Last winter Jill Stein and Michael Flynn, Trump's general, had dinner with Putin in Russia,

[pnwmom]

as part of a conference run by RT, Russia's propaganda arm.

Think about that. Jill Stein and Michael Flynn, Trump's surrogate, joining together with Putin in Russia.

And who else is chummy with Jill Stein? Julian Assange, who just spoke by video at the Green convention.

Wake up, real progressives! Putin is NOT one of us, and neither is anyone connected with him.

http://americablog.com/2016/08/jill-stein-moscow-criticized-us-human-rights-said-nothing-russian-human-rights.html

And Stein decided to go to Moscow last winter to share her concerns.

And, what do you know, she’s happy to report she found an audience that agrees with her!

Stein’s report from Moscow is in the video below. She went to attend a conference hosted by the Russian state propaganda organ. In a sign of how much important Moscow put on the conference, Putin himself joined Stein and other attendees for dinner.

From Moscow, Stein noted that we “need to rein in US exceptionalism, and totally reform and revise our foreign policy so that it is based on international law, human rights and diplomacy.” Making those comments from Moscow, at this time, is rather unconventional, unless you work for Donald Trump.


https://mobile.twitter.com/zatchry/status/762055852991713280

Photo: Putin, Jill Stein and Donald Trump's military advisor Michael Flynn attending dinner for RT, Putin's propaganda arm.


http://www.roanoke.com/news/virginia/wire/wikileaks-founder-speaks-to-green-party-convention-in-texas/article_8cf1c760-1c60-5406-9a08-392d92ceeb52.html

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange spoke via video chat to members of the Green Party during their national convention in Houston, criticizing the federal government and corporate America.

The Houston Chronicle reports (http://bit.ly/2b3NE62 ) Assange spoke for about 20 minutes on Saturday.

In his speech, Assange accused Google of controlling communication and criticized President Barack Obama for cracking down on federal employees who leak classified information.

[kimbutgar]

1. I still wonder who's paying for Jill Stein's commercials.

[MADem]

13. So do I--that's an expensive ad buy, even if the production values on the thing kinda suck.

Never put a person's neck in the center of the screen.

[itsrobert]

28. I have seen more of her commercials than Trumps

Actually, I don't know if I have seen a Trump commercial yet.

[MADem]

39. The only Trump commercials I'e seen are here on DU! nt

[woolldog]

2. Yikes.

This along with Wikileaks and Russian intelligence trying to help Trump is very disturbing.

[applegrove]

3. It is like that circle that is completed when totalitarians meet leftist anarchists along

the line.

[Hekate]

18. Yes it is

[MBS]

36. Exactly. n/t

[Historic NY]

4. Hillarys, running against a moonbat, RingWingers, Trump & wikileaks jailbird, and Putin.

[KitSileya]

5. The utter hypocrisy of Jill Stein criticizing the US human rights record in Russia boggles the mind!

I mean, yeah, the US doesn't have a spotless human rights record, far from it, but at least Jill Stein is allowed to criticize it without getting disappeared. She's such a useful stooge for Putin it's not even funny, and the fact that she and her supporters either doesn't see it, or worse, doesn't care about it, makes her and them an instant threat to all Americans who care about human rights, civil rights, the environment, and peace. She's not as big a threat as Trump, but she's a threat nonetheless.

[pnwmom]

7. I know. The ignorance of her supporters is almost more appalling than those of Trump's.

I'm used to right-wingers being that stupid.

[KitSileya]

11. I agree. They're very narrowly focused on what is important to*them*,

Which, by the way, is not their issues. If Stein cared about the environment, about peace, human rights etc, she would be trying to convince moderate Republicans and Independents to vote for the Democrats. Instead, she is attacking Clinton and the Democratic Party. That makes it obvious that what she wants is not progress, but power.

When someone to the next of you on the political spectrum attacks you instead of trying to convince those a little further away on the spectrum to move towards your side, they're not actually caring about the issues they say they are. Instead, they are jealous about what you can and have achieved, and do not want you to get any credit for whatever progress you've made on "their" issues because you're not accomplishing the progress "in the correct way."

[brer cat]

35. Very well said, KitSileya.

[MADem]

40. So far left they've ended up on the far right! nt

[caquillo]

50. My grandmother used to say:

"The political spectrum is not a line but a circle; the farther left or right you go, you end up in the same place."

[kestrel91316]

9. +1

[KitSileya]

12. It is very vexing to see people on this site claim that Stein is 'on our side'

and we should coddle her. Reality is, she's helping the Republicans by attacking the Democrats. That means that she doesn't care about what she says she cares about. She would rather have no progress at all, than some progress done in a way she doesn't approve. She'd throw multiple weaker groups to the wolves if it means she gets to climb higher on the power hierarchy. She thinks that if Trump becomes president, he'll burn things to the ground, and leaving the future to her and her ilk to rebuild in their utopian vision. Not only does that show a callousness and an incredibly cruelty for all those who wouldn't survive the apocalypse. It also shows a stunning lack of historical knowledge - as apocalypses have never ushered in utopian futures. They've brought fascism, serfdom, slavery and misery.

The only way the US will ever get to the Utopia where Stein purports she wants it to get, is if we implement the Democratic agenda first. Only if we manage to get some progress, will we manage to get more progress. I live in Norway, and the Scandinavian countries are often the first Stein and her ilk use as examples. Well, the progress in Nordic countries wasn't achieved by burning down the countries and then rebuilding from the ashes up. Scorched earth never grow crops. Norway, Denmark and Sweden got away pretty unscathed from WWII, which made it possible to implement progressive ideas - gradually!

[pnwmom]

17. Thanks for your educated perspective, Kitsilya. n/t

[KitSileya]

32. Thank you. Having lived as long as I have in Norway,

my political views are to the left of Bernie Sanders. However, I know that what has been achieved here in Norway isn't possible in the US - not a carbon copy, at least. Free college and universal health care would mean dismantling the states, because you cannot have 50 different solutions. The American outlook is different than the Norwegian too - the self sufficiency that is so prized in the US isn't a thing in the Norwegian psyche. Instead, slow and steady progress to take care of those who cannot take care of themselves is what has driven political landscape in Norway. And it wasn't done over night. It started, really, a long time ago, from when kids were given the right to inheritance regardless of their parents' marriage status, and women being the driving force for health stations for families. It was a national approach, and in the US, states' rights makes that difficult. Other solutions must be found.

[NBachers]

26. The difference is, we won't put polonium in Jill Stein's tea.

[KitSileya]

33. Great point.

I doubt the useful stooge realizes that, though! I bet she thinks Putin is just wonderful.

[Cit4Truth]

62. So glad to find this thread because Stein is backed by an ONLINE RUSSIAN ARMY

I can't believe nobody seems to see the army of Kremlin Trolls pretending to be Stein supporters to try and manipulate ex-bernie folk. They post a constant stream of Hillary Hate, and much of it completely echoes the right-wing talking points and is backed up by fake links and forged memes. Is the campaign actively working to not only combat but expose this?

And is there not some way to see her campaign donations to see where she is getting this money from?

[Cicada]

6. We interfere in foreign elections too

So we have no right to complain when Russia does it to us. Still, I prefer to vote for someone who is not an unwitting agent of the Russian Federation.
But I know the Trump voters don't mind.

[pnwmom]

8. We have every right to complain about people like Jill Stein and Trump allowing themselves

to become pawns of Russia.

[Maru Kitteh]

34. Bullshit. Stein is the willing tool of a facist autocrat. Putin (RT) meddled in Brexit -

Putin meddles in Brexit http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/06/08/why-putin-is-meddling-in-britain-s-brexit-vote.html

Putin and his network, along with his paid social media trolls, are seeking to meddle in this US election and swing it in favor of Trump.

[Red Knight]

37. Good point

But that won't get any traction here.

I agree that in order to understand the world you need to look at it from all sides. But DU has become all about TEAM above anything else. Putin is a corrupt tool of the oligarchs. Russia would love to expand into former territories. Europe is concerned about Russian expansion. It is a very delicate balance. But there is no way to look at all this from one side. If America only looks at this from one side and takes no account of what the other side's interests are and where a compromise can form--you will only have continuing destabilization in the region and the world.

If Donald Trump were the Democratic nominee--there are those here who would line up behind him and demand unquestioned support for him because he was the Democrat. That is the danger in putting any candidate above ideals. The party becomes more about the candidate. And I see that here all the time.

Having said that--I'm no Putin fan--and no--I don't trust him at all.

But it is still the reality of the situation here.

[MADem]

42. Donald Trump is a racist, sexist, homophobic pig--there's no way he'd EVER be

the Democratic nominee. His beliefs are out of step with our party platform.
He HATES the people who are our constituency. He would NOT be supported here. That's an outrageous statement.

And Putin? He's an imperialist--he wants to ACQUIRE those neighboring nations and put them back under his thumb--he longs for the days of the old USSR, where he calls the shots and his satellites obey without question. Why we don't want a pig like that in NATO is self-evident. It has nothing to do with "team." It has to do with essential decency and self-determination. And Putin isn't a tool of any oligarchs--he's a fucking strong man dictator who allows those oligarchs to operate their criminal enterprises in exchange for their fealty. The relationship is symbiotic but make no mistake, when the rubber meets the road, Vladimir OWNS that road.

They'd end up dead if they stepped out of line.

[Maru Kitteh]

61. It's time to let the primaries go. Your assertion that DU would support Trump is unwarranted

and over the top. To suggest that DU would line up behind Trump is insulting to the community at large, and the administrators. Neither would permit this and if you are honest with yourself, you know this. It is also an offensive slur on the electorate of the Democratic party as a whole, to suggest that the party of inclusiveness, progress, and diversity would select a racist misogynist moron like Trump.

Your dour view of the community of DU is no doubt exaggerated by your experience in the primaries, but politics ain't Tiddly-winks. It's time to let that stuff go. DU would not support Trump. The Democratic party would never support Trump.

[pottedplant]

14. Yeah Russia is evil

But Saudi Arabia is our ally. What a fucking joke.

[pnwmom]

15. Putin is an authoritarian oligarchic dictator and no American political leaders

should be allowing him to use them.

This has nothing to do with Saudi Arabia.

[pottedplant]

20. Please tell me how the ogre of the moment

Is worse than Saudi Arabia. Please tell me. And if you are making these sweeping statements chastising stein participating in an rt event, then you better be prepared to convince me with facts how this is in any way close to what our "exceptional" politicians do on the job with real terrorists like those who financed 911 and are currently waging a humanitarian disaster in Yemen. Use them? Use them for what? Putin didn't do anything to me or my family. Getting affordable health care is more of a threat to Americans than your bogeyman.
Oh, and Good luck drumming up enough hatred for Putin to convince people to send their kids to be slaughtered while " facing him down"....it ain't going to happen.

[pnwmom]

22. Please explain how Saudi Arabia is interfering with the US elections and then your complaints

will seem more relevant to the topic of the OP.

And "Getting affordable health care is more of a threat to Americans than your bogeyman." makes no sense at all.

[pottedplant]

25. Where in the op did you say anything about

Putin interfering in elections? you just keep going on about him being an effing oligarch and dictator. But go ahead and get an official statement from the fbi, cia or NSA revealing evidence that he was behind anything in this election.

My health care reference related to something relevant to regular people. People are just trying to get by. Facing off w Putin is not foremost on people's minds. In fact staying out of a war is far preferable.

[pnwmom]

29. Most DUers will easily understand the larger context that seems to be too difficult for you.

The DNC hacking has been connected to Russian state hackers.

[pottedplant]

41. Show me a definitive statement by an alphabet agency that putin

Directed a leak...."has been connected" by a state dept paid security agency? That's not evidence. . Even clapper said so. show me how the email CONTENT was compromised. Who is asserting a fabrication? No one. If the rot exists, get rid of it. That is what happened at the dnc. And others here have pointed out the folly of suggesting that the exceptional country doesn't meddle in others' elections or outright participate in ousting a democratically-elected leade. Go ahead and ignore facts and history at your own expense.

[pnwmom]

47. Three independent security firms have linked the email leak to Russia.

There is a great deal of evidence in the article below.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/cyber-researchers-confirm-russian-government-hack-of-democratic-national-committee/2016/06/20/e7375bc0-3719-11e6-9ccd-d6005beac8b3_story.html?tid=a_inl

[MADem]

44. 21st Century Wars are fought with keyboards. We're, for all intents and purposes, at war with

Putin's Russia. And he IS the "ogre of the moment." If he hacked YOUR data and exposed it to exploitation, you'd be his victim, but lucky you, apparently...you're in the clear, I reckon.

We can walk and chew gum at the same time, you know.



Quite the agenda you're shopping, there.

[pottedplant]

46. Wow

Why are we spending trillions on the f35 and a nuke upgrade when we should be buying more keyboards? A cyber war sounds so clean and easy to declare...no congressional approval required! Again show me proof that saddam has weapons of mass destruction....I mean Putin hacked the poor dnc. Then explain why I should care.

[LanternWaste]

54. Objective research, carefully done will compel a rational mind towards concern.

"Then explain why I should care..."

Objective research, carefully done will compel a rational mind towards concern.

Subjective research on the other hand (often published as "editorial&quot , which includes such righteous yet disingenuous inferences (e.g., concern for Moscow being equated as "proof that saddam (sic) has weapons of mass destruction...&quot merely illustrates a mind already predisposed towards only that which validates a preexisting conclusion.

[MADem]

59. Because a lot of people in Congress are invested in those systems, and they do have

some utility (though the F-35 is a pig).

You want proof? Read the paper. smh!

I think you've made a wrong turn, if you "don't care."

[LarryNM]

24. +1,000 n/t

[MADem]

43. Once we're off the oil, they're on their own.

We've been pulling away from them since the 90s. It is an ugly marriage of convenience more than anything at this stage.

[pottedplant]

48. Too many

Skeletons I'm afraid. But I hope ur right.

[MADem]

49. The reality is this: We do not have friends, we have INTERESTS.

There are very few with whom we share a truly special relationship.

[CajunBlazer]

10. Wow!!! K&R

[SunSeeker]

16. K & R for exposure.

[Hekate]

19. KnR. This is utterly insane.

[calimary]

21. Hmmm so does that mean she's PALLING Around With TEEEEERRISTS?

[Tarheel_Dem]

23. K&R!

[DesertRat]

27. Dining with Russian propagandists & Oligarchs

[ericson00]

30. don't worry; Russia can't even win with doper athletes (like yesterday's swimming relay)

they're not gonna win in November!

[DemonGoddess]

38. K&R!

raise your hand if this surprises you....I'm not surprised.

[glennward]

45. Why isn't our media all over this? If it were Hillary nothing else would be talked about. nt

[Maru Kitteh]

57. Got that right. nt

[mahatmakanejeeves]

51. Also at Americablog:

Jill Stein thinks WiFi is dangerous

which links to a video at:

http://boingboing.net/2016/08/01/jill-stein-is-a-fearmongering.html

[Old and In the Way]

52. If anyone doubts that Russian trolls aren't involved with this election, please

read the comments on the OP's Americablog link. They really want to shut down this information.

It's pretty obvious to me that Agent Orange is a useful idiot for Putin's ambitions to break NATO and reconstitute the old Soviet Union.

Not knowing how deep the Russian Bear's claws are into Trump makes him a huge national security risk and a clear and present danger to our Republic. Release your income taxes Don (you, too, Jill).

[Armstead]

53. I remember the Bush era...the GOP always said...

"People certainly have the freedom to criticize US policy. Just not THERE" (wherever "there" happened to be at the time.)

[AgadorSparticus]

55. K&R!

[ecstatic]

56. They're having a field day with gullible, low information "progressives"

AKA fauxgressives. The ones who think they're progressive but have no idea what they're talking about half the time. The ones who don't understand how much of a set back it would be for 4 right wing justices to be appointed to the Supreme Court, or for the GOP to control all 3 branches of government. Actual progressives, like Bernie Sanders, understand those things. But the Jill Stein/ Gary Johnson lovers don't have a clue.

[Scurrilous]

58. K & R

[Scurrilous]

60. Boink!