CBS: Brittney Griner freed in prisoner swap

[dunfer]

Just now, TradeTheBeal! said:

They’re gonna torture him until they find out what beans he spilled and then they gonna throw him out of a window.

yeah im wondering if they just want to kill him

[Die Hard]

6 hours ago, tshile said:

Not that this will change your argument, or shouldn’t, but you’ve said this, others have said something similar, someone said 70% of his sentence. But it’s not correct. 
 

he was arrested in 2008 in Thailand under a DEA probe in a separate investigation. He was extradited in 2010. Convicted in 2012. He had 13 of his 25 years left on his sentence. He didn’t get credit for his time in Thailand. He had served less than 50% of his sentence. 
 

you also say Russia didn’t care. Well, they had protests. And Russia added every known investigator, lawyer, and judge involved to  Deny Entry list. At the start they said platitudes about facing justice for what he did if he’s guilty, but they reversed course upon conviction. this is all found on his Wikipedia page. 
 

although you have to search for old articles about when his sentence was to end because his Wikipedia entry has been updated to reflect he’s been pardoned and released. 

Yeah but do we have a reason to believe that was her, and not the Russian government forcing her to say those things?

 

I just have no faith in their process 

I understand and generally feel the same.

 

From everything I’ve read, it appears as if her wife/family/friends aren’t really arguing her innocence - when interviewed and quoted. Instead, they’re arguing the severity of the penalty instead of an unlawful arrest.

 

Just my reading between the lines. 
 

I think this was just a flex by Russia. It just doesn’t look like they’ve fabricated it. BG just made it too easy.

 

[skinsmarydu]

Gang!  Russia hates all gay people.  They're all white.  They wanted to crush her. 

She isn't crushable.  She stood strong, but stayed compliant under the drama. 

She's been the baddest girl I've known of. 

HAIL, B! 

[tshile]

6 minutes ago, dunfer said:

Depends on his finances...but its russia so who knows. The Fact that Russia wants him makes me worried. Russia is on the brink atm...what does this guy offer?

At the same time They wouldnt give up Whelan, so mabye kgb just wants to put a bullet in his head

well, and there’s tons of articles on this, but big time criminals in Russia work at the permission of the government. It’s a whole thing. they can hold threats of putting you in a penal colony for life over you to do their bidding when they need it. 
 

they didn’t just make a move to get him back. They actively protested his conviction at the time. They also added every lawyer, investigator, and judge to their deny entry list. 
 

I mean some of its PR but some of it is just the result of how a corrupt government operates 

[dunfer]

2 minutes ago, tshile said:

well, and there’s tons of articles on this, but big time criminals in Russia work at the permission of the government. It’s a whole thing. they can hold threats of putting you in a penal colony for life over you to do their bidding when they need it. 
 

they didn’t just make a move to get him back. They actively protested his conviction at the time. They also added every lawyer, investigator, and judge to their deny entry list. 
 

I mean some of its PR but some of it is just the result of how a corrupt government operates 

with the most nukes 🥳

[TradeTheBeal!]

2 hours ago, PokerPacker said:

What are the odds that nobody dies as a result of The Merchant Of Death being free?

 

Self-ownage at an all time high.

 

 

[tshile]

🙄

Asking if releasing a guy known as the Merchant of Death, who had a movie made about him titled the Lord of War, may result in people dying is not the same as using that question to demand Biden be impeached for it. 

[PleaseBlitz]

1 hour ago, tshile said:

Cant trot the marine around on camera and get good publicity.

🧐

[TradeTheBeal!]

6 minutes ago, PleaseBlitz said:

🧐

All.

Time.

High.

[PokerPacker]

31 minutes ago, tshile said:

🙄

Asking if releasing a guy known as the Merchant of Death, who had a movie made about him titled the Lord of War, may result in people dying is not the same as using that question to demand Biden be impeached for it. 

Indeed.  If you use someone who's entire platform is "Biden is wrong", then inevitably there will be times when there's overlap between that position and someone who thinks critically because Biden is not perfect, and many subjects could have two very reasonable sides.  Now if you can find a trend of me agreeing with MTG... then I may have brain cancer and somebody please get me some help.

Edited December 9, 2022 by PokerPacker

[Destino]

1 hour ago, tshile said:

Don’t feed the troll 

 

not worth it. Pigs and mud and all that 

let’s keep things much more civil than that.  I suggest an edit.  I’ve even provided an example.

[TradeTheBeal!]

 

[TheGreatBuzz]

 

 

 

[tmandoug1]

3 hours ago, skinsmarydu said:

International arms dealer is twice her age and has no connections in his home country anymore. 

THIS ISN'T JUST A POT CHARGE. 

She didn't check her luggage from the last trip...who hasn't ****ed that up?  I live where the WORLD'S busiest airport is...some 800 guns get confiscated here every year.  No one gets sent to a prison camp here. 

Get over yourself. 

She wasn't here......thats the point. You shouldn't tell people to get over themselves, it's rude. Especially when you are talking from emotion and not reality. She went into a hostile foreign country with illegal contraband (allegedly) during a war footing. Russia isn't the USA. Why do you think they traded her for the old ass arms dealer with no connections? He has the connections and Putin knows that.

[Hersh]

I find this thread enlightening. I didn’t know we had so many experts on this topic that know the ins and outs of what happened.

 

Me, I don’t know **** about this other than some of y’all are falling for Putins game. 

[Renegade7]

 

 

I know it supposedly wasn't weed, but Russia treats CBD this way, our laws are ass backwards putting stuff like hemp in same category as weed in same category as heroin.  And there are people in jail right now for selling weed while others are making startup marijuana companies.

 

My main take-away is this: forget the Marine and focus on how many people Biden is asking State AGs to release over marijuana possession charges that are still sitting in jail right now.

 

Marijuana Decriminalization in this country needs to happen for Everyone yesterday.  

 

I'm glad she's home, too, but we got work to do.

 

 

 

 

[Berggy9598]

Releasing Viktor Bout is a drop in the bucket compared to the mayhem we've caused around the world over the years, so welcome home Brittney! I hope she lights a blunt while kneeling for the national anthem in a Colin Kaepernick jersey. 

[capcrunch98]

30 minutes ago, Berggy9598 said:

Releasing Viktor Bout is a drop in the bucket compared to the mayhem we've caused around the world over the years, so welcome home Brittney! I hope she lights a blunt while kneeling for the national anthem in a Colin Kaepernick jersey. 

And that's the beautiful thing about this great country - she has a right to do that (minus the blunt part, depending on what state she's in). Would it be low-class and hypocritical of her to do so, considering the U.S. government went to bat for her and saved her from damnation in a labor camp, with Griner's family begging them every step along the way? Certainly. But she has a right to do it.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

[The Sisko]

I think it’s possibly she may not have had anything and it was planted and she had no choice but to go along to avoid a harsher sentence. However I think what’s more likely is that she fell victim to a couple of things. First, she probably assumed that the usual not having to play by the rules thing applied as it often does here. See, a one Walker Herschel with no arrests or charges for domestic violence as one example. Second, I suspect that given the nature of the corruption in Russia, she had probably done this before without any issues. Therefore, she may have taken the Russian tactic of holding criminal charges in abeyance until needed as just more athletes privilege. Ditto for why she’d even travel there at all under the circumstances. She may have even asked about it beforehand and was given assurances. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do but there are scenarios where one could understand it.
 

Given the worship for the military in this country, I get the outrage over the way this played out. However, the reality of the situation is that life isn’t fair. The rich and famous get a ton of perks and privilege in this country. It also matters in these cases how much pressure you can put on the Govt. Whelan and the others suffer from the same problem as unknown political candidates, i.e., no name recognition and the lack of a large motivated constituency to push the issue until it gains traction.

 

Finally, as for the Viktor Bout angle, it sucks from the punishment perspective. However, if you think international arms dealing stopped or even diminished while he was in jail, I have some prime Florida swampla… ‘er beachfront property I can offer you for a really good price. Like drugs, the market for weapons goes on no matter who gets removed from the picture.

 

[Cooked Crack]

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

10 hours ago, Hersh said:

 

Me, I don’t know **** about this other than some of y’all are falling for Putins game. 

 

Bro, I just had two croissan'wiches from Burger King for breakfast, I'm sitting on the couch in my drawers watching cartoons and I haven't shaved since last week.  So I don't know what kind of game you think Putin is playing, but I say bring it the **** on.

[tmandoug1]

9 hours ago, Renegade7 said:

 

 

I know it supposedly wasn't weed, but Russia treats CBD this way, our laws are ass backwards putting stuff like hemp in same category as weed in same category as heroin.  And there are people in jail right now for selling weed while others are making startup marijuana companies.

 

My main take-away is this: forget the Marine and focus on how many people Biden is asking State AGs to release over marijuana possession charges that are still sitting in jail right now.

 

Marijuana Decriminalization in this country needs to happen for Everyone yesterday.  

 

I'm glad she's home, too, but we got work to do.

 

 

 

 

It was a THC vape and she wasn't in the USA. People can get emotional over this but the fact is she went into a foreign country knowing the laws and got caught. Everyone is acting like she was in Nebraska. Glad she is home.....maybe a little humility on her part is in order. Won't happen though I'm sure her idiot agent will have her on talk shows and a book by next week. 

 

Biden can't ask state AG's to do ****. He can get a law through congress to make the federal side go away which he needs to do first. Can't make a State legalize weed. The citizens of that state have to do that by voting.

 

 

[TradeTheBeal!]

30 minutes ago, Spaceman Spiff said:

 

Bro, I just had two croissan'wiches from Burger King for breakfast, I'm sitting on the couch in my drawers watching cartoons and I haven't shaved since last week.  So I don't know what kind of game you think Putin is playing, but I say bring it the **** on.

The cartoon.

 

 

[Berggy9598]

2 hours ago, The Sisko said:

I think it’s possibly she may not have had anything and it was planted and she had no choice but to go along to avoid a harsher sentence. However I think what’s more likely is that she fell victim to a couple of things. First, she probably assumed that the usual not having to play by the rules thing applied as it often does here. See, a one Walker Herschel with no arrests or charges for domestic violence as one example. Second, I suspect that given the nature of the corruption in Russia, she had probably done this before without any issues. Therefore, she may have taken the Russian tactic of holding criminal charges in abeyance until needed as just more athletes privilege. Ditto for why she’d even travel there at all under the circumstances. She may have even asked about it beforehand and was given assurances. It wasn’t the smartest thing to do but there are scenarios where one could understand it.
 

Given the worship for the military in this country, I get the outrage over the way this played out. However, the reality of the situation is that life isn’t fair. The rich and famous get a ton of perks and privilege in this country. It also matters in these cases how much pressure you can put on the Govt. Whelan and the others suffer from the same problem as unknown political candidates, i.e., no name recognition and the lack of a large motivated constituency to push the issue until it gains traction.

 

Finally, as for the Viktor Bout angle, it sucks from the punishment perspective. However, if you think international arms dealing stopped or even diminished while he was in jail, I have some prime Florida swampla… ‘er beachfront property I can offer you for a really good price. Like drugs, the market for weapons goes on no matter who gets removed from the picture.

 

She’s “rich and famous” on the every day person scale, but relative to her profession she isnt. If she was counted on to put butts in seat for an NBA or NFL owner she would have been out in a week. 

8 hours ago, capcrunch98 said:

And that's the beautiful thing about this great country - she has a right to do that (minus the blunt part, depending on what state she's in). Would it be low-class and hypocritical of her to do so, considering the U.S. government went to bat for her and saved her from damnation in a labor camp, with Griner's family begging them every step along the way? Certainly. But she has a right to do it.

Certainly in your opinion. The great thing about Western nations is there’s no obligatory nationalism.