Obama is putting pressure on Russia to clarify his status and that Russia "still has time to do the right thing." Makes you wonder what threats are being made over the secure lines.

However I think that Putin will not budge. He wants to encourage other "defectors" and he still has a few little questions for Mr. Snowden. He'd like for him to explain his data. Philip Agee was paid a million for his, Snowden is probably getting a payment as well.

Missed the humor there

I'm getting you out of here as soon as possible, in the meantime here are three thousand pages of Russian classics to keep you busy.

beets, and anything that touched beets. I'm sure there are many western dishes that would cause the same reaction in Russia, but again....YUKK!!!

rather than Russia!

Though they have some odd dishes as well. Steak and Kidney pie, bleech.

introduced me to many international dishes. She was one helluva cook, and her sheperd's pie was to die for. That, and her oatmeal raisin cookies. Mouth watering now, must find food.

they apparently only taped a couple of seasons, but you got a real sense of English cooking, and they were hilarious.


Clarissa Dickson-Wright (L), and Jennifer Paterson (R)

grew up eating shepherd's pie. Also beets but ehhh... Mom loves them. And laughing at the pea-haters in the sub thread. Love 'em but have a sister who always hated 'em.

Unite! But seriously, I grew up in a household with parents who grew, loved, and ate fruits & veggies for breakfast. Ick! I'm a meat lover, which might explain why they lived a lot longer than I probably will. They believed in "roughage".

It's definitely not for everyone. An acquired taste.

as I happen to like strong tea like you Russians drink. I would love to score an electric samovar

They turned my beloved mashed potatoes pink, ruining them, and a bully lunch lady forced me to eat them!

I've had an aversion ever since!

never had borscht, but if it is beety, i'd like it.

everything. I could gag just thinking about it.

I forget what it is called, but it's what gives beets their 'earthy' taste. Lots of people are very sensitive to that particular chemical (natural chemical of course). It's the same chemical that gives that earthy smell when rain starts to fall.

I dislike beets in general, but love borscht and pickled beets. The borscht I make has so much onions, garlic and dill that you don't taste the 'earthiness' as much. However, I'm genetically supposed to like beets , as I'm of Ukrainian ancestry (my dad's first language was actually Ukrainian even though he and my grandparents were born here in Canada), but borcht and pickled beets are the only ways I can stand them. Oh, and I eat beet greens as well. Those just taste like any other greens.

Now green peas....

And I love borscht. and pickled beets. holobchi and perogies. omg i'm hungry now.

Thanks a lot, LOL. I found some fabulous sour cabbage holubtsi/however you spell it at our local store. I'm to impatient to make my own, and these are just like my Baba used to make. Now I'm going to have to go buy some, LOL. And it's been awhile since I had some good nalysnky...

My kids hate my Ukrainian food and my mom stopped doing the whole Christmas thing last year (she's French-Canadian, so is tired of the extra work for the extra Christmas in Jan so quit last year) so it's going to be forever until I get a good Ukrainian meal! I do make boiled wheat w/honey (kutia/kutya) for breakfast at least. Again, I'm the only one who likes it. I'm so hard done by! LOL.

Inside of the cabbage wrap, just cook and cut up some cabbage and mix in with the greasy rice and bacon and onion (and I add some tomato soup, campbells, in layers) and bake in the oven in a casserole.

My mouth is watering.

You move west away from Russia. Personally I like it, but I can see how it may not be for everyone. It's ok, I think that airport has a Starbucks and Burger King if I remember correctly.

That my friend is borscht!

The white is sour cream.

Could I just eat the sour cream, and leave the beets?

Is Mr. Kucherena dropping hints?

I don't think he's simply a supporter of Putin, he's carrying water for the guy.


And .... a nessage ....?

and yep, he is clearly Putin's point man on this, at least the dealing with eddie part. all sorts of other gears in motion, the US, etc. but this guy must be a Putin henchman from way back. They are both former KGB for crying out loud.

Lin ?@dutt155 1h
@catfitz Heh. You realize the lawyer implies Snowden IS American Raskolnikov who killed the nice grandma aka own motherland.


-- from the OP article:

Michael Birnbaum

Snowden's lawyer gave him Dostoevsky, Chekhov, fresh clothing. "You shld know who Raskolnikov was" lawyer told him, he says on Russian TV

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov (Russian: Родиóн Ромáнович Раскóльников is the fictional protagonist of Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.

and is with the woman he loves. so the message would be it is tough and may get tougher but you will be ok in the end.

later on you'll be okay and live happy life with washerwoman! Eating borscht of course.

the girlfriend in the novel was a really nice prostitute who talked him into confessing his crime, without which they never could have pinned the murder on him. but she moved to Siberia with him to be close to him while he did his several years of labor and I think they settled down in Siberia once he got out. So yeah, there is all kinds of weird and creepy messages one could infer by the "lawyer" guy's comment about learning who the protagonist is.

I would be shitting brick if I were Snowden and I realized holy shit am I really about to defect to Russia and eat borscht with washerwoman. Though I can see a kind of more up to date mind prison where he is forced to be on some Russian reality TV show with Anna Chapman. Paraded around like a monkey on a chain.

One could really, and someone will, write volumes of Snowden/Raskolnikov comparisons. Now that KGB lawyer guy has tossed it out there.

Your idea about the reality show is much more creative than this narrative, what's up with the boat.

Wonder if the lawyer is simply working on him with shots of vodka. That might be enough to get Comrade Eddy to loosen his tongue.

Kucherena (sounds like Macarena) is having a laugh at Snowden's expense.

Along with his buddy Putin. Snowden never questioned the fact this guy showed up to "help" him.

Why not an intro to learning Russian?

planet with Vladi.

Heard an interview, on NPR, with a journalist who's back in the US from Russia, and she says Eddie doesn't know what he's signing up for.

Also, Comrade Eddie's approval ratings are abysmal, it might have something to do with his Russian lawyer being a KGB knockoff.

WSJ/NBC Poll: Most Americans View Snowden Negatively.
By Rebecca Ballhaus | July 24, 2013, 12:01 AM.

Americans don’t have much regard for Edward Snowden, the former NSA employee who leaked details of government surveillance programs, the new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows.

In the poll, only 11% of respondents said they viewed Mr. Snowden in a positive light, while 34% said they viewed him negatively. Nearly a third said they didn’t know who he was.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2013/07/24/wsjnbc-poll-most-americans-view-snowden-negatively/

Getting quieter and quieter.

but I'm sure our DU members can keep the little feller in caviar for the time being, until he gets his Bollockbuster Book out - and by then the both of them will have totally and rightfully have faded away into some wallpaper somewhere.

at all like GG had planned. Americans despise Comrade Snowie, and now I'm wondering what GG's approval ratings are.

That's a tad desperate heh heh

Libertarian humor har de har har

greenwald will be threatening the US with nuclear annihilation on twitter while snowden lays a wreath at the tomb of the unknown gulag guard by next week. when the kgb lawyer showed up with the books all bets were off and I knew it was full metal crazy time.

.. well in case you missed it, shaky source but funny

Renegade National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden has applied to join a group of former Russian intelligence and security officials, according to the group’s director.

Participation in a union of former KGB security, intelligence, and police officials, would likely change Snowden’s status from that of a whistleblower seeking to expose wrongdoing, to an intelligence defector who has changed sides.

Alexei Lobarev, chairman of the group called “Veterans of the Siloviki”—literally “men of power”—told a Russian news outlet on Monday that Snowden, who has been staying in a Moscow airport transit lounge for a month, applied for membership in the group.

The state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported Wednesday that the Russian Federal Migration Service issued an official paper to Snowden that will allow him to leave the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport as part of an agreement with the Border Guard Service.

Ariel Cohen, a Russia specialist with the Heritage Foundation, said joining the former KGB officers’ group would be a significant development in the Snowden affair.

“It could be a spoof or a deliberate attempt to tarry the former NSA contractor,” Cohen said in an email. “However, if proven true, this puts Snowden squarely into the defector category. Whatever the whistleblower rhetoric—if indeed it is Snowden—the man is seeking to join a group whose livelihood was to spy on and harm, the United States. There is hardly a more anti-American group in Russia than ex-security officials. They would want nothing more than to coddle Snowden.”

http://freebeacon.com/edward-snowden-seeking-to-join-kgb-veterans-group/

if the "men of power" is a real group of retired KGB goons, Snowden's lawyer clearly knows them all and it would make sense he is introducing the lad to his buddies many of whom are probably only semi-retired. but again I'm waiting on a better source.

And he probably doesn't realize it, but likes the security and attention.

Up next a date with Anna Chapman.

what a freak show. you reckon eddie had any idea a few months ago this is where he would be now? doesn't know what he is signing up for is right. doesn't know what he is doing at all.

and his stellar human rights record, Snowie now wants to live in a country where his every move will be monitored, and where a child can be removed from a home where the parents are suspected of being gay, even if it's their biological child. Teachers can be fined and/or jailed for speaking of homosexuality in a positive way. I'm not sure about Comrade Snowden, but that would scare the hell out me. His relationship with an openly gay journalist could complicate his life even further. Four Dutchmen were just arrested a few days ago.

Dutchmen Detained Under Anti-Gay Law in Northern Russia
Posted by Scott De Buitléir on July 23, 2013 in LGBT, News & Current Affairs

Kris van der Veen [Image: Twitter]


"Four documentary makers from the Netherlands have been detained by Russian authorities under the country’s new anti-gay ‘propaganda’ law, making them the first non-Russians to be in danger of breaking the new law.

According to the Russian LGBT Network: “Police compiled reports on the violation of rules of stay in the territory of Russia and the violation of the law of the ‘propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations among minors.’”

http://eile.ie/2013/07/23/dutchmen-detained-under-anti-gay-law-in-northern-russia/

a million buckeroos for his intel from the Russians. Watch Greenwald demand lawyer fees.

I think it's only mildly inconvenient for Greenwald. In fact he should be ecstatic because if the USA got their hands on Eddie it could be curtains for him, and his associates Poitras and Applebaum due to being accessories and the timeline is showing that Appelbaum was in Hawaii in April, before he admitted to meeting Snowden. So.... they might be feeling relieved.

And now he's up shit stream without a paddle.

all the fresh air he can stand, in a tropical climate.

Probably gonna make a shit-load of money too!

I kinda sorta feel bad for Snowden.

I vacillate between him being a naive puppet for Greenwald, and an intentional puppet for Pooty Poot!

haha

But yeah, much of what's happening is deserving. You can't just leak secrets and expect nothing to happen to you.

Americans wouldn't be turning on him and that would make it very difficult for Obama to do anything politically to him. But now that he's gone to Russia, and made a big stink, I think most Americans are thinking, "fuck him.".

supporter, but the whole US--->>> China --->>>Russia thing has a lot of folks scratching their heads and, as you say, thinking "fuck him". I was shocked that young people don't even approve of him. If you only read DU, you'd think his support was deep & wide. I guess that's one of the many pratfalls of an echo chamber.

Look what happened to Mitt Romney and the FOX News crew in 2012. They convinced themselves Obama was hated everywhere and because they only spoke to each other, and didn't bother to look beyond their ideological grounds, they missed the fact most Americans still approved of him. So, when the election came, and Romney lost, they were baffled - some even insisting Obama cheated. You're kinda seeing the same extremes here when they dismiss the polls (just like the Romney folk did!) and it's sad. The reality is that I know a lot of liberals who are uneasy with Snowden because of his erratic actions and who he's aligned himself with since fleeing America.

is important, but I'm beginning to wonder if the president should attend. Harvey Fierstein took it even further, he's expressing real concern for the safety of our athletes at the Olympics, and thinks we should boycott. This is a mess. Our relations were "icy" to begin with, and this takes it to a whole new level. Can you say "Cold War"?

I don't trust Putin at all. I think he's just as corrupt as those Soviet leaders of yesteryear. Snowden has opened a huge can of worms and everyone here likes to blame Obama. No. It wasn't Obama who fled to Russia and created an international crisis. I'm not yet on board with the idea of boycotting the Olympics, but yeah, Obama might have to pull out of the G20 summit. I don't trust Russia. I didn't trust 'em before this!

Harvey Fierstein Says ‘Putin Has Declared War On Homosexuals’ In NY Times Op-Ed

"The editorial is based on a recent law signed by Russian president Vladimir V. Putin on July 3rd which placed a ban on the adoption of Russian-born children by gay couples or "any couple or single parent living in any country where marriage equality exists in any form." In addition, the politician approved a law which will permit Russian police officers to "arrest tourists and foreign nationals they suspect of being homosexual, lesbian or 'pro-gay' and detain them for up to 14 days."

With the country playing host to the 2014 Winter Games in just six months, the new laws present the very real possibility that an Olympic athlete, trainer, reporter, family member or fan who is gay or is suspected of being gay, can wind up in a Russian prison. The latest decrees are among a slew of other recent laws which attempt to criminalize homosexuality in the Eastern European nation.

Putin defends his actions by citing that Russian families are currently facing the threat of decline and must therefore prevent the marriage of gay and lesbian couples who cannot propagate and do their part to increase the country's population."

http://broadwayworld.com/article/Harvey-Fierstein-Pens-Times-Op-ed-on-Russian-Anti-Gay-Crackdown-20130722

Russia is anti-progressive. It's run by an extremely conservative regime with attachments to a conservative orthodox religion. We're not just talking about individuals within the government who share that view (like here in the U.S.), we're talking about the MAN IN CHARGE who enforces such right-wing policies. Their anti-gay stance, their anti-freedom of speech stance (what happened with Pussy Riot goes with this) shows me just how fucked up Russia is for any progressive and yet, he's seeking asylum there?

Bullshit.

Hell, China is more progressive than Russia when it comes to gay rights issues!

He plays Homer's secretary and it's just a fantastic episode all around.

?quality=0.7

ridiculous statement about Putin being a champion of human rights, unless that was written for him, by his KGB lawyer. I understand the lawyer is a Putin loyalist, and they go back as far as their KGB days.

Unlike here where there is a good chunk of people pushing the USA is imperialist idea - as harshly as you'll find it in Workers World or Libertarian literature.

revelations were important, but they also thought he should stand trial for breaking the law. We're a peculiar lot, we Americans.

just a week ago.

He knows way to much about international politics to stay in that state however.

A lot of young people go into the military for survival and college these days, and many who don't go have friends who do go. Just a guess as to why younger people are cottoning to Snowden.

some foreign hellhole, and just forget about him. I think it's way too late for that. Note that he & GG's disclosures were all timed to coincide with some very delicate talks, with leaders who we already have strained relations with. What was the point of that, if not political?

here so as not to offend our dainty flower Putin fans.

but here's a timeline that raises some questions in that area:

http://joshuafoust.com/a-timeline-of-edward-snowden-associates/

This has got to be the most incompetent mofo on the planet. It has been like some sort of absurdist performance art, watching him get himself into a tighter and tighter spot, all the while ingratiating himself with authoritarians by committing more and more felonies.

LOCKED UP
or DISAPPEARED

Maybe he'll meet a hot Aeroflot flight attendant who will take pity on him....

from this point forward. Don't hear shit from Assange these days.

remember the name of the journalist who was there for years, and has just returned to the US. That interview was amazing. It was an NPR interview, and if I can find it online, I'll post a link. Scary stuff.

weird.

a few years from now when eddie is either in a US prison or some prison-like existence only the Russians could come up with, and all the inside players including him have been interviewed and we know what Putin is really doing, etc. This is fascinating. I mean KGB lawyer with a bunch of Russian Lit. for his um, client. You can't make this stuff up.

Yes, the "definitive" factual book on Snowden, Greenwald, Assange and the gang will be fascinating!

I think we've got our authoritarians over there in Russia, playing patty cake with Snowden!

always bring out snowden's lawyer to show them what real authoritarians look like. rofl

Such a charmer. Bet he goes walrus hunting with Putin and the other "Vets" one and a while to wax nostaligic about the good old KGB days.

think he's ever killed a man with those hands?

Woo hoo. We need to know more about Snowden's helper.

Leaker's lawyer, one, Anatoly Kucherena..



Not missing too many borcht meals.. Ooops, sorry about the b*** reference..

it on Snowden!

It's British.

even though I've got Brit family that includes a ex rugby player.
Scrimmage yes.

Scrum sounds like something one would scrape off a pan!

behind the bicycle shed..

Had to research:

According to Michael Kelly, a writer and historian in New Zealand, "the origin of the expression 'how's your father' can be traced back to Victorian times. In those days any man with a daughter was so protective of her virtue that he would take extraordinary measures to safeguard it. Unmarried girls would be kept within the bosom of their family as much as possible, chaperoned on excursions, and on those occasions when they were let out of bounds for social events, their fathers would often accompany them discreetly by hiding underneath their voluminous skirts ready to pounce on any man who transgressed the bounds of propriety.

However, a father with more than one daughter couldn't be everywhere at once. Thus, a suitor having a discreet vis-a-vis with his beloved would cautiously ascertain her father's whereabouts by asking, 'And how is your father?' If her father was currently under her skirts, she would glance downwards and reply, 'My father is very well, thank you, and as alert and vigorous as ever, and maintains his interest in rusty castrating implements.' Her beau would then say, 'I have always had the greatest respect for your father, and of course for you. Let us hold hands and think about the Queen for a while.' If, on the other hand, her father was elsewhere, she would reply, 'The mad old bastard is currently stationed between my sister Constance's thighs. Let us go into the garden and rut like stoats.'

Oh my goodness.

but had no idea about the history..

In understanding History, you learn how we got where we are. You learn the mistakes, the missed opportunities that will come around again. Look at now, we are as a nation, making the same mistakes that have been made time and time again in history. But those who have read it, assuming anyone in power has, are looking to avoid the tactical mistakes while making the strategic mistakes all over again.

Understanding Russia today, truly understanding it, means you have to understand how it got where it is. That isn't just reading a report or two. It means in our case, the United States, actually reading Democracy in America. It means you read the classics that describe our nation's history. Even the classic fiction tells you many truths about the era. True, no one named Hawkeye single handedly saved his beloved during the French and Indian wars. But there were battles that are mentioned, and the atrocities on both sides were horrific. The fictional story allows the author to tell the larger truth.

History is vital, and if I were going to live in Russia, I'd certainly want to understand the nation as much as possible. To those who are foolish enough to want to call America home from wherever they are coming from, I'd suggest the same thing, read the books on our history, and learn how we got into this mess where our Government thinks they can spy on all of us at any old time while lying about protecting us.

Frankly, if we were faced with a real war, and a real enemy, say China. I wouldn't join the Red Cross to help out the common cause.

I hope he likes beets and being monitored 24/7 too.

nobody is spying on you FYI, you can calm down LOL

and swore I saw "scum" but not. and, learned a new word, "scrum". Looks like a perfect word to describe the salivating press.

Wonder if any of this is lost on Snowden or he gets the message loud and clear from the fabulous, Putin?

"These nations, including Russia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nicaragua, and Ecuador have my gratitude and respect for being the first to stand against human rights violations."

http://wikileaks.org/Statement-by-Edward-Snowden-to.htm

Everytime I read that statement from snowden... I think, "is he high?" "or maybe he's been coerced.. and all that crap he accused Obama of is karma coming back on his lying ass?"

So after every statement they give him a bowl of borscht!