American and Latin American Politics, Society, and Culture
Mary O’Grady explains Why the NSA Watches Brazil
Some of the world’s least free countries are the country’s most important foreign-policy partners. Money quote:
Brazil’s best friends under the Workers’ Party of Ms. Rousseff and her predecessor, Lula da Silva, are Cuba, Iran and Venezuela. If U.S. spooks are not paying attention to Brazil, they’re not paying attention.
Dilma has plenty of baggage, too.
Brazil senate committee to probe US spying
Brazil’s senate has formed an Investigative Parliamentary Commission to follow up on reports that the US National Security Agency (NSA) spied on Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
…
The committee, comprising 11 main members and seven substitutes, initially has 180 days to investigate claims that the NSA monitored emails between Rousseff and several of her top aides, and tapped her phone.
The investigative period can be extended by another 180 days if the commission needs more time.
They may also consider providing federal protection for Rio de Janeiro-based Glenn Greenwald and his partner David Miranda.
Over in Mexico, Mexico Summons U.S. Ambassador, Seeking Answers To Spying Claims
Mexico’s foreign ministry says that “alleged espionage activity involving Mexican citizens” is against international law and the charter of the United Nations.
Relations with Mexico have been strained following the Fast and Furious revelations.
UPDATE:
The Diplomad:
As I noted about the French, the Brazilians, especially, should keep quiet about espionage. They have an active intel organization which collects on foreigners and Brazilians in touch with foreigners. Whenever I was in Brazil, we always assumed our phones were tapped and, on occasion, being followed.
Chill, my Latin brothers, chill.
And no one would photograph or scan & email it?
In other Russian news,
SNOWDEN EMERGES: Accuses U.S. officials of ‘threatening behavior’…
REPORT: Has received asylum offers from Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, Ecuador — and Russia…
Commercial flight ‘best bet for ticket to asylum’…
US intel braces for more NSA exposure…
Officials fear Snowden gained access to files on spying…
Secret files show scale of Silicon Valley co-operation on Prism…
John Le Carre meets Waldo in the latest caper involving the young high school dropout whipper-snapper who left a $120,000/yr gig and a stripper girlfriend and headed to China and Russia with four, count ’em, four computers full of high-level classified information.
You can’t make up this stuff; there’s even an empty chair (in the form of a vacant airplane seat):
![[image]](http://si.wsj.net/public/resources/images/OB-XY486_SNOWSE_E_20130624072333.jpg)
Olga Razumovskaya/The Wall Street Journal
Flight attendants on a flight from Moscow to Havana said Edward Snowden, the former security contractor wanted by U.S. authorities, wasn’t on board the flight.
…
Ecuador’s foreign minister said Mr. Snowden had arrived in Russia and the Ecuadorian government has been in touch with officials about Mr. Snowden’s request for asylum in Ecuador. Diplomatic cars from Ecuador’s embassy in Russia showed up at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, and a spokeswoman for the airport confirmed that Mr. Snowden was in the transit zone.But Mr. Snowden wasn’t spotted in the airport, and no images or footage of him leaving the flight from Hong Kong surfaced. Passengers on the flight said some cars had met the airplane on the tarmac, leading to speculation that Mr. Snowden had been escorted off the flight privately.
Ecuador is cementing its reputation as a safe-haven for whistleblowers on the run, since Assange has roosted in their London embassy for a year.
Snowden is jumping from the pan into the fire, if he’s actually heading to Ecuador, a small country with such lighweight international “pull” that it hasn’t been able to get the UK to grant Assange safe passage to the airport, and more importantly, a country whose latest law,
The Communications Law that the Ecuadorian National Assembly approved on June 14, 2013, seriously undermines free speech. The law includes overly broad language that will limit the free expression of journalists and media outlets.
A country that, in effect, is turning against the culture of whistle-blowing.
The Wall Street Journal reported that “Mr. Snowden wasn’t spotted in the airport, and no images or footage of him leaving the flight from Hong Kong surfaced“. With four computers’ worth of secrets, you can bet Smiley’s people are after him.
UPDATE,
Talked about Snowden in Silvio Canto’s podcast.
Earlier today,
Life imitates the Cohen brothers (video NSFW), and Putin may have channeled J. K. Simmons:
WIRE: SNOWDEN LEAVES FOR VENEZUELA VIA RUSSIA, CUBA
Reuters says
Itar-Tass cited its source as saying Snowden would fly from Havana to the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.
Other reports name Ecuador and Iceland,
Separately, the South China Morning Post, the city’s leading English-language newspaper, said that Mr. Snowden had boarded a 10:55 a.m. flight on Sunday headed to Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport. The paper said that Moscow wasn’t his final destination, citing Ecuador and Iceland as possible destinations.
For now, it’s all a “where’s Waldo?” moment.
UPDATE,
#Russia's Interfax news agency reports Venezuelan diplomat picked Snowden up in a car on tarmac at Moscow airport. Whisked him away #NSA
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) June 23, 2013
Interfax: Snowden overnights at Venezuelan embassy. Diplomatic car from plane to embassy. Formally never steps in #Russia, so no visa needed
— Jon Williams (@WilliamsJon) June 23, 2013
If Snowden is, in fact, on his way to Venezuela, Wikileaks has a very strange notion of a “democratic country.” Freedom House, in their 2013 report on “Freedom in the World,” lists Venezuela as “partly free,” which may be a generous designation given that the internal security apparatus is run by Cubans and that “Chavista” bully boys routinely show up at opposition rallies to threaten and intimidate opponents. Snowden, who claimed he wanted to end up in a country with democratic values, could have made a better choice.
NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden headed to Hong Kong after releasing a series of sensitive documents to the Washington Post.
Hong Kong is part of China, a country that has blocked access to my blog at times. Not the most transparent place for internet communications.
Now he’s seeking asylum in Iceland, which means he’s hoping that
Kristín Árnadóttir, Icelandic ambassador to Beijing, told the South China Morning Post that Snowden needs to be in Iceland in order to apply for asylum.
So far, he’s checked out of his hotel.
Memeorandum is abuzz,
Barton Gellman / Washington Post:
Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo:
The Atlantic Online:
New York Times:
Daniel Ellsberg / Guardian:
Jia Lynn Yang / Washington Post: Guardian: Jonathan Easley / The Hill: Julian Borger / Guardian: Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:No, not them,
Us,
US intelligence chief denounces info ‘leak’…
NYT: Obama has lost all credibility…
Paper ‘quietly changes published editorial to make less damning’…
Washington Post:
Discussion: Firedoglake, Politico, Wake up America, Business Insider, The Plum Line,The Next Web, AEIdeas, ThinkProgress, Wired, Shakesville, The Week,americanthinker.com, The Hill, Wall Street Journal, The Fix, Yahoo! News, GigaOM, Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Outside the Beltway, AMERICAblog, CANNONFIRE,Daily Mail, WJLA-TV, Gawker, The Volokh Conspiracy, The PJ Tatler, CBS Denver,ABCNEWS, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, CBS News, The Verge, Booman Tribune, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch, ABCNEWS, The Gateway Pundit,Mashable, msnbc.com, TalkLeft, San Francisco Bay Guardian, The Spectacle Blog,Power Line, Daily Kos, Hit & Run, Balloon Juice and ProPublica, more at Mediagazer »
New York Times:
Guardian:
in case you missed it,
Because of the lack of distinction, it means that the phone records are not just being collected for suspected terrorists, but the company’s entire consumer base.
Meanwhile, Obama and Google swap staff
