I feel sorry for all of our misguided young people that don't realize how blessed they are to live in America. Brittney will have nine years in a Russian prison to reflect on how "bad" her life in America was. Both of my sons went to Baylor and we loved watching the Lady Bears while Brittney was their center.
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Today a Russian court convicted WNBA player Brittney Griner on drug possession and smuggling charges and sentenced the American athlete to 9 years in prison.
“That’s why I pled guilty to my charges,” Griner reportedly told the court. “I understand everything that’s been said against me, the charges that are against me and that is why I pled guilty but I had no intents to break any Russian laws.”
Russian prosecutors asked the judge to sentence Griner to 9 years and six months in prison, according to People, which was just shy of the maximum possible sentence of 10 years. Prosecutors also asked that Griner be fined 1 million rubles, equivalent to about $16,600.
At home, Griner regularly complained about the lack of freedom she was offered as a black person.
Griner is a supporter of Black Lives Matter and in July 2021 protested the National Anthem by refusing to enter the basketball court while the national anthem was played. Griner announced her plans to protest against the National Anthem for the entire season, claiming that “Black people didn’t have rights at that point.”
“It’s hard disrespecting a song that didn’t even represent all Americans when it was first made,” said Griner while playing professional sports in the United States. “I’m going to protest regardless,” she said. “I’m not going to be out there for the national anthem. If the league continues to want to play it, that’s fine.”
“It will be all season long, I’ll not be out there. I feel like more are going to probably do the same thing. I can only speak for myself.”
In a letter made public after she was jailed in Russia, Griner offered praise to Joe Biden and begged for his help in securing her freedom.
“I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you. I still have so much good to do with my freedom that you can help restore,” Griner wrote in the letter on July 4. “It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”
Joe Biden’s White House declared the sentence “unacceptable” and vowed to continue efforts to bring the basketball star home.
“Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is one more reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully detaining Brittney,” said Joe Biden. “It’s unacceptable, and I call on Russia to release her immediately so she can be with her wife, loved ones, friends, and teammates. My administration will continue to work tirelessly and pursue every possible avenue to bring Brittney and Paul Whelan home safely as soon as possible.”
Whelan is accused of espionage by the Russians, which America categorically denies is true.
Previous reports indicated that Biden offered to trade Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout – known as the “Merchant of Death” – to free Griner and Whelan, though this offer was reportedly made in June and has appears to have gone unanswered by the Russians.
Bout was convicted after federal police say he attempted to sell missiles to a Colombian terrorist group that would have been used to shoot down American aircraft, including military helicopters.
Relations between Russia and the United States have reached levels not seen since the end of the Cold War as the West continues to ramp up sanctions against Moscow in retaliation for what the country calls a “special military operation” in Ukraine. Moscow claims it invaded Ukraine in February to protect ethnic Russians in the Donbass region from Ukrainian state violence, while Kiev maintains that the invasion was unprovoked.
I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group
Re: I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
Below is Part 2 of the Brittney Griner “Situation”……………..:
Griner Will Not Be Getting a Cushy Cell, WNBA Star Instead Being Sent to Russian Prison Colony
By Grant Atkinson August 4, 2022 at 11:41am
Following her Thursday conviction on drug charges in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner will not be getting special treatment in a fancy jail. Instead, she is being sent straight to a Russian penal colony.
According to The New York Times, a Russian judge convicted Griner on charges of attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into the country.
She received a nine-year sentence, and unlike in the United States, Griner will not be guaranteed safety from cruel punishment.
“Corrective labor colonies” are the most common type of prison in Russia, Unherd reported. But that does not mean they are a walk in the park.
In fact, the outlet described these penal colonies as “a place where the authorities can act with impunity, free to torture prisoners in the hope of extracting a false confession.”
In these colonies, prisoners are assigned to “work brigades” and given daily tasks to complete, Unherd reported. Even if they complete the tasks, the system is designed to punish them further.
“In many ways, even more cruel was the Catch-22 built into [the] forced labour: Fill your work quotas and the quotas themselves will be increased; yet fail to meet them and you’ll be punished.”
The outlet detailed the story of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Russian woman who was sentenced to two years in a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia after staging an illegal performance in a cathedral with her activist group.
Tolokonnikova was reportedly forced to work 17 hours a day and fed rotten potatoes while doing it. She also had her “privileges” taken away, meaning she was not allowed to use a toilet.
While it is unclear exactly which penal colony Griner will be sent to, it seems likely she will face horrible conditions similar to the ones Tolokonnikova endured.
No person should be subject to such horrible treatment, but it is the reality in Russia. It should certainly put things into perspective for leftists in America who argue our current prison system is too cruel.
While getting Griner back to America seems like an honorable goal, there are certainly questions about what concessions the Biden administration should make in order to achieve that goal.
On July 28, CNN reported the Biden admin had offerred convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange for Griner and another American named Paul Whelan. As of Griner’s sentencing on Thursday, Russia had not agreed to the deal.
“Britney Griner’s conviction and nine-year sentence leaves Biden officials in a difficult position,” the Times reported.
Related:
Experts: Biden's Griner Exchange Permanently Ruins America's 1 Foreign Policy Advantage
“They can hope that Moscow will change its position and accept a U.S. proposal to free Ms. Griner by trading her and another American prisoner for a Russian arms dealer jailed in the United States, a prospect that is uncertain. Or they can offer to pay an even greater price for the basketball star’s release.”
Giving up a dangerous convicted criminal in order to get Griner back to America already seemed like a risky endeavor. In addition to giving Bout his freedom, the U.S. would be signaling to Russia that it is willing to make major concession in future negotiations.
By that same token, offering an even sweeter deal to Russia would be unacceptable. Wanting to bring Griner back is one thing, but handing over both prisoners and negotiating power to Russia is another.
In any case, Griner nor anyone else should be subjected to the type of torture reportedly present in Russian penal colonies. With that said, the Biden administration has its work cut out for it if it wants to save Griner from this fate.
Griner Will Not Be Getting a Cushy Cell, WNBA Star Instead Being Sent to Russian Prison Colony
By Grant Atkinson August 4, 2022 at 11:41am
Following her Thursday conviction on drug charges in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner will not be getting special treatment in a fancy jail. Instead, she is being sent straight to a Russian penal colony.
According to The New York Times, a Russian judge convicted Griner on charges of attempting to smuggle illegal narcotics into the country.
She received a nine-year sentence, and unlike in the United States, Griner will not be guaranteed safety from cruel punishment.
“Corrective labor colonies” are the most common type of prison in Russia, Unherd reported. But that does not mean they are a walk in the park.
In fact, the outlet described these penal colonies as “a place where the authorities can act with impunity, free to torture prisoners in the hope of extracting a false confession.”
In these colonies, prisoners are assigned to “work brigades” and given daily tasks to complete, Unherd reported. Even if they complete the tasks, the system is designed to punish them further.
“In many ways, even more cruel was the Catch-22 built into [the] forced labour: Fill your work quotas and the quotas themselves will be increased; yet fail to meet them and you’ll be punished.”
The outlet detailed the story of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, a Russian woman who was sentenced to two years in a penal colony in the Russian republic of Mordovia after staging an illegal performance in a cathedral with her activist group.
Tolokonnikova was reportedly forced to work 17 hours a day and fed rotten potatoes while doing it. She also had her “privileges” taken away, meaning she was not allowed to use a toilet.
While it is unclear exactly which penal colony Griner will be sent to, it seems likely she will face horrible conditions similar to the ones Tolokonnikova endured.
No person should be subject to such horrible treatment, but it is the reality in Russia. It should certainly put things into perspective for leftists in America who argue our current prison system is too cruel.
While getting Griner back to America seems like an honorable goal, there are certainly questions about what concessions the Biden administration should make in order to achieve that goal.
On July 28, CNN reported the Biden admin had offerred convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia in exchange for Griner and another American named Paul Whelan. As of Griner’s sentencing on Thursday, Russia had not agreed to the deal.
“Britney Griner’s conviction and nine-year sentence leaves Biden officials in a difficult position,” the Times reported.
Related:
Experts: Biden's Griner Exchange Permanently Ruins America's 1 Foreign Policy Advantage
“They can hope that Moscow will change its position and accept a U.S. proposal to free Ms. Griner by trading her and another American prisoner for a Russian arms dealer jailed in the United States, a prospect that is uncertain. Or they can offer to pay an even greater price for the basketball star’s release.”
Giving up a dangerous convicted criminal in order to get Griner back to America already seemed like a risky endeavor. In addition to giving Bout his freedom, the U.S. would be signaling to Russia that it is willing to make major concession in future negotiations.
By that same token, offering an even sweeter deal to Russia would be unacceptable. Wanting to bring Griner back is one thing, but handing over both prisoners and negotiating power to Russia is another.
In any case, Griner nor anyone else should be subjected to the type of torture reportedly present in Russian penal colonies. With that said, the Biden administration has its work cut out for it if it wants to save Griner from this fate.
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group
Re: I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
I'd let her rot. I'm sorry, I don't feel any sympathy.
Maybe someday she will realize how good she had it.
Maybe someday she will realize how good she had it.
Re: I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
Maybe she can start a BLM chapter in the gulag. She is the epitome of the word, schadenfreude.
Re: I feel sorry for Brittney Griner and pray for her
Some of the blame should be on our "Leaders" that allowed the BLM, Antifa and Defund the Police crap to spread. Some of the blame should also be on the media outlets that spread the lies.
Dan Steffens
Energy Prospectus Group
Energy Prospectus Group