Welcome to Thunderdome

Posted: **Thu Aug 01, 2024 3:16 pm**

photo released by the US government today shows Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva and former US Marine Paul Whelan posing behind an American flag in Turkey shortly after they were released as part of the historic prisoner swap between Russia, the US and other nations.

The trio, along with other recently freed Americans, are now headed back to the United States.

Posted: **Thu Aug 01, 2024 3:49 pm**

Good for them, but they should have been home long ago.

To Gordon's point elsewhere, does this happen in a non-election year?

Posted: **Fri Aug 09, 2024 9:29 am**

1. Ukraine takes the fight to Russia, which last I heard was against the rules of the people supplying them arms and supplies.

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/cn7lmd07mxvt

2. We haven't discussed this in a long time, but Ukraine, to my understanding, has been very slowly losing ground for a long while.
3. This almost strikes as a "we're going to lose. We need a hail Mary."
4. They allowed Russia waaaay too much time to adapt to the war Ukraine was fighting. No ships have been sunk in a long while. No footage of drones dropping shit on troops and tanks. No airplanes blowing up on the runways.
5. How are the sanctions going? I heard their economy went backwards by a decade, but I haven't heard anything about "there aren't any more bullets to send."

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:41 am**

Russia's been paying for MAGA disinformation for years, funding a platform where people like the above were featured.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:43 am**

So, free speech or no?

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:45 am**

GORDON wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:43 am So, free speech or no?

Obviously it wasn't free, it was paid for

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:59 am**

They were free to spend money for the speech. Cool or nah?

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:08 am**

GORDON wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 8:59 am They were free to spend money for the speech. Cool or nah?

Not cool since it's Russian $.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:14 am**

It's been determined that as soon as an illegal immigrant sets foot on American soil, they get all those wacky American rights that should be only for Americans.

Doesn't apply to comments on American servers?

What if the Russian agent is sitting in Columbus, Ohio posting from there? No free speech?

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:37 am**

It's gaslighting.

First, "invests in" is far more apt a description. Second, they only say "funds" because there's no evidence of them having any say in content.

The Russian interference narrative gets all the headlines, but interestingly, no headlines covered the recent incident where Google searches about Donald Trump showed no evidence an assassination attempt took place and instead took you to positive stories about Kamala and her campaign page.

Here's Google at it again, and again, no coverage. Lots of others doing it in the comments and showing their results. Oh, and hey look, it's from one of those evil Russian controlled misinformation puppets!

“Every record been destroyed or falsified, books rewritten, pictures repainted, statues, street building renamed, every date altered. The process is continuing day by day. History stops. Nothing exists except endless present in which the Party is right.”

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:39 am**

Jeff Bezos: "So what will you do for me if I influence search results in your favor?"

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:13 am**

GORDON wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:14 am It's been determined that as soon as an illegal immigrant sets foot on American soil, they get all those wacky American rights that should be only for Americans.

Doesn't apply to comments on American servers?

What if the Russian agent is sitting in Columbus, Ohio posting from there? No free speech?

Maybe go look at the applicable laws and then you'll know.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:14 am**

Leisher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:37 am It's gaslighting.

It's real.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:16 am**

TheCatt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:13 am
GORDON wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:14 am It's been determined that as soon as an illegal immigrant sets foot on American soil, they get all those wacky American rights that should be only for Americans.

Doesn't apply to comments on American servers?

What if the Russian agent is sitting in Columbus, Ohio posting from there? No free speech?
Maybe go look at the applicable laws and then you'll know.

"Just go google it." I guess discussion over. No free speech wins the day.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:17 am**

Free speech has limits, and always has.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:22 am**

Can't talk now busy googling

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 11:11 am**

My googling revealed the governments initial batch of exhibits, which includes a bunch of policy and content directive documents translated with Russian/English version. Woah.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 11:16 am**

These guys, Tim Pool especially, were screaming on their platforms for years now about how “Ukraine was the real enemy of the USA” - for $100k an episode?

Meanwhile this week, Tucker was a media pedestal for a historian who’s main argument seemed to be that Winston Churchill was the bad guy in WW2, despite all known history on the topic, and something like “Hitler wasn’t THAT bad of a guy, guys!”

Tough week for alt right media personalities.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 11:21 am**

The crime being committed, of course, is taking money from a Russian state controlled, USA sanctioned entity, for purposes of election meddling. And the document sure support that.

Posted: **Thu Sep 05, 2024 11:33 am**

TheCatt wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 10:14 am
Leisher wrote: ↑Thu Sep 05, 2024 9:37 am It's gaslighting.
It's real.

It's gaslighting because they're only highlighting an instance pertaining to one side and completely ignoring the exact same thing happening for the other side.