|
|
Post by Admin on Apr 20, 2018 16:45:09 GMT
Erin is the Admin this week
|
|
|
|
Post by Erin Reimers on Apr 23, 2018 2:52:50 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by Sarah Shumaker on Apr 23, 2018 12:15:42 GMT
When reading the first article, I was a little skeptical about the journalist being murdered. He is a crime investigative journalist so I assumed he just had some form of PTSD from everything he has seen and experienced. After the attack (metal pipe to his head) that landed him in the hospital, it would seem likely that maybe his job was just becoming too overwhelming and led to him committing suicide. However, colleagues of Borodin say that there were no signs of depression or suicidal thoughts. Further research led me to believe it's possible he was murdered. Over the last decade, murder of journalists or anyone that is exposing the Russian government has become more common and with everything Borodin was investigating, it is likely the Russian government was not too fond of it and wanted to eliminate the problem all together. The biggest argument made by law enforcement is that the door in his apartment was locked from the inside and nobody could've interfered with his death. Skilled mercenaries could easily flee the scene as if nothing has happened. Additionally, Borodin's frantic call to Bashkov two days before his death about the police raid he feared because of the gathering of forces outside his apartment aid in supporting the murder idea. The police should be handling this in a different way and should be assessing all possible causes, but it seems like they are just trying to push the idea of murder from peoples minds by disregarding it completely. This is not the first time something like this has occurred but confirmation of government interference could cause a riot.
Do you think the government will continue to cover up this death until people forget, or do you think the truth will eventually come out?
|
|
|
|
Post by Alex Aspinall on Apr 24, 2018 1:54:16 GMT
Due to previous Russian leaders' attitudes and methods of getting rid of anyone who speaks out against them I'd say Maxim was probably murdered. It is just too convenient for Putin that a journalist who comes out with a carer changing story about your rent-a-army in the Middle East winds up jumping out a window a few days later. This is one of those things that would go unheard of in America as well, where outspoken detractors of the Clinton campaign would wind up dead by suicide with a gunshot wound to the back of the head. The police are probably handling as best as they're allowed to, chances are the police have to jump through their own hoops to not end up jumping out a four story window. Now one could say it's appropriate not not call it a murder case just yet, as they must first launch a full investigation before calling it this or that. I personally believe that the Russian government is involved in his death, all the conditions of his death and the things he was saying before he died just worked too perfectly to be a coincidence. Someone wanted him to shut up, and that someone happened to be what is possibly the most powerful man in Asia, and thanks to what we now know from Bordoim, the Middle East.
|
|
|
|
Post by Derek VanDyke on Apr 25, 2018 15:26:17 GMT
This is all to suspicious. It is very hard to make a guess on whether this was murder or suicide. To make an assumption you first have to look at Borodin's past. Did he have mental health, was he an alcoholic, was he addicted to any drugs? This is essential information needed to make a fair guess. For me to just say my opinion without ever meeting Maxim Borodin seems unfair. But for the purpose of the assignment I could see this being an act of murder. But only because I do not know any of Borodin's past or history. The reason i chose murder is because the calls to his friend Bashkov. These calls gave me a scary feeling as I hope to never be in a situation like this. The part I do not understand though is you would think that the men with masks would not try to be so obvious. This is what is holding me back also along with not knowing Borodin's history. It just just seems strange that if a government would try to kill someone they would make it anything but obvious. But perhaps maybe they wanted to make it slightly obvious to send a message to other reporters. In the end there is just to much information missing for me to really make a confident assumption if this was suicide or murder.
Why would the government make it obvious? Was it even the government then?
|
|
|
|
Post by Derek VanDyke on Apr 25, 2018 15:31:23 GMT
@sarah If this was the government the truth would not make sense to come out. If he did anything against the law they would of arrested him. The thing is he did not do anything wrong so for the government to admit to this would result in immediate chaos.
@alex I see where you are coming from wanting to call this a murder case but if it was I am not so sure this was from the government. It just didn't seem secretive enough to be a government job.
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Williams on Apr 27, 2018 1:41:05 GMT
First, I just wanted to say i have to agree with Derek’s response i was about to say my opinion then after you think about it you can’t judge someone you don’t know personally but after reading i think that this case should be considered murder. But in the first article it said that Borodin has been hit in the head with a metal pipe before because of his job. Which if you think of it in a different perspective he could of had brain damage from that attack leading to him having suicidal thoughts and stuff but if he was able to do his job still and be able to investigate. But knowing Borodin’s history and what he did for a living should make the police more suspicious than they are because not considering it a murder case if weird because they should expect the worst then if its not then change their mind. Also i feel that the government did not have something to do with it because why would they go straight to death why not jail or something but like i have a feeling there was someone out there that didn’t agree with his investigations so they wanted to take him out. I mean it’s not the first time someone attempted to take him out so i don’t think the government was involved.
Should the cops put more effort into the investigation? Yes or no explain?
|
|
|
|
Post by Mr. Williams on Apr 27, 2018 1:45:45 GMT
@sarah to be honest I have a feeling the government is going to keep covering up this case because no one is putting much effort into it
@derek I dont think it was the government because I see what you mean by they would make it obvious but i think they would hide it and make it a secret so people don't know about it as much
|
|
|
|
Post by Wolinski on Apr 27, 2018 2:17:39 GMT
The poisoning of Maxim Borodin may seem crazy or something that couldn't be a common occurrence. This, however, is completely untrue. As Americans we experience a great amount of freedoms from speech to religion. They are what make our country unique. For Russia, this is not the case. A clear violation of basic humans rights is occurring and it is scary. When a country's government murders its own people to cover itself, one can only be horrified. As the Vice article stated “58 reporters were killed in Russia between 1992 and 2017.” This is a staggering number when you think of what it entails. People who are simply doing their job trying to make a living are being murdered by the very ones who should protect them. This has enormous consequences when it comes down to the people of Russia. No longer can they get news on the true happenings of their nation. They must hope that the information they receive about their country's involvement across the world and at home is correct. There is no way to get proper journalistic content to the people with the journalists being afraid of the repercussions. If this were the case, it would bring about a situation similar to what we read about in class relating to the Soviet Union. People will get news but it won't show all the bad things Russia is doing. Instead it will glorify and serve as propaganda for Putin's regime. It's a scary thought for the Russian people, but it could be reality.
What would the backlash for the US government if they were to do as Russia has in this situation?
|
|
|
|
Post by Autumn Painter on Apr 27, 2018 3:34:01 GMT
When investigating a death, it is important to be thorough and careful to not overlook the situation. Correspondent for The Independent, Oliver Carroll, mentions that the police said there was no sign of forced entry and his friends were skeptical about the circumstances surrounding his death. Just because there was no sign of forced entry, I do not think murder should be ruled out. There are an infinite amount of possibilities as to what could have happened with Borodin. Even though Borodin was just an investigative journalist, he seemed to have a dangerous job with life threatening risks. Carroll mentions Borodin was in the hospital about two weeks ago with a major head injury. Prior to this attack, he was also hit over the head with a metal pipe back in October. Judging by the attacks on Borodin, it is clear that he had a target on his back. Could these attackers have taken a step further and finished what they started? Mr. Bashkov seems to be skeptical about the investigation, or lack thereof. After Bashkov received a call from Borodin and later found out about his death, he grew concerned about the cause. I think it is odd that the police don’t find the death of Borodin suspicious and aren’t really doing anything to further investigate the situation. On the other hand though, that can lead some people to believe that the police may have had something to do with it. Borodin’s controversial and risky information he was investigating could have led him to get himself in a sticky spot with the wrong person.
Going with the take that Borodin was murdered, who was most likely reliable for his death and why?
|
|
|
|
Post by Erin Reimers on Apr 27, 2018 3:46:37 GMT
The mysterious death of Maxim Borodin stirs up many controversies concerning the Russian government killing people in order to maintain their secrecy. Borodin was an investigative journalist who was known for investigating and publishing stories that displeased the current president, Vladimir Putin. These exposees included issues such as Russia deploying mercenaries in the Middle East and unfavorable articles of Putin. The question of whether or not Borodin was murdered is a case that will most likely not cause such a great stir in its home country of Russia. Incidents of this nature are ever present in the nation of Russia where journalists and people outspoken against Putin are “disposed of” seemingly often. The case for Borodin to have indeed been murdered is highly likely case despite the police’s lax attitude towards it. Borodin’s past of violent encounters for his controversial work is more fuel for the fire of this controversy. The mysterious situation of bizarre men appearing near his home less than a day before his death makes his death stand out further as a murder. Borodin’s friends and acquaintances speak of him displaying no signs of depression or suicidal nature, rather that he was very dedicated in his work. The possibility of the Russian government being involved in his death is more likely than one can believe. The police’s non-suspecting behavior towards Borodin’s death case is even more peculiar as one can imagine that they could be working more in the favor of the government. The timing of Borodin’s death in correlation to the publication of his article about Russian mercenaries is also another suspicious factor to consider in this case. Without knowing Borodin’s true personality and thoughts it can be almost impossible to determine if this is truly suicide or not. The factual evidence obtained from his death scene, assuming nothing is tampered with, is the closest way for a conclusion to his mysterious death.
|
|
|
|
Post by nick newman on Apr 27, 2018 3:54:50 GMT
To me, Russia has always been kind of a sketchy country. It seems like they are a country where they government is very strong, but this strength is kind of expected from the people. Regardless of this being true or not, the Russian government has definitley asserted their domanance on their people and the world. One way they do this is controlling what their people consume. It is believed that the Kremlin dictates what hits the news and manipulates stories to be reorted on specific to their liking. Another way Russia controls its people is by instilling fear in them. You cannot speak freely on the russian government like you could speak on the United State’s government. If someone were to do this, there would be serious consequences. Maxiam Borodon, a Russian reporter, had to deal with these consequences. One thing that he made the mistake of doing was reporting on what he thought was Russian mercenaries fighting alongside the Syrian government in Syria. When word got back to the Kremlin, something had to be done, and their response was murder. They claim there is no hard evidence, but this is a classic cover up to the crime that really happened. The Russian government has a history with events like these. In the Washington Examiner article, Tom Rogan says that “throwing people out of windows is a vintage Russian intelligence method for dealing with troublesome individuals.” It is an easy cover up to say somebody committed suicide when you really forced them to do so. Another thing that does not add up is Borodon called his friend saying their were military men all around his house. It is hard to call that a coincidence seeing is that he just released harmful information against the Kremlin. Lastly, Bordon has been attacked before. According to the vice article, it said that “He was clubbed over the head with a metal pipe by unknown assailants after giving an interview about a controversial Russian film.” Him releasing another controversial article is the straw that broke the camel's back.
|
|
|
|
Post by nick newman on Apr 27, 2018 4:01:00 GMT
I forgot my question: With fear of receiving the same fate as Borodon, will anyone report on this to uncover the truth?
@autumn
Great response! I truly believe Russia was behind this. It's all speculation, but it is all reasonable to say that they were behind this. If Agent Gibbs taught me anything, he taught me never to believe a coincidence
@chase
Superb response, if the US were to do something like this, it would cause an uproar. Somebody would have to answer for it and it would cause a lot of turmoil
|
|
|
|
Post by Wolinski on Apr 30, 2018 1:19:30 GMT
@ nick newman you make a good point. If he was killed for something not really related to this problem, one can only imagine what would happen if someone tried to dig deeper into his death. There is a lot of fear in Russia at the moment so I don't believe anyone will call them out.
@rod the police in Russia would not be involved because they are just another branch of the government. It is a situation of pure corruption.
|
|
|
|
Post by Autumn Painter on Apr 30, 2018 1:59:30 GMT
@sarah
Great response! Unfortunately, I think the government will continue to cover it up because it seems like they are good at that. Also, they would probably get away with it because no one is looking into it too much. Other than an honors world history class in the U.S., lol.
@nick
Wonderful response! I do not think anyone will look deeper into the case and try to uncover the truth. If Borodin was actually murdered, it could be dangerous for an average joe to go digging for answers.
|
|
