Poll of the Day > Putin expels 755 US diplomats from Russia.

(+) Yeah! (+)

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/344532-putin-expels-755-us-diplomats-from-russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered 755 U.S. diplomatic mission staff to leave the country in a Sunday interview with a Russian television station.

The diplomats must leave the country by Sept. 1, The New York Times reported.

In an interview Rossiya-1, Putin said he was capping the number of American personnel at 455 — the same as the number of Russian diplomatic and technical staff in the United States, according to the Washington Post.

The expulsion comes in response to legislation overwhelmingly passed by Congress last week that would increase sanctions against Russia and blocks President Trump from being able to lift the measures.


The staff reduction is dramatic, the Post said, involving the main embassy in Moscow and missions in St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Vladivostok.

The Russian government will also seize two diplomatic properties in Moscow, retaliation for an Obama administration decision to take over two Russian mansions in the U.S., the Post added.

“We waited for quite some time that maybe something will change for the better, had such hope that the situation will somehow change, but, judging by everything, if it changes, it will not be soon,” Putin said regarding U.S.-Russia relations, according to The Times.

The White House announced on Friday that Trump would sign new Russia sanctions, even though the administration had lobbied Congress to water down the legislation.

The Trump administration and the Kremlin have maintained a hot-and-cold relationship since Trump took office.

Trump has expressed a desire for warmed relations with Moscow -- however, during the first leg of his trip to eastern Europe on Sunday, Vice President Pence said the president expects Russia's "unacceptable" behavior to change.

“The president has made it very clear that Russia’s destabilizing activities and support for rogue regimes and its activities in Ukraine are unacceptable. The president made it clear that very soon he will sign sanctions from the Congress to reinforce that,” Pence said during an interview with Fox News on Sunday.

“But at the same time, as we make our intentions clear that we expect Russian behavior to change, the president and I remain very hopeful that we’ll see very different behavior from the Russian government,” he added.

This must be the retaliations that Putin promised after the sanctions.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-idUSKBN1AF0NU
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/27/putin-russia-us-sanctions-bill?CMP=edit_2221

Vladimir Putin has accused US lawmakers of “insolence”, and promised Russia will retaliate if the latest round of US sanctions against Russia are signed into law.

The House of Representatives voted by 419 votes to three on Tuesday to pass the new sanctions bill, which targets Russia as well as North Korea and Iran.

The US legislation was passed overwhelmingly by the Senate on Thursday, and will now go to Donald Trump for his signature. Trump, who enjoyed two warm conversations with Putin at the G20 summit earlier this month, is likely to face a major backlash if he attempts to veto the legislation, with his administration already embroiled in a Russia scandal.

“We are behaving in a very restrained and patient way, but at some moment we will need to respond,” said Putin at a press conference with his Finnish counterpart, Sauli Niinistö.

“It’s impossible to endlessly tolerate this kind of insolence towards our country,” Putin said, referring to the sanctions. “This practice is unacceptable – it destroys international relations and international law.”

Lol.

Shamefully stolen from Kevin's topic.

https://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/3-poll-of-the-day/75620993

Well, this was expected after the breakup lol.
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Melon_Master posted...

Well, this was expected after the breakup lol.

Cue the US/Russia relationship song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64

Thanks, Trump.
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WastelandCowboy posted...

Melon_Master posted...

Well, this was expected after the breakup lol.

Cue the US/Russia relationship song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WA4iX5D9Z64

I wish I had the skills to paste Putin's face over Taylor Swifts lol.
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I'm not American, so maybe there's something I am missing here, but why is Russia the devil? How does anyone benefit from worse relations with them? They're on the rise, not on the decline, unlike somebody else, so you'd think it'd be advantageous to not be so petty about a grudge with Stalin or whatever.
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

I'm not American, so maybe there's something I am missing here, but why is Russia the devil? How does anyone benefit from worse relations with them? They're on the rise, not on the decline, unlike somebody else, so you'd think it'd be advantageous to not be so petty about a grudge with Stalin or whatever.

It isn't about worse relations, it's all about who has the most global control.
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Melon_Master posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

I'm not American, so maybe there's something I am missing here, but why is Russia the devil? How does anyone benefit from worse relations with them? They're on the rise, not on the decline, unlike somebody else, so you'd think it'd be advantageous to not be so petty about a grudge with Stalin or whatever.

It isn't about worse relations, it's all about who has the most global control.

And who has the biggest stick.

TheCyborgNinja posted...

I'm not American, so maybe there's something I am missing here, but why is Russia the devil? How does anyone benefit from worse relations with them? They're on the rise, not on the decline, unlike somebody else, so you'd think it'd be advantageous to not be so petty about a grudge with Stalin or whatever.

Russia has no interest in being allies with the US. The Putin regime relies on America as an adversary, and American life as a scapegoat. Putin has no interest in actually being allies with the US.

Is Russia evil? I don't know. is it a shitty place for human rights and corruption? 100%
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Doctor Foxx posted...

TheCyborgNinja posted...

I'm not American, so maybe there's something I am missing here, but why is Russia the devil? How does anyone benefit from worse relations with them? They're on the rise, not on the decline, unlike somebody else, so you'd think it'd be advantageous to not be so petty about a grudge with Stalin or whatever.

Russia has no interest in being allies with the US. The Putin regime relies on America as an adversary, and American life as a scapegoat. Putin has no interest in actually being allies with the US.

Is Russia evil? I don't know. is it a shitty place for human rights and corruption? 100%

I guess if universal healthcare is part of human rights, it's sort of a pot, kettle, black situation :P
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TheCyborgNinja posted...

I guess if universal healthcare is part of human rights, it's sort of a pot, kettle, black situation :P

America is just an anomaly in lacking the single payer health system.

Their views on gay rights, domestic abuse, speaking ill of the government, online speech control, etc. are a lot worse than the US

https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/russia
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All them CIA spies get to come home.
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The sanctions are so dumb. Russia has not done anything that other countries haven't done. Trump is forced to do this because of the bogus Russia fraud investigation.

The U.S is also corrupt and kills people. Research Gary Webb.

It's only just begun.

http://www.businessinsider.com/r-russian-official-threatens-retaliation-over-us-sanctions-2017-7

Once again, the sanctions were stupid and counterproductive. And, had Hillary won and no email hack occurred, we'd likely still wind up in this boat because the US is hell-bent on trying to push its interests which requires bringing Russia to heel. Nothing good will come of any of this.
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GreenTreeClub posted...

Russia has not done anything that other countries haven't done.

You don't think a bear is evil for attacking you, but you don't just allow him to do it either.
It's not a moral standpoint. It's pragmatic self-defense.
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