? He implemented the program.
Please explain how Snowden "put the country in a precarious position".
DeleteNo leaks during Bush's term. Are you fucking serious?
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Klein
I guess he needs a vacation in a country that has more electronic surveillance.
ReplyDeleteSnowden's travels raise concerns of foreign involvement
ReplyDeleteU.S. experts suspect China, Russia have data from Snowden -- and may have been involved all along.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/06/23/snowden-hongkong-russia-ecuador-leak-security-cuba/2450577/
First, anonymous at 3:16, it was a typo. He's rented a suite, not a suit.
ReplyDeleteSecond, I wonder myself at his alleged lack of education. I think it's possible he's one of those people who may be extremely intelligent, but not have an ability to work with others. He may have dropped out of school because it was slowing him down- if indeed he did. And he may not have quit the armed forces so much as been seconded somewhere.
I don't know why he left Hong Kong unless he feels he's likely to have been extradited from there. Russia is a good second choice while he's waiting for official asylum in Ecuador. We're not actually Cold War enemies with Russia now, but I wouldn't call us best buddies. It was safe for him because they aren't likely to instantly agree to extradite him. (He would probably have been arrested as soon as the door of the plane opened if he'd gone to England, for example.) And Ecuador does have a record for granting asylum, which would give him political protection.
Face it- our country has pissed off other countries all around the globe. There's no reason for them to help us out. If he survives, he'll be another Daniel Ellsberg. Our government agencies can and have done appalling things, and it's up to us to stop it.
Ivyfree
Any number of people could kill him and blame someone else. We aren't the only ones that do appalling things.
DeleteWhat would be our point to kill him now? So he talks? It is who has what he had access to that is of value. Anybody can say anything, he also needs to show back up. How much safe keeping has he been able to maintain? He or his accomplices may think they are in charge when they are not.
Very true, Ivyfree.
DeleteHe's a dick in a new suit. Or jeans and a t-shirt.
DeleteHe's a traitor, plain and simple.
ReplyDeleteHe's also a spy. He took the job with Booz specifically to access all of the NSA records. Then he stole those records, fled to Hong Kong where the Chinese mirrored all his harddrives.
DeleteNow he's in Russia and I'm sure they're doing the same.
So spy and traitor.
I know Ellsberg was supporting the whistle blower meme but Ellsberg did not act in the same manner as Snowdon. Whatever Snowdon has on whomever, he (and his minders) have complete control what is leaked or not. I don't get why anyone would be in favor of giving him that command. He could have video and docs that show Rand Paul beating his wife and dog and decide not to leak that. But Nancy Pelosi making a questionable remark he may want to leak.
ReplyDeleteEllsberg disagrees
Deletehttp://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/10/edward-snowden-united-stasi-america
Ellsberg didn't go to Hong Kong et al. He did support the Snowdon whistle blower.
DeleteNixon charged Ellsberg as a spy while simultaneously trying to dig up dirt on him (breaking into his psychiatrist's office). When it was revealed that Nixon was a crook the spying case fell apart.
DeleteToday, Obama just whisks you off to a glass walled cell where you're forced to stand naked for 20 hours a day until your secret trail sentences you to life in prison.
What is happening today makes Kafka look like Not Afraid of Life: My Journey so Far. Used to be you feared a knock on the door at 3am. Now it's a hum in the sky.
My impression is that both Snowden and Greenwald are massive egomaniacs. Snowden thought he was being some kind of hero by stealing government secret documents and turning them over to Glenn Greenwald. He doesn't appear to have thought out what to do after that which is why he's only now looking for safe haven. I'd like to see the contractor he worked for get raked over the coals for letting this happen as well has Snowden be prosecuted for treason.
ReplyDeleteYour first sentence is spot on.
DeleteThe contractor Snowden worked for, Booze Allen Hamilton, is 80 percent owned by the Carlyle group, which has extremely strong ties to the Bush and (formerly) bin Laden families. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlyle_Group
DeleteSnowden's boss at BAH was Eric Hoplin, former Chairman of the College Republican National Committee. Snowden is a huge fan of Rand Paul. Connect the dots.
I agree with your entire comment, Karen in SoCal. If Snowden didn't do anything wrong, why did Greewald only release "leaks" he (Greenwald) knew he wouldn't get in troubled for releasing in the first place?
DeleteSnowden has more information to leak, whats stopping him from dropping breadcrumbs at every stop he's making? What else does he have in his possession?
Anyone who thinks our Government is going to release everything they know to "proove" to the american people how things work is going to wait a long time. It's called National Security for a reason, and this punk is committing treason.
Do you even know what an egomaniac is? Do you know anything about Glenn Greenwald? Do you know that Snowden could have pulled a Palin and exploited all media for profit? Of course the answer is no on all counts. Your impressions are shit.
DeleteWhen I worked for a large corporation, I had to sign papers regarding my agreement what I could and could not do with corporate information. Snowden must have had to sign similar documents in regard to Government information.
ReplyDeleteFirst, the company he worked with did not do a good job of vetting him. Second, Snowden knew that what he was doing was terribly wrong or he would not have gone to China.
He certainly isn't being helped by foreign governments because of their primary concern for his well-being nor as a gesture of good will toward our government. They are hoping to get, or have gotten additional information from him. Or perhaps they want to exploit his knowledge and alleged skill at cyber surveillance to their best advantage and to the detriment of our government and the people he said he wanted to "protect."
Heck I worked at a catering co and had to sign a paper saying I wouldn't tell anyone the recipes!!!
DeleteThanks to privatizing surveillance over 800,000 Snowden's can listen to your phone calls and read your e-mail but you are mad at the person that revealed this? Because you worked for a large corporation? Heaven help us all.
DeleteHe is a great American hero
ReplyDeleteFor exposing Obma;s surveillance state
Ha! Chaney/Bush surveillance state, Nixon surveillance state....
DeleteIgnorance is not bliss. Take a history class. You will be shocked to learn this crap was going down in the 1950s.
DeleteHis name will go next to Benedict Arnold as a spy and traitor.
DeleteI love how a bunch of little old ladies on another site are on a witch-hunt....
ReplyDeleteIf those same little old ladies had been paying attention in 2008 it would have come as no surprise to them what the NSA is doing; they've been doing it for a long time.
What's really hilarious is what their little old reactions will be when the discover that not only is every other country keeping tabs on the communications of its citizens, but the US can have access to those logs any time it likes.
How does THAT feel, Granny? You think your country should be spying on the rest of the world? Or is it only your country that should have freedumbs?
She's a Thug, what do we expect?
DeleteDude's a low level contractor and a douchebag to boot. Everyone should read Jim Wright's essay on Stonekettle Station to help put everything into perspective
ReplyDeletehttp://www.stonekettle.com/2013/06/essential-liberty-in-post-911-world.html
5,000 to 6,000, all invited guests.
DeleteObama's speech in Berlin last week was by invitation only, and 6,000 people showed up. You can verify this number with the German government. Assuming you believe in facts or reality.
DeleteThanks for steering me to Jim Wright's essay. He puts it all in perspective historically and articulates it better than I could. Well worth the read folks
DeleteSheesh
Dave Gregory is a clown. Glenn handed him ass.
ReplyDeleteRead the article Glenn was referring to:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2013/06/20/194513/obamas-crackdown-views-leaks-as.html#.Uceewsor9-y
If you think Snowden is the villain then you're simply a liberal/progressive in name only.
Since when does the conservative right wing fascist Republicans (who passed and renewed The Patriot Act, Homeland security, NSA and all other manner of spying on the citizens of this country) consider a spy and a traitor to be a patriot?
DeleteSnowden applied for the job at Booz specifically to gain access to NSA documents. Then he stole them and went to Hong Kong where the Chinese mirrored his hard drives. The Chinese now have copies of EVERYTHING Snowden stole. I'm sure the Russians are doing the exact same thing now.
Next stop Cuba.
Snowden is a spy and a traitor. Anyone that thinks otherwise is hardly a patriotic American.
Progressives have seen this as a bad development since the Patriot Act was put in place. Most others put their brains aside and applied yellow ribbons onto their vehicles and called it good. The advent of companies like Blackwater (now with a new name and whose company founder no longer lives in the US — what a patriot!!!), Halliburton (a company that sold arms to Libya while ex-VP Chaney was its president!) and other private contractors that make more than our troops etc. ... We should all be ashamed. It is out of control and travesty.
ReplyDeleteLet him stay there and attempt to make a living. Can't think of anyone that would trust him enough to hire him.
ReplyDeleteHe'll be trapped there pretty much for the rest of his life, since he'll have to be very careful if he ever leaves Ecuador that he doesn't end up somewhere with extradition. The U.S. will NOT forget.
He's going to spend a lot of time playing with that Rubrik's cube.
Snowden is no whistleblower - never heard of a whistleblower taking off to foreign parts to share details of his/her country's intelligence.
ReplyDeleteMy diary on Snowden's move from Hong Kong to a Moscow airport at firedoglake:
ReplyDeletehttp://my.firedoglake.com/edwardteller/2013/06/23/as-edward-snowden-wings-to-moscow-and-beyond-american-hubris-criminality-and-arrogance-are-challenged-on-several-fronts/#comments
It is probably too early to tell who Edward Snowden really is, but I disagree strongly that Mr. Greenwald "was a complete asshole" on CNN Sunday morning. He could have answered Gregory's question implicating Greenwald in possible criminal activity better, but few here in the comments have chosen to delve into Gregory's continuing accommodation to USG talking points, without questioning their veracity.
Why the fuck are you promoting your far left wing bullshit on Jesse's blog. I thought Jesse had banned you?
DeleteWTF Jesse, why do we have to be subjected to this asshole's garbage comments again? WTF? He doesn't add anything of value except bashing Obama and the US.
WTF Jesse? WHY IS HE HERE AGAIN????????
Greenwald is not only a complete asshole, he is a despicable, smarmy traitor to this country, along with Snowden. As I see, Munger is sucking on Greewald's dick again, as he has done for years. Guess birds of a feather flock together, eh?
DeleteIt 's a pity that Gryphen has caved to let you back on the blog, you're a disgrace to this country. And now you're already attacking people on this blog. WTF is wrong with you? It's very disturbing that you found some way to twist Gryphen's arm and allow you to putrify the comment sections of his blog.
I don't think much of Greenwald as a journalist. He and Snowden are assuredly appearing as a team, there is no doubt about that! And, I think Snowden is a criminal in having disclosed national security leaks that will likely harm the USA. I agree and approve of the guys in Washington D.C. going after Snowden. He is, after all, a turn coat!
ReplyDeleteI could care if our government has my phone number, etc. I'm not a terrorist and don't have a damned thing to worry about! This has been going on for a number of years now and was NOT initiated under the Obama Administration....don't forget that!
I'm tired of all the whining - the media has hyped it to the max!
Hilarious that the woman who sent a college kid to jail for hacking her email account even has the nerve to discuss Snowden after how she persecuted the poor kid for guessing her password!
ReplyDeleteTRUE
DeleteGryphen,
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you held back your opinion on the recent developments in this case, but I would really like to hear them. I haven't been following this as closely as many, and after reading your blog for years would like your read.
Thx.
Snowden sought Booz Allen job to gather evidence on NSA surveillance
ReplyDeletehttp://theobamadiary.com/2013/06/24/oh-my/
We're usually in agreement, Jesse, but you lost me on this one. I wish you would follow Glenn Greenwald for awhile. He is clear, intelligent and makes sense. Andrew Sullivan - who has had his differences with his friend Glenn on this issue - had this to say: http://dish.andrewsullivan.com/2013/06/24/david-gregory-whats-wrong-with-washington/
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll keep an open mind about Greenwald - believe me, you agree with much of what he believes in.
The latest news I read is that Snowden got a job with Booz specifically to find out NSA data.
ReplyDeleteThat makes him a spy.
Those computers he took with him to China? China mirrored his hard drives.
That makes him a traitor.
As a spy and a traitor he should be sought out, brought back, tried, convicted and imprisoned. For LIFE.
I'm fine with the CIA abducting him from wherever he decides to hide.
Unless there is a convenient drone strike. I'm Okay with that too.
That's what I think of all of this.
Oh, and I'm a progressive Democrat.
China mirrored his hard drives.
DeleteIs this the first that came up? The moment he touched ground in China his stash was compromised, people actually thought he was in control?
I agree he is a spy and a traitor. Not with the drone strike, however. If he has any value it would be for him to negotiate a deal and name his partners.
There are others that would want him dead and to blame us. He has already helped to set it up that we (Obama) would kill him. I think he has been a dupe all along and there is much more to this then anyone can see right now.
agree.
DeleteTo those who are okay w/the gov spying on we the people: "They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." -Ben Franklin
ReplyDeleteI find it ironic the very right wing Conservatives that supported The Patriot Act and stated "If you're innocent you have nothing to hide. If you're not doing anything wrong you have nothing to fear." are the very ones that are now whining about the NSA.
DeleteWe've known about this for decades. Did we think that government would not adapt and upgrade as technology advanced?
And you thought Person of Interest was just a TV show.