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So Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, called a member of the human rights delegation today and asked her to pass on to the message to Snowden that he

So Michael McFaul, the US ambassador to Russia, called a member of the human rights delegation today and asked her to pass on to the message to Snowden that he is not considered a whistleblower [1]. This is deliciously ironic timing -- just yesterday, the US Embassy in Russia released a statement condemning the posthumous conviction of tax fraud whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky [2]. [1] https://twitter.com/RyanLizza/statuses/355704161536450562 https://twitter.com/RyanLizza/statuses/355704161536450562 [2] http://moscow.usembassy.gov/pr_071113.html http://moscow.usembassy.gov/pr_071113.html

fixxer 13y ago
I find this administration so infuriating. They are truly living down to my expectations.
- phaus 13y ago
  It's not this administration or the last administration. It's almost all politicians. The next time we have an election, we will get to pick a new one out of a pool of several hundred people who are almost universally just like Obama, Bush, and all the rest. As a whole, American voters have a really short memory. After 8 years of one party running the country into the ground, they will gladly elect a member of the other party, and then repeat the cycle after another 8 years of the same. The worst part is that while even a bad plan can achieve marginal success, completely changing course every eight years guarantees failure.
  - fixxer 13y ago
    That might be true, but where the hell are all the "Bush is a nazi" idiots now? It strikes me as very quiet on the left... do they not realize Cheney's vision is alive and well in Obama's house?
    - graedus 13y ago
      Because a big chunk of what we once might have thought of as the "left" in the US are really just cheerleaders for the blue team, without paying any attention to actual policy. Of the remainder, a lot of people seem to buy the narrative that Obama's hands are in some sense tied, or believe that his judgement should be trusted and that he has our best interests at heart etc etc.
    - eli 13y ago
      Still around http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler-interrupts-obama-drone-speech-164687.html http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler...
      - fixxer 13y ago
        Refreshing; thanks for that.
irishcoffee 13y ago
I do not think he is considered a whistle-blower. I think he is considered a traitor.
- eli 13y ago
  I don't know about traitor, but clearly a fugitive and not legally qualified for US whistleblower protection.

fixxer 13y ago

I find this administration so infuriating. They are truly living down to my expectations.

phaus 13y ago
It's not this administration or the last administration. It's almost all politicians. The next time we have an election, we will get to pick a new one out of a pool of several hundred people who are almost universally just like Obama, Bush, and all the rest. As a whole, American voters have a really short memory. After 8 years of one party running the country into the ground, they will gladly elect a member of the other party, and then repeat the cycle after another 8 years of the same. The worst part is that while even a bad plan can achieve marginal success, completely changing course every eight years guarantees failure.
- fixxer 13y ago
  That might be true, but where the hell are all the "Bush is a nazi" idiots now? It strikes me as very quiet on the left... do they not realize Cheney's vision is alive and well in Obama's house?
  - graedus 13y ago
    Because a big chunk of what we once might have thought of as the "left" in the US are really just cheerleaders for the blue team, without paying any attention to actual policy. Of the remainder, a lot of people seem to buy the narrative that Obama's hands are in some sense tied, or believe that his judgement should be trusted and that he has our best interests at heart etc etc.
  - eli 13y ago
    Still around http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler-interrupts-obama-drone-speech-164687.html http://www.politico.com/politico44/2013/05/code-pink-heckler...
    - fixxer 13y ago
      Refreshing; thanks for that.

irishcoffee 13y ago

I do not think he is considered a whistle-blower. I think he is considered a traitor.

eli 13y ago
I don't know about traitor, but clearly a fugitive and not legally qualified for US whistleblower protection.