Big if true. Fingers crossed that little goblin gets what's coming to him.
https://www.cityam.com/kremlin-on-hi...d-ukraine-war/
05-05-2022 11:19 AM
#376
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Big if true. Fingers crossed that little goblin gets what's coming to him. | |
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05-05-2022 12:08 PM
#377
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https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05...omething-human | |
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05-07-2022 09:08 AM
#378
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^^ | |
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05-11-2022 03:27 PM
#379
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Finland signs security agreement with UK. Good luck with that Finland. | |
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05-12-2022 09:38 AM
#380
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Finland announces decision to apply to join NATO. | |
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05-12-2022 10:22 AM
#381
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Easily sourced. | |
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05-14-2022 10:00 AM
#382
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05-14-2022 12:33 PM
#383
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We shouldn't forget Georgia. | |
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05-15-2022 12:10 PM
#384
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05-19-2022 03:42 AM
#385
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https://twitter.com/timostewart/stat...31358152155136 | |
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05-19-2022 12:40 PM
#386
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Do you feel any safer from Vlad the Insaner now? | |
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05-19-2022 12:53 PM
#387
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Could be Rootin' Tootin' Putin won't live long enough to invade Saunaland and Meatballland. Let's fucking hope so. | |
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05-19-2022 12:54 PM
#388
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Well not really, we're likely months away from article 5 guarantees. I'm relieved the application's in, even though I don't see any short-term military threat from Russia. However, this should protect us for decades to come, no matter what happens or who's in charge there, the geography isn't gonna change. | |
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05-19-2022 01:08 PM
#389
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They've not had many timid leaders in their history that's for sure. | |
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05-19-2022 01:13 PM
#390
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05-20-2022 03:52 AM
#391
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Have to say this is the first time in my lifetime I've really had to think about it. I suppose it's the same as eg. living next to the San Andreas fault, or people living next to an active volcano. It's always been there and nothing bad has happened, yet, so it must be safe. | |
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06-02-2022 02:32 AM
#392
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Some info about Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia's Security Council, former KGB and one of the likeliest candidates to replace Putin. | |
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06-02-2022 06:07 AM
#393
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He sounds like Putin with a little extra batshit thrown in for good measure. Great. | |
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06-26-2022 02:04 PM
#394
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Putin has now put his hungriest general in charge of the invasion of Ukraine. | |
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06-27-2022 03:31 AM
#395
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Marxist/Leninists don't like to talk about it, but this is what happens when you eat all the rich. | |
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06-30-2022 12:27 PM
#396
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Shouldn'ta stuck his head in the sauna. | |
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08-21-2022 07:01 PM
#397
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Apparently a Russian fighter jet invaded Finland's airspace earlier this week. Just found out about it today because obviously the media is more interested in Finnish PM having a social life than Russian acts of provocation. | |
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09-08-2022 05:25 PM
#398
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Ukraine seems to be winning now? | |
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09-11-2022 05:04 AM
#399
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Ukraine making some big advances in the East. | |
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09-11-2022 09:44 AM
#400
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The tone of the media would have you think they're making "big" advances, they're saying 1158 square miles. That might sound like a lot but the square root of 1158 is approx 34, so it's a square with sides of 34 miles. So basically an English county. Compared to what they've lost, this is tiny. Russia still control vast swathes of Ukrainian territory. | |
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09-11-2022 12:16 PM
#401
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It's only taken them a few days though. The fact that RU hasn't taken any new territory in months and UA has just started retaking it suggests the Russians are wearing out and UA is getting stronger. | |
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09-11-2022 01:09 PM
#402
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This could be the turning of the tide, but it can equally be a shift in tactics from Russia. I'm not going to pretend to know which is closer to the truth. | |
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09-11-2022 01:36 PM
#403
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If their new strategy is to start losing territory, they probably need to read Clausewitz again. But yeah, maybe it's some trap they're laying. Doubt it though, I think they're just losing now. | |
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09-11-2022 02:05 PM
#404
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Well it's obviously not a "strategy" to lose territory, not directly, but if your supply lines are overstretched then it makes sense to yield some territory to bolster your supplies elsewhere. Seeing as we're talking about an area roughly equivalent to Hampshire (pulled out of my arse), it's not out of the question that Russia felt yielding such a small amount of territory is a viable option. | |
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09-11-2022 02:32 PM
#405
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Sure, you can pull back for strategic reasons but they need to be offset against the propoganda value of how it looks to be losing territory. Being overextended would generally only happen right after a long offensive, not when you've been sitting in the same territory for months. Or you might try to shorten your line if you're running low on troops, but Russia is not typically known for running low on troops. | |
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09-11-2022 03:38 PM
#406
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btw, if you're going to consume propaganda, consume both sides. The Russians are claiming that there are people fleeing the Ukrainian offensive because they fear Ukrainian repercussions, especially from Nazis. Basically they anticipate war crimes along the lines of ethnic cleansing. Some sources claim this has already started to happen. | |
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09-11-2022 03:48 PM
#407
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Yeah I did hear some Russian sympathizers were running for it. It's not their land, they picked the wrong side, is my first thought. | |
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09-11-2022 03:50 PM
#408
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09-11-2022 03:53 PM
#409
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It's murky in the East of Ukraine. There are many people who would prefer Russia wins. There are also people who would prefer Ukraine wins. Some want liberating. Others don't. I don't know which of these two groups make up the majority. | |
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09-11-2022 04:19 PM
#410
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The Telegraph. Well I wouldn't believe much of what they say about anything. Wasn't BloJo working for them at one point? | |
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09-11-2022 04:29 PM
#411
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It's historically part of Ukraine. There's ethic Russians living there because Russia owned Ukraine for much of its history. They might exist, but they are in the minority. | |
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09-11-2022 04:59 PM
#412
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09-11-2022 05:01 PM
#413
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I mean, if you're saying Donetsk is "historically Ukrainian" and should therefore remain in Ukraine, then the same argument can be used to point out that Ukraine is "historically Russian". | |
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09-11-2022 05:26 PM
#414
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Ong, I wouldn't make too much of a journalist fluffing things by using a unit of measurement that embellishes. | |
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09-11-2022 05:44 PM
#415
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That all might be true, but you're presumably getting that from Western media sources. | |
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09-11-2022 05:45 PM
#416
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How is Putin going to exit here and make it look like a success? | |
09-11-2022 05:53 PM
#417
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idk but if he holds any territory on the Black Sea that's a success, especially if it's a port. | |
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09-11-2022 07:24 PM
#418
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Russian TV is not sounding very optimistic these days: | |
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09-11-2022 07:27 PM
#419
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By that logic, Scotland is "historically English." You see how weird that sounds? | |
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09-12-2022 03:05 AM
#420
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It's not the same though. England is a distinctly different region to Scotland. | |
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09-12-2022 03:06 AM
#421
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Maybe it is the same. Ukraine is distinct from Russia (not the Soviet Union though). | |
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09-12-2022 03:50 PM
#422
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Still nice advances for Ukraine over the past days. Looks like various fronts of the Russian push are falling apart. Though they could be pulling back to regroup... that's not as likely. Russia had scheduled referendum votes in those regions to take place days after they were retaken by Ukraine. It doesn't *feel* like a strategic withdrawal on Russia's part, given that. | |
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09-13-2022 12:31 AM
#423
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I do read some western media on this, but mostly I keep up on telegrams, some independent conflict journalists, and the Eastern Border podcast. I don't actively read pro Russian sources, but the latter, while pro Ukraine, routinely cites pro Russian sources. | |
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09-13-2022 03:20 AM
#424
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I mean if you have confidence in the independence of the journalists you're reading, fair enough. | |
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09-13-2022 04:14 AM
#425
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They're still at it... | |
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09-13-2022 09:00 AM
#426
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Ong's got a point, but downplaying that Ukraine is making progress is weird. | |
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09-13-2022 10:03 AM
#427
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What am I missing here? Russia already had Crimea, but the rest of that pink area is Russian territory gains in the last five months, no? | |
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09-13-2022 10:08 AM
#428
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I mean this is kinda part of the problem with propaganda. You can't criticise western propaganda without it coming across as supporting Russia or "downplaying" Ukrainian advances. I'm "downplaying" it simply because our media are "uplaying" it, to make a word up on the spot. If you want to discuss this subject, you have two options - "downplay" Ukrainian advances, or be sucked in by our propaganda. | |
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09-13-2022 10:15 AM
#429
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Off on a tangent somewhat, while slightly relevant, I remember once watching Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, and the question was something along the lines of "Which ocean has an area of approximately 1 million square miles?", with four options - Pacific, Atlantic, Indian or Arctic. | |
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09-13-2022 01:44 PM
#430
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All good points. I appreciate the perspective. | |
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09-13-2022 01:48 PM
#431
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I guess the point to me is that Ukraine is able to make advances at all. | |
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09-13-2022 04:48 PM
#432
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Putin's top general after he watched the pins all moving on the war map. | |
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09-13-2022 04:52 PM
#433
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It doesn't surprise me all that much, I mean they're fighting for their territory while the Russians are a long way from home and battling with the morality of their actions. Morale amongst Ukrainians will be far, far higher than the Russians, and morale is a huge asset in long drawn out wars. The invaders' supply lines become more and more strained the longer the war drags on. | |
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09-13-2022 04:57 PM
#434
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Even USA isn't necessarily capable of invading every country on the planet. You have to subjugate the population, but if the population isn't afraid to die to protect their freedom then it's not possible to subjugate them. It becomes an impossible war to win, unless you're willing to commit outright genocide of an entire population. | |
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09-13-2022 06:15 PM
#435
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Nah, haven't you heard? When the US invades, it's to BRING the freedom. | |
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09-14-2022 03:12 AM
#436
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America, fuck yeah! | |
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09-14-2022 03:21 AM
#437
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You can go to prison in pretty much every country for nonviolent crimes. Try mortgage fraud, or grand theft auto, or manufacturing crack cocaine, or being a proper journalist. | |
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09-14-2022 09:16 AM
#438
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But when YOU do it, it's inhumane injustice and a violation of human rights. | |
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09-14-2022 09:55 AM
#439
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It's a British word, though I think the Aussies use it too, probably some other commonwealth countries. If the word was ever used as an acronym for prison use in a given country, chances are it's going to leak into common language. | |
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09-14-2022 09:57 AM
#440
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In case it's not obvious, that was the word thrown at Prince Andrew by the heckler. It's funny that our police seem to take more action against people who call Andrew a nonce, than they ever have against Andrew for being a nonce. | |
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09-14-2022 10:27 AM
#441
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I saw that clip and I was sure he said "nonce," but now I look for it again I can only find this one where he called him a "sick old man." Is this a different one and they sanitised the other one? | |
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09-14-2022 10:48 AM
#442
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Yeah I'm sure I watched a clip and heard "nonce" but I can't be fucked trawling through old tweets trying to find it. That one you've linked is the Daily Mail, I'll give them less credit than a random Twitter user. | |
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09-14-2022 11:03 AM
#443
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I was just wondering if that tweet was sent for "re-education." | |
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09-15-2022 07:40 AM
#444
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What's the thinking behind the anti-monarchy people being arrested? Is it because they need pre-approval to protest in the UK? It's a bit tasteless to protest now, but I'd always defend their right to protest. | |
09-15-2022 10:01 AM
#445
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If they were arrested and then released without charge after a little time, then it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume the police are arresting these people for their own safety and nothing more. This is somewhat justifiable . But charging people with a crime? Hauling them up in front of a judge and fining them or even jailing them? No, that's isn't good. | |
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09-27-2022 11:02 AM
#446
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Edward Snowden has been granted Russian citizenship. I'm torn between thinking Putin is now a champion of free speech (at least against other countries' governments), and that Snowden was a Russian asset all along. | |
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09-27-2022 11:30 AM
#447
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I saw that. I just read it as sticking it to the US. Russia does not extradite Russian citizens, IIRC. So it's basically a "No, we will never give him to you." | |
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09-27-2022 11:48 AM
#448
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I'm not really up on his status there. Is he under some kind of house arrest? How do they control which rooms he can go into? | |
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09-27-2022 12:24 PM
#449
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I really like Julian Assange and believe him to be a true hero of free speech and journalism, but there's something about Snowden I've never felt comfortable with. I suspect he's a Russian agent, and I'm the kind of guy who tries to give these kind of people the benefit of the doubt. | |
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09-27-2022 11:09 PM
#450
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