BREAKING: Russian Amb. to the UN Vitaly Churkin has died unexpectedly in New York City, . . .

[femmocrat]

Source: NBC Nightly News

Link to tweet

This is the only non-Russian source I found so far.

Here is a link to Reuters, but they are just reprinting the Russian sources. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-un-churkin-idUSKBN15Z1UU?feedTypeRSS&feedNametopNews&utm_sourcetwitter&utm_mediumSocial

Read more: Link to source

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. What did he die of?

Polonium or ricin?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Perhaps he died of knowing too much. . . . . nt

[Hortensis]

40. Putin's committing one of his public murders in the U.S.

would be a new step. This man may well have just dropped dead of natural causes. That said, there have been a number of new steps, like an outrageous but inevitably temporary alteration of the Republican platform--because he could.

[femmocrat]

5. Don't know yet. nt

[Rural_Progressive]

28. Doing my best mafia impression

Hey, course he died of suicide.....3, 4 knife wounds in the back ........course it was suicide.

[FiveGoodMen]

30. Hey, Gary Webb "killed himself" with TWO gunshots to the head.

[Rural_Progressive]

31. Yeah, dat was a suicide too......people always shootin' demselves in da head

happens all the time......ya got a problem with dat?

[TexasBushwhacker]

42. It's rare, but it is possible

If a person doesn't hit the brain on the first try, they may take a second shot. In Gary's case, he never hit his brain. The first shot went through his cheek and the second severed his carotid artery. He bled to death.

Gangster Frank Nitti also had to fire 2 shots to die.

[Achilleaze]

2. KGOP Koverup Klan on a rampage ?

[MBS]

3. hmm. . .

64 years old. Not that old.
This reminds me that a Russian security guard for the Russian consulate in New York also died suddenly, Nov 2016. "These things happen", as they say, and the security guard's death at 63 years old was considered due to "natural causes" (a head wound, but the cause of death was considered a heart attack). But, still, it makes you wonder.

[BadgerMom]

21. Thought of the same incident

[flying_wahini]

6. saying he died of sudden cardiac arrest

[link:http://nypost.com/2017/02/20/russian-ambassador-to-un-dies-after-passing-out-at-embassy/|

[femmocrat]

8. TY nt

[Texin]

18. EVERYONE, and I meant everyone dies of 'cardiac arrest'.

A cardiac arrest is simply the term used to describe when the heart stops beating. It's the cause of death upon which the death is determined as the ultimate reason why the individual died. A cardiac infarction - a heart attack - is usually caused by some anomaly or disease within the heart-vascular system. Sudden stoppage of the heart can be caused by electrocution, falls, impacts to the thoracic region, etc. or as a result of multiple organ failure of some other systemic origin. Since a large number of Putin opponents - some of whom were his own appointees originally - have had a strange predilection for becoming victims of poisonings and shootings, especially after he pretty much de facto declared himself dictator for life, I'd have to say it doesn't sound outside the realm of plausible possibility that this guy was poisoned. However, the guy was 64 years old and not just a little tubby, so a sudden cardiac event or a massive stroke are certainly not unusual. I don't know if the NY medical examiners or the US government have any jurisdiction to examine the body or the fact that he had diplomatic immunity from any other governing body except Russian, but I'd look to see what the reaction is and whether there are any compelling reasons for any further investigation.

[meow2u3]

19. Sudden cardiac arrest?

More like foreign matter to me!

[Volaris]

23. Poison has a nasty habit of causing that, donnit?

[herding cats]

26. Huh, I wonder if it was the blunt force to the head type again?

Like the one that killed Mikhail Lesin.

Nearly a year after former Russian press minister and Kremlin insider Mikhail Lesin was found dead in a downtown hotel in Washington, D.C., U.S. authorities have ruled his death an accident and closed the case.

The finding comes after a lengthy investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, the city's Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI.

Initially, Russian media reports citing information from Lesin's family members attributed his death last November to a heart attack, as The Two-Way reported. Then in March, the chief medical examiner's office in Washington said Lesin died as a result of "blunt force injuries of the head." It listed the manner of death as "undetermined."

Now, that has been changed.

"As a result of the almost year-long investigation, the Chief Medical Examiner of the District of Columbia has amended Mr. Lesin's manner of death from 'undetermined' to 'accident' with acute ethanol intoxication as a contributory cause of death," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement Friday. "The investigation has now been closed."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/10/28/499750029/u-s-attorney-s-office-mikhail-lesins-death-was-an-accident

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Just saw some breaking banners.

Oh shoot...

[etherealtruth]

9. What country will perform an autoposy for this unexpected death?

[Igel]

14. Probably Russia.

Unless they ask NYC to. Otherwise he's a diplomat.

It's also politically expedient to have it done in Russia. Then if the evidence points to murder by some non-Russia, it can be pursued. If the evidence points elsewhere, it can be pursued or squelched. If there's no evidence of foul play, some can be alleged even as no trial is pursued. (Of course, even if NYC does the autopsy, then the lack of evidence of foul play could be construed as evidence of ill-intent by a corrupt American coroner. Hard to find a lose-lose or even a win-lose scenario when you not only control the media and have for years but have the populace trusting your controlled media more than other media sources. In the USSR people trusted the Western media more than the Soviet media. That's flipped, what with perceived humiliation and the rise of ethno-nationalism among Russians.)


Never let a crisis go to waste. This can fuel anti-American xenophobia by a nationalist Putin.

[etherealtruth]

16. that was my assumption ... but I do not like to "assume"

[appleannie1943]

10. The place my mind immediately went was not natural or normal when reading of a death.

[Kingofalldems]

11. If the FBI or NY police have any jurisdiction

they need to get control of the situation.

[BlueInPhilly]

12. He was at the Russian Embassy

So technically, in Russian territory. Nothing the US can do.

[Liberalagogo]

13. How very convenient.

The Russians aren't stupid, I'll tell you that.

[Princess Turandot]

15. They called 911 for help: he was taken to NY-Presbyterian by ambulance according to the article.

The NY-Cornell division of NYP is just a few blocks from the Russian embassy.

According to the Daily News:

Police arrived at the Russian consulate on E. 67th St. at 9:30 a.m.and found the diplomat in cardiac arrest, sources said. He was declared dead at New York Presbyterian Hospital. No foul play is suspected, police sources said.

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/russian-ambassador-vitaly-churkin-dies-nyc-heart-attack-article-1.2977372?cid=bitly&utm_content=buffer3fa06&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDailyNewsTw

Note: when you call 911 to report a medical emergency in NYC, the police often respond as well. (I believe it depends on the nature of the emergency.)

[OKNancy]

17. kick

[Kimchijeon]

20. Oh great :(

[yallerdawg]

22. Lots of inner circle Russians checking out permanently.

When a government runs the opposite of a 'witness protection program.'

[EarthFirst]

24. Coincidental that among the poisonings that this occurs...

What's the long game here?

What is Russian intelligence attempting to eliminate here?

[herding cats]

25. It seems like only yesterday he was defending Trump to the UN.

Russia makes formal complaint to the UN over speech criticising Donald Trump as 'a demagogue'

Russia lodged a formal complaint with the United Nations over a condemnation of Donald Trump by one of its officials, it emerged on Friday.

Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, issued a verbal “demarche” to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a private meeting on Sept 13, according to three diplomats.

It has revived claims Moscow is interfering in the US presidential election.

Mr Churkin angrily protested at two speeches by Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, the UN commissioner on human rights, that denounced “demagogues” and specifically targeted Mr Trump and several populist leaders in Europe.

A senior UN diplomat said Mr Churkin specifically “condemned the fact that Zeid mentioned Trump

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/07/russia-makes-formal-complaint-to-the-un-over-speech-criticising/amp/

[Leghorn21]

38. Yah, cats - no surprise, as they been chummy since the mid-80's:

Russian ambassador to the UN Vitaly Churkin said on August 1 he had had two meetings with the Republican candidate for the White House, Donald Trump, who is the Republican candidate for U.S. presidency and the man had produced an encouraging impression on him.

Churklin said it while speaking to reporters at the UN headquarters.

"I met with Trump," he said. "I think our first meeting took place in 1986 and the second, a few years ago. He really impressed me."

Churkin recalled that he accompanied Soviet ambassador Yuri Dubinin on a trip to New York thirty years ago. Dubinin then had a meeting with a group of top business executives and Trump was among them.

"This was a brief meeting but I was very, very impressed," he said. "You know, I was impressed by his energetic, open approach to doing business. Such are my personal recollections going some thirty years back."

http://rbth.com/news/2016/08/02/russian-ambassador-to-un-says-met-trump-twice_617373

[Sunlei]

27. 50,000 volt police stungun (cattle prod) to the chest can stop a heart. even one shock can kill.

there won't be a mark on him.

https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/2015/10/2015-10-heartbeat-sidebar/

[TomCADem]

29. Russian spy purge after suspected leaks to U.S. intelligence

Since Trump was elected, Russia has suddenly become very good at targeting Russians with connection to U.S. intelligence.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/01/news/fsb-kaspersky-arrests/

There's a purge of spies underway in Moscow, where two high-ranking Russian security service agents, a cybersecurity expert and a fourth man have been charged with treason for passing along secrets to American intelligence, according to a lawyer defending one of the men.

The men were charged "with treason in favor of the United States," said Ivan Pavlov, the lawyer for one of the defendants.

So far, the counterintelligence raid is targeting computer security professionals -- men once trusted with Russian government secrets about hacking operations.

The crackdown comes shortly after the U.S. intelligence officials in October officially accused Russia of using hackers to try steering the presidential election to Donald Trump. American officials have never stated that Russian government insiders gave them information that led to that accusation.

[Duppers]

32. What did he do or say that resulted in this "natural caused" death?

Threatened to expose something?

[samnsara]

33. im confused...

about who is whom.. is this the one Kelly contacted before comrade trump became prez of cheeto-land?

[wishstar]

37. Michael Flynn contacted Sergei Kislya, Russian Ambassador to USA about sanctions

Different ambassador, not this one who died and worked at UN

[Crash2Parties]

34. Strange, and just as the investigations were starting to gain momentum...

[Smickey]

35. Kick

[MADem]

36. Let the food taster have the night off, did he? Poor guy.... nt

[AnnieBW]

39. Had a little tea with his polonium, perhaps?

Ya gotta wonder sometimes...

[nitpicker]

41. Link to BBC

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-39033269

[sarcasmo]

43. Can the local coroner do an autopsy on a foreign dignitary?

[LisaL]

44. Yes.

Autopsy has been done. More tests needed.

"The cause and manner of death of Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations needs to be studied further, the city medical examiner said Tuesday, a day after the diplomat fell ill at his office at Russia’s U.N. mission and died at a hospital."

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/nyc-medical-examiner-says-more-study-needed-in-death-of-russian-diplomat/

[sarcasmo]

45. Thanks.

[LisaL]

46. Sure sounds like they couldn't find an obvious cause of death from just a regular autopsy.

[sarcasmo]

47. Putin loves to use poison, and sudden death is what caught my attention.

[femmocrat]

48. Thanks! I was going to post this update.

Here is another source: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article133992264.html

Toxicology could take weeks, according to article.