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Big Trouble in Little Belarus


Nice Guy Eddie

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Belarusian opposition journalist was flying on Ryanair between Greece and Lithuania. The flight (tracking link) took them over Belarus, and the disputed President used a military jet to force Ryanair to land in Minsk to arrest the journalist. Can't trust ex-Soviet States that have had the same guy in power for 25+ years. 

https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/23/europe/belarus-activist-emergency-landing-intl/index.html

 

 

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Guest Lobo
22 minutes ago, washparkhorn said:

Pecchia: 11/27/16 - 12/4/16

Starring the incomparable, Miss Bette Midler as Daria Ivanova, the Belarusian air traffic controller who is "getting too old for this shit!"  

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16 minutes ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

pos hook em rep for thread title

Pos, as in positive? I just figured the hook'em didn't need to have pos in front since it's already implied like los niños. You don't need the los at all.

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Guest Lobo

I almost wish Commander Dipshit was still President so he could be asked about this and we could hear him stumble and lie like the slingblade half-wit he is.  Almost.

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Department of State statement. 

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State

The United States strongly condemns the forced diversion of a flight between two EU member states and the subsequent removal and arrest of journalist Raman Pratasevich in Minsk. We demand his immediate release. This shocking act perpetrated by the Lukashenka regime endangered the lives of more than 120 passengers, including U.S. citizens. Initial reports suggesting the involvement of the Belarusian security services and the use of Belarusian military aircraft to escort the plane are deeply concerning and require full investigation.

We are closely coordinating our response with our partners, including the EU and Lithuanian and Greek officials. Given indications the forced landing was based on false pretenses, we support the earliest possible meeting of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization to review these events.

Independent media are an essential pillar supporting the rule of law and a vital component of a democratic society. The United States once again condemns the Lukashenka regime’s ongoing harassment and arbitrary detention of journalists. We stand with the Belarusian people in their aspirations for a free, democratic, and prosperous future and support their call for the regime to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

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6 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Just want to reiterate how absolutely insane this is.  The Belarusians made a fake bomb threat and diverted 100s of people when a plane carrying a journalist they didn’t like transited their airspace. Western airlines should turn off all flights in and out and refuse overflight from their national carrier. 

twitter (who knows if true) said it was KGB on the plane who executed on the plane the fake bomb threat

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I'm not on anyone's radar, as far as I know, but if I were, one of my first principles in life would be to ensure I do not cross the border, either via land or air, of someone who wishes me to be dead.

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1 hour ago, LABEVO said:

twitter (who knows if true) said it was KGB on the plane who executed on the plane the fake bomb threat

There would be absolutely no reason to do that. Belarus simply has to make the allegation as an excuse for forcing the plane down then go through the phony act of looking for a bomb while they abduct the dissident. 

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3 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

There would be absolutely no reason to do that. Belarus simply has to make the allegation as an excuse for forcing the plane down then go through the phony act of looking for a bomb while they abduct the dissident. 

Agree, but KGB gonna GRU and someone needs to justify their rubles. 

 

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For something like this it's unlikely they would leave stuff to chance.  They would want their people on board the plane watching every move the guy made. Interestingly, in Belarus the secret police really is still the KGB, they never bothered to change the name.  That country is pretty much frozen in time (1983).

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1 hour ago, InkaUtexas said:

Agree, but KGB gonna GRU and someone needs to justify their rubles.

I don’t doubt that there were intelligence agents on the plane but I doubt that they ever participated in making claims to the pilots, crew, or passengers that there was a bomb on the plane. They’re more skilled than that. It couldn’t give them any advantage when a simple radio call would achieve the same objective.

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9 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

For fucks sake. Let’s just completely ignore the kidnapped passenger and his arrested girlfriend  

 

 

The EU Commissioner for Transport says "hold my protected geographical indicator-designated glass of white wine."

 

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2 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

Vilnius is great.  I did a short trip from Helsinki-Tallinn-Riga-Vilnius and I think Vilnius was my favorite, I could happily see myself living there a few years.  

just make sure you don't do any award winning journalisms between now and then

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7 hours ago, WhatTheBuck said:

I don’t doubt that there were intelligence agents on the plane but I doubt that they ever participated in making claims to the pilots, crew, or passengers that there was a bomb on the plane. They’re more skilled than that. It couldn’t give them any advantage when a simple radio call would achieve the same objective.

An observation team. Simple technique. No pilot would listen to a passenger, but there were going to be eyes on the target at all times. 

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8 hours ago, 956 Worldwide said:

This is a good reminder that large corporations are not evil so much as completely amoral. 

Yeah, they don't care about the journalist, they just don't want to lose access to the country and it's air space.

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The PR is one thing, but I doubt that a commercial airline can ignore orders from a govt when they're flying over their airspace. Even forgetting the MIG-16 on your tail, wouldn't an airline pilot be required by their airline to follow instructions by air traffic control unless there is known danger to the passengers? And would the pilot be aware that the KGB is about to take 1 passenger off the plane?

Hopefully we hear soon from Western airlines in refusing to fly over Belarus.

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5 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

The PR is one thing, but I doubt that a commercial airline can ignore orders from a govt when they're flying over their airspace. Even forgetting the MIG-16 on your tail, wouldn't an airline pilot be required by their airline to follow instructions by air traffic control unless there is known danger to the passengers? And would the pilot be aware that the KGB is about to take 1 passenger off the plane?

Hopefully we hear soon from Western airlines in refusing to fly over Belarus.

No, they cannot ignore ATC and absolutely the prudent thing with 150 souls on board is to follow the MiG-29 to ground. That’s why this is so outrageous, it really is just state air piracy and kidnapping of a civilian craft.

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3 minutes ago, 956 Worldwide said:

No, they cannot ignore ATC and absolutely the prudent thing with 150 souls on board is to follow the MiG-29 to ground. That’s why this is so outrageous, it really is just state air piracy and kidnapping of a civilian craft.

It really is that simple.  The proper response is a complete air transportation shutdown to and from Belarus.  Do not allow commercial flights from there to land in your country, do not allow flights from your country to go to Belarus.  And do not allow flights to transit OVER Belarus.  Russia and perhaps some of its vassal states will still have flights, of course, but that may be about it.

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39 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

The PR is one thing, but I doubt that a commercial airline can ignore orders from a govt when they're flying over their airspace. Even forgetting the MIG-16 on your tail, wouldn't an airline pilot be required by their airline to follow instructions by air traffic control unless there is known danger to the passengers? And would the pilot be aware that the KGB is about to take 1 passenger off the plane?

Hopefully we hear soon from Western airlines in refusing to fly over Belarus.

Lufthansa and Austrian said “meh, business as usual”

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