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Paul Whelan, American Accused of Spying, is Said to Be Charged in Russia (nytimes.com)
Russian investigative agencies on Thursday indicted Whelan, a 48-year-old former U.S. Marine, on charges of spying, Interfax cited an informed source as saying. From a report: Mr. Whelan's lawyer, Vladimir A. Zherebenkov, who said he spent much of Wednesday with Mr. Whelan, said he had found his client in an upbeat mood despite the long legal road that he faces. "I was surprised to see him being so confident," said Mr. Zherebenkov, a high-profile criminal defense lawyer. Mr. Whelan, 48, the head of global security for the Michigan auto parts maker BorgWarner and a Marine Corps veteran, was arrested last Friday and is being held in solitary confinement in Moscow's notorious Lefortovo Prison. Russia's domestic security agency, the F.S.B., issued a brief statement on Monday saying that Mr. Whelan had been caught in "an act of espionage" but provided no other details.
Mr. Zherebenkov said that he had not seen all the evidence, but that he suspected that the American had been under surveillance for some time. "I presume that he is innocent, because for now I haven't seen any evidence against him that would prove otherwise," said Mr. Zherebenkov, who said that Mr. Whelan would petition the court for bail. Rosbalt, a Russian news agency close to the security services, quoted an unidentified intelligence source on Wednesday as saying that Mr. Whelan had been apprehended during a meeting with a Russian citizen in his room at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. He is accused of trying to recruit this person to obtain classified information about staff members at various Russian agencies, the account said. Mr. Whelan was arrested five minutes after receiving a USB stick containing a list of all the employees at a classified security agency, the report said.
Mr. Zherebenkov said that he had not seen all the evidence, but that he suspected that the American had been under surveillance for some time. "I presume that he is innocent, because for now I haven't seen any evidence against him that would prove otherwise," said Mr. Zherebenkov, who said that Mr. Whelan would petition the court for bail. Rosbalt, a Russian news agency close to the security services, quoted an unidentified intelligence source on Wednesday as saying that Mr. Whelan had been apprehended during a meeting with a Russian citizen in his room at the Metropol Hotel in Moscow. He is accused of trying to recruit this person to obtain classified information about staff members at various Russian agencies, the account said. Mr. Whelan was arrested five minutes after receiving a USB stick containing a list of all the employees at a classified security agency, the report said.
Next thing you know, they'll be accusing us of interfering with their elections!
How do we know he's not a real spy? The Russians would have poisoned him.
in soviet russia we spy on you!
at the highest levels of both governments so that Trump can get his new orders.
... ripped off, so now it's landlines, fax machines and human spies.
It little behooves the best of us to comment on the rest of us.
So a private citizen with a poor-conduct discharge conducting what amounts to industrial espionage on his own dime amounts to US warmongering? So what the fuck is it when Russian state-sponsored actors directly attack US infrastructure and political processes? Spin, indeed....
But ... actually ... now that I think about it ... where actually IS the outrage from the Oval Office Orange? Shouldn't he be fuming and twittering?
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The Russians caught him at the right moment, at the right time. How convenient.
If you are going grab someone and accuse them of being a spy you are going to want to arrest them servicing a drop point or during a meet, especially if you can catch them with confidential information. The question is, if there really was a USB drive and it contained confidential information, did he know about it or did he think he was just getting a compilation of his buddy's favorite cat videos?
The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
Yeah but this is "news for nerds" and not NPR.
Does it actually say "News for Nerds" anywhere on the website anymore? Maybe I've missed it, but I don't recall seeing that for a long time- and wasn't the phrasing actually something like "News for Nerds and News that Matters?" - or am I thinking of another site?
This probably isn't "News for Nerds" - but it could be argued that it is "News that Matters" (you could probably also argue that it doesn't matter... but that's a subjective decision). Playing devils advocate- you could say that a former world-power with nuclear capabilities arresting a spy of a current world super power, also with nuclear capabilities, is "news that matters". (you could also say it doesn't matter- I won't judge).
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
If you browse to the main page and look up at your tab, it reads "Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters" so it's still there. There's also a big difference between the phrasing you've used and what Slashdot is purporting to be. I've always read the phrase as that the news for nerds is the stuff that matters, at least to nerds. If you read it as "and News that Matters" as you seem to be doing, then one can make an argument for just about anything showing up here regardless of how much or little it has to do with technology or other nerdly matters. You've even done the necessary contortions to construe this story as something that matters, but now shouldn't Slashdot post any and all stories about politics between Russia and the United States, or does it only matter if someone is getting arrested as a spy?
I assume the US has a number of people tasked with spying in Russia - there’s no reason the Russians couldn’t have made a strong effort to locate an actual US spy, regardless of their motivation (to trade for Maria Butina or whatever).
Right now we don’t have enough information to determine if this guy is likely innocent or guilty.
#DeleteChrome
“Gov. Romney, I’m glad you recognize al-Qaeda is a threat, because a few months ago when you were asked what is the biggest geopolitical group facing America, you said Russia — not al-Qaeda. And the 1980’s are now calling to ask for their foreign policy back — because the Cold War has been over for 20 years."
Oops.
If the Russians arrest you for espionage, there are 3 possibilities:
1. You are a spy and they have evidence. You're screwed.
2. You are innocent, but the Russians are putting a number on you for some political reason. You're screwed.
3. You are innocent. The Russians made a mistake. What are the chances the Russians will admit to that and lose face? You're screwed.
If you browse to the main page and look up at your tab, it reads "Slashdot: News for nerds, stuff that matters" so it's still there.
Ahh yes- the title of the page, I see that now.
There's also a big difference between the phrasing you've used and what Slashdot is purporting to be. I've always read the phrase as that the news for nerds is the stuff that matters, at least to nerds.
Honestly, I've always thought it meant both "News For Nerds" and "Stuff that Matters" not, the explanation you gave above... but I really don't know, you could be right. I guess CmdrTaco is the only one who could explain what he meant by that phrase.
As for "what matters" that would be subjective and every person would give a different account. What I do know is that I've been coming to Slashdot for over a decade (maybe closer to two decades now- I'm not sure when I started- this isn't my first account); in all that time there has always been stuff that wasn't just "News for Nerds"- so non Nerd stuff has always happened.
"That's the way to do it" - Punch
This is going to be great for American investment in Russia. What CFO or other company rep wouldn't want to be a pawn caught between Vlad the Impailer and The Orange Baboon? Oh and I'm sure China would l ike you to visit, specially if your company has invested heavily in Canadian companies. Yeah... book your dream vacation now.
Whooosh!
What he's saying is that Trump will get help concealing his financial misdealings with Russian gangsters (Putin, et al.) in exchange for Putin getting Syria, Ukraine, and sanctions relief.
Wow! That was some righteous gibberish! Don't stop now!
CNN interviewed the brother. The "journalist" was most interested in a tweet Mr. Whelan made calling CNN fake news. God, what a circus journalism has become.
Trump..... as in President Donald Trump, in this particular instance does not evoke any .....outrage.
Take off every 'sig' !!
They trumped up the charges on him so he they could use him as a bargaining chip. The can now offer to release him in a big publicity show in exchange for Butina, another one of their people being held in the US, easing of sanctions, or something else to Russian interests elsewhere. It would look like the Trump administration liberated a marine veteran and Putin can get whatever he wants.
He should be outraged in one direction or another. It's an excuse to Tweet, after all. The deafening silence from the WH suggests to me they haven't heard about this yet.
yes, it does, look up at the tab you have Slashdot open in, the title in the tab is Slashdot: News for Nerds, stuff that matters.
"Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
I really enjoyed reading the story a few years back that all 2000 people in a little hamlet of about 100 voted for Putin's Puppet... whatever the hell his name was at the time.
"Governments have been dominated by the corporate entities and citizens have ceased to matter in public policy" true in
No. In the free West, that is the concern. In a dictatorship, the Truth is what they say it is, and there are no free press to investigate to find contradictions.
They needed a pawn and went and took one.
(-1: Post disagrees with my already-settled worldview) is not a valid mod option.
You mean he should have flown to Russia to give them a public key in person.
Even the mainstream media has made this point. It's pretty obvious what's going on.
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As for "what matters" that would be subjective and every person would give a different account.
Exactly. There are some folk in here that seem to think this is supposed to be programming and not much else. Others have a different idea of what is allowable, and what sends their Blood pressure skyrocketing.
As for me, I have varied interests, and an American being arrested on spying charges is pretty interesting.
What I find weird is that so many of our smart Slashdot Brethren haven't figured out that if they aren't interested in a story, that they can just move on to something that suits their sensibility better.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Again with "anonymous coward" comments. If you believe what you're saying, stand by it with your profile.
Romney never made any reference to communism, only to Russia being a geopolitical threat, which it obviously was and is. Since then, you have the Russian annexation of Crimea during the Obama Administration, Russia's attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election and its involvement in the Syrian conflict in support of Bashar al-Assad's government.
Are you going to argue Romney wasn't right?
BTW, I voted for Obama and didn't vote for Trump, but I know it's hard for people wearing team jerseys to understand free, open-minded thought.
A fairly high percentage of /. posters appear to be on the autism/aspergers spectrum
It may be impossible for them NOT to be pedantic
I think you might have a point there.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Consider this popular story from 2001: https://slashdot.org/story/01/...
The only nerdy part of it is the update that they're having server problems. So slashdot has been posting completely un-nerdy stories for at least 18 years now.
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They haven't mentioned about it on Fox & Friends yet?
LOL .. Lone nut/usefull idiot/patsy in the making. Please start addressing him by his full gravestone name already.. John Wilkes Booth, Lee Harvey Oswald, John Flammang Schrank .. You know the drill.
Most spies are in fact pawns of spymasters. Always have been.
Putin is very popular among Russians but the Kremlin has also done a lot deny the participation of viable young candidates such as Navalny in the big politics. Pretty much all of Russia's independent mass media is practicing self-censorship in order to avoid being crushed by the government censors. If Putin run against someone like Navalny (as opposed to the caricature "opposition parties" they have now) then Putin would still win, but with something like 55% of vote, add or subtract, but that will not satisfy Putin who always wants to win with a double percentage margin in order to perpetuate the perception that he has the mandate to do whatever he wants, including changing the constitution for example.
they simply do what is necessary
The words of every tyrant in history.
Now if Romney had not explicitly thought that Russian "Communism" was the threat, he might have had a better argument, but he never once managed to get up to an idea that mattered like the corrupt oligarchy in Russia that was oppressing the freedom of its citizens.
The only difference between Russian communism and the Russian oligarchy is that under the oligarchy people can actually get bread.
Yes they can - the prime minister can stand for re-election as many times as he wants.
Paul Whelan is a Trump supporter. Let that sink in.
When we catch their spies, both nation will grab a high profile yank and then accuse them of being a spy and offer up a trade. Gets old, but it is the game. One big difference with this, is both used to be kept quiet like happens with China today. Now, Russia is using the media and plays it up. China still keeps it quiet so as to not spoke executives from western companies. And I suspect that America keeps it quiet because probably about 1/10 to 1/3 of the time, they are holding a spy.
I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
no no, he's right and the other guy was wrong. And everyone's kinda being a dick to the only guy who's actually giving some facts. Romney was correct, and forward thinking. I recall not long ago ( RESET button anyone?) how the left was falling over themselves to prove our issues with Russia were just historical and a little peace and love would resolve it all.
He was eaten by a GRUe.