World News Thread

[Frelga]

That doesn't explain the musket!

[Beorhtnoth]

That doesn't explain the musket!

What can I say? The French have never recovered from the ineffectiveness of the Maginot Line. Realizing the last time they won a war was when Napoleon was Emperor, perhaps they are trusting in that age's weaponry...

Yesterday was the 200th anniversary of Napoleon's death, was it not?

ETA I make the joke about the French ironically. I am quite aware of English jingoism.

[Frelga]

It was a UK guy with a musket. Shooting blanks. There's probably a joke in there. Possibly his mother smells of elderberries.

[Beorhtnoth]

Then I am near certain the musket was a statement regarding Waterloo and all that.
The English are... determined about history.

[elengil]

It was a UK guy with a musket. Shooting blanks. There's probably a joke in there. Possibly his mother smells of elderberries.

But was his father a hamster? Questions, questions that need answering!

[Beorhtnoth]

It was a UK guy with a musket. Shooting blanks. There's probably a joke in there. Possibly his mother smells of elderberries.

But was his father a hamster? Questions, questions that need answering!

Would that be a Syrian hamster or Russian hamster? And could either carry a coconut as adroitly as a pair of African Swallows?

[N.E. Brigand]

I think this makes sense:

"We (rightly) tell the Palestinians not to use terrorism to achieve their freedom. But then our [U.S.] news networks and politicians pay little attention to their plight when there's no violence. That's a recipe for more violence."

"Opposing terrorism means not incentivizing it."

[N.E. Brigand]

CNN: Belarus activist arrested after fighter jet intercepts his Ryanair flight

This regularly scheduled commercial flight on an Irish airliner originated in Athens, Greece and was bound for Vilnius, Lithuania. The latter country borders Belarus, and this route overflies that nation (it also overflies Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, and perhaps a little bit of Poland). It's not clear why the plane landed. That CNN report cites differing stories about either a bomb threat or a dispute among the passengers. Given the outcome, there should be an examination into whether the reason was pretextual.

The activist, Roman Protasevich, has been living in exile in Lithuania. He may face the death penalty in Belarus. That government's dictatorial president, Alexander Lukashenko, has previously had Pratasevich identified a terrorist.

[Frelga]

There's a Twitter thread with updates and reactions from different sources.

Lukashenko has generally been treated as a comical rather than sinister figure. But like master so the lackey, as Dumas said.

[N.E. Brigand]

RyanAir later issued a statement about today's incident that says everything turned out OK.

There's no mention in it about how one of their passengers was removed from the plane and never completed his journey from Athens to Vilnius.

(As multiple people have said (example), this is as if Ford's Theater issued this statement on April 15, 1865: "Mrs. Lincoln took part in a night at the theater. Following a delay, she departed the theater safely after the performance.")

I hope RyanAir did that only to give any company employees in Belarus time to leave before they issue a real statement.

Because if not, I'd say that statement was grounds for every country on the planet to refuse to allow RyanAir to operate in their jurisdiction any more.

An airline that's OK with losing a passenger is an airline that shouldn't exist.

[Frelga]

It was also pointed out that the plane was closer to Vilnius, its destination, than to Minsk at the time it was forced off course.

[N.E. Brigand]

Today Ryanair says that five people left the plane in Minsk: not only Pratasevich but also his girlfriend, as well as three other people who apparently were Belarus secret service agents.

Also Ryanair's CEO said today, accurately in my opinion, that this was a "state sponsored hijacking."

[Voronwë the Faithful]

But like master so the lackey, as Dumas said.

Is the "master" being referred to here Putin? Haven't Lukashenko and Putin had a falling out?

[N.E. Brigand]

But like master so the lackey, as Dumas said.

Is the "master" being referred to here Putin? Haven't Lukashenko and Putin had a falling out?

Several commentators yesterday said it was unlikely that Lukashenko would have done this without Putin's approval, and that the aim might be to goad Europe into imposing sanctions on Belarus, which would push that nation into a closer relationship with Russia. I don't know if that's an accurate assessment, though.

[Frelga]

Today Ryanair says that five people left the plane in Minsk: not only Pratasevich but also his girlfriend, as well as three other people who apparently were Belarus secret service agents.

Pratasevich's girlfriend was apparently also arrested.

The other three, or four according to some reports, people are said to be Russian citizens (which is verifiable) and security services agents (which is less so). If true, then it adds credibility to the speculation about Russian involvement, but the if is pretty big.

Also Ryanair's CEO said today, accurately in my opinion, that this was a "state sponsored hijacking."

That about covers it, yes.

[N.E. Brigand]

In an attempt to stitch two different Lasto threads together, Belarus today claimed that Hamas was behind the supposed bomb threat that they claim was the reason this plane had to land in Minsk.

[Impenitent]

In an attempt to stitch two different Lasto threads together...

cunning plan.jpg (22.94 KiB) Viewed 4131 times

[Inanna]

Hey! My fav guy!

[elengil]

cunning plan.jpg

[elengil]

In yet another shocking case of "If only I was actually shocked by any of this anymore..."