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bearister
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Hawaii remembrance to draw handful of Pearl Harbor survivors | AP News


https://apnews.com/article/hawaii-bombings-world-war-ii-attack-on-pearl-harbor-c26e01e250992bc9d9371d2b1d96e085
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concordtom
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Eastern Oregon Bear said:

sycasey said:

Actual good news.


Hey Minot and movielover, 12 RINOs just revealed themselves.


There's more to the story.

But first, the vote:

YEAs ---61
Baldwin (D-WI)
Bennet (D-CO)
Blumenthal (D-CT)
Blunt (R-MO)

Booker (D-NJ)
Brown (D-OH)
Burr (R-NC)

Cantwell (D-WA)
Capito (R-WV)

Cardin (D-MD)
Carper (D-DE)
Casey (D-PA)
Collins (R-ME)

Coons (D-DE)
Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Duckworth (D-IL)
Durbin (D-IL)
Ernst (R-IA)

Feinstein (D-CA)
Gillibrand (D-NY)
Hassan (D-NH)
Heinrich (D-NM)
Hickenlooper (D-CO)
Hirono (D-HI)
Kaine (D-VA)
Kelly (D-AZ)
King (I-ME)
Klobuchar (D-MN)
Leahy (D-VT)
Lujan (D-NM)
Lummis (R-WY)

Manchin (D-WV)
Markey (D-MA)
Menendez (D-NJ)
Merkley (D-OR)
Murkowski (R-AK)

Murphy (D-CT)
Murray (D-WA)
Ossoff (D-GA)
Padilla (D-CA)
Peters (D-MI)
Portman (R-OH)

Reed (D-RI)
Romney (R-UT)

Rosen (D-NV)
Sanders (I-VT)
Schatz (D-HI)
Schumer (D-NY)
Shaheen (D-NH)
Sinema (D-AZ)
Smith (D-MN)
Stabenow (D-MI)
Sullivan (R-AK)

Tester (D-MT)
Tillis (R-NC)

Van Hollen (D-MD)
Warner (D-VA)
Warren (D-MA)
Whitehouse (D-RI)
Wyden (D-OR)
Young (R-IN)


NAYs ---36
Barrasso (R-WY)
Blackburn (R-TN)
Boozman (R-AR)
Braun (R-IN)
Cassidy (R-LA)
Cornyn (R-TX)
Cotton (R-AR)
Cramer (R-ND)
Crapo (R-ID)
Cruz (R-TX)
Daines (R-MT)
Fischer (R-NE)
Graham (R-SC)
Grassley (R-IA)
Hagerty (R-TN)
Hawley (R-MO)
Hoeven (R-ND)
Hyde-Smith (R-MS)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kennedy (R-LA)
Lankford (R-OK)
Lee (R-UT)
Marshall (R-KS)
McConnell (R-KY)
Moran (R-KS)
Paul (R-KY)
Risch (R-ID)
Rounds (R-SD)
Rubio (R-FL)
Scott (R-FL)
Scott (R-SC)
Shelby (R-AL)
Thune (R-SD)
Tuberville (R-AL)
Wicker (R-MS)

Not Voting - 3
Sasse (R-NE)
Toomey (R-PA)
Warnock (D-GA) - interesting. Because he was campaigning or because it goes against The Word in the Bible?

Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Patty Murray (D-Wash.) voted Tuesday night to protect marriage equality rights a reversal from 26 years ago, when they voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman.


Why it matters: The striking shift in Congress reflects the broader trend of the American public now overwhelmingly supporting marriage equality, just nine years out from the Supreme Court's historic ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.


By the numbers:
In 1996, 32 out of 47 Senate Democrats voted in support of the Defense of Marriage Act.


President Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) into law on September 21, 1996. The Act declared that no state shall be required to recognize a same-gender marriage performed in another state. DOMA also defined marriage as only between a man and a woman for purposes of Federal law.

DOMA prevented same-sex couples whose marriages were recognized by their home states from receiving the many benefits available to other married couples under federal law.


In 2022, the Respect for Marriage Act, which officially repeals DOMA.

Four Democrats, including Leahy and Murray, have been in the Senate long enough to vote both times. Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) voted both times in defense of same-sex marriage rights. Biden and Schumer had voted No in '96.

Of the four Republicans who have been in the Senate for both votes, none changed their position:

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), along with Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), voted for DOMA in the Senate in 1996 and against the Respect for Marriage Act of 2022.

Between the lines: 13 current senators were in the House in 1996 and voted on DOMA as representatives.


Seven of them two Republicans and five Democrats voted to protect marriage equality Tuesday after voting against it in 1996.


The House: In July, 13 House members who were around 26 years ago and who had back then voted NOT to protect same-sex marriage did so this time in 2022.
concordtom
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sycasey
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The fight for same-sex marriage has been the most stunningly fast, effective progressive victory on a social issue in many a year. It wasn't that long ago that states were actively passing bans on the practice; now it's codified into federal law.
concordtom
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sycasey said:

The fight for same-sex marriage has been the most stunningly fast, effective progressive victory on a social issue in many a year. It wasn't that long ago that states were actively passing bans on the practice; now it's codified into federal law.


Yes.
I didn't realize this until reading Okaydo's post, and then looking up the vote and additional article, both pasted above.

What a shift!
DiabloWags
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Doesnt sound like everything is "ok" at the Ted Cruz household.

Ted Cruz's Daughter 'Okay' After Self-Inflicted Stab Wounds at Texas Home (newsweek.com)
"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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How about Team Biden's brains.

The Big Guy
Crack user
And the useless VP
okaydo
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Go Cal (ifornication)!

okaydo
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movielover said:

How about Team Biden's brains.

The Big Guy
Crack user
And the useless VP

Wow, then it's even more remarkable that Biden was so successful this midterm season.

And it's even more embarrassing that the republicans failed so spectacularly.

DiabloWags
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okaydo said:

movielover said:

How about Team Biden's brains.

The Big Guy
Crack user
And the useless VP

Wow, then it's even more remarkable that Biden was so successful this midterm season.

And it's even more embarrassing that the republicans failed so spectacularly.



It's amazing that a guy nicknamed "Sleepy Joe" could totally beat out a super successful guy like Donald Trump!

Hahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaa!

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
DiabloWags
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Last week, Trump was dining at Mar-a-lago with Kanye and holocaust denier Nick Fuentes.

This week, it's doing a photo-op with Liz Crokin, the bat**** crazy QAnon and "Pizzagate" conspiracy theorist.


"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
oski003
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Jennifer Lawrence claiming that she was the first woman to ever lead an action movie is going over as well as expected

https://www.msn.com/en-us/movies/celebrity/jennifer-lawrence-claiming-that-she-was-the-first-woman-to-ever-lead-an-action-movie-is-going-over-as-well-as-expected/ar-AA151xyA?li=BBnbfcL
DiabloWags
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Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)
"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
bearister
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As Mexico's epidemic of violence rages on, authorities seem powerless to stop it


https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/dec/08/as-mexicos-epidemic-of-violence-rages-on-authorities-seem-powerless-to-stop-it?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other
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oski003
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DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
Unit2Sucks
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oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
bearister
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Axios Visuals
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I got some friends inside
sycasey
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Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
sycasey
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Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
sycasey
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Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Sure, but it hasn't really changed that much. Russia was a repressive regime that invaded Crimea in 2014. Months later, Griner joined the team for the 2015 season and has been playing for them every WNBA offseason since then.

Here's a good article from March.
Quote:

Griner herself reportedly earns $1 million per season more than four times her 2022 Phoenix Mercury base salary with UMMC Ekaterinburg, which is bankrolled by a Russian mining corporation and its billionaire owner, Iskander Makhmudov.
I'm sure Griner won't be going back to Russia ever again, but I wouldn't be shocked if other basketball players return in a year or two for the cash.

sycasey
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Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Sure, but it hasn't really changed that much.
It hasn't changed that much? Russia has now started an open war in Europe and hadn't when Griner originally signed on to play there. That seems like a pretty big change to me.

NBA and FIFA stars also have done business with unsavory billionaires and foreign regimes. Doesn't mean they deserve it if they get imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Sure, but it hasn't really changed that much.
It hasn't changed that much? Russia has now started an open war in Europe and hadn't when Griner originally signed on to play there. That seems like a pretty big change to me.

NBA and FIFA stars also have done business with unsavory billionaires and foreign regimes. Doesn't mean they deserve it if they get imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
I agree that they don't deserve to be imprisoned for trumped up charges because they are American - no one does.

But I don't agree that much has changed. Russia was an remains an outlaw state that represses and jails LGBT people. It's been pretty bad since 2013 (before she started working there) and has only gotten worse over the past 5 years.

As for warmongering, when she joined it had recently invaded Crimea.

Brittney playing in Russia was never a good look for her. We boycotted North Carolina over a bathroom law but not Russia over it's far worse LGBT abuses? Brittney has a history of activism as well so I am pretty sure she made a calculated decision to ignore what was going on in Russia for the cash grab.

Again, I'm not saying that she should have been detained or that what happened was fair. I'm defending my position that we shouldn't have even entertained trading a terrorist for her and that she should have known better than to risk her freedom to play in a repressive regime like Russia that was known by all to repress people exactly like her.
sycasey
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Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Sure, but it hasn't really changed that much.
It hasn't changed that much? Russia has now started an open war in Europe and hadn't when Griner originally signed on to play there. That seems like a pretty big change to me.

NBA and FIFA stars also have done business with unsavory billionaires and foreign regimes. Doesn't mean they deserve it if they get imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
I agree that they don't deserve to be imprisoned for trumped up charges because they are American - no one does.

But I don't agree that much has changed. Russia was an remains an outlaw state that represses and jails LGBT people. It's been pretty bad since 2013 (before she started working there) and has only gotten worse over the past 5 years.

As for warmongering, when she joined it had recently invaded Crimea.

Brittney playing in Russia was never a good look for her. We boycotted North Carolina over a bathroom law but not Russia over it's far worse LGBT abuses? Brittney has a history of activism as well so I am pretty sure she made a calculated decision to ignore what was going on in Russia for the cash grab.

Again, I'm not saying that she should have been detained or that what happened was fair. I'm defending my position that we shouldn't have even entertained trading a terrorist for her and that she should have known better than to risk her freedom to play in a repressive regime like Russia that was known by all to repress people exactly like her.

And I'm not sure that leaving her (or any other American) there to rot is a better option.
okaydo
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okaydo
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okaydo said:

As some of you know, I am a guitar aficionado with many guitars.

And as a guitar aficionado, I watch guitar YouTube videos.

One guitar channel is Casino Guitars, a guitar store in North Carolina.

This was their last normal uploaded video from last week.




Turns out Casino Guitars is located in Southern Pines, North Carolina, 3 blocks from a local theater that put on a drag show that the far right had been outraged about.





Then there was a power outage. Some vandals shot up a substation.

Don't know if the 2 events are linked.




And the power is still out 3 days later and likely won't return until Thursday.




Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Unit2Sucks said:

oski003 said:

DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



Brittney Griner released from Russian prison 10 months after arrest (yahoo.com)



The U.S. now accepts bad deals. All famous Americans need to stay clear of hostile countries. They may now be targets.
For real. We're basically begging bad actor countries to kidnap Americans under the guise of their draconian laws in order to do a prisoner swap. I don't like this deal at all.
It sucks, but I'm not sure if there is a better option.
Sure there is, not doing the swap was a better deal.

Griner isn't the hero here - she was in Russia because an oligarch owned a basketball team and was willing to pay her more money than she would make elsewhere. She benefited financially from the oligarchy and was willing to overlook the fact that Russia is a sh(thole petro-state that represses people, including quite prominently LGBT folks. She never should have been there in the first place and although that doesn't excuse Putin's authoritarian repressive behavior, what really happened is that she lost protection from her oligarch. Griner is probably going to go on a tour talking about how regressive Russia is but nothing's really changed other than that she was the victim instead of nameless other people that she previously felt comfortable overlooking because it benefited her financially.

I'm 100% against this deal and any other deal like this.
Ehh, a lot of women's basketball players played in Russia because that's where the money was for them. They didn't know a sudden geopolitical conflict was going to break out. I'm not interested in blaming them for this situation. Griner was the unlucky one.
Yes, she was unlucky and wrongfully detained but she wasn't blameless. She broke a known law and no longer had the protection of her oligarch. She wasn't an outspoken critic of Russia's LGBT policies because that would be bad for business. She was cool with Russia when it suited her pocketbook and got burned. Paul Whelan would have been a better trade since he was detained under very different circumstances.

And for the record, any US professional still working in Russia should come home or be forewarned that they may end up in jail just like Griner. Especially all of the basketball players or other athletes.
At this point, it's pretty obvious that you shouldn't be doing business in Russia anymore. Griner was doing so before this whole thing blew up in Ukraine and got caught up in it.
Sure, but it hasn't really changed that much.
It hasn't changed that much? Russia has now started an open war in Europe and hadn't when Griner originally signed on to play there. That seems like a pretty big change to me.

NBA and FIFA stars also have done business with unsavory billionaires and foreign regimes. Doesn't mean they deserve it if they get imprisoned on trumped-up charges.
I agree that they don't deserve to be imprisoned for trumped up charges because they are American - no one does.

But I don't agree that much has changed. Russia was an remains an outlaw state that represses and jails LGBT people. It's been pretty bad since 2013 (before she started working there) and has only gotten worse over the past 5 years.

As for warmongering, when she joined it had recently invaded Crimea.

Brittney playing in Russia was never a good look for her. We boycotted North Carolina over a bathroom law but not Russia over it's far worse LGBT abuses? Brittney has a history of activism as well so I am pretty sure she made a calculated decision to ignore what was going on in Russia for the cash grab.

Again, I'm not saying that she should have been detained or that what happened was fair. I'm defending my position that we shouldn't have even entertained trading a terrorist for her and that she should have known better than to risk her freedom to play in a repressive regime like Russia that was known by all to repress people exactly like her.

And I'm not sure that leaving her (or any other American) there to rot is a better option.
We still let drug offenders rot in state prisons across this country. Not trying to be glib, but we freed an international arms dealer who has been called "one of the most dangerous man on the face of the earth" by 60 Minutes.

I don't think this is a better option than continuing to use diplomacy or whatever to get a different deal.

Just to put a finer point on it, if she were caught with hash oil in Florida it could be punishable by up to 5 years in jail as a 3rd degree felony. What would Biden do if Desantis wanted to trade Griner for Derek Chauvin? Sure it's a ridiculous hypothetical but the point remains, no one should be in jail for possession of drugs for personal use but across this country many are. The fact that it happened overseas shouldn't mean that we are willing to free a dangerous terrorist for one person's freedom.
Unit2Sucks
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For what it's worth, the best argument I've heard for this trade is that Bout is a marked man in Russia and that he will likely find himself next to an open window soon. The theory goes that Putin won't fully trust him and will assume that he's been turned by the US and blabbed while in custody. Since Bout has no juice left, Putin won't hesitate to sideline him. So Putin gets to pretend like he "won" the trade, when really the goal was just to put Bout in a box.

This strikes me as not entirely unlikely and one that would fully justify the trade in my book.
DiabloWags
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Sinema leaves the Democratic Party, becomes an Independent.




Sinema switches to independent, shaking up the Senate (yahoo.com)
"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
DiabloWags
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Unit2Sucks said:

For what it's worth, the best argument I've heard for this trade is that Bout is a marked man in Russia and that he will likely find himself next to an open window soon. The theory goes that Putin won't fully trust him and will assume that he's been turned by the US and blabbed while in custody. Since Bout has no juice left, Putin won't hesitate to sideline him. So Putin gets to pretend like he "won" the trade, when really the goal was just to put Bout in a box.

This strikes me as not entirely unlikely and one that would fully justify the trade in my book.

I think you're right.
But I also think that Putin wasnt under any pressure to do a "deal".
Whereas Biden was.

Moreover, the Administration literally admitted that they had no other options.
A U.S. passport puts a bounty on your head.
"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
bearister
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I wonder if the swap spikes interest in viewing of Lord of War, one of the few Nic Cage vehicles with a good IMDb fan rating.

Lord of War (2005) - IMDb


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/






Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
okaydo
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Unit2Sucks said:

For what it's worth, the best argument I've heard for this trade is that Bout is a marked man in Russia and that he will likely find himself next to an open window soon. The theory goes that Putin won't fully trust him and will assume that he's been turned by the US and blabbed while in custody. Since Bout has no juice left, Putin won't hesitate to sideline him. So Putin gets to pretend like he "won" the trade, when really the goal was just to put Bout in a box.

This strikes me as not entirely unlikely and one that would fully justify the trade in my book.

My theory is that Putin released Griner to make Biden look like a piece of sh*t. Most people have never heard of Paul Whelan, but it's being portrayed in certain media that Biden abandoned a Marine for a Black gay America-hating basketball player. Hell, you can see certain allusions to this in parts of the mainstream media. Many don't care about nuance of this situation. Many don't care about Trump not releasing this guy. Putin is counting on white backlash to Biden, though I'm not sure if it will matter because what does Biden really have to lose if he doesn't run for president again?






(I happen to be listening this week to a podcast from 2019 about how the racist 1946 Disney movie Song of the South movie was box office bomb and essentially forgotten. But during the Nixon presidency amid the Southern strategy and the rise of Blaxploitation, Disney re-released Song of the South in the early 70s and it became a box office success.)
oski003
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okaydo said:

Unit2Sucks said:

For what it's worth, the best argument I've heard for this trade is that Bout is a marked man in Russia and that he will likely find himself next to an open window soon. The theory goes that Putin won't fully trust him and will assume that he's been turned by the US and blabbed while in custody. Since Bout has no juice left, Putin won't hesitate to sideline him. So Putin gets to pretend like he "won" the trade, when really the goal was just to put Bout in a box.

This strikes me as not entirely unlikely and one that would fully justify the trade in my book.

My theory is that Putin released Griner to make Biden look like a piece of sh*t. Most people have never heard of Paul Whelan, but it's being portrayed in certain media that Biden abandoned a Marine for a Black gay America-hating basketball player. Hell, you can see certain allusions to this in parts of the mainstream media. Many don't care about nuance of this situation. Many don't care about Trump not releasing this guy. Putin is counting on white backlash to Biden, though I'm not sure if it will matter because what does Biden really have to lose if he doesn't run for president again?






(I happen to be listening this week to a podcast from 2019 about how the racist 1946 Disney movie Song of the South movie was box office bomb and essentially forgotten. But during the Nixon presidency amid the Southern strategy and the rise of Blaxploitation, Disney re-released Song of the South in the early 70s and it became a box office success.)


Yes, the optics do look bad. Biden traded an international arms dealer who supplied illegal weapons (including sams, missiles, and other heavy armaments) to America's enemies for a female basketball player.
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