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Culture War Roundup for the week of February 26, 2024

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Now this is getting interesting

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13124393/Ukraines-spy-chief-says-Alexei-Navalny-died-blood-clot.html

Today, however, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine's GUR military intelligence service, suggested his death could be down to natural causes.

He told reporters: 'I may disappoint you, but what we know is that he really died from a blood clot. And this is more or less confirmed. This was not taken from the Internet, but, unfortunately, a natural [death].'

That makes no sense. Why would the Ukrainian chief of intelligence exonerate Putin and also put an egg on the face of all of the western allies that pearl clutched so hard? What are we missing?

Navalny dying of unnaturally hastened natural causes, or some exotic poison that causes blood clotting, would be extremely plausible things out of the current Russian regime. Ukraine also probably has plenty of informants in Russian internal security, likely more and better placed than the CIA.

I do find myself wondering which of the COVID vaccines Navalny had taken. It’s almost more “scissor statement” than Navalny’s death itself.

Navalny returned to Russia and was arrested in January 2021, before the widespread vaccination in Western countries (Germany had just begun to vaccinate over-80s and medical personnel in late December), so it would be quite unlikely for him to have received the Western vaxx, at least.

Has Sputnik been linked to any side effects at all?