Who is to blame for the humanitarian crisis resulting from the downing of flight MH17? (Take the poll.)

In my opinion from watching this CNN interview and also from watching Crosstalk on RT, I think Peter Lavelle has a much better grasp of the facts than Chris Cuomo, which is probably why Cuomo is talking over him and calling him names. Unfortunately, however, one thing Lavelle doesn’t answer is the accusation that comes from Cuomo and has been flying around US media for days: Why did the Eastern Ukrainians leave the bodies in the field? The answer seems obvious to me based on a press conference I watched from Saturday (two days after the downing) in which the leader of Donetsk, Alexander Borodai, begs for permission from “the international community” to remove the bodies or for officials to drive the 4 hours from Kiev and do it themselves. (See the press conference below.)

Here is the CNN clip of Cuomo and Lavelle going at it: Cuomo-Lavelle tete-a-tete

Just in case this disappears, here are some of Cuomo’s statements for the record:
“This is Peter Lavelle who works for RT, a part of the Russian government-owned news operation there.”
“I don’t know how intelligent your answers are but my questions are spot on.”
“I’m not a representative of the US government, [but] you’re a representative of Russia.” [to which Lavelle responds: you resort to “character assassination within five minutes!”]
“What you’re saying is frightening.”
“What I sound like is a reporter who feels deeply for the 298 lives who were lost who were not part of this conflict and don’t need to be part of your discussion about Russia being unfairly blamed.”
“You need to remind yourself of the job my friend.”
“Here’s the difference between you and me, Peter: You are obsessed with clearing Russia from culpability and that’s okay. I am focused on talking about how this plane and its victims were treated.”
“This is a joke. We have to get out of this [inaudible].” [Cuomo gestures to walk off.]
“Why should you carry water for Russia when you’re supposed to be a journalist?”
“Peter Lavelle, your obvious appetite and desire for what to do is to represent the best interests of Russia no matter what the facts are and to shout down people who are asking legitimate questions….let the audience decide.”
“Peter Lavelle you have to live with what you do for a living. I appreciate your coming on New Day so people can experience your answers and thought process for themselves.”
The full video can also be found in this article at mediaite.

I do think it’s a bit ironic that Cuomo, son of former NY Governor Mario Cuomo, accuses Lavelle of carrying water for the Russian government when Cuomo is in the inner circle of an elite US ruling family. (See image above for the circles in which Chris’s brother, NY Governor Andrew Cuomo, travels). As a matter of fact, when I first heard Chris Cuomo was a “journalist” I laughed out loud – kinda like when I realized the intrepid John Miller of CBS – the one who got all the “exclusives” in the Dzokhar Tsarnaev case – used to be a national spokesman for the FBI!

As the youngest of nine siblings, not all of whom I would want to be held accountable for, I do not vote for guilt by association, I merely suggest that when politicians and journalists share a dinner table, truth is not sitting at the head. (This is actually a serious issue that has only recently been getting some attention, for example: Presidents of ABC and CBS News Have Siblings Working at White House With Ties to Benghazi.)

At the end of the video, Cuomo says “let the audience decide” – so what do you think?
[polldaddy poll=8203653]

Please also watch this press conference of Alexander Borodai, acting prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic, begging for permission from the international community to remove the bodies or for officials to drive the 4 hours from Kiev to start the investigation. This was on Saturday, two days after the crash and four days ago from today. (You might have to click the cc/closed captioning button in the lower right of the video for English subtitles to show up.)

I found Borodai’s pleas to be sincere. Do you? Another poll follows the video.