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Comment by coldcode | Hacker News Reader

Hard to imagine cheering something the Russian government does yet here we are. Would you trust your life to them?

This whole episode has really shown the fallacy of US = Good, {Russia, China} = Bad.

If you're an American, this might be a bit hard to understand. But for those who don't hail from any of the above-mentioned countries, it's easier to take a more balanced perspective of each.

I don't think we can really look at any country in specific good/bad terms. I personally applaud Russia's actions on this matter.

There are no good/bad people, good/bad countries, etc. Just people who do good or bad things.

Better yet: Would you trust your life to them is US government wants you "dead"?

Would you rather trust your life to the US government?

Yes.

Let's not forget that it's Russia.

Still, Snowden can't afford to trust the US, so that leaves Russia as an alternative. But that's just a special case for this particular situation.

>Yes. Let's not forget that it's Russia.

So? Russia has been a much more malevolent world player than the US.

I think you misread their comment. They were saying that they would rather trust the US government with their life over the Russian government.

There's a few hundred million people in Latin America who would disagree with that.

I am from Brazil.

Although I am not much for left-wing politics, I really wish that Russia had more influence here than the US.

And I still keep meeting people that are still looking for people that got "disappeared" by CIA.

Really? Have you read the history of US/CIA involvment in Latin America? From embracing "death squads" to endorsing Pinochet and tons of other dictators, to war with Panama, to meddling with Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Brasil, Argentina, Mexico etc politics, heck almost everywhere. Do you know how the very term "Banana Republic" came to be?

I think you misunderstood; I'm saying that a substantial, if not most, people in Latin America consider American influence as the worst of the worst.

Do you REALLY want to do a body count from the last few decades?

Yes, oblige us. And compare with the other party too, direct AND indirect deaths (e.g due to the Iraq embargo).

>Yes.

> Let's not forget that it's Russia.

USA has death penalty, Russia hasn't had it for about two decades.

Well, they don't need if they're willing to simply kill prisoners.

Really? Your entire argument is "..because Russia. Who's with me?"

As a bisexual man, no.

No but neither would I trust my life to the US government.

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