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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The only power they can gain is relative to the other countries around it, which is why they are so intent on destabilizing the surrounding countries. The reason they are reverting to a Soviet style Active Measures campaign (disinformation, subversion of political parties and advocacy groups, Coercion, etc) is because it's a relatively low cost way of accomplishing that goal.
Edited by megaeliz on Dec 6th 2018 at 11:43:44 AM
So it looks like Elizabeth Warren is having manufactroversy issues
.
It goes all the way back to 2000, and really gives the most complete picture of mounting Russian Aggression I've seen.
Edited by megaeliz on Dec 6th 2018 at 11:47:03 AM
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Let’s be realistic here though, their influence is heavily limited. Their “intervention” in Syria is a shadow of what the Soviets were able to do. The political weight they can throw around is more or less limited to their immediate neighbors. Sure, they’re a threat, but it’s not a massive or immediate threat.
Edited by archonspeaks on Dec 6th 2018 at 8:59:38 AM
They should have sent a poet.They very probably won the election for Trump so "limited" is a nonstatement. Basically, every attempt to downplay or understate Russia's threat is wrong IMHO. They need to be talked UP not down.
Also, the Soviet Union had many many nations willing to stand against them while the Russian Federation has invaded multiple nations with barely a whimper from the international community.
Edited by CharlesPhipps on Dec 6th 2018 at 9:01:34 AM
Author of The Rules of Supervillainy, Cthulhu Armageddon, and United States of Monsters.
Or we could simply be realistic about the threat posed, which is present but not critical.
And the whole “the Russians handed Trump the election” thing is absurdly reductive. Yes, they likely contributed to his victory, but domestic factors were much more significant. They didn’t single-handedly steal the election.
I’ll also point out that the “invasions” they’ve done have all been through deniable local proxies and political warfare with minimal participation from actual Russian units. They’re not exactly the classical definition of an invasion like you seem to be trying to imply.
They should have sent a poet.So on the State level, Arizona Rep. David Stringer made some... decidedly questionable remarks regarding race and immigration.
Stringer is heard on the audio saying “diversity in our country is relatively new.”
ASU sophomore Stephen Chmura responded by citing immigration from Ireland and Italy.
"They were all European," Stringer said. "So after their second or third generation, everybody looks the same. Everybody talks the same. That's not the case with African-Americans and other racial groups because they don't melt in. They don't blend in. They always look different."
"Why does looking different matter?" Chmura asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it doesn't. Maybe it doesn't to a lot of people,” Stringer said. “It seems to matter to a lot of people who move out of Detroit, who move out of Baltimore. You know we have white flight in this country."
Chmura pointed out that his Polish great grandfather wanted a better life for himself, just like Venezuelans fleeing from a “socialist regime.”
"The difference between the Polish-American immigrant and the immigrant from Somalia is the second-generation Polish immigrant looks like the Irish kid and the German kid and every other kid,” Stringer said. “But the immigrant from Somalia does not."
Stringer, throughout the conversation, continues to refer to immigrants and non-native English speakers as a “burden.”
"It costs a lot of more to educate a child who doesn't speak English as a native language," Stringer said. "So that's a burden on the taxpayers. It's a pretty significant burden."
Stringer has previously said that “immigration today represents an existential threat to the United States."
He was recorded earlier this year lamenting about how there “aren’t enough white kids to go around” because 60 percent of children in Arizona schools were minorities.
The Arizona Republican Party called on him to resign over the remarks but he refused. He won his reelection in Prescott earlier this month.
Stringer later apologized to “anyone he offended” during an interview with the Arizona Capitol Times.
“I maybe touched a third rail of politics but what I said is accurate,” Stringer said in June. “Anybody that talks about this in this way is shut down and called a racist. I’m speaking the truth. Diversity may be a great thing, there might be a lot of advantages, I’m not arguing against diversity at all, but no country can be demographically transformed without any political or social consequences.”
Arizona state Rep. César Chávez (D), an immigrant himself, tore into Stringer on Twitter Friday.
“The Arizona Legislature has no room for individuals such as David Stringer,” he wrote. “Arizona is enriched by it’s diversity and cultures. We must look to move forward from this divisiveness, and I believe in order to do so he must resign or the #AZ Leg should take actions for expulsion.”
“Representative Stringer’s comments are vile and won’t be tolerated,” Bowers wrote. “His remarks don’t reflect the sentiments of the Arizona Legislature, the constituents we represent, and the policies we enact."
Bowers added that Stringer's remarks made him "incapable of performing his duties" as chairman of the Sentencing and Recidivism Reform Committee, prompting him to ask for Stringer's resignation from the position.
"I gave Representative Stringer a critical assignment as chair of the Sentencing and Recidivism Reform Committee. These comments render him incapable of performing his duties as chair. I asked Representative Stringer to resign as chair of the committee, and he has agreed to do so.”
So at least that last bit is good news - but good God is it saying something about his constituents when even the GOP in Arizona tell the guy to quit running for reelection... and not only does he not listen, but he wins anyway.
"Why would I inflict myself on somebody else?"These were the same people who figured Joe Arpaio was okay. So no surprise.
Or they have a very selective reading of it. They're ignoring that for a long time, Irish and Central and Eastern Europeans were considered racially inferior by the mostly English-descended Americans. Now since that sounds silly, they're saying "all white people" which makes them look not only ignorant, but also stupid.
Heck, even H.P. Lovecraft wrote his Shadow over Innsmouth after he found out his Grandmom was Welsh.
Edited by TechPriest90 on Dec 6th 2018 at 5:20:04 AM
I hold the secrets of the machine.Party of White Supremacy has White supremacist, news at '11.
I am thoroughly unsurprised by this, still, it's nice to have a minor refresher about how awful the Republicans are. Gotta keep that animosity burning.
"Einstein would turn over in his grave. Not only does God play dice, the dice are loaded." -Chairman Sheng-Ji YangOkay, so, this is not exactly current politics, but I thought you guys would appreciate a little "where are they now" story: Milo Yiannopolous was kicked of Patreon after only a single day, and still for millions of dollars in debt.
I know it's wrong to feel happy about another person's misfortune, but I really can't help it.

Their biggest advantage is their legacy in general. As they are now they aren’t able to afford a modern military or government, but luckily enough they retained enough of both from the Soviets to make it work. They’re still coasting on Soviet infrastructure and military spending.
They should have sent a poet.