82 Comments

Almost assuredly Putin and the Kremlin will blame this attack on Ukraine and use it to justify another round of mobilization on top of increased attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. This is an earmarked page in their playbook. See Chechnya.

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The details of two things came to mind today. The Moscow Apartment building bombings and the strange circumstances around the Belsen School hostage debacle. Weren’t both used as justification for the Chechen Wars when Putin’s popularity had waned? Terror “management” is a response that can be manipulate the public’s patriotism. There’s no doubt Putin will blame Ukraine and use this recent attack to justify more atrocities in Ukraine.

A good read this weekend might be one that was banned in Russia and written by former FSB Anti corruption agent, Alexander Litvenchenko. Or Bad Blood, written about his life and times and untimely death by polonium poisoning in London where he was living in exile.

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In ten years, maybe more maybe less, some Russian in the know or one that will discover what really happened in Moscow today will write a whistleblower account informing the world… and the day after it’s known, they will be murdered over tea in some western capital. And the book will be another BBC best seller.

Blowing up Russia by Alexander Litvenchenko

https://a.co/d/d9nRdNZ

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Blowing up Russia by Alexander Litvenchenko

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blowing_Up_Russia

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I had to run and check to be sure, but Yes, I have that book here in my library. It came out right around the time of Russia's full-scale invasion and I made a point to read it. Fascinating, terrifying, informative. I agree with you, it should be mandatory reading for those who wish to stay informed on modern geo-politics and the treachery that so often accompanies it.

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More on “FSB Terror Management 101”

A lecture by author/journalst/Russian specialist David Satter

https://youtu.be/WE7uXO8NEms?feature=shared

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They already are, at least according to German news tonight, although they made clear that it is not thought to be Ukraine, just that the Kremlin is throwing suspicion their way. Putin has his playbook, and we see the chilling results in everything that happens around us. I personally wonder whether the fact that US and German children's "happiness" has tanked so much more than elsewhere because they are victims of Putins disinformation campaign. These are two countries where he has been working particularly hard to control the populations and turn them against their leadership. Making youth dissatisfied leads to their political disengagement, which serves his purposes, since they are less likely to support the fascists he would like to see take power. We do know that Russia has been having problems with ISIS just like other European countries. In fact, I have been reading that the formerly Muslim members of the Soviet Union often as they reclaim Islam which they were shut off from during the Soviet Union, see it as a tool or cultural renewal. Many youth see that as a call to join ISIS.

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Sadly predictable...we MUST get more funding for the defense of Ukraine! Could Biden use frozen Russian assets? If not, why not?

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I do understand some of the sanctioned funds, around a miserable 300M, don't rely on me for this, has been used. It is less than Trump's bond money. Russia and China also have vetoed a ceasefire, for Israel, which seems fitting. Why Russia, especially, can veto peace, let alone anything else, in the UN is beyond comprehension.

I find October 7, 2023, the classified docs taken by Trump, concerning Iran and spoken of at Bedminster, his commands, as a citizen, to stop funding Ukraine, leaving the Kurds betrayed and ISIS freed from their sand prisons at a very high humanitarian cost, his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, sanction relief discussions between his campaign, in 2015, and Russian assets, Manafort on the scene once again, all too wild to put together but maybe they are tied together.

Chinese and Russia/Russia and Iran meetings.

It all stinks like it should but putting the pieces together I'm hoping someone, like Professor Snyder, can do it for us or all I'm being is a conspiracy theorist and that isn't my point or intent.

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Stinks indeed, Tracy. You now have my head spinning conspiratorial and my hair flying tonsorial.

Zimmerman sent a telegram claiming he married ISIS on the Fifth Day of May.

Ok, I'll stop now.

In all seriousness, the horrific massacre in Moscow is most likely, an example of what Malcolm X once described as "the chickens coming home to roost".

Obviously, none of us know quite yet what's going on, but if ISIS is indeed involved, then one need not look far into the recent history of Putin's Russia to understand why a fundamentalist Moslem terror group would want to wreak homicidal havoc in Russia. Putin's forces were literally drawing and quartering dissidents and opposition soldiers in Chechnya, and the long reign of the barbarian Bashar al Assad in Syria has been made longer due to the heavy intervention of Russian troops bolstering him and killing as many ISIS members as possible.

Why now the revenge is of course the question. It could be that the Russians are so extended in Ukraine that they left the back door unlocked. Who knows?

To be continued

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Even,though, i am not American, I fail to understand, why there's so much of a fuss made about Trump in the States. Is he a criminal or not? If he is, he should be in jail, Not running for President!!! Or is it a case of : only in America!

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Could any multi-billionaire give money? Bill Gates has $132 billion, can he give 10% of this amount? Jeff Bezos has $196 billion. There are many others. Is any of them brave enough?

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But how? Ii would be like an illegal arms deal. We don't have a for sale sign at the Pentagon-at least not for private citizens. Let's not talk about government reps. At this point we only see $$ for influence.

Believe me, if this was a way, based on humanitarian reasons I can understand your interest.

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Said this to myself earlier. Glad to see your post… and miserably, predictably sad about it all 😓

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Medevev already is blaming Ukraine, I suspect this event will be blamed on Ukraine and the US, and the "West". Heartbreaking to hear what is happening in Ukraine today, I was listening to a livestream with Greg Terry who is in Kharkiv right now. He said Russian thermal seeking drones are so numerous in the air that soldiers are trapped where they are (near Chasiv Yar).

I suspect Putin is taking advantage of Ukraine's shortage of ammo and also his recent (illegitimate) win in the election. My question is: how can we help Ukraine here, in this moment?

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We could have an enormous, gigantic stock of all the ammo in use there and every type of *contemporary, up-to-date* military weapon appropriate for the terrain, the climate, and the fighting conditions on the way there. Right now!!

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We live in a world that has gone totally crazy. I for one would love to put The Bloated Yam and Putin on a rowboat and push them out to sea.

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Bloated yam is an apt and clever portmanteau.

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I wished I had thought up "Bloated yam." Kiwiwriter47 coined it and gave me permission to use it. I think it's a great description. Both Kiwiwriter47 and I hope it takes off.

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Make sure the rowboat has a leak on either end. Make them bail salt water to try to save their stinking, vicious, miserable lives. Oh, and may they drown grasping each other by the throat...

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Up here in the North, They ( Eskimo's) would put people on Ice floats and push them off,

never to be seen again!

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Great visual.

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Of course Putin will blame US and/or NATO.

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Yup. Bullies & abusers always blame their victims. Ukrainians and many Europeans, especially in the Baltics, know this. So much of the West doesn't see the patterns that are centuries old, or denies that there are patterns -- much in the same way as many deny their own past or current realities -- seems a bit similar to the lack of awareness of young people that there are patterns in life, lessons to be learned from their elders and from history.

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The Trump voter can't even remember why they were hawks or the Russian that were the USSR that

Putin still reverently believes in still. Honestly, I believe Putin Xi must have weekly phone calls LTAO at us.

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Grateful for knowledgeable perspective. Tighten seatbelts embolden Putin will ⬆️killing innocent Ukrainians. 🇺🇸must release aid & we must keep calling DC Congress➕ Senate🗽🗳️💙

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A discharge petition is currently being circulated in the House. It has 191 signatures. It needs 27 more to pass the House. The below link will help you locate your House rep if they have not yet signed and you can encourage them to do so.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vTaMB3k5Z37OAM8HEMhDtwbLGzwn1wDXSNcoTmXEJbpfbacfp-m0fJGyb36lcNOhgqGO5-bArbibS5a/pubhtml?gid=614612044&single=true

The link below is a list of reps who have already signed.

https://clerk.house.gov/DischargePetition/2024031209?CongressNum=118

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Thank you for updating us!

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Thanks, RV. The discharge petition is not needed now that the House has passed the supplemental bill!

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Yes,thank you.

I appreciate the time and effort it took to do this.

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Yes, someone killed 40 pople in Moscow while Moscow continues to kill Ukrainians every day for more than two years. Forgive me for not feeling empathy. And of course the "Praviy Sektor" business card has been replaced by a van with "old Ukrainian plates." You have to have the pea brain of a maga fan not to wonder why anyone would advertise where they're from if they're planning a mass shooting... and how it was that the van got to downtown Moscow without being noticed... right?

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ISIS — Moscow has no love for Muslims or Jews, and ISIS is not going to be taken in by Putin’s cons or threats.

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A Russian foreign ministry spokesperson said (when we stated we saw no evidence of Ukrainian involvement in the attack) if the US has information we should share it.

We did share it, on March 7. Putin responded that we were just trying to "intimidate and destabilize" Russia.

This underlines the differences between Russia and the USA. In spite of Russia's continued spreading false information to harmful effect we tried to help them with real info. We are not perfect but their government is built on lies, so no wonder they found no use for the truth.

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The Moscow attack could well be a false flag by Putin's special services.

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Exactly my thought. Especially when Ramzan Kadyrov pops ups saying he wasn’t to blame.

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Christ almighty. And I imagine cheerleader Carlson will still be lauding Putin’s chandeliers in the Moscow subways. Time for another donation to your project and another blast of letters to Congress for support to Ukraine. Putin has no soul and no sense. “Leadership” by sociopaths is not going well for people.

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It is'nt just Putin. Look around the world! There's sociopaths on the wheel of Gov. all over!The fact is simply this for it : we, the People , let it happen.period!

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I appreciate your analysis of this and other outrages we are facing in our nation and world today. Thank you so very much for helping us to navigate or at least understand these troubled waters,

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Professor, you know better than most the propaganda Putin will put forth and, of course, he will blame the US and Ukraine. Interesting though, that there is a channel set up where nations are in contact with another when they suspect some mass shootings/bombings might occur in that country. Even if we are at odds with one another, there is communication. The deafness of Putin and the Russians will eventually be their downfall. I am here for that.

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A Russian Spy Story: Vladimir Putin and his time in the KGB

In this extract from the BBC Select documentary 'A Russian Spy Story', we look into Vladimir Putin's childhood and teenage years. From a 'schoolyard thug', to joining the KGB and meeting his wife Lyudmila.

Watch the full documentary on BBC Select.

https://www.bbc.com/reel/video/p09j5hj3/a-russian-spy-story-vladimir-putin-and-his-time-in-the-kgb

Putin will die if he doesn’t stay in power. - Bill Browder

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An9BvRvMamk

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Putin. Netanyahu. Trump. All spewing hate and division to avoid jail time. Miserable human beings, all of them.

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The “playbook” being used by Putin reminds me of how Trump always blames others whenever anything bad happens under his watch. (Did Trump ever take responsibility for the massive number of Americans who died during the Covid pandemic?)

This is the autocrat’s way: “It’s always our enemies (as I define them) who caused our troubles.”

And so, the Assault on Truth continues. 😢😡

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