Jun 24 2013

Edward Snowden Has Left Hong Kong: Up Date

(2 pm. – promoted by ek hornbeck)

Cross posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette

Up Date: Fugitive Snowden seeks asylum in Ecuador: foreign minister

Ecuadorean Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, visiting Vietnam, tweeted: “The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden.”

NSA whistleblower, Edward Snowden has left Hong Kong arriving in Moscow aboard a commercial flight, presumably on his way to a third country for asylum.

In a statement, WikiLeaks said the 30-year-old was heading to a democratic country “via a safe route” for asylum purposes and that the organisation was assisting at his request. Snowden had been in hiding in Hong Kong since identifying himself as the source of revelations on US surveillance programmes.

His flight from US authorities, which want to charge him with espionage, appeared set to continue with an onward flight west from Moscow to Havana on Monday. From there, various reports indicated that he would try to get to either Caracas or Quito.

The Hong Kong government said on Sunday he had left of his own accord “through a lawful and normal channel” and said the request filed by the US did not fully comply with legal requirements. Pointedly, it also said it wanted Washington to clarify Snowden’s claims that the US had hacked targets in the territory.

He was accompanied by one of Julian Assange’s closest advisers, Sarah Harrison.

On Friday, Snowden was charged with espionage under the 1917 law. He becomes the eighth whistleblower to be charged under the act by the Obama administration, which has used the charge more than any other president.

Snowden, 29, is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorised person, according to court documents.

The head of the NSA, Gen. Keith Alexander stated that Snowden has “caused irreversible damage to US.” This coming from the man who lied to congress and has admitted publicly that the surveillance had violated the Fourth Amendment.

Have I mentioned that David Gregory is a hack and an embarrassment for NBC?

Good luck to Mr. Snowden.

4 comments

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    • TMC on June 24, 2013 at 19:39
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  2. Snowden episode’s unexpected victim

    NEW YORK (MarketWatch) – As the situation regarding National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden remained in limbo Sunday after the U.S. government has asked Ecuadorean government to turn down any asylum request, Ecuador’s flower growers look to be the “most unlikely collateral damage.”

    On Thursday, the Obama administration sent a “thinly veiled economic threat” to Ecuador when it delayed indefinitely a decision to remove tariffs on imports of roses worth about $250 million a year

    http://www.marketwatch.com/sto…

    It is not a minor matter for Ecuador:

    Ecuador’s flower industry employs about 50,000 people on about 550 farms across the country and is indirectly responsible for 110,000 jobs, the AP reported, adding that would put flowers with oil, seafood and bananas as the country’s biggest exports

    Why would Obama do that?

    IMO it will only stiffen Ecuadorean resolve, if there were any wavering but it serves as a warning to others not to mess with Uncle Sam.

    Altogether that should be as successful as the Cuban embargo has been IMO.

    Best,  Terry

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