Was Voltaire right? A reflection on January 6

[Wildswanderer]

Maybe it’s because I’m not American but why the hell would anyone give a damn as to what Biden’s son has on his laptop? Does he have the nuke codes or something?

Like I’m sure there’s plenty of awful things on the laptops owned by children of my political leaders. But you know. That’s their business. Why the hell would I vote based on that. It just seems so……random.

Because it's an indicator of the corruption of the Biden family and Joe Biden's corruption.

 

[SomeRandom]

Because it's an indicator of the corruption of the Biden family and Joe Biden's corruption.

In what way, specifically?

 

[Wildswanderer]

Would it? What's the "story," exactly?

Is it that some weird dude that owns a computer store ended up with someone's laptop and then took it upon himself to give it to Rudy Giuliani to publish someone's personal property to the world? That story?

How can you be so clueless?

At considerable personal risk, former Biden family business partners Tony Bobulinski and Bevan Cooney, and computer shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac, have come forward with tens of thousands of primary-source documents — internal corporate records, emails, and text messages — detailing years of business dealings that centered on trading on the Biden name. This material suggests that, despite Joe Biden’s insistence that he knew nothing about his family’s business deals, he was well aware of his son Hunter Biden’s business ventures in China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and elsewhere.

 

[Wildswanderer]

In what way, specifically?

Jon Stewart says Hunter Biden’s Burisma role was ‘corruption, straight off the bat’

As far as the election what matters is that it would have cast enough suspicion on Biden to tip the scales.

 

[SomeRandom]

Jon Stewart says Hunter Biden’s Burisma role was ‘corruption, straight off the bat’

As far as the election what matters is that it would have cast enough suspicion on Biden to tip the scales.

I see.
Still not 100% on what the specific accusations of corruption pertain to. But I’ll chalk that up to not being American

 

[SkepticThinker]

I do that, only through various (admittedly leftists) folks reporting on it and mocking it.

That's fun too.

I’m honestly thankful that sort of thing didn’t catch on here in Oz. Last election we had, the conservatives and the United One Party in particular tried implementing US style right wing politics. We’re a conservative nation, don’t get me wrong. But that particular style of conservative politics absolutely bombed at the polls.
Looking at the way things are in the US currently, I’m convinced we wouldn’t have survived that kind of thing as a nation lol

We had a party like that pop up recently in our last election. Thankfully, they got their asses handed to them. But I must admit, I was a little scared there for a while as they seemed to be gaining momentum at the tail end of the pandemic when everyone was tiring of social distancing, masking, etc.

Huh that’s a good point.
I guess because alcohol is more widely used culturally speaking.
Possibly more so since all the lockdowns and folks generally had nothing to do for a while lol
Though I feel like that’s changing among zoomers and even some millennials

Funny thing I just remembered ... during the lockdowns here, everything was shut down, save for grocery stores and pharmacies. The only other stores that were allowed to stay open were .... liquor stores and beer stores, of course. People need their booze when they're shut up in their homes for days on end with their family members, don'tcha know?

Ikr. The way I hear some people talk about it, you’d think Biden was doing lines in the White House daily lol.
I don’t get the obsession.
Then again I don’t get the obsession with Trump either so I mean

Right? LOL I don't get it either. Especially when the same people didn't seem to give a rat's behind that Trump's kids were actually given "jobs" in his administration and received many perks as a result.

Addicts shouldn’t be dehumanised, I agree. Sorry to hear about your dad

Thanks and agreed. They need help, not scorn.

I remember it being a meme for a while. But that’s about it

I love the way they portray him and Eric on Saturday Night Live. I just love it.

Lol true

I've been trying to figure out what would give someone such a dry sniffle such as his. Adderall maybe?

 

[SkepticThinker]

How can you be so clueless?

At considerable personal risk, former Biden family business partners Tony Bobulinski and Bevan Cooney, and computer shop owner John Paul Mac Isaac, have come forward with tens of thousands of primary-source documents — internal corporate records, emails, and text messages — detailing years of business dealings that centered on trading on the Biden name. This material suggests that, despite Joe Biden’s insistence that he knew nothing about his family’s business deals, he was well aware of his son Hunter Biden’s business ventures in China, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and elsewhere.

Mmhmm, that's still awfully vague. And from the NY post, to boot. Oh, I see they link the "big guy" email as some big smoking gun. That's funny.

So you're cool with some computer repair store owner taking someone's personal property and publishing it to the public?

 

[F1fan]

Jon Stewart says Hunter Biden’s Burisma role was ‘corruption, straight off the bat’

As far as the election what matters is that it would have cast enough suspicion on Biden to tip the scales.

This old story brought back to life? OK, you asked for it.

Joe Biden advised Hunter not to take this job. At the time Burisma was a highly corrupt company and needed to clean up its act to help Ukraine get military aid from the Obama administration. It had a pro-Rissian government at the time, and they were about to have elections, in which Zelenskee would win. Burisma was creating a board of directors filled with people who would seem to give the company transparancy and legitimacy. Hiring Hunter as one of the members was one aim, as it was the vice president's son. Hunter took the job and got paid well. As we know Guilianin tried to get dirt on Hunter as if there was some sort of corruption that was tied to Joe. Nothing ever came of it, but the corruption ended up being on Guiliani and Trump, and led to Trump's first impeachment, that is blackmailing Zelenskee for military aid in exchange for dirt on the Bidens.

Did Hunter take the job and get paid for something fishy? Maybe a little questionable. Was is bad enough to devastate Joe's run for president? No.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Did Hunter take the job and get paid for something fishy? Maybe a little questionable. Was is bad enough to devastate Joe's run for president? No.

It would have been if it had been common knowledge.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Mmhmm, that's still awfully vague. And from the NY post, to boot. Oh, I see they link the "big guy" email as some big smoking gun. That's funny.

So you're cool with some computer repair store owner taking someone's personal property and publishing it to the public?

Wrong question again. The question is why was the story buried?

 

[SkepticThinker]

Wrong question again. The question is why was the story buried?

It's the right question from where I'm standing.
Your complete avoidance of it is duly noted.

 

[Wildswanderer]

It's the right question from where I'm standing.
Your complete avoidance of it is duly noted.

Why did the same media who jumped on any hint of corruption in Trump, no matter how vague or unsubstantiated, ignore obvious corruption in the Biden family?

 

[SkepticThinker]

Why did the same media who jumped on any hint of corruption in Trump, no matter how vague or unsubstantiated, ignore obvious corruption in the Biden family?

Well for starters, Trump's corruption is/was blatant and obvious.

You still haven't even articulated what exactly Hunter Biden actually did and what it has to do with Joe Biden's presidency.

 

[Wildswanderer]

Well for starters, Trump's corruption is/was blatant and obvious.

You still haven't even articulated what exactly Hunter Biden actually did and what it has to do with Joe Biden's presidency.

To pretend Joe Biden didn't know about his son's business deals is so incredibly naive as to defy common sense.




Hunter Biden received $3.5M wire transfer from Russian billionaire:








Hunter Biden received $3.5M wire transfer from Russian billionaire: Senate report














Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the richest woman in Russia and the widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow, Senate Republicans revealed in their report on the younger Biden’s work in Ukraine.

Baturina is referenced in the 87-page report, which was released Wednesday, addressing her payment to Biden’s investment firm in early 2014.


“Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor,” it said in providing background on the businesswoman.

The report described her involvement with Biden as “a financial relationship,” but declined to delve deeper into why the wire transfer was made.

The probe also found that Baturina sent 11 wires transfers between May and December 2015 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA, a tech startup that filed for bankruptcy in March 2019.






Nine of those 11 wire transfers were first sent to Rosemont Seneca Partners, the investment firm founded by Biden and Chris Heinz, stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, before being transferred to BAK USA.


All 11 transactions described the payments as “Loan Agreement” in the details section.

The report reads, “etween May 6, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015, Baturina sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC (BAK USA). Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA. The 11 transactions all listed ‘Loan Agreement’ in the payment details section.














“BAK USA was a startup technology company headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., that produced tablet computers in cooperation with unnamed Chinese business partners. BAK USA filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2019, with a reported loss of $39 million. These transactions were identified because of Baturina’s reported criminal activity,” it continues.


The probe and report’s commission were overseen by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).




"Their investigative work found that in 2015, two Obama administration officials voiced concerns to White House officials about the possibility that the younger Biden serving on the board of Burisma could create the appearance of a conflict of interest, as his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, oversaw Ukraine policy.

The report adds, “The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what ‘appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.’”

The younger Biden had no material experience to serve on the board of the energy and gas company, but was given a high-paying seat regardless.




The report states that the Obama White House knew that Hunter’s position prevented “the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine,” but that attempts by officials to raise alarms fell “on deaf ears.”

It also alleged that Hunter “formed significant and consistent financial relationships” with the founder of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, and that his and his business partner Devon Archer’s firms “made millions of dollars from that association” while his father was vice president.

The committees also said they obtained records from the US Treasury Department that “show potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals.”

 

[metis]

To pretend Joe Biden didn't know about his son's business deals is so incredibly naive as to defy common sense.




Hunter Biden received $3.5M wire transfer from Russian billionaire:








Hunter Biden received $3.5M wire transfer from Russian billionaire: Senate report














Hunter Biden received a $3.5 million wire transfer from Elena Baturina, the richest woman in Russia and the widow of Yury Luzhkov, the former mayor of Moscow, Senate Republicans revealed in their report on the younger Biden’s work in Ukraine.

Baturina is referenced in the 87-page report, which was released Wednesday, addressing her payment to Biden’s investment firm in early 2014.


“Baturina became Russia’s only female billionaire when her plastics company, Inteko, received a series of Moscow municipal contracts while her husband was mayor,” it said in providing background on the businesswoman.

The report described her involvement with Biden as “a financial relationship,” but declined to delve deeper into why the wire transfer was made.

The probe also found that Baturina sent 11 wires transfers between May and December 2015 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA, a tech startup that filed for bankruptcy in March 2019.






Nine of those 11 wire transfers were first sent to Rosemont Seneca Partners, the investment firm founded by Biden and Chris Heinz, stepson of former Secretary of State John Kerry, before being transferred to BAK USA.


All 11 transactions described the payments as “Loan Agreement” in the details section.

The report reads, “etween May 6, 2015 and Dec. 8, 2015, Baturina sent 11 wires in the amount of $391,968.21 to a bank account belonging to BAK USA LLC (BAK USA). Nine of the 11 transactions, totaling $241,797.14 were sent from Baturina’s accounts to a Rosemont Seneca Thornton bank account, which then transferred to the money to BAK USA. The 11 transactions all listed ‘Loan Agreement’ in the payment details section.














“BAK USA was a startup technology company headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., that produced tablet computers in cooperation with unnamed Chinese business partners. BAK USA filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2019, with a reported loss of $39 million. These transactions were identified because of Baturina’s reported criminal activity,” it continues.


The probe and report’s commission were overseen by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).




"Their investigative work found that in 2015, two Obama administration officials voiced concerns to White House officials about the possibility that the younger Biden serving on the board of Burisma could create the appearance of a conflict of interest, as his father, then-Vice President Joe Biden, oversaw Ukraine policy.

The report adds, “The records also note that some of these transactions are linked to what ‘appears to be an Eastern European prostitution or human trafficking ring.’”

The younger Biden had no material experience to serve on the board of the energy and gas company, but was given a high-paying seat regardless.




The report states that the Obama White House knew that Hunter’s position prevented “the efficient execution of policy with respect to Ukraine,” but that attempts by officials to raise alarms fell “on deaf ears.”

It also alleged that Hunter “formed significant and consistent financial relationships” with the founder of Burisma, Mykola Zlochevsky, and that his and his business partner Devon Archer’s firms “made millions of dollars from that association” while his father was vice president.

The committees also said they obtained records from the US Treasury Department that “show potential criminal activity relating to transactions among and between Hunter Biden, his family, and his associates with Ukrainian, Russian, Kazakh and Chinese nationals.”

Source?

Secondly, are you sure this was illegal even if true? Were charges presented? Was there a trial?

When I post such things, I always include the link, so maybe consider doing as such, OK?

 

[JIMMY12345]

I was listening to Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland) reflecting on his work on the January 6 Committee, and something he said struck me as quite astute.

He was talking about the fact that after the 2020 election so many efforts were made to get judges (many appointed by Trump himself) to throw out results base on "fraud" -- all totally without any evidence whatsoever, and all summarily tossed out of court --and yet, Trump and his enablers seem to have managed to convince a very large number of Republicans that the November election was faked and January 6 was necessary. Raskin mentioned that "maybe Voltair was right."

What Voltaire said is that "anyone wbo can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." And in this case, given that there is STILL no evidence for election fraud, but that election fraud is STILL the rallying cry for millions -- it's a palpable absurdity. And believing it made a lot of people commit an atrocity on January 6 -- and a lot more people to continue to condone that atrocity right up until this very day.

While we're at it -- how do you "deprogram" millions of conspiracy-deluded people at once? Seems like an impossible task, to me.

I do not think Republicans actually really believe the myth of election fraud.Follow the money .Follow Trump.He has lots of it.That makes him influential.