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Where Do Things End With Vlad? (h/t romad1)


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4 hours ago, romad1 said:

Can we stop talking about these guys as "leakers"?   Its called espionage.  It causes grave damage to national security.  We can't normalize selling secrets to your party guests or to Kid Rock. 

 

I still see Gray when we talk Snowden and Assange, versus black and white like you, but in this case, you're absolutely right.  This is not a whistleblower/leaker situation.  

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1 hour ago, ewsieg said:

I still see Gray when we talk Snowden and Assange, versus black and white like you, but in this case, you're absolutely right.  This is not a whistleblower/leaker situation.  

I suppose your right.  There is no way the US needs to protect its sources and methods and the Chinese and Russians should be able to do any goddamn thing they like.

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5 hours ago, Jim Cowan said:

Poor old Connie.  Come on George, pour her one more.

Describing this kid as "a Christian" is, to 55% of the population, just about the most hilarious thing that you could say about him.  To the other 45% it is the most important emblem of their racism and misogyny.

Connie in Smiley's People had an edge to her.  

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5 hours ago, Jim Cowan said:

Poor old Connie.  Come on George, pour her one more.

Describing this kid as "a Christian" is, to 55% of the population, just about the most hilarious thing that you could say about him.  To the other 45% it is the most important emblem of their racism and misogyny.

I wonder how you compare the motives of Bill Heyden and ass wipe A1C.  

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12 hours ago, romad1 said:

I suppose your right.  There is no way the US needs to protect its sources and methods and the Chinese and Russians should be able to do any goddamn thing they like.

I'm not sure if you realize I agree with you on this or if your comments are associated to Snowden and Assange.  

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4 minutes ago, ewsieg said:

I'm not sure if you realize I agree with you on this or if your comments are associated to Snowden and Assange.  

Lets take a second and let me express plainly that Snowden and Assange were espionage agents.  If you can't accept that they did severe damage to US and Western security through their vanity and arrogance we won't be able to move forward in reality together. 

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1 minute ago, romad1 said:

Lets take a second and let me express plainly that Snowden and Assange were espionage agents.  If you can't accept that they did severe damage to US and Western security through their vanity and arrogance we won't be able to move forward in reality together. 

Snowden also proved that the US was spying on itself.  The fact that most of the population just accepts this as 'we all know they do' doesn't mean it's ok. 

Rather he went about it the right way or not is absolutely a valid discussion and my guess is he would be found guilty even if he can prove he attempted to follow normal whistleblower procedures (I personally believe he did try....hard enough is another question), but that's what makes it gray to me. 

Assange is quite different, but still somewhat gray to me, I think he absolutely loves the anarchy that would be caused by leaks.  That said, rather it's the NYT or Wikileaks website, a free press has the right to share information they believe is real.  I think there is a real argument that unlike the NYT (or other media) that doesn't encourage folks to send them secret information (well, in terms of throwing out a net and hoping to get anything versus working a specific story and pursuing more info) and make attempts to disclose only pertinent information with an attempt to mitigate damage.

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39 minutes ago, ewsieg said:

Snowden also proved that the US was spying on itself.  The fact that most of the population just accepts this as 'we all know they do' doesn't mean it's ok. 

Rather he went about it the right way or not is absolutely a valid discussion and my guess is he would be found guilty even if he can prove he attempted to follow normal whistleblower procedures (I personally believe he did try....hard enough is another question), but that's what makes it gray to me. 

Assange is quite different, but still somewhat gray to me, I think he absolutely loves the anarchy that would be caused by leaks.  That said, rather it's the NYT or Wikileaks website, a free press has the right to share information they believe is real.  I think there is a real argument that unlike the NYT (or other media) that doesn't encourage folks to send them secret information (well, in terms of throwing out a net and hoping to get anything versus working a specific story and pursuing more info) and make attempts to disclose only pertinent information with an attempt to mitigate damage.

Which is why he was welcomed so heartily in the countries where they spy on themselves with impunity.  

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For $80 Billion (And Counting) U.S. Taxpayers Have Bought A Bloody Stalemate In Ukraine

The trove of recently leaked intelligence documents related to the Ukraine war should prompt Americans to start asking tough questions about our involvement in that conflict, which one of the documents, a Feb. 23 overview of fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region, describes as a “grinding campaign of attrition” that has reached a “stalemate.”

U.S. taxpayers have poured nearly $80 billion into this war over the past 14 months. At what point are we allowed to ask whether a “stalemate” in a “grinding campaign of attrition” is a good deal for Americans?

https://thefederalist.com/2023/04/13/for-80-billion-and-counting-u-s-taxpayers-have-bought-a-bloody-stalemate-in-ukraine/

 

80 Billion for Ukraine but not 5 billion for the wall to keep out drugs and illegal criminals.

 

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WWIII ESCALATION

Ukrainian forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons used in Ukraine, a senior adviser in President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's office told Reuters

Ukraine says it is finding more Chinese components in Russian weapons

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-says-it-is-finding-more-chinese-components-russian-weapons-2023-04-14/

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Just now, pfife said:

Smh.   

Content is getting pretty ****ty.

Who funds the federalist

All that info is public record. You just want to attack the source because Biden has been exposed. Even by America's own intelligence . Ukraine is not going to retake massive amounts of territory. China is providing supplies.

U.S. doubts Ukraine counteroffensive will yield big gains, leaked document says

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/04/10/leaked-documents-ukraine-counteroffensive/

 

US intelligence reportedly warned in February that Ukraine might fail to amass sufficient troops and weaponry for its planned spring counter-offensive, and might fall “well short” of Kyiv’s goals for recapturing territory seized by Russia

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/11/us-ukraine-counter-offensive-pentagon-leaks-reveal

A document tagged as “top secret” quoted by the Washington Post said that Kyiv was facing significant “force generation and sustainment shortfalls” and was therefore only likely to achieve “modest territorial gains”.

Another document, dated 23 February and seen by the Guardian, gives an overview of the progress of building 12 “combat credible” new brigades to lead the counter-offensive, equipped with a target of 253 tanks and about 1,500 other armoured vehicles of different kinds. Three brigades were to be generated by the Ukrainians alone, while the remaining nine were to be established with the help of the US, allies and partners.

The planned brigades were a long way from readiness at the time of the documents, with five yet to begin their training. Six of the brigades had half or less the equipment they needed to hand.

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Ukraine forces pull back as Russia mounts 're-energised' Bakhmut assault, UK says

Ukrainian troops have been forced to withdraw from some territory in the battlefield city of Bakhmut as Russia mounts a renewed assault there with intense artillery fire over the past two days, Britain said in an intelligence update on Friday.

"Russia has re-energised its assault on the Donetsk Oblast town of Bakhmut as forces of the Russian MoD and Wagner Group have improved co-operation," it said, referring to Russia's defence ministry and its main mercenary force.

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-forces-pull-back-russia-mounts-re-energised-bakhmut-assault-uk-says-2023-04-14/

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Violent Videos Raise Questions About Ukrainian Military Recruiters

Videos have been posted online showing Ukrainian recruitment officers wrestling with civilians on the streets, and even dragging them into vehicles. The authorities say these are isolated incidents, but a lawyer from Ukraine's Helsinki Committee says there are "quite a lot" of court proceedings against recruitment centers.

https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russia-war-recruitment/32310040.html

 

LULZ sure doesn't seem like, "the good side".

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CIA aware of widespread corruption in Ukraine, embezzlement of US aid, claims Seymour Hersh

New Delhi: Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has published a report that alleged the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was aware of widespread corruption in Ukraine and the embezzlement of US aid.

The report said the Ukrainian government has been using US taxpayer money to purchase diesel from Russia to fuel its military. The report further suggested that Ukrainian officials are also “competing” to set up front companies for export contracts to private arms dealers around the world.

The issue of corruption was raised during a meeting between CIA Director William Burns and Zelensky in January. An intelligence official with direct knowledge of the meeting told Hersh that Burns delivered a stunning message to Zelensky.

Ukraine’s long battle with corruption

Widespread systemic corruption is steeped in Ukraine long before Russia’s invasion last February.

A 2016 report by the watchdog group Transparency International found that between 38 per cent to 42 per cent of Ukrainian households said they paid bribes to access basic public services such as education or healthcare, reported Time.

Al Jazeera noted that year Ukraine was the second most corrupt nation in Europe, with Russia being the most corrupt at 136.

Ukraine performed slightly better and was placed in 116th position out of 180 nations in the 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index released on Tuesday (31 January). Russia was ranked 137th on the index.

“Unfortunately, this type of widespread systemic corruption is complicated to tackle and requires sustained efforts for at least a generation or even more,” Cristian Nitoiu, a lecturer in diplomacy and international governance at Loughborough University, told Al Jazeera in June last year.

https://www.firstpost.com/world/cia-aware-of-widespread-corruption-in-ukraine-embezzlement-of-us-aid-claims-seymour-hersh-12448952.html

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