The ridiculousness of 2019's battle of "spies" — the 20th Century US and USSR would have been embarrassed

© 2019 Peter Free

 

04 January 2019

 

 

As an elderly patriot — I am embarrassed for my country

 

Wheels within tiny-brained wheels:

 

 

The United States arrested Russian "spy" Maria Butina.

 

The Federation countered by nabbing American "spy" Paul Whelan.

 

 

Both arrests are absurd by 20th Century standards.

 

You know, the time when men were men, spies were spies, and women were smarter than both.

 

That last is a blatant non-sequitur. But it sounds nice. So I left it in.

 

 

Our tedious descent into rank stupidity

 

Think back to the Democratic Party's invention of the "Trump's a Putin Puppet" meme.

 

And contemplate the Deep State's support of that fabrication, now happily ensconced in Robert Mueller's pretend investigation. An inquiry, that in about 20 months, hasn't discovered anything at all pertinent to the Russia collusion allegation.

 

One ramification of the delirious Putin-Trump-Puppet concoction was (Russian) Maria Butina's arrest by the United States. As a spy.

 

It turns out that all the American Establishment could amass as evidence of her wrongdoing — was her failure to register as the equivalent of a foreign lobbyist.

 

Butina's grand crime was attempting to persuade the NRA to support a gun rights group in Russia, as well (apparently) to solicit conservative" support against American anti-Russia sanctions.

 

She may have been doing some financial self-enrichment (allegedly via fraud), as well.

 

In total, this was the equivalent of a foreigner trying to persuade influential Americans to favor perspectives friendly to her country's (and herself's) interests.

 

Big deal.

 

Butina's unhappy predicament is pretty much like those that result from Federal Fascism's criminalized non-crime of lying to the Feds. I've covered that bit of anti-Constitutional asininity before.

 

 

What is especially absurd . . .

 

. . . about Butina's situation is that:

 

 

(a) she looks Russian — to the degree that the alleged trait exists

 

and

 

(b) speaks with a notable Russian accent.

 

 

"It ain't like nobody was gonna miss her Federation connection, Pete." Forewarned is forearmed.

 

But spy, provocateur or foreign agent — for today's lunatic American purposes — she remains.

 

 

Naturally, the Russians countered with their own (probable) nonsense

 

They nabbed ex-(US)-Marine Paul Whelan in Moscow.

 

Presumably for having a flash drive-contained list of Russian secret agency employees.

 

Whelan's background doesn't look like classic CIA or intelligence agency material.

 

The Lamestream reports that he was booted from the Corps for writing bad checks, evidently on someone else's Social Security number. And after that, he went into private security and cultivated Russian friends and contacts.

 

Were I Russian spy-catcher, I might suspect that Whelan was involved in corporate espionage. Or possibly, trying to steal low level Russian secrets and sell them to the highest bidder. Both are activities that occur every day, everywhere. And generally avoid making screaming headlines.

 

 

The moral? — Spy? — fake news and fake language combined

 

We're outdoing our "exceptional" selves every day. Grandchildren gonna be proud. If they wind up not being prematurely dead, as a result of our repetitively provocative lunacies.

 

Consider in that regard, Canada's bogus arrest (on American urging) of Meng Wanzhou. China is ratcheting up counter pressure. Thirteen Canadians have been "detained" in the PRC, as of today.