Posted on 12/26/2005 4:53:18 AM PST by rhainw
At least 78 people have become ill in a gas attack on a store in St Petersburg, Russia.
Dozens of people, suffering breathing difficulties and sickness, have been taken to hospital.
The Emergency Situations Ministry said the shop, belonging to the Maksidom chain, was among four stores targeted.
The mystery gas was released in one of the four stores, the Federal Security Service said.
Employees in the three other stores found boxes with wires and timers, but had managed to dispose of them.
The stores specialise in home goods.
More to follow...
I see you are up to your Putin is evil mantra again. God help us if you ever have an original thought.
You may be right about that.Very possible.Governments feel they know know what's best for us.Don't want to panic the people.Do u recall the kid that blew himself up at an OU football game?Fell off the radar pretty quickly,didn't it?
ECONOTERRORIST!!!
It could be the Russian mafia, or even some mafioso in the government who didn't get the kickbacks he demanded. Business killings are fairly common in Russia, although usually they go for the boss, not the customers.
thanks for the ping
Does Putin never lie? Remember what happened after that theater siege in Moscow? Your support of Putin is surprising considering the man's history.
What I can't understand is the support for Putin here. He has a disturbing history and his recent support of China, Iran, and Syria should make people sit up and take note.
I have been in St Pete four different times on business/personal pursuits for 1 to 2 and a half weeks at a stretch.
I am also very familiar with Maksidom, having shopped at the store in the Severnaya area of Sankt Petrburg, as well as the one more near the centre - near or along the run of Nevskii Prospekt. The Director of Maksidom is a friend of a friend, and he consciously uses the German store "Obi" {the ubiquitous beaver} and Home Depot and Lowe's in the US as business models...a very clever approach, as there is a huge market potential in Russia!
These stores are really much more analgous to "Home Depot", or "Lowe's" in the USA; they do stock a little more in the craft and home electronics/ home cosiness realm, however.
Russians in St Petrburg and Moskva celebrate both the western Christmas, and the traditional Eastern/Russian Orthodox Catholic Mass, so this falls right squarely in the heart of their shopping frenzy times - and in busy, capitalism-driven cities of ever-widening prosperity.
{I} Pray that this is not the first of many wider attacks. That could prove disastrous, given the volume of business that places like Maksidom draw. I do not for one minute believe that this is based in a business/territorial dispute. Neither Putin nor the Russian people would tolerate such an attack which could invariably affect not only ordinary working class people, but the wealthy and influential which shop in such stores, also.
Like I said, I have been in two of the Maksidom locations; one can meet people shopping in either who have taken the tram, bus, or metro to shop, people who have ancient, rickety Ladas parked outside, and folks who pulled up in the latest model BMW's, Volvos, and Mercedes G55's {an $80,000 + 4x4 SUV/wagon, for those on this thread who are unfamiliar with the model}.
I hope the FSB catch the bastards who are responsible, and make a very public show of it...for all their problems, I really love the Russian people.
A.A.C.
One other thing, there is a vey large and very active Uzbeki, and Tadjiki mafia presence in St Petrburg. They are heavily involved with the Chechnyans and are moslem activist dominated.
They're extortionists, and racketeers, and the men turn their women and children out onto the streets every day to beg from wealthy Russian shoppers and western tourists and businesspeople. These are the usually darker-skinned, dirty, ill-dressed little waifs who are often within eyesight of their mothers {normally seated on the curb or sidewalk, or against the wall in metro, bus or train stations} that come up tugging at your sleeves, and follow you persistently for some distance.
Frequently the "man" {I used the term advisedly} will come by and check of their begging progress during the day...making sure they are being diligent enough.
This they do, regardless of whether or not the husband is gainfully employed or able to work.
A.A.C.
Rule #1
Don't bring anything home from the grocery store that doesn't have it's tamper seal intact.
It almost didn't even get on the radar, even though the guy's apartment was filled with explosives. Strange.
It will happen here in time. Everyone thinks it will not. But, it will. They planned for nearly 8 or 9 years between the WTC bombings. They will be back. It does not take a division of men to do it. One man, one woman, even one young child to carry the weapon. That is all. America has all but forgotten 9-1-1. That is OLD news. Almost as old as the Vietnam war to most. Old news. Moved on. Forgotten about.
Russian media is reporting CS gas and linked to the "business activities" of the owners - "business activities" is usually used in the Russian press when they want to say it's mafia-related but don't have the proof to run with the story. More than likely, someone wanted a cut from MaksiDom (the market), didn't get it, threatened to make them "pay" and did so. The Russians are pretty sure the underground passageway bombing at Pushkin Square in Moscow 5 years ago was a business dispute. Unfortunate.
That is a distirbingly common mental illness.
And it's not the only body secretion that is spread.
I think anyone supporting Putin-who isn't a deranged Iranian mullah or FSB/SVR apparatchik who's been held over from the halcyon days of the Soviet Union-needs to have his head examined.
"...and also make aspirin tampering look like childs play."
If it was the 1982 tampering incident, I thought it was 'Tylenol', an aspirin substitute (acetaminophen).
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