Halls of Shrewd'm / US Policy
No. of Recommendations: 8
Alexei Navalny, the Russian dissident who was previously poisoned to near-death TWICE, died in the Siberian prison where he was serving a nineteen year term for various political crimes concocted by Putin. Russian "news" sources state he felt "unwell" after returning from a walk, fell unconscious and doctors were unable to revive him. Medical officials appear to be still "investigating."
If any Republicans need a reminder of the true nature of the enemy we face in Russia and Ukraine, consider this today's wake-up call. There will be others. It's too bad this didn't happen when Tucker Carlson was conducting his hour-long interview with Putin. I bet he could have gotten to the bottom of this by asking Putin directly.
Expect plaudits from Trump on social media in 3...2...1...
WTH
No. of Recommendations: 0
Russian "news" sources state he felt "unwell" after returning from a walk, fell unconscious and doctors were unable to revive him. Medical officials appear to be still "investigating."
This sure smells like someone in the prison slipped Navalny some poison. Will his body be released to his wife for a proper funeral (after a full autopsy to determine the true cause of death)? Hopefully any poison in Nalvany's system won't have become undetectable by then.
No. of Recommendations: 1
This sure smells like someone in the prison slipped Navalny some poison. Will his body be released to his wife for a proper funeral (after a full autopsy to determine the true cause of death)? Hopefully any poison in Nalvany's system won't have become undetectable by then.
Putin won't make that kind of mistake.
No. of Recommendations: 4
Putin won't make that kind of mistake.
I don't think Putin cares. Remember the polonium poisoning (Litvinenko)? And the father/daughter poisoning (Skripal)? I think he wants people to know, even as he denies involvement. No one can touch him, and he knows it.
No. of Recommendations: 3
I don't think Putin cares. Remember the polonium poisoning (Litvinenko)? And the father/daughter poisoning (Skripal)? I think he wants people to know, even as he denies involvement. No one can touch him, and he knows it.
Of course. Part of being a dictator is to wield power but also be ostentatious about it.
Because Navalny could've stood too close to a window at any time for the last decade or so or had a bad curry, we have to assume that Navalny's passing in a Russian punishment labor camp at this time was to send a message. To internal opponents the message is, "I don't care how many Western prizes you win, if you color outside the lines I will kill you." To the West, the message is, "F*** you and your democratic opposition. My house, my rules." And to the Russian "establishment" opposition that may be coalescing inside the oligarchy and security services, "I just whacked the darling of the West and told them to FOAD. Do you really think anyone will care if I kill you?"
No. of Recommendations: 4
Of course. Part of being a dictator is to wield power but also be ostentatious about it.
Well said.
Kim Jong Un also did that, with a nerve agent against his brother, as I recall. In an airport. Or Kashoggi from Saudi. You know they did it, and they count on you knowing they did it, even as they issue denials.
No. of Recommendations: 2
I don't think Putin cares. Remember the polonium poisoning (Litvinenko)? And the father/daughter poisoning (Skripal)? I think he wants people to know, even as he denies involvement. No one can touch him, and he knows it.
Especially since the polonium isotope can be traced to Russia. The nerve agent too. Isn't this the fellow that returned to Russia and they tried to kill him while coming home? Navalny returned and I remember thinking, why? And then realized his family was still in Russia, and his daughter. He knew he was coming back to die, and did it for his family. Putin is a monster. I remember when another opposition figure was gunned down on the streets of Moscow.
No. of Recommendations: 2
there seems to be some misinformation, from people that should know better, regarding navalny's stance on the ukraine war as being pro-russian.
having a father from ukraine, he was being pragmatic in 2014 when he opined that the recovery of crimea did not seem feasible.
however, as he continually hardened his stance against putin on almost every issue (repeated attempted homicide tends to do that), he also strongly changed his views on the war.
many in ukraine still bear this grudge against a flawed, martyr-complexed human, but it should be saved for the russian populace. if apathetic russians showed even a fraction of his bravery, they would not be seen as a passive part of a war-crimes kleptocracy.
