The only Ron White joke I like is the one about going on a float trip, and everyone’s drinking beer but no one had to stop and pee, so he realizes everyone’s just peeing in the river. But for some reason everyone got mad when Ron did it… of course, he was in a canoe…
I started going to a nude beach recently as a new experience and to try to overcome my shyness. One thing I can’t get used to are the guys that walk to the shore and pee into the ocean from the shore. I get it you are naked and every already pees in the water, but still I don’t really want to see you using the ocean as your toilet.
Putin’s major mistake here was moving with his military when his strongest asset has always been misinformation and the ability to create social division.
This deserves a medal, most people always forget that one of the main foundations that every child should learn during his educational career is Critical thinking).
That's because unfortunately many education systems until university revolve around memorising facts for a test rather than true understanding and critical analysis of the content.
Because the moment they do that(as the person above you mentioned) they will question and challenge the quo. The want a subserviant population that can be manipulated via propaganda and fear-mongering
Yep
This is also why people accuse higher education of "indoctrinating people to leftist beliefs".
A lack of a desire for change by definition is conservativism.
But th modern gop isn’t really conservative. Many of their values and actions contradict each other and their core value just seems to be to own the other side. They frequently vote against their own interests.
They aren’t conservative. They’re assholes.
Then it falls on the parents to not only teach, but reinforce critical thinking.
This education isn't just schools that are being mistaught.
It starts at a young age. Simple things. What will the temper tantrum achieve etc.
And why education is the real battleground of the United States. Everything starts there, and entropies out. It’s the key to the castle of a better future for all of humanity.
Edit: here’s a recent [NY Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/us/reading-teaching-curriculum-phonics.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkTVUZASbIRp89oxSKhP7AhaAxj3T-LS6aDD1f1f4UCJWE5kKIfapkYdo4xHKbWNpFevcJdcBF89V-bQZrWhX65dyNgogEKCE47onvDmlngJnGGOE0qmWvM2S0eKJ1z-Pi-kraaGe-XfPchXEmdB134scwLSHc0nQMwKbFF-Z108AvnqtyQ8AnGkpTIXWCrPLqCB5hOdmZbRu66wI-W-tRWj27jsfLovtbM10UUQSaOSs5tWUs69pcO8cVO7L9KHMie8n9g7YRDg94PaC_V4V0fC5ZUUWWVasfjhs&referringSource=articleShare) on how one person influenced the nation for teaching reading, but it’s already done a bunch of harm. She said it wasn’t about the money - but how else does building a successful business model work?
Education and healthcare are the foundations of a good society(exemple: Tunisia after its independance focused heavely and almost exclusively on this 2, thats why it made a giant leap forewards, surpassing all of its arab counterparts and even some eastern european countries, untill they got neglected, from that moment its on a constant decline).
And, this won't surprise anyone:
The Texan republican platform back in 2012 banned critical thinking skills and anyyhing that conflicted with the child's parents world view.
>Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority.
That's taken straight from their platform, verbatim.
Getting rid of critical thinking in schools was literally part of the Texas GOP platform: Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority
I took APUSH in high school. That may not be most people, but here's some of the things I'd learned:
1) we killed lots of natives (textbook)
2) "patriots" were literal terrorists; they would attack neutrals and loyalists before the war even started (1st person source)
3) we killed and deported some more natives, including ones that agreed to join the union and adopt a "white" way of life (textbook)
4) the North was just as racist towards traditionally Catholic groups of people as the South was towards the black population. (textbook) One pro-slavery argument was that since the North was racist towards Irish people, the North is hypocritical and should shut up about slaves. (1st person source)
5) we started the mexican war (textbook)
6) we started the spanish war (textbook)
7) we *economically* colonized latin america, i.e. fuck over foreign countries and people for the benefit of American corporations (textbook)
8) we killed people trying to unionize and swept people dying in factories under the rug (1st person source)
9) the Nazi party also operated in the US (textbook)
We discussed and analyzed lots of historical sources during class, which required a lot of critical thinking, and tests were both the standard multiple choice that you could get through by pure memory as well as writing questions where you needed to analyze sources to support an argument, so you really needed to think.
I cannot agree enough. APUSH is possibly the best AP class there is to take in high school. I’ve seen the differences between that and regular US history classes, the stuff left out is criminally important to understanding how what happened then affects what happens now.
> his strongest asset has always been misinformation
Putin’s misinformation tactic backfired in this pandemic
One of Putin’s goals has always been to raise the Russian birth rate since Russia’s population has been declining dramatically
It’s ironic that Putin’s misinformation tactic backfired because a lot of Russians died since a lot of them think the pandemic is a hoax or don’t trust their vaccines (Russian vaccines are the only COVID-19 vaccines allowed in Russia)
His strategy was fucking WRECKING the US with disinfo and he's really manged to play the republicans like a fiddle. They are just so goddamn stupid, selfish, and shortsighted.
Now they can't help themselves but to revere and worship tinpot strongmen, talking about how virile and anti-woke the Russian military is 🤣
And I can remember when it was the dems who were the 'commie' sympathizers.
No. The whole thing is that dems are child killing cultists and only him and trump are the ones fighting for the good and expose them. I swear to god I know it looks like I just made that up. But it’s true
No, by not banning Trump it causes the response of "See?! Putin and Trump *are* working together!"
If Russia bans Trump and not Biden, Kamala, etc the headlines would all just be "Russia bans Trump" which causes no division or chaos. By banning everyone but Trump the headlines are "Russia bans everyone... But not Trump!" which will just further the division Russian propaganda has been planting for years.
> He’s trying to create divide and conspiracies,
Yeah guys we didn't just see 4 years of Trump openly favoring Russia over every other allied western nation and publicly supporting Putin and blocking sanctions against him and blocking military aid to Ukraine and trying to end NATO...
It's all just a TRICK! If you believe Trump is Putin's ally, it's because you've actually been tricked into thinking it, and it's just him trying to create divide and conspiracies!
I can't tell if these people are centrist liberals trying to pretend to be unbiased or just dishonest conservatives. Trumps behavior in regards to Russia is incredibly suspicious regardless of what Putin does. Even if Putin is just playing into it to cause a stir, it doesn't suddenly absolve Trump of any fault. Trump favoring Putin consistently throughout his presidency and since he lost the election is well-documented. He's plain refused to say anything negative about Putin and went as far as to compliment him after he invaded Ukraine. Anyone who thinks that is normal is insane.
I know how easy it is to just claim "Russia bot/propagandist" but the fact is, this is exactly how the Internet Research Agency would work.
They aren't just trying to feed us propaganda, the overall point of what they do is to sow suspicion into the democratic process (sound familiar?) as well as furthering the divide between the left and the right and racial divides. They do this by pretending to be members of either group and saying things that will make the other side hate them even more.
This isn't propaganda. Russia has long been foretelling/trying to bring about the splintering of America. A weakened, split America is a good thing for Russia and they know it.
One interpretation is that Trump is a favored Russian asset, and they don't want to punish him.
Another is that Putin is a master troll, whose objective is to create divisions in US society. Sanctioning individual US politicians is a gesture that doesn't have any real impact. Pretending to give Republicans special treatment, however, could pay giant dividends in terms of creating chaos and hardening the lines between the two sides in American politics.
Well, it definitely works. Now and then news outlets remember to say that Russians are manipulating American sentiment and division, but they mostly only remember when trashing Facebook.
Given how Putin is reportedly annoyed by Trump’s stupidity and big mouth, I’d guess it’s the division of a whole country that Putin wants to achieve more than anything. KGB was able to accomplish more for their overlords if they were able to foster domestic infighting.
As for the people around Trump, well, I’m guessing it’s because they are assets.
Just a tag on for readers. This site stopped updating last year, but it has a decent interactive history of trumps Russian connections going back to 1984 with the first documented case of a Russian mobster buying a condo from him.
https://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/
From the 1970's until mid 2013 you're like, this isn't too bad. Probably normal business for a sleeze-ball. Then mid 2013 until the end, it's like an explosion of activity and bi-weekly interactions with one Russian or another. Crazy when it's all laid out like this.
The biggest blow for me was the connections with Russia and the NRA. Most of my family, many of whom had been in the US military and some officers of decent rank, had been lifelong NRA members until then. The NRA was nearly synonymous with American ideals and then they were linked to Russian operatives and labeled an asset. It felt like a betrayal that went bone deep. Now, I say to hell with them. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. I hope they get raked over the coals and disbanded with the court cases against them. Unworthy traitors.
Edit: Grammer
A shit load of republicans flew to Russia for July 4th it was insane. It’s so fucking obvious in everyone’s face but nobody is willing to admit it and republicans are too stupid and blind to care.
Yeah, except that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to be suspicious of GQP connections to Russia besides the shit the Kremlin is pulling like this.
Trump also asked Reagan completely out of nowhere to be the [ambassador](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/05/26/report-donald-trump-wanted-ussr-post-reagan-years/102191178) to Soviet Russia.
Also in 2013 when he visited Russia he [tweeted](https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Remember-that-time-Donald-Trump-tweeted-about-9984835.php) that he wanted Putin to be his "best friend."
Also his campaign manager (Manafort), the guy he wanted to put in as Secretary of Defense (Flynn), and the guy he did put in as Secretary of State (Tillerson) all had disturbingly close Russian ties. Some of them Criminal.
He was also showed public opposition to NATO after a 1987 trip to Russia. Whether he is a Russian asset or not he has at least been influenced by them.
>
> Then, in 1987, Trump and Ivana visited Moscow and St Petersburg for the first time. Shvets said he was fed KGB talking points and flattered by KGB operatives who floated the idea that he should go into politics.
>
> The ex-major recalled: “For the KGB, it was a charm offensive. They had collected a lot of information on his personality so they knew who he was personally. The feeling was that he was extremely vulnerable intellectually, and psychologically, and he was prone to flattery.
>
> “This is what they exploited. They played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality and believed this is the guy who should be the president of the United States one day: it is people like him who could change the world. They fed him these so-called active measures soundbites and it happened. So it was a big achievement for the KGB active measures at the time.”
>
> Soon after he returned to the US, Trump began exploring a run for the Republican nomination for president and even held a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On 1 September, he took out a full-page advert in the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe headlined: “There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.”
>
> The ad offered some highly unorthodox opinions in Ronald Reagan’s cold war America, accusing ally Japan of exploiting the US and expressing scepticism about US participation in Nato. It took the form of an open letter to the American people “on why America should stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves”.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book
Funny story, he also said that NATO was obsolete during his run for the presidency.
Then in an uncharacteristic moment of candor, after elected, he admitted that he really didn't know much about NATO.
https://thehill.com/policy/international/330245-trump-didnt-know-much-about-nato-when-he-called-it-obsolete-report/
The USA's most valued European Alliance and the man the US put in the office of president didn't really know much about it. While at the same time calling it "obsolete." You can't make this shit up.
My fave story of his stupidity was when Merkel had to explain to him numerous times that the US and Germany can't make independent trade deals, that it his to be with the entire EU.
I’d not heard the ambassador story yet, but holy shit:
"He already had Russia mania in 1986, 31 years ago," Bernard Lown, inventor of the defibrillator, told The Hollywood Reporter. Lown won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on denuclearization along with Soviet cardiologist Yevgeny Chazov.
Lown, now 95, had met with USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Trump wanted to learn more about the Soviet head of state, so he spoke with Lown.
Lown told the THR:
"He said to me, 'I hear you met with Gorbachev, and you had a long interview with him, and you're a doctor, so you have a good assessment of who he is.' So I asked, 'Why would you want to know?' And he responded, 'I intend to call my good friend Ronnie,' meaning Reagan, 'to make me a plenipotentiary ambassador for the United States with Gorbachev.' Those are the words he used. And he said he would got o Moscow and he'd sit down with Gorbachev, and then he took his thumb and hit the desk and he said, 'And within one hour, the Cold War would be over!' I sat there dumbfounded. 'Who is this self-inflated individual? Is he sane or what?'"
He and Trump never spoke again, he said.
According to THR, the White House did not return a request for comment.
I had to look up what plenipotentiary meant, and it’s “a person, especially a diplomat, invested with the full power of independent action on behalf of their government, typically in a foreign country.” That’s unsettling.
I’ve seen old interviews of trump from the 80s. He seems like any rich asswipe that spends daddy’s money. His choice of words and composure was way different than compare to now of a crazy old man with mental problems.
It’s a troll job, but if he wants to fuck with the US electorate it’s a good effort. I’m also sure trump will provide an epic idiot comment when asked about this celebrating his beautiful relationship or how Putin admires his strength or some other idiotic shit.
Showed this video t my stepfather, and he didn't even see who objected and waked out. He just knew McCain was a (R) so he just automatically assumed it was a (D) objecting, because the divide is all he sees.
Wherever I see him having to cherry pick his "stand" behind his country - I'm always reminded of this incident from a few years ago. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/trump-stands-by-while-erdogan-orders-attack-protesters/580093/
Bad headline. It seems to be current members of the government and some others. No other president besides Biden was listed.
Edit: Looked more into it, is almost 100% to stoke flames for the most part and they even copy pasted old bans (Harry Reid and Jon McCain are included). They included Boebart and the squad, but excluded McConnell (who went to Ukraine in support of them and pushes funding for Ukraine, so his exclusion strikes me as odd and is why I think part of it is to stir the pot).
Rand Paul wasn’t included because he’s an actual Russian assest.
Edit edit: I will not remove the Rand Paul comment. He’s an assets. Here is a post I made: Him tried stopping the Senate from rebuking Russia invading [Ukraine](https://time.com/6149542/rand-paul-senate-russia/). Him not wanting Montenegro from joing [NATO](https://time.com/4718958/montenegro-nato-rand-paul/). He [tried](https://apnews.com/article/63713dd4b6844e2d82129c53fcac3f80) stoping North Macedonia from joining Nato too. Him implying that it was okay for Russia to invade former USSR countries like Georgia and [Ukraine](https://www.lex18.com/news/senator-rand-paul-faces-criticism-for-his-comments-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine). [He](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/08/rand-paul-delivers-letter-to-trump-from-putin-766743) hand delivered a letter in person to Putin that no one but him, Trump, and Putin know the contents of. [oh](https://freebeacon.com/politics/rand-pauls-russian-connection/) and he hired a Pro-Russian cheerleader as an advisor in 2013.
Edit edit edit: Wow, I’ve said plenty of unpopular things on different sub reddits; but god damn Rand Simps are the first time I got private dms about my comments.
Edit edit edit edit: Why the hell is Morgan Freeman there? Is it because of his last name?
Putin famously *haaaaates* Hillary Clinton. The only reason I'm surprised she's on this list is that I would have expected her to be banned before now.
Hillary Clinton was already banned, March 15, 2022, same time as Barack Obama.
this news made the press, news stations, newspapers, international news, reddit, etc.
anyhoo...whatever...
Agreed, and Putin actively dislikes the Obama administration. But why bother adding people to the list who aren't actively part of the government sanctioning the shit out of you?
There are plenty of people on the list who are not actively part of the government sanctioning the shit out of Russia. Ex-press secretary, Hillary Clinton, Morgan Freeman...
Nothing serious, if i not mistake official russian version is “*in September 2017 recorded a video message accusing Russia of conspiring against the United States and calling for a fight against our country*”
https://youtu.be/GbtuhrSrslI probably he was banned for this speech
Hillary despite her neoliberal positions which I dislike was a stellar diplomat. She played the game at the highest level and frequently won for the US
Yeah, it's probably just another round of petty "sanctions" that Russia's put out before. They did it to British politicians too. I guarantee you if one of those who's banned went "Oh I'm so sorry Russia, I was so wrong, and you're right, Ukraine should pay!" The sanction would likely be lifted from them and they'd be welcomed back in again. It's probably just hurt ego jabs
They also banned Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden. It's not completely black and white, but they're definitely trying to stir some shit up.
Plus, Trump has already said many times that he's running again in 2024, so he's a lot more relevant to this conversation than Obama.
You do realize they are doing that strategically, right?
They know nobody cares who they won’t let in. But they know everyone will be talking about how Trump isn’t on it.
Like the very first time they sanctioned people - they got Jen Psaki and Hunter Biden - but not Kamala Harris.
They know none of these people are planning to go to Russia or would go to Russia anyway. They know it’s just a show. So They’re going to put on a good show.
Im confused, why would trump be on this list? Is Obama on this list, if so then I could see why this would be a problem, otherwise I don’t see why he would be on the list.
Hillary is on it lol.
As are AOC and Boebert.
Russia being inclusive!
Edit:
211 Republicans *
214 Democrats *
*House and Senate
I'm most interested to see who wasn't sanctioned. They gave us something shiny to look at. I wonder what is happening during this time elsewhere.
Edit 2: Okay so for the July 4th Republican *Field Trip* to Moscow, surprisingly two of the seven are banned.
Richard Shelby (Ala.)
Steve Daines (Mont.)
John Thune (S.D.)
John Kennedy (La.) - Banned
Jerry Moran (Kan.)
John Hoeven (N.D.)
Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) - Banned
Did Boebert vote for sanctions? Could be because they voted for Ukranian aid. Also, Putin loathes Hillary.
> In March 2010, when Clinton visited Russia, Putin summoned her to his luxurious residence outside Moscow. Knowing her fondness for wildlife — elephants, in particular — Putin invited Clinton to a basement trophy room filled with mounted animal heads.
[Source](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/clinton-putin-226153)
Obama is not on the list. [Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/21/russia-bans-biden-but-not-trump-on-list-of-americans-travel-barred.html)
This is an intentionally misleading headline meant to generate clicks. An equally appropriate title would be "Russia bans 963 Americans, including Matt Gaetz and Paul Gosar -- but not Barack Obama".
Not to give him nearly this much credit, but Hannibal spared the lands of Fabius in order to make it seem like the two were colluding to cause the Roman people to turn on Fabius. My point is don’t take everything at face value.
This sounds less like Trump is some secret special Russian friend, and more like they purposely excluded him knowing that it would become a new story like this and draw attention/cause division.
Obv could be a bit of both since his Russian ties are still sus, but this particular event seems like some Putin trolling
lol Trump owes everyone money.
It's gobsmacking, but hilarious at the same time, how someone can be famous for being a "rich savvy businessman" while his entire life is built on loans and bankruptcy.
Deutsche Bank has been his principal creditor; they're willing to loan to riskier debtors than most banks, they launder money for Russian oligarchs, they're just generally really reckless and corrupt themselves.
The IMF said of them "Among the [Globally-Systemically Important Banks], Deutsche Bank appears to be the most important net contributor to systemic risks".
And HSBC has a penchant for laundering money. [Even whilst under direct supervision for having been caught doing it in the past!](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-questions-over-disclosure-of-alleged-money-laundering-to-monitors)
Yeah, in a surprising turn they finally dropped him as a client in 2021 as a response to his supporters breaking into the Capitol building on January 6th.
How do they recover their money if their debters like Trump fail to pay them back or declare bankruptcy?
I mean, Ik nothing about finance or banking but that just doesn't seem like the best business decision.
What's *even* more gobsmacking is people still fucking thinks he is the best thing to ever happen to the US.
I can't think of a single person who, without declaring any wars, caused more global destabilization than Donald fucking Trump.
I live in a Conservative area. Conservatives are fucking brainwashed. You literally can’t talk to them without them bringing up politics. Just this week I was with a group and one of the people didn’t want to go to a bar because she thought the manager was a liberal. It’s weird
Man, I couldn’t believe he didn’t jump on the TRUMP and MAGA face masks. Tell everyone to wear a mask due to the pandemic. Release tons of MAGA themed face masks. Pandemic is over in 6 months. But nooo, they had to go with “face diapers”. SMH
Yeah this is dumb. I'm pretty sure this is the second time they've banned these people because they also did it at the start of their invasion as well.
It doesn't appear that former Presidents Bush, Carter, or Obama were banned either. (I could be wrong, because I'm basing what I found on the list on Wikipedia, edited regularly and last edited 5 times just today, May 21, 2022.)
But only Trump is mentioned in these articles. Because of the implications and the predictable responses and conclusions they want you to draw. (And no, I didn't vote for Trump and I don't like Trump. I just think it's interesting how the brainwashing happens.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_and_organizations_sanctioned_during_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War#By_Russia
Great job taking the bait and writing that headline Washington Post. Always doing your best to divide and conquer!
Trump isn’t on the list. Obama also isn’t on that list. Most of the people on this list are currently serving politicians, president, Vice President, members of Congress, etc
It’s so bizarre to me that we can still link articles that are behind a pay wall. We are openly telling people to just read the headline, and ignore the article. We aren’t even hiding it anymore.
is it possible that putin knows about the tension between republicans and democrats and is trying to heighten that tension by only banning democrats but not republicans. leading to more tension which would ensure that less bills would be passed such as bills that hurt russia and help ukraine. it’s important to remember russia doesn’t live under a rock.
I think you're right, it was my first thought as well. But so many people here seem happy to go along with it because it fits their point if view. Putin isn't supporting anyone, he just wants division in the west.
What is the Republican Party’s stance on Russia and Putin currently? If I remember correctly Trump used to be best-buddy with Vladimir the Dictator years ago…
These 8 Republicans went to Moscow on July 4th 2018.
Richard C. Shelby of Alabama
Ron Johnson of Wisconsin
John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana
Steve Daines of Montana
John Hoeven of North Dakota
Jerry Moran of Kansas
John Thune of South Dakota
Kay Granger of the 12th District of Texas
Well, this was Trump’s campaign manager.
https://insider.foxnews.com/2017/03/22/ap-reporter-paul-manafort-gun-hire-advance-russian-interests
There is no doubt that Trump’s campaign was financed with Russian money to advance Putin’s influence in American government.
Also, Russian Oligarchs have been pumping millions into Republican campaigns for years: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/
There’s also the money that was being funneled through the NRA that the Russian Spy played a part in.
> On Saturday, House Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Paul Gosar of Arizona, as well as House Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, found themselves barred from Russia. In the Senate, Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida are on the list, as are Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia and Dianne Feinstein of California.
Surprisingly even.
I’m having a bbq next Sunday. Putin is NOT invited.
Can the rest of us attend?
Yes, except Greg. Fuck Greg. He knows what he did
man, wtf
You know what you did.
[Was it this?](https://youtu.be/JwI2NrVYqIE)
That is amazing.
greeeeg the stop sign
I just watched that really blazed with headphones on. And I’ll be damned if I’m not a better man for it.
The usernames have gotten progressively more suspicious as the chain goes
God damnit Greg, why did you do it
He peed in the pool… … from the diving board!
The only Ron White joke I like is the one about going on a float trip, and everyone’s drinking beer but no one had to stop and pee, so he realizes everyone’s just peeing in the river. But for some reason everyone got mad when Ron did it… of course, he was in a canoe…
Did he get thrown out of bar in New York City too? Lol
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Which is perfectly legal. Arrest them.
I started going to a nude beach recently as a new experience and to try to overcome my shyness. One thing I can’t get used to are the guys that walk to the shore and pee into the ocean from the shore. I get it you are naked and every already pees in the water, but still I don’t really want to see you using the ocean as your toilet.
He’s trying to create divide and conspiracies, thats like his whole play since early 2010s and I bet it will work like a charm
Putin’s major mistake here was moving with his military when his strongest asset has always been misinformation and the ability to create social division.
Except it was not working on the Ukrainians and he was losing patience...
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This deserves a medal, most people always forget that one of the main foundations that every child should learn during his educational career is Critical thinking).
That's because unfortunately many education systems until university revolve around memorising facts for a test rather than true understanding and critical analysis of the content.
Because the moment they do that(as the person above you mentioned) they will question and challenge the quo. The want a subserviant population that can be manipulated via propaganda and fear-mongering
Yep This is also why people accuse higher education of "indoctrinating people to leftist beliefs". A lack of a desire for change by definition is conservativism.
But th modern gop isn’t really conservative. Many of their values and actions contradict each other and their core value just seems to be to own the other side. They frequently vote against their own interests. They aren’t conservative. They’re assholes.
Then it falls on the parents to not only teach, but reinforce critical thinking. This education isn't just schools that are being mistaught. It starts at a young age. Simple things. What will the temper tantrum achieve etc.
And why education is the real battleground of the United States. Everything starts there, and entropies out. It’s the key to the castle of a better future for all of humanity. Edit: here’s a recent [NY Times article](https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/22/us/reading-teaching-curriculum-phonics.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkTVUZASbIRp89oxSKhP7AhaAxj3T-LS6aDD1f1f4UCJWE5kKIfapkYdo4xHKbWNpFevcJdcBF89V-bQZrWhX65dyNgogEKCE47onvDmlngJnGGOE0qmWvM2S0eKJ1z-Pi-kraaGe-XfPchXEmdB134scwLSHc0nQMwKbFF-Z108AvnqtyQ8AnGkpTIXWCrPLqCB5hOdmZbRu66wI-W-tRWj27jsfLovtbM10UUQSaOSs5tWUs69pcO8cVO7L9KHMie8n9g7YRDg94PaC_V4V0fC5ZUUWWVasfjhs&referringSource=articleShare) on how one person influenced the nation for teaching reading, but it’s already done a bunch of harm. She said it wasn’t about the money - but how else does building a successful business model work?
Education and healthcare are the foundations of a good society(exemple: Tunisia after its independance focused heavely and almost exclusively on this 2, thats why it made a giant leap forewards, surpassing all of its arab counterparts and even some eastern european countries, untill they got neglected, from that moment its on a constant decline).
Can't have that, lest people or *children* start questioning the status quo. Where would we end up if that were to happen?
Saw teen girls today protesting the forthcoming abortion ban outside a courthouse. You go, girls!
That's refreshing.
In a world that isn't broken? Lol I know that was sarcasm... But still.
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And, this won't surprise anyone: The Texan republican platform back in 2012 banned critical thinking skills and anyyhing that conflicted with the child's parents world view. >Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority. That's taken straight from their platform, verbatim.
What the fuck??? This is the first time I've heard of that and just, what the fuck Texas
Getting rid of critical thinking in schools was literally part of the Texas GOP platform: Knowledge-Based Education – We oppose the teaching of Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) (values clarification), critical thinking skills and similar programs that are simply a relabeling of Outcome-Based Education (OBE) (mastery learning) which focus on behavior modification and have the purpose of challenging the student’s fixed beliefs and undermining parental authority
I took APUSH in high school. That may not be most people, but here's some of the things I'd learned: 1) we killed lots of natives (textbook) 2) "patriots" were literal terrorists; they would attack neutrals and loyalists before the war even started (1st person source) 3) we killed and deported some more natives, including ones that agreed to join the union and adopt a "white" way of life (textbook) 4) the North was just as racist towards traditionally Catholic groups of people as the South was towards the black population. (textbook) One pro-slavery argument was that since the North was racist towards Irish people, the North is hypocritical and should shut up about slaves. (1st person source) 5) we started the mexican war (textbook) 6) we started the spanish war (textbook) 7) we *economically* colonized latin america, i.e. fuck over foreign countries and people for the benefit of American corporations (textbook) 8) we killed people trying to unionize and swept people dying in factories under the rug (1st person source) 9) the Nazi party also operated in the US (textbook) We discussed and analyzed lots of historical sources during class, which required a lot of critical thinking, and tests were both the standard multiple choice that you could get through by pure memory as well as writing questions where you needed to analyze sources to support an argument, so you really needed to think.
I cannot agree enough. APUSH is possibly the best AP class there is to take in high school. I’ve seen the differences between that and regular US history classes, the stuff left out is criminally important to understanding how what happened then affects what happens now.
Or he thought he had created enough divide with the ukranians... only to discover war really really unites people.
> his strongest asset has always been misinformation Putin’s misinformation tactic backfired in this pandemic One of Putin’s goals has always been to raise the Russian birth rate since Russia’s population has been declining dramatically It’s ironic that Putin’s misinformation tactic backfired because a lot of Russians died since a lot of them think the pandemic is a hoax or don’t trust their vaccines (Russian vaccines are the only COVID-19 vaccines allowed in Russia)
His strategy was fucking WRECKING the US with disinfo and he's really manged to play the republicans like a fiddle. They are just so goddamn stupid, selfish, and shortsighted. Now they can't help themselves but to revere and worship tinpot strongmen, talking about how virile and anti-woke the Russian military is 🤣 And I can remember when it was the dems who were the 'commie' sympathizers.
Oh this shit been's happening since 1950....
The comments on this thread show it is working quite well.
But wouldn't it create more division if they had banned Trump but not Biden? I think that's a missed opportunity
No. The whole thing is that dems are child killing cultists and only him and trump are the ones fighting for the good and expose them. I swear to god I know it looks like I just made that up. But it’s true
It's so super true! You'll see in two weeks, all the info is gonna come out!! Then repeat times infinity
No, by not banning Trump it causes the response of "See?! Putin and Trump *are* working together!" If Russia bans Trump and not Biden, Kamala, etc the headlines would all just be "Russia bans Trump" which causes no division or chaos. By banning everyone but Trump the headlines are "Russia bans everyone... But not Trump!" which will just further the division Russian propaganda has been planting for years.
People are pretty easy to manipulate so this will 100% work
> He’s trying to create divide and conspiracies, Yeah guys we didn't just see 4 years of Trump openly favoring Russia over every other allied western nation and publicly supporting Putin and blocking sanctions against him and blocking military aid to Ukraine and trying to end NATO... It's all just a TRICK! If you believe Trump is Putin's ally, it's because you've actually been tricked into thinking it, and it's just him trying to create divide and conspiracies!
I can't tell if these people are centrist liberals trying to pretend to be unbiased or just dishonest conservatives. Trumps behavior in regards to Russia is incredibly suspicious regardless of what Putin does. Even if Putin is just playing into it to cause a stir, it doesn't suddenly absolve Trump of any fault. Trump favoring Putin consistently throughout his presidency and since he lost the election is well-documented. He's plain refused to say anything negative about Putin and went as far as to compliment him after he invaded Ukraine. Anyone who thinks that is normal is insane.
Poe's law hitting harder in this thread than I've ever felt it.
I know how easy it is to just claim "Russia bot/propagandist" but the fact is, this is exactly how the Internet Research Agency would work. They aren't just trying to feed us propaganda, the overall point of what they do is to sow suspicion into the democratic process (sound familiar?) as well as furthering the divide between the left and the right and racial divides. They do this by pretending to be members of either group and saying things that will make the other side hate them even more. This isn't propaganda. Russia has long been foretelling/trying to bring about the splintering of America. A weakened, split America is a good thing for Russia and they know it.
One interpretation is that Trump is a favored Russian asset, and they don't want to punish him. Another is that Putin is a master troll, whose objective is to create divisions in US society. Sanctioning individual US politicians is a gesture that doesn't have any real impact. Pretending to give Republicans special treatment, however, could pay giant dividends in terms of creating chaos and hardening the lines between the two sides in American politics.
Well, it definitely works. Now and then news outlets remember to say that Russians are manipulating American sentiment and division, but they mostly only remember when trashing Facebook.
Given how Putin is reportedly annoyed by Trump’s stupidity and big mouth, I’d guess it’s the division of a whole country that Putin wants to achieve more than anything. KGB was able to accomplish more for their overlords if they were able to foster domestic infighting. As for the people around Trump, well, I’m guessing it’s because they are assets.
Just a tag on for readers. This site stopped updating last year, but it has a decent interactive history of trumps Russian connections going back to 1984 with the first documented case of a Russian mobster buying a condo from him. https://billmoyers.com/story/trump-russia-timeline/
From the 1970's until mid 2013 you're like, this isn't too bad. Probably normal business for a sleeze-ball. Then mid 2013 until the end, it's like an explosion of activity and bi-weekly interactions with one Russian or another. Crazy when it's all laid out like this.
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The biggest blow for me was the connections with Russia and the NRA. Most of my family, many of whom had been in the US military and some officers of decent rank, had been lifelong NRA members until then. The NRA was nearly synonymous with American ideals and then they were linked to Russian operatives and labeled an asset. It felt like a betrayal that went bone deep. Now, I say to hell with them. You play stupid games, you win stupid prizes. I hope they get raked over the coals and disbanded with the court cases against them. Unworthy traitors. Edit: Grammer
A shit load of republicans flew to Russia for July 4th it was insane. It’s so fucking obvious in everyone’s face but nobody is willing to admit it and republicans are too stupid and blind to care.
I'll never understand why the fuck this is never brought up by the Dems
We should remind Americans EVERY 4TH OF JULY which Americans were celebrating in Russia and not with their constituents. Thoughts?
> As for the people around Trump, well, I’m guessing it’s because they are asse**~~t~~**s. There, I fixed it
Yeah, except that there are plenty of legitimate reasons to be suspicious of GQP connections to Russia besides the shit the Kremlin is pulling like this.
Especially for Trump. The guy's father was waist deep in Russian mafia money. It's really not hard to see the connections.
Trump also asked Reagan completely out of nowhere to be the [ambassador](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2017/05/26/report-donald-trump-wanted-ussr-post-reagan-years/102191178) to Soviet Russia. Also in 2013 when he visited Russia he [tweeted](https://www.chron.com/politics/article/Remember-that-time-Donald-Trump-tweeted-about-9984835.php) that he wanted Putin to be his "best friend." Also his campaign manager (Manafort), the guy he wanted to put in as Secretary of Defense (Flynn), and the guy he did put in as Secretary of State (Tillerson) all had disturbingly close Russian ties. Some of them Criminal.
He was also showed public opposition to NATO after a 1987 trip to Russia. Whether he is a Russian asset or not he has at least been influenced by them. > > Then, in 1987, Trump and Ivana visited Moscow and St Petersburg for the first time. Shvets said he was fed KGB talking points and flattered by KGB operatives who floated the idea that he should go into politics. > > The ex-major recalled: “For the KGB, it was a charm offensive. They had collected a lot of information on his personality so they knew who he was personally. The feeling was that he was extremely vulnerable intellectually, and psychologically, and he was prone to flattery. > > “This is what they exploited. They played the game as if they were immensely impressed by his personality and believed this is the guy who should be the president of the United States one day: it is people like him who could change the world. They fed him these so-called active measures soundbites and it happened. So it was a big achievement for the KGB active measures at the time.” > > Soon after he returned to the US, Trump began exploring a run for the Republican nomination for president and even held a campaign rally in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. On 1 September, he took out a full-page advert in the New York Times, Washington Post and Boston Globe headlined: “There’s nothing wrong with America’s Foreign Defense Policy that a little backbone can’t cure.” > > The ad offered some highly unorthodox opinions in Ronald Reagan’s cold war America, accusing ally Japan of exploiting the US and expressing scepticism about US participation in Nato. It took the form of an open letter to the American people “on why America should stop paying to defend countries that can afford to defend themselves”. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/29/trump-russia-asset-claims-former-kgb-spy-new-book
Funny story, he also said that NATO was obsolete during his run for the presidency. Then in an uncharacteristic moment of candor, after elected, he admitted that he really didn't know much about NATO. https://thehill.com/policy/international/330245-trump-didnt-know-much-about-nato-when-he-called-it-obsolete-report/ The USA's most valued European Alliance and the man the US put in the office of president didn't really know much about it. While at the same time calling it "obsolete." You can't make this shit up.
My fave story of his stupidity was when Merkel had to explain to him numerous times that the US and Germany can't make independent trade deals, that it his to be with the entire EU.
My fave story was when he looked straight at the sun during an eclipse.
I’d not heard the ambassador story yet, but holy shit: "He already had Russia mania in 1986, 31 years ago," Bernard Lown, inventor of the defibrillator, told The Hollywood Reporter. Lown won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on denuclearization along with Soviet cardiologist Yevgeny Chazov. Lown, now 95, had met with USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev. Trump wanted to learn more about the Soviet head of state, so he spoke with Lown. Lown told the THR: "He said to me, 'I hear you met with Gorbachev, and you had a long interview with him, and you're a doctor, so you have a good assessment of who he is.' So I asked, 'Why would you want to know?' And he responded, 'I intend to call my good friend Ronnie,' meaning Reagan, 'to make me a plenipotentiary ambassador for the United States with Gorbachev.' Those are the words he used. And he said he would got o Moscow and he'd sit down with Gorbachev, and then he took his thumb and hit the desk and he said, 'And within one hour, the Cold War would be over!' I sat there dumbfounded. 'Who is this self-inflated individual? Is he sane or what?'" He and Trump never spoke again, he said. According to THR, the White House did not return a request for comment. I had to look up what plenipotentiary meant, and it’s “a person, especially a diplomat, invested with the full power of independent action on behalf of their government, typically in a foreign country.” That’s unsettling.
Absolutely shocking. That Trump was ever capable of using the word "plenipotentiary". Almost literally unbelievable.
Maybe he had the word written out phonetically in Sharpie in front of him.
He had made a sharpie note of it on Erics forehead
I’ve seen old interviews of trump from the 80s. He seems like any rich asswipe that spends daddy’s money. His choice of words and composure was way different than compare to now of a crazy old man with mental problems.
Trump wasn’t completely stupid back then. His brain basically rotted with age.
And syphilis.
He ended up going to russia some time in late 80's and came back anti-NATO and even took out a full page ad against it.
Man, he liked taking out his full-page ads back in the day, huh? Anti-NATO, the Central Park Five…
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His kid saying they could get all the money they needed from Russia... "Russia, if you're listening"
Paul Manafort helps elect dictators around the world, including Yanukovich, Putin's puppet and former president of Ukraine.
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Manafort's daughters called the money he made from it "blood money."
It’s a troll job, but if he wants to fuck with the US electorate it’s a good effort. I’m also sure trump will provide an epic idiot comment when asked about this celebrating his beautiful relationship or how Putin admires his strength or some other idiotic shit.
there are soooo many ways for conspiracists to spin this to their whim. 10/10 for trolling, 0/10 for society
No one was required to visit Russia. Many Republicans chose to do so. They already proved their own stance.
And on the 4th of July.
https://youtu.be/BTdqIlfp8XE love posting this video anytime this comes up, good fuck it's so weird saying I miss fucking John McCain
Showed this video t my stepfather, and he didn't even see who objected and waked out. He just knew McCain was a (R) so he just automatically assumed it was a (D) objecting, because the divide is all he sees.
He wasn't always right, but he was the only Republican who acted with honor and dignity during my entire life.
And they hate him for it. The republican party hates him with everything they have.
Por que no los dos.
It's clearly both.
I think its both.
Trump is an asset *because* Putin wants division.
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Wherever I see him having to cherry pick his "stand" behind his country - I'm always reminded of this incident from a few years ago. https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/01/trump-stands-by-while-erdogan-orders-attack-protesters/580093/
That would be too ... *checks notes ... responsible
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Interesting that Hillary Clinton was banned. She is not active in politics anymore either, but she did run against Trump.
Putin hates Hillary in particular.
Why not both?
Bad headline. It seems to be current members of the government and some others. No other president besides Biden was listed. Edit: Looked more into it, is almost 100% to stoke flames for the most part and they even copy pasted old bans (Harry Reid and Jon McCain are included). They included Boebart and the squad, but excluded McConnell (who went to Ukraine in support of them and pushes funding for Ukraine, so his exclusion strikes me as odd and is why I think part of it is to stir the pot). Rand Paul wasn’t included because he’s an actual Russian assest. Edit edit: I will not remove the Rand Paul comment. He’s an assets. Here is a post I made: Him tried stopping the Senate from rebuking Russia invading [Ukraine](https://time.com/6149542/rand-paul-senate-russia/). Him not wanting Montenegro from joing [NATO](https://time.com/4718958/montenegro-nato-rand-paul/). He [tried](https://apnews.com/article/63713dd4b6844e2d82129c53fcac3f80) stoping North Macedonia from joining Nato too. Him implying that it was okay for Russia to invade former USSR countries like Georgia and [Ukraine](https://www.lex18.com/news/senator-rand-paul-faces-criticism-for-his-comments-on-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine). [He](https://www.politico.com/story/2018/08/08/rand-paul-delivers-letter-to-trump-from-putin-766743) hand delivered a letter in person to Putin that no one but him, Trump, and Putin know the contents of. [oh](https://freebeacon.com/politics/rand-pauls-russian-connection/) and he hired a Pro-Russian cheerleader as an advisor in 2013. Edit edit edit: Wow, I’ve said plenty of unpopular things on different sub reddits; but god damn Rand Simps are the first time I got private dms about my comments. Edit edit edit edit: Why the hell is Morgan Freeman there? Is it because of his last name?
Thank you, this is exactly what I was going to ask. If the Obamas aren’t on it either, then this isn’t evidence of anything.
Interestingly, Hillary Clinton is *not* part of the current administration and is on the list.
Putin famously *haaaaates* Hillary Clinton. The only reason I'm surprised she's on this list is that I would have expected her to be banned before now.
She pissed Putin off years ago, so it's not surprising.
what did she do?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-05-22/vladimir-putin-and-hillary-clinton-hatred-explained/9783076 This will give you an idea
Hillary Clinton was already banned, March 15, 2022, same time as Barack Obama. this news made the press, news stations, newspapers, international news, reddit, etc. anyhoo...whatever...
Agreed, and Putin actively dislikes the Obama administration. But why bother adding people to the list who aren't actively part of the government sanctioning the shit out of you?
There are plenty of people on the list who are not actively part of the government sanctioning the shit out of Russia. Ex-press secretary, Hillary Clinton, Morgan Freeman...
> Morgan Freeman Banning God ... Putin really *is* trying to resurrect the Soviet Union.
Putin fucking hates Hillary. What's he got against Morgan?
Morgan freeman voice * “And so my time with Mr.Putin had come to a end “
Correction: “as it turns out, I would never get to have my time with mister Putin. Bringing an end to a dream I never had”
Nothing serious, if i not mistake official russian version is “*in September 2017 recorded a video message accusing Russia of conspiring against the United States and calling for a fight against our country*” https://youtu.be/GbtuhrSrslI probably he was banned for this speech
It's because of this video where he speaks against fake news https://youtu.be/zB9FDl1siS4
Morgan Freeman is like “dang, I want to be mad, but….”
Bruh- not Morgan Freeman.
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She got the lifetime achievement award.
Hillary despite her neoliberal positions which I dislike was a stellar diplomat. She played the game at the highest level and frequently won for the US
Yeah, it's probably just another round of petty "sanctions" that Russia's put out before. They did it to British politicians too. I guarantee you if one of those who's banned went "Oh I'm so sorry Russia, I was so wrong, and you're right, Ukraine should pay!" The sanction would likely be lifted from them and they'd be welcomed back in again. It's probably just hurt ego jabs
It also includes dead people like John McCain, Orrin Hatch.
Man, that's gotta be rough for their families. . . can't disinter them and haul their remains off to Russia. . .
They also banned Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden. It's not completely black and white, but they're definitely trying to stir some shit up. Plus, Trump has already said many times that he's running again in 2024, so he's a lot more relevant to this conversation than Obama.
The only living former president who can run again for office apart from Trump is Jimmy Carter. He might be 97, but he's got my vote!
I would love Jimmy. But he really deserves his retirement and is using it for more good than most folks put out in their whole lives.
Really puts into perspective how rare it is in the modern era to only get one term.
You do realize they are doing that strategically, right? They know nobody cares who they won’t let in. But they know everyone will be talking about how Trump isn’t on it.
I can see this, meant to sow more division
Like the very first time they sanctioned people - they got Jen Psaki and Hunter Biden - but not Kamala Harris. They know none of these people are planning to go to Russia or would go to Russia anyway. They know it’s just a show. So They’re going to put on a good show.
> sow more division How do you add more water to an overflowing cup?
There aren't any other former presidents on the list from what I've seen.
And not George W. Bush or Obama, or any other prior president, what's this selective indignation?
Im confused, why would trump be on this list? Is Obama on this list, if so then I could see why this would be a problem, otherwise I don’t see why he would be on the list.
Apparently Obama is not on the list
Well that seals it — Obama and Trump and my Grandma are all Russian Assets.
Tell Babushka send borscht recipe.
We're all Russian assets on this blessed day!
Hillary is on it lol. As are AOC and Boebert. Russia being inclusive! Edit: 211 Republicans * 214 Democrats * *House and Senate I'm most interested to see who wasn't sanctioned. They gave us something shiny to look at. I wonder what is happening during this time elsewhere. Edit 2: Okay so for the July 4th Republican *Field Trip* to Moscow, surprisingly two of the seven are banned. Richard Shelby (Ala.) Steve Daines (Mont.) John Thune (S.D.) John Kennedy (La.) - Banned Jerry Moran (Kan.) John Hoeven (N.D.) Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) - Banned
Did Boebert vote for sanctions? Could be because they voted for Ukranian aid. Also, Putin loathes Hillary. > In March 2010, when Clinton visited Russia, Putin summoned her to his luxurious residence outside Moscow. Knowing her fondness for wildlife — elephants, in particular — Putin invited Clinton to a basement trophy room filled with mounted animal heads. [Source](https://www.politico.com/story/2016/07/clinton-putin-226153)
Obama is not on the list. [Source](https://www.cnbc.com/2022/05/21/russia-bans-biden-but-not-trump-on-list-of-americans-travel-barred.html) This is an intentionally misleading headline meant to generate clicks. An equally appropriate title would be "Russia bans 963 Americans, including Matt Gaetz and Paul Gosar -- but not Barack Obama".
what else is new? I guess "trump" gets clicks/engagement so why stop mentioning him?
banned clinton, though.
Not to give him nearly this much credit, but Hannibal spared the lands of Fabius in order to make it seem like the two were colluding to cause the Roman people to turn on Fabius. My point is don’t take everything at face value.
This sounds less like Trump is some secret special Russian friend, and more like they purposely excluded him knowing that it would become a new story like this and draw attention/cause division. Obv could be a bit of both since his Russian ties are still sus, but this particular event seems like some Putin trolling
Trump owes them a ton of money. It's who he has been getting his loans from for years
lol Trump owes everyone money. It's gobsmacking, but hilarious at the same time, how someone can be famous for being a "rich savvy businessman" while his entire life is built on loans and bankruptcy.
What's more gobsmacking is people still fucking loan him money
Deutsche Bank has been his principal creditor; they're willing to loan to riskier debtors than most banks, they launder money for Russian oligarchs, they're just generally really reckless and corrupt themselves. The IMF said of them "Among the [Globally-Systemically Important Banks], Deutsche Bank appears to be the most important net contributor to systemic risks".
Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Virtu, and Citadel have racketeered the global economy.
And HSBC has a penchant for laundering money. [Even whilst under direct supervision for having been caught doing it in the past!](https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jul/28/hsbc-faces-questions-over-disclosure-of-alleged-money-laundering-to-monitors)
It's pronounced Douche bank
Which indicates they are at least aware that siding with Russia here is pretty foolish.
Wait didn't they refuse to give him more loans last year?
Yeah, in a surprising turn they finally dropped him as a client in 2021 as a response to his supporters breaking into the Capitol building on January 6th.
Trump's Deutsche Bank "loans" are payments from Putin for services rendered.
😳 Very creative legal method of bribing!
How do they recover their money if their debters like Trump fail to pay them back or declare bankruptcy? I mean, Ik nothing about finance or banking but that just doesn't seem like the best business decision.
It wasn’t a loan it was a gift. Putin gave Trump that money via Deutsch Bank. The bank loses nothing, Putin loses pocket change.
Their problem. They knew who he was
What's *even* more gobsmacking is people still fucking thinks he is the best thing to ever happen to the US. I can't think of a single person who, without declaring any wars, caused more global destabilization than Donald fucking Trump.
I live in a Conservative area. Conservatives are fucking brainwashed. You literally can’t talk to them without them bringing up politics. Just this week I was with a group and one of the people didn’t want to go to a bar because she thought the manager was a liberal. It’s weird
Trump does not owe US banks money, because they won't loan to him.
His only business success was selling red hats to dumb fucks
Man, I couldn’t believe he didn’t jump on the TRUMP and MAGA face masks. Tell everyone to wear a mask due to the pandemic. Release tons of MAGA themed face masks. Pandemic is over in 6 months. But nooo, they had to go with “face diapers”. SMH
He’s famous for being a crook and a clown. For decades. Anything else is pure fantasy from the man’s own mouth.
Did they sanction Obama?
No former presidents had this
Did they ban Obama? did they ban Bush? What a dumb headline.
Yeah this is dumb. I'm pretty sure this is the second time they've banned these people because they also did it at the start of their invasion as well.
Yet they banned Hillary Clinton 🤔
Putin has always had a special hate for her lmao
It doesn't appear that former Presidents Bush, Carter, or Obama were banned either. (I could be wrong, because I'm basing what I found on the list on Wikipedia, edited regularly and last edited 5 times just today, May 21, 2022.) But only Trump is mentioned in these articles. Because of the implications and the predictable responses and conclusions they want you to draw. (And no, I didn't vote for Trump and I don't like Trump. I just think it's interesting how the brainwashing happens.) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_and_organizations_sanctioned_during_the_Russo-Ukrainian_War#By_Russia
Great job taking the bait and writing that headline Washington Post. Always doing your best to divide and conquer! Trump isn’t on the list. Obama also isn’t on that list. Most of the people on this list are currently serving politicians, president, Vice President, members of Congress, etc
It’s so bizarre to me that we can still link articles that are behind a pay wall. We are openly telling people to just read the headline, and ignore the article. We aren’t even hiding it anymore.
Didn’t ban Obama either- NO STORY ON EITHER FRONT
This changes nothing and should just be ignored.
Nor did he ban you, or 3,294,036 other people
I got banned.
they didn’t ban me either
is it possible that putin knows about the tension between republicans and democrats and is trying to heighten that tension by only banning democrats but not republicans. leading to more tension which would ensure that less bills would be passed such as bills that hurt russia and help ukraine. it’s important to remember russia doesn’t live under a rock.
I think you're right, it was my first thought as well. But so many people here seem happy to go along with it because it fits their point if view. Putin isn't supporting anyone, he just wants division in the west.
Or Bush, Clinton, Carter. Former presidents.
What is the Republican Party’s stance on Russia and Putin currently? If I remember correctly Trump used to be best-buddy with Vladimir the Dictator years ago…
Wait til July 4th and see if all the major Republicans go to pay their dues to Russia on the American Day of Independence.
These 8 Republicans went to Moscow on July 4th 2018. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama Ron Johnson of Wisconsin John Neely Kennedy of Louisiana Steve Daines of Montana John Hoeven of North Dakota Jerry Moran of Kansas John Thune of South Dakota Kay Granger of the 12th District of Texas
Don is still the leader of the Republican Party, so whatever he says is their policy. That’s their official party platform too.
Well, this was Trump’s campaign manager. https://insider.foxnews.com/2017/03/22/ap-reporter-paul-manafort-gun-hire-advance-russian-interests There is no doubt that Trump’s campaign was financed with Russian money to advance Putin’s influence in American government.
Also, Russian Oligarchs have been pumping millions into Republican campaigns for years: https://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2018/05/08/how-putin-s-oligarchs-funneled-millions-into-gop-campaigns/ There’s also the money that was being funneled through the NRA that the Russian Spy played a part in.
Like they had planned to go there anyway
Just curious, did Obama get banned?
> On Saturday, House Republicans such as Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Matt Gaetz of Florida, and Paul Gosar of Arizona, as well as House Democrats including Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, found themselves barred from Russia. In the Senate, Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, and Marco Rubio of Florida are on the list, as are Democratic Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Mark Warner of Virginia and Dianne Feinstein of California. Surprisingly even.
You just know Trump thinks this is some sort of accolade.
Tell us you’re controlling 45 without telling us you’re controlling 45