"Sochi hijacking bid linked to Ukraine strife; Man questioned in plot to divert plane" by Suzan Fraser | Associated Press, February 09, 2014
ANKARA, Turkey — A Ukrainian man who allegedly tried to hijack a Turkey-bound commercial flight and divert it to Sochi on the day of the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony wanted to press for the release of antigovernment protesters in his country, authorities said Saturday.
Turkey’s transport minister suggested the man probably acted alone and did not have any links to terror groups.
The 45-year old Ukrainian man, identified by Turkish media as Artem Hozlov, claimed he had a bomb and tried to divert a Pegasus Airlines flight, which originated in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to Sochi, Russia, on Friday.
The crew tricked him and landed the plane in Istanbul instead where he was subdued by security officers who sneaked on board. Turkish authorities said no bomb was found.
The foiled hijacking took place as thousands of athletes from around the world poured into a tightly-secured stadium in Sochi amid warnings the games could be a terror target.
The man was being questioned by police for possible links to terror groups, according to Turkey’s state-run TRT television. It was not clear when charges would be brought.
‘‘We think it was an individual thing,’’ Transport Minister Lutfi Elvan told reporters in response to questions on to whether the incident was a ‘‘terrorist’’ act. ‘‘It may be linked to [events in] Ukraine. . . . Our colleagues say it is not a serious issue.’’
It's not serious? Just more psyop propaganda, huh?
Maxim Lenko, the head of the Ukrainian Security Service’s investigative division, said the Kharkiv resident wanted to divert the plane to Sochi where President Vladimir Putin of Russia and President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine were meeting on the sidelines of the Winter Olympics.
‘‘The passenger put forth the demand to free the ‘hostages’ in Ukraine,’’ Lenko said, in reference to people arrested in the ongoing protests in Ukraine. ‘‘Otherwise, he threatened to blow up the plane.’’
This is becoming SO FRIKKIN' LAUGHABLE! The propagandists can't come up with anything better?
Turkey’s private NTV television quoting an unnamed passenger on board the plane said the man was demanding freedom for prisoners in Ukraine as well as former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, who is Yanukovych’s top foe and serving a seven-year sentence on charges of abuse of office.
I'll bet he helped her cause.
Huge protests began in Ukraine when Yanukovych shelved an agreement to deepen ties with the 28-nation European Union in favor of getting a $15 billion loan from Russia. Many Ukrainians resent the long shadow Russia has cast over Ukraine. The protests quickly expanded their grievances to calls for Yanukovych’s resignation and the denunciation of police violence after the brutal dispersal of some early peaceful rallies.
The demonstrations erupted into clashes last month after Yanukovych approved harsh laws against protesters. At least three protesters died in the clashes.
That's your background narrative that seems to need endless repeating.
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Related: Smoke reported in airplane flying from Dulles to Boston
"An Air Force Lockheed C-5 Galaxy transport jet flying to Delaware from Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany lost pressurization over the Atlantic on Saturday morning, forcing the massive plane to divert to the Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee."
Are you sure it wasn't hijacked?
"A 49-year-old Rhode Island man died late Saturday afternoon after crashing into water while power paragliding off the northern tip of Plum Island, according to Newburyport police. “It appears that during takeoff he experienced some sort of mechanical issue,” said Police Lieutenant Richard Siemasko. The man was in the water for 20 to 25 minutes after going down about 50 yards from shore. “It’s just bitterly, bitterly cold — you don’t have a lot of time in the cold water like that,” Siemasko said. Newburyport police responded to the call around 4:47 p.m. Siemasko said that part of Plum Island is “remote,” and that it took police about seven minutes to get there. “Unfortunately he was so far from shore,” Siemasko said. “We got there and couldn’t reach him from shore.”"
Well, I was told the "terrorists" would be using hang gliders at the Olympics!
"With horror, hope, Ukrainians watch crisis from afar; Conflict fuels painful memories among emigres in Mass." by Dan Adams | Globe Correspondent, February 09, 2014
Locally, Ukrainian-American organizations have staged three demonstrations at the State House to raise awareness, organized meetups to galvanize their community, and sent about $10,000 to help feed the protesters and support their cause. Leaders are also meeting with the Massachusetts congressional delegation to push for US sanctions against top members of Yanukovych’s government.
Ukrainians have a long relationship with Boston, said Peter Woloschuk, a Ukrainian-American who was a Boston Globe reporter from 1971 to 1982 [and is now] an author and communications professor who is writing a book about Massachusetts’ Ukrainian-American community.
Between the 1880s and 1990s, thousands of Ukrainians arrived here in four distinct waves that coincided with major world events, including both World Wars and, most recently, the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Woloschuk believes there are far more Ukrainian-Americans in Massachusetts than the 2010-2012 US Census American Community Survey tally of about 23,000 indicates. His estimate of 110,000 to 120,000 residents with Ukrainian roots is derived from the Census, immigration, and paternal organization membership records. He said the discrepancy is due to the frequent failure of Ukrainian-Americans to identify themselves as such in the Census, because their ancestors emigrated here many generations ago, or because there are many ethnic groups in Ukraine, or because of the country’s fluctuating status as a distinct entity.
Ukrainian-Americans tend to be ambitious and well-educated, Woloschuk said. And decades of exposure to American values have reinforced staunch prodemocracy beliefs that were hatched under harsh regimes back home.
“Quietly, Ukrainians take their obligations very seriously. They believe in democracy and, statistically, they vote at very high percentages,” Woloschuk said, ticking off a list of local elected officials with Ukrainian roots. Moves by the current Ukrainian government to restrict civil liberties represent “a major conflict with their values,” he said.
Last Sunday, practically every member of the congregation at the Christ the King Ukrainian Catholic Church of Boston had a personal story to tell about a family member who had fought for Ukraine’s independence, even as the front lines of wars between stronger neighbors swept back and forth across the perpetual borderland....
Everybody has a story to tell.
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Wow, was the Ukraine coverage ever cleaned up or what? Nothing about Nuland or the push for a coup by the U.S.
Wow, was the Ukraine coverage ever cleaned up or what? Nothing about Nuland or the push for a coup by the U.S.
Let's get over to Sochi, shall we?
"Some Sochi venues unnerve even daredevils; Athletes warn slopestyle ski event might be too extreme" by Shira Springer | Globe Staff, February 09, 2014
SOCHI, Russia — The White withdrawal and Miller warning, however, were about more than one big-name athlete worried about safety. It seemed to signal a tipping point in the world of extreme sports, as well as other high-flying, high-risk events such as luge, skeleton, bobsled, freeskiing, aerials, and Alpine skiing.
While Olympic athletes pride themselves on pushing limits, some competitions may be getting too dangerous even for the daredevils, especially as the Games place more of an emphasis on extreme sports and reward risk-taking in events stressing speed and aerial tricks with medals....
In Sochi, with a desire to stay safe and still put on the best show, slopestyle snowboarders confronted officials with their concerns, many commenting that the obstacles as originally constructed were too scary or, as White said, “intimidating.”
The athletes focused their criticism on the overbuilt jumps, and officials trimmed the tops of the jumps and smoothed out the bottoms.
In the women’s downhill, workers shaved down the problematic final jump and moved a gate before the jump to slow racers, but that was not without controversy. One gold-medal contender complained that the course now was too slow.
So it remains difficult to find the right balance between making events safe for the athletes and playing it too safe for competitors who thrive on danger.
Yeah, these Olympic Games stink. Too bad the Globe had to send them there to cover it.
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Honestly, I'm tired of the AmeriKan media complaints. The TV announcers were doing the same thing and I found it disrespectful and distasteful.
Speaking of those things:
"US ambassador to the UN going punk?" by Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein | Globe Staff, February 07, 2014
Samantha Power has always been somewhat itinerant, hopscotching from interesting job to interesting job. The former Harvard professor, who started her career as a foreign correspondent for, among others, The Boston Globe, currently serves as US ambassador to the United Nations. But she may already be lining up her next gig. The other day, Power met with two members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot, and afterward tweeted that she’d like to join the group. (Pussy Riot, you’ll recall, were jailed for over a year in Russia after criticizing President Vladimir Putin.) “Ambassador Churkin, I’d be honored to go on tour with #PussyRiot — a group of girls who speak up & stand for human rights. Will you join us?” tweeted Power, poking the Russian ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin. “I can’t sing, but if #PussyRiot will have me, Amb Churkin, I say our 1st concert is for Russia’s pol. prisoners.”
Well, if they are going to get ugly about things:
States reconsider some old execution methods; Drug shortages make violent modes an option
What was that blather about human rights again, Power?
Oh, yeah, almost forgot about the terrorists:
"Marathon security balances new rules, old ways; More barriers and bag checks, but goal is to save event’s close-up feel" by Maria Cramer and Shelley Murphy | Globe Staff, February 09, 2014
Police have gone out of state to hone their skills at detecting hidden bombs. The National Guard expects to send armed military police officers for the first time in more than a decade. And there will be significantly more bomb-sniffing dogs, undercover officers, and surveillance cameras, especially near the finish line where the throng is thickest.
With two months to go before the Boston Marathon, state and municipal officials are working at a feverish pace to lock in a comprehensive safety plan to secure the 26.2-mile route that begins in Hopkinton and crosses six other towns before ending at Copley Square.
All over a staged and scripted crisis drill and false flag hoax!
They have grappled with how to prevent another attack, mobilize an emergency response should tragedy strike, and provide security that will be tight but not intimidating to spectators used to intimate interactions with runners. The race is famous for the closeness between the marathoners and the half million people who typically line the route, where children reach out to high-five runners and college students are known to ply runners with hugs and kisses.
At least twice as many spectators are expected to cheer on the runners this year — many of them, police believe, motivated by a sense of defiance against last year’s terrorist attacks....
Authorities said they have yet to determine whether they will ban coolers, backpacks, or other bulky bags along the course, and have not yet settled on a final plan for crowd management near the Boylston Street finish. But they but expect to announce restrictions in the coming weeks.
Some changes are already planned, however. Officials will erect more barriers along the route to separate the runners from the crowds. The FBI said it plans for the first time to deploy a SWAT team and a unit that specializes in recovering evidence from deadly crime scenes and sites of mass disaster, in addition to other specialized teams, like bomb technicians, that usually help with Marathon security.
Runners will only be able to bringfanny packs or energy belts, Boston Police Commissioner William Evans said. In the past, runners took personal belongings with them to Hopkinton, which were then bused to the finish line. This year, the runners will have to leave any bags at the Boston Common, where they will be under constant surveillance by police.
“There are a lot of different changes to sort of tighten up some loose ends where we might think there may be a security risk,” Evans said.
State Police plan on using the same portable surveillance cameras along the route that they used during the July 4 fireworks on the Esplanade, where tight security was cited as one of the reasons for lighter crowds....
But bu$ine$$ was great!
Related: Concert Over
Almost.
Still, no one wants the carnival-like atmosphere that takes over Hopkinton on Marathon Day to be replaced with one that feels more like martial law....
Oh, don't worry, it won't be described that way in my propaganda pre$$! I'm sure it will be a $uper day -- unlike those icky Russian Olympics.
The meetings, held at least once a week at the MEMA bunker in Framingham, centered on topics such as new training for police; better ways to communicate with hospitals and trauma centers in case of mass casualties; and options for emergency personnel if cell towers go down and people cannot communicate by phone.
Another group will take their recommendations and create a cohesive plan, Kurt Schwartz, the head of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency said, which will be in addition to any security measures cities and towns take on their own....
Last year the National Guard sent about 400 soldiers and airmen, including 100 military police officers to help with crowd control. This year, it will again send 400 personnel, but 300 of them will be armed military police. Governor Deval Patrick gave the order that the military police officers carry handguns this year, said National Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel James Sahady.
That feels a bit like martial law.
“It is a deterrent,” Sahady said. “But say we have a couple of military police soldiers in an area and something happens . . . They have to be in a position to protect themselves and civilians.”
Amazing how state guns are deterrents while the private citizens must be taken away because of some hoax shootings.
Unregistered runners — known as “bandits” — who jump in the crowd of marathoners, will face more scrutiny from police and Marathon organizers.
“Usually, they’re pretty light on them,” Evans said, but this year, officials will make periodic checks along the route to stop and turn away anyone who does not have a number.
Thomas S. Grilk executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, said organizers are urging bandits to stay away because they unnerve registered runners and create safety woes. “They just don’t quite know the impact they have,” he said.
State Police, for the first time at the Marathon, will be giving the public a text-a-tip line to report anything suspicious....
And police know they just can’t stop some traditions. Evans said he expects runners will still wear superhero costumes....
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NEXT DAY UPDATE: Hotel rooms already scarce for Boston Marathon
Think I'll skip the race this year, especially after watching the amazing female speed skaters this morning. I want to know how they can skate on the sides of the skate without falling down.
Even worse, I watched female figure skating last night. Saw some 15-year-old Russian girl dazzle the place while the American skater complained about her score. I was most impressed with the Italian skater's routine.
Time for me to skate on out of here for now....
