Scottish Police Training Targets Blogs, Podcasts, and Social Media Under Authoritarian New Censorship Law
The new law will be introduced on April 1st
By Didi Rankovic | Reclaim The Net | March 20, 2024
Police training in some countries these days goes well beyond what one would normally expect, to include targeting content – including artistic – deemed to be “threatening” or “abusive.”
It’s not about China – at least this time. It’s about Scotland. There, officers are learning how to put blogs, podcasts, social media posts, and even simply reposts into their proverbial crosshairs.
According to reports, actors and comedians are not exempt from this type of scrutiny if somebody feels offended, and reports them.
A story in the Scottish press, based on leaked material, details this practice, which is said to be happening thanks to the newly enacted “hate crime law” (Hate Crime and Public Order, Scotland) – even if, formally, such interpretations appear to run afoul of the actual legislation.
The implications of the law, however, are not flying under the radar, as local media says Conservatives in Scotland are questioning the lawfulness of assessing content created “through public performance of a play” for its potential as “threatening and abusive.”
And only about a year since he was appointed to oversee the law, Assistant Chief Constable David Duncan has now retired.
Police in Scotland previously said that every report identifying content as hateful toward “protected characteristics” (such as age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgenderism) will be investigated.
That sounds like officers there might end up with little time to do anything else, as a scheme positioned so broadly can easily be repeatedly abused. As for the response – once they go through “every hate crime complaint” – the promise is that law enforcement will exhibit “proportionate response.”
“An example of why it is so important to preserve freedom of speech,” X owner Elon Musk commented, linking to a post about these developments.
As for the way it affects performing arts, but also everybody else – the law in effect equates memes and just good old jokes with things like, for example, revenge porn. One of the provisions states that the subject of prosecution will be “displaying, publishing or distributing the material” in places like signs, sites, blogs, podcasts, social platforms.
And that applies to these actions done both directly, and indirectly, e.g., via a repost. This is referred to as “forwarding or repeating” content from a third party.
Western media ‘coverage’ of Russia is incredibly dangerous, and it’s getting worse
By Glenn Diesen | RT | March 20, 2024
Western media coverage of every Russian election is bad. But this time it was even worse than usual.
Instead of lashing out at the incompetence on display, it’s more constructive to explore why rational discussions about the country continue to appear impossible.
Not to mention the dire consequences of the ongoing self-delusion.
Reason versus conformity to the group
One of the first things we learn in sociology is that humans are in a constant battle between instincts and reason. Over tens of thousands of years, we have developed the instinct to organise in groups as a source of security. This is the result of evolutionary biology as survival demands that we organise into “us” versus “them”. In-group loyalty is augmented by assigning contrasting identities of the virtuous “us” versus the evil “other”, which helps stop an individual from straying too far from the pack.
Yet, human beings are also equipped with reason and thus the ability to assess objective reality independent of their immediate circle. In international relations, it’s imperative to place yourself in the shoes of the opponent. The rationality required to see the world through the perspective of the “other” is vital for reaching mutual understanding, reducing tensions, and pursuing a workable peace.
Every successful peace process and reconciliation in history – from Northern Ireland to negotiations to end apartheid in South Africa – has been based on this.
We expect journalists to be objective in their reporting of reality, which is especially important during war. But this seems to be almost impossible, especially during conflicts. When human beings experience external threats, their herd instincts are triggered as society demands group loyalty and we punish those who deviate. The political obedience demanded during war time usually results in the weakening of freedom of speech, the role of journalism, and democracy.
Why did Russians vote for Putin?
So, how can we understand the reasons for President Vladimir Putin’s immense popularity in Russia and his landslide victory?
If we use our reason and resist our tribal instincts, it should not be difficult to understand the popularity of Putin. While the 1990s was a golden period for the West, it was a nightmare for Russians. The economy collapsed and society disintegrated with truly horrific consequences.
The country’s security also collapsed, as NATO expansion meant there was no chance to agree an inclusive European security architecture. This had been outlined in the Charter of Paris for a New Europe in 1990 and the OSCE founding documents.
A weakened Russia meant that its interests could be ignored, and NATO was able to invade Moscow’s ally Yugoslavia, in violation of international law.
When Putin took over the presidency on 31 December 1999, it was commonplace in the West to predict that Russia would share the fate of the Soviet Union. That is eventual collapse.
However, Russia has instead become the largest economy in Europe (by PPP), its society has healed from the disastrous 1990s, its military might has been restored, and new international partners have been found in the East and Global South, as evidenced by the growing role of BRICS.
Furthermore, most Russians believe it’s not a good idea to have major disruptions to leadership in the middle of a NATO-Russia proxy war in Ukraine that is deemed an existential threat. Don’t change horses in midstream as the American proverb, often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, advises.
Speaking of the US, the late Mikhail Gorbachev – who was immensely popular there – did not shy away from criticising Putin, when he was still with us. However, he nevertheless argued that Putin “saved Russia from the beginning of a collapse”.
Today, any Western journalist repeating this would be immediately branded as a “Putinist” – implying a betrayal of the “us”. Western journalists cannot acknowledge the immense achievements of Russia since 1999 as it could be interpreted as lending legitimacy and signalling support for the “bad” side.
The price of self-delusion
Arguments are not judged by the extent they reflect an objective reality, rather they are assessed by how they are seen to express support or condemnation of Russia. Conformity to a narrative signals in-group loyalty, and the desire to deprive opponents of legitimacy limits what is allowed to be discussed.
Acknowledging Putin’s achievements over the past 25 years is treated as expressing support for him, which is tantamount to treason.
Meanwhile, journalists hardly ever discuss Moscow’s security concerns and the extent to which our competing interests can be harmonised. Instead, Russian policies are conveyed by referring to derogatory descriptions of Putin’s character.
As in our other wars, conflicts are explained by the presence of a bad man and if we could just make him go away, then the natural order of peace would be restored. Putin, the narrative contends, is our most recent reincarnation of Hitler and we constantly live in the 1940s where an adversary must be defeated and not appeased.
How can journalists then explain to their audience Putin’s popularity and the reasons for his huge personal vote when it is not allowed to say anything positive about the Russian president? Unable to live in reality and unable to place ourselves in the shoes of the opponent – how are we supposed to have sensible analysis and policies? As I always warned my students of international relations: Do not hate your rivals, it produces poor and dangerous analysis!
Making self-delusion virtuous comes at a high price. How can the West pursue diplomacy and work with Putin when he is presented as the embodiment of evil and an illegitimate leader? Even explaining Russian policies is condemned as legitimising Russian policies, which is deemed to be propaganda that must not be given a platform. People conform to the good versus evil mantra as it feels virtuous and patriotic to signal that they support the in-group and loathe the out-group. But how can we pursue our interests when we have committed ourselves to self-delusion and have banned reality from our analysis?
I have attempted to explain for two years why the anti-Russian sanctions were doomed to fail and why Russia will win the war, only to be told that it is Russian propaganda to undermine support for sanctions and to challenge the narrative of a pending Ukrainian victory. Reality be damned! Ignoring reality results in a distorted picture of Russia which predictably leads to miscalculations. How could Russia as a “gas station masquerading as a country” defeat the most draconian Western sanctions and see its economy not only survive, but by some measures even thrive? Why would Russians unite under an existential threat when we cannot acknowledge the role played by NATO in that regard?
Sigmund Freud explored the extent to which instinctive group psychology could diminish the rationality of the individual. Freud’s ideas were further developed by his nephew, Edward Bernays, who became the father of modern political propaganda. Over a century ago, Walter Lippman cautioned group psychology, managed with propaganda, as it came with a heavy price. Yielding to the instinct of viewing conflict as a struggle between the virtuous “us” versus the evil “other” implies that peace requires defeating the adversary, while a workable solution becomes tantamount to appeasement.
What better explains the current failure of rational analysis and the resulting collapse of diplomacy?
Glenn Diesen is a Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and an editor at the Russia in Global Affairs journal.
Protesters shut down UK arms factories over Gaza war complicity
Press TV – March 20, 2024
In a display of solidarity with Palestinians, hundreds of workers and protesters have shut down arms factories across England and Scotland to condemn the UK’s complicity in the Israeli regime’s war of aggression in Gaza.
The factories, which produce components for F-35 fighter jets, are accused of shoring up the Israeli regime’s military offensive in Gaza.
Under the banner “Workers for a Free Palestine,” a diverse coalition of individuals from various unions and sectors including health, education, hospitality, academia, and the arts, launched the protests on Wednesday.
Activists aimed to disrupt the supply chain of arms to Israel and denounce the UK’s complicity in the ongoing genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza.
GE Aviation Systems in Cheltenham and Leonardo UK in Edinburgh were among the targeted sites where components for the F-35 jets are manufactured.
The protesters vowed to continue their protest actions for a month, demanding an immediate cessation of arms sales to Israel and advocating for a permanent ceasefire.
The decision to blockade the arms factories was prompted by Israel’s impending invasion of Rafah, which the United Nations and other international organizations have warned would have catastrophic consequences for Gaza’s population.
Unionists have called on workers across the UK to challenge their government’s military support for the Israeli regime.
“We’re demanding our government immediately halt arms supplies to Israel before it launches this offensive in Rafah using British-made bombs. But we are not waiting for this genocide-appeasing prime minister to act,” Zad, a union member, said in a press release.
This isn’t the first time such protests have occurred.
In December, similar blockades targeted four other arms factories across the UK. Despite assurances from the UK government that it hasn’t supplied lethal military equipment to Israel since October, evidence suggests otherwise.
Affidavits filed at the High Court revealed ongoing export licenses and pending applications for equipment likely to be used in offensive operations in Gaza.
Furthermore, the UK Ministry of Defence disclosed that Israeli warplanes have been permitted to take off from and land in the UK during the Gaza war, raising concerns about Britain’s involvement in facilitating Israeli atrocities.
Israel deploys army of bots to spread anti-UNRWA propaganda: Report
The Cradle | March 19, 2024
Israel is executing an online influence campaign using hundreds of fake social media accounts to advance “Israeli interests” among progressive western audiences, including US lawmakers, Haaretz reported on 19 March, citing an investigation by Israeli media watchdog group Fake Reporter.
The campaign is focused specifically on amplifying reports claiming the involvement of UNRWA workers in the 7 October attack on Israel. As The Cradle has reported previously, Israel provided no evidence for its claims, which were part of a campaign to compel western nations to cut funding to the agency. UNRWA plays a crucial role in delivering aid to Palestinians amid Israel’s campaign to impose famine in Gaza.
Researchers at Fake Reporter pinpointed three fake ‘news sites’ specifically created for the operation. The sites amplified reports copied from other real news outlets, such as CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, The Jerusalem Post, and The Times of Israel, which promoted Israel’s narrative about the war.
Hundreds of fake social media accounts then intensively promoted the “reports” from the specially-created websites and other news outlets.
The three websites at the center of the campaign were established before the war in Gaza but became active only after it began.
The fake social media accounts seemed to be ‘cyborgs,’ meaning they operate using a combination of artificial intelligence and real people with fake online personalities. The avatars claimed to portray average US citizens, including white, Jewish, and African–American ones.
The avatars were all created on the same date, used the same profile photos and naming conventions, and shared other characteristics that indicate they are all part of the same network, Fake Reporter found.
Over 500 fake accounts were opened for the campaign on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
Their avatars began to post messages about a wide array of topics, including the alleged lack of safety for Jewish Americans on college campuses, discrimination against Jewish students, and false allegations Hamas committed mass rape on 7 October.
At the end of January, after acquiring tens of thousands of followers, the fake accounts pivoted toward spreading Israel’s false allegations about UNRWA employees participating in the 7 October attack.
The avatars worked to inorganically amplify the ‘shocking’ and ‘disturbing’ allegations about UNRWA.
They responded to social media posts by US lawmakers, influencers, and prominent news outlets.
The campaign’s avatars targeted posts by African–American Democratic lawmakers, including Ritchie Torres, Cori Bush, and Jamal Bowman, who received the most such comments.
Haaretz noted that targeting Democratic African–American lawmakers seemed to be an attempt to counter the wave of support they have given to Palestinians amid Israel’s ongoing campaign of Genocide in Gaza.
EU Still Hooked on Russian LNG Despite Bloc’s Hardline Rhetoric
By Chimauchem Nwosu – Sputnik – 20.03.2024
Despite EU efforts to reduce reliance on Russian gas in the wake of the anti-Russian sanctions, recent data shows a surge in Russian LNG imports by France and Spain, suggesting that business is practically proceeding as usual.
Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) exports to France surged to an all-time high in 14 months (from November 2022 to late January 2024), amounting to €293 million, according to Eurostat data obtained by Sputnik.
Last December, French imports of Russian LNG exports were estimated to be €244 million, marking an increase of almost €50 million over the month. Spain’s LNG from Russia amounted to €274 million, 1.7 times higher than in December 2023, and a 12-month-high.
Additionally, other EU countries such as Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Sweden have also purchased Russian LNG. By the end of January, EU nations had collectively spent €684.3 million on Russian LNG.
Since the onset of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, the EU has sought to cut its dependence on affordable Russian gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) while simultaneously implementing US-led sanctions against Moscow.
However, despite harsh anti-Russian rhetoric by EU member states like France, recent data by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) revealed that numerous European nations remain hooked on this energy source, while some, like Belgium, facilitate LNG transshipments through their import terminals.
Spain is at the forefront of EU countries importing Russian LNG, having purchased 5.21 billion cubic meters (bcm) between January and September 2023. Following closely behind are France, with 3.19 bcm, and Belgium, with 3.14 bcm. In 2023, the main EU terminals that received significant quantities of LNG shipments from Russia were located in Zeebrugge, Belgium; Montoir-de-Bretagne, France; and Bilbao, Spain, according to IEEFA.
By the end of 2023, Russia had delivered 5.24 billion cubic meters of LNG to Spain, 3.82 billion cubic meters to Belgium, and 2.1 billion cubic meters to the Netherlands. Spain received 40 percent of Europe’s imports, while Belgium accounted for 30 percent. It is worth noting that the supply to the Netherlands increased by 1.9 times compared to 2022.
European countries have not yet banned or restricted importing liquefied natural gas from Russia. The EU is contemplating such action, but there is division among its 27 members regarding the approach to be taken. Major importers of Russian LNG, including Belgium, France, and Spain, assert that severing ties with their Russian suppliers, with whom they have long-term contracts, would not be simple.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly criticized the EU for implementing sanctions against Russia’s oil and gas industry for purely political reasons. He believes that the decision was made under pressure from the EU’s Western allies, rather than being based on economic considerations. Putin has voiced concern about the potential negative impact these sanctions could have on the shared economic competitiveness of both Russia and the EU.
Zelensky’s top adviser calls for more attacks on Russian border
RT | March 20, 2024
Ukraine should step up its ground and artillery attacks on Russian border regions to demoralize the population, Mikhail Podoliak, President Vladimir Zelensky’s top adviser, has suggested.
In an interview with Ukrainian TV anchor Vladimir Golovanov on Monday, Podoliak stated that Kiev would like to see the turmoil spread into Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod Regions. “I would like the scale of this to be much greater… So that Russia could feel what a war… is,” he said.
According to the adviser, many Russians who live far from the front line should feel the brunt of the conflict. “Once they live in bomb shelters, constantly hear sirens and so on, they will [think] differently. Although I doubt that. The Russian world, it has certain peculiar features.”
He also voiced support for the incursions into Russian territory of the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) and Russian Freedom Legion, paramilitary units composed of Russian defectors and fugitive neo-Nazis that are collaborating with Kiev. Those units – which are designated as terrorist organizations by Moscow – should be supported and given all the necessary funding, Podoliak insisted.
The RDK and the Russian Freedom Region attempted to breach the Russian border earlier this month, but the attacks were repelled, according to the Defense Ministry in Moscow. Russian officials estimated the losses sustained by the units at 1,500 casualties and dozens of armored vehicles.
President Vladimir Putin has denounced Russians collaborating with Ukraine as “traitors,” signaling that such individuals would be given the same treatment as any others who took up arms in the combat zone.
Ukraine has routinely launched artillery and drone strikes on Russian border regions, many of which target critical infrastructure and residential blocks, resulting in numerous civilian casualties.
In light of this, Putin has suggested that Russia could at some point create a “cordon sanitaire” on Kiev-controlled territory large enough to prevent Ukraine from launching attacks on Russia.
The TikTok Totalitarians
By Daniel McAdams | Ron Paul Institute | March 18, 2024
On Wednesday, March 13th, a bipartisan group of US Representatives voted to give the US president the power to remove any website, computer or mobile application, or even service provider that the president determines – without due process – is run by “a person subject to the direction of control of a foreign person or entity” as long as that foreign person or entity is declared an “adversary” of the US.
And who gets to decide who is an “adversary”? The US President.
Cut through the hollow propaganda about the Chinese using it to spy on and subvert Americans – another “Saddam’s got WMDs” lie – and it is the most dangerous and un-American piece of legislation since the PATRIOT Act.
In fact it may be arguably worse. While the PATRIOT Act was a fig leaf for the government to spy on Americans, this demon of a bill will actually allow the US Government to determine what Americans can read and thereby what they will think. Isn’t that just what supporters of this bill claim the Chinese government is doing?
Take all the massive evidence of US government collusion and censorship of Americans’ “wrongthink” exposed by the heroic Matt Taibbi and the rest of the “Twitter Files” investigators and multiply it by a million and you won’t even then begin to understand the damage this law will do once it’s passed in the Senate and signed by Biden.
Twitter/X and its owner Elon Musk are routinely claimed to be biased toward (or sometimes against) Russia. Obviously “foreign adversary controlled.” Shut it down.
The video hosting and streaming service Rumble minimizes restrictions on what can be uploaded. It rightly calls itself the free-speech platform. They even allow Russian media RT and Iran’s PressTV to give a perspective different than that given by the US government and mainstream media. Shut it down. “Foreign adversary controlled.”
How about the Ron Paul Liberty Report? We often take positions at odds with the policies of the US Administration and criticize, for example, sending hundreds of billions to fight a proxy war in Ukraine. Obviously “foreign adversary controlled.” Shut it down.
Every single independent conservative media outlet that is sympathetic to Donald Trump will be in the crosshairs of President Biden when this bill becomes law, as Biden and his crew consistently accuse Trump – even after all these years – of being in Putin’s back pocket. That is why right-winger Federalist CEO Sean Davis is horrified by the move, writing on Twitter/X:
“It’s not that the U.S. government wants to protect you from spying and data theft and manipulation. If only. No, the people behind the Russian collusion hoax, and the Kavanaugh hoax, and the natural origin COVID hoax, and the illegal warrantless spying, and the forced transing of your children—they want to be the ones spying on you and stealing your data and poisoning the minds of your children.”
Those on the Left should take heed: Be assured that if Donald Trump is elected president this fall, the bill will become the same political cudgel used by the Right to silence your alternative media outlets as well.
Libertarian-minded progressives like Glenn Greenwald see the danger – and the pattern – clearly, as he writes:
“The TikTok bill is how rights erosions always always always work: Pick a target to start with that everyone hates or fears, so that everyone unites in support, nobody wants to defend. Then the precedent is set, so when it expands inward, nobody can object any longer.”
See where this is going? It’s not about China. It’s about our freedom to consume whatever media we wish to consume. No one is forced to use TikTok. If an American exercising his or her First Amendment rights determines that any risk of using TikTok is one worth taking, that is his or her right.
Tucker Carlson – no friend of China – rightly deemed it, “the most far reaching act of censorship in the history of the United States.” He added, “it’s an attack on the right of American citizens to receive their information from any source they choose.”
After the ignominious House vote, Tucker had Sen. Rand Paul on his program to explain how the “we are protecting Americans from the Chinese Communists” explanation for attacking the US Constitution is nothing but a ruse. Watch that episode on Twitter/X here.
Sen. Paul himself pointed out the hypocrisy in the US government taking such an authoritarian approach to censorship, writing on Twitter/X, “Emulating Chinese communism is not the way to combat Chinese communism.”
There is a mafia element to the legislation as well. The bill demands that TikTok be sold to avoid being banned.
Remember when Michael Corleone told this then-girlfriend Kay Adams how his father, Don Vito Corleone, “encouraged” the bandleader that had Johnny Fontaine under contract to let him out of the contract when Johnny started to become a star:
- Michael Corleone: My father made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.
- Kay Adams: What was that?
- Michael Corleone: Luca Brasi held a gun to his head, and my father assured him that either his brains or his signature would be on the contract. That’s a true story.
This is exactly what the US government is doing with this legislation. It’s hardly surprising that now that this US government threat against TikTok has likely seriously devalued the company, deep state denizens like former US Treasury Secretary Steven “Goldman Sachs” Mnuchin is sniffing around ready to pick up TikTok for a song.
Either TikTok’s signature or its brains will be on Mnuchin’s contract.
This is gangsterism and authoritarianism on steroids, yet the uniparty running Washington DC lapped it up like mother’s milk. Perhaps that is why they lapped it up so enthusiastically.
When this bill becomes law, a big part of America will have died. That’s not an exaggeration.
Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity and co-Producer/co-Host, Ron Paul Liberty Report. Daniel served as the foreign affairs, civil liberties, and defense/intel policy advisor to U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, MD (R-Texas) from 2001 until Dr. Paul’s retirement at the end of 2012. From 1993-1999 he worked as a journalist based in Budapest, Hungary, and traveled through the former communist bloc as a human rights monitor and election observer.
Russia to evacuate 9,000 children after Ukrainian strikes
A view shows a partially destroyed house by Ukrainian shelling of the Razumnoye settlement in the Belgorod region, Russia. © Sputnik/Anton Vergun
RT | March 20, 2024
Around 9,000 children will be evacuated from Russia’s Belgorod Region on the border with Ukraine, following increased attempts by Kiev’s forces to strike targets behind the front line, local Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Tuesday.
The first group of 1,200 children will be transported from unsafe areas on March 22 and will be relocated deeper inside Russia to Penza, Tambov, and Kaluga, Gladkov said.
“We are already relocating [people from] a large number of villages. Now we are planning to evacuate about 9,000 children from Belgorod and the surrounding regions, Shebekinsky and Grayvoronsky districts,” he added.
The announcement came a day after President Vladimir Putin said Russia wants to create a buffer zone to protect border regions and civilians from long-range Ukrainian strikes and cross-border raids, which have intensified in recent months.
Civilian areas of Belgorod have been struck with increased frequency in recent weeks. Despite Russian air defenses shooting down large numbers of missiles, 16 people have been killed and 98 wounded over the last week, according to Gladkov.
Around 600 people were in temporary accommodation as of Monday after being evacuated from their homes, the governor added.
On Saturday, Gladkov ordered the closure of shopping malls and schools for several days because of the situation.
Three people, including a teenage boy, were seriously injured on Tuesday following Ukrainian shelling of Belgorod, while the previous day four members of one family died in a missile attack on the village of Nikolskoye, the governor said. The Russian Defense Ministry announced last week that the military had thwarted a Ukrainian incursion in Belgorod and Kursk regions, killing 30 fighters.
School holidays for children from border areas in Belgorod Region will begin on Wednesday, earlier than planned, while colleges and universities will move to online learning, Gladkov announced.