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"Into the story stepped his son Pierre Malinowski, at 34 years old a maverick ex-soldier who once worked for Jean-Marie Le Pen and now runs a foundation in Mosc

"Into the story stepped his son Pierre Malinowski, at 34 years old a maverick ex-soldier who once worked for Jean-Marie Le Pen and now runs a foundation in Moscow dedicated to tracing war-dead from the Napoleonic and other eras. " This was the most interesting part of the article to me: a super condensed portrait of the person who actually ran the illegal excavation. Ex-foreign legion, former parliamentary assistant to the most famous racist French nationalist. Now living in Moscow, close to Putin. Easy to miss for those not too familiar with the French context. Wikipedia [0] has more. The man is a professional firebrand. Different in many ways from Steve Bannon, but they'd probably get along well. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Malinowski https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Malinowski

vladvasiliu 6y ago
Could you elaborate on why you think this point is important to the story in the article? I'm not sure how doing this digging would help further the cause of the Rassemblement National (for context: it's the current-day incarnation of Jean-Marie Le Pen's party, the "most famous racist French nationalist" as parent put it) or of Putin's affairs.
- markvdb 6y ago
  The story is about history. The main source to this story worked as the personal European Parliament assistant to Jean-Marie Le Pen [0]. Some Le Pen quotes from that year below [1][2]. Showing this strong support for the most famous holocaust denier in the country is not what you do if you want to be taken seriously as an amateur historian [3]. It shows disrespect for history. It's the historical equivalent of showing your support for the Pi Bill [4] as an amateur mathematician. I can see the potential for some worthwile signal in the noise cloud this man has generated though. With some luck, proper archaelogists and historians may be able to do their jobs using the lead he has generated. If he hasn't damaged the site too much, that is. P.S. With my initial comment, I did not have the intention to suggest that Malinowski was doing this in order to further the cause of the Rassemblement National, Putin or Jean-Marie Le Pen. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/08/jean-marie-le-pen-bruel-racism https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/08/jean-marie-le-... . "On fera une fournée la prochaine fois", when asked about jewish French singer Patrick Bruel. [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/21/jean-marie-le-pen-ebola-population-explosion-europe-immigration https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/21/jean-marie-le-... . "Monseigneur Ebola could sort that out in three months." [3] ...or a human being, but I digress [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill
- curryst 6y ago
  I think the implication is that he sows conflict between nations, or just sows conflict in general. I know nothing of the Rassemblement National or how that would help them. I have heard accusations that Russia intentionally creates conflicts to destabilize opponents and draw attention away from their own dealings. Perhaps that is the implied link with Russia. I don't really see anything here to support that. Personally, I think the guy just doesn't particularly care if conflict arises in the course of him pursuing what he thinks is right. That's not really a heinous characteristic; it's often considered admirable.

vladvasiliu 6y ago

Could you elaborate on why you think this point is important to the story in the article? I'm not sure how doing this digging would help further the cause of the Rassemblement National (for context: it's the current-day incarnation of Jean-Marie Le Pen's party, the "most famous racist French nationalist" as parent put it) or of Putin's affairs.

markvdb 6y ago
The story is about history. The main source to this story worked as the personal European Parliament assistant to Jean-Marie Le Pen [0]. Some Le Pen quotes from that year below [1][2]. Showing this strong support for the most famous holocaust denier in the country is not what you do if you want to be taken seriously as an amateur historian [3]. It shows disrespect for history. It's the historical equivalent of showing your support for the Pi Bill [4] as an amateur mathematician. I can see the potential for some worthwile signal in the noise cloud this man has generated though. With some luck, proper archaelogists and historians may be able to do their jobs using the lead he has generated. If he hasn't damaged the site too much, that is. P.S. With my initial comment, I did not have the intention to suggest that Malinowski was doing this in order to further the cause of the Rassemblement National, Putin or Jean-Marie Le Pen. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Marie_Le_Pen [1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/08/jean-marie-le-pen-bruel-racism https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/08/jean-marie-le-... . "On fera une fournée la prochaine fois", when asked about jewish French singer Patrick Bruel. [2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/21/jean-marie-le-pen-ebola-population-explosion-europe-immigration https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/21/jean-marie-le-... . "Monseigneur Ebola could sort that out in three months." [3] ...or a human being, but I digress [4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Pi_Bill
curryst 6y ago
I think the implication is that he sows conflict between nations, or just sows conflict in general. I know nothing of the Rassemblement National or how that would help them. I have heard accusations that Russia intentionally creates conflicts to destabilize opponents and draw attention away from their own dealings. Perhaps that is the implied link with Russia. I don't really see anything here to support that. Personally, I think the guy just doesn't particularly care if conflict arises in the course of him pursuing what he thinks is right. That's not really a heinous characteristic; it's often considered admirable.