On defenestration

She is part of a generation of women journalists, such as her good friend the late Christie Blatchford, who wrote for many newspapers including The Globe and Mail, who had to deal with sexism in the newsroom and old-school editors, who would not give plum assignments to young female scribes.

But she needs to be read, for better or worse. On Friday, August 25th her column focused on the (then) alleged demise of Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash. Different causes are being disseminated on the internet as to the cause of the plane falling from the sky. With the Russians investigating it is certain that the truth will never out. According to Associated Press, Prigozhin’s DNA was found among the remains. All named on the manifest have been identified. The Russians have confirmed this. Prigozhin is officially dead. But there is more to reveal. The Russians are obviously not forthcoming. But one fact is undeniable. DiManno’s title emphasizes this: Mess with Putin at your peril. Recommended reading.

What the undersigned was not aware of, not spending time following certain sites or participating on social media was that, according to DiManno, since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at least seven critics of Putin have been defenestrated. “Falling” out of windows, but allegations abound that they were thrown out, rather than slipping, losing balance or jumping voluntarily. All seven belonged to the Russian elite either as oligarchs, business tycoons or politicians, all expressing publicly their opposition to the war. Where innocents are being killed, with Russian forces targeting apartment buildings. Simply stated, this is nothing but the use of terror, but one cannot say that publicly, on social media in today’s Russia.