Reports of Malaysia Airlines MH370 passenger claiming flight was hijacked and sent out message & picture

[Ed. Note: As reported in an earlier post stating MH370 was flown and landed in Kazakhstan according to a caller on C2Cam show citing a classified source, many other investigators were concentrating on the secret U.S. military installation on Diego Garcia as the likely place the flight was flown and possibly landed. Below are new reports surfacing of a text message and image sent by Flight 370 passenger Phillip Wood]:


[MALAYSIAN AIRLINES MH370 - INSIDE JOB] 
BY: Aangirfan
3/30/14

Reportedly, Philip Wood, a passenger on MH370, posted a message and photo on a forum, after he disappeared.

http://archive.4plebs.org/pol/thread/27834494/#27834944

source: aangirfan

Allegedly, the phone message below was left on March 19th by ‘anonymous’ who later says that his name is ‘Philip Wood’ and he titles his message ‘help’ and goes on to say:

"I have been held hostage by unknown military personnel after my flight was hijacked (blindfolded).

"I work for IBM and I have managed to hide my cellphone in my @ss during the hijack.

"I have been separated from the other passengers and I am in a cell. My name is Philip Wood.

"I think I have been drugged as well and cannot think clearly."

Reportedly, the photo is completely black; information encoded in the photo viewed by right clicking the file and selecting Properties and then Details, provides access to a number of details about when and where the photo was taken.

These indicate that the photo was taken at a place with almost identical co-ordinates as Diego Garcia.

This could be faked.

One big problem is that Wood's partner Sarah Bajc clearly does not believe it, neither do his family apparently.

source: aangirfan

source: aangirfan

from Jim Stone Freelance:


According to investigative reporter and researcher Jim Stone, the story below is NOW CONFIRMED 100 PERCENT TRUE.

[Excerpt] … The coordinates: When the coordinates are added to the fact that the photo’s exif data does not match the Google coordinates or any other coordinates for Diego Garcia that are posted online, but is still within the boundaries of Diego Garcia, it proves that no one just pulled those coordinates off the web. It helps confirm that this was not just a hoax because the coordinates are exact to wherever on Diego Garcia the Iphone was when it took the photo.

Image Exif data: THE SMOKING GUN: The Exif is intact. Exif data gets embedded in every image by every camera and includes the circumstances under which the photo was taken. It can be viewed by saving the image to your desktop, and then right clicking it and selecting image properties. Hit the details tab. You can see that the image was taken on March 18 with an Iphone 5, with the ISO at 3200 and a shutter of 1/15. The coordinates are included in the exif data because the Iphone knows where it is, and the coordinates are for Diego Garcia. THE FIRST TIME A BLANK PHOTO SAID IT ALL.

Exif can’t be rewritten with common software, it can only be added to in fields such as image credits with some advanced applications applications. It can be erased as well but NOT CHANGED. Photos with the exif intact will hold up in court. If the Exif is hacked and this is not real, the CIA or a really good hacker did this, which I doubt, I’d say it’s probably real.

Read More @ Jimstonefreelance.com


Related Articles and sorces:
-- Hijacked IBM Engineer Successfully Dialed Out Of Diego Garcia

--Did Malaysian Flight MH370 Land At Diego Garcia? Jim Stone Claims Proof Positive With New Article!

Aangirfan.blogspot.com
Northerntruthseeker
Beforeitnews
SGTreport
Jimstone Freelance

Did Malaysian Airlines MH370 land in Kazakhstan, everyone still alive? updated

UPDATE 3/26/14 5:51pm CST: I found another video on Youtube with the relevant transcript of the caller to C2CAM show detailing info on Malaysia Airlines MH370 conspiracy (http://youtu.be/_MOcrKMpzOI posted by Black Gnostic)

UDATE 3/26/14 5:30pm CST: to the readers, I just learned the relevant Youtube video I posted below that carried a transcript of the C2CAM show on 3/20/14 where a caller revealed classified verified info on Malaysia Airlines MH370 was now marked 'private' and no longer accessible publicly. I will try to get another link to the show.
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More to the truth than meets the eye...

In a story I came across the web concerning the as of yet missing flight - that it was hijacked and flown to Kazakstan or showhere in the Indian Ocean going south according to the Prime Minister of Malaysia. He contends that the Boeing 777-200ER had 8 hours of fuel on board and these two locations are the only possible locations due to the fuel range.

image courtesy of DailyMail

At first, going on a southern route, not much options for a landing so I thought go north-west made sense but would have been instantly tracked on radar. What most people don`t know or realize is that it is some of the most heavily radared areas in the world. I also thought hmm Kazakhstan, a country with almost no mention the media for anything except for military bases by U.S. and NATO forces for Afghanistan is fairly interesting.

BUT...then as an avid listener to the Coast to Coast AM show with George Noory, on the 3/20/14 show, a caller revealed some DAMNING info on the MH370 missing flight that made some sense and may make the story of landing in Kazakhstan true:

The caller, John called from Vancover Island to C2CAM on 3/20/14 speaking with George Noory revealed info from a confirmed CIA-NSA joint investigation Excaliber 19 satellite.

He contended first, that if the pilot was suicidal, he wouldn`t have gone to extraordinary lengths to disengage the radar locations beacons.

Also stated that the FBI had decoded and retrieved the deleted computer files from the pilot`s home flight simulator as already reported, they have come to realize, that the simulator was programmed to land on a desert sandy surface. Goes on to say the NSA has a real time satellite that makes "Google Earth look like a tinker toy" that followed the aircraft all a long and tracked its landing to 49km NW of Kazakhstan.

Is this why Kazakhstan is being used as SAR (search and rescue) staging point even though the government stated they had no radar traces of MH370?

He said the pilots are alive, believed to be used as hostages at a later time, to obtain their own means and cash. The passengers are also said to be alive and kept in a warehouse, "they used to obtain their means by bartering cash and release of their own hostages being held detained in Guantanamo Bay."

John said this is classified info, from a verified source, and legally obtained info where a "whistleblower has verified the deleted info from the pilot`s flight simulator was that of a flight simulation to land on a desert sand surface."

This surely is huge news making the the announcement of Kazakhstan as a SAR staging point all to well coincidental but a cover for a rescue op? But it also begs the question, who would have the resources to pull something off? The government of Kazakhstan, or unknown groups beyond government control? The logistical issues of housing passengers, food, security and such are not simple matters especially in this day and age. Our birds in the sky would have picked anything up in that part of the world.

But to be objective, news reports came out of a Malaysian woman claiming to have seen an airliner in the water by the Andaman islands while aboard a flight from Jeddah to Kuala Lumpur that very day when MH370 went missing. She filed a police report that very day after landing and learning a airliner was missing. Her sighting was 5 days before the search area was expanded to its location. But pilots and skeptics have scorned her along with in-flight stewards and fellow passengers as the plane was too high up to see anything. However she contends she saw a silver object in the shape of an aircraft on the water.

Who knows if this is all true. We all hope sincerely that the people are in fact alive and are rescued to meet their families God willing.

-RSA
March 21, 2014 0551CST

Related info:
--Malaysian Airlines is Hijacked and landed in Kazakhstan? - Bubblenews.com March 17, 2014
--Malaysia Airlines MH350 conspiracy - C2CAM March 20, 2014 show - posted by Black Gnostic
--Missing MH370: Kazakhstan for SAR staging point - The Sun Daily March 21, 2014
--Malaysian woman 'saw MH370 in water near Andaman Islands' - Daily Mail 3/21/2014

C2CAM 3/20/2014 show:

Malaysia Flight MH370 conspiracy Coast to Coast am
Published on Mar 21, 2014 Black Gnostic

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What is REALLY going on with the Malaysia Airline MH370 flight search?

With the recent finding of 'possible flight debris in the Indian Ocean' revealed by Chinese satellites 960mi SW of Perth, which coincided with Austrailian Maritime Safety`s update of visual identification of debris - is nothing but a PR stunt. 

First, these images are from commercial satellites. You have to already think, spy reconnaissance satellites with high-quality resolution imagery have already been to the relevant search areas and scanned it...and the results are - who knows?

If there is indeed underwater debris, once visual confirmation is made of a crash in the ocean, then lets get over there. This would be a great task for the numerous highly qualified underwater treasure hunters out there in the world, with their submersibles it won`t take long. This would also be a great calling for the legendary James Cameron to use his extensive maritime experience in the search of underwater wreckage.

Now, along with many I`ll be surprised if 'they' already don`t know what the debris that's been imaged really is. I mean license plate numbers can be seen from space. Digital Globe, a commercial company that specializes in space imagery with our U.S. federal agencies as customers, who produce high-quality images that are always used to show new prison labor camps in North Korea or military installations in Iran - why aren`t their services being utilized?

On the other side, if MH370 hasn`t crash - where could it have gone? No one is looking west or even north-west. Now the plane didn`t go north most likely as being touted in the media, because people just don`t know or realize it is one of the most heavily radared area in the world. The south - towards Antarctica, possibly no.

No one can imagine the sheer horror the families of the missing flight are in. They deserve the utmost truth but will be whitewashed as in other incidents, a la the TWA Flight 800 tragedy. The families should press heavily on their respected governments and then private investigators because at this point the truth is - complicated.

Lastly, to comprehend the whole chain of events into the MH370 missing flight, one must contend this was a very sophisticated operation, possibly well funded with no advanced publicly reported updates by the U.S. intel community. Interestingly, the Israelis are quiet. They have a lot to loose if this plane is still out there and no one wishes that upon anyone. We would appreciate to hear anything from Israel concerning the flight if any.

Only time will tell in unraveling the truth.

-RSA
March 23, 2014 0425CST

STONEHENGE: a resonant harmonic megalith of the ancients?

By DAILYMAIL
March 4, 2014

The stones at Stonehenge could have been ‘played’ like a giant xylophone, a study has claimed. Researchers spent months tapping pieces of stone onto 1,000 types of rock and recording the sound they made. Most produced a muted ‘thud’, but bluestones from the Preseli hills in south Wales – where the monoliths are thought to have originated – ‘sing’ when struck.

Singing stones: Bluestones from the Preseli hills in south Wales, from where Stonehenge's monoliths are thought to have originated, have an 'exceptional sonic nature', say researchers from the Royal College of Art

Their ‘exceptional sonic nature’ may explain why neolithic man carted the stones 200 miles to Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire more than 4,000 years ago to build Stonehenge.
It may also shed light on their circle formation, with sound resonating among the stones when they were ‘played’.

The startling conclusion was the result of a study by experts at the Royal College of Art rather than by archaeologists. They were even granted access to Stonehenge itself to play the structures like a giant xylophone, where they confirmed the rocks made a range of metallic sounds like bells, gongs and tin drums.

Paul Devereux, who led the study with Jon Wozencroftfrom, said: 'There had to be something special about these rocks. 'Why the hell would you take them from Wales all the way to Salisbury otherwise? 'The one thing that hasn’t been considered until now is that sound may have been an important factor.

'We found it was a noteworthy soundscape, with a significant percentage of the actual rocks making metallic sounds like bells, gongs, tin drums, etc, when tapped with small, handheld "hammerstones". 'We have had percussionists up here who have been able to actually get proper tunes out of the rocks. This is real rock music.'

The research team tested rocks from 1,000 different locations from around the UK to test their sonic abilities. They found that bluestones from the Preseli hills in Pembrokeshire, sounded like no other. English Heritage allowed the team to acoustically test the bluestones at Stonehenge, effectively playing them like a huge instrument.

To the researchers’ surprise, several were found to make distinctive, if muted sounds, with several of the rocks showing evidence of having already been struck. The stones make different pitched noises in different places and different stones make different noises - ranging from a metallic to a wooden sound. The investigators believe that this could have been the prime reason behind the otherwise inexplicable transport of these stones nearly 200 miles from Preseli to Salisbury Plain.

There were plentiful local rocks from which Stonehenge could have been built, yet the bluestones were considered special. Large chunks of rock missing from the stones would also suggest that they have been hit throughout their lifetime.

A spokesman for the project said it was merely a pilot study - the phenomenon of the ‘sound of stone’ was being investigated for virtually the first time with the project. He said: 'The project is a pilot study of raw visual and acoustic elements mainly on and around the Carn Menyn ridge, Mynydd Preseli, south-west Wales, the source area of some of the Stonehenge bluestones, an area still relatively untouched by modern development.

'Sites in the surrounding Pembrokeshire countryside were also briefly visited. 'The project asked: "What might Stone Age eyes and ears have perceived in this landscape, and what aspects made it become important to the builders of Stonehenge?"'

Jon Wozencroft, who led the research, added: 'It was a really magical discovery and refreshing to come across a phenomenon you can’t explain.'

Fiscal yr 2015 NASA budget includes robotic mission to Jupiter's watery moon Europa, that could take place by 2025

By ELLIE ZOLFAGHARIFARD
DAILYMAIL
March 5, 2014

2015 NASA budget in brief:
--2015 space budget remains essentially flat at $17.5 billion
--$15 million has been set aside to plan a mission to Europa
--Agency could have $1.1 billion for commercial flights to ISS
--Budget has $2.8 billion for rockets to launch manned missions
--James Webb Space Telescope, a successor to Hubble, will launch in 2018
--Budget also includes funds for a new telescope to probe dark energy
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A daring robotic mission to Jupiter's watery moon Europa could take place by 2025.

...The space agency has set aside $15 million in its budget proposal to start planning some kind of mission to Europa. Nasa is making preparations to plan a robotic mission to Jupiter's watery moon Europa, a place where astronomers speculate there might be life

Nasa is making preparations to plan a robotic mission to Jupiter's watery moon Europa, a place where astronomers speculate there might be life, credit: AP

Nasa’s chief financial officer Elizabeth Robinson said the high radiation environment around Jupiter and distance from Earth would be a challenge. When Nasa sent Galileo to Jupiter in 1989, it took the spacecraft six years to get to the fifth planet from the sun. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute astronomer Laurie Leshin said it could be ‘a daring mission to an extremely compelling object in our solar system.’ Past Nasa probes have flown by Europa, especially Galileo, but none have concentrated on the moon, one of dozens orbiting Jupiter.

Astronomers have long lobbied for a mission to Europa, but proposals would have cost billions of dollars. Last year, scientists discovered liquid plumes of water shooting up through Europa's ice. Flying through those watery jets could make Europa cheaper to explore than just circling it or landing on the ice, said Nasa Europa scientist Robert Pappalardo.

Nasa will look at many competing ideas for a Europa mission, so the agency doesn't know how big or how much it will cost, Dr Robinson said. She said a major mission goal would be searching for life in the strange liquid water under the ice-covered surface. Harvard astronomer Avi Loeb said going to Europa would be more exciting than exploring dry Mars.
‘There might be fish under the ice,’ he said...

[Read the full article here by clicking here]

New study suggests the ancient Egyptians cared for domesticated cats as long ago as 5700 years ago

By SARAH GRIFFITHS
DAILYMAIL
March 6, 2014

     In brief:
     --Researchers from the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences said a cat skeleton     
     indicates humans cared for cats in 3,700BC
     --It's long been thought cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians, but a recent study 
     found Chinese farmers also kept them as pets in 3,300BC
     --DNA studies suggest most domestic cats today are descendants of the near eastern 
     wildcat, which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East
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Dogs may be known as man’s best friend, but cats have also been enjoying the company of humans for longer than previously thought.

The skeleton of a cat believed to have been cared for by humans indicates that the ancient Egyptians kept felines as pets in 3,700BC. It has long been thought cats were first domesticated by the Egyptians, but a recent study found that Chinese farmers also kept them as pets as long ago as 3,300BC.

The skeleton of a cat believed to have been cared for by humans indicates that the ancient Egyptians kept felines as pets in 3,700BC. DNA studies suggest that most of the 600million domestic cats today are descendants of the near eastern wildcat (pictured), which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East

Until recently, it was thought that cats were first domesticated in ancient Egypt in around 1,950BC, but this new research sheds new light on humans’ relationship with cats. ‘It is clear that there was a close relationship with humans that predate the oldest accepted evidence for domestic cat in Egypt by almost two millennia,’ said Wim Van Neer of the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, who led the study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science.

The discovery at the crux of their study was a group burial at the cemetery of Hierakonpolis, which was once a large city predating the pyramids, Pacific Standard reported. Skeletons dating from 3,700BC included a small jungle cat, with a healed bone fracture, indicating it had ‘been tended to for several weeks prior to its sacrifice,’ according to the archaeologists.

They believe the find proves that the cat was domestic – at least for the latter part of its life and measurements of the bones strengthen their case. The same cemetery also yielded another six cats, which were apparently killed as part of a religious ritual. The cats came from three or four different litters.

‘If all these animals are supposed to be taken from the wild, four different captures must be accepted. It seems unlikely that sufficient opportunities for successful capture would have occurred in a short period of time prior to the sacrifice. For that reason, it seems that at least some of the cats may have been kept in captivity prior to the burial,’ they wrote.

While there is a chance that the cats were wild but lived nearby the human settlement, the researchers believe that felines still had a close connection with humans over five millennia ago.

It was announced in December that the bodies of cats found at a dig at a village in Shaanxi province in central China dated back 5,300 years – re-writing cats and humans’ joint history.
Dr Fiona Marshall, of Washington University in St Louis said analysis including radiocarbon dating of bones suggested the cats preyed on rodents that lived on farmed millet.

These cat mummies date from the first century AD and are 

associated with the goddess Bastet

The team analysed eight bones from at least two cats excavated from the site. One of the cats had old bones - suggesting it had survived well into old age in the village. Another was shown to have eaten fewer animals and more millet than expected, suggesting it had been fed by the villagers. Dr Marshall, who studied the site with scientists from Chinese universities, suggested that the cats were domesticated to control the villagers’ rat problem.

Our data suggests that cats were attracted to ancient farming villages by small animals, such as rodents that were living on the grain that the farmers grew, ate and stored,' she said. ‘Results of this study show that the village of Quanhucun was a source of food for the cats 5,300 years ago, and the relationship between humans and cats was commensal, or advantageous for the cats.

‘Even if these cats were not yet domesticated, our evidence confirms that they lived in close proximity to farmers, and that the relationship had mutual benefits.’ DNA studies suggest that most of the estimated 600million domestic cats around the world today are descendants of the near eastern wildcat, which still lives in northern Africa and the Middle East.

Current hostilities in Ukraine & the region summarized in one image

image: rense.com

Questions on Ukraine the West chooses not to answer

by: RT NEWS
March 05, 2014 19:

Ukrainian and Western refusal to answer Moscow’s hard questions explains Russia’s tough stance on the crisis in Kiev.

Ignoring Russian concerns is a Western habit adopted after the Soviet Union’s collapse; when NATO bombed Yugoslavia; during the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state, and the US push to install an anti-missile shield over Europe that can target Russia.

It also happened recently when Western diplomats flocked to Ukraine to smile and wave and lobby their interests in a future Ukrainian government, while accusing Russia of meddling in Ukrainian affairs.

But it seems that in Ukraine lies Russia’s red line and Moscow no longer takes “don’t know, don’t care” for an answer.

Here’s the questions.

1. Why did the opposition oust Yanukovich after he conceded to their demands?
On February 21, Yanukovich and the three Ukrainian parliamentary faction leaders signed a reconciliation deal co-signed by Foreign Ministers of France, Germany and Poland. A gesture that their countries would serve as agreement guarantors.

The agreement provides a de-escalation roadmap of constitutional reform, a national unity government, early presidential election and disbandment of Maidan fighter groups.

Hours after it was signed, Right Sector radicals, key to the violence unleashed in Kiev which left a hundred people dead, gave Yanukovich an ultimatum: resign or face a siege of his residence.

Against Moscow’s advice, Yanukovich fled.

Vladimir Putin’s comments illuminate the Russian position here: "He [Yanukovich] had in fact given up his power already, and as I believe, as I told him, he had no chance of being re-elected.. What was the purpose of all those illegal, unconstitutional actions, why did they have to create this chaos in the country? Armed and masked militants are still roaming the streets of Kiev. This is a question to which there is no answer."

Russian president Vladimir Putin (AFP photo)

Russia says the February 21 agreement must be implemented. The opposition signed it yet allows an uncontrolled militia of violent armed radicals send fear and loathing across a large swath of Ukraine.

The US says the agreement no longer matters – because Yanukovich fled. The EU signatories don’t seem to be bothered about it either.

2. Why is the coup-appointed govt replacing oligarchs linked to Yanukovich with... oligarchs?
Popular resentment of Yanukovich blossomed over corruption. Protesters pointed to power abuse, theft and allowing linked-oligarchs raid businesses of other clans. Evidence came readily after they fled - photos of their homes’ sumptuous interiors.

But the new self-appointed govt is replacing Yanukovich’s oligarchs with their own. Kiev just appointed billionaires as governors of Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk respectively, a move that also drew Putin’s ire: "Mr. Kolomoisky was appointed governor of Dnepropetrovsk. This is a unique crook. He even managed to cheat our oligarch Roman Abramovich two or three years ago. Scammed him.."

Both hold major assets in their respective regions and thousands depend on them for work. Both appointments are meant to stabilize a volatile society and ensure loyalty to the capital but critics say Kiev is reinventing fiefdoms to nobility in exchange for servitude. For Putin, who famously excluded oligarchs from politics, the move is an anathema.

3. Why did the post-coup parliament strip Russian language of its regional status?
A bill repealing a law on regional languages was among dozens rubber-stamped by a chaotic Ukrainian parliament in the first post-coup days. It allowed the Ukrainian nationalist and anti-Russian Svoboda (Freedom) Party put a feather in its cap. Yet it sent a ripple of hostility south and east from Kiev, where Russian-speakers are a large minority or even majority. Kiev pledged to restore the status of Russian but now says the acting Ukrainian president won’t sign such a bill into law.

4. Why did Kiev attack the Constitutional Court?
Several Constitutional Court judges were accused of violating their oath and abruptly fired amid coup govt orders they be prosecuted. The judges branded this as an attack on the principle of separation of powers. Putin called it "monkey business".

As Yanukovich was not procedurally impeached but through a simple show of hands the legality of his impeachment is open to challenges taken by several Ukrainian regions and, diplomatically, by Russia. The Ukrainian Constitutional Court is the proper authority to rule on the issue yet the new Kiev admin is mooting totally disbanding it and giving its functions to the Supreme Court.

5. Why would the West support the coup in Ukraine?
From the Russian perspective, the West fueled the fires of protest and ensured the Ukrainian government was toppled. Now it is attempting to legitimize its factious replacement. What Russia calls an unconstitutional coup, the West is branding a public revolution. It is possible that it is both.

Moscow does not challenge the reality. It doesn’t seek a Yanukovich return to power. It would work with the people who ousted him, as it did with the Yushchenko presidency. But Moscow demands the Kiev coup govt carries a national mandate to govern, in both east and west . Without it, any government is unsustainable.

Putin’s position is that it now maybe too late, despite his repeated warnings Ukraine would polarize. "Did our partners in the West and those who call themselves the government in Kiev now not foresee that events would take this turn? I said to them over and over: Why are you whipping the country into a frenzy like this?"

A stable Ukraine is essential for Russia for many reasons, humanitarian being just few of them. Of course Russia wants ethnic Russians in Ukraine to be safe from potential violence and persecution. But there are also more pragmatic considerations as well.

There’s the Black Sea Fleet, strong economic interdependence and there is gas. Ukraine transits Russian natural gas to Europe and is thus essential to the Russian and European economies. Yet now a desperate Kiev mulls privatizing its gas pipelines to fill its empty coffers, while Moscow’s questions remain unheard.

What mainstream media isn`t telling about Ukraine, Russia and Crimea - learn the facts

Russia’s 25,000-troop allowance & other facts you may not know about Crimea
RT NEWS
March 04, 2014

People watch Russian Navy ship enter Crimean port city of Sevastopol March 2, 2014 (Reuters/Baz Ratner)

Ukraine’s statement at the UN that ‘16,000 Russian soldiers had been deployed’ across Crimea sparked a MSM feeding frenzy that steadfastly ignored any hard facts that got in their way.

Especially unwelcome is the fact that the so-called ‘invasion force’ has been there for 15 years already.

The media many trust described in hysterical tones how the Autonomous Republic of Crimea was under a full-scale Russian invasion with headlines like: “Ukraine says Russia sent 16,000 troops to Crimea”, “Ukraine crisis deepens as Russia sends more troops into Crimea,” as well as “What can Obama do about Russia's invasion of Crimea?”.

Facts, and ardent statements by top Russian diplomats were totally ignored by the western ‘war press’.

Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin pointed to the longstanding 25,000 troop allowance while FM Sergey Lavrov stressed the Russian military “strictly executes the agreements which stipulate the Russian fleet’s presence in Ukraine, and follows the stance and claims coming from the legitimate authority in Ukraine and in this case the legitimate authority of the Autonomous Republic Crimea as well.”

So here they are, the facts:
1) A Russian naval presence in Crimea dates to 1783 when the port city of Sevastopol was founded by Russian Prince Grigory Potemkin. Crimea was part of Russia until Nikita Khruschev gave it to Ukraine in 1954.

2) In 1997, amid the wreckage of the USSR, Russia & Ukraine signed a Partition Treaty determining the fate of the military bases and vessels in Crimea. The deal sparked widespread officer ‘defections’ to Russia and was ratified by the Russian & Ukrainian parliaments in 1999. Russia received 81.7 percent of the fleet’s ships after paying the Ukrainian government US$526.5 million.

3) The deal allowed the Russian Black Sea Fleet to stay in Crimea until 2017. This was extended by another 25 years to 2042 with a 5-year extension option in 2010.

4) Moscow annually writes off $97.75 million of Kiev’s debt for the right to use Ukrainian waters and radio frequencies, and to compensate for the Black Sea Fleet’s environmental impact.

5) The Russian navy is allowed up to

- 25,000 troops,

- 24 artillery systems with a caliber smaller than 100 mm,

- 132 armored vehicles, and

- 22 military planes, on Crimean territory.

6) Five Russian naval units are stationed in the port city of Sevastopol, in compliance with the treaty:

- The 30th Surface Ship Division formed by the 11th Antisubmarine Ship Brigade. Comprises the Black Sea Fleet’s flagship guard missile cruiser Moskva as well as Kerch, Ochakov, Smetlivy, Ladny, and Pytlivy vessels, and the 197th Landing Ship Brigade, consisting of seven large amphibious vessels;

- The 41st Missile Boat Brigade includes the 166th Fast Attack Craft Division, consisting of Bora and Samum hovercrafts as well as small missile ships Mirazh and Shtil, and 295th missile Boat Division;

- The 247th Separate Submarine Division, consisting of two diesel submarines – B-871 Alrosa and B-380 Svyatoy Knyaz Georgy;

- The 68th Harbor Defense Ship Brigade formed by 4 vessels of the 400th Antisubmarine Ship Battalion and 418 Mine Hunting Ship Division respectively.;

- The 422nd Separate Hydrographic Ship Division boasts the Cheleken, Stvor, Donuzlav and GS-402 survey vessels and hydrographic boats.

7) Russia has two airbases in Crimea, in Kacha and Gvardeysky.

8) Russian coastal forces in Ukraine consist of the 1096th Separate Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment in Sevastopol and the 810th Marine Brigade, which hosts around 2,000 marines.

9) Russian naval units are permitted to implement security measures at their permanent post as well as during re-deployments in cooperation with Ukrainian forces, in accordance with Russia’s armed forces procedures.

Authorities in the Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea – where over half the population is Russian – requested Moscow’s assistance after the self-proclaimed government in Kiev introduced a law abolishing the use of languages other than Ukrainian in official circumstances.

Last week, Russia’s Federation Council unanimously approved President Vladimir Putin’s request to send the country’s military forces to Ukraine to ensure peace and order in the region “until the socio-political situation in the country is stabilized.”

However, the final say about deploying troops lies with Putin, who hasn’t yet made such a decision, stressing that deploying military force would be a last resort.