Brittney Griner trial: Russian court hands down verdict, sentence in WNBA star's case

[KhunLA]

2 hours ago, bamnutsak said:

I wonder how people feel about Paul Whelan, also held in Russia and said to be be part of the package deal for Viktor Bout.

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Let 'em all rot ... ????

[KhunLA]

19 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

There's a lot of posts here that seem to take a lot of pleasure in this. Don't know the history but it seems nasty. She made a stupid mistake that involved a tiny amount of drugs. I guess some of the posters here never did something silly. Never didn't think things through. 

I got my fair share of silly ... stupid ... illegal sh!t ... ????

... but not dumb enough to do in foreign country with strict laws.

 

She's lucky she wasn't in a Muzzy country, or SG, since having a few vials, some might class that as distributing.

 

Probably the best thing that could ever happen to her, TBH.

I'm smelling book & movie deals ... millions $$$.  She ain't making that

bouncing a ball around ????

[JonnyF]

18 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

There's a lot of posts here that seem to take a lot of pleasure in this. Don't know the history but it seems nasty. She made a stupid mistake that involved a tiny amount of drugs. I guess some of the posters here never did something silly. Never didn't think things through. 

Silly?

 

Getting onto an international flight with drugs that are illegal in the country of destination is not "silly".

 

It's incredibly stupid. Fortunately for her, her celebrity, race and sexual orientation makes her a great story for the left wing MSM and hence the left wing government will latch onto it.

 

If she was a 45 year old fat white woman called Ruth from Texas you wouldn't even know this had happened. 

 

It seems likely that Viktor Bout, nicknamed the merchant of death will be freed in an exchange deal as a result of her entitled attitude and stupidity. 

 

Well done Brittney. Great job.

 

But hey, she ticks all the boxes. That's what counts...

[Jaybott]

10 hours ago, Jingthing said:

Here is my take which I think is more objective than most.

 

Russia does have very severe drug laws.

She made a big mistake violating them whether she knew that before or not.

The U.S. and Russia currently have extremely poor relations. There is a war between Russia and Ukraine created by Putin and the U.S. is the most significant military supporter of Ukraine.

Any American arrested during this time in Russia is going to be potentially a politically charged case, especially a famous American. 

For a very long time she didn't receive very much support from the U.S. government. Why the delay? In my opinion it's not about her race or orientation but her GENDER. 

The WNBA doesn't rate compared to the NBA, star or not.

Just imagine how it would have been different if a major MALE star had been arrested for the very same charges! 

But now the case finally has received a lot of attention in the U.S. It's NOT because she's black or lesbian, it's because of a very effective publicity effort by the WNBA to shame Biden and the State Department to desist from their blatant hypocrisy on this (WNBA vs. NBA).

So now she has received a very harsh sentence.

Is this only because she's a pawn and she is a pawn? Perhaps not. Russia does give such sentences.

Should the U.S. trade Bout for her which it has been revealed is pretty much the absurdly high level Putin might accept to make this deal?

That's a matter of opinion.

I have said this before. In my opinion, NO. It's a bad precedent. Putin heads a terrorist government, to give up Bout is caving to terrorism.

Sadly in war time there are martyrs and collarteral damage.

But the US seems willing to go for this deal, but even then,  even with Putin biting. you can't trust Putin as far as you can throw him, and the deal still might not happen.

 

To add, a lot of the Trumpist / right wing personal attacks on Griner and opposition for the deal are based on racism, sexism, homophobia, and opposition to internal leftist BLM type protest. That's very unfortunate. Too bad they don't oppose it for better reasons!

 

 

Brittney Griner Verdict: Conservatives, Like Trump, Side With Russia - Rolling Stone

 

 

The WNBA star was sentenced to nearly a decade in Russia prison for smuggling narcotics after being caught with less than a gram of cannabis oil. Right-wing commentators are gloating

 

 

What about Trevor Reed, former US Marine?  Sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison for a drunk & disorderly and accused of endangering a police officer.  Nobody gave a rat zass about him or even heard about him. I wonder why?  White male maybe?

[Fat is a type of crazy]

41 minutes ago, JonnyF said:

Silly?

 

Getting onto an international flight with drugs that are illegal in the country of destination is not "silly".

 

It's incredibly stupid. Fortunately for her, her celebrity, race and sexual orientation makes her a great story for the left wing MSM and hence the left wing government will latch onto it.

 

If she was a 45 year old fat white woman called Ruth from Texas you wouldn't even know this had happened. 

 

It seems likely that Viktor Bout, nicknamed the merchant of death will be freed in an exchange deal as a result of her entitled attitude and stupidity. 

 

Well done Brittney. Great job.

 

But hey, she ticks all the boxes. That's what counts...

Let's say it's a bit more than silly. 

Do you really think people who vote for Biden all look at a young black lesbian and say 'Wow. Right on. She's cool and current. I care about her.' No.

It seems any strong support she might have because of her identity by a fraction of the left, is strongly outweighed by the repulsion and nastiness, at a girl making a mistake, by the right.  

As an aside I never quite understand when people talk about the huge influence of the leftish MSN news. In Australia most media is controlled by the Murdoch right, or the government,  or other media such as Nine Entertainment. MSN has a link to it but by no means controls it.

I am not sure it's so different elsewhere. MSNBC is owned by NBC and is not massively huge compared to other media in any case. Just don't get the reference to it as some all powerful source of media but it may be I am missing something. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Fat is a type of crazy

[Bkk Brian]

39 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

What about Trevor Reed, former US Marine?  Sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison for a drunk & disorderly and accused of endangering a police officer.  Nobody gave a rat zass about him or even heard about him. I wonder why?  White male maybe?

His release was widely shared on MSM same as Ginner. 

[Jingthing]

44 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

What about Trevor Reed, former US Marine?  Sentenced to 9 years in a Russian prison for a drunk & disorderly and accused of endangering a police officer.  Nobody gave a rat zass about him or even heard about him. I wonder why?  White male maybe?

What about him?

He was released already in a prisoner exchange.

He is not famous sports star.

Not sure how his case supports a political white resentment insinuation.

 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Jingthing

[Bkk Brian]

1 hour ago, KhunLA said:

I got my fair share of silly ... stupid ... illegal sh!t ... ????

... but not dumb enough to do in foreign country with strict laws.

 

She's lucky she wasn't in a Muzzy country, or SG, since having a few vials, some might class that as distributing.

 

Probably the best thing that could ever happen to her, TBH.

I'm smelling book & movie deals ... millions $$$.  She ain't making that

bouncing a ball around ????

I take it you never smoked weed in Thailand before the new laws then?

[Fat is a type of crazy]

1 hour ago, JonnyF said:

Silly?

 

Getting onto an international flight with drugs that are illegal in the country of destination is not "silly".

 

It's incredibly stupid. Fortunately for her, her celebrity, race and sexual orientation makes her a great story for the left wing MSM and hence the left wing government will latch onto it.

 

If she was a 45 year old fat white woman called Ruth from Texas you wouldn't even know this had happened. 

 

It seems likely that Viktor Bout, nicknamed the merchant of death will be freed in an exchange deal as a result of her entitled attitude and stupidity. 

 

Well done Brittney. Great job.

 

But hey, she ticks all the boxes. That's what counts...

I googled it and it appears you might mean mainstream news, MSM news,  in general. Not MSN. Maybe that acronym is not common here. Problem solved. 

[Jaybott]

19 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

 

Not sure how his case supports a political white resentment insinuation.

 

I know he was released.

 

When did you first hear about him?  He's was in a Russian prison for 3 years.  Nothing at all was done by either administration to get him released.  I guess if he identified as black birthing person, changed his pro nouns, claimed he was unaware that drunk & disorderly in public and assaulting a police officer were against the law, as it now appears it is not in the USA.  The  media would be all over it.

[howlee101]

29 minutes ago, Fat is a type of crazy said:

I googled it and it appears you might mean mainstream news, MSM news,  in general. Not MSN. Maybe that acronym is not common here. Problem solved. 

You mentioned MSN, the poster you quoted did say "MSM".

[Fat is a type of crazy]

Just now, howlee101 said:

You mentioned MSN, the poster you quoted did say "MSM".

Fair enough. I wasn't suggesting it was his mistake.  I had seen a number of posts seem to talk about the evil left MSN - maybe they were all saying MSM - no worries. 

[ozimoron]

How is a professional sportswoman even taking cannabis? What about anti-doping in sport? She knew there wouldn't be any tests in Russia while playing for the big rubles?

 

I have spent my entire adult life searching my bags before travelling. No sympathy at all.

[Bluespunk]

4 hours ago, KhunLA said:

Being black, being a lesbian, playing b-ball is completely irrelevant.  She is simply moving drugs across international borders ... dumba$$

She unintentionally had a few vape cartridges containing essential oils derived from cannabis in her bag. That’s hardly “moving drugs”. 
 

Not the brightest thing to do but we all make mistakes. 

[Jingthing]

23 minutes ago, Jaybott said:

I know he was released.

 

When did you first hear about him?  He's was in a Russian prison for 3 years.  Nothing at all was done by either administration to get him released.  I guess if he identified as black birthing person, changed his pro nouns, claimed he was unaware that drunk & disorderly in public and assaulting a police officer were against the law, as it now appears it is not in the USA.  The  media would be all over it.

Weak. Very weak.

[howlee101]

56 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

She unintentionally had a few vape cartridges containing essential oils derived from cannabis in her bag. That’s hardly “moving drugs”. 
 

Not the brightest thing to do but we all make mistakes. 

And now she unintentionally got nine years in a Russian jail.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

[Bluespunk]

1 minute ago, howlee101 said:

And now she unintentionally got nine years in a Russian jail.  Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

She made a careless mistake.
 

Surprising how many seem to focus on her ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and political views when commenting on this thread, yet ignoring how trivial her unintentional mistake was. 
 

Now why is that I ask myself…

[transam]

1 minute ago, Bluespunk said:

She made a careless mistake.
 

Surprising how many seem to focus on her ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and political views when commenting on this thread, yet ignoring how trivial her unintentional mistake was. 
 

Now why is that I ask myself…

A mistake. riiiiiiiiight................????..................????

[howlee101]

3 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

She made a careless mistake.
 

Surprising how many seem to focus on her ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and political views when commenting on this thread, yet ignoring how trivial her unintentional mistake was. 
 

Now why is that I ask myself…

How can you possibly know it was unintentional?  Because she said so?  There are thousands of guilty people in jailed that claim "Oh, I didn't mean to" excuse.  That being said, I do think she is being used as a scapegoat because of the current situation at the time of her arrest.  Now, you ask yourself, would the MSM on the left be outraged if the person had been a straight white male sports figure that flaunted his conservative views on social media?

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, howlee101 said:

How can you possibly know it was unintentional?  Because she said so?  There are thousands of guilty people in jailed that claim "Oh, I didn't mean to" excuse.  That being said, I do think she is being used as a scapegoat because of the current situation at the time of her arrest.  Now, you ask yourself, would the MSM on the left be outraged if the person had been a straight white male sports figure that flaunted his conservative views on social media?

I see that this issue falls equally on both sides. It is non political. There are plenty of people on both sides who share the same opinions. Half say she is a seasoned international traveller (who has a manger) and the other half say she is an idiot who is being scapegoated. I'm a lefty and you can read my comments. I'm not an outlier.

[Bluespunk]

19 minutes ago, transam said:

A mistake. riiiiiiiiight................????..................????

Yep. 

[Bluespunk]

13 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

How can you possibly know it was unintentional?  Because she said so?  There are thousands of guilty people in jailed that claim "Oh, I didn't mean to" excuse.  That being said, I do think she is being used as a scapegoat because of the current situation at the time of her arrest.  Now, you ask yourself, would the MSM on the left be outraged if the person had been a straight white male sports figure that flaunted his conservative views on social media?

 

I believe her, but still wonder why so many focus on the areas I mentioned in my last post to you. 

Yes I do think the media would be reporting on any such story regardless of ethnicity, orientation and political views of the individual caught up in such a situation.
. 

Why they are so important to so many on this thread though, that I do wonder about. 

Edited August 6, 2022 by Bluespunk

[howlee101]

23 minutes ago, Bluespunk said:

 

I believe her, but still wonder why so many focus on the areas I mentioned in my last post to you. 

Yes I do think the media would be reporting on any such story regardless of ethnicity, orientation and political views of the individual caught up in such a situation.
. 

Why they are so important to so many on this thread though, that I do wonder about. 

Ok you believe her, I and others do not believe she packed the pens accidentally. Opinions are like bu$$ holes, everybody has one.  Some do point out her ethnicity, orientation and political views but I do believe it's important on how "outraged" the MSM on the left are reporting it.  You are correct, the media would be reporting regardless but that wasn't the question I asked.  Do you honestly think Lebron James (and other self righteous celebs), the WNBA, and the MSM would be so supportive of a straight white male conservative if they were arrested in a similar situation?  The answer is No, the left MSM would be gloating with likely headlines "Conservative thought his white privilege was above the laws of Russia". And you seem to be the one that keeps repeating the importance (or lack thereof) of ethnicity, orientation and political views, I wonder why? 

[ozimoron]

1 minute ago, howlee101 said:

Ok you believe her, I and others do not believe she packed the pens accidentally. Opinions are like bu$$ holes, everybody has one.  Some do point out her ethnicity, orientation and political views but I do believe it's important on how "outraged" the MSM on the left are reporting it.  You are correct, the media would be reporting regardless but that wasn't the question I asked.  Do you honestly think Lebron James (and other self righteous celebs), the WNBA, and the MSM would be so supportive of a straight white male conservative if they were arrested in a similar situation?  The answer is No, the left MSM would be gloating with likely headlines "Conservative thought his white privilege was above the laws of Russia". And you seem to be the one that keeps repeating the importance (or lack thereof) of ethnicity, orientation and political views, I wonder why? 

To be fair, ALL media are reporting this and you would sack any editor that didn't.

[Bluespunk]

3 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

Ok you believe her, I and others do not believe she packed the pens accidentally. Opinions are like bu$$ holes, everybody has one.  Some do point out her ethnicity, orientation and political views but I do believe it's important on how "outraged" the MSM on the left are reporting it.  You are correct, the media would be reporting regardless but that wasn't the question I asked.  Do you honestly think Lebron James (and other self righteous celebs), the WNBA, and the MSM would be so supportive of a straight white male conservative if they were arrested in a similar situation?  The answer is No, the left MSM would be gloating with likely headlines "Conservative thought his white privilege was above the laws of Russia". And you seem to be the one that keeps repeating the importance (or lack thereof) of ethnicity, orientation and political views, I wonder why? 

Not some but many on this thread have commented on ethnicity, orientation and political views. 
 

In effect irrelevant issues…almost as if they have an agenda. 

[howlee101]

Just now, ozimoron said:

To be fair, ALL media are reporting this and you would sack any editor that didn't.

Once again, reporting by the media was not the question.  I asked if it is the belief the reporting of "outrage" would be the same if the person was a straight white male athlete and was a vocal conservative.  

[ozimoron]

10 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

Once again, reporting by the media was not the question.  I asked if it is the belief the reporting of "outrage" would be the same if the person was a straight white male athlete and was a vocal conservative.  

Yes, of course. You're just trying to smear the left with made up stuff as usual.

 

What you are doing is a well known tactic called projection. It's disgusting. Like I said, you'd sack any editor that didn't report it regardless of sex, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The real issue here is why was she so stupid as to smuggle dope into Russia when she should have known they were scapegoating Americans. Why did she, as such a high profile person, even go there. The main basis for reporting this was her high profile.

Edited August 6, 2022 by ozimoron

[howlee101]

Just now, Bluespunk said:

Not some but many on this thread have commented on ethnicity, orientation and political views. 
 

In effect irrelevant issues…almost as if they have an agenda. 

And you don't, by adamantly stating it was "unintentional" although you further state "you believe her"?  To you it's an agenda, to me it's my opinion and thoughts.

[Bluespunk]

5 minutes ago, howlee101 said:

And you don't, by adamantly stating it was "unintentional" although you further state "you believe her"?  To you it's an agenda, to me it's my opinion and thoughts.

Nope.
 

I found her account believable and credible. 

[Jingthing]

28 minutes ago, ozimoron said:

Yes, of course. You're just trying to smear the left with made up stuff as usual.

 

What you are doing is a well known tactic called projection. It's disgusting. Like I said, you'd sack any editor that didn't report it regardless of sex, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The real issue here is why was she so stupid as to smuggle dope into Russia when she should have known they were scapegoating Americans. Why did she, as such a high profile person, even go there. The main basis for reporting this was her high profile.

She went there because she's a top athlete, her career span is limited, the WNBA pays diddly squat compared to the NBA, and the Russian teams pay well. Nothing saintly. Just practical economics.