'Murdered' Russian journalist Arkady Babchenko turns up alive
A Russian journalist and critic of the Kremlin, reported to have been shot dead in Ukraine, showed up alive at a press conference on Wednesday to declare that his murder was faked by Ukrainian security services in an effort to foil an assassination plot against him.
In a stunning development, Arkady Babchenko, 41, walked into a room of journalists in Kiev who had been expecting to get an update on his murder.
He apologized to his wife Olechka -- who on Tuesday was reported to have found him bleeding to death at his apartment -- for the "hell" she had gone through. Ukrainian officials offered a jaw-dropping explanation for his so-called death -- to expose a Russian plot against him.
Script flipped.
Also at BBC.
(Score: 2) by looorg on Thursday May 31 2018, @12:43PM (5 children)
The interesting part here was how the media outrage just died, I guess along with the story. Going from OMG! the evil government murdered a journalist to actually saving his life to foil a murder plot against hem. All of a sudden they had nothing to say any more ...
(Score: 5, Interesting) by zocalo on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:08PM (2 children)
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 2) by DeathMonkey on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:33PM (1 child)
but if they've managed to bag some of the assassins through this exercise as well then it could get really interesting.
They did:
The head of the Ukrainian Security Service said the suspected organizer of the alleged hit plot was detained Wednesday, suggesting the bogus killing was aimed at flushing him out. [cbsnews.com]
(Score: 4, Interesting) by zocalo on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:57PM
It's only a few weeks after a whole bunch of tit-for-tat diplomatic explusions over the attempted murder of the Skripals too, albeit this time not on the soil of a permanent member of the UN Security Council with a lot of political allies. If the Ukrainian's can produce some compelling evidence, or even a confession or two, then it's going to be interesting to see how the international response and media coverage of this attempt compares as well.
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 3, Informative) by nitehawk214 on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:46PM
Russia was trying to kill him, Ukraine faked his death to save him.
Now, which two countries are currently in a "civil war" over Ukraine's territory?
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:53PM
I fail to see why you are drawing outrage at how the incident is being covered in a different way once the story changed. The difference is what happened, and why. Case in point, compare:
1) Man shoots woman dead in Grand Central Station: this is bad, and is newsworthy.
2) Man has a conceal-carry permit and carries a pistol through Grand Central Station, passing a woman without incident: this is just ordinary behavior, and not newsworthy.
There is a bit of a story about the exceptional nature of saving this journalist's life (hence this article), but it is vastly different in scope than an assassination.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @12:56PM (16 children)
How did this save him?
Had they put him in hiding for the rest of his life, with the story left at "he's dead", it would have saved him.
But now he's known to be alive, plus a big stink has been made around him (in particular, there are similarities to the boy who cried wolf, since the ukrainian government said "russia did it", and then they said "well actually we faked it").
They are promising to give him protection, but they could have done this without the circus.
And they arrested one person, who could have been arrested without the circus.
So... really. What exactly was he saved from?!
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:07PM
Credibility
(Score: 5, Insightful) by pkrasimirov on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:21PM (5 children)
> could have been arrested without the circus.
They wanted the person who ordered this murder, and to get him the "circus" was needed. And they got him, two of them. We will see how this unfoils, waiting for the proofs.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:01PM (1 child)
you're responding to a troll/useful (to putin) idiot
he already knew what you said, but didnt want it to be true
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:49PM
I'm not a troll. I honestly did not think of the "requester pays when murder is made public, so we can trace the money" idea.
you may be right in that I'm an idiot, and I have to say I'd hate being useful to putin in any way, I'm sorry if my question degraded the quality of the discussion.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:23PM (2 children)
There are unlikely to be any proofs. Ukraine vs Russia is now a years old story, with a helluva lot of atrocities, including a downed airliner. And, there are no proofs of any of those atrocities. All of us read the accusations, all of us follow the circus after the accusation, and each of us decides that this side or that is "more credible". But, so far, there have been zero proofs.
Personally, I tend to side with Russia over Ukraine. But, I can't point to any one incident, and produce real proof that Ukraine was the "bad guy". Well - except for Ukraine banning the use of the Russian language in a province populated mostly by Russian speakers. That was definitely a strike against Ukraine.
(Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:46PM
And, there are no proofs of any of those atrocities.
Uhh....there's plenty of proof that Russia invaded part of Ukraine and claimed Crimea. [wikipedia.org]
That you don't want to acknowledge that fact says more about you than about the quantity of proof available.
(Score: 4, Informative) by zocalo on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:07PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
(Score: 5, Interesting) by c0lo on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:34PM
There are a number of ways in which it may make sense.
One of them:
- they arrested the hitman just before the job, with the journo acting as bait
- they wanted to arrest the instigator but also wanted evidence that he was the correct person, so...
- ... they faked the murder (with the hitman in custody)...
- ... when the rest of the payment for the job came into hitman's account, they traced the source of it, maybe matched with a CCTV at the bank at the moment of transfer.
Yes, making public the murder fakery doesn't necessary help the would-be victim for the future, but maybe doing so secured the testimony of the hitman - no longer accused of murder (only of an attempted one) he may be more pliable to cooperation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:49PM (5 children)
I suppose if they killed him now, it would be quite clear Russia was behind it.
Althought, I suppose that would be the case anyhow.
And Russia has shown they do not give a shit who knows about their assassinations.
Yeah, I don't get it either.
"Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:46PM (4 children)
Now the question becomes: who would benefit from making it look like Russia killed him?
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:26PM (3 children)
That's easy: America's Democrats. They've been howling "Russians Russians Russians" for almost two years now. If they can make Russia look bad, they think that will improve their own image, or some such crazy thing.
(Score: 1, Disagree) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:16PM
OR they have legitimate concerns about foreign interests affecting elections, along with a having a president that is beholden more to a foreign nation than his own country.
Nah, its just to improve their election chances! /s
After Trumpster fire the Democrats just need to avoid shooting their foot off AGAIN, they are already primed to win most elections.
(Score: 2) by JNCF on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:09PM
You're overly specific for obviously partisan reasons, but not Redundant. The American government in general, as well as many other governments, would benefit from making Russia look bad.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:55PM
Thank you, Runaway! Finally, someone talking sense!
It was obviously a false flag operation by Killary and Soros, using a Clinton death squad dispatched from 200 West Street [wikipedia.org].
I mean, look what they've done to Roseanne Barr. She speaks the truth about the monkeys we've finally gotten rid of and she's pilloried for it. Bob Iger [wikipedia.org] knew the truth and nothing would have come from the tweets of such a wonderful patriot like Ms. Barr, except a death squad sent by Killary, Bill and George kidnapped his grandkids and threatened to traffick them to the Saudis if he didn't stomp on Roseanne hard.
Everything bad and evil is always the work of Killary and her minions.
I love you Runaway. We think exactly alike!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Bot on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:17PM
i disagree, perpetual hiding could be uncovered by accident or by a double agent and then the russians would have had a field day. Now, indeed, he remains a target, but whatever happens to him, filo russians will be the likely culprits.
A standard secret service op i guess, with exposure calculated to smear the opposition.
Account abandoned.
(Score: 3, Touché) by DeathMonkey on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:37PM
But now he's known to be alive, plus a big stink has been made around him
It turns out that journalists investigating corrupt regimes that will gladly kill them for what they are reporting are kind of into the whole truth getting out there thing....
(Score: 4, Insightful) by PinkyGigglebrain on Thursday May 31 2018, @01:34PM
In order to deceive your enemies you must first deceive your allies.
Article is weak on details as to actually how faking his death saved him and helped expose the people who were really planing to kill him but I'm sure more information will come out later.
I would expect they had the suspected real assassins under surveillance and when news of the journalist's "death" hit the news they monitored who they contacted, what they said, and what happened with their bank accounts. Or something like that, we will probably never know all the details. Or the real truth.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:12PM (23 children)
Far too many people have grown up watching soap operas. This shit is so stupid, NO ONE should believe it.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:22PM (11 children)
Yeah, Putin is so dastardly he hires someone to kill someone set on framing him who is killed and raised from the dead so that Putin can dispose of the mobster employing the idiot assassin neither of whom can be traced to Putin. Or something?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @02:36PM (9 children)
The one unanswered question from all of those soaps is: How long can the same woman stay pregnant with the same baby?
My first wife watched soaps - she grew up with a mother and a house full of sisters, and those soaps were important to them. So, some old heifer had been pregnant for months before I left on a cruise. We all boarded ship, cast off, and went to the med, for nine long months of partying with the Russians during the Cold War. So, nine months later, we head home. First few days home, the wife turns on her soap, and there's this pregnant broad. I ask, "Is she pregnant AGAIN?" Wife answers, "No, she still hasn't had the baby!"
Christ on a crutch! That "suspension of disbelief" thing can definitely be taken too far.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:24PM (1 child)
There's no reason programs have to track time at the same rate they're broadcast. Only a couple of months might have passed in soapworld.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:05PM
Unless I see them sleeping, I just assume it is still the same day. It makes the story much more interesting and the characters more vile.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:56PM (6 children)
You mean like standing on the surface of a planet and watching with the naked eye to see a Starkiller Base fire at another planetary body?
Or do you mean light sabers instead of good ol' blasters that work from a distance? (brought a knife to a gun fight)
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1) by DECbot on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:14PM
They should really design a cannon that fires lightsabers. If lightsabers require a jedi to be effective, the cannon should fire jedi too.
Wait a second, lightsabers, the deathstars, and Starkiller Base all require kyber crystals... could it be that my lightsaber cannon already exists? It would make sense, all the deathstars were destroyed after the darth was killed or removed from their effective range.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:15PM (4 children)
Yes, exactly that sort of thing. Sometimes, that suspension can work, sometimes, it can't. For me, it fails more often than not. I suppose that's why I always preferred to read the book - my own imagination can fill in the details that Hollywood can't even understand.
It's also why I like the 'Expanse' series so much. They really worked hard for realism, and believability. The books are still better, though!
(Score: 3, Informative) by DannyB on Thursday May 31 2018, @06:34PM (3 children)
Yep. The Expanse is the best thing I think since Babylon 5.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:18PM
Simpsons did it!
(Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:10PM (1 child)
If you haven't seen S03E08 "It Reaches Out," don't click here.
I'm going to wait to read the series until after the show's run, as novels are always better than any TV/film adaptation. But it certainly is better than most of the crap on TV (Sci-Fi or otherwise).
No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr
(Score: 3, Interesting) by DannyB on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:25PM
Thanks.
Just finished Season 2. I'll look forward to episode S03E08.
I noticed there are, I think, Eight books? And the synopsis of the first two books sounded remarkably like the two seasons I just watched.
Now, I just hope it actually goes somewhere and has an actual ending, like B5.
I hope they avoid the problems with having to change actors and alter the story due to actor changes.
When trying to solve a problem don't ask who suffers from the problem, ask who profits from the problem.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @12:12AM
Naah. The guy was replaced by a pod person.
(Score: -1) by fakefuck39 on Thursday May 31 2018, @04:48PM (10 children)
Neither the Russians nor the Redneck Russians (Ukrainians) grew up watching soap operas. This dastardly idiot plot was dreamed up by some drunken idiot Ukrainians while siting in the basement of a strip club discussing business over a bottle of premium American wiskey (Jack) and the salad "Caesar" complete with tomatoes and egg. Ukraine is a country of morons who do random stupid shit - there's nothing there to figure out. Source: lived there for a year and a half after the conflict started.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:14PM
Remind me again why we had to fuck with the Russians to put their Mexico in our lap?
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Thursday May 31 2018, @05:31PM (8 children)
Now, that right there is some "random stupid shit". About the only two excuses I can think of, is that you have family there, or you were a mercenary, who was paid to be there.
(Score: -1) by fakefuck39 on Thursday May 31 2018, @06:57PM (6 children)
Guess you've never been to Kiev. It's a lot of fun. There is tourism, there are many international companies, and it helps when you speak a bunch of languages. My company has offices in 80 countries. I've been to over 50 and lived in several for extended periods of time in several. That's not random shit - that's the normal world of highly-paid professionals who aren't random linux geeks "coding" useless crap in their basement - it's the regular world some people live in. You're not a part of it, nor have the social skills or professional qualifications to be a part of it. Don't give it more thought. Just keep posting opinions on things you know nothing about - you're very entertaining.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:31PM (5 children)
The internet (of international acclaim) runs on a massive amount of "useless crap" coded by geeks in basements, garages, coffee shops, and otherwise.
You sound like the type of person the world is better off without since you can't even comprehend why people would be suspicious of "fakefuck39" posting on a geek forum to brag about how elite you are and how stupid and moronic the Ukrainians are. Given your defensiveness you're either full of shit, or you're a geek working for a big company and you're really insecure. Do they tease you? Are you the office nerd?
(Score: 0) by fakefuck39 on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:18PM (4 children)
The internet is full of useless crap, and it looks like you're the one who codes is. Congratulations for making my point for me. There is another part of the internet where real companies do real business - appears you're not aware of that part. If an explanation of why I know about Ukraine sounds like defensive bragging to you, if you place value on people's usernames on some forum - well you're one of the people I'm on here to make fun of. A nerd I am, a dork I am not. I do and always have worked for big companies - that's where the money is.
https://soylentnews.org/comments.pl?noupdate=1&sid=25790&page=1&cid=684804#commentwrap [soylentnews.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @03:10AM (3 children)
lawl, triggered the jackass :D
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday June 01 2018, @09:44PM
idiot#1: the only reason someone could be in kiev is if they're a mercenary. they don't have computers of businesses over there
possibly-a-troll: i have a job and lifestyle that takes me to many countries, and kiev was a fun place
idiot#2: why are you getting defensive? your clearly the office nerd looking for social acceptance
classic. hey idiot keyboard warriors 1 and 2 - just answer us this: do you even have a passport and do you speak anything besides english?
source: been to kiev. dinner at a 5-star restaurant is $20. hot girls half your age banging you on the first date just because you're american.
(Score: 0) by fakefuck39 on Friday June 01 2018, @10:28PM
No idea what a "lawl" is, nor do I care. Is that that the sound you used to make after people like me stuffed you into a locker in highschool or perhaps you have your own little dork language normal people don't understand?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday June 02 2018, @04:58AM
WTF is "Triggered?" Are you a social justice warrior hipster of some sort? Go back to reddit kid - you've stumbled onto a site for old people. When someone is shitting all over you and dissing you - they're not "triggered," they're making fun of you kid, and wanting to make fun of some loser like you, that's not a negative thing.
(Score: 2) by zocalo on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:19PM
UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!