BREAKING: Putin: Snowden in Transit Zone of Moscow Airport, Russia Will Not Extradite Him.

[Hissyspit]

Source: Associated Press

@AP: BREAKING: Putin: Snowden is in transit zone of Moscow airport, Russia will not extradite him.

@Reuters: Edward Snowden is a free man, and the sooner he chooses a destination the better: Russia's Putin #breaking

@Reuters: Putin says Russia security agencies "never worked with [Edward Snowden] and are not working with him today" #breaking

PUTIN SAYS NO TO US REQUEST TO EXTRADITE SNOWDEN

By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
— Jun. 25 11:00 AM EDT

NAANTALI, Finland (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin says that National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is in the transit zone of a Moscow airport and will not be extradited to the United States.

Putin said that Snowden hasn't crossed the Russian border and is free to go anywhere.

Speaking on a visit to Finland Tuesday, he added that Russian security agencies "didn't work and aren't working" with Snowden. He gave no more details.

Commenting on a U.S. request to extradite him, Putin said that Russia doesn't have an extradition agreement with the U.S. and thus wouldn't meet the U.S. request.

Read more: http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nsa-leakers-global-flight-appears-stalled-now

[Purveyor]

1. Thank you Vlad. eom

[BeyondGeography]

2. That's not what many of these people said

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia

[Purveyor]

8. And I suppose it is a good time to reference Bradley Manning? eom

[BeyondGeography]

11. I'm sure Russian soldiers who leak secret documents are treated much better

You do have a point there.

[Ash_F]

44. Yeah they actually have rules against prolonged solitary confinement. /nt

[caseymoz]

21. Yeah, but he is doing right here.

Even evil people do right things occasionally.

[Daemonaquila]

30. Love his quote.

Putin's quote on the media's questions on extradition and imprisonment: "In any case, I would like not to deal with such issues because it is like shearing a pig: there's lots of squealing and little fleece." I wish a certain POTUS would talk that way sometimes when faced with dumb questions...

[East Coast Pirate]

43. That's a keeper for my sig.

[truth2power]

63. "...lots of squealing and little fleece". Putin does have a way with words...

Good for him!

About time someone stood up to the schoolyard bully.



edit> I mis-typed that...It's squealing, not shearing.

[go west young man]

84. Check out what the Chinese had to say.

"In a sense, the United States has gone from a 'model of human rights' to 'an eavesdropper on personal privacy', the 'manipulator' of the centralised power over the international internet, and the mad 'invader' of other countries' networks," the People's Daily said.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Putin: Russia will not extradite Edward Snowden

Vladimir Putin has said that Russia will not extradite Edward Snowden. The Russian President added that Snowden has committed no crime in Russia, and hoped that the case will not damage Russian relations with the United States.

http://www.itv.com/news/update/2013-06-25/putin-russia-will-not-extradite-edward-snowden/

That's it - from minutes ago.

Russia's President says former NSA contractor Edward Snowden is still in the transit zone of Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport. Vladimir Putin says that any accusations of Russia related to Snowden are "nonsense and rubbish."

Speaking to journalists in Finland, Putin said that there is no extradition treaty between Russia and the US. He also said that Snowden did not commit any crime on the territory of Russia.

"Snowden is a free person. The sooner he chooses his final destination, the better it is for him and Russia," Putin said.

He also expressed hope that the Snowden saga would not have any effect on business relations between Russia and the US.

http://rt.com/news/putin-snowden-moscow-extradition-220/

The US whistleblower Edward Snowden is in Moscow airport and Russia will not extradite him, President Vladimir Putin has said.

http://news.sky.com/story/1107989/putin-russia-will-not-extradite-snowden

[caseymoz]

25. I suppose he has a brand-spanking new passport.

Probably a different identity, and probably he's being routed incognito to a country unknown, because if there's one thing every country in the world is agreeing about now is that the US is a bunch of dicks.

I doubt he'll be in Ecuador.

[bunnies]

4. KGB Putin.

Champion of freedom.

[Hissyspit]

6. CIA Extraordinary Rendition.

Champion of Freedom.

[bunnies]

12. Silly me.

I thought this thread was about Putin.

[Hissyspit]

13. It is.

[bunnies]

15. So what are you saying?

Tit for tat?

[wtmusic]

49. Not tit for tat. Hyprocrisy.

[bunnies]

51. same thing in this case.

no?

[michigandem58]

5. Russia and China: bastions of a free press

Amazing some of the folks becoming heroes now. Putin?

[Hissyspit]

7. Who said Putin is a hero?

[Renew Deal]

9. Palin was going on about how great of a guy Snowden is yesterday.

[okaawhatever]

33. Hey, she can see Russia from her front porch, should we ask her to look and see where

he is?

[Renew Deal]

37. lol

[dipsydoodle]

10. Changing the subject of the OP isn't constructive.

.

[michigandem58]

18. Putin said Snowden was a free man

I find that pretty hypocritical.

[Historic NY]

100. He is free to leave the country, but not to leave the airport...

w/o a legal passport they won't process him. I guess he can become the new Merhan Karimi Nasseri living in the airport.

[Major Hogwash]

24. Well, then I won't mention . . .

. . . Senator Larry Craig, a huge homophobic Republican Senator from Idaho, was caught tapping toes in a restroom at an airport in Minneapolis.

And I have been here for 10 years.
I came back after the 2004 debacle to talk about Senator Larry Craig's arrest.

[xiamiam]

16. oh and the us..bastion of free press?

[michigandem58]

19. Imperfect, but far more so, yes n/t

[xiamiam]

32. i dont know how you believe that given the very issues surrounding snowden

whistleblowers, and the msm coverage of this and anything else. There was a time when we could say that but unfortunately, its no longer true.

[okaawhatever]

36. In the annual Reporters Without Borders free press report America is

ranked 32 out of a possible 179 countries. Cuba and China are in the bottom 10 with Russia at 148. By unbiased standards, yes.

Rank
32 United States 18,22 +15 (47)
119 Ecuador 34,69 -15 (104)
148 Russia 43,42 -6 (142)
171 Cuba 71,64 -4 (167)
173 China 73,07 +1 (174)
174 Iran 73,40 +1 (175)

[Lugal Zaggesi]

48. Nothing like unbiased Western criticism, based in France,

to point out to the Third and Second and Fourth World how much they suck.

In 2007 John Rosenthal argued that RWB showed a bias in favor of European countries. In the 2009 article about RWB and Venezuela cited above, Salim Lamrani stated that "RSF is not an organization that defends freedom of the press, but is an obscure entity with a political agenda precisely commissioned to discredit through all possible means the progressive governments in the world that find themselves on the United States’ blacklist."

According to Observatoire de l'Action Humanitaire (Centre for Humanitarian Action), ever since Robert Ménard was replaced by Jean-François Julliard in September 2008, RWB has been concerned with violations of press freedom not only in "third-world dictatorships" but also in developed countries like France. Through widening its geographical scope, RWB aims at countering accusations of overly focusing on left-wing regimes unfriendly to the US.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reporters_Without_Borders#Overemphasis_on_.22third-world_dictatorships.22.2C_bias_in_favor_of_Europe_and_the_U.S.

Say, good news - RWB is trying to become more objective.
Let's see how it turns out, in a few years.

[okaawhatever]

57. Transparency International and other orgs pretty much say the same thing. nt

[Hissyspit]

71. We're #32!

Shouldn't we be #1? In the Top Ten?

[okaawhatever]

73. That would definately be better, but we'll have to go back to the fairness doctrine,

stop multinationals from owning all media outlets, and stop foreigners from owning our media sources. I'm all for it.

[Starboard Tack]

88. That's your solution to a "Free Press"?

"stop multinationals from owning all media outlets, and stop foreigners from owning our media sources."

You have a strange concept of "freedom of the press".

Maybe you could name these "multinationals" who own "all media outlets". Who are these "foreigners" you refer to?

[Lugal Zaggesi]

101. The Big 6 Corporations

who control over 90% of what Americans read, watch or listen to are:

NewsCorp
Disney
Viacom
Time-Warner
CBS
Comcast

NewsCorp was founded by Rupert Murdoch, an Australian who bought his American citizenship in a couple weeks, so he could get around the laws prohibiting foreigners from owning a certain number of TV stations and newspapers in the same bigcity markets.

http://www.businessinsider.com/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6

American mainstream media isn't "sympathetic" to large corporations in American life.
American mainstream media IS large corporations.

[Starboard Tack]

107. I don't consider any of those to be credible news organizations.

They are entertainment companies who package their own sanitized versions of selective news items for mass consumption.
Anyone truly interested in what is happening in the world would not be wasting time with NewsCorp et al.
Nobody "controls" what Americans watch except those who watch. I sat in front of a friend's TV last week and tried to find something interesting to watch (DISH Network, full package). After an hour of channel surfing, I gave up. Couldn't find any of the stuff I normally watch because there was no regular antenna attached. That's all I use and receive 20+ PBS and independent channels, like KCET, which provides the news from multiple sources. Fortunately, most of those sources are foreign, which helps with objectivity.

[Lugal Zaggesi]

109. And yet if 90% of Americans

get their "news" from these entertainment companies,
it has a real effect on politics, foreign policy and how Americans as a country prepare for the challenges of the 21st century.

It doesn't matter how smart 10% of the country is, if 90% can be tricked into supporting an avoidable War that leads to Disaster.

[Starboard Tack]

111. Correct! But they don't have to, they choose to.

Same way they choose to buy everything, especially food, neatly packaged and palatable and vacuum sealed. I doubt many folk watch national and international news on network tv anymore. I could be wrong. But hey, if they watch The Daily Show and Colbert, too, then they'll get the other side of Fox with better real info along with some great satire.

[caseymoz]

26. That doesn't matter.

They're still not giving him back whether they're heroes or not. They regard him as a hero. About this, I'm on their side.

[michigandem58]

27. The Putin regime is releasing him

because they're excited about him striking a blow for freedom in America? Surely you don't believe that.

They're helping him because they're all for anything that compromises our intellegence.

[caseymoz]

34. No, you don't get it, and don't know why we're screwed.

The NSA surveillance program was aimed at mostly at other countries, remember? Other countries worldwide are grateful that he exposed major spying against their citizens and governments. And all of Europe feels the same way.

Have a look if you doubt it:

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/06/23/1218102/-US-NSA-Accused-of-Criminal-Privacy-Violations-in-Dozens-of-Nations-Snowden-Blowback

We haven't seen any of this in the US press (just as we saw none of the initial scandal when Antisec found 12 million profiles from people worldwide on an FBI computer) but the US is horribly screwed now. And it's not because of Snowden; it's because of our stupid, arrogant intelligence agencies and the Bush and Obama administrations, with a special award for Dick "The Dick" Cheney who was the prime mover behind this surveillance apparatus.

Added on Edit: As evidence of this, did you notice how he "disappeared" somewhere between Moscow and Cuba? That itinerary was a misdirection after our government pulled his passport. You don't do that without help from multiple governments. We're not seeing the guy again. And if you think that's not humiliating to us, you just watch how fast our government tries to change the subject.

[Civilization2]

40. People of the world grow tired of the antics of the USofA. esp. spying and manipulations of them!

Thanks, I was board with all the lame comments,. yours has facts, and it right on point!

[caseymoz]

103. One of the worst things we did

. . . was leave organizations like the CIA and NSA in place after the end of the Cold War. The were PR nightmares during it. To let them go on with the same old antics afterward is stupid. They were bound to find ways to expand their salaries and payrolls without any of the discipline an enemy like the USSR provided.

Hey, welcome to DU.

Are you a Civilization fan?

[anobserver2]

108. re: "We're not seeing the guy again" - I agree

re: "We're not seeing the guy again"

I agree. I do not believe we are going to see Edward Snowden again, as my gut just tells me no one wants to let him go,
and in about two months, we will probably be fed some poppycock story of how he had a heart attack or something and died
of stress waiting in the airport for a decision on his asylum application to whatever countries.

What I would like to know is this:

1) If he is really at the Moscow airport, why doesn't someone from the US go there and try to talk to him? (Because he's not really anywhere near the airport in Moscow, is my guess.)

2) When was the last time Wikileaks talked to him? Or to the woman and lawyer that were with him?

3) How many days has it been since anyone has talked to any one of the three - Snowden, the female Wikileaks lawyer, or the
male lawyer?

I am guessing we will never hear from any one of them again, I am sorry to say. But that is my gut feeling. This is already over for Snowden is what I am sensing. Again, I am sorry to say that, but that's how I feel.

[caseymoz]

110. You misunderstand. I don't believe they're going to kill him

I believe he'll be given the informal international equivalent of the witness protection program. Really, other countries owe him a debt. He has a new passport and his asylum to Ecuador was a deception. There's nothing sad about what's going to happen to Snowden.

As for the two lawyers, at least one of them surfaced today to say they're not representing him.

No, I don't think he's dead, and it doesn't look like Putin is treating him as anything like a spy. I don't think after three months on the job he had much more information other than what he's already turned over. It's funny how he disappeared on the way to that plane to Cuba.

So far, it looks like it's exactly what I predicted. There's been a lot of news these last few days, but I think the entire US government is going to try to switch the subject away from him and try to pretend this never happened. Nobody's saying where Snowden is, and bringing him up anymore is just going to be more internationally embarrassing.

I'm afraid they might try to go after Greenwald, though. See if they can get Snowden to surface.

[bemildred]

47. Correct, Putin doesn't need to do anything, he can just stand back and watch.

And that is why he wants nothing to do with Snowden.

[Ash_F]

45. RT is an amazing news agency. check them out. /nt

[wtmusic]

50. Your freedom scale needs some calibration.

The only hero here is Snowden.

[avaistheone1]

56. Can't be said that the US is the bastion of the free press either.

[phleshdef]

61. Bullshit. What DOESN'T the press get away with reporting in this country, whether it be true or not?

We have our problems, but all in all, we still very much have a free press.

[wtmusic]

64. If the owners of our news organizations didn't have profound conflicts of interest

you might be able to call our press "free".

Whether it's a legal conflict or a monetary one hardly matters.

[phleshdef]

66. You are mischaracterizing our situation.

Yes, there are a big corporate interests that own some really big media organizations. And then there are media organizations that aren't owned by big corporate interests. And then there are some in between. Theres a LOT of media in this country and it comes in all flavors.

[wtmusic]

68. The voice of the big corporate interests is proportionately louder

and proportionately more influential.

Media consolidation is at unprecedented levels and is in direct correlation with the number of influential viewpoints available to the public.

FCC relax of media ownership ban draws fire

"A battle over media ownership rules is heating up. So much so that the Federal Communications Commission has tossed the hot potato issue until next year.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski last month circulated a proposal that would relax a ban that prevents the owner of a television broadcast station from also owning a newspaper in the same town or city.

On Tuesday, amid criticism from a public interest group and the Hill, the FCC said it would take more comments on the issue, which would push a vote on Genachowski’s proposal to January at the earliest."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-tech/post/fcc-relax-of-media-ownership-ban-draws-fire/2012/12/05/729dfafe-3e56-11e2-a2d9-822f58ac9fd5_blog.html

[phleshdef]

70. Yes, I'm full on board with the notion that we have a problem there...

...but that does not equate to "not having a free press". People can still report pretty much whatever they want to report. Pundits can give whatever opinion they pretty much want to give. Whether or not the people that pay them to do so are in agreement with what they are saying/reporting is not really a factor as far as that goes... everyone has a boss.

[caseymoz]

102. What about the justice department tapping AP?

That is, secretly pulling phone records on AP to find out who leaked to them?

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/govt-obtains-wide-ap-phone-records-probe

AP has said that sources are refusing to to talk to them.

What about the pursuit of Julian Assange and his "house arrest" at the Ecuador embassy? And the way financial institutions have collaborated with our government to shut down Wikileaks?

What about the threats by some government officials to prosecute Glen Greenwald.

People are in denial. The press is under attack. So far, they've been somewhat subtle, though with Assange it was in no way subtle.

[truth2power]

67. 'Remove the mote from thine own eye' comes to mind. The US has NO right

to cast aspersions on any other country about human rights abuses.

We have BECOME what we once claimed to abhor.

[GliderGuider]

83. What does this have to do with whether Russia or China have a free press?

It has to do with the disclosure that the US intelligence establishment is (apparently illegally, but certainly without oversight) "reading the world's mail". If such a disclosure had been made by a Chinese party organ, I'd wonder about motive. As it is, whether or not China or Russia have a free press is utterly immaterial.

[populistdriven]

92. Why don't you start a new OP titled:

How is it that an American like Snowden could become so indoctrinated in Socialism without attending an American university?

[MjolnirTime]

14. It's amazing. It only took Edward Snowden for the Libertarian Left to ally themselves with China

and Russia.

I guess anything's game when you are willing to burn down the house because it's not ideal enough.

[leftynyc]

28. Pretty fucking disgusting, isn't it

The alignment of Snowden/Glenn Beck/Russia and China is making me nauseous. The first comment thanks the former head of the KGB - that bastion of freedom. I'm really starting to consider that after more than a decade, this place is seriously not for me.

[iamthebandfanman]

58. you arent the only one. n/t

[ForgoTheConsequence]

75. Oh?

So that means you're aligned with Lindsay Graham and John Boehner?

[leftynyc]

76. I'm not aligned with anyone

because I think the NSA is out of control and the patriot act is an abomination. But I felt that way long before I knew snowden's name. Snowden is a criminal who I think was used by Greenwald for his own purposes. What side does that put me on?

[ForgoTheConsequence]

77. You tell me.

You're the one telling people who they're aligned with and throwing a little hissy fit.

[leftynyc]

80. You call this a hissy fit?

You ain't seen nothing yet. And frankly, if I heard Glenn Beck agreed with me about something, I would seriously reconsider my position. Running to China and Russia to escape a totalitarian society is a whole other joke.

[ForgoTheConsequence]

81. He was in Hong Kong.

You would be wise to read up on the differences between Hong Kong and mainland China.


That being said you seem to want it both ways. I'm sure you and Lindsay Graham will figure something out though.

[leftynyc]

87. LOL - you purists are hysterical

If you don't think China was pulling the strings (and now has all the info in their hands), you're delusional. What you don't seem to understand is I don't want anything one way or the other - I've already explained that I think the NSA and Snowden both suck - you seem confounded by that. Lindsay is perfectly happy with the behavior of the NSA so I have no idea what you're babbling about.

[caseymoz]

29. Ally?

Exaggerating a bit there for smear effect? They owe him a major debt and they know it. Most of the world knows this, too, and they're behind Russia and China.

Snowden will disappear. The US canceled his passport, so I think Putin has issued him a brand-spanking new one along with a new identity. Nobody is going to tell the US where he is.

Even Satan can't avoid doing good once a century or so, and saying that doesn't make anyone an ally.

[treestar]

35. No kidding.

It is way beyond ridiculous.

[wtmusic]

52. Fuck that.

If you think extraoardinary rendition, torture, and indefinite detention trump what those countries have to offer, I'd like to hear why.

Russia invaded Chechnya; the U.S. invaded Iraq and killed hundreds of thousands more. Try taking a fresh look at your country without the Go, USA! blinders on.

[iamthebandfanman]

59. Should take your own advice about blinders ..

just flip them inside out for your use.

the united states is not the devil you want it to be.

sure, theres a lot in this country to be upset about right now...
but you seriously want to compare our history over the last 100 years to Russias?

really?

that easy to ignore the past for a lil sanctimonious self righteous feelings now eh ?

now go on.. tell me how I wish snowden was dead or how I love living in a police state.. or some other silly over reaction that makes no sense but sure seems to make ya feel better..

[wtmusic]

60. No, throwing Stalin into the mix is overreaction.

Still waiting for your justification of rendition, torture, and indefinite detention.

Somehow not expecting the "Constitutional scholar" version.

[iamthebandfanman]

69. lol, you dont have to use stalin.

putin himself will do just fine..

hadn't noticed him making himself leader for life eh ?

hadn't noticed he has pretty much complete control over all the government functions in Russia eh ?

guess the history of the last 10 years in Russia escapes you :p

[wtmusic]

86. Ah, so we're back to the last decade.

Still waiting on your justification of rendition, torture, and indefinite detention. Oops, add unlimited spying to the list.

You feel these pale in comparison to Putin making himself leader for life, do you? I suppose if you were tortured your opinion might vary.

[iamthebandfanman]

89. Ah, so were back to making accusations.

i never said i was defending those actions.. so why would i attempt to justify them? you just keep assuming that's what im attempting to do.. apparently.

the only thing i have a problem with , is the implied sentiment that the united states is no better than Russia and china... which is false.
even with the things you mentioned,
as both said countries have actively participated in those practices and gone FAR BEYOND them...
again, when was the last time you saw someone thrown into a remote prison where nobody can find or talk to you simply for playing a rock song in a church??
how about being jailed and put into a labor education program at 70 years old because you dared to apply for an application to demonstrate?

yeah, tell me again how we are no better off?
cause you seem to be implying we are the same.

again, nobody is trying to justify the things you've listed...
just tear apart your notion that the united states has nothing better to offer versus china and Russia.

so again, care to tell me how much better Russia and china are compared to the united states over the last 100 years ?
please , im asking you to explain to me why you feel we have nothing better to offer given both countries long history of human rights abuses and political suppression and oppression.
heck, you can be jailed in china just for saying something negative about the government AT ALL over the internet.
if we all lived in china, this website wouldn't exist.. and if it did wed all be considered enemy number one and sought after on the daily.

if snowden had been caught doing what hes accused of here in Russia or china.. you wouldn't be seeing him on the TV box.. because he never would have made it out of country knowing what he knows :p

ill keep using the word 'again' until you come to grips with what im asking you and stop trying to pretend im in favor of the practices you've listed and therefor need to justify them.

while we are more repressed than weve been in a while, it still fails in comparison to the heavy handed oppression they commit daily. im sorry.

[wtmusic]

94. I never told you in the first place we were "no better off".

I never told you "how much better Russia and china are compared to the united states over the last 100 years".

I never told you "we have nothing better to offer given both countries."

etc etc.

These are all products of your kneejerk pseudopatriotic jingoistic defense reflex.

[truth2power]

72. Ho hum. It's all so trivial....

War crimes, extraordinary rendition, torture, bankster criminality ignored, homelessness, 76% of working people living paycheck to paycheck (according to one source I can't retrieve right now), people drowning in debt for the rest of their lives just because they went to college, and on and on.

Yes, it's not ideal enough. <sigh>

Oh, and your strawman is showing.

[kyeshinka]

17. A Moscow airport?

Which one? Vnukovo, Sheremyetevo 2, Domodyedovo? Hope it's not Sheremyetevo 2. I've been stuck there overnight and it gets really creepy and it's freaking $70 bucks to the center. And if you're a nonsmoker, best of luck to you.

[steve2470]

23. Sheremyetevo nt

[steve2470]

20. key part of Putin statement: Snowden...was free to leave and should do so as soon as possible"

http://news.yahoo.com/putin-says-snowden-russian-airport-signals-no-extradition-150034502.html

The leaving asap part, hmm....... Curious he would say that.

Exact quote:

"He is a transit passenger in the transit zone and is still there now.... Mr Snowden is a free man. The sooner he selects his final destination point, the better both for us and for himself,'' Mr Putin told a news conference in Finland, emphasising that Russia has no extradition agreement with the United States.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/technology/putin-snowden-in-moscow-airport-transit/story-e6frfro0-1226669883412#ixzz2XF2dO3fY

[michigandem58]

22. The Putin regime has murdered numerous journalists

Interesting indeed.

[MrMickeysMom]

31. I wonder how many journalists we've murdered?

I wonder how many journalists have had their Mercedes blow up upon speeding into a palm tree?

[Civilization2]

41. Nice ;) sadly these supporters of any atrocity as long as a 'Dem' is in power can not see facts!

I am amazed at the blinders some folks choose to ware,. nationalism mixed with party hackary is pathetic.

[michigandem58]

55. There are murdered journalists we just don't know it!

But we know it! Or something.

[phleshdef]

62. I'm sure its proportional to the number that drove like maniacs in said Mercedes.

[truth2power]

74. Touché

[MrMickeysMom]

91. Were that the case...

... I think Mercedes Benz would be having a shit fit over the safety of that Mercedes-Benz C 250 model. I don't see this.

You'd have to want to follow the logic to consider in comparative terms whether one drives unbelievable speeds because he is freaked out over something, or wants to kill himself over something, or is driving at a rate of exponential acceleration for some other reason.

But I'm asking questions as opposed to assuming the answer is "proportional to the number that drove like maniacs."

Which one of us is questioning, based on reason?

[phleshdef]

95. Fifty-seven percent of fatal vehicle fires are the result of a collision.

He collided with a tree. There were witnesses and theres video of him driving like a maniac through a red light. Mercedes Benz has nothing to worry about... because they don't advertise the notion that you can drive one of their cars like a bat out of hell and straight into a tree and not have really bad things happen to you.

Aside from that, I can't make sense out of the rest of what you just said.

[MrMickeysMom]

96. There was only one eye witness...

... so, aside from that, don't let any other facts or questions get in the way of your theory and be sure and link any videos that make your rock solid theory.

[Civilization2]

99. yeah, no one has ever manipulated a car to accelerate and not brake,. sure.

people just drive into trees all the time., right after they have said people are after them, due to a "big story" that they are about to break. yup, makes perfect sense.

[treestar]

65. What BS

[MrMickeysMom]

93. Which part?

I'm wonder who is full of it here.

[treestar]

97. The part where you try to equate us with the Russians

and claim that our government has ever murdered a journalist.

[MrMickeysMom]

98. That claim equates all humans as being sentient, and led astray...

Do the limits of being human only present themselves in Russia?

If you think no one was ever murdered in any level of law enforcement for standing up to something like, say, lynching, you've got to open your eyes more...

I don't put it past ANY ONE to have turned a dead eye to, or to have murdered or purposely endangered the lives of journalist, or outed people like Valerie Plame because of some fucking ideology.

You might take a moment and either familiarize yourself with events that demonstrate this, or get that nose ring removed. I feel I"m giving you good advice. If you don't consider what we are CAPABLE OF, you're on your way to be led around to believe anyone arguing against you is, "unAmerican"... So, then, here there go - another "red scare"...

[kyeshinka]

39. Russia doesn't change

No more journalists have been killed on Putin's watch than on Yeltsin's. They still haven't closed the book on Dmitry Kholodov (and they won't) or more than three dozen killed during the White House seige of 1993. The monument behind the Federation building is really sad--many of those journalists were in their 20s. So while it's appropriate to attack Putin, let's remember that Yeltsin was no saint, either, and mafia wars killed a lot of people in the 90s. It may have been worse than in the czarist days when writers were expected to off each other in duels, like Pushkin. I suppose that was more chivalrous--the ONLY way a proud Russian muzhik should go.

[wtmusic]

53. The murder rate in Russia is worse than Mexico.

5th worst in the world.

Journalists make enemies, and in a fairly lawless society retribution is enacted. Without denying that Putin was behind some of the murders, a more accurate description would be that "Numerous journalists have been murdered while Putin was in power."

[Lugal Zaggesi]

104. Mexico was worse as of the end of 2012

As was India, and Colombia.

Say, isn't Mexico and Colombia nice friends and trading partners with the USA ?

http://listverse.com/2012/12/13/top10-deadliest-countries-for-journalists/

[wtmusic]

105. From your own list: Russia had twice as many murders as Mexico.

Look again.

[bemildred]

38. So Putin intends to punt like China. nt

[Politicub]

46. Next up - Snowden lands in North Korea

What a patriot! He's so awesome. Can't wait to see how else he fucks us over. I brought the lube.

It will be dreamy and more important than anything else like the gutting of the voting rights act. Tee hee.

/sarc

[Myrina]

54. He just wants us to send Sister Sarah peeking over the horizon to visit him ...

... now that he's a single man and all ...

[still_one]

78. he deserves Russia and vice versa

[tarheelsunc]

79. Oh how the times have changed: Now Americans openly root for and support Putin. eom

[dipsydoodle]

82. BREAKING - The White House has asked Russia to expel Snowden immediately,

see Guardian live updates :

7 minutes ago :

The White House has asked Russia to expel Snowden immediately, saying Moscow has a "clear legal basis" to do so, Reuters reports:

White House National Security Council spokeswoman Caitlin Hayden said the legal bases for expelling Snowden are the status of his travel documents and the pending charges against him.

"Accordingly, we are asking the Russian government to take action to expel Mr Snowden without delay and to build upon the strong law enforcement cooperation we have had, particularly since the Boston Marathon bombing," she said.

Earlier Russian president Vladimir Putin said Snowden would not be expelled. “He arrived as a transit passenger – he didn’t need a visa, or other documents,” Putin said.

Putin went on to suggest, apparently in high irony given his brutal handling of Russian dissenters, that it would not be right to hand over Snowden due to his status as a "human rights activist.":

“Assange and Snowden consider themselves human rights activists and say they’re fighting for the spread of information,” Putin said. “Ask yourself this: should you hand these people over so they’ll be put in prison?”

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/25/edward-snowden-russia

Not sure if the WH is deaf or iliiterate given Putin made this perfectly clear earlier. Cuba has a good literacy program.

[Ash_F]

85. "strong law enforcement cooperation" ?

You mean how they tried to warn us and our police ignored it because...

And then a bunch of people were maimed/killed?



Sorry our, mostly Republican with accompanying placative Dem, legislators were too busy trying to figure out how to best circumvent our own constitution behind our backs. That is way more successful then actually following through on reports from the terrorists' own friends/family who are usually trying to turn them in.

[Earth_First]

90. Now is the time!

Trade Snowden for the Superbowl ring!

[DallasNE]

106. Putin Already Has Both

So how would this trade work?