The Donetsk Flyer... maybe neither False flag nor True flag

[cthulu2016]

My little Nancy Drew brain is intrigued by some details here. A dog that doesn't bark, or a dog that barks twice?

Many folks have noted the false note of demanding "US Dollars." Aha! See, it's fake. The problem is, whether true flag or false flag that inconsistency is the same. It's not like anti-Russian Ukrainians don't know what Ukrainian money is called. An American internet hoaxer might be that dumb, but we know these were actually passed out in Donetsk. It's not just a photoshop extravaganza.

So why would anyone ask for American dollars???

Perhaps they wanted some American dollars. Much if not most US currency is outside the US. Many Russians (and others in the old USSR) had the practice (and still may) of keeping their life savings in black market US $100 bills, even though possession of US money was illegal. Rubles were worthless. They were not pegged to anything and could really only be used to buy from the government. US currency is WORLD money... it is trusted as reliable long-term.

So perhaps the simplest explanation of somebody demanding $50 US is that somebody wants $50 US. If you want money, that is the money to want. And a lot of Ukrainians (like folks everywhere else) probably have some US currency stashed somewhere. And someone might believe that Jews have stashed money.

So it is distinctly possible that somebody actually expected to be in Room 514 of the government’s offices—which might be a broom closet for all I know—and get some money.

Crisis is often an open door to fraud. Jews know that the "People's Republic" of Donetsk is anti-Semitic and Russia is anti-Semitic and Ukrainian ultra-nationalists are anti Semitic. Okay, so Russia is taking over your town. Some of the local Jews will not be much surprised of the new pro-Russian government demands money from them. It is plausible. So get a Russian flag and go to the synagogue and shake people down.

I wonder... did anyone have the option of paying the fee right there and saving themselves a trip? Maybe one doesn't even need access to room 514.

The oddity of the US dollars thing suggests to me that in addition to maybe anti-Russian or maybe pro-Russian, this might be enterprising con men. That would help explain the ham-handedness of the thing. This sort of 'fishing' con tend to be rather crude.


All theories remain on the table, but thought I'd share.

Respected citizens of Jewish nationality! Given that the leaders of the Jewish community of Ukraine support the Banderite junta in Kiev and are hostile to the Orthodox Donetsk Republic and its citizens, the Main Staff of the Donetsk Republic orders the following:

All citizens of Jewish nationality over the age of 16 who live on the territory of the sovereign Donetsk Republic must before May 3, 2014, appear before the Donetsk Republic commissar for nationality affairs in Room 514 of the government’s offices. The cost of registration is 50 US dollars.

In addition to the sum of 50 US dollars, those registering must bring their passports so that their religious affiliation can be entered, documents about the members of their families, and also notarized documents about all the real estate and means of transportation you own.

Those who refuse to register will be deprived of citizenship and forcibly expelled from the republic and their property will be confiscated.

[Democracyinkind]

1. The whole "room 514" thing is rather fishy too.

Chaos, to some, is a ladder. (GoT reference)

[GeorgeGist]

2. "All citizens of Jewish nationality..."

would be Israelis. Or is there another Jewish nation?

[Igel]

4. Those of us firmly in the nation-state tradition see nationality/citizenship as the same.

But once upon a time "nationality" was basically "ethnicity." To this day, in some parts of the world (Ottoman-descended or in some places in Eastern Europe) your "nationality" is one thing and your citizenship another.

So in some places your "nationality" is "Christian" or "Druse" or "Muslim." In others, it's "Tatar" or "Jewish" or "Ukrainian" or "Russian".

It's confusing in the case of "Jewish" because instead of a nation-state we have a nation-church, so to speak. (It's not really confusing, to be honest. But it does involve navigating a smidgeon of ambiguity and letting context determine a thing or two.)

[Behind the Aegis]

6. No.

Jews are a nation to themselves.

[1000words]

8. Only if you invest in the Judeo/Christian narrative.

Many don't, and you can't make folks believe.

[Behind the Aegis]

9. Wrong.

It is no different than the Cherokee Nation.

[1000words]

10. If you say so. (n/t)

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. He is correct even if you do not think so

and antisemism is a virus older than the US, and in that part of the world, that kind of document is not out of step... neither are progroms.

I won't bother with the history. It is confirmation bias and I cannot fight it. But if we have a progrom, which would be accurate for the region, I am sure people here will blame PNAC true to form.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. The people of Israel, and if you do not know what I mean by that

it's ok. I won't bother with a history lesson either.

[1000words]

3. I think lots of folks are getting punk'd on this one.

Or happy to oblige a narrative that supports their personal perspective.

[Igel]

5. That's frequently happened as far as Ukraine's concerned. n/t

[Behind the Aegis]

7. Let's hope it doesn't take a turn for the worse.

There are certainly some who don't give a shit one way or the other as I said in your other post on this topic.