Why he wanted to leave Russia a country that took him ? Maybe Russia does not want him anymore and he saw the double game of Snowden ? Why he does not asks asylum in Islandia or another more free country? Is he trying to say that "Russia is not a good country"? Or tell us that France is not good at all because they will not take him? But we know that France is a vassal of USA.
Maybe, the word "intelligence" should be avoided - when referring to Snowden? He's not helping his position, by making a complete fool out of himself?
Snowden says Russia is only country with foreign policy independent enough to shelter him
The whistleblower said the fact that he regularly criticizes the Russian government demonstrates that he was not recruited by Moscow.
Edward Snowden © Pavel Smertin/TASS
September 18. /TASS/. Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden, who fled to Russia after exposing a mass surveillance scheme of the US government, believes that of all European countries, only Russia’s foreign policy is independent enough to grant him an asylum.
"I think it’s interesting, a little bit sad and a lot more instructional that in all of Europe there seems to be only one country whose foreign policy is independent enough that the American whistleblower can still be heard," he said during a video linkup broadcast live by Germany's Zeit Online. "We should not see the protection of whistleblowers as an adversarial action."
Snowden asked rhetorically, why no other government "in the whole of Europe, a long-term ally and friend of the United States" has ever said that protecting whistleblowers is something that can at least be considered.
"Protecting those people [whistleblowers] is not something that can be even considered, it’s not a conversation that we can have, because we fear that the United States intelligence services might share not as much information, or there might be some form of retaliation," he said.
The whistleblower said the fact that he regularly criticizes the Russian government demonstrates that he was not recruited by Moscow.
In 2013, Snowden released information on methods of electronic surveillance of American intelligence services, including illegal tapping of foreign leaders’ talks. Fleeing from prosecution, Snowden sent requests for asylum to some countries, including Russia. On August 1, 2014, he received residence permit in Russia for three years, which was later prolonged for another three years.
Snowden says Moscow winters help him remain anonymous
A hat and a scarf are of help, the former NSA staffer says.
Edward Snowden © EPA/SVEIN OVE EKORNESVAAG
September 17, 2019 - In his memoir "Permanent Record," former US National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden, who received asylum in Russia, says that Moscow winters make it easier for him to remain anonymous.
"Whenever I go outside, I try to change my appearance a bit. Maybe I get rid of my beard, maybe I wear different glasses. I never liked the cold until I realized that a hat and a scarf provide the world’s most convenient and inconspicuous anonymity," Snowden writes in his memoir published on Tuesday. "I change the rhythm and pace of my walk, and, contrary to the sage advice of my mother, I look away from traffic when crossing the street, which is why I’ve never been caught on any of the car dashcams that are ubiquitous here."
"I used to worry about the bus and the metro, but nowadays, everybody’s too busy staring at their phones to give a second glance," Snowden said. "If I take a cab, I’ll have it pick me up at a bus or metro stop a few blocks away from where I live and drop me off at an address a few blocks away from where I’m going," he added.
Sep 19 2019
- EVERYONE Is on List: Snowden Says No ‘Innocents’ in Mass Surveillance World
Asked if buying his memoir would get one on a spy list, NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden chillingly replied that everyone in the world is on the “list” and there are no innocents in the age of mass surveillance.
Responding to a reader who joked that buying Snowden’s book ‘Permanent Record’ might have put him on a list of people to be spied on, the exiled former intelligence contractor said in all seriousness that everyone is being spied on regardless, RT reported.
“Systems of mass surveillance strive to record all people, in all places, at all times. The question is no longer ‘Am I on the list?’ it is ‘What's my rank on the list?’,” Snowden tweeted on Wednesday.
The former NSA and CIA contractor became a household name in 2013, when he revealed the extent of surveillance by the ‘Five Eyes’ network of US and its allies. He fled to Hong Kong ahead of being charged with espionage and eventually found asylum in Russia.
The US government reacted to the publication of his memoir by filing a civil lawsuit seeking to confiscate all proceeds from it, on grounds that it violates his nondisclosure agreement with the NSA and the CIA. This only helped the book become an instant best-seller.
Snowden has repeatedly made the case that everyone is being spied on regardless of whether they were actually engaged in any wrongdoing.
“Arguing that you don't care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don't care about free speech because you have nothing to say,” he stated during a discussion on Reddit in May 2015.
