#viktor bout

Giova ricordare che gli USA, giusto un paio d'anni fa, "scambiarono" la giocatrice di basket Brittney Griner col trafficante d'armi Viktor Bout. Giusto per rimarcare che i loro cittadini contano più dei nostri. @ExtraLabel

Some takeaways

Brittney Griner is a distinguished American citizen who was wrongly imprisoned by a hostile foreign government that hates Black people and Lgbtq people. We should simply be happy she is home.

Until yesterday, most concern trolls had no idea who Paul Whelan was, or that he even existed.

Why should we take the Russian government’s word for anything? About Griner’s alleged Vape cartridges, or about Paul Whelan allegedly spying?

Viktor Bout had already served 15yrs, the majority of his sentence, and he was going to be released in 7yrs. He was not going to stay in prison forever.

The Russian government refuses to make any trade involving Paul Whelan.

Whelan’s own family has expressed gratitude for Griner’s release.

Donald Trump freed literally hundreds thousands of Taliban fighters, but somehow that failed to get Republicans anywhere near as upset as they are about Viktor Bout.

Donald Trump himself likely sold our government’s secrets to Russia and Saudi Arabia. Republicans aren’t upset about that either.

The Republican & Libertarian gun nuts who believe that every man, woman and 2yr old child should be armed to the teeth because of the 2nd Amendment are now upset that an arms dealer is going free??

The tankies who believe that Russia can do no wrong are now mad that Russia is getting an anti-American comrade back?

If you’re Black, gay, and/or a woman, I strongly recommend staying tf out of Russia.

Twitter is full of bots now - and Elon Musk has made it infinitely easier for them to spread mis/disinformation, so please verify the hot takes coming from certain accounts, especially if they are new or have been long inactive. Due diligence & fact check; be a discerning consumer of media.

No one in any country should face imprisonment or hard labor for possessing cannabis. That includes the United States too - our government doesn’t get a pass on its history of mass incarceration of disproportionately Black and Brown people.

I’m glad BG is home now. 🏳️‍🌈

Let's talk about Griner, Whelan, and Bout....

There was a time when an American being freed from hostile foreign soil would have been cause for celebration.  But folks on the Right have cultivated an absolutely backwards brand of patriotism that has led to Brittney Griner, someone who gave this country Olympic gold medals, being downright vilified.  And time and again, I see the same insipid talking points trotted out to justify hating her, Joe Biden, or both.  So I thought it'd be good to break this down, point by point:

"Biden could have traded for Paul Whelan instead of Griner!" No, he couldn’t.  Whelan wasn’t on the table.  Russia has painted him as a spy, and they’re holding on to him.  It was Brittney Griner or nobody.  Whelan himself called her release “wonderful news”, and his family put out a statement, as follows: "There is no greater success than for a wrongful detainee to be freed & for them to go home. The Biden Admin made the right decision to bring Ms. Griner home, & to make the deal that was possible, rather than waiting for one that wasn't going to happen.”  And for what it’s worth, Trump didn’t do jack to bring him back while he was president, so let’s dismiss the pathetic bloviating from 45 regarding his deal-making acumen.

"She deserved it for handling drugs!" No, she didn’t.  Even if the few drops of hash oil weren’t medicinal, as her defense claimed, nine years in a penal colony for a vape cartridge should be outrageous by anyone’s standards.  And let’s not forget, Russia has made exceptions to their strict drug policies for athletes before.  Hell, remember that doping scandal from some years back?  In an attempt to win prestige the Russian government concocted a whole program for helping their athletes to evade doping regulations.  They were technically banned from the Olympics and global sports for years.  But, oh, yeah, this basketball player had less than one gram of hash oil.  Nine years in the gulag!  She had it coming!!

"Viktor Bout is a danger to the world!" No, he isn’t.  He was Mr. “Lord of War” fifteen years ago.  Not anymore.  He’s been out of the game for over a decade.  The market has changed, the players have changed, technology has changed, the world has changed.  He’s not the “Merchant of Death” emerging from a cursed tomb, he’s not going to be handing Cobra Commander any laser guns, and letting Putin crow for a few weeks about getting a buddy out of prison is a small price to pay for reuniting a woman with her family.

"She hates America because she wouldn’t stand for the national anthem!" Give me a break.