Truly odd that if he left Hong Kong for Russia that no one has seen Snowden in Russia - not seen on the plane , not seen departing the plane , not seen in the airport ...... just where is he ? And what is he up to ? Or maybe the question just may be what is Putin up to ? As the story continues to evolve , Russia and China taking turns poking at the US , Russia finally acknowledges the location of Snowden - as we wait to see what Ecuador chooses to do !
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/world/americas/ecuador-courts-trade-problems-with-us-if-it-grants-snowden-asylum.html?pagewanted=all
http://rt.com/usa/snowden-greenwald-encrypted-copies-227/
http://rt.com/news/china-rights-snowden-us-194/
The US has called on all countries in the northern hemisphere to surrender Snowden to US jurisdiction and has resolved to seek cooperation from his destination country. However human rights organization Amnesty International has launched an appeal, urging the US not to prosecute anyone who discloses data on US government human right violations.
"No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government. Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression,"said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.
In addition, the organization also stressed that an individual who has an asylum bid underway cannot legally be extradited.
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/25/2013 07:31 -0400
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/20136257657129945.html
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/24/cold-war-u-s-tells-russia-to-give-back-snowden-or-else/
The government of Hong Kong never specified Snowden’s destination, only stating that he had in fact left Chinese territory for “a third country” on Sunday. The Russian government has made no official comment regarding his alleged arrival either.
Although reporters noted the heavy presence of Russian security services at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov disavowed any knowledge of Snowden’s arrival in the Russian capital.
“I don’t [know if he's planning to stay in Moscow]. I heard about his potential arrival from the press. I know nothing,” Peskov told the Guardian on Sunday.
When RT contacted Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) regarding the matter, the agency declined to comment.
With no corroborating video footage, the only actual proof that Snowden arrived in Moscow on Sunday evening stem from three primary sources: WikiLeaks, the government of Ecuador and anonymous sources working within the airport.
Wikileaks, whose representative Sarah Harrison reportedly accompanied Snowden on the flight, regularly sent out tweets up until flight SU213 touched down in the Russian capital around 5:00 p.m. local time.
The anti-secrecy group said in a statement that the former CIA technician is on his way to Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks."
A source from within WikiLeaks, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to RT that the rogue NSA leaker was indeed on the flight, passing on the names of Ecuadorian officials who were slated to meet Snowden at the airport.
An unnamed Aeroflot official also told Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency that the former CIA technician was indeed on board Flight SU213 which landed in Moscow.
Shortly after flight 213 landed, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino tweeted that “The Government of Ecuador had received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden.” Cars baring license plates for the Ecuadorian diplomatic mission were spotted at Moscow International Airport Sheremetyevo.
Once Snowden failed to show for his Havana-bound flight, RT’s Irina Galushko noted there were at least four flights leaving on Monday that could put Snowden on route to Ecuador.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/26/world/americas/ecuador-courts-trade-problems-with-us-if-it-grants-snowden-asylum.html?pagewanted=all
Ecuador Risks Trade Problems With U.S. if It Grants Asylum to Snowden
Meridith Kohut for The New York Times
Workers packaged roses on Tuesday at an industrial farm in Cayambe, Ecuador that supplies roses to Whole Foods stores in the United States. Analysts say that if the government of Ecuador grants asylum to Edward J. Snowden, trade between the two countries could be impacted.
By WILLIAM NEUMAN and MARK LANDLER
Published: June 25, 2013
QUITO, Ecuador — President Rafael Correa of Ecuador has more than just the ire of United States to consider as he weighs an asylum request from Edward J. Snowden, the fugitive intelligence contractor trying to dodge American authorities.
Related
Putin Rules Out Extradition for Snowden in Russia Airport (June 26, 2013)
Kerry Softens Tone With Russia in Snowden Dispute (June 26, 2013)
A Stakeout Grinds On in Airport Limbo (June 26, 2013)
China Brushes Aside U.S. Warnings on Snowden (June 26, 2013)
Assange, Back in News, Never Left U.S. Radar (June 25, 2013)
Mr. Correa has some tangible factors to think about as well — namely Ecuadorean exports like fresh-cut roses and frozen broccoli.
In recent months, Mr. Correa’s government has been in Washington, lobbying to retain preferential treatment for some key Ecuadorean products. But that favored status, which means keeping thousands of jobs in Ecuador and cheaper goods for American consumers, could be among the first casualties if Mr. Correa grants asylum to Mr. Snowden.
While the downside for Ecuadorean rose growers, artichoke canners and tuna fishermen (whose products also get preferential treatment) is clear, the material benefits of granting asylum to Mr. Snowden are far less so. The decision could ultimately rest on the combative personality of Mr. Correa and his regional ambitions.
“The risks are enormous,” said Michael Shifter, president of the Inter-American Dialogue, a policy group in Washington. Referring to Mr. Correa, he said, “It would bring the United States down very hard on him.”
Mr. Correa, fresh off a landslide re-election victory, glories in a fight. He relishes tweaking the United States and may aspire to take on the mantle of leader of the Latin American left that was once worn by Hugo Chávez, the loudly anti-imperialist president of Venezuela, who died in March.
“Rhetorically, he aspires to be a leader, and this may be a situation that’s hard for him to resist just given his nature and his temperament,” Mr. Shifter said.
Relations with the United States have been rocky almost since Mr. Correa first took office in 2007. He stopped American antidrug flights from an Ecuadorean military base. In 2011, he kicked out the American ambassador, angered by a diplomatic cable revealed by WikiLeaks that suggested he was aware of police corruption and looked the other way.
Last year, he gave asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London to the WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, on the grounds that he risked persecution and possibly the death penalty if he were to be charged in the United States for revealing secret State Department cables and other materials.
The two countries exchanged ambassadors again last year, but things have not always gone smoothly for the new American envoy, Adam E. Namm.
Last month, Mr. Correa, who has warred continually with the news media in his country, reacted angrily after Mr. Namm attended an event in favor of freedom of expression that was organized by the National Journalists Union. Mr. Correa called Mr. Namm a meddler and warned him to behave. The foreign minister, Ricardo Patiño, said darkly that the next time he might get more than just a warning.
The last sustained high-level contact between the two countries may have come in 2010, when Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton visited Ecuador. During that visit, Mr. Correa told her, “We’re not anti-American; we love America,” and he described his years as a student at the University of Illinois as the happiest of his life.
But Mrs. Clinton pressed him on his government’s crackdown on the news media, and when an Ecuadorean journalist challenged him about his policies at a news conference, the president rebuked him while Mrs. Clinton watched stone-faced.
The most likely casualty of sheltering Mr. Snowden would be the trade preferences, which have been in place since the early 1990s. Originally designed for several Andean nations, Ecuador is the last remaining recipient. But the preferences, which applied to about $429 million in non-oil exports last year, expire at the end of July unless they are renewed by Congress.
That renewal was already in doubt, not least of all, officials said, because the oil giant Chevron has been lobbying hard against Ecuador. The campaign is part of Chevron’s response to an $18 billion penalty against the company ordered by an Ecuadorean court in a case over environmental damages related to oil drilling in the Amazon.
But Ecuador has begun its own campaign to keep the preferences, including a Web site called Keep Trade Going, that urges Americans to contact their legislators to ask them to vote in favor of the pact.
At the same time, Ecuador has staked out a fallback position, petitioning to include roses, frozen broccoli and canned artichokes in a separate trade program, the Generalized System of Preferences. That decision is controlled by the White House, so Ecuador is essentially asking President Obama’s help in getting around opposition in Congress.
Mr. Obama must decide by Monday whether he will include those items — a move that becomes increasingly thorny as the standoff over Mr. Snowden continues.
The question remains how heavily Mr. Correa will weigh such economic considerations.
“It is something that will adversely affect the Ecuadorean economy,” said Dan Restrepo, an adviser to Mr. Obama on Latin American policy until last year. “But I don’t know whether it’s enough to stop him.”
Analysts said that if Mr. Correa gives asylum to Mr. Snowden the United States could also try to isolate Ecuador politically, asking allies in the region to step up pressure on issues like press freedom. The same weekend that Mr. Snowden’s asylum request was made public, Mr. Correa signed a new media law that critics say would quash much critical coverage of the government.
But Orlando Pérez, the director of El Telégrafo, a government-owned newspaper, said that granting asylum to Mr. Snowden should not provoke a confrontation with the United States. “What is at play is to guarantee human rights,” he said. “Rather than hurt Ecuador it puts it in a kind of political vanguard in Latin America.”
Many in Latin America feel that the Obama administration has not made relations in the region a priority, and the episode may become another example of Washington’s waning influence.
The standoff last year over Mr. Assange, who took refuge in Ecuador’s embassy in London to escape being sent to Sweden, where he is wanted for questioning on allegations he sexually assaulted two women, gave Mr. Correa a chance to portray himself as the defiant leader of a tiny country standing up to a world power. Mr. Snowden’s request allows him to do the same again.
Both cases also helped Mr. Correa defend himself against charges that he is too harsh with the press, allowing him to portray himself as a champion of transparency.
Mauricio Gándara, a former ambassador to London who is critical of Mr. Correa, said the president aspired to become an admired Latin American leftist like Mr. Chávez or Fidel Castro.
“How much damage it does to Ecuador is another matter,” Mr. Gándara said. “They want to go beyond Chávez, they want to challenge the world.”
http://rt.com/usa/snowden-greenwald-encrypted-copies-227/
Snowden hid copies of secret NSA documents in case something happens to him
Published time: June 25, 2013 19:37
A trove of classified documents supplied to The Guardian newspaper by NSA leaker Edward Snowden has been copied and shared with several people around the globe, journalist Glenn Greenwald told The Daily Beast on Tuesday.
Greenwald, the Guardian reporter who first began publishing National Security Agency documents earlier this month after meeting with the former intelligence contractor, told journalist Eli Lake that Snowden made arrangements to ensure others around the world have encrypted copies of that information should any circumstances allow the data or its source to be compromised.
Snowden “has taken extreme precautions to make sure many different people around the world have these archives to insure the stories will inevitably be published,” Greenwald said. He added that the files are “highly encrypted” and corresponding passwords to render them readable have not yet been distributed.
According to Lake, Greenwald said, “if anything happens at all to Edward Snowden, he told me he has arranged for them to get access to the full archives.” Greenwald previously claimed that Snowden provided him with the archives of "thousands" of documents, dozens of which he considered to be newsworthy. Revelations published thus far by The Guardian and attributed to Snowden have generated international headlines and responses from presidential administrations worldwide.
The latest news from Greenwald comes in the midst of an international manhunt for Snowden that has made awkward the relations between the United States and other nations around the globe. The US unsealed an indictment against Snowden on Friday, but has been unable to extradite him to the country where he faces charges of espionage.
Snowden was reportedly in Hong Kong at the time his indictment went public and was alleged to be in Moscow hours later. Representatives for US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin both say Snowden is in Moscow, and the anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks says the leaker has sought asylum from Ecuador, Iceland and perhaps elsewhere.
“We are aware of where Mr. Snowden is,” WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange said in a conference call on Monday. “He is in a safe place and his spirits are high. Due to the bellicose threats coming from the US administration we cannot go into further detail at this time.”
The US has lambasted Hong Kong with failing to comply with what America considers a lawful arrest, and Russia will not cooperate with attempts for extradition. White House press secretary Jay Carney said earlier this week that Hong Kong’s failure to act has already strained the relationship between the US and China.
Another relationship — the one between Snowden and Greenwald — has begun to emerge as a contested topic within the conversation as well in recent days. The possibility of charging Greenwald with publishing the classified documents has been discussed by politicians, pundits and the press, and the he told The Daily Beast that he’s likely having his every move watched by Washington.
“I would be shocked if the US government were not trying to access the information on my computer,” Greenwald said. “I carry my computers and data with me everywhere I go.”
Elsewhere in his interview with Lake, Greenwald explained that one potential lapse almost led to the loss of the intelligence.
“When I was in Hong Kong, I spoke to my partner in Rio via Skype and told him I would send an electronic encrypted copy of the documents,” Greenwald said. “I did not end up doing it. Two days later his laptop was stolen from our house and nothing else was taken. Nothing like that has happened before. I am not saying it’s connected to this, but obviously the possibility exists.”
http://rt.com/news/china-rights-snowden-us-194/
‘Mad invader, eavesdropper’: China slams US after Snowden accusations
Published time: June 25, 2013 06:58
Edited time: June 25, 2013 10:28
Edited time: June 25, 2013 10:28
The US has gone from ‘model of human rights’ to manipulator of internet rights, the mouthpiece of the Chinese Communist Party wrote. China has struck back at the US over its allegations that Beijing allowed NSA leaker Edward Snowden to leave Hong Kong.
The damning article in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the party’s official newspaper, came in response to Washington’s accusations of the “deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant.”
Addressing Washington’s allegations, the People’s Daily wrote that China could not accept "this kind of dissatisfaction and opposition.”
"Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for handling things in accordance with the law,” wrote Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Science in the People's Daily commentary.
Addressing Washington’s allegations, the People’s Daily wrote that China could not accept "this kind of dissatisfaction and opposition.”
"Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for handling things in accordance with the law,” wrote Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Science in the People's Daily commentary.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also denounced the US accusations as"groundless and unacceptable.”
"It is unreasonable for the US to question Hong Kong's handling of affairs in accordance with law, and the accusation against the Chinese central government is groundless," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.
The Hong Kong government released an official statement on Sunday, saying that US fugitive Edward Snowden had left the Chinese territory for Moscow legally and voluntarily. The statement also mentioned that the extradition documents submitted by the US on charges of espionage were not sufficient to warrant Snowden’s arrest under Chinese law.
The column praises the former CIA contractor for “his fearlessness that tore off Washington's sanctimonious mask."Snowden has been branded by the US as ‘traitor’ by US politicians for the leaking of classified documents to The Guardian newspaper that revealed the existence of the spy program PRISM.
"In a sense, the United States has gone from a model of human rights to an eavesdropper on personal privacy, the manipulator of the centralized power over the international internet, and the mad invader of other countries' networks," the People's Daily said.
The case of Edward Snowden has captivated world media since he fled from the US in May. Although the fugitive’s whereabouts are unknown, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange confirmed to RT that Snowden was en route to Ecuador via Moscow accompanied by WikiLeaks legal representative Sarah Harrison.
"In a sense, the United States has gone from a model of human rights to an eavesdropper on personal privacy, the manipulator of the centralized power over the international internet, and the mad invader of other countries' networks," the People's Daily said.
The case of Edward Snowden has captivated world media since he fled from the US in May. Although the fugitive’s whereabouts are unknown, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange confirmed to RT that Snowden was en route to Ecuador via Moscow accompanied by WikiLeaks legal representative Sarah Harrison.
Snowden was checked in for a flight from Moscow to Havana, Cuba, yesterday, but there was no sign of him on the plane, according to RT’s correspondent Egor Piskunov. As a consequence, it is now thought that he is still in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.
The whistleblower has applied for asylum in Ecuador and the country’s government confirmed that it is processing the application.
The whistleblower has applied for asylum in Ecuador and the country’s government confirmed that it is processing the application.
Amnesty urges US: ‘Refrain from manhunt’
The US has called on all countries in the northern hemisphere to surrender Snowden to US jurisdiction and has resolved to seek cooperation from his destination country. However human rights organization Amnesty International has launched an appeal, urging the US not to prosecute anyone who discloses data on US government human right violations.
"No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government. Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression,"said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.
In addition, the organization also stressed that an individual who has an asylum bid underway cannot legally be extradited.
Russia May Detain Snowden
If Obama thought dealing with Putin was next to impossible when Snowden was merely hiding in the no man's land of the Sheremetyevo transit zone (see "U.S. steps up pressure on Russia as Snowden stays free") he is about to really lose his grip now that the former KGB spy appears set to "debrief" the very much current NSA whistleblower, and in the process learn as much as possible about US secret spy operations on whose receiving end, for countless years, has been none other than Putin's Russia. Pushkin poetic justice.
As Interfax reports: "Russian law enforcement authorities may detain former CIA employee Edward Snowden to establish the circumstances of his arrival in Russia, including passport details." In other words, Russia is now willing and eager to "force" Snowden to make a faux pas just so it has every reason to end up with the 30 year old in a dark, sound proof room. And just like that Obama's headaches are set to become much, much worse.
The cover up story for the perfectly fake reason why Snowden is about to be Gerard Depardieu's neighbor, is being carefully embellished:
"Various scenarios are being considered for law enforcers, including Interpol. One of the options is the detention of the American to check the validity of his passport," the source said."It is necessary to verify U.S. reports on the invalidation of his passport," the source said."This is the reason why he may be detained briefly for taking special measures if he crosses the Russian border," he said."Besides, it is necessary to verify reports on the issuing of a political immigrant ID for the former CIA employee by Ecuadorian authorities," the source said.Today's Moscow-Havana flight has finished boarding, Snowden is not on boardToday’s Moscow-Havana flight has finished boarding. The RIA news agency reports that Edward Snowden is not on the plane and the whistleblower was not on the list of passengers."Edward Snowden is not onboard the aircraft. He's not on the lists of passengers either," said the source.Formally, Edward Snowden did not cross the Russian border that means that he is in the Moscow Sheremetyevo airport transit zone for the third day.“Probably, he has not decided yet where to go,” said the security officer of the airport.
And "probably" Putin made the decision that it will be best if Snowden stays just where he is...
And Now, In The Octagon We Have John Kerry Vs Vlad Putin
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 06/25/2013 - 09:05
While John Kerry has only been in his role a few months and Russia seemingly happy to hold Edward Snowden for a while longer, it seems he has the hang of international diplomacy...
- *KERRY SAYS U.S. NOT LOOKING FOR 'CONFRONTATION' ON SNOWDEN CASE
- *KERRY SAYS RUSSIA SHOULD RESPECT RULE OF LAW ON SNOWDEN
So there we have it, add another 'threat' to the already brewing war-by-proxy in Syria; in one corner we have Vietnam war "veteran" (always ready to act 'swiftly'), in the other a Former KGB superspy who wrestles bears. Guess who wins.
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2013/06/20136257657129945.html
Mystery surrounds Snowden whereabouts |
Ecuador's foreign minister says his country is also in the dark, as US seeks custody of whistleblower.
Last Modified: 25 Jun 2013 07:59
     |
| Details of US whistleblower Edward Snowden's whereabouts or what documents he might be using to travel remain unknown, Ecuador's foreign minister has said. Speaking on Tuesday in Hanoi before meetings with Vietnamese officials, Ricardo Patino said the US state department had spoken with his ministry, but failed to provide any further details. The United States has annulled Snowden's passport and wants him returned home to face espionage charges for revealing details of two widespread surveillance programmes. China said on Tuesday the US' accusations of Beijing facilitating the departure of fugitive US spy agency contractor Edward Snowden from Hong Kong were "groundless and unacceptable". Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told a regular briefing that all parties should accept that the Hong Kong government had handled Snowden's case in accordance with the law. The White House said Hong Kong's decision was "a deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant, and that decision unquestionably has a negative impact on the US-China relationship." Snowden reportedly left Moscow, where he had arrived from Hong Kong, for Cuba on Monday. However, journalists travelling on the same aircraft said that his seat was empty. Julian Assange, the founder of whistleblowing website Wikileaks, has described Snowden as "healthy and safe", but did not provide any details of his whereabout either. Assange has been granted asylum by Ecuador in a separate case, and has been living in the country's London embassy for months. Snowden has been charged by the US of espionage and spying after he revealed to Western newspapers how the United States' National Security Agency spies on the internet and phone activities of millions of people. The programme, named PRISM, is authorised by a secret court. Ecuador is one of the countries where Snowden has requested asylum. |
http://hotair.com/archives/2013/06/24/cold-war-u-s-tells-russia-to-give-back-snowden-or-else/
Cold war: U.S. tells Russia to give back Snowden, or else
POSTED AT 9:01 PM ON JUNE 24, 2013 BY ALLAHPUNDIT
Imagine how much worse U.S./Russian relations might be right now if we hadn’t had that “reset.”
Does this mean Snowden really did get on a plane to Russia? Because if it turns out he didn’t and the whole Russia-to-Cuba-to-Ecuador thing was just a ruse, then we should dismantle the NSA on principle. If they can’t locate America’s most wanted man, who can’t bear to be apart from his computer, after he’s absconded with a treasure trove of intelligence, then they’re not so useful that we need to keep this eye in the sky afloat.
“They are on notice with respect to our desires,” Kerry said. “It would be deeply troubling if they have adequate notice and notwithstanding that they make a willful decision to ignore that and not live within the standards of the law.The U.S. has transferred seven prisoners to Russia over the last two years, Kerry said, and the U.S. expects reciprocity. He also took a shot at China and Russia’s treatment of freedom of speech online…A State Department official said Monday that as far as the U.S. government knows, Snowden is still in Russia and while the State Department is frantically contacting several governments about Snowden, Russia is the primary focus. The State Department is laying out a range of consequences for the Russians if they don’t cooperate and the Russians seem to be holding Snowden in Moscow while they consider their response to Washington, the official said…To drive home that point, several senior officials have reached out to their Russian counterparts over the last 24 hours. FBI Director Robert Mueller has called his Russian counterpart at the FSB twice today, an administration official said Monday. Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Ambassador to Russia Mike McFaul, a former senior White House official, have also been working the issue hard with their Russian contacts, the official said.
If I were Putin I’d hand him over, after “debriefing” him and his hard drives thoroughly, of course. What benefit is there to holding him once you’ve gotten what you need from him? They’ve already scored big propaganda points by humiliating Obama and we do, of course, have ways of making life more difficult for Moscow if they drag this out. Better to give him up as a “goodwill” gesture, to ensure that we’ll continue to extradite prisoners that they want and, maybe, be a bit more conciliatory on Syria than we’ve been lately. Frankly, Putin might relish the thought of “partnering” with Obama in seeing someone viewed by many Americans as a heroic dissident sent to prison. That’ll come in handy the next time the State Department accuses Moscow of taking political prisoners and persecuting regime critics.
First, though, comes the “extraction.” And it is, almost certainly, coming:
“Russian intelligence and counter-intelligence will have a lot to ask such a well-informed person. I have no doubt that this will be done,” a Russian special services veteran told the Interfax news agency on Sunday on condition of anonymity.“I am sure that Snowden will have had a busy evening and a sleepless night,” the source added of the American’s reported stayover Sunday night in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport after landing from Hong Kong.“Snowden presents a lot of interest for the FSB (security service). He can give information on technical aspects of intercepting data,” said Russian security expert and commentator for the Novaya Gazeta newspaper Pavel Felgenhauer.“A debriefing in the presence of technical specialists takes a lot of time,” Felgenhauer told AFP, suggesting that interviews with Russian secret services could take place in a third country.
I can’t think of a reason why ruthless intel services like Russia’s and China’s wouldn’t be as rough as they need to be with this guy to get him to turn over what he has. He’s already revealed that the NSA spied on Medvedev at the G20 summit a few years ago and hacked into Chinese computers. Both regimes now have a national interest in finding out what he knows, which they can sell to their respective publics just in case the locals take an interest Snowden’s fate. This is why, for the life of me, I can’t understand why Snowden’s defenders insist that he hasn’t compromised national security in what he’s done. Even if that’s true so far, he claims to know much more than what he’s leaked; Glenn Greenwald’s giddily declared many times that more leaks are coming. National intelligence sources are telling ABC this afternoon that, in fact, if Snowden made public everything he knows, it could deal a “potentially devastating blow” to U.S. security. Follow the last link and read at least the section titled “Technical Roadmap of the U.S. Surveillance Network.” If they’re telling the truth, which is debatable, the security lapse in making this stuff available to an IT guy is unimaginably gigantic.
Is there any scenario, realistically, in which Russia or China or whoever ends up getting himdoesn’t put the screws to him to find out what he knows? If someone fled from Russia or China to the U.S. with the kinds of secrets about them that Snowden has about the U.S., wouldn’t you hope/expect the FBI or CIA would “debrief” that guy at length? Either you believe (a) that Snowden doesn’t know much and therefore can’t hurt U.S. interests — and I’m not sure why anyone would think that at this point — or (b) that Snowden knows a lot and therefore it’s extremely dangerous for him to be placing himself within arm’s reach of Russian and Chinese intelligence. Either the whole FISA/PRISM/Snowden storyline is no big deal because it’s all small potatoes or it’s a very big deal, in which case we have a very, very big national-security problem. Pick one.
US accusations over Snowden unacceptable – Lavrov
Published time: June 25, 2013 08:57
Washington’s allegations over US fugitive Edward Snowden are ‘unacceptable’ as he never crossed the Russian border, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said. As a consequence, any attempt to accuse or threaten Moscow by the US is unfounded.
“Russia has nothing to do with Snowden's movements, he chose his route himself and didn't cross the Russian border,” said Lavrov, responding to a question by RT’s correspondent at a press conference with the Algerian foreign minister.
According the Reuters sources at Sheremetevo airport, Snowden arrived on Sunday with a valid ticket to Havana on Monday which he did not use. He is reportedly not able to cross the Russian border because he is not in possession of a valid visa.
Lavrov’s statements follow strong US rhetoric threatening consequences if Moscow does not comply with the US extradition order against Snowden under the espionage act.
"We expect the Russian government to look at all options available to expel Mr. Snowden back to the US to face justice for the crimes with which he is charged," White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden stressed on Sunday, when Snowden reportedly arrived in Moscow.
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
http://rt.com/news/snowden-asylum-nsa-pursuit-168/
Hide and leak: Where is Edward Snowden?
Published time: June 25, 2013 01:54
Edited time: June 25, 2013 07:11
Edited time: June 25, 2013 07:11
When it comes to the whereabouts of Edward Snowden, there has been far more conjecture than concrete fact. While Washington would do anything to get its hands on the whistleblower, tracking down Snowden has turned into a full on cloak and dagger affair.
On Sunday Edward Snowden left Chinese territory two days after espionage charges were leveled against him, setting off an international game of cat and mouse which has the United States’ massive global intelligence apparatus trying to cut the former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor off at the pass.
The White House for its part seemed to be certain that Snowden did in fact reach Moscow after taking off from Hong Kong on Sunday.
“We have known where he is and believe we know where he is now,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said during a Monday afternoon briefing. “It is our assumption that he is in Russia.”
“I’m not going to get into specifics, but it is our understanding that he is still in Russia,” Carney continued."We have asked the Russians to look at all the options and expel Snowden to the US,” he said.
“I’m not going to get into specifics, but it is our understanding that he is still in Russia,” Carney continued."We have asked the Russians to look at all the options and expel Snowden to the US,” he said.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has said on Monday that Snowden was in a “safe place.” Assange, who was unable to give further information as to Snowden’s whereabouts, claimed that Snowden had left Hong Kong on June 23 “bound for Ecuador via a safe pass through Russia and other states."
Shortly after Snowden allegedly arrived in Moscow, the government of Ecuador announced it had received an asylum request from the fugitive whistleblower. Assange claimed Snowden, whose passport was reportedly revoked one day prior to his departure from Hong Kong, was further granted a refugee document of passage.
It has been reported that Snowden was snaking his way around the globe to avoid capture, with a complicated route which would have seen him fly from Moscow to Caracas via Havana, with the expectation that he would later travel on to the Ecuadorian capital Quito.
While the state-controlled Russian airline Aeroflot said that he had checked in for flight SU150 to Havana with two seats (17A and 17C) in his name on Monday, seemingly half the world’s press corps was on board, but Snowden was conspicuously absent.
The fact that he failed to board a Moscow-to-Havana flight on Monday following his hasty escape from Hong Kong one day prior begs the question: did the world’s most infamous whistleblower step foot on Russian soil at all?
It has been reported that Snowden was snaking his way around the globe to avoid capture, with a complicated route which would have seen him fly from Moscow to Caracas via Havana, with the expectation that he would later travel on to the Ecuadorian capital Quito.
While the state-controlled Russian airline Aeroflot said that he had checked in for flight SU150 to Havana with two seats (17A and 17C) in his name on Monday, seemingly half the world’s press corps was on board, but Snowden was conspicuously absent.
The fact that he failed to board a Moscow-to-Havana flight on Monday following his hasty escape from Hong Kong one day prior begs the question: did the world’s most infamous whistleblower step foot on Russian soil at all?
Wikileaks and unnamed sources
The government of Hong Kong never specified Snowden’s destination, only stating that he had in fact left Chinese territory for “a third country” on Sunday. The Russian government has made no official comment regarding his alleged arrival either.
Although reporters noted the heavy presence of Russian security services at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov disavowed any knowledge of Snowden’s arrival in the Russian capital.
“I don’t [know if he's planning to stay in Moscow]. I heard about his potential arrival from the press. I know nothing,” Peskov told the Guardian on Sunday.
When RT contacted Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) regarding the matter, the agency declined to comment.
With no corroborating video footage, the only actual proof that Snowden arrived in Moscow on Sunday evening stem from three primary sources: WikiLeaks, the government of Ecuador and anonymous sources working within the airport.
Wikileaks, whose representative Sarah Harrison reportedly accompanied Snowden on the flight, regularly sent out tweets up until flight SU213 touched down in the Russian capital around 5:00 p.m. local time.
The anti-secrecy group said in a statement that the former CIA technician is on his way to Ecuador "via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisors from WikiLeaks."
A source from within WikiLeaks, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed to RT that the rogue NSA leaker was indeed on the flight, passing on the names of Ecuadorian officials who were slated to meet Snowden at the airport.
An unnamed Aeroflot official also told Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency that the former CIA technician was indeed on board Flight SU213 which landed in Moscow.
Smoke and mirrors?
Shortly after flight 213 landed, Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino tweeted that “The Government of Ecuador had received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden.” Cars baring license plates for the Ecuadorian diplomatic mission were spotted at Moscow International Airport Sheremetyevo.
Ecuador's ambassador to Russia, Chavez Zavala, was also seen at the airport. Just moments before stepping into a hotel on the airport’s premises, he reportedly told journalists: "We're waiting for [Sarah] Harrison. We're going to talk to them."
Although Snowden had reportedly taken a suite at the «V-Express» Capsule Hotel in Terminal E of the airport’s transit area, no visual confirmation of the former contractor has surfaced despite the myriad passengers and swarm of journalists staking out quite possibly the world’s most wanted man.
A source at Aeroflot told Interfax news agency that Snowden had checked into the hotel, noting that “he cannot leave the terminal as he has no Russian visa." Harrison, he added, did have a Russian visa.
Another source told the agency of the unprecedented security measures which had been taken “to maintain Snowden's security and to guarantee his safe departure.”
Although Snowden had reportedly taken a suite at the «V-Express» Capsule Hotel in Terminal E of the airport’s transit area, no visual confirmation of the former contractor has surfaced despite the myriad passengers and swarm of journalists staking out quite possibly the world’s most wanted man.
A source at Aeroflot told Interfax news agency that Snowden had checked into the hotel, noting that “he cannot leave the terminal as he has no Russian visa." Harrison, he added, did have a Russian visa.
Another source told the agency of the unprecedented security measures which had been taken “to maintain Snowden's security and to guarantee his safe departure.”
“Everything has been done to allow Snowden to spend the night peacefully at the airport's capsule hotel and to fly quietly to Cuba," the source continued.
However, on Monday evening a source at the hotel later told RT that Snowden had in fact never checked in or out of the facility.
It bears recalling that WikiLeaks, which did everything possible to draw attention to Snowden’s location between takeoff and landing, has a vested interest in concealing the whistleblower's actual movements.
Ecuador has already shown its willingness to take big political risks by granting Assange diplomatic asylum at its London embassy, where the Wikileaks founder has remained holed up for over a year. With round the clock police surveillance and a diplomatic standoff with the UK government set to last for years, Quito might have decided on avoiding another diplomatic showdown by facilitating Snowden’s safe passage before he arrives in Ecuador.
However, on Monday evening a source at the hotel later told RT that Snowden had in fact never checked in or out of the facility.
It bears recalling that WikiLeaks, which did everything possible to draw attention to Snowden’s location between takeoff and landing, has a vested interest in concealing the whistleblower's actual movements.
Ecuador has already shown its willingness to take big political risks by granting Assange diplomatic asylum at its London embassy, where the Wikileaks founder has remained holed up for over a year. With round the clock police surveillance and a diplomatic standoff with the UK government set to last for years, Quito might have decided on avoiding another diplomatic showdown by facilitating Snowden’s safe passage before he arrives in Ecuador.
Destination unknown
Once Snowden failed to show for his Havana-bound flight, RT’s Irina Galushko noted there were at least four flights leaving on Monday that could put Snowden on route to Ecuador.
A source familiar with the situation earlier told Interfax that Snowden might take the next flight to Latin America via Cuba.
“He’s probably got another ticket also via Cuba, as there are no direct flights [from Moscow] to Caracas or Quito.”
Like so much other information that has leaked out of Moscow’s international hub, nothing ever materialized. The same source later told Interfax that Snowden was probably already outside of the Russian Federation.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi, Secretary of State John Kerry said he had no knowledge of Snowden’s final destination, adding he would be deeply troubled if Moscow or China had prior notice of Snowden’s travel plans, Reuters reports.
Like so much other information that has leaked out of Moscow’s international hub, nothing ever materialized. The same source later told Interfax that Snowden was probably already outside of the Russian Federation.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Indian counterpart in New Delhi, Secretary of State John Kerry said he had no knowledge of Snowden’s final destination, adding he would be deeply troubled if Moscow or China had prior notice of Snowden’s travel plans, Reuters reports.
More baffling to Washington is how Snowden ever left Hong Kong as his passport had been revoked one day prior. On the same day, the US asked Hong Kong to hand over Snowden under the terms of a 1998 extradition treaty with the Chinese territory.
However, The Hong Kong special administrative region [HKSAR] government said their decision not to block Snowden’s departure stemmed from the fact that “the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.”
“As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong. The HKSAR government has already informed the US government of Mr Snowden's departure,” the statement continued.
On Friday, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Snowden for leaking a trove of documents regarding the NSA’s clandestine surveillance programs.
Snowden was charged with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and“willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.”The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act, which allow for the issuance of an international arrest warrant against him.
However, The Hong Kong special administrative region [HKSAR] government said their decision not to block Snowden’s departure stemmed from the fact that “the documents provided by the US government did not fully comply with the legal requirements under Hong Kong law.”
“As the HKSAR government has yet to have sufficient information to process the request for provisional warrant of arrest, there is no legal basis to restrict Mr Snowden from leaving Hong Kong. The HKSAR government has already informed the US government of Mr Snowden's departure,” the statement continued.
On Friday, federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against Snowden for leaking a trove of documents regarding the NSA’s clandestine surveillance programs.
Snowden was charged with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and“willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person.”The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act, which allow for the issuance of an international arrest warrant against him.
Russia, which has no extradition treaty with the US, said it would be under no obligation to hand over a US citizen. Foreign Minister. Sergey Lavrov has previously said Russia would be willing to consider an asylum request from Snowden.
However, an unnamed security official told RIA-Novosti news agency on Monday that no orders for Snowden's arrest have been dispatched through Interpol to Russian law enforcement agencies.
Speaking from Hanoi on Monday, Patino said he did not know Snowden’s current whereabouts, or where the whistleblower planned to travel next.
Speaking from Hanoi on Monday, Patino said he did not know Snowden’s current whereabouts, or where the whistleblower planned to travel next.
The Ecuadorian FM, who read a letter in which Snowden likened himself to Bradley Manning, the US army private who is currently on trial for leaking classified information to Wikileaks, intimated that the former NSA contractor’s asylum request would be considered on human rights grounds.
Following news that Snowden’s passport had been revoked, State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said he "should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States."
Following news that Snowden’s passport had been revoked, State Department spokeswoman Jennifer Psaki said he "should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States."
That Snowden could leave Hong Kong on an invalidated passport despite the charges leveled against him speaks volumes about the fallout from the United States sweeping surveillance activities.
And despite the massive troves of information the US government continues to cull both at home and abroad through PRISM and related surveillance programs, one critical fact remains elusive: where in the world is Edward Snowden?
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