'suicide Bomber' Hits Russia's Volgograd Train Station

[interestrateripoff]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25541019

A suicide attack on a train station in Russia's southern city of Volgograd has killed 16 people, officials say.

There are contradictory reports over the gender of the bomber, amid official claims it was a woman.

A suspected female suicide bomber killed at least six people when she attacked a bus in the city in October.

Moscow is concerned militant groups could be ramping up violence in the run up to the the 2014 winter Olympic Games in the city of Sochi in six weeks.

The Winter Olympics going to prove too tempting?

[workingpoor]

Stalingrad train station

[Nuggets Mahoney]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25541019

The Winter Olympics going to prove too tempting?

DT (Aug 2013): Saudis offer Russia secret oil deal if it drops Syria

The revelations come amid high tension in the Middle East, with US, British, and French warship poised for missile strikes in Syria. Iran has threatened to retaliate.

The strategic jitters pushed Brent crude prices to a five-month high of $112 a barrel. “We are only one incident away from a serious oil spike. The market is a lot tighter than people think,” said Chris Skrebowski, editor of Petroleum Review.

Leaked transcripts of a closed-door meeting between Russia’s Vladimir Putin and Saudi Prince Bandar bin Sultan shed an extraordinary light on the hard-nosed Realpolitik of the two sides.

Prince Bandar, head of Saudi intelligence, allegedly confronted the Kremlin with a mix of inducements and threats in a bid to break the deadlock over Syria...

As-Safir said Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.

[Orsino]

The Russian security worked as well as it could do against such lunatics. The suicide bomber blew themselves up at the metal detectors, which you will find in almost all Russian train stations and shopping malls. The loss of life would doubtless have been much greater if she had got into the main hall. It should give protesters pause for thought. For example the recent Belgian Grand Prix saw a Greenpeace protest against Shell. If they try a similar stunt at the Sochi Olympics and get riddled with bullets by Spetsnaz I'll have very little sympathy.

[stormymonday_2011]

DT (Aug 2013): Saudis offer Russia secret oil deal if it drops Syria

As-Safir said Prince Bandar pledged to safeguard Russia’s naval base in Syria if the Assad regime is toppled, but he also hinted at Chechen terrorist attacks on Russia’s Winter Olympics in Sochi if there is no accord. “I can give you a guarantee to protect the Winter Olympics next year. The Chechen groups that threaten the security of the games are controlled by us,” he allegedly said.

If Prince Banda did make that statement then he needs to read up on his Russian history. The Russian leadership has always been cavalier with the lives of its civil population in order to attain its political ends so they are the last group of people who are going to fold under a terrorist threat. Moreover, they do not play nice in response. Plenty of discontented Shia in Saudi Arabia if the Russians want to stir that pot

[Errol]

Another bomb gone off now.

[General Belgrano]

Very sad news, I expect Putin will respond at home with a lock down. Also gives a mandate to re-enforce southern military district with heavy equipment, internal department troop. At appears there are 200,000 PF them and get paid more if stae of emergency is ordered. Here is more info:-

My link

As for Saudi, there are things afoot, today they gave 3billion to Lebanon, to buy arms from France. In my opinion a proxy war and follow on to the Syria crisis. I wouldn't recommend baiting the Bear. He is not the broken nation of 20 years ago. But a formidable opponent, with a long reach (especially via a land border, which I would say would be the only problem.

[wherebee]

Very sad news, I expect Putin will respond at home with a lock down. Also gives a mandate to re-enforce southern military district with heavy equipment, internal department troop. At appears there are 200,000 PF them and get paid more if stae of emergency is ordered. Here is more info:-

My link

As for Saudi, there are things afoot, today they gave 3billion to Lebanon, to buy arms from France. In my opinion a proxy war and follow on to the Syria crisis. I wouldn't recommend baiting the Bear. He is not the broken nation of 20 years ago. But a formidable opponent, with a long reach (especially via a land border, which I would say would be the only problem.

A tragedy. And the fact it occurred in Volgagrad, with such historical resonance for the Russians, means they are goingot be extra pissed.

I wonder how the left's useful idiots will explain this one as 'not really anything to do with Islam'

[interestrateripoff]

The Russian security worked as well as it could do against such lunatics. The suicide bomber blew themselves up at the metal detectors, which you will find in almost all Russian train stations and shopping malls. The loss of life would doubtless have been much greater if she had got into the main hall. It should give protesters pause for thought.

Surely the way to go is one to take out the scanners with a second to follow about a 1 minute later to walk through the carnage?

[okaycuckoo]

A tragedy. And the fact it occurred in Volgagrad, with such historical resonance for the Russians, means they are goingot be extra pissed.

I wonder how the left's useful idiots will explain this one as 'not really anything to do with Islam'

I think Volgograd has historical resonance for the Georgians and Chechens too. Everyone wants to control the Caucasus and access middle-east oil - that's why the Germans turned up.

[oracle]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-25541019

The Winter Olympics going to prove too tempting?

sad but predictable...and I think there will be more(I think the threats to bomb sochi will be made good on, and likely we'll get another 7/7 or two as well.....assad/hamas/hezbollah etc did threaten most european/american capital cities)

..but this might actually be a blessing in disguise if it pisses the russians off enough to turn a blind eye to syria...while we turn a blind eye to their remedy for their chechen problem.

I think we do need to at least have some dialogue with russia in order to deal with this problem...but full-blown communism ain't an option for us, same as holy roman empire 2.0 isn't an option either.

..ok maybe just hand them enough small arms to have their little sectarian proxy war down in ME(with russians doing likewise)....but WW3 postponed for the time being.( and we can all heave a big sigh of relief)

[Monkey]

well there has been another bomb

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/volgograd-second-bombing-hits-southern-russian-city-9029110.html

14 people have been killed in a bus explosion in Volgograd, a day after a suicide bombing left at least 17 dead at a railway station in the same Russian city.

The morning rush hour blast, which federal investigators have called a "terrorist act", reduced the trolleybus to a twisted, gutted carcass, its roof blown off and bodies and debris strewn across the street.

[Errol]

The Saudis baiting Putin are playing a very dangerous game indeed.

Out of all the national leaders I would have thought that Putin would be the last one you would want to play games with.

[interestrateripoff]

The Saudis baiting Putin are playing a very dangerous game indeed.

Out of all the national leaders I would have thought that Putin would be the last one you would want to play games with.

Considering the number of critics who've died, it would appear appear a high risk strategy.

[Big Orange]

Strangely they have an unspoken history that mirrors ours. Their Viking elite were 'invited' in to rule Russia (or so they claim). I think that separation between ruling and ruled can lead to incredibly insensitive and downright cruel government. The peoples they rule are resources to suit their ends. It sets the pattern of rule in that country.

http://en.wikipedia....i/Rus%27_people

And most of present day Russia and what was the Empire/Soviet Union (like Ukraine and Georgia, etc) was aggressively conquered by the Tsars throughout the Early Modern era.

[oracle]

The Saudis baiting Putin are playing a very dangerous game indeed.

Out of all the national leaders I would have thought that Putin would be the last one you would want to play games with.

+1.

he's not the sort of guy to feck about with.

if you make a threat at him, you better be prepared to walk the walk as well.

good news is he actually does have a bit of restraint.

being trained in judo, his methodology of attack will be similar.......ie he won't throw the first punch.he'll just wait for lumbering hulks to use full force to deflect.

mr zhirinovsky on the other hand, is rather more bellicose, and more likely to act like the unruly pub brawler.

at this moment, i think the russians are very lucky to have putin.

he's quite a respectable statesman.

[okaycuckoo]

+1.

he's not the sort of guy to feck about with.

if you make a threat at him, you better be prepared to walk the walk as well.

good news is he actually does have a bit of restraint.

being trained in judo, his methodology of attack will be similar.......ie he won't throw the first punch.he'll just wait for lumbering hulks to use full force to deflect.

mr zhirinovsky on the other hand, is rather more bellicose, and more likely to act like the unruly pub brawler.

at this moment, i think the russians are very lucky to have putin.

he's quite a respectable statesman.

LOL! The first time I saw him was TV footage of a meeting with Clinton in the '90s - he looked small and frightened.

Putin is the front man of a nasty power structure founded on oil & gas ownership. If oil price goes down, so does he.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

If Prince Banda did make that statement then he needs to read up on his Russian history. The Russian leadership has always been cavalier with the lives of its civil population in order to attain its political ends so they are the last group of people who are going to fold under a terrorist threat. Moreover, they do not play nice in response. Plenty of discontented Shia in Saudi Arabia if the Russians want to stir that pot

Quite. What kind of spineless moral pygmy would yield to such threats from Saudi gangsters?

How on Earth could Prince Bandar come up with the notion that he could get away with such a thing with any self-respecting head of state?

Well, aside from Tony Blair, obviously...

Guardian (2008): BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince

Saudi Arabia's rulers threatened to make it easier for terrorists to attack London unless corruption investigations into their arms deals were halted, according to court documents revealed yesterday.

Previously secret files describe how investigators were told they faced "another 7/7" and the loss of "British lives on British streets" if they pressed on with their inquiries and the Saudis carried out their threat to cut off intelligence.

Prince Bandar, the head of the Saudi national security council, and son of the crown prince, was alleged in court to be the man behind the threats to hold back information about suicide bombers and terrorists. He faces accusations that he himself took more than £1bn in secret payments from the arms company BAE.

He was accused in yesterday's high court hearings of flying to London in December 2006 and uttering threats which made the prime minister, Tony Blair, force an end to the Serious Fraud Office investigation into bribery allegations involving Bandar and his family...

[SHERWICK]

Quite. What kind of spineless moral pygmy would yield to such threats from Saudi gangsters?

How on Earth could Prince Bandar come up with the notion that he could get away with such a thing with any self-respecting head of state?

Well, aside from Tony Blair, obviously...

Guardian (2008): BAE: secret papers reveal threats from Saudi prince

What a lovely pair Tony Blair and Prince Bandar make.

Truly wonderful.

[Snafu]

I looked up where Sochi is. It's crazy far down south.

[interestrateripoff]

I looked up where Sochi is. It's crazy far down south.

A cynic might think it was done deliberately.

[Nuggets Mahoney]

What a lovely pair Tony Blair and Prince Bandar make.

Truly wonderful.

The happy couple...

And another little gem from the archive...

Gerald Posner describes how in March 2002 American Special Forces working with elite forces from Pakistan captured a top Al Qaeda operative, Abu Zubaydah, in western Pakistan.

Gerald Posner says that when Abu Zubaydah was turned over to CIA officers he refused to talk. After three days the Americans decided to set up what looked like a Saudi jail. They had two Arab-American Special Operations officers play the Saudi interrogators, he says, under the belief that Abu Zubaydah would be more afraid of the Saudis, who use torture in their interrogations, than he would be of the Americans:

“When he sees the Saudis, the fake Saudis, instead of being afraid he's actually relieved and gives them a private cell phone number and tells them, ‘this man will know what to do.’ Turns out to be the nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia, a prince who is one of the leading businessmen in the kingdom. And in the next few days when the Americans (impersonating Saudis) challenge him further he gives the names of two other Saudi princes and the head of the Air Force in Pakistan. And further, he claims that two of these individuals, the nephew of the king in Saudi Arabia and the head of the Air Force in Pakistan knew that there would be an attack on American soil on 9/11 from Al Qaeda and did nothing about it.” (continued)

[Errol]

at this moment, i think the russians are very lucky to have putin.

Absolutely. In my view he's pretty much the only world leader worth anything at all. Without him, the West would have been in Syria by now (and done lots of other crazy stuff as well).

[Errol]

From PressTV so for what it's worth ...

Russia may hit back for Volgogard attacks

Russian intelligence has now reportedly obtained solid proof that Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the twin terror attacks on the city of Volgograd.

There are unconfirmed reports that Putin and his senior intelligence officers have already drawn up plans to “destroy Saudi Arabia” over its systematic sponsoring of terrorism on Russian territory.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/01/13/345300/will-putin-destroy-saudi-rulers/

[wherebee]

From PressTV so for what it's worth ...

Russia may hit back for Volgogard attacks

Russian intelligence has now reportedly obtained solid proof that Saudi Arabia was directly involved in the twin terror attacks on the city of Volgograd.

There are unconfirmed reports that Putin and his senior intelligence officers have already drawn up plans to “destroy Saudi Arabia” over its systematic sponsoring of terrorism on Russian territory.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/01/13/345300/will-putin-destroy-saudi-rulers/

This would be a popcorn moment. Is it wrong to hope I have a bowl big enough?