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Comment by nickbauman | Hacker News Reader

Condorcet's Secret aside, Russia is a Mafia State. This is where the state's military and paramilitary are deeply integrated with state-sponsored organized crime. So you have commandos and police both work systems of extortion, human and drug trafficking, money laundering, racketeering, war, espionage, etc. etc. It's a totally different thing than the garden variety corruption you find in western countries, ok?

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Does selling influence in the state department count as "garden variety corruption you find in western countries"?

Does delivering Uranium to The Enemy in exchange for cash donations to a slush fund count as "garden variety corruption you find in western countries"?

Does employing El Salvadorian gangs in your nation's capital to intimidate and assassinate your political enemies count as "garden variety corruption you find in western countries"?

> delivering Uranium to The Enemy

I have to admit, even in a subthread where I was sure we'd see conspiracy nuttery, this is not the conspiracy I would have expected. You realize this is a totally fabricated thing, right? The timing alone should tell you all you need to know about what the intent behind it was.

When I engage with conspiracy communities it's usually to debunk extreme claims, so I approach most claims with skepticism, but wouldn't this:

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/225

Suggest that it's not fabricated?

The claim of a quid-pro-quo is fabricated (seriously: it requires collusion between like five governments and three branches of the USG, of which Clinton had control of only one -- there is zero evidence of any of that). Obviously the conspiracy nuttery exists, so yeah, it's "out there".

https://archive.is/BGDb2

"It's out there" is the only bit of content. Anyone who reads that and says "well damn he clearly means watch out Hillary, they know about all your illegal doings. Shred everything!" rather than "fyi the right are spreading that nonsense talking point" is making a bit of a leap IMO.

> Does delivering Uranium to The Enemy

You're of course referring to that exploratory deal involving no delivery of Uranium anywhere.

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