Total topics: 11
Prigozihn March to Moscow. On the way to Moscow he kills a reported 16 Russian military members and shoots down 5 helicopter.
Suddenly just before prigozihn makes himself new president news announces he has made deal and will not topple Putin.
If you know nothing of Russian power structure, perhaps this will enlighten you. Imagine in America if somebody shoots down 5 helicopters and kills 15 American soldiers. This death most certainly ly would not go unanswered, but Putin announces complete forgiveness.
Well, FSB runs Mother Russia. Putin is not real power. FSB is. Prigozihn would not back off if he did not have some crazy assurances that were airtight. His life was on the line if he lost.
What happens is he won and FSB basically negotiate Russian surrender. Putin is now figure head. Likely they thought it weak that Russia would be toppled by military coup.
Here is what likely happened. Russia told Prigozihn that he should just chill and run for election which comes up in spring. The FSB promised they will rig election in Prigozihn's favor.
Prigozihn will be next president of Russia.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Current events
Just curious to see how they defend the war criminal. I except whataboutism.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
Takeaways from the unsealed Mar-a-Lago search affidavit
By JILL COLVIN and NOMAAN MERCHANT@AP NEWS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department on Friday unsealed the FBI affidavit justifying the unprecedented search of former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. While the document released is highly redacted, with many of its 32 pages crossed out in black blocks, it includes new details about the sheer volume of sensitive and highly classified information that was stored at the former president’s Florida beachfront home, underscoring the government’s concerns about its safety.
Here are top takeaways of what the document revealed:
- TRUMP HAD ‘A LOT’ OF CLASSIFIED MATERIAL STORED AT HIS CLUB
While the affidavit doesn’t provide new details about the 11 sets of classified records that were recovered during the FBI’s Aug. 8 search of Trump’s winter home, it does help to explain why the Justice Department believed that retrieving the outstanding documents was necessary.
Federal investigators knew months before the search that Trump had been storing top secret government records at Mar-a-Lago, a private club accessible not only to Trump, his staff and his family, but paying members and their guests, along with a revolving door of attendees at various functions, including weddings, paid political fundraisers and charity galas.
The affidavit notes that Mar-a-Lago storage areas, Trump’s office, his residential suite and other areas at the club where documents were suspected to still be kept were not authorized locations for the storage of classified information. Indeed, it notes that no space at Mar-a-Lago had been authorized for the storage of classified information at least since the end of Trump’s term in office.
Yet the affidavit reveals that, of the batch of 15 boxes that the National Archives and Records Administration retrieved from Trump’s home in January, 14 contained documents with classification markings. Inside, they found 184 documents bearing classification markings, including 67 marked confidential, 92 secret and 25 top secret.
The Archives referred the matter to the Justice Department on Feb. 9 after a preliminary review of the boxes found what they described as “a lot of classified records."
- THE RECORDS INCLUDED TOP INTELLIGENCE SECRETS
Agents who inspected the boxes found special markings suggesting they included information from highly sensitive human sources or the collection of electronic “signals” authorized by a court under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
The affidavit lists several markings, including ORCON, or “Originator Controlled.” That means officials at the intelligence agency responsible for the report did not want it distributed to other agencies without their permission.
There may also be other types of records with classified names or codewords still redacted.
“When things are at that level of classification, it’s because there’s a real danger to the people who are collecting the information or the capability,” said Douglas London, a former senior CIA officer who wrote a book about the agency, “The Recruiter.” “
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not responded to calls from Congress for a damage assessment. Sen. Mark Warner, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a statement in which he once again called for a briefing.
“It appears, based on the affidavit unsealed this morning, that among the improperly handled documents at Mar-a-Lago were some of our most sensitive intelligence,” Warner said.
- CLASSIFIED RECORDS WERE MIXED WITH OTHER PAPERS
Some of those classified records were mixed with other documents, the affidavit says, citing a letter from the Archives.
According to Archives’ White House liaison division director, the boxes contained “newspapers, magazines, printed news articles, photos, miscellaneous print-
outs, notes, presidential correspondence, personal and post-presidential records, and ‘a lot of classified records.’” Several contained what appeared to be Trump’s handwritten notes.
Of most significant concern: “highly classified records were unfoldered, intermixed with other records, and otherwise unproperly (sic) identified.”
A president might be given raw intelligence reporting to supplement his briefings or to cover a breaking or critically important matter, said David Priess, a former CIA officer and White House briefer who wrote “The President’s Book of Secrets,” a history of the President’s Daily Brief.
But it would be “unusual, if not unprecedented, for a president to keep it and to intermingle it with other papers,” he said.
“Even though I was prepared for this because I knew the judge would not approve a search based on something minor, the breadth and depth of the careless handling of classified information is truly shocking,” Priess said.
- TRUMP HAD REPEATED OPPORTUNITIES TO RETURN THE DOCUMENTS
The affidavit makes clear yet again that Trump had numerous opportunities to return the documents to the government, but simply chose not to.
A lengthy process to retrieve the documents had been underway essentially since Trump left the White House. The document states that, on or about May 6, 2021, the Archives made a request for the missing records “and continued to make requests until approximately late December 2021” when it was informed 12 boxes were found and ready for retrieval from the club.
The affidavit makes clear that the Department of Justice’s criminal investigation concerns not just the improper removal and storage of classified information in unauthorized spaces and the potentially unlawful concealment or removal of government records, but says investigators had “probable cause to believe that evidence of obstruction” would be found in their search.
Trump’s lawyer, in a letter that was included in the release, had argued to DOJ that presidents have “absolute” authority to declassify documents, claiming that his “constitutionally-based authority regarding the classification and declassification of documents is unfettered.” Trump has not provided evidence the documents at Mar-a-Lago were declassified before he left Washington.
- TRUMP SAYS HE DID ‘NOTHING WRONG’
Trump has long insisted, despite clear evidence to the contrary, that he fully cooperated with government officials and had every right to have the documents on site. On his social media site, he responded to the unsealing by continuing to vilify law enforcement.
He called it a “total public relations subterfuge by the FBI & DOJ” and said “WE GAVE THEM MUCH.” In another post, he offered just two words: “WITCH HUNT!!!”
In an interview on Lou Dobbs’ “The Great America Show” on Thursday, he said he’d done nothing wrong.
“This is a political attack on our country and it’s a disgrace,” he added. “It’s a disgrace.”
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Current events
Do DARTers officially say 'hey it's just Putin defending against NATO aggression' or did they swallow the fucking red pill and get back to reality?
Created:
Updated:
Category:
DebateArt.com
If you're gonna mimic me, GP, believe me I'll do you better than yourself.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
The fuck have conservatives ever conserved xD
Like literally, never have they done anything other than destroy, ruin and impede society's wellbeing, let alone the environment's, unless there was something more pressing to destroy for them (like Lincoln destroying the confederacy breaking off).
The progressives conserve society's happiness and wellbeing while progressing, this is not at all a mutually exclusive dynamic.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
[Insert propaganda quips and satire]
If you think this is a callout thread, then I wonder who I am calling out.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
I edited this from: https://www.reneweuropegroup.eu/news/2022-02-16/renew-europe-firmly-stands-with-the-people-of-ukraine-and-calls-on-the-eu-to-be-determined-and-united-in-case-of-a-russian-attack
I touched up the contrast to make it appear clearer in the format/size this website has it. Use it wherever as your image. I would like to make clear that I am not the uploader of that article and original image, in case some people are feeling doxxy.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
DebateArt.com
These are young men, maximum 27ish, just look at the faces of any that have been captured. These mena re generally 23 and below. It is shocking to me the people don't understand what happened.
Listen to me when I tell you what they were told. The soldiers sent in were tricked by their commanders, told that Ukraine had requested assisted in Kyiv to defend against NATO attacks.
They then rolled in with their tanks and didn't even know they were already crossing hte border, they were firstly tricked into that, then they were told the people ambushing them were neo-nazis opposing the defense operation. This is where confusion began even amongst the Russians tanks and soldiers as clearly they were confused why people were screaming and running if they were there to save them and why absolutely everybody who was armed was attacking them, even the Ukranian official military. This is where some of them had the sense to surrender and that is how we are finding out their side of things bit by bit by prisoner of war interrogations.
Putin is a high functioning psychopath (I don't even believe he's a sociopath, I think it's genuine psychopathy). You need to truly understand this. He does not feel emotions deep, his 'human and kind side' is a carefully constructed act. This man has bullied Russians for his entire rule and rose to power by cunning means as well. He is a spy with a very violent and cryptic past that we still don't fully know and understand.
Anybody supporting him who says they are right-wing libertarians, do not know the first thing about the libertarian aspect of their beliefs. Putin loathes everything about you and what you stand for other than you enabling the rich to get richer. The rich in Russia either serve Putin, are run into the ground or are literally poisoned or brutally beaten the crap out of. You don't understand what kind of person you are worshipping and I couldn't give a shit if this website is owned by a Russian. I am not intending to live in Russia, ever.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
The entire victory was contingent on China backing Russia, so far it played the fence very much but it merely has to shift and it all is over for Russia.
Already from 5-7 days ago their shift to pure neutrality began (as the war escalated, they practically instantaneously flipped on Russia by refusing to actively support them).
China may become the antivillain of the war if it switches to actively condemn Russia. It takes one change of mind and it's done.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics
When I became more interested in politics I eventually stumbled accross interviews of Vladimir Putin. I was surprised to see that he accepts interviews with American journalists, and that he answers every question clearly and politely --- unlike certain western figures. Being quite intelligent, during his long career he has accumulated a lot of knowledge. He is certainly very competent, so for me to automatically reject his viewpoints would be stupid and intelectually dishonest. I chose to listen to what he has to say, and it wasn't actually bs, but rather logical reasoning just from a perspective that wasn't American. I was compelled to rethink some of my own political and socioeconomic opinions. I wanted to share some of his viewpoints and hopefully spark some interesting discussions.
On interrnal problems of Russia:
- Democracy can't but be based on the traditions and customs of a nation. When the USA went into Afganistan they ignored the history and traditions of the people, and therefore their attempt at enforcing democracy failed miserably. The failure of USSR and the failure of American imperialism is that neither respects nor understood other people, opting instead to enforce their own values and interests. Russia will learn from USSR's mistakes.
- The development of the Russian economic, social and political spheres MUST be slow and steady as to prevent revolts and revolutions. Russia has had enough revolutions. The stability of the nation and living standard of the people must have first priority. When mass rallies in the west is met and destroyed by the police, it too is lack of freedom based on a preference for stability and order. Russia is a democracy, denying it is just a matter of how you define it. There are 32 political parties in Russia, and different departments are controlled by different parties. We know that corruption in Russia is a big problem, but it unfortunately is not unique. American lobbying, for example, is legalized corruption. Instead of pointing fingers everyone should focus on solving their problems; this is what we will be doing in Russia.
- Russia does have economic problems, but we do not print money like other countries. Our inflation is caused by being part of the world economy. We recognize the need to put much effort, focus and resources into the economy. We are also working hard to ensure that higher GDP translates into higher wages, this is a specific area of focus for the Russian administration.
Source: Interview on Russian internal status. Putin: Arms race is underway after US withdrawal from ABM treaty.
On the Russian international relations. Especially with America and its allies:
- American military excercises in Alaska, we don't care about them, its in their own territory, as such excercises should be. Russian military excercices happen regularly in the south, the east and the west, but only the war games in the west, near eastern Europe, has gotten western attention. We are viewed as aggressive despite containing our operations and infrastructure inside our own territory. Yet military infrastructure in addition to 40.000 military personell and 15.000 pieces of military equipment from Defender Europe is used in a military excercise at our southern borders, some was even airlifted there. How is Russia the aggresive one when we are the ones who keep our military excersices inside our borders?
- Gorbachov was promissed that NATO would not expand more towards the east. Interviewer: "where is that written down?" Putin: "Right, right. Well done, correct. You've got a point. They fooled him good". Everything should have been written down, but it wasn't. In fact, NATO has expanded, they have moved their military equipment close to our borders. America has also withdrawn from our treaties regulating the arms race, leading to both America and Russia accelerating the development of more and more advanced weapons. What was the point? And why is Russia the aggressive party? I have said it before and I will say it again, we are willing and eager to negotiate new treaties in order to again restrict and hopefully stop the new arms race of today.
- When it comes to economy, stability and predictability are the most important. Currency doesn't matter. America apperently does not value its currency. "it is used as an instrument against competition and political struggle. This, of course, is detrimental to the dollar as a global reserve currency" According to the world bank, among other things, settlements in dollars are shrinking. But we still prefer the dollar as an exchange currency. But we are also willing to use many other currencies for trade. We are ready to talk about transactions in Euro for gas trade, for example. Such monetary changes are acceptable to us. The way the world economy is developing, and the way America treats its currency, it is clear that multiple reserve currencies will be needed.
Created:
Updated:
Category:
Politics