WW3? Ukraine/US vs. Donbass/Russia

[Ravenlocke]

https://thecradle.co/Article/news/17633

Russia to donate 25,000 tons of wheat to Lebanon

The Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, told RIA Novosti news agency that Lebanon would get 25 thousand tons of wheat and 10 thousand tons of fuel free of charge from the Russian Federation.

“Russia will supply Lebanon with 25,000 tons of wheat and 10,000 tons of fuel for the country’s power stations,” the minister said.

Lebanon has been experiencing a profound financial, economic and political crisis for over three years. The banking system is almost completely paralyzed, the national currency has depreciated more than 20 times against the dollar, and as a result, more than 70 percent of the population has fallen below the poverty line.

The minister later clarified on Twitter that the Russian ambassador to Lebanon informed him of the Russian President’s instructions about sending aid to the Lebanese state.

According to him, the dates for the delivery of wheat and fuel will be determined at a later point in time.

In turn, the Russian minister of agriculture, Dmitry Patrushev, said earlier that Moscow is ready to supply up to 500,000 tons of grain to the poorest countries for free in the next four months and completely replace Ukrainian grain, exporting to all interested countries at reasonable prices.

The minister said 150 million tons of grain have already been harvested in Russia this year. The ministry estimates the export potential for the current season at more than 50 million tons.

As Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier, Russia agreed to a grain deal to help the poorest countries, but only three to five percent went to the needy.

The US had promised the Lebanese, in August 2021, through its ambassador in Beirut, Dorothy Shea, that it would help Lebanon import electricity and gas from Egypt and Jordan through Syrian territory no later than last March. Still, the promise has not yet been fulfilled.

Last week, Lebanon and Israel concluded the US-brokered negotiations that began in 2020 to delineate the maritime border by finalizing and signing a historic agreement.

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https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...41470285512705

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...41477940035585

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...33509559451648

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...56614411141120

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...56624091496449

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/Cyberspec1/statu...76772621881344

Cyberspec News
Forwarded from
Slavyangrad (ZIПDΣЯПΣЦF)

Hackers hacked into the American command-and-control program Delta, which is used by the Ukrainian army

This was told by the author of the Telegram channel "Joker DPR", known for curious insiders about the Ukrainian side.

Delta is a program in which all data about own troops and enemy troops is entered for command and control of troops, which are regularly updated with the receipt of intelligence.

“Ukrainian soldiers brag about computer programs and laugh at Donetsk because of the use of paper maps. I decided to clarify. As long as Ukrainians regularly fill their databases with programs donated by their American owners, we don’t even need to invent or install anything, we just use their programs "online. It's very convenient and economical. I want to draw your attention to the fact that ALL of their programs. Now you know why you have been failing a lot of things lately," Joker writes.

-ukraina_ru

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The Joker hacked into the much-vaunted American Delta command and control program, which is actively used by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. To make it clear, this is a program in which all data on friendly and enemy troops is entered for command and control…

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/Cyberspec1/statu...52820604030978

[BrandtS]

If none of you have seen this yet, this is an excellent blog with A-quality articles related to the war.

https://bigserge.substack.com/

Highly recommend.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/tassagency_en/st...44360420986884

https://tass.com/politics/1530917?ut...m_social_share

Drawbacks at initial stage of mobilization promptly corrected, says Shoigu

It is reiterated that the General Staff had given instructions to end the partial mobilization

MOSCOW, November 1./TASS/. As many as 300,000 people were drafted within the framework of the partial mobilization campaign in Russia, which ended on October 28. All drawbacks seen at the initial stage were remedied, Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said on Tuesday.

"A total of 300,000 people were drafted in the course of the partial mobilization in line with the president’s decree of September 21," Shoigu said.

"There were certain drawbacks in the activity of recruitment centers at the initial stage," the defense minister stressed. "We took emergency measures to improve their work, which brought results. All regions have sent the specified number of mobilized people to military units," the minister said during a conference call.

He also reiterated that the General Staff had given instructions to end the partial mobilization.

Shoigu also thanked the State Duma and the Federation Council "for the prompt adoption of laws aimed at improving the social welfare of conscripted citizens, who will retain their jobs and whose families will receive support."

"Military pay has been settled for the citizens called up for military service under mobilization in accordance with the position they hold, but not less than 195,000 rubles ($3,177) per calendar month," the defense minister said.

On September 21, President Putin declared a partial mobilization in Russia. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu clarified that 300,000 reservists primarily with combat experience would be called up, who would undergo training before being sent to the special military operation zone. The defense chief emphasized that the call-up was being carried out first and foremost for control over the territories liberated during the special military operation.


https://tass.com/politics/1530933

Relocation efforts from Dnieper’s eastern bank to end within three days — official

Vladimir Saldo said that passenger boat service across the Dnieper would be terminated once the relocation effort is completed
MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. The evacuation of people from the eastern bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson Region is set to conclude within the next three days, Vladimir Saldo, the region’s acting governor, said on Tuesday.

"Three days at the most, and that work will be over," he said on the Rossiya-24 TV station.

Saldo also said that passenger boat service across the Dnieper would be terminated once the relocation effort is completed.

"Passenger boats still run, but, obviously, they will be halted after we relocate people from the left bank as well," he said.

Saldo announced on October 18 that civilians would be relocated from the western bank of the river to the eastern bank due to the risk of flooding that could happen if Ukrainian forces struck the Kakhovskaya hydropower plant. The official said on October 31 that people on the eastern bank that live within 15 km of the Dnieper would also be evacuated.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/tassagency_en/st...nORtOjrtdvM-4w


Russia ready to supply grain at reasonable prices to all interested countries, says PM


It is stressed that Moscow will continue the dialogue with the UN and Turkey on relevant issues within the framework of agreements signed in Istanbul


MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Russia will continue the dialogue with the UN and Turkey on the future of the grain deal, though it is ready to supply grain to interested countries at reasonable prices in any case, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin said at a meeting of the Council of SCO's (Shanghai Cooperation Organization) government heads held as a videoconference on Tuesday.

"The Ukrainian side mounted a terrorist attack against Russian ships and civil vessels in the water area of the Bay of Sevastopol at the end of last week. It is currently impossible to guarantee the security of the humanitarian corridor that has been created. And we were forced to suspend the participation in the grain deal," he stated. However, Moscow will continue "the dialogue with the UN and Turkey on relevant issues within the framework of agreements signed in Istanbul," Russian PM noted.

"Irrespective of the future of the grain deal, considering this year’s harvest Russia is ready to provide up to 500,000 tonnes of grain free to countries most in need, as well as to deliver grain at reasonable prices to all interested states," Mishustin said.

Russian premier mentioned the provision of global food security as one of priorities of the joint work. "We honestly implement international contracts aimed at solving this strategic task," he stressed.

"It is important that SCO states account for more than one tenth of global turnover of agriculture goods," Mishustin added. "In eight months of this year international trade in Russian agriculture products and food with the organization’s members gained almost 25% to around $8.5 bln," he said, noting that "the expansion of cooperation on this track is extremely relevant".


https://tass.com/economy/1530953

Russia eyeing investment prospects in Iran’s seaports

Moscow and Tehran also acknowledged their readiness to foster cooperation in jointly constructing large-capacity and cargo fleets
MOSCOW, November 1. /TASS/. Moscow is looking at investment opportunities in Iran’s seaports, the Russian government said on Tuesday.

"Russia is considering opportunities for investments in Iranian seaports. In its turn, the Iranian side suggested using its seaports as hubs for Russian cargo, including those in transit," the government said.

Moscow and Tehran also acknowledged their readiness to foster cooperation in jointly constructing large-capacity and cargo fleets.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/ReadovkaWorld/st...46850231091200

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1587263157705359362

[Ravenlocke]

https://tass.com/politics/1530863?ut...m_social_share

Erdogan to discuss situation around grain deal with Putin, Zelensky — Turkish top diplomat

"We believe in the restoration of the deal," Mevlut Cavusoglu said

ANKARA, November 1. /TASS/. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to hold telephone conversations with the Russian and Ukrainian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Vladimir Zelensky, in the near future to discuss the situation around the grain deal, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Tuesday.

"Our president plans to speak with Putin and Zelensky in the coming days. He is addressing this matter [the grain deal]. We believe in the restoration of the deal, it would be beneficial for everyone," he said, adding that the grain deal affects all humanity and "is to be addressed separately from the war."

"There are problems with the workings of the deal and they must be resolved. We will continue efforts toward that," the Turkish top diplomat said.

Cavusoglu also called for removing obstacles for exports of Russian food and fertilizers to global markets. Ankara, in his words, is working in this area.

The Russian defense ministry said on October 29 that following a terror attack committed by the Kiev regime "with participation of specialists from the United Kingdom" against Russian Black Sea Fleet ships and civilian vessels engaged to ensure security of the grain corridor, "the Russian side is suspending its participation in the implementation of agreements on the export of food from Ukrainian ports."

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...41603341058049

https://twitter.com/AZgeopolitics/st...44463545995264

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/EvaKBartlett/sta...56795693142018

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/imetatronink/sta...85835010801665

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[loungelizard]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Well, he's the new leader of the Free World.

I’d be genuinely interested to hear more about your thoughts regarding this, Bill: I'm no expert, but I've had many interesting conversations with members of our
extended family who are Russian, and I just can’t reconcile the statement that Putin is the leader of “the free world” (not too sure what that phrase means these days)
with the seemingly constant erosion of human rights and civil liberties in the Russian Federation.

Here are just a few of my concerns - apologies for the lengthy list!

Freedom House rates freedom in Russia at 19/100, with political rights at 5/40 and civil liberties at 16/40 (methodology is here https://freedomhouse.org/reports/fre...ch-methodology)
https://freedomhouse.org/country/rus...dom-world/2022)

The section on Russia in the Human Rights Watch World Report on human rights around the globe in 2022 makes difficult reading:
https://www.hrw.org/world-report/202...hapters/russia

Suppression of dissent
Independent, free voices have been silenced. There is no political opposition any more in Russia: the main opposition activist, Aleksei Navalny, along with many other political activists,
are either under house arrest, locked up in psychiatric institutions or imprisoned, or have fled the country. Others, such as Salman Tepsurkayev, have been “disappeared”.
Human rights defenders (including journalists, historians and scientists) are incarcerated as political prisoners. As of 2020, it’s believed that there are at least 380 political prisoners held in Russia https://amrusrights.wordpress.com/20...ers-directory/
Look at the political figures who have spoken against him - many of them have been imprisoned or placed under house arrest - or have had to leave Russia completely in order to be safe.
Dmitry Demushkin Mikhail Kasyanov Yulia Galyamina Kira Yarmysh Pyotr Verzilov, Pussy Riot …

Human Rights Watch Europe and Central Asia director sums up the crackdown on dissent as, “The Kremlin’s attack on civil society is vicious and cynical and has gone as far as accusing
the country’s leading human rights group of violating key human rights treaties and designating peaceful political opposition and anti-corruption groups as “extremist.”

Media Freedom
Russia ranks 147th (out of 168) in terms of media freedom https://web.archive.org/web/20090306...d_rubrique=639

Laws relating to 'foreign agents’ and ‘undesirable organisations’ are used to suppress freedom of expression, and have silenced media, journalists and activists.
There are no longer any independent media outlets in Russia: everyone has to follow the Kremlin narrative or risk fines, arrest and imprisonment (and several journalists have met with ‘accidents’).
As I’m sure you know, there is now a law that effectively criminalises any public opposition to or independent news reporting about the war in Ukraine (even using the word ‘war’ is a crime).

The Right to Protest
The freedom to protest peacefully has been completely eroded: it’s almost impossible for protesters to exercise their right to freedom of peaceful assembly or protest, especially since the new law
introduced in 2004. As an example,16,000 Russians who protested peacefully against the invasion of Ukraine were detained.
This is a report from last year by Amnesty regarding the freedom of peaceful assemble https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents...m_term=english

Nine out of the 13 major legislative amendments that have been used to curtail the right to freedom of peaceful assembly in Russia have been introduced since 2014, as part of a crackdown on
anti-government protests and human rights guaranteed by the international human rights law and Russia’s own Constitution.

Surveillance
Online activity is tightly controlled by the state : VPNs and anonymises are restricted and I believe that Russian authorities have blocked 2,384websites just this year.
Roskomnadzor, Russia’s internet and media censor, is used as a surveillance machine to keep everyone under state control and identify critics for the security agencies (see the leaked documents from DDoSecrets https://ddosecrets.com/wiki/Roskomnadzor). Using the SORM-1, SORM-2 and SORM-3 programmes, it compiles dossiers on individuals and organizations posting regime-critical content, monitoring and storing
the browsing history, phone calls, emails and texts of individuals.

Russia’s parliament also voted to allow people’s biometric data to be gathered from banks and stored on a database https://tass.ru/obschestvo/15130639?...errer=banki.ru

There is state-sanctioned unregulated use of facial/silhouette recognition that has already facilitated the authorities’ targeting of political opponents. In April 2020, the Russian parliament adopted a law
“On Experimenting with Artificial Intelligence,” allowing Moscow authorities to test new technology, including facial recognition, free of any legislation restrictions.
The use of this technology curtails the freedom of expression and association of people in Russia.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2021/09/15/...ermines-rights

NGOs
Laws made in 2006 regarding the operation of NGOs have effectively shut down any voluntary organisation that isn’t controlled by the government and subordinate to the state.
This is a report from the not-for-profit legal group ICNL on the laws regarding NGOs in Russia:
https://www.icnl.org/resources/resea...gn-legislation
The conclusion states: ‘The Russian NGO Law is unconstitutional and violates domestic, international, and foreign law.’

Memorial was an amazing human rights NGO founded in 1989. It ceased to exist in Russia earlier this year, having been liquidated by a court decision.
https://www.memo.ru/en-us/

Judiciary/Penal System
There is little chance of a fair trial in Russia: not only is there corruption in the judicial and penal systems, but the government controls the judiciary, and as a result, it is politicised. Torture and ill-treatment in prison and other penal institutions are well documented: are you familiar with the group Gulagu, run by the human rights activist, Vladimir Valeryevich Osechkin? They have been documenting corruption and Torture in Russia, with the help of more than 19,000 independent human rights defenders, volunteers and participants over the past 10 years. I really recommend looking at their site if you want to learn about the penitentiary services and law enforcement in Russia https://gulagu.net/about_us Warning - there is a lot of very disturbing material on there.

Corruption
Russia ranks 136 out of 180 countries with regard to corruption https://www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2021 Corruption is endemic and runs through all areas of life. Several lawyers and journalists who were investigating state authority crime have been assassinated.

I'm not picking a fight here.
I just can't see Putin as a leader of a 'free world'.
Maybe you could persuade me

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by loungelizard (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Well, he's the new leader of the Free World.

I’d be genuinely interested to hear more about your thoughts regarding this, Bill: I'm no expert, but I've had many interesting conversations with members of our extended family who are Russian, and I just can’t reconcile the statement that Putin is the leader of “the free world” (not too sure what that phrase means these days) with the seemingly constant erosion of human rights and civil liberties in the Russian Federation.
[ ... ]
I'm not picking a fight here.
I just can't see Putin as a leader of a 'free world'.
Maybe you could persuade me

Many thanks for the question. And yes, no 'fight' at all.

What I'll do (and I genuinely appreciate the opportunity, as I've been kind of waiting for people to ask me direct questions ) is I'll take this over to my personal Q&A thread later today as my answer is likely to go beyond Ukraine and Russia, and is more about the future of the planet and all of humanity. I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently — and the more I think, the bigger it all gets.

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/jaccocharite/sta...61793109905408

[loungelizard]

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Posted by loungelizard (here)

Posted by Bill Ryan (here)

Well, he's the new leader of the Free World.

I’d be genuinely interested to hear more about your thoughts regarding this, Bill: I'm no expert, but I've had many interesting conversations with members of our extended family who are Russian, and I just can’t reconcile the statement that Putin is the leader of “the free world” (not too sure what that phrase means these days) with the seemingly constant erosion of human rights and civil liberties in the Russian Federation.
[ ... ]
I'm not picking a fight here.
I just can't see Putin as a leader of a 'free world'.
Maybe you could persuade me

Many thanks for the question. And yes, no 'fight' at all.

What I'll do (and I genuinely appreciate the opportunity, as I've been kind of waiting for people to ask me direct questions ) is I'll take this over to my personal Q&A thread later today as my answer is likely to go beyond Ukraine and Russia, and is more about the future of the planet and all of humanity. I've been thinking about this quite a lot recently — and the more I think, the bigger it all gets.

Thanks, Bill. I'm not around these parts very often at the moment, but I'll keep an eye out. Looking forward to it!

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/mdfzeh/status/1587077156039020544

[Ravenlocke]

https://twitter.com/mdfzeh/status/1587245262011076608