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BRUSSELS — The European Parliament narrowly (285 vs 281 votes) adopted a nonbinding but nonetheless forceful resolution on Thursday urging the 28 nations of the European Union to recognize Edward J. Snowden as a "whistle-blower and international human rights defender" and to shield him from prosecution.
On Twitter, Mr. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked documents about electronic surveillance by the American government, called the vote a "game-changer."
But the resolution has no legal force and limited practical effect for Mr. Snowden, who is living in Russia on a three-year residency permit. Whether to grant Mr. Snowden asylum remains a decision for the individual European governments, and thus far, none have done so.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by deimtee on Sunday November 01 2015, @10:39AM
Declaring the US safe-harbor agreement no longer legal not only slaps the US government in the face, but simultaneously threatens big business in the US (who are somewhat the innocent bystanders left holding the bag). Those companies are pounding on Government desks as we speak.
If you think big business is an innocent bystander, you haven't been paying attention. The US spying uncovers much commercially valuable information that somehow makes its way to US corporations. Some companies may be innocent, but pretty much anyone with a connection to the military industrial complex is deep in bed with the spies.
That's what has really got the Euros pissed. Not that they were being spied on, everyone expects that, but that they are being commercially fucked.
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday November 01 2015, @11:06PM
Look, how can you blame Google when Armed US Marshals show up with a warrant and demand data?
How many Google employees to you expect to spend 10 years in jail to protect your email?
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.
(Score: 2) by deimtee on Monday November 02 2015, @09:54AM
We seem to be mixing levels here. I'm talking about the CEO of Lockheed-Boeing being on the golf course and finding out from his friend in the .gov that the Airbus quote for Somewheria Airlines is going to come in at $1.24 billion, but that if they come in at $1.235 they can swing the deal by leaning on the chief of the evaluation committee, (who is cheating on his wife and has an embarassing fetish for smelly feet).
It is not just pricing info. It's stuff like who to lean on, how to lean on them, who is really making decisions, what parts of a deal are negotiable up or down and what is the real level they will agree at. This is all very valuable info in the business world.
We are not talking just legally mandated terrorist tracking, or even Joe Blows love letters to xx@gmail. What is actually written in the legislation is almost irrelevant at this level.
What has really got them pissed is that this sort of information is now being extracted from the massive amounts of data the NSA is collecting. It used to require specific spying, but now programs like Watson's children can just extrapolate and cross reference. What did you think, Watson was just to win Jeopardy?
If you cough while drinking cheap red wine it really cleans out your sinuses.