“If everything seems under control, you aren’t going fast enough” (Mario)
According to the prosecution’s filing, the Russian government has conducted six consular visits to Butina and passed four diplomatic notes to the U.S. Department of State about her case. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has spoken twice to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to complain about Butina’s incarceration and prosecution. As prosecutors noted, in the days following Butina’s arrest, the official Kremlin Twitter account changed its avatar to a picture of her and launched #FreeMariaButina. RT—a Russian news outlet funded by the Russian government—has written a number of articles about her, decrying her prosecution and detention. According to prosecutors, “Russia has issued more diplomatic notes on the defendant’s behalf in the past month than for any other Russian citizen imprisoned in the United States in the past year. Put simply, the Russian government has given this case much more attention than other cases.”
As a former intelligence officer, I found these details intriguing. It seems likely that Russian officials visiting Butina in prison are looking to protect more than just the rights of a Russian citizen. They are looking to protect their ongoing intelligence operations.
[...]
Indeed, it is a wonder that the Russian government allowed Butina to be arrested at all. She, Erickson, and Torshin had ample evidence the noose was tightening long before her arrest. According to court documents, in early 2017, they discussed the fact that a reporter had begun asking questions about them. Butina told Torshin, “Somebody really threw the three of us under the bus. Furthermore, this someone is well informed.”
Why didn’t the Russians whisk her home at that point?
It is possible that pulling Butina out too soon would have set off alarm bells and alerted U.S. authorities that Russian officials were nervous, which in turn would have signaled that Butina was involved in an important operation. Maybe the Russians thought they could lie low and it would pass. Or maybe allowing her to get caught had few consequences, and perhaps even helped the larger Russian objective of causing disruption in American politics. Or maybe this was intentional: Allowing Butina to be arrested has diverted attention from other operations.
🍄
“The funny thing is, there’s a side of Donald that not even [Marla] has seen. She has never seen him completely naked—at least almost never—because he won’t let her. Whenever they’re about to have sex, he makes her go into the bathroom while he gets undressed. As soon as he takes off his clothes, he jumps into the bed and pulls up the covers. She knows that he’s ashamed to show her what a flabby old body he has. He has no idea that just makes him seem cuter and more cuddly to her.”
www.huffingtonpost.com/...
Shroobs, the main enemies in this game, bear a resemblance to Mushrooms. They have the same mushroom shape and spots, and they even live on a planet shaped like a mushroom. www.mariowiki.com/...
He should be a symbol for resilience and optimism, not the president’s penis.
This is terrible. I recognize that Toad is not the absolute “best” character in the games, nor the consensus favorite among fans—he and Toadette usually tend to fall just short—but Toad is a perfect symbol of the tenacity essential to the game, and to the giants of history: a symbol of grace, courage, and determination. Toad’s a smiley guy, driving along with a genuine joy that translates to whoever plays as him. He cheers but never gloats. And when he’s saddened by a loss, he is adorable instead of whiny or morose. (Compare him to Waluigi. What a difference!) You know he’s gonna get pick himself back up and get back to racing again with the biggest smile on his face, ready to squeak “I’m the best!” when a well-earned victory is finally within his clutches. He is the least cocky winner and the most magnanimous loser. He is a considerate racing partner in Double Dash—never a burden. He’s extremely chipper, a beacon of purity, innocence, and resolve in an aggressive, unforgiving world.
In other words, his image, his philosophy, his M.O. are the antithesis of Trumpism, with which he will now be forever associated. “You’re playing as Trump’s penis!,” the other players will now say, forever, when I select him. Still, in this difficult time, I would like us to focus on what’s really important.
slate.com/...