6 ms·

Snowden made himself a pariah. Two wrongs don't make a right, fleeing to Russia was a bad choice. Your suggestion that we are falling for some grand scheme or p

Snowden made himself a pariah. Two wrongs don't make a right, fleeing to Russia was a bad choice. Your suggestion that we are falling for some grand scheme or propaganda unless we subscribe to your opinion is dishonest.

arianvanp 3y ago
He didn't flee to Russia. He got stuck in Russia due to US revoking his passport.
- 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
  He shouldn't have fled anywhere. Why did the US revoke his passport?
  - int_19h 3y ago
    So you wanted him to become a martyr on top of exposing the crimes to prove... what exactly?
  - 9dev 3y ago
    The USA have initiated one of the biggest denouncement campaigns in its very history against this man. Nobody sane would have not fled in that situation.
- 0xDEF 3y ago
  The goal was always to get into either China or Russia. They are the only geopolitical heavyweights that wouldn't have folded like Ecuador did with Assange. It's amazing how the "American whistleblower randomly ended up in Russia during transit" revisionism is being pushed.
  - dijit 3y ago
    You’re the only person claiming this, Snowden himself has said the opposite in 2014, on record.
    - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
      Why do you take the words of Snowden as gospel?
      - dijit 3y ago
        > 2OEH8eoCRo0 0 minutes ago > Why do you take the words of Snowden as gospel? I am not sure who could possibly be more of an authority on the intentions of Snowden than Snowden himself. I mean if he: * says he was on his way to Latin America * was in an airport transit zone for a short length of time before; * having his passport revoked (which he couldn't control), and; * after applying for asylum in latin american countries, and also notably; * had not applied for asylum in Russia (or China). Yeah, I kinda take his word for it that he knew where he wanted to go. Here is my original comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37095083 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37095083
  - sudosysgen 3y ago
    Ecuador folded because Assange was inside the embassy, in what ultimately is UK soil. There was no way, when push came to shove, to prevent him from being captured. If Assange was in Ecuador proper, they might not have folded, or he might have been able to leave Ecuador for, say, Cuba before the hammer dropped. I imagine this was Snowden's plan since he wanted to go to Cuba, Ecuador, or Venezuela. If he wanted to stay in Russia he wouldn't even have noticed his passport being deactivated, and if he wanted to go to China, he would have went to Shenzhen from Hong Kong instead of going to Russia first.
    - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
      https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-assange-smeared-his-feces-on-ecuadorian-embassys-walls-president-says/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-assange-smeared-his-f... Maybe they were tired of him smearing shit on the walls of their embassy.
      - kobalsky 3y ago
        don't you find it too convenient that the journalist the US want to annihilate happens to be a poop-smearing rapist ungrateful douchebag?
    - anticensor 3y ago
      > . If he wanted to stay in Russia he wouldn't even have noticed his passport being deactivated, Unlike the US, Russia requires one to carry an ID.
      - int_19h 3y ago
        In theory, it does. In practice, pretty nobody actually does this, because it's largely unenforced, and on the other hand, nobody wants to lose their internal passport and have to go through the headache of replacing it. Losing your international passport as a non-citizen would be even worse.
      - sudosysgen 3y ago
        A cop on the street isn't going to check whether your passport was or wasn't revoked (and in fact simply can't). You would only notice that at the airport. And he did in fact claim that he noticed this in the airport, when trying to leave Russia.
  - Shekelphile 3y ago
    It’s actually worse than that. He was forced there by Sarah Harrison and Assange.
DiogenesKynikos 3y ago
In hindsight, fleeing to Russia was a good choice, even if it wasn't Snowden's intention. Snowden said he was trying to get to Ecuador, but the Ecuadorian government would have handed him over to the US for the right price, just like they did with Assange. EU countries are too cozy with the US, and would never have given him asylum. In fact, when the US thought Snowden might be on the President of Bolivia's plane, it got a bunch of EU countries to deny overflight, forcing the Bolivian President to land and submit to a search of his plane. Snowden's only realistic option was to seek shelter in a large, powerful country with a poor relationship with the US.
- johngladtj 3y ago
  This. Anyone trying to argue against Snowden because he went to Russia or china is quite frankly childish

arianvanp 3y ago

He didn't flee to Russia. He got stuck in Russia due to US revoking his passport.

2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
He shouldn't have fled anywhere. Why did the US revoke his passport?
- int_19h 3y ago
  So you wanted him to become a martyr on top of exposing the crimes to prove... what exactly?
- 9dev 3y ago
  The USA have initiated one of the biggest denouncement campaigns in its very history against this man. Nobody sane would have not fled in that situation.
0xDEF 3y ago
The goal was always to get into either China or Russia. They are the only geopolitical heavyweights that wouldn't have folded like Ecuador did with Assange. It's amazing how the "American whistleblower randomly ended up in Russia during transit" revisionism is being pushed.
- dijit 3y ago
  You’re the only person claiming this, Snowden himself has said the opposite in 2014, on record.
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
    Why do you take the words of Snowden as gospel?
    - dijit 3y ago
      > 2OEH8eoCRo0 0 minutes ago > Why do you take the words of Snowden as gospel? I am not sure who could possibly be more of an authority on the intentions of Snowden than Snowden himself. I mean if he: * says he was on his way to Latin America * was in an airport transit zone for a short length of time before; * having his passport revoked (which he couldn't control), and; * after applying for asylum in latin american countries, and also notably; * had not applied for asylum in Russia (or China). Yeah, I kinda take his word for it that he knew where he wanted to go. Here is my original comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37095083 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37095083
- sudosysgen 3y ago
  Ecuador folded because Assange was inside the embassy, in what ultimately is UK soil. There was no way, when push came to shove, to prevent him from being captured. If Assange was in Ecuador proper, they might not have folded, or he might have been able to leave Ecuador for, say, Cuba before the hammer dropped. I imagine this was Snowden's plan since he wanted to go to Cuba, Ecuador, or Venezuela. If he wanted to stay in Russia he wouldn't even have noticed his passport being deactivated, and if he wanted to go to China, he would have went to Shenzhen from Hong Kong instead of going to Russia first.
  - 2OEH8eoCRo0 3y ago
    https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-assange-smeared-his-feces-on-ecuadorian-embassys-walls-president-says/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/wikileaks-assange-smeared-his-f... Maybe they were tired of him smearing shit on the walls of their embassy.
    - kobalsky 3y ago
      don't you find it too convenient that the journalist the US want to annihilate happens to be a poop-smearing rapist ungrateful douchebag?
  - anticensor 3y ago
    > . If he wanted to stay in Russia he wouldn't even have noticed his passport being deactivated, Unlike the US, Russia requires one to carry an ID.
    - int_19h 3y ago
      In theory, it does. In practice, pretty nobody actually does this, because it's largely unenforced, and on the other hand, nobody wants to lose their internal passport and have to go through the headache of replacing it. Losing your international passport as a non-citizen would be even worse.
    - sudosysgen 3y ago
      A cop on the street isn't going to check whether your passport was or wasn't revoked (and in fact simply can't). You would only notice that at the airport. And he did in fact claim that he noticed this in the airport, when trying to leave Russia.
- Shekelphile 3y ago
  It’s actually worse than that. He was forced there by Sarah Harrison and Assange.

DiogenesKynikos 3y ago

In hindsight, fleeing to Russia was a good choice, even if it wasn't Snowden's intention. Snowden said he was trying to get to Ecuador, but the Ecuadorian government would have handed him over to the US for the right price, just like they did with Assange. EU countries are too cozy with the US, and would never have given him asylum. In fact, when the US thought Snowden might be on the President of Bolivia's plane, it got a bunch of EU countries to deny overflight, forcing the Bolivian President to land and submit to a search of his plane. Snowden's only realistic option was to seek shelter in a large, powerful country with a poor relationship with the US.

johngladtj 3y ago
This. Anyone trying to argue against Snowden because he went to Russia or china is quite frankly childish