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sycasey
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Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.
okaydo
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oski003 said:

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.


Fred Kaplan, who has devoted his life to writing and reporting on U.S. foreign policy, writes:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/12/why-brittney-griner-trade-win.html



If the judge who sentenced him thinks he should be a free man, well...


https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2022/07/britney-griner-viktor-bout-trade.html





okaydo
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sycasey said:

Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.

If Biden brought both of them home, he'd still be under immense criticism. When I woke up Thursday morning and looked at Biden's tweet making the announcement (an hour after he tweeted it), the top tweet was a guy with a blue checkmark complaining that he didn't free Griner fast enough.

But again, this will be like the end of the Afghanistan War, nobody will care in a year or two.
okaydo
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oski003 said:

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.

By the way, what is your opinion of the Iran-Contra Affair?

oski003
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okaydo said:

oski003 said:

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.

By the way, what is your opinion of the Iran-Contra Affair?




I am not fully versed on it. What is your opinion?
bearister
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oski003 said:

okaydo said:

oski003 said:

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.

By the way, what is your opinion of the Iran-Contra Affair?




I am not fully versed on it. What is your opinion?


My takeaway was Fawn Hall was hot….and she married the manager of the Doors.

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I got some friends inside
Unit2Sucks
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sycasey said:

Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.


Stuff like this is never going to matter in an election 2 years away. No one criticized Trump for stranding Whelan in Russia and allowing Otto Warmbier to be killed by NK with no repercussions. It wasn't a factor in 2020 at all. The right tried to turn the Afghanistan withdrawal into a massive issue but no one cared in this election.

If we aren't at war and our economy is humming in 2024, Biden will skate to re-election. The GOP has been completely unsuccessful in turning any of their stupid culture war or white grievance antics into any electoral success and this Griner thing will be appreciated greatly by a few and forgotten by everyone else in a few weeks/months.
Big C
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Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.


Stuff like this is never going to matter in an election 2 years away. No one criticized Trump for stranding Whelan in Russia and allowing Otto Warmbier to be killed by NK with no repercussions. It wasn't a factor in 2020 at all. The right tried to turn the Afghanistan withdrawal into a massive issue but no one cared in this election.

If we aren't at war and our economy is humming in 2024, Biden will skate to re-election. The GOP has been completely unsuccessful in turning any of their stupid culture war or white grievance antics into any electoral success and this Griner thing will be appreciated greatly by a few and forgotten by everyone else in a few weeks/months.

The thing about "Biden skating to reelection" that worries me is, there's a difference between a candidate that's 70--gonna-be-74 and a candidate that's 80-gonna-be-84. Nobody particularly wants him to run again, so if the GOP puts up a moderately appealing candidate...
Unit2Sucks
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Big C said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.


Stuff like this is never going to matter in an election 2 years away. No one criticized Trump for stranding Whelan in Russia and allowing Otto Warmbier to be killed by NK with no repercussions. It wasn't a factor in 2020 at all. The right tried to turn the Afghanistan withdrawal into a massive issue but no one cared in this election.

If we aren't at war and our economy is humming in 2024, Biden will skate to re-election. The GOP has been completely unsuccessful in turning any of their stupid culture war or white grievance antics into any electoral success and this Griner thing will be appreciated greatly by a few and forgotten by everyone else in a few weeks/months.

The thing about "Bbiden skating to reelection" that worries me is, there's a difference between a candidate that's 70--gonna-be-74 and a candidate that's 80-gonna-be-84. Nobody particularly wants him to run again, so if the GOP puts up a moderately appealing candidate...
… then people will focus on the Brittney Griner trade?

I know you aren't saying that, but it was the relevant context.

Biden isn't my favorite by any stretch, but he has name recognition and has gotten stuff done. If our economy is in good shape, people will overlook all the petty BS. He's a likable, inoffensive, charming old white guy that even Fox News has trouble agitating against. He will destroy Trump in '24, unless our economy is in the tank or something crazy happens. Going to need a lot more than pretend Halloween fentanyl and exaggerated caravans.
okaydo
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Big C said:

Unit2Sucks said:

sycasey said:

Honestly? Outside of Twitter I don't think anyone cares much about the particulars other than that Griner is coming home. She's by far the biggest name here.

I highly doubt this is a political loser for Biden. If Putin thinks it is . . . well, it wouldn't be the first time he misread the American public.


Stuff like this is never going to matter in an election 2 years away. No one criticized Trump for stranding Whelan in Russia and allowing Otto Warmbier to be killed by NK with no repercussions. It wasn't a factor in 2020 at all. The right tried to turn the Afghanistan withdrawal into a massive issue but no one cared in this election.

If we aren't at war and our economy is humming in 2024, Biden will skate to re-election. The GOP has been completely unsuccessful in turning any of their stupid culture war or white grievance antics into any electoral success and this Griner thing will be appreciated greatly by a few and forgotten by everyone else in a few weeks/months.

The thing about "Bbiden skating to reelection" that worries me is, there's a difference between a candidate that's 70--gonna-be-74 and a candidate that's 80-gonna-be-84. Nobody particularly wants him to run again, so if the GOP puts up a moderately appealing candidate...

Moderately appealing candidate? We're months away from the next presidential campaign. Who is that moderately appealing candidate? Not DeSantis, who apes Trump.

I've mentioned this numerous times on this board, and I'll say it again:

The last 11 presidential elections fit a pattern. They each are the reverse of the presidential election 40 years before.

2020: Democrats win (Biden) > 1980: Republicans win (Reagan)
2016: Republicans win (Trump) > 1976: Democrats win (Carter)
2012: Democrats win (Obama) > 1972: Republicans win (Nixon)
2008: Democrats win (Obama) > 1968: Republicans win (Nixon)
2004: Republicans win (Bush) > 1964: Democrats win (Johnson)
2000: Republicans win (Bush) > 1960: Democrats win (Kennedy)
1996: Democrats win (Clinton) > 1956: Republicans win (Eisenhower)
1992: Democrats win (Clinton) > 1952: Republicans win (Eisenhower)
1988: Republicans win (Bush) > 1948: Democrats win (Truman)
1984: Republicans win (Reagan) > 1944: Democrats win (Roosevelt)
1980: Republicans win (Reagan) > 1940: Democrats win (Roosevelt)



It's weird to say that the past can predict the future, but it sure looks like it could happen.

When all is said and done, Trump will be the Republicans' Jimmy Carter. If DeSantis wins the nomination, he'll be the republicans' Mondale in 2024.

In 2028, republicans will nominate another weak, Trump-light candidate -- just like Dukakis was essentially a Carter light candidate in 1988.

Then in 2032, after so many losses, the republicans will get it together, moderate and nominate their Bill Clinton.
bearister
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Discovered this in the Cal alumni magazine. We have a two time EMMY nominee actress in the freshman class:

Bianca D'Ambrosio - IMDb


https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3090925/
Cancel my subscription to the Resurrection
Send my credentials to the House of Detention
I got some friends inside
movielover
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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.




Not really.

GOPe prefers Trump MAGA loses. Plus more widespread rigging.
movielover
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DiabloWags said:

Britney Griner, coming home.



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



DOJ was against it,poor trade, low lever conviction vs world-class arms dealer. The Woke Trade.
DiabloWags
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okaydo said:



But again, this will be like the end of the Afghanistan War, nobody will care in a year or two.
Nobody will care in 6 months (either) when Biden is able to get Paul Whelan home.
Especially Faux News or DJT or people that love watching movies.

Paul Whelan's brother slams Trump after prisoner swap criticism (aol.com)

"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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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.


POTUS Trump used leverage to get many prisoners released.
DiabloWags
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movielover said:





POTUS Trump used leverage to get many prisoners released.

The Orange Crapstain never got Paul Whelan out.
He couldnt have cared any less.

David Whelan said in a post on Twitter that Trump seems to have mentioned his brother's wrongful detention more in the past 24 hours than he did during the two years of his presidency during which Whelan was imprisoned.

"I don't suggest he cares now any more than he did then (zero)," he said.
"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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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.


Twenty years ago an acquaintance was traveling extensively. He spent a few days in Russia, got the creeps, and left. He knew it wasn't safe then.
DiabloWags
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Meanwhile, the apple doesnt fall far from the tree.
A psychopathic liar produces offspring that are also liars.



"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
movielover
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Unit2Sucks said:

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.


I think you mean some drug dealers with extensive records. We even give early release to those who commit attempted murder, like the 3 criminals who shot the retired police officer in Oakland recently. One felon will serve a few years, and then walk. Pretty sad. The news yesterday was that "everyone can have a second chance", etc.
Unit2Sucks
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movielover said:

Unit2Sucks said:

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.


I think you mean some drug dealers with extensive records. We even give early release to those who commit attempted murder, like the 3 criminals who shot the retired police officer in Oakland recently. One felon will serve a few years, and then walk. Pretty sad. The news yesterday was that "everyone can have a second chance", etc.
Wrong again. I meant what I said - even though there has been some level of drug decriminalization in the US, possession of small amounts of hash oil is still a crime in many places and people are arrested every day for it. And, as I accurately noted, it can be a felony in Florida for which you can serve 5 years in prison. This has nothing to do with drug dealers or murderers.

Griner was convicted of a crime that she acknowledged she was guilty of (her only defense was that she didn't realize she had her drugs with her). I think it's hard for the Biden administration to claim that this was a bogus crime/conviction when it's still happening in many places in the US today. I fully acknowledge that she was treated more harshly as a prominent American and that Russia is a sh)thole petro-state with a corrupt government and criminal justice system, but it would sure be better if we could claim that Griner wouldn't be serving time if the same thing happened in the US, but that's unfortunately not true yet. I think it's entirely possible that this congress and Biden work together to decriminalize drug possession to a greater extent. Possession of any marijuana is still technically a federal crime punishable by up to 1 year in jail! In 2022. That's insane and needs to be addressed.
movielover
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Why don't they and you focus on something way more serious:

- child exploitation on social media
- human trafficking at our open southern border

Where is the link to thousands of Americans in jail for hash oil? And what about states rights? Maybe they don't want their streets turning into open drug bazaars like San Francisco.
sycasey
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movielover said:

Why don't they and you focus on something way more serious:

- child exploitation on social media
- human trafficking at our open southern border

Where is the link to thousands of Americans in jail for hash oil? And what about states rights? Maybe they don't want their streets turning into open drug bazaars like San Francisco.

Why can't our country be run more like Russia?
Unit2Sucks
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movielover said:

Why don't they and you focus on something way more serious:

- child exploitation on social media
- human trafficking at our open southern border

Where is the link to thousands of Americans in jail for hash oil? And what about states rights? Maybe they don't want their streets turning into open drug bazaars like San Francisco.
Just a bingo card of white wing talking points. Why not focus on caravans? Or Halloween fentanyl candy? Or kitty litter children? Or scrotum tanning?

Here's an idea. Why don't you focus on cleaning up the problems in white working class communities in red states instead of letting Fox News distract you with tall tales about the coastal elite. Once your done with that, maybe you won't hate America so much and won't need to constantly criticize the greatest nation in the world and our democratically elected leaders.

I'm old enough to remember when the GOP used to (at least pretend to) love America and democracy but it hasn't been that way for a while.

As I posted elsewhere, this is what the GOP really believes.

WalterSobchak
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okaydo said:



Then in 2032, after so many losses, the republicans will get it together, moderate and nominate their Bill Clinton.
Except by 2032 at least half of their current voter base will literally be dead, and they know it.
movielover
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It sounds like you have a problem with race.
movielover
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WalterSobchak said:

okaydo said:



Then in 2032, after so many losses, the republicans will get it together, moderate and nominate their Bill Clinton.
Except by 2032 at least half of their current voter base will literally be dead, and they know it.


Except many Latinos are culturally Conservative, and aren't buying into the welfare Big Gov't Marxist trap. And many fled Marxist countries.
WalterSobchak
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movielover said:

WalterSobchak said:

okaydo said:



Then in 2032, after so many losses, the republicans will get it together, moderate and nominate their Bill Clinton.
Except by 2032 at least half of their current voter base will literally be dead, and they know it.


Except many Latinos are culturally Conservative, and aren't buying into the welfare Big Gov't Marxist trap. And many fled Marxist countries.

bearister
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movielover said:

WalterSobchak said:

okaydo said:



Then in 2032, after so many losses, the republicans will get it together, moderate and nominate their Bill Clinton.
Except by 2032 at least half of their current voter base will literally be dead, and they know it.


Except many Latinos are culturally Conservative, and aren't buying into the welfare Big Gov't Marxist trap. And many fled Marxist countries.


And those Latinos realize that both wealthy and poor Conservative White people are very concerned about the welfare, goals and aspirations of Latinos.
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Big C
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Mississippi State Head Football Coach Mike Leach (formerly at Wash. St.) rushed to the hospital. Total guess, but it sounded like coronary or stroke. Serious, at any rate.
DiabloWags
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"Cults don't end well. They really don't."
bearister
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6' of snow fell in Tahoe.
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Unit2Sucks
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movielover said:

It sounds like you have a problem with race.


I have a beef with racists, which is the heart of the grievance wing of the conservative movement. Our country has a problem with race and those people are making it worse. Pretending like we don't have a race problem while spending all your time getting agitated about the fact that whites no longer have quite as much control over minorities as they used to is at the root of our race problem. Time for your people to move on.
bearister
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"Leading up to Election Day last month, Republicans were poised to claim major victories, from a red wave in the House to control of the Senate. As part of those grand expectations, they hoped the results would show that Latino voters were continuing to join their ranks. That prediction proved off the mark.

… Democrats held the Senate seats in both states and picked up the governorship of Arizona while surrendering the governorship of Nevada. Exit polls showed that Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona won 58 percent of Latino voters, down slightly from President Biden's vote share in 2020.

In Nevada, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who was seen as her party's most vulnerable incumbent, captured 62 percent of Latino voters, almost identical to Biden's performance in 2020."



The big Republican Latino realignment didn't happen in 2022. What now?


https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/12/10/republican-latino-realignment/
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movielover
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Unit2Sucks said:

movielover said:

It sounds like you have a problem with race.


[I have a beef with racists, which is the heart of the grievance wing of the conservative movement.]

Proof?

[Our country has a problem with race]

Compared to who? Monolithic Japan, or China which rounds up the Hmong and allegedly harvests organs and has hundreds of "detention and re-education" camps? Or maybe Brazil, a Black dominant country where lighter-skinned citizens rule the professional trades? Or compared to the Middle East?

I saw an international survey several years ago which asked if citizens would mind if a person of another race lived next door. Americans were the least concerned.

Our schools, teams, businesses and churches are integrated. Well, maybe not Hassidic and Conservative synagogues and Southern Baptists, but most others.

Facts please.

[Pretending like we don't have a race problem]

The extreme Left has focused on this for decades, while simultaneously helping destroy our inner city economies, school systems, and families. Racism appears to be their cover story, a hand they can always play.

Why has this alleged racism had virtually no affect on Ethiopian- and Nigerian-Americans? No effect on East Indian immigrants?

[...while spending all your time getting agitated about the fact that whites no longer have quite as much control over minorities as they used to is at the root of our race problem. Time for your people to move on.
]

Conservatives don't frame our problems that way. They cite Big Government, rule of law (or no law), etc. Conservatives voted and led the first Civil Rights legislation, and the second set in the 1960s.

They don't want to "control" anybody. They desire freedom, Free Speech (see Elon Musk), a nation of laws (see border, drugs, violent crime), Free Market, etc.

sycasey
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movielover said:

Conservatives voted and led the first Civil Rights legislation, and the second set in the 1960s.
What are you talking about?
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