Flight 17 Shot Down; McCain: ‘There Will Be Hell To Pay’
A Malaysia Airlines jetliner with 295 people on board was shot out of the sky by a surface-to-air missile Thursday as it cruised over a hostile region of Ukraine, U.S. officials told NBC News.
The officials said they were trying to determine who fired the missile. The plane went down in one of the most volatile parts of the world — near the Ukrainian border with Russia, where separatists have fought Ukrainian security forces for months.
Vice President Joe Biden said at a public appearance that the plane was apparently “shot down, not an accident. Blown out of the sky.” …
Photos from the scene showed bodies scattered among the blackened, smoldering wreckage of a jumbo jet.
President Barack Obama said the U.S. government was working to determine whether Americans were on board. …
A report by the Russian news agency Interfax said that the crash Thursday was in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, among the most volatile regions in the world. Pro-Russian separatists have been fighting Ukrainian security forces there for months. …
A Ukrainian interior ministry official said that pro-Russian separatists had downed the plane, and a leader of the separatists, Aleksander Borodai, said that it was the Ukrainian air force.
Ukraine’s recently elected president, Petro Poroshenko, called it an act of terrorism. He said he had spoken to the Dutch prime minister and invited the Netherlands to join the investigation.
On national television, he said, “I would like to draw your attention that we do not call it an incident, not a disaster, but we call it a terrorist act.”
The shootdown — which killed 295 people — comes a day after the US stepped up sanctions against Russia.
Earlier today on MSNBC, Senator John McCain said, “If it is the result of either separatist or Russian actions mistakenly believing that this is a Ukrainian warplane, I think there’s going to be hell to pay and there should be.”
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By: dave-dr-gonzo
David Hirsch, a.k.a. Dave "Doctor" Gonzo*, is a renegade record producer, video producer, writer, reformed corporate shill, and still-registered lobbyist for non-one-percenter performing artists and musicians. He lives in a heavily fortified compound in one of Manhattan's less trendy neighborhoods.
* Hirsch is the third person to use the pseudonym, a not-so-veiled tribute to journalist and author Hunter S. Thompson, with the permission of his predecessors Gene Gaudette of American Politics Journal (currently webmaster and chief bottlewasher at Liberaland) and Stephen Meese at Smashmouth Politics.
arc99 July 17th, 2014 at 17:21
Was this a stunning disregard for innocent lives? Was it a stunning example of military incompetence? Or was it neither, and there was no missile involved? Let us at least wait until the facts are in before forming opinions about what to do next; especially those of you warming up your keyboards to blame the President.
Spirit of America July 17th, 2014 at 18:54
Fired from a rebel buk, known. Pres fault? Not by the farthest stretch of the imagination. From US perspective, it’ll be all about the consequences, that’s the Pres’s domain for good or bad.
arc99 July 17th, 2014 at 17:21
Was this a stunning disregard for innocent lives? Was it a stunning example of military incompetence? Or was it neither, and there was no missile involved? Let us at least wait until the facts are in before forming opinions about what to do next; especially those of you warming up your keyboards to blame the President.
Spirit of America July 17th, 2014 at 18:54
Fired from a rebel buk, known. Pres fault? Not by the farthest stretch of the imagination. From US perspective, it’ll be all about the consequences, that’s the Pres’s domain for good or bad.
dan9el July 17th, 2014 at 17:24
Very bad event, perhaps it makes wander if we humans are deserving to go to others places in the universe, for so far is clear that we will infect others planets with our hates, and wars , and destruction, and only very little good to carryout there .
Anomaly 100 July 17th, 2014 at 17:33
Sometimes I wonder. I was reading Tweets from certain people. No one seems to care about the loss of life anymore.
dan9el July 17th, 2014 at 17:35
Correct, you are, indeed.
Tom Ward July 17th, 2014 at 19:41
We have to ration our empathy. I care, but if someone asked me “how much grief do you feel about this incident?” I would have to say, not very much grief at all.
Amie July 17th, 2014 at 21:52
If we reacted with howling grief over every death of every stranger, or even mild sadness, we would literally die ourselves from deep depression and apathy. It is our brain protecting us when we don’t have a reaction to a plane full of strangers getting shot out of the sky, or missing in the ocean, or homeless people freezing to death, or Palestinian children blowing up, or mass graves of immigrants, or…… It’s for our own survival.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 22:09
It might be of interest to you that there may have been 23 americans on board this plane. Maybe your trying to tell us your phone didn’t ring when the news told us there were no survivors
Tom Ward July 17th, 2014 at 19:34
We’ll have worked that stuff out by the time we are actually able to go to other places in the universe. That or we’ll have killed ourselves off long before then.
Good news is we are becoming less violent: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/world-less-violent-stats_n_1026723.html
dan9el July 17th, 2014 at 17:24
Very bad event, perhaps it makes wander if we humans are deserving to go to others places in the universe, for so far is clear that we will infect others planets with our hates, and wars , and destruction, and only very little good to carryout there .
Anomaly 100 July 17th, 2014 at 17:33
Sometimes I wonder. I was reading Tweets from certain people. No one seems to care about the loss of life anymore.
dan9el July 17th, 2014 at 17:35
Correct, you are, indeed.
Tom Ward July 17th, 2014 at 19:41
We have to ration our empathy. I care, but if someone asked me “how much grief do you feel about this incident?” I would have to say, not very much grief at all.
Amie July 17th, 2014 at 21:52
If we reacted with howling grief over every death of every stranger, or even mild sadness, we would literally die ourselves from deep depression and apathy. It is our brain protecting us when we don’t have a reaction to a plane full of strangers getting shot out of the sky, or missing in the ocean, or homeless people freezing to death, or Palestinian children blowing up, or mass graves of immigrants, or…… It’s for our own survival.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 22:09
It might be of interest to you that there may have been 23 americans on board this plane. Maybe your trying to tell us your phone didn’t ring when the news told us there were no survivors
Tom Ward July 17th, 2014 at 19:34
We’ll have worked that stuff out by the time we are actually able to go to other places in the universe. That or we’ll have killed ourselves off long before then.
Good news is we are becoming less violent: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/22/world-less-violent-stats_n_1026723.html
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker July 17th, 2014 at 18:08
I wish the media would stop giving McGrumpy airtime.
He’s been wrong about everything for a decade and we all know he’ll just threaten military action, blah, blah blah.
KABoink_after_wingnut_hacker July 17th, 2014 at 18:08
I wish the media would stop giving McGrumpy airtime.
He’s been wrong about everything for a decade and we all know he’ll just threaten military action, blah, blah blah.
crc3 July 17th, 2014 at 18:21
Precursor to WWIII?
crc3 July 17th, 2014 at 18:21
Precursor to WWIII?
Jake July 17th, 2014 at 18:35
Why doesn’t McCain ask his protege Palin if she saw what happened out of her back window.
NW10 July 17th, 2014 at 19:35
http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mccain_angry1.jpg
talibandan2010 July 17th, 2014 at 20:25
When they say “Old Man Yells at Cloud”, are the referring to the meteorological phenomenon or multicolocated online resources?
(((NW10,PATRIOT! ✓ᵛᵉʳᶦᶠᶦᵉᵈ))) July 17th, 2014 at 19:35
http://www.balloon-juice.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/mccain_angry1.jpg
talibandan2010 July 17th, 2014 at 20:25
When they say “Old Man Yells at Cloud”, are the referring to the meteorological phenomenon or multicolocated online resources?
Jonas Grumby July 17th, 2014 at 19:42
Why has no one yet duct taped McCain’s mouth shut?
Jonas Grumby July 17th, 2014 at 19:42
Why has no one yet duct taped McCain’s mouth shut?
jasperjava July 17th, 2014 at 19:52
Weird as it is, I had the very same reaction as McCain when I first heard the news, in so many words.
Now that I’ve had time to cool off, I just hope that it doesn’t escalate, and it marks the beginning of the end of the terrorist insurgency by Russian nationalist thugs.
jasperjava July 17th, 2014 at 19:52
Weird as it is, I had the very same reaction as McCain when I first heard the news, in so many words.
Now that I’ve had time to cool off, I just hope that it doesn’t escalate, and it marks the beginning of the end of the terrorist insurgency by Russian nationalist thugs.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 20:19
The ultimate freakout award goes to Geraldo rivera at 12noon today
I thought they were going drag him off camera before he said something fox news would soon regret.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 20:19
The ultimate freakout award goes to Geraldo rivera at 12noon today
I thought they were going drag him off camera before he said something fox news would soon regret.
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:07
It sounds like the Endtimes for GOP’s love affair with Putin and his surface to air missiles downing 295 passengers 25 miles from Puti-poo’s Russian border.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 23:12
they are in a pickle when it comes to connecting Obama with this tragedy Some are already getting hammered for making fun of Obama while all these people died. Cant say they don’t deserve being eaten by their own party either.
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:15
Russia has a history of these tragedies. Korean Airlines (KAL) flight 007’s 269 passengers and crew were shotdown by a Russian Missile on September 1, 1983. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/korean-airlines-flight-shot-down-by-soviet-union
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 23:21
Im 90% Russia is involved in this making snowden the most wanted man before it hits the 10 most wanted. Its going to be interesting to see if anyone still has eddies email going forward
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:31
They’re certainly not winning anybody over with these military tragedies aimed at civilians, and their own Ukrainian people. Russia’s surface to air missile terrorism blew away the 295 people a day after the US stepped up sanctions against Russia.
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:07
It sounds like the Endtimes for GOP’s love affair with Putin and his surface to air missiles downing 295 passengers 25 miles from Puti-poo’s Russian border.
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 23:12
they are in a pickle when it comes to connecting Obama with this tragedy Some are already getting hammered for making fun of Obama while all these people died. Cant say they don’t deserve being eaten by their own party either.
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:15
Russia has a history of these tragedies. Korean Airlines (KAL) flight 007’s 269 passengers and crew were shotdown by a Russian Missile on September 1, 1983. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/korean-airlines-flight-shot-down-by-soviet-union
fancypants July 17th, 2014 at 23:21
Im 90% Russia is involved in this making snowden the most wanted man before it hits the 10 most wanted. Its going to be interesting to see if anyone still has eddies email going forward
Obewon July 17th, 2014 at 23:31
They’re certainly no longer winning anybody over with these military tragedies aimed at civilians, and their own Ukrainian people. Russia’s surface to air missile terrorism blew away the 295 people a day after the US stepped up sanctions against Russia.
arc99 July 18th, 2014 at 01:02
Breaking News folks.. found this through Talking Points Memo.
The NY Times has gone on record with a story releasing audio tapes of Ukrainian rebels aligned with Russia admitting they shot down the plane. Now the question is were they using weapons which Russia supplied with the blessing of right wing hero and “manly man” Vladimir Putin?
http://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000003007434/intercepted-audio-of-ukraine-separatists.html?smid=tw-nytimesworld
Ukraine released what it said was audio from phone calls between rebels and Russian officers after the downing of Malaysia Airlines 17. In one call, a rebel says, “We have just shot down a plane.