[PostFactum]

[DrCaleb]

In related news:

$1:

Brits Investigate Assassination of the Spy Who Warned Us About Putin

Eight years ago, the Kremlin likely murdered a former KGB officer living in London with radioactive poison. The U.K. was too cozy with Russia to go after his killers—until now.

LONDON — Vladimir Putin thought he’d got away with murder. At least that was the conclusion of diplomats and security officials for eight years as Britain ignored demands for an inquiry into the assassination of a former KGB officer in Central London.

Alexander Litvinenko had angered the Kremlin with repeated claims that Putin was running a thuggish and brutal regime. He sought refuge in Britain and was granted asylum, but local police were powerless to prevent his brazen assassination. He was struck down inside an upmarket London hotel by a rare radioactive poison that had been slipped in to his pot of tea.

Many suspected Moscow’s hand, and the victim’s family described his killing as “state-sponsored nuclear terrorism.” Scotland Yard investigators found a trail of radioactivity from the deadly polonium-210 isotope that led all the way back to the Kremlin. The British government, however, steadfastly refused to sanction an inquiry into Russia’s involvement. That changed Tuesday when Theresa May, Britain’s Home Secretary, announced a full inquiry into Litvenenko’s murder just as global leaders were lining up to say that Putin has blood on his hands after the death of almost 300 people aboard Malaysia Airlines Flight 17.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2 ... putin.html

[Zipperfish]

Bit late now.

[Canadian_Mind]

PostFactum PostFactum:

Good to see things are progressing. If nothing else good comes of this, at least the Ukrainian army will be battle-hardened and ready to face further threats.

[BRAH]

There's no way rebels were able to operate a system like this by themselves even with some training so it's possible Russian Advisors were operating the system.

[PostFactum]

BRAH BRAH:

There's no way rebels were able to operate a system like this by themselves even with some training so it's possible Russian Advisors were operating the system.

Oh really?

[Goober911]

The escalation and repercussions are closing in on Putin.

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/07 ... &ir=Canada

Responding to the renewed crisis in Ukraine, on Tuesday the European Union (EU) moved towards imposing economic sanctions on associates of Vladimir Putin, with foreign ministers agreeing to "concrete proposals" to create a list of the president’s "cronies" who would be subject to punitive measures.

Following on from sanctions earlier imposed by Washington, this week’s push by the EU to inflict more punishing strictures against Russia’s elites could not only have far-reaching consequences for the future conflict between Moscow and Kiev, but pose an existential threat to the Putin regime.

"The Russian political system rewards strong leaders who can keep order and stability, while providing the opportunity for people to gain economically," Kimberly Marten, a professor of political science at Barnard College and Columbia University, told HuffPost. "The alternative in the minds of the population and the inner circle of elites is the terrible instability and violence of the 1990s."

So, on the surface, all Putin needs to do is show the West a strong face while maintaining the stability and open markets that have allowed the elite class to prosper. However, herein sits the problem: within Russia’s "inner circle of elites", various different interests are coming into conflict.

According to Samuel Greene, the Director of the Russia Institute at King’s College London, the security establishment (members of the military and the secret services), and the ideological establishment (nationalists), both of which espouse a very isolationist agenda, are "pushing up against the interests of the business elites" who profit from the ability to move money and goods across borders.

"Putin’s goal is not to make any of the groups happy but to maintain a balance and a steady state," says Greene. "What becomes a threat to him is if the system is unbalanced and everyone comes to the conclusion that they might be better off without him or with some other leadership."

[Zipperfish]

Ex-RT Reporter Slams Network: You Can End Up ‘Swallowing Yourself in Conspiracy Theories’

More rats jumping ship at the Russia Today propaganda site.

Cuomo Interview with RT Anchor Explodes: ‘You’re Supposed to Be a Journalist!’

[BartSimpson]

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Bit late now.

The UK has a tendency to be slow to respond to threats. Something happened to their collective psyche during WW1 and they've never come back from it. It's like Sandhurst teaches PTSD to their cadets before they even get their commissions.

[rickc]

Two more Ukrainian fighter jets shot down today. There are reports that the missile fire originated from the Russian side of the border. Things are heating up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/world ... .html?_r=0

[martin14]

rickc rickc:

Two more Ukrainian fighter jets shot down today. There are reports that the missile fire originated from the Russian side of the border. Things are heating up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/world ... .html?_r=0

Kinda feels like a long hot summer, doesn't it ?

[rickc]

martin14 martin14:

rickc rickc:

Two more Ukrainian fighter jets shot down today. There are reports that the missile fire originated from the Russian side of the border. Things are heating up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/24/world ... .html?_r=0

Kinda feels like a long hot summer, doesn't it ?

Yes it does. I do not recall any period in my lifetime where so many shit storms were brewing at the same time all over the planet.

[BartSimpson]

rickc rickc:

I do not recall any period in my lifetime where so many shit storms were brewing at the same time all over the planet.

[Zipperfish]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

Zipperfish Zipperfish:

Bit late now.

The UK has a tendency to be slow to respond to threats. Something happened to their collective psyche during WW1 and they've never come back from it. It's like Sandhurst teaches PTSD to their cadets before they even get their commissions.

Myself, I think it's more likely that they didn't want to rock the boat with Russia back then, given the investment Russian oligarchs have in London. Britain's been ruined by too much immigration, in my opinion anyways.

[andyt]

Russia moving troops towards border again.