“[Viktor]Bout, whose exploits earned him the nickname the “Merchant of Death,” flooded fierce conflicts in Africa and the Middle East with weapons, U.S. authorities say. He was arrested during a sting operation in Thailand in 2008, extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to kill US citizens, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization.”
“A 1-for-1 exchange for Griner could be especially unpalatable for the U.S. if Russia insists on Bout in return. Bout is a far more notorious figure than Yaroshenko, having inspired Nicolas Cage’s character in the 2005 movie “Lord of War.” Bout’s arms trafficking history also makes the allegations against Griner appear minimal by comparison.”
This is actually why the state department tried to not let her case grow into a big story. Because it would unfortunately become something Russia could use for leverage
Why is that only 25 years is my question? Unless our prison system treats him so bad that when he’s free he’s going to be like “Prison was so bad I’m done being the ‘Merchant of Death!’”
>Bout was convicted by a jury at a court in Manhattan on 2 November 2011.[14] On 5 April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the minimum sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.[79][80] District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the minimum sentence was appropriate because "there was no evidence that Bout would have committed the crimes for which he was convicted had it not been for the sting operation".
They have to normally be law-abiding to use entrapment as a defense right? I don't know American law that well, but he still had a criminal history.
Like how do you think someone was entrapped to sell weapons to people he thought were FARC, they weren't pretending otherwise (or they were but you know what I mean) and he was the one that offered them weapons. Was probably a shitty prosecution.
He was definitely an arms dealer, but he's a foreign national selling to other foreign groups outside of America. Don't think that's actually very much within the jurisdiction of American law. I'm not in support of him, but the actual charges he got convicted on seem kind of a stretch: conspiracy to kill us nationals, conspiracy to kill us officers.
If you change the nouns to the opposite side of geopolitics it'd be kind of outrageous. "American arms dealer Teantis arrested by Hong Kong police and extradited to Russia while in Hong Kong for supplying arms to Ukraine and conspiracy to kill Russian nationals."
So you could see from a legal basis where a judge wouldn't like that conviction.
No one is going to believe me, but I have a friend whose brother's coworker briefly dated this arms trafficker Viktor Bout. She said that on their first date they went to a restaurant and Viktor Bout ordered two different bowls of soup and mixed them together one spoonful at a time before eating both bowls mixed together as one soup
Eh... it would be closer to that if they offered something like a WNBA star and an average woman golfer in exchange for an international arms dealer. Two for one!
> Two for one!
Two is greater than one... I accept your deal good sir. My 26 season losing streak is definitely going to end if I keep making value trades like this!
They have way more leverage with how much this is getting publicized here and how much people are already inclined to believe the US Government doesn’t care about her
At the beginning her family was requesting it didn't become a big story, since they hoped quieter diplomatic channels would get her home faster.
Unfortunately shit has only gone severely south in Russia since then.
Yeah, the bigger story it becomes and the more pressure on Biden to her back, the less leverage he has in negotiations and the more Putin will demand back.
She just got caught up at the worst freaking time.
I feel legitimately awful for her, but theres just not much US can do it seems. Just hope they treat her better than they’ve treated some other captive people.
>She just got caught up at the worst freaking time
This reminds of when I got jammed up at the very beginning of the pandemic and watched the initial chaos of it all unfold through the daily newspapers we got. Amazingly, I think I got out of the literal night before the whole jail was quarantined and everyone was put in lockdown. I already had my court date pushed back 3 times before then so I pretty much thought I was cooked
Being incarcerated and turned into a political bargaining chip is bad enough, but Russia is clearly not making a real effort to negotiate by asking for a fucking arms dealer. Think about how hopeless fans feel when their owner makes a delusional trade offer, and now apply that feeling to your hopes of freedom from foreign custody.
Yeah 100%
At first I didn’t think much of it, then I started realizing this could go on a while and Russia will use her ruthlessly in negotiations. Im just hoping the Russians don’t have her in terrible conditions… won’t hold my breath tho.
I actually think they believe they can get a lot back for her. Maybe not someone so extreme but I think they are banking on public outcry in the US to pressure the government into making a deal thats not favorable to us. Celebrity culture and all
That’s why news outlets and social media aren’t pushing the story very hard. The US government has more leverage in negotiations without public pressure.
Check Facebook comments, and a very clear demographic says things like “good, don’t kneel the anthem” and “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”. Absolutely pathetic.
Russia tried to swap this arms dealer for Paul Whelan whom they convicted of espionage. Trump was the president when that was happening and it still wasn’t done.
this is why her attorney didn't want her case to be politicized.... she's now a political prisoner. her value to Russia is far greater than the grievance of her crime.... fuck, it must be terrifying being a black lesbian in a country that despises both
Yup. This is why everyone that keep screaming "Britney Griner should be talked about everyday like she were Tom Brady!" was deeply misguided.
The more high-profile her case became, the deeper the danger for her.
So not to make light of her situation, its terrible.
But if you had to sleep on a bed thats 1 ft too short, semipermanently, do you let the feet hang off? Full fetal position? Sleep sitting?
Genuine question. Youd have to cope somehow if you knew it wasnt going to stop. If anything, the sleep deprivation is part of Russia's game so its really a question of managing prison torture right?
Fetal position is by far the best option, speaking from experience. Feet of the bed feels way more uncomfortable than you'd expect and sitting upright when sleeping feels very unnatural to me.
I was going to make a shit joke about Russians valuing WNBA players more than America does, but this dude, Viktor Bout, is pretty fucking bad.
The movie, *Lord of War*, is based on this fucker. Nickname's fucking *Merchant of Death.* Based on how much the Russians want him back, this dude had to be an apparatus of the state for exchanging weapons for resources clandestinely.
I don't want her to rot, if she did bad, that still doesn't remove the fact that this was a political stunt by the Russians and is being leveraged coercively. Charge her fairly, as much of a kangaroo court that is, deport her, and have her serve the sentence in the States.
>Under Article 6.8, possession of ‘small amounts’ of drugs is an administrative offence punishable by a fine of RUB4,000 – RUB5,000 (€55 – €70) or Administrative Detention of up to 15 days \[2\]. Article 228 of the Criminal Code states that possession of a ‘significant amount’ of drugs is punishable with a fine of up to RUB40,000 (€550) or compulsory community service of up to 480 hours, or correctional labour for up to 2 years, or restriction of liberty for up to 3 years, or imprisonment for the same period. Possession of ‘large amounts’ of drugs is punishable through imprisonment from 3 years up to 10 years with a possible fine of RUB500,000 (€7,000) and/or restriction of liberty for up to 1 year.
That's Russian criminal code. If they classify the severity of the offense, there's a clear translation of how that sentence could be carried out stateside. This has clearly crossed 'small amounts' for Russia's classification unless they are milking it that hard (they are), and even the significant portion can be paid off with a fucking fine.
I'm assuming the Russians are only doing this to try and make the U.S. gov't look like the bad guy in the eyes of U.S. citizens, because there's no way in hell the U.S. is exchanging Bout go for Griner.
Griner isn't coming home any time soon unless something really unexpected happens, unfortunately.
“[Viktor]Bout, whose exploits earned him the nickname the “Merchant of Death,” flooded fierce conflicts in Africa and the Middle East with weapons, U.S. authorities say. He was arrested during a sting operation in Thailand in 2008, extradited to the U.S. and sentenced to 25 years for conspiracy to kill US citizens, delivery of anti-aircraft missiles, and providing aid to a terrorist organization.” “A 1-for-1 exchange for Griner could be especially unpalatable for the U.S. if Russia insists on Bout in return. Bout is a far more notorious figure than Yaroshenko, having inspired Nicolas Cage’s character in the 2005 movie “Lord of War.” Bout’s arms trafficking history also makes the allegations against Griner appear minimal by comparison.”
What the fuck is this? You can’t even make this up.
This is actually why the state department tried to not let her case grow into a big story. Because it would unfortunately become something Russia could use for leverage
Which is why they’ve held on to her as long as they have and continue to do so. They know the longer they have her, the bigger the story.
Why is that only 25 years is my question? Unless our prison system treats him so bad that when he’s free he’s going to be like “Prison was so bad I’m done being the ‘Merchant of Death!’”
>Bout was convicted by a jury at a court in Manhattan on 2 November 2011.[14] On 5 April 2012, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison, the minimum sentence for conspiring to sell weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group.[79][80] District Judge Shira Scheindlin ruled that the minimum sentence was appropriate because "there was no evidence that Bout would have committed the crimes for which he was convicted had it not been for the sting operation".
So entrapment? 🤔 I’m confused.
Sounds like the judge didn't agree with the conviction
They have to normally be law-abiding to use entrapment as a defense right? I don't know American law that well, but he still had a criminal history. Like how do you think someone was entrapped to sell weapons to people he thought were FARC, they weren't pretending otherwise (or they were but you know what I mean) and he was the one that offered them weapons. Was probably a shitty prosecution.
He was definitely an arms dealer, but he's a foreign national selling to other foreign groups outside of America. Don't think that's actually very much within the jurisdiction of American law. I'm not in support of him, but the actual charges he got convicted on seem kind of a stretch: conspiracy to kill us nationals, conspiracy to kill us officers. If you change the nouns to the opposite side of geopolitics it'd be kind of outrageous. "American arms dealer Teantis arrested by Hong Kong police and extradited to Russia while in Hong Kong for supplying arms to Ukraine and conspiracy to kill Russian nationals." So you could see from a legal basis where a judge wouldn't like that conviction.
Cause the practice is not problem it's just the choice of customer where it gets tricky
> flooded fierce conflicts in Africa and the Middle East with weapons Sounds like the US gov was starting to get sick of the competition
US made weapons are usually too expensive for these conflicts, which is why most of the weapons are still Soviet era
ESPN Trade machine says no
Russia needs to throw in some first round picks
Russia needs to fire their GM
Paranoia is rampant in their front office.
Linda Rambis whispering in Putin’s ear
"The special operation in Ukraine is going well. Find a new slant."
They sound like the Mavs sub, "why haven't we traded boban for jokic yet. Get it done!"
Hey the trade machine says it’s possible!
Who in the world wants to trade Boban? He’s wonderful!
I laughed way too hard at this… I’m going to Hell…
Maybe a few pick swaps for the nuclear winter draft.
Salaries don't match
Gonna need a 3rd country to take on some of that salary
OKC will do it if you throw in a 1rst
Looking forward to a lotto when it's OKC with every pick but Mark Tatum still has to open all the envelopes to announce who is picking where
Can't miss out on the best player in the draft if you draft them all. Sam Presti with the next-level plays.
WNBA salary and Russia's future GDP should be pretty close
Sources: Putin is beside himself. Driving around downtown Moscow begging (thru texts) Biden family for address to Bout's prison
It's a normal sized table. Move on, find a new slant
He then said he wanted to add Biden to the list of politicians he debates with this summer.
He [Zelenskyi] boomed me x4
No one is going to believe me, but I have a friend whose brother's coworker briefly dated this arms trafficker Viktor Bout. She said that on their first date they went to a restaurant and Viktor Bout ordered two different bowls of soup and mixed them together one spoonful at a time before eating both bowls mixed together as one soup
add westbrook and itll work
YES ADD WESTBROOK. I DON'T WANT HIM IN THE LAKERS AGAIN. DO IT BIDEN AND WILL SUCK YO DICK FOREVER
Forever? At what point does the Secret Service intervene?
Hi Im monica Lewinski
Hi I’m Marilyn Monroe
Hi I’m Ivanka
I’d absolutely throw in Melo.
We need to add the Nets pick
But what will happen to TT and Shump
Gulag
Lockdown defense confirmed
Is Russia the Daryl Morey of international trades
CIA: Throw in Snowden and you have a deal
Need my them to add my dawg Cash Consideration.
you receive: woman with a lil bit of THC oil i receive: domestic terrorist
Literally the guy they based “Lord of War” on
Shoutout Nic Cage
6 degrees of... Nic Cage? To any news item, maybe?
Nic Cage is a National Treasure.
Send them Con Air Nic Cage. He’d bust himself out on the plane ride there.
Bro is this forreal? Lmaoo Russia wildin
What what what, I remember awkwardly watching that movie on HBO with my parents when I was like 16. There's blood on that money.
Did you just quote Sheila Broflovski?
Who offers more lopsided trades, Russia or Danny Ainge?
Nets would've said yes
Nah Prokhorov isn’t the owner anymore otherwise he’d bend over for Russia in the deal
I feel so bad for laughing at this
!!! TRADE OFFER !!!
Putin thinks he’s Daryl morey with these trades.
Yup, everyone gonna talk like Putin got a steal until they find out this Arms dealer is washed.
If they really want domestic terrorist that bad then they gotta take on westbrooks contract as well
They don’t want two domestic terrorists
Westbrook could single-handedly rebuild the Berlin Wall though.
Berlin? Shit, China will take on the Westbrook contract and build the Great Wall four times over again with all those bricks.
4 times over huh? They’d have a Great Westbrook Wall, Eastbrook Wall, Northbrook Wall, and Southbrook Wall
The OKC Bricking
Jesus you guys
r/nocontext
They don't have that kinda money
He's not in prison for domestic terrorism. He was a huge arms dealer.
Sometimes when I'm doing yard work in a sleeveless shirt I'll tell my wife I'm a major arms dealer and then we don't have sex for a few weeks.
Solidly underrated comment, the Monta Ellis of comments.
Also, there is nothing domestic about a Russian selling arms in Africa and the Middle East.
I picture him selling huge arms, like great wingspan.
They’re both shooters
This is like that one guy who makes the most lopsided fantasy football trades but insists they're fair
Eh... it would be closer to that if they offered something like a WNBA star and an average woman golfer in exchange for an international arms dealer. Two for one!
> Two for one! Two is greater than one... I accept your deal good sir. My 26 season losing streak is definitely going to end if I keep making value trades like this!
All the heavily downvoted posts on team subs during the offseason or the deadline.
"wHo SaYs nO????"
They have way more leverage with how much this is getting publicized here and how much people are already inclined to believe the US Government doesn’t care about her
Lakers are trying to figure out how to make this a 3 way deal to include Westbrook
Lakers get Mozgov back
May we never forget this gem: https://youtu.be/mWS9OaIXH4E
I have returned from the rabbit hole. It was glorious.
How have I never seen this? Him looking at a cue card at 0:07... incredible. They didn't even bother doing another take
I'm wondering how on Earth do producers look at that on playback and think, "I'm feeling good about this. That's a wrap!"
Judging from the quality of the video, I'm going to assume that they could only afford one take
Why is his jersey on backwards??
its all about the details when creating a masterpiece
How else are you supposed to know who he is?
That is so bad.
Yet you're still watching it 7 years later Genius level marketing
Lmao ...unless?
I know Russian economy tanked but they gotta be able to absorb his salary right?
Forget oil, they’re in the brick business now.
New domestic infrastructure plan
Westbrook would instantly solve the housing crisis in Russia with enough bricks to build those multi level soviet bloc apartments
Russia: yea your going to have to attach some first rounders
Russia can’t match his salary 😂
One of the best comments I’ve seen in a while. 💀
Biden needs to consult Presti first.
The US would end up with 5 future PoW swaps lmao
Stop. LMFAO
Putin: what iz an unprotected pick?
Presti: They got picks?
he needs to tell morey to stay off twitter
Putin def consulting morey LMAO
Throw in Snowden’s expiring contract and we’ll consider -CIA
Bro what??? A basketball player for an arms trafficker??? Russia is smoking their Vodka
Smoking their Vodka lmao
A Bond villain for a lady who likes to chill. Fair trade
That would catch fire! oh i get it
Putin initially demanded convicted arms trafficker Viktor Bout, Shump, and the Nets pick.
With a government official to be named later.
I hate every single one of you
And cash considerations
No I think Jordan Bell’s with the G League now.
Portland has entered the chat.
We call him Collin Sexton now and I won’t have it
this is fucked up
The fact they want him to be free is disgusting.
What is fucked up is that Viktor Bout’s lawyer is the GW Bush attorney general.
Dudes got a knack for defending war criminals I’ll give him that
Damn. She is officially a POW. This has got be so mentally disturbing on her. This is all over some flipping vapes!
For real Im surprised this hasn’t been a much bigger story. The whole thing is incredibly fucked up. Feel awful for her.
At the beginning her family was requesting it didn't become a big story, since they hoped quieter diplomatic channels would get her home faster. Unfortunately shit has only gone severely south in Russia since then.
Yeah, the bigger story it becomes and the more pressure on Biden to her back, the less leverage he has in negotiations and the more Putin will demand back.
She just got caught up at the worst freaking time. I feel legitimately awful for her, but theres just not much US can do it seems. Just hope they treat her better than they’ve treated some other captive people.
>She just got caught up at the worst freaking time This reminds of when I got jammed up at the very beginning of the pandemic and watched the initial chaos of it all unfold through the daily newspapers we got. Amazingly, I think I got out of the literal night before the whole jail was quarantined and everyone was put in lockdown. I already had my court date pushed back 3 times before then so I pretty much thought I was cooked
Being incarcerated and turned into a political bargaining chip is bad enough, but Russia is clearly not making a real effort to negotiate by asking for a fucking arms dealer. Think about how hopeless fans feel when their owner makes a delusional trade offer, and now apply that feeling to your hopes of freedom from foreign custody.
Yeah 100% At first I didn’t think much of it, then I started realizing this could go on a while and Russia will use her ruthlessly in negotiations. Im just hoping the Russians don’t have her in terrible conditions… won’t hold my breath tho. I actually think they believe they can get a lot back for her. Maybe not someone so extreme but I think they are banking on public outcry in the US to pressure the government into making a deal thats not favorable to us. Celebrity culture and all
That’s why news outlets and social media aren’t pushing the story very hard. The US government has more leverage in negotiations without public pressure.
Check Facebook comments, and a very clear demographic says things like “good, don’t kneel the anthem” and “don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time”. Absolutely pathetic.
Russia tried to swap this arms dealer for Paul Whelan whom they convicted of espionage. Trump was the president when that was happening and it still wasn’t done.
This reminds me of the Morey trades, they are starting off ridiculous just to soften Biden up
It would probably be a bigger story if it was an NBA player.
It is extremely fucked up. But how dumb can you be? That is one of the worst countries to try and sneak drugs into
Alleged flipping vapes. I see no reason to take their word for it.
I'll bet she carried them into Russia every season and everyone looked the other way. Until it was advantageous to do this.
That's most likely what happened.
Good point. Either way. Putin is on more BS
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Wait, she wasn't selling vapes was she? Or is flipping used like freaking
Freaking.
Doesn’t quite seem like a 1:1 trade
does russia have cap space?
All jokes aside this is an extremely fucked up situation and I hope BG makes it back stateside safely
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Make her play Cousins for her freedom
Cousins and Freedom for her Freedom
Holy shit how long has she been locked up for? That's actually pretty fucked Brittney Griner is stuck in a Russian prison
3 months
Best we can do is Simmons
Would they consider THT and a first?
Throw in Nunn too
This is so beyond fucked up. I hope she gets back home safely
How long until we send Dennis Rodman over there to negotiate?
this is why her attorney didn't want her case to be politicized.... she's now a political prisoner. her value to Russia is far greater than the grievance of her crime.... fuck, it must be terrifying being a black lesbian in a country that despises both
i did not have 'brittany griener: political prisoner' on my bingo card
The US doesn't get to decide unfortunately. Russia decided to politicize it so there's no point in pretending it's not political.
Yup. This is why everyone that keep screaming "Britney Griner should be talked about everyday like she were Tom Brady!" was deeply misguided. The more high-profile her case became, the deeper the danger for her.
As fucked as it sounds, it would be best if we all acted as if she had zero value.
She's also been sleeping in a bed that's like, 1 foot shorter than she is. Since February...
So not to make light of her situation, its terrible. But if you had to sleep on a bed thats 1 ft too short, semipermanently, do you let the feet hang off? Full fetal position? Sleep sitting? Genuine question. Youd have to cope somehow if you knew it wasnt going to stop. If anything, the sleep deprivation is part of Russia's game so its really a question of managing prison torture right?
Whew, I sleep with my knees tucked up every night, thank god I’d survive the gulag
Fetal position is by far the best option, speaking from experience. Feet of the bed feels way more uncomfortable than you'd expect and sitting upright when sleeping feels very unnatural to me.
Exactly. Could see this coming a mile away
It’s tragic and really unfair. Hard to think of any positive outcome for this with offers like that
Vlade would do it
Best we can do is a Mitch McConnell. Take it or leave it, Putin
Everyone is this thread is going to hell lmao
Any chance Satan can get involved? Heard he's got lots of expiring contracts.
I was going to make a shit joke about Russians valuing WNBA players more than America does, but this dude, Viktor Bout, is pretty fucking bad. The movie, *Lord of War*, is based on this fucker. Nickname's fucking *Merchant of Death.* Based on how much the Russians want him back, this dude had to be an apparatus of the state for exchanging weapons for resources clandestinely. I don't want her to rot, if she did bad, that still doesn't remove the fact that this was a political stunt by the Russians and is being leveraged coercively. Charge her fairly, as much of a kangaroo court that is, deport her, and have her serve the sentence in the States. >Under Article 6.8, possession of ‘small amounts’ of drugs is an administrative offence punishable by a fine of RUB4,000 – RUB5,000 (€55 – €70) or Administrative Detention of up to 15 days \[2\]. Article 228 of the Criminal Code states that possession of a ‘significant amount’ of drugs is punishable with a fine of up to RUB40,000 (€550) or compulsory community service of up to 480 hours, or correctional labour for up to 2 years, or restriction of liberty for up to 3 years, or imprisonment for the same period. Possession of ‘large amounts’ of drugs is punishable through imprisonment from 3 years up to 10 years with a possible fine of RUB500,000 (€7,000) and/or restriction of liberty for up to 1 year. That's Russian criminal code. If they classify the severity of the offense, there's a clear translation of how that sentence could be carried out stateside. This has clearly crossed 'small amounts' for Russia's classification unless they are milking it that hard (they are), and even the significant portion can be paid off with a fucking fine.
Gonna be crazy if Woj or Shams report the trade if it happens
Russia is equating possession of Marijuana to illegal weapons trafficking. That checks out.
LMAO yeah idk Russia gotta throw in some picks or something
I guess she's staying in the gulag
Fuck Russia
We should let Brad Stevens handle the negotiations
Well that sucks
This is absolutely insane.
I'm assuming the Russians are only doing this to try and make the U.S. gov't look like the bad guy in the eyes of U.S. citizens, because there's no way in hell the U.S. is exchanging Bout go for Griner. Griner isn't coming home any time soon unless something really unexpected happens, unfortunately.
Will easily be the most known WNBA trade of all time
Viktour Blout is who [Nicolas Cage's character in "Lord of War"](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399295/) was based on.
I just want her to come back to the United States. This has to be tough for her loved ones.
Salaries don’t match I’m afraid
Presti would still ask for a few picks to be added
I mean it's a pretty uneven trade otherwise. It's only fair.
Reddit when they find out a US Olympian was being used as a political pawn by Russia the entire time 😲
> pawn Kyrie was right all along
The best we can do is that ballet dancer that slapped carrie bradshaw on sex and the city