World News Thread

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Iran's top nuclear scientist killed in apparent assassination, state media reports

In case folks are not aware of what N.E.B. was referring to.

[Frelga]

Putin had a four-hour press conference yesterday, with the questions coming mostly from vetted, state-controlled sources. He again dismissed accusations that opposition leader Navalny had been poisoned. Because, he said, if they did try to poison him, he'd be dead.

Anything negative is either the fault, or the lies, of US and UK.

He also misspoke and called vaccine an antidote. (not) Speaking of Navalny.

[RoseMorninStar]

[N.E. Brigand]

Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny dupes spy into revealing how he was poisoned.

They put the Novichok into Navalny's underpants?

[Voronwë the Faithful]

If a spy fiction writer proposed that as part of the plot their next novel, they would get laughed out of their Publishers office. It would be too outlandish to even consider.

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[Voronwë the Faithful]

Not just the part about putting it in the underwear, but even more the way he was duped.

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[Dave_LF]

If a spy fiction writer proposed that as part of the plot their next novel, they would get laughed out of their Publishers office. It would be too outlandish to even consider.

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Sure, but you can say that about almost anything that's happened this year.

[Frelga]

Navalny flew back to Moscow today and was arrested at passport control.

[Jude]

Why the Udûn did he go back?

[RoseMorninStar]

Oh dear, yeah.. I don't think it was wise to go back to Russia.

[N.E. Brigand]

At least 3,100 arrested in today's pro-Navalny protests.

Here's video of Russian police knocking an older woman to the ground when she has the audacity to ask why they're arresting someone.

Here's a map of where today's protests were scheduled to happen:



One example: here's footage of the protest in Irkutsk, which is near Russia's border with Mongolia.

Today's events are being described by journalists as the largests protests in Russia since 2011. After protesters were beat up by Putin's forces that year, Hillary Clinton, in her capacity as U.S. Secretary of State, criticized the Russian government's response. It's believed that this was the event that crystalized Putin's hatred for Clinton, and thus probably gave us Trump.

[N.E. Brigand]

Just after Navalny returned to Russia, he had this two-hour documentary about Vladimir Putin, hosted by himself, released to Youtube:



It has English subtitles. Nominally about "Putin's Palace," it's an expose about Putin's corruption. The "palace" has an estimated value of $1.5 billion. (Putin is quite possibly the world's wealthiest man.)

[Túrin Turambar]

I'm impressed by the dedication of those who were willing to protest in Russia in January. They were protesting in Yakutsk when it was-52 degrees!

[N.E. Brigand]

I'm impressed by the dedication of those who were willing to protest in Russia in January. They were protesting in Yakutsk when it was-52 degrees!

Yes, that was amazing!

Returning to the film about "Putin's palace," Putin says he doesn't own any of the properties Navalny discusses. Noting this response, former Obama adviser Michael McFaul says that when Obama asked him how much Putin was worth, he explained that's the wrong question. What Putin has is de facto control of "almost all property in Russia or owned by Russian billionaires abroad. He can use almost any property -- the infamous palace, but also any other palaces, yachts, profits from Gazprom gas sales, etc whenever he wants."

[N.E. Brigand]

Russian police are being much more aggressive today against protesters than they were a week ago.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

There are also protests that seem to be bordering into riots in India over new agriculture reforms that farmers believe will leave them at the mercy of big corporations.

Here is one article from the BBC a few days ago, though it appears that there have been more developments since then: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-55817628

I am wondering if anyone, particularly Inanna, has any insight about what is happening there.

[Inanna]

I do. And I’ve been pondering about posting this here. I’ll try and respond in a day or two. The semester just started....

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Thanks. And if it turns out to be too stressful to do so (particularly with the semester starting) I can completely understand that. But I am interested.

[Túrin Turambar]

I also saw India in the news last week because of the rising push among Hindu nationalists to honour Gandhi's killer. The farmers in the BBC article are carrying orange flags (the colour of Hinduism) but the have the Sikh Khanda on them - I wonder what the significance is?

[N.E. Brigand]

Meanwhlie, in Myanmar:

https://www.npr.org/2021/01/31/96265269 ... kyi-others