April 26, 2022

"One photo shows a crisp red t-shirt with a swastika on it, inexplicably laid out next to three copies of the video game 'The Sims 3.'''

From "Russia appears to confuse ‘The Sims’ for SIM cards in possible staged assassination attempt" (NY Post).

64 comments:

Mike Sylwester said...

It's likely that those Ukrainian Nazis intended also to kidnap Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Canadian Premier Justin Trudeau.

Paul said...

Why would assassins run around with red Nazi t-shirts? I mean.. low profile. Imagine walking round Russia with that.. kind of a obvious red (no pun intended) flag.

rcocean said...

The WaPo coverage of Putin/Russia is about as objective and truth based as its coverage of Trump or MTG. One trick they use is to say their "target" is asserting something that is stupid or obviously false. cue Laugh track.

Then when you go and read what the WaPo "target" actually said/asserted/did you find out the WaPo put the dumbest interpetation possible on the words, or portrayed a joke/sarcasm for a serious literal statement, or took the Targets statment out of context, or just plain fucking made it up. And of course, there's also the always relible "anonymous source" which says the "Target" said/did something with no other proof.

So, I don't believe a fucking word they say about trump/putin/Fox News/Republicans/Conservatives/etc. until I can check it out myself. which i have zero desire to do so in this case.

TheOne Who Is Not Obeyed said...

That red t-shirt is gym clothes. That's what the FBI says, at least.

Gahrie said...

Whoever substituted Sims for simms has got to be fucking terrified right now.

Temujin said...

I cannot speak for the UK or Israel, or many other countries, but when it comes to the USA and Russia, does anyone else get the impression that the term "Intelligence" when describing a State bureaucracy built to assure national security can, in reality, barely complete a shopping list at the local grocery?

From Clapper and Brennan on down here at home, and clearly watching the Russians shoot themselves in the foot time and time again, one has to wonder: Has 'Intelligence' become to national defense what public schools are to education?

Bob Boyd said...

I remember when I used to believe there was a significant difference between the FBI and the FSB. Good times.

rcocean said...

In the case of the Ukrainian war, the WaPo/NYT/MSM (all the same thing) have adopted the following pattern of reporting:

1) All Ukrainian propaganda or pro Ukraine statement is simply reported as true with no "fact checks" or skepticism.
2) Every Russian assertion is treated as "Disinformation" or false unless proven otherwise, and "fact-checked" up the ass. Or it goes unreported.

We've have plenty of people in the US Government and MSM "Xburts" stating the Russia was defeated, had lot 20 or 30 thousand men killed, had run out of tanks, missiles, equipment, was about to use Nukes or WMD, or that Putin about to be overthrown. All of this have been shown to be FALSE, yet these same people are still writing or getting in front of a TV camera and shooting their mouths off, with ZERO pushback.

Yancey Ward said...

Or the people in the apartment liked to play SIMS. This is an example of how idiotic our jounalism practitioners are.

Sure, the entire thing could have been staged, including the items in that photograph, but the fact that it was SIMS games is meaningless. If they wanted to imply a conspiracy with staged items, a bunch of burner phones more easily accomplishes the purpose.

You can hate the Russians as much as you like, but it might well be wise to not assume they are that stupid- it isn't like they are your typical New York resident.

jim5301 said...

"You can hate the Russians as much as you like."

And yes, Yancey Ward, you can love the Russians as much as you like, which apparently is quite a lot.

RideSpaceMountain said...

@Temujin

"...when it comes to the USA and Russia, does anyone else get the impression that the term "Intelligence" when describing a State bureaucracy built to assure national security can, in reality, barely complete a shopping list at the local grocery?"

You have no idea.

BUMBLE BEE said...

You gotta remember... Efrem Zimbalist Jr was all about selling you a Ford Galaxy.

Bob Boyd said...

ThenDOJ was considering calling their new domestic terror unit FBI+, but for some reason they suddenly dropped that idea.

Yancey Ward said...

Unlike you, Jim, I don't just eagerly swallow whatever the US media squirts into my mouth.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

My favorite is the signature, which translated from Russian says, “illegible signature.” Now that is a dumb flunky following FSB instructions just a little too literally.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Same flunky was instructed to “put some sims in the photo” to show how the Ukrainian Nazis were using Russian SIM cards in their phones. That’s why it’s there Yancy. That’s why it’s funny like the signature is. Cmon man.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Chrissy "Fey" Wrey could not be reached for comment.

gilbar said...

so, my two cents worth
There (maybe) used to be, intelligent lefties
BUT!
they left (here, there, everywhere), because they couldn't bear to hear anything non approved
SO,
the only lefties left ANYWHERE; are either
moronic trolls, that just try to get people's goats
or, Clueless, brain dead idiots that aren't smart enough to even post a link

so...
jim? which one do you think YOU are? And more importantly, which do you think took these pix?

retail lawyer said...

Is this the same outfit that used Facebook to meddle in the 2016 election?

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

I wonder what relation if any this has to the reports a fake Putin attended church on Easter.

gilbar said...

seriously, has Anyone Heard about This through any russian media?
or, is this the Ukrainians SAYING that the russians posted this?

Rabel said...

Lucky Panties?

Bob Boyd said...

This ham-handed effort was probably the work of white, male office suck-ups.

wildswan said...

A random idea I have is that the apartment was a gamer haven. They had the Sim games; maybe they had clothes for dressing up while they played. I say this because I looked up that sinister T-shirt next to the Nazi shirt. That T-shirt says "Antisystem Fighter" which is a rock song from an obscure Swedish record called "Titania and Antisystem." Titania is a magical figure in various WOW imitations in Europe, a sort of Ariel as in Shakespeare. "Antisystem", as on the record, has no explanation whatsoever anywhere on the Internet. In way, the word "Antisystem" speaks for itself and it doesn't say "Nazi", but the opposite. T-shirts, Sim, books. A picture presents itself to me of some East European teen-age gamers listening to songs and enacting opposition by "Antisystem fighters" to "Nazis." Security services notes their purchases - "Mein Kampf", a Nazi T shirt - and disregards the gamer atmosphere indicated by the "Sim" game they are obviously playing. Swoop! and ten armed men descend on the miserable boys, drag them off to prison there to beat the needed truth into and then out of them. (I saw one arm being twisted in the melee and it was pitifully thin and young.)

On the bright side, our own glorious FBI at least rounded up grown, brawny men with guns (in addition to its own agents) when it swooped in on Michigan "plotters", in an FBI re-enactment of Eliot Ness. So there's that.

Or I could be wrong and these miserable boys could have been seriously talking about overthrowing the state. First, you wear a WrongThought T-shirt. Later, BadThought tweets. Finally, the Wapo crumbles. I mean Putin. Whoever.

Bob Boyd said...

Rabel said...
Lucky Panties?

"Some days even my lucky, rocketship underpants don't help." - Calvin

tim in vermont said...

Most of the propaganda coming out of this proxy war on both sides is cringe, it all has to do with the eagerness of the rubes to reject what their eyes see and believe, like the “do you believe in fairies” bit in Peter Pan.

JPS said...

Mike (MJB Wolf), 10:23:

If you hadn't brought up "Illegible Signature," I would have.

Striker: "It's a damn good thing he doesn't know how much I hate his guts."

Elaine: "It's a damn good thing you don't know how much he hates your guts."

D.D. Driver said...

"Most of the propaganda coming out of this proxy war on both sides is cringe"

Here's one I saw this morning. I hate the Russians and everything, but this? This is something the Joker would do in Tim Burton's Batman movie. I doubt the Russians are handing out exploding milk to old ladies. I wouldn't put it past them to shoot old ladies, but I don't believe in milk bombs.

https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-kherson-booby-trapped-milk-1700128

Leland said...

Good to know Russia FSB is less competent in faking an assassination attempt than our FBI. Wait, what?

madAsHell said...

Watch them breach the second room (not the lucky panties guy). The guy with the ballistic shield is the SECOND man into the room.

It's like they knew there would be no resistance on the other side of the door. This is a hoax, very poorly constructed propaganda, or a TicTok video.

Will Cate said...

The red swastika T-shirt in the photo is just as absurd as the video games. Yeah, that's what every would-be Nazi assassin carries in his backpack.

MikeR said...

All I see in the media today is Ukrainian propaganda, and refutations of Russian propaganda.

Anthony said...

"I hate Ukrainian Nazis. . . . ."

Static Ping said...

Continuing to not send their best...

NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...

Remember folks! These were the guys who stole the 2016 election from none other than Hillary Clinton! It had nothing whatsoever to do with her being an elitist scumbag that looked down on most of the country or running one of the worst presidential campaigns in the history of the United States! It was all a Russian op! I mean look at the superior propaganda and misinformation skills they have!

n.n said...

A noose presenting as a swastika in a plausible Sims Spring.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

Remember folks! These were the guys who stole the 2016 election from none other than Hillary Clinton!

There is a distinct arm-wrestling Jesus vibe to it all right.

Mark said...

If people would get their heads out of the US's ass, they would know that there is media in other countries. No need to rely on what NYT or WaPo tells you, much less complain about them and then ignorantly ignore the situation.

Iman said...

Teh Simsins…

Bill R said...

Boris Badonov was a little rusty when they pulled him out of retirement.

Fearless Leader seems much the same.

madAsHell said...

The FBI is attempting to re-image their organization. They are introducing a new logo to burnish their image.......ФБИ.

BUMBLE BEE said...

Mi Diablos.... just read an essay which said to the effect...remember... Zelenskyy is an actor".
And The KING sang "All the world is a stage".
How much of the "support" is making it to the black market?

Leland said...

Yancey, I do agree that there is an assumption taken as fact and then sold with that frame without any validation of the assumption. That is very much today’s journalism on a good day. However, I would love to know how much time was spent modeling the assassination attempt in Sims. Such a news story could have been equally entertaining.

JaimeRoberto said...

Are there any links to the original post? If not, I'm calling bullshit. I'm pretty sure that the Russian phrase for SIM card is SIM Karta, so I don't see how someone would mix that up.

Unknown said...

This sure isn't your Stalin's NKVD at work...

rhhardin said...

Diplomacy apparently via google translate are the thing. Russian threat (?)

"Having consultants who are citizens of any of the Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers in Kiev will not be a problem with Russia's decision on its response."

Quaestor said...

Years ago a girl I found marginally attractive invited me to a party. My response: Cool. Let's. However, I was slightly perturbed by the number of SCA types, who are as a rule exceedingly tedious, and the implication of the invitation, i.e., you fit in, Quaestor. Yuk.

Several attendees came in persona, meaning a yutz in a costume (preferable to a furry but only just) including someone in an "assassin's" cloak. Yeah, all successful assassins wear the appropriate uniform. Assassin's Creed is so historical.

Since we agree that a competent assassin seeks to blend into the surroundings of the intended target, then it stands to reason that the last thing a neo-Nazi assassin is likely to have in his liar is a tee-shirt modeled on the NSDAP standard. Unless Vladimir Putin enjoys hanging with people wearing Nazi regalia, which is plausible given his penchant for invading neighboring counties.

The subject of the iconography of the Third Reich reminds me of a very quiet yet widespread movement dedicated to the rehabilitation of the swastika. Perhaps our current revulsion for this truly ancient symbol pays too much respect to the perverts who adopted it nearly a century ago. Take a look at the humorous orb scene from Woody Allen's "Sleeper" (1973). Is Allen speculating that in 200 years' time the stigma will be erased? Or is the party guest, presumably a loyal follower of the future dictatorship, an admirer of National Socialism? Or does the mirror-reversed Nazi emblem suggest a mirror-reversed ideology? (Or was the costume designer dyslexic?)

Howard said...

Since majority of Russian peoples are suffering Stockholm syndromes, swastickers are believing propagandas.

Quaestor said...

I'm pretty sure that the Russian phrase for SIM card is SIM Karta, so I don't see how someone would mix that up.

There's no S in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. The equivalent of SIM card would be СЍМ Карта.

Ann Althouse said...

“ There's no S in the Russian Cyrillic alphabet. The equivalent of SIM card would be СЍМ Кард. ”

I At the link it says “ Guys, this isn't about LGBT or any other stuff. Somebody from the top most likely wrote: "3 симки" ("three SIM cards"), and some genius obeyed.”

Mary Beth said...

Maybe Nazis like to play video games too. Especially ones where you can put your SIM in a room, remove the door, and then set the room on fire. Fun for the whole family.

J Melcher said...

Hey, if insurrectionists use LEGO models of the capitol during planning to overthrow the US government, why would assassins hesitate to use "SIM"ulations of human behavior and settings in plotting their murders? One is just as likely as the other, isn't it?

Narr said...

One of the outward signs of the decay of Soviet 'Victory Culture'* was that Russian urban youth were no longer buying the BS, which they showed by flocking to the Nazi artifacts and objects on their museum or battlefield trips. (Nina Tumarkin's The Living and the Dead)

If most of the Bloodlands aren't at least as awash in Nazi memorabilia as the rest of the world by now, legal or not, I'd be very surprised.

*Book title about America's own victory culture neurosis.

gadfly said...

Here is the bad news we are not getting from the Biden administration and the media about the effects on Russia resulting from the supposed economic crunch being imposed on Russia by the "friends" of Ukraine:

• Despite financial sanctions on Russian reserves, energy revenues continue flowing to Russia. From the start of the war until the 27th of March, the EU has transferred more than 20 billion euros – an injection of 700 million euros per day into the currency-starved Russian state.

The payments received from the EU have been sufficient to overcome the limitations derived from the freeze on the Russian Central Bank reserves. This is seen by the fact that these payments have allowed the RCB to stabilize the ruble which, after collapsing by 70% after the invasion, has recovered all of its value. They also allow Russia to buy weapons, pay mercenaries and buy other goods in the international markets.

• Existing research shows that a ban on energy imports from Russia would cause significant but manageable damage to the EU Economy.

•• Were the EU-Russian oil trade to stop, around 3mb/d of Russian crude supply and 1mb/d of oil products would be taken offline, constituting a serious global supply shock. But OPEC spare capacity estimates range up to 4 mb/d. Current coal supply from Russia (> 40 MT) can also be replaced by EU spare capacity after domestic coal production had been purposely declining for the last three decades. The EU has enough spare capacity to drastically increase power generation from coal in case of emergency If all hard coal power plants in Germany had operated at full capacity in 2021, they would have produced around 140 TWh more of electricity, consuming about 40 MT of additional coal. This additional demand for coal could be met by imports from countries such as Colombia.

•• Gas imports are more challenging to replace, but it is doable. Last year the EU imported 150 bcm of gas from Russia, including 15 bcm delivered as liquified natural gas (LNG). During the last three weeks, the EU has been importing 2 bcm additionals of LNG per week from the United States. If this trend continues it would allow the EU to replace about two-thirds of Russian gas imports this year. The remaining gap should be filled by reducing gas consumption. This can be done by phasing out those types of industrial production that don't add much value to the economy but consume large amounts of gas and start importing the outputs; gas in electrical generation could be replaced by coal, oil, or renewable energy; the use of gas for heating can also be reduced, for instance, by lowering the temperature of homes and workspaces.


https://s1.eestatic.com/2022/04/01/mundo/russian_oil_-1.pdf

Lurker21 said...

"Kill in order to live. Live in order to kill."

"Signature illegible"

And yet the handwriting is so precise and well-formed, even beautiful.

What's up with that?

Candide said...

Regarding “ signature illegible”, this is a pseudonym of some Russian skinhead writer, purportedly Audrey Pronsky, also known as Bloodman. The photo shows book page autographed by this writer. He published other books, probably not available on Amazon.

Candide said...

Under “signature illegible” in Russian, English letters NS/WP mean ‘National Socialist/White Power crew Moscow’

Gahrie said...

NS/WP mean ‘National Socialist/White Power

National Socialist Worker's Party is what NAZI means in German.

Candide said...

Gahrie said...

"National Socialist Worker's Party is what NAZI means in German."

Very true (NSDAP), however Russian sources talk about some 'National Socialist/White Power' neonazi terrorist group active since 2007.

Mary Beth said...

"Signature illegible"

And yet the handwriting is so precise and well-formed, even beautiful.


"Signature illegible" is his pseudonym.

WWIII Joe Biden, Husk-Puppet + America's Putin said...

US Intelligence is just grifters. Same mafia type grifters as Biden and Hillary. perhaps worse.

Michelle Dulak Thomson said...

To me, it seems a bit like all those signs that showed up in Afghanistan and surrounds right after 9/11 that mysteriously contained Bert from Sesame Street. Someone had started a "Bert Is Evil" campaign and so had him cozying up to all sorts of "evil" people, including OBL. And a lot of semi-educated Afghans missed the joke entirely and just printed out the Bin Laden pic they found on Google, never mind the yellow puppet dude next to him.

Rusty said...

Can Of Cheese Hunter @ 8:50
Beat me to it.

Candide said...

Insane obsession with ridiculing any useful information from Russia is actually costing American lives. Boston marathon bombing could be prevented if FBI needs FSB warnings.