I've been following the situation in Ukraine, and among the crazy things the government has said is this, from the Interior Minister. According to a BBC report, quoting Interfax-Ukraine, the Interior Minister stated that people from western Ukraine (anti-Yanukovich, pro-democracy) are being parachuted into other parts of Ukraine to stir up trouble against the government. He said the parachuting western Ukrainians were "provocateurs." As nuts as that sounds, he says it with a straight face and in the knowledge that there are some in the country who will believe it. It's also one of many examples of how the government demonstrates its lack of respect for Ukrainians by thinking they would all believe it.
The story reminded me, however, of a crazier news report we heard when we first lived in Ukraine. A Russian TV news program reported that, according to Putin, the British were spying on Russians, and Muscovites in particular, through microphones placed around Moscow. Here's the crazy part: Putin explained that the British had hidden the microphones inside of rocks, and placed the rocks on street corners around Moscow. And again, he did it with a straight face.
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