Said Donald Trump, quoted in "Trump: Brittney Griner prisoner swap for ‘Merchant of Death’ doesn’t ‘seem like a very good trade’" (NY Post).
July 31, 2022
"She went in there loaded up with drugs into a hostile territory where they’re very vigilant about drugs. They don’t like drugs. And she got caught."
"And now we’re supposed to get her out — and she makes, you know, a lot of money, I guess. We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world. Killed many Americans. Killed many people."
Said Donald Trump, quoted in "Trump: Brittney Griner prisoner swap for ‘Merchant of Death’ doesn’t ‘seem like a very good trade’" (NY Post).
Said Donald Trump, quoted in "Trump: Brittney Griner prisoner swap for ‘Merchant of Death’ doesn’t ‘seem like a very good trade’" (NY Post).
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148 comments:
#Stuff Twitter is missing out on because they were stupid.
It's good thing that she's a black lesbian.
If not for the fact she's an America-hating, lesbian b-ball player - who's championed by a bunch of other America-hating, lesbian b-ball (and soccer) players - nobody would even know who she is.
She broke their laws. She admitted her guilt in breaking their laws. Let her rot.
Maybe we could exchange Donald Trump for Brittney Griner.
He's right again.
I'm sure the media will fact check Trump that "Merchant of Death" is not an officially approved monikor.
If Trump were POTUS, he'd look at poll numbers, and make the deal in a heartbeat. Even people who voted for him know he is Mr. What's In It For Me.
He’s not wrong. Though we should still try to get her out. Then again, wasn’t there another person stuck there for longer,
Who maybe wasn’t responsible for being arrested?
I was wondering when the Griner saga might show up here.
She is obviously a victim. Of her own stupidity, and no doubt of a lifetime of being told she's SPECIAL and not subject to the rules that govern the muggles.
I don't want or need her back.
Serious Question(s):
How Many Americans, are in American Jails.. For being caught with less pot then she was?
Does the fact that she's staunch democrat knee jerk liberal, have anything to do with her release?
Ok, that last one was rhetorical; serious, but seriously rhetorical
Even coming into Canada one needs to understand that one is entering a foreign country and that our laws are not their laws. If Griner had brought that many vials of CBD into Indonesia, she might be looking at far worse legal jeopardy.
How is he wrong?
The other person in the deal is one of our spies, allegedly. The deal is not all that bad.
He is correct of course but he should shut up about things as small as this. It’s the economy. It crime. It’s education. That’s all he needs to talk about.
Every time he gets off topic he gives the opposition ammunition to misrepresent him. That’s how he lost in 2020. He needs message discipline.
Send over Alvin Bragg or George Gascón to secure her release. They could 'splain how the catch and release system works so well here.
Send over Alvin Bragg or George Gascón to secure her release. They could 'splain how the catch and release system works so well here.
Better or worse then the Bowe Bergdahl trade?
Either A. DemoncRATs don't know how to negotiate
or
B: DemoncRATs are getting the results they want in these trades
Is Biden showing off his lack of bargaining skills or is he just signing off on it?
The thing about Trump is that he always go to the extreme with his rhetoric. There's no middle ground. She either didn't have any drugs or she was loaded up with drugs. I suspect that she probably had a pot vape cartridge or two. Over here, that wouldn't be a big deal. But over there, it is. Plus, the fact that she's an American celebrity helps them drive the point home about the decadent West.
The one thing that I was really shocked about was how the State Department went public with their offer. That's not the way that it's done. These negotiations need to happen in secret and everyone needs to keep their cards close to their vest. The U.S. government shouldn't have said anything until the deal was done and she was back in friendly custody. Either she won't get out anytime soon or we will pay a much higher price for her than we would have if this had been done quietly, behind the scenes.
He's correct. She made a conscious choice about transporting a prohibited substance. The exchange is comparable to trading a Gosnell for a Floyd.
Trump is right. It’s not a fair trade. Just like when Obama traded five terrorists for one deserter who got members of his own unit killed.
But, Biden will make the trade. Democrats have destroyed personal responsibility in America. It’s no longer a value. I’m sure anthem kneeling Brittney Griner feels victimized, and doesn’t see how stupid it was to smuggle anything into Russia. After the deal is done, she won’t feel responsible to releasing the merchant of death.
Trump speaks truths too hard for liberals to hear. One of many reasons they want him destroyed, no matter the price to the country.
I can't decide whether to be sympathetic for Griner or to point out that she is not one of the brightest bulbs and probably is guilty of "criminal stupidity" in this case. Trump's statement is inaccurate in that Griner was not "loaded" with drugs, but was carrying hashish oil vapes. She should not have been, but she was. Whether she screwed up inadvertently we'll never know. Given that she is an American going into Russia soon after we hit Russia with sanctions one might have expected her to be extra careful, that may be where the dim bulb part comes in.
I agree. Let her stew until she appreciates what she had and disdained.
I'd love to know more about the "merchant of death". Is he related to Lindsey graham?
Or maybe the merchant of venice:
I will feed fat the ancient grudge I bear him.
He hates our sacred USA, and he rails,
Even there where arms merchants most do congregate,
On me, my bargains and my well-won thrift,
Which he calls interest. Cursed be my Russian tribe,
If I forgive him!
That inimitable style. Almost always makes me laugh. Just makes so many of the canned idiots look and sound exactly like that.
"We’re supposed to get her out for an absolute killer and one of the biggest arms dealers in the world."
Oh, well - as a wise man once said, there are a lot of killers. You think our country’s so innocent?
"And now we’re supposed to get her out."
No, we're bound to. She's an American. She may not like to be reminded of that when our national anthem plays; she may have screwed up; she may be an idiot who thinks the Russians had to read her her [American] constitutional rights as they detained her. She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying.
I think it's a crap deal too, and I wish we'd managed to drive a better one.
He has sold weapons to congo warlords hezbollah liberian warlords
"She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying."
That is not at all the norm for Americans imprisoned overseas due to violations of local laws.
Griner is a young American celebrity, a female lesbian (males can be lesbian, too,) and black. She "accidentally" packed cannabis oil vape cartridges in her luggage. Griner was to be in Russia for their b-ball season, so she probably had more than two cartridges. She will be sentenced and traded.
Marc Fogel is an old, straight, white man, and educator arrested last August in Moscow for possessing 20oz of medicinal marijuana. He was found guilty of “large-scale drugs smuggling” and sentenced to 14 years in a Russian high-security penal colony (gulag.) He is not part of any negotiated release.
The last such trade lead to a taliban takeover, it took seven years
The proposed trade also includes Paul Whelan, who sounds like he was framed in 2018 for just such a use.
Now that is a mean tweet!
Griner is just another in a long line of Americans who assumed that by being an American with contraband would protect her from arrest in a foreign country. Her wife said she had a prescription for her illicit drug that the Russians arrested her for. I don’t know if that is true or not that it was “medical marijuana” or something related to cannabis that she had a prescription for. However, whatever drug she had, while legal in parts of the USA, is ILLEGAL IN RUSSIA where American laws don’t apply. Being a highly paid professional basketball player in Russia certainly didn’t protect her. I am guessing the FSB (the successor to the KGB) had her under surveillance and knew of her illicit drug use. Putin also knew Biden would get a lot of pressure from his big time donors in the LGBTQ community demanding he get her out NO MATTER THE COST. So they nabbed her on her way out of the country at the airport. Putin controls all of the leverage in these negotiations. After Biden / Blinken offered Putin Viktor Bout, aka The Merchant of Death for Griner and Paul Whelan straight up several weeks ago, I am guessing Putin decided he wanted more as this trade would have been made and the Americans would already be home if all he wanted was Bout. I wonder what he is asking in addition to Bout and will it be under the table like the hundreds of millions of dollars that Obama gave to the Iranians to sign the nuclear deal in 2015?
He is correct of course but he should shut up about things as small as this. It’s the economy. It crime. It’s education. That’s all he needs to talk about.
+1
I would be FAR happier to see her rot in a Russian prison for a great many years. Upon her return then a convicted druggie. Let's see if she is willing to stand for the US Anthem then. If not then GTFO. And stay out.
So now doing business with Putin is patriotic?
For the Russians,she was a gift that was dropped right in their laps. With the sanctions and international finger-shaking about Ukraine, Putin was certain to extract a heavy price for her return to the US. All she had to do was bleat publicly that the US was making an insufficient effort to save due to her oppressed status as a melanin-enhanced lezzie, and the pressure was on to make a deal with Putin. Any deal.
- Krumhorn
that may be where the dim bulb part comes in.
===========
did she also take solar-panel for energy to light up or running on Putin power?
The other person in the deal is one of our spies, allegedly. The deal is not all that bad.
============
can he exculpate Trump in Russia-hoax?
She's not as big a waste as Bergdahl, but neither is she some kind of martyr. It's probably a bad bargain, but there it is. There will probably be a big White House ceremony that will make many here squirm. Maybe if they play the anthem during the welcoming ceremony, she won't take a knee.
On the bright side, at least people talked about the WNBA for a few weeks. Now it can fade back into obscurity.
Ok after reading all of the above a majority of the posters have arrived at the standard of stupidity as a factor in sentencing. If the criminal is stupid give them a pass a slap on the wrist.
She said that they didn't read her rights to her. Let that sink in.
For me, the issue is that another American hating moron is being exchanged for yet another killer because the moron is a member a politically connected class. If this were a gun toting good ole boy from Dipshit, Georgia, there would have been no pressure to trade him for a pack of gum, let alone an arms dealer. The political class protects its own, again.
It wasn't weed. It was Hashish.
There is a difference.
"Biggest arms dealer in the world" is always applied to individuals on the margins, NEVER to the countries and companies that make and supply the stuff.
It brings to mind Bierce's definition of a Freebooter: A conqueror in a small way of business whose exactions lack the sanctifying merit of magnitude.
Griner is basically a celebutard. It would be perfectly fine to trade her for some Russian plutocrat's son who got himself arrested in the US and facing long imprisonment for a common crime. We shouldn't be trading her for spies, enemies of the US and whatnot.
I've heard the Justice Department usually recommends against Prisoner Exchanges like this. Especially when dealing with a regime like Putin's, don't we have to have similar concerns like in not dealing with terrorists? Are we creating an incentive for other countries to arrest and imprison Americans abroad so they can secure release of their prisoners here?
He is correct of course but he should shut up about things as small as this. It’s the economy. It crime. It’s education. That’s all he needs to talk about.
Trump cannot control himself. He must love listening to the frantic wailings of the usual never-trumpers.
It is amusing when you hear some ignorant leftie screech, "our democracy is at stake" (if we democratically elect someone other than their preferred candidates).
I don't know what the accepted law is here. I think Griner had a medical prescription for marijuana. When I have traveled abroad, I make up daily pill packets with all my prescriptions. It has never occurred to me to investigate whether each of my pills are "legal" in the country I'm visiting. (Admittedly they are things like blood pressure medication, that are unlikely to be on any country's "don't get high" list of proscribed drugs. But still -- things like oxy or codeine might be prescribed by my doctor and might be illegal in another country.) What say the lawyers among the commentariat?
I've never understood the idea that the US has some obligation to rescue its citizens who are in trouble in a foreign country while on a frolic of their own. Certainly, if employed by the US or representing the US in some official capacity, the US has an obligation. But on a vacation, while working privately, even humanitarian or charitable missions, I don't see the obligation. I never see the matter discussed. It's just a given that the US needs to play the parent and DO SOMETHING to save them, and I don't get it.
But I suppose I just need to accept it in silence (largely), and put it on the list of 'why?' questions that never get asked, much less answered or debated.
I don't understand the comment that "she [Griner] makes a lot of money..." exactly what he means there. I also don't know if it's true that Russia is so vigilant about drug enforcement. I guess that could be true. It sounds like he meant it as a compliment towards Russia, using the word "vigilant". As opposed to the US? We're not so vigilant maybe, not like Russia.
The Saudis, now they're vigilant, good golfers too I hear.
She had two hash oil vape cartridges, reportedly, via a Russian court doc.
"She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying."
______________
"That is not at all the norm for Americans imprisoned overseas due to violations of local laws."
____
I agree with Rabel. That notion applies to POWs and captured spies and such. Nations don't ransom each other's citizens who are simply doing time for ordinary criminal offenses. Are you saying that this lady has some sort of right as a U.S. citizen not to serve as jail for crimes committed overseas? Only someone with diplomatic immunity can claim that, AFAIK.
You're baiting Althouse. You know you are.
Once again, we are faced with the problem of Trump making sense.
However, I believe we should do all we can do to bring all our citizens home, regardless of optics.
And keep all illegals and foreign criminals out.
You're baiting Althouse. You know you are.
He's right...let her rot.
Black lesbians have no sway in Russia.
She's not sacred there...
If we do this trade then we are done as a country.
Total weakness...
'She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying.'
You're insane.
How many thousands of Americans are in foreign jails?
They're not famous so they can rot.
Marc Fogel is an old, straight, white man, and educator arrested last August in Moscow for possessing 20oz of medicinal marijuana. He was found guilty of “large-scale drugs smuggling” and sentenced to 14 years in a Russian high-security penal colony (gulag.) He is not part of any negotiated release.
Interesting juxtaposition of transgender vs gender politics and diversity [dogma]. White males were once the provenance of Democrat politics; but, alas, they are no longer politically congruent.
The problem with this trade is not so much that it's a bad trade (although it is) but that once one has paid the Danegeld there will inevitably be more Americans captured and endless demands for more.
The problem is bout theyve been trying to trade him for two years but blinken is inly foolish enough to go for it.
Since cannabis oil/hash oil is still illegal at the federal level here, will she have to serve the mandatory minimum sentence for possession once she is brought home?
"She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying."
Tell that to the Yanks left behind in Afghanistan.
I find it increasingly difficult to sympathesize with stupid people. Griner was stupid. Yahoo highlighted a story yesterday about another stupid American who flew into Russia hiding marijuana in his luggage last year. Sure, the Russian criminal sentences on these infractions are draconian and I think inappropriate, but here is the thing- it is their fucking country, not mine and not Griner's. You have to be really, really, really stupid to do what Griner did, and I am reaching an age where I don't give shit about the troubles stupid people get themselves into. Stupid people like Griner are too stupid to live.
Ampersand: "If Trump were POTUS, he'd look at poll numbers, and make the deal in a heartbeat."
These sorts of moronic "hot takes" were minimally defensible in 2015/2016.
6 years later, these "hot takes" identify the poster as an idiot.
Why would Trump denigrate an American citizen? What is his problem? Is this a secret plan to win over people somehow?
That’s how he lost in 2020. He needs message discipline.
Oh, yes. That what this black lesbian ball player would say.
I say it might have something to do with 80 million mail-in ballots.
If Biden is so hellbent on trading The Merchant of Death for Griner and Whalen, he better demand THAT ALL AMERICANS HELD BY PUTIN AND RUSSIA FOR ONLY BOUT OR NO DEAL. Will Biden do it? Probably not since the LBGTQ lobby and BLM (aka The Tails that Wags the Dog in the USA) will demand justice for Brittany NOW! Screw the other Americans - they need their own lobby to get them out. Joe will say “OK. You got it.”, then proceed to forget about every other American in a Russian prison, rightfully there or not.
It’s no wonder why the basketball star is in a Russian prison.
A Reuters screen capture tweet claims the basketball star said she was not read her rights when she was arrested… in Russia.
But still -- things like oxy or codeine might be prescribed by my doctor and might be illegal in another country.
Yes they are! Some countries treat bringing in OxyContin pills every bit as harshly as smuggling in heroin. Before going to a foreign country you need to check whether any of your prescription meds are illegal and request replacement prescriptions from your doctor before you go. In my limited experience the travel destinations make no effort to hide their lists of restricted medications — they don’t try to play “gotcha” games with tourists.
When the wife and I flew into Canada earlier this year we were advised to leave our medications in the original prescription bottles and bring the bottles with us. We were told not fill our daily pill organizers until we got to our hotel. This we did, though we received no special scrutiny from Canadian customs officials. We also flew back to the States with empty pill organizers. Just being safe,
I wouldn't be carrying vape cartridges to fly into Toronto. Who would do that flying into or out of Russia? My God. Pro athletes think they are invulnerable to the rest of the world, until they find out otherwise.
Trump is not wrong in what he said, though as we all say on a regular basis, he could have said it in another way. But...had he been in office both Griner and Paul Whelan would have been released earlier with some other deal because that war going on in Ukraine would not have been going on and we'd still be producing enough energy to supply the Western world and Putin, instead of being richer than ever, would be groveling for any help he could find.
Elections matter. Even to Brittney Griner, though I guarantee you she doesn't know this. Should have just sent over LeBron James in a one for one trade.
LIE about Trump all you like, but...."Unlike his predecessor, the president has managed to bring these prisoners home without freeing terrorists or paying millions of dollars in suspected ransom payments."
https://dailycaller.com/2018/05/27/president-trump-freed-17-prisoners/
Nothing for Brittney would be a very high bar.
Let her hang out in the land she chose. She and Eddie could hook up and have an awesome time. Made for each other.
Regarding the criticism of Trump's "loaded up with drugs", are you sure that the definition of "loaded up" hasn't recently been changed? You know, like with "vaccination", "recession" and "woman"?
Meanwhile AMERICANS languish in US prisons with no charges after they were let into the capital and nobody gives 2 fucks. I can never ever go to DC now. WHat if they let ME in a building?
Who is Ray Epps?
---Every time he gets off topic he gives the opposition ammunition to misrepresent him. That’s how he lost in 2020. He needs message discipline.
Explain that slowly to Trump. I see an opportunity for you.
Trump is Putin's poodle.
Trump has nothing to lose by criticizing Griner and the trade, and nothing to gain by praising it, ergo he'll criticize.
As for her American citizenship, tough titties. That's no more relevant than her talents on and off the court, and I'm sure that if American authorities dared to look at her activities closely they would find lots of . . . irregularities.
The parallel isn't Bergdahl. The parallel is the US Marine that accidently drove into Tijuana Mexico after making a wrong turn. The Marine u-turned at the first opportunity but was stopped and inspected by Mexican border control that found his loaded gun kept in the car. Obama and VP Biden let the Marine serve his time in Mexico despite pleas from many for the Obama Administration to intervene.
If he were president, he might have gotten her home already.
Someone should ask the State Department how many Americans are imprisoned abroad and what is Bliken and Biden doing about it?
Fact is she made a dumb stupid mistake. She's a professional athlete being paid to play in Russia, no one told her not to bring the crap? The contract probably tells her not to, No sympathy for her whatsoever except she is an American so we should go get her. But what a lousy deal. I hope the Merchant of Death comes out of prison, declares himself a woman, signs with the Phoenix WNBAteam and starts hitting 3s at 40%. A merchant who delivers!!
"Arms (dealer) for Hostages!!"
I wonder how many times Biden said that in '86-7.
Griner's story is that she forgot the vapes were in her luggage.
Which, for a regular user of hash oil vapes, is the sort of thing that happens a lot.
So I believe her.
Also, in a complete bastardization of a process which might be a matter of life or death for an American sometime in the future, the Biden administration officially declared her to be "wrongfully detained" (without stating a reason) and put the State Department's hostage team on the job.
This didn't get a lot of coverage - just too embarrassingly political.
If he were president, he might have gotten her home already.
We can add this to the long list of his imaginary accomplishments. So many imaginary accomplishments...
Maybe Midnight Express should be re-released.
I mean, have you SEEN WNBA basketball? Why on earth would we engage in negotiations to release a woman basketball player?
Call me when something important happens.Like Biden goes on camera again
This seems universal to "Stars" (in their own mind)
They have been pushing the rules since they started to get recognized for their talent. I don't know about Madison, but this plays out often in Iowa City. Athletes come into town, After being wooed by the biggest Names in the sport, and told how great they are. What these youngsters don't know. Or maybe were told and don't believe. The Academics, and the elite that run the City, hate the attention they get, and will work overtime to "teach" them a lesson. A Sophomore 3 star recruit gets picked up for DUI at 1:30 in the morning. The list of bad decisions made by this manboy will fill a page for just this one event.
Why they make such bad decisions must center on their invincibility.
Griner played a stupid game, and won a stupid prize.
If she had been framed by the FSB/KGB planting drugs in her luggage, I be completely in favor of a major prisoner swap to get het back to the US. If she were a U-2 pilot shot down over Russia on an official US Government reconnaissance mission, absolutely.
But she carried in the drugs on her own, got caught breaking the local laws, and got arrested and convicted. Just like a drunken US college kid who decides to steal some whiskey from a liquor store in Singapore, she finds out that the locals there aren't nearly as tolerant of criminal behavior as the urban DAs back home.
This isn't my or any other American citizen's problem. She created it; let her solve it.
h at 4:25 pm -
Yes, you absolutely have to deal with this when you're prescribed anything, especially something "interesting". My 19 year old knows he can't study in Japan, because he takes an ADHD medication that is illegal there. He also cannot get a pilot's license because of that medicine, and he knew when he started taking it in HS that he wasn't going to be allowed near any military academy or ROTC program for college. If you need the meds you just deal with it, but you have to know what you're getting into, period.
Griner is an idiot to do what she did.
I agree that "She's an American" and our Government has an obligation to her. But that doesn't mean our Government has an obligation to trade her for high-value prisoners in US custody. If she was legitimately arrested by a foreign govt for violation of its laws, she may have to serve the time. But the Russians need to consider whether that will adversely affect their tourist business. Perhaps a fair resolution would be for the US to agree to incarerate her in a US prison for a sentence acceptable to the Russians?
Joe Smith,
"You're insane."
That's possible, but irrelevant.
"How many thousands of Americans are in foreign jails?"
I don't know, but I hope the State Department is trying to get every one of them back home. Even if they messed up. Even if, like Griner, I probably wouldn't like them and they definitely wouldn't like me.
madAsHell:
"Tell that to the Yanks left behind in Afghanistan."
Funny enough, I'm against leaving them behind too.
Leland, 6:58:
"Obama and VP Biden let the Marine serve his time in Mexico despite pleas from many for the Obama Administration to intervene."
That was a damned disgrace.
I respect Trump’s zero tolerance attitude that came from painful family losses. Trump is pretty rare in not drinking or drugging, even in his youth. But zero tolerance is poor governance and inapt for international relations. The president should always support bringing Americans home even if those negotiations are absurd. Can’t we put a chip in the Merchant of Death dude?
I'll trade Pelosi for Griner. And throw in a Hunter.
Or if Biden had any brains he would get his spooks to put some dope on a Ruskie coming to American and jail him... then trade. Oh, wait, my bad.. Biden with brains?
I think Griner should rot in jail and think Biden is feckless in this negotiation. It puts future American travelers at risk.
That said, Trump should probably sit this one out. He sent the Special Representative for Hostage Negotiations to the A$AP Rocky trial in Sweden, which is basically the same thing…engaging on behalf of private US citizens that run into trouble overseas. Why? Electoral reasons! The same reason Biden is doing it now.
Our country is run by imbeciles.
its cool reading about this while high
im not saying, im just saying
I wouldnt get on a plane in the US with any though, that would be real stupid. Russia?
Thats so 1970s
Once Biden gets done parading her in front of big media, she'll be making tv ads for Subway, like Simone Biles, the Olympic loser.
Black females and lesbians are all the rage with advertising agencies these days. Even if they're drug addled imbeciles.
I agree that "She's an American" and our Government has an obligation to her.
Our obligation is to see that she is treated humanely and justly, not help her avoid the consequences of breaking Russian law.
"The Godfather said: I agree that "She's an American" and our Government has an obligation to her."
Really? How much of an obligation? If she had gotten drunk on Vodka, hopped into a car, ran a red light, and smacked into a 4 year old innocently crossing the street, would you feel the same way?
She is in a foreign country. You want to visit there, you are supposed to obey their laws. As Hunter S. Thompson wisely observed, even in Las Vegas, there is one paramount rule: "Don't burn the locals!"
This is not a case of an innocent visitor being involuntarily sucked into becoming a pawn in a geopolitical great game. Instead, she seems to be just an athlete who thought she deserved special privileges not available to the mere Hoi Polloi.
I'll save my concern and sympathy for the innocents imprisoned by foreign countries. The US government should give her the names of talented local defense attorneys, and leave it at that.
Once again, you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. As Robert Heinlein wrote, "Stupidity is a capital crime. The punishment is death. And there is no Court of Appeals."
She hates America? She hates Trump? That means that she hates half of America. I hate her too.
Clay and Buck completely softballed Trump re Covid. Trump even brought up how covid is now "all over the place". Of course, He had them out for golfing.
I hope no monkeypox was transmitted.
"cubanbob said...
Someone should ask the State Department how many Americans are imprisoned abroad and what is Bliken and Biden doing about it?"
67 Americans in 18 countries.
What's being done? For 66, nothing. Only Griner in Russia is negotiable.
On January 20, 2021, in the final hours of his Presidency, Donald Trump, without personal comment, pardoned 73 criminals and commuted the sentences of 70 prisoners boarding in our finest prisons. Unsurprisingly, only 17 women were granted freedom by TFG.
But let a famous black female athlete get caught with a substance legal in the U.S. but not in Russia and Donald strikes up the campaign band to play "Macho, Macho Man" for his white nationalist supporters and, additionally, to send a message to his Russian buddy, Pootie-Poot.
She complained that she wasn't read her rights. Lady, this is Russia.
Is Joe Biden seriously negotiating for the return to the United States of an international drug smuggler?
Last time I checked, it's illegal to smuggle drugs through US airports and across state lines and international borders. Is Brittney Griner going to be prosecuted if she's returned to the United States? Why are we not even discussing this?
Of course, we all know the answer to that question with this corrupt cabal in charge. The foxes are definitely all up in the henhouse with this bunch of criminals and neer-do-wells.
Butkus51 said...
Meanwhile AMERICANS languish in US prisons with no charges after they were let into the capital and nobody gives 2 fucks. I can never ever go to DC now. WHat if they let ME in a building?
Who is Ray Epps?
7/31/22, 6:31 PM
THIS^^^^
She hasn't been in prison as long as the J6 Political prisoners have been. She is being treated A LOT better than THEY are too. The DC gulag is worse than Russia when it is our own citizens being treated as terrorists for walking around taking selfies in the Capitol after being ushered in by the Capitol police.
Trump is correct that Ms. Griner should have known better than to try to bring drugs--however innocuous--into any foreign nation, much less Russia, that she had to have known are illegal in that nation. She acted stupidly. However, a 10 year sentence for hash oil vapes is extreme--much like our own criminal penalties for use of drugs. I'd like to think the US can work out an exchange.
As for Trump's remarks about the Russian arms merchant, Viktor Bout did not do anything that is not business-as-usual for our own nation and US-based arms manufacturers: selling arms to those who want them and who have cash to pay for them. Our own arms makers and sellers are no less merchants of death than Bout.
I'm sure that if American authorities dared to look at her activities closely they would find lots of . . . irregularities.
For all anyone knows she could have been passing information to the US. In any case there is no legitimate due process or rule of law in Russia. The rush to judgment on display here is repulsive.
"She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying."
If only this administration and its military leadership had had this attitude while withdrawing from Afghanistan.
"I don't know, but I hope the State Department is trying to get every one of them back home."
Why? Other countries have the right to have their own laws and have those laws respected by Americans visiting them. I would expect a Russian or an Italian visiting America to respect our laws and face jail time if they didn't. The United States government is under no obligation to save criminals.
"She's still an American, and we've got to get her back or keep trying."
She's an American who deliberately broke the laws of another country. That makes her a criminal. We are under no obligation to save criminals from the consequences of their own actions, particularly if that saving requires us to release a dangerous criminal in return.
"subject to the rules that govern the muggles."
Muggles is a word that J.K. Rowling stole from Steinbeck's "Tortilla Flat". Mexican slang for marijuana. She also stole the "entire plot-line from the first "Star Wars" (1977) for the first Harry Potter book.
"there is no legitimate rule of law or due process in Russia."
I agree, so in addition to being stupid, the woman was happy to make a buck as an entertainer in a police state. Whose laws she broke!
I don't think I'm rushing to judgement in the least. The public facts have been out for a while.
The "maybe she's really a US asset" is charmingly gallant.
[J.K. Rowling intellectual thefts]
Huh. I did not know that.
Heywood Rice said...
Trump is Putin's poodle.
Were you born that stupid, or did practice make you that stupid?
By all means send the MoD back to Russia. Just slip him a microgram of polonium-210 before he goes. Putin will understand.
I don't think I'm rushing to judgement in the least. The public facts have been out for a while.
There are no public facts in Russia. All information we have about this case comes from the Russian authorities. It's amazing to see the credence people who are supposedly skeptical about the US media give to propaganda from a totalitarian regime like Putin's.
Trump sucks up to authoritarian rulers like those in Saudi Arabia and Russia for political advantage or money and it doesn't seem to bother his followers.
Good thing Joementia and fam have clean hands.
"Trump sucks up to authoritarian rulers like those in Saudi Arabia and Russia for political advantage or money and it doesn't seem to bother his followers."
You seem to be missing the point. This isn't about Orange the Clown. This is about an entitled American celebrity from the correct political voting block (the LGBT-whatever group) getting the kind of consideration some dumb ass college kid from flyover country wouldn't get.
So, Heywood Rice, is the whole thing a set up by them evil Rooskies?
No hash oil? No crime under Russian law? Is that what you're saying?
Can you suggest why she didn't use that defense?
Don't bother telling me about Trump. I'm aware of the public facts--at least those provided by our corrupt organs of state security to be regurgitated by imbecilic children in the media.
Left Bank of the Charles said...
Maybe we could exchange Donald Trump for Brittney Griner.
If we're going to swap a criminal for a criminal, then JOE BIDEN would be a better candidate.
The way that this has been presented on Social Media is that she was arrested for no good reason.
If she was nailed in a legit drug bust then leave her. It's not the proper role of the US government to trade criminals who harmed Americans, to save an actually criminal American
JPS said...
"And now we’re supposed to get her out."
No, we're bound to. She's an American.
So what?
Are you saying that Americans shouldn't be bound by other countries laws?
She may not like to be reminded of that when our national anthem plays
No.
People who say "I don't value being an American" should not be valued or protected by the rest of us.
Because they most certainly don't and won't value or protect us
You don't get what you're not willing to give
Heywood Rice said...
There are no public facts in Russia. All information we have about this case comes from the Russian authorities. It's amazing to see the credence people who are supposedly skeptical about the US media give to propaganda from a totalitarian regime like Putin's.
Did you miss this, Heywood Jablome? Or do facts just not matter to you?
"Her wife said she had a prescription for her illicit drug that the Russians arrested her for".
If you have some actual support for a claim that Brittney Griner was set up by the Russians, and the drugs planted on her?
Or do you just have a deranged hatred for Trump?
I thought that athletes were given instructions as to the laws and traditions of other countries before they visited, and warned of violating those laws. Is that no longer done? Or was it done and she just thought she was not required to obey those laws due to her "celebrity" status?
I've read that she says she "forgot" she had the hashish vapes in her luggage, and also that it was a prescription. I'm not sure if either of those are true. However, if you are going to a foreign country and plan to be there for several weeks, don't you remember your prescriptions, have the properly packed along with your doctor's notes, referrals to physicians in the visiting country, and also make sure you check with your team manager or liaison as to whether those prescriptions are legit in the country to which you are traveling?
As to trading her for a convicted criminal being held in our own country who apparently violated our own laws by trafficking in arms in order to harm our nation, why? Is she that important to our nation's security. Or, does she just check the correct boxes on the diversity and equity scale which make her more important than other American citizens being held in foreign prisons?
Heywood Rice said...
There are no public facts in Russia. All information we have about this case comes from the Russian authorities. It's amazing to see the credence people who are supposedly skeptical about the US media give to propaganda from a totalitarian regime like Putin's.
Did you miss this, Heywood Jablome? Or do facts just not matter to you?
"Her wife said she had a prescription for her illicit drug that the Russians arrested her for".
If you have some actual support for a claim that Brittney Griner was set up by the Russians, and the drugs planted on her?
Or do you just have a deranged hatred for Trump?
I don't really see how the amount of money she makes is relevant, but for the record, she made $227,000 playing in the WNBA in her most recent season with Phoenix (I'm not sure what she made in Russia, but I have to assume it's (probably a lot) less than that). While that may seem like a good deal of money to your everyday Joe, it strikes me as strange that someone in Trump's position would claim she makes a lot of money. This is the type of thing he does that I find pretty concerning. Flippantly saying whatever tf you want when concrete/accurate information is readily available is not a quality that I find becoming, particularly when we're talking about someone with aspirations to be our President again.
"While that may seem like a good deal of money to your everyday Joe, it strikes me as strange that someone in Trump's position would claim she makes a lot of money."
If you're talking to everyday Joes, why would it be odd to refer to the money she makes in terms they can relate to? Unless you're looking to find fault with Trump, for whatever reason. Lots of people are.
"If you're talking to everyday Joes, why would it be odd to refer to the money she makes in terms they can relate to? Unless you're looking to find fault with Trump, for whatever reason. Lots of people are."
I don't mind telling you that I have very little respect for Donald Trump (though I do have respect for the office, even when he was in it), and if one doesn't find fault with him, then for some reason they aren't looking very hard.
In addition to his tenuous relationship with truth, another thing that really troubles me about him is the way his base seems to give him a pass on the fact that he is not at all in touch with how everyday Americans live (I don't think very many politicians are and this is a frequent criticism that many of them face). The fact that he has no idea what it would be like to have to make it on $227,000/year (much less $40,000/year) but still crafts his rhetoric in ways that inflame the passions of people who are struggling feels much less like an attempt to relate to those folks and much more like one to manipulate them.
(If you'll allow me to make a stupid analogy, to me it feels like some two legged person telling people that I (a one legged man) have a lot of legs in an effort to connect with the bilateral amputee population. They wouldn't fool the people with no legs and all of us one legged folks would also think they were a ding dong. To tell you the truth, my concerns are probably more about his base than they are about him).
(Except for that in my analogy, the bilateral amps would still be faster. Life is hard).
Peglegged Picador said...
"If you're talking to everyday Joes, why would it be odd to refer to the money she makes in terms they can relate to? Unless you're looking to find fault with Trump, for whatever reason. Lots of people are."
I don't mind telling you that I have very little respect for Donald Trump (though I do have respect for the office, even when he was in it), and if one doesn't find fault with him, then for some reason they aren't looking very hard.
Do you find a lot to find fault with Joe Biden? Or are you just another partisan lunatic?
In addition to his tenuous relationship with truth, another thing that really troubles me about him is the way his base seems to give him a pass on the fact that he is not at all in touch with how everyday Americans live (I don't think very many politicians are and this is a frequent criticism that many of them face). The fact that he has no idea what it would be like to have to make it on $227,000/year (much less $40,000/year) but still crafts his rhetoric in ways that inflame the passions of people who are struggling feels much less like an attempt to relate to those folks and much more like one to manipulate them.
So, you're very upset that Trump treats the "lessor" people with respect, as if their viewpoints and opinions are important?
To me, an individual making $227k+ / year is "a lot of money".
What's pathetic and out of touch is someone saying "that's not a lot of money to make in a year!"
I do find a lot of fault with Biden and I'm praying to God the Dems don't run him again.
What I find pathetic is that instead of addressing my point, you choose to put words into my mouth. I also think $227,000/year is a lot of money, and would find it disingenuous if someone making that much told folks who make $20,000/year that I'm making 'a lot of money' because I make $60,000/year.
Feel free to let me know if you want to have an intellectually honest and constructive conversation, I'm here for it. I'm not here to try to convince Trump fanboys who want to project their deficiencies on me that I don't love Joe Biden. Regardless of what it is you're after, I hope you have a great day.
(And if you think that mendaciously pandering to people is the same thing as showing them respect, there's a better than even chance that you might be part of the problem).
One Trump is worth any number of criminal ex-WBNA skanks.
"criminal ex-WBNA skanks"
I don't think Louisville would appreciate you insulting their former news anchors like that.
P--P-- noted, "I don't think Louisville would appreciate you insulting their former news anchors like that."
Never heard of them. WNBA.
There you go. That's the attention to detail I expect from a former librarian/archivist.
Ooh! Ooh! A TYPO!
Gold star for PeePee.
I mean in fairness, your whole comment was nonsense. I look forward to engaging with you if you ever have anything constructive to say. Hope you have a good evening.
Blogger Peglegged Picador said...
I do find a lot of fault with Biden and I'm praying to God the Dems don't run him again.
What "faults" do you find with Biden that wouldn't be true with any other Democrat candidate?
What I find pathetic is that instead of addressing my point
That's because your point is total bullshit.
Trump didn't say "she makes a lot of money compared to me", which would be false. he said "she makes a lot of money", which is true.
She had the financial ability to hire a lawyer and find out if it would be illegal to take those drugs to Russia. She's in the top 10%? 5%? of American wage earners.
if you're looking for someone "down on their luck" to worry about, she's not that person.
Which is what Trump said, and what Trump meant, and it was entirely correct.
Your being upset that what he said is entirely correct is your problem, not ours
I'm pretty sure I already said that I'm not interested in engaging in a proof of how much I don't love Biden. That has absolutely nothing to do with the matter at hand.
Which brings me back to the irrelevance of the 'she makes a lot of money' comment (and my feeling that it's operating as manipulative rhetoric here). Perhaps, as you said, Trump was intending to make the point that she had the financial means to consult an attorney regarding Russian drug laws. The fact that any one of us could look that up on Google in 5 minutes leaves me feeling like that's a stretch though. If you have other thoughts on why pointing out how much money she makes is relevant, I'd be interested to hear them. I'm still leaning in the direction of this being a prime example of his characteristic bullshit.
(Also, I feel the need to clarify that I'm not 'upset'. I expect this kind of thing from Trump, so it's difficult to characterize it as upsetting (although the mental gymnastics y'all go through to defend whatever he says is troubling, as I also said earlier, I think my concerns are probably more with the people who seem like absolute sycophantic loyalists than they are with the man himself).
TLDR: I'm not like you guys, I don't get upset about politics.
(And I prefer for things that people say in conversations about specific issues to have some connection to those issues).
Peglegged Picador said...
Which brings me back to the irrelevance of the 'she makes a lot of money' comment (and my feeling that it's operating as manipulative rhetoric here)
Gee, you mean it's a political statement?
No shit.
But it's a political statement that uses the actual truth to advance its agenda. Which is very refreshing, compared to the dishonest drivel that routinely comes from the Democrats.
Why does he mention she's well paid?
because people tend to have more sympathy for the poor how are in a bad place, than for the rich.
Esp. the kind of people whose votes Trump wants to get.
But I note you've pretty much retracted your attack, going from "he's lying" to "he's being manipulative", as if any political is EVER not manipulative
Ok bud. I didn't ever say he was lying. I said it was irrelevant to the topic at hand and that I found it strange that his base is dumb enough to eat it up when a millionaire uses class warfare to engender an emotional response. That's still what it looks like from where I stand, if you feel better thinking I've walked it back from something I never said, I guess I'm happy for you.
Peglegged Picador said...
Flippantly saying whatever tf you want when concrete/accurate information is readily available is not a quality that I find becoming
That's a claim that what he's saying isn't true.
Your follow on BS about legs said the same.
"I said it was irrelevant to the topic at hand"
Except, as I pointed out and you never responded to, it's NOT irrelevant.
Very few people waste any sympathy for someone better off than them, who's in a bad position solely because of his / her own screwups.
And that's the case here with BG, as Trump correctly pointed out
Peglegged Picador said...
(And I prefer for things that people say in conversations about specific issues to have some connection to those issues).
News flash: No one cares what you prefer
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