Russia responds to UN official’s rape claims

The special representative accused Moscow of using sexual violence as part of its strategy in Ukraine this week

Claims made by the UN special representative on sexual violence, Pramila Patten, go “beyond the reach of reason,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Sunday. Earlier this week, Patten accused Russia of employing a “deliberate” rape “strategy” as part of its military campaign in Ukraine.

“One cannot even comment on P. Patten’s … words in a serious way,” Zakharova said, adding that the UN official’s conclusions were based on data that is difficult to verify, according to Patten herself.

“Once again, what we are seeing is a classic ‘highly likely’ [story], which has this time reached the level of twisted imagination,” Zakharova said. According to her, the UN official made her conclusions based on fragmentary data provided by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine – a group created in spring 2022 on the basis of a resolution of the UN Human Rights Council. Russia has not recognized its mandate, Zakharova added.

Patten’s claims resemble those made by the former Ukrainian human rights commissioner, Lyudmila Denisova, Zakharova said. Denisova was fired from her position in late May after a no-confidence vote over her failure to perform duties such as organizing humanitarian corridors and prisoner exchanges amid the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Later, Ukrainian media reported that most of Denisova’s allegations regarding “sexual atrocities” committed by Russian soldiers in the country had not been confirmed by Ukrainian prosecutors.

The Foreign Ministry spokeswoman’s reaction was sparked by an interview Patten gave to AFP this week, in which she claimed that sexual violence is a “deliberate tactic” and “military strategy” of Russia, aimed at dehumanizing its “victims.” She also claimed that Russian soldiers are “equipped with Viagra.”

Zakharova pointed out that similar claims have been made by Western officials in the past. In 2011, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, reportedly accused then-Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi of supplying his troops with Viagra to supposedly encourage mass rape during a conflict that broke out following a NATO-backed coup attempt which ended with the brutal murder of Gaddafi.

US military and intelligence officials subsequently told NBC that there was no evidence that the Libyan military was being supplied with Viagra or engaging in systematic rape in “rebel areas.”

“The West is using the same patterns in its hybrid war,” Zakharova said on Sunday, commenting on Patten’s statements.

https://www.rt.com/russia/564788-russia-respond-un-rape-claim/

Donetsk City Administration Heavily Damaged By Ukrainian Forces

The target of the Ukrainian attack was the building of the city administration. As a result of the shelling, at least 5 civilians were wounded. The building was heavily damaged. The attack did not disrupt the work of the staff, all services continue to function.

In response to the shelling of Donetsk, Russian artillery and warcraft immediately launched retaliation strikes on the Ukrainian military positions to the West of the city.

This is not the first attack on the building but it is the most destructive one. The MSM and the so-called international community continue to turn a blind eye to the Kiev regime’s shelling of civilians with precision weapons.

https://southfront.org/donetsk-city-administration-heavily-damaged-by-ukrainian-forces/

>>17695802

From charging DEAD Australians to intentionally making the wrong diagnosis for more cash: How doctors are rorting 'utterly broken' Medicare out of $8BILLION a year

Rampant Medicare fraud and rorts are estimated to cost $8 billion a year

Doctors are charging for services not performed or that are unnecessary

A GP in western Sydney was ordered to pay back $1 million they overcharged

Government vows to 'crack down on the crooks' but the problems are endemic

Medicare expert says the system is unsustainable and has only a few years left

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11321873/Medicare-8billion-year-rorted-Australian-doctors.html

Israel urged to pick side in Ukraine conflict

Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai called for supplying arms to Kiev, claiming Iran was arming Russia

Israel should begin supplying military aid to Ukraine, Minister of Diaspora Affairs Nachman Shai announced on Twitter on Sunday, claiming that Iran was reportedly transferring ballistic missiles to Russia.

“There is no longer any doubt where Israel should stand in this bloody conflict,” the politician tweeted. “The time has come for Ukraine to receive military aid as well, just as the USA and NATO countries provide.” Israel has already been supplying Ukraine with non-lethal aid, including military equipment and – allegedly – missile defense systems supplied via the private sector.

The claim that Iran was supplying Russia with ballistic missiles was made in a Sunday Washington Post report by “officials from a US-allied country that closely monitors Iran’s weapons activity.” These same officials, according to WaPo, claimed in August that Iran was supplying Shahed series and Mohajer-6 drones to Russia for use in Ukraine, and told the outlet on Sunday that Iran would be sending over “dozens” more Mohajer-6s and a larger number of Shahed-136s.

Iran has denied it is supplying weapons to either side, arguing “the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani dismissed “reports about delivering drones to Russia for use in the Ukraine war” as “baseless” in a statement earlier this month, and Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has called the claims “bogus.” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby admitted in August that Washington had no evidence Russia’s Defense Ministry had actually purchased any Iranian drones.

However, Ukraine nevertheless insists most of the drones Russia has used in recent battles are of Iranian origin. The country revoked the credentials of Iran’s ambassador to Kiev last month after several downed Russian drones were found to resemble the Iranian models.

While Ukraine has repeatedly asked Israel for its Iron Dome missile defense system, in addition to pleading with the US to impose a no-fly zone that would place Washington into direct military confrontation with Moscow, Tel Aviv has refused thus far, arguing that the technology that defends the small state of Israel would not work on a territory as large as Ukraine’s, as it would not protect against the medium- and long-range missiles used by Russia.

https://www.rt.com/news/564790-israel-ukraine-iran-drones-russia/

Extremist recruitment reaching young Australian gamers

AFP Acting Assistant Commissioner Counter Terrorism and Special Investigations Command Sandra Booth said spreading extremist content in online gaming platforms was a serious concern for law enforcement agencies in Australia and around the world.

“We know that nationalist, racist and violent extremist content in online games is almost certainly part of a radicalisation process for some young people,” she said.

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-media/media-releases/extremist-recruitment-reaching-young-australian-gamers

China Orders Evacuation Of All Citizens Still In Ukraine, Sparking Escalation Fears

China's foreign ministry on Saturday issued an urgent call for any Chinese nationals still in Ukraine to exit immediately, kicking off speculation over what's behind the unspecified appeal and scramble.

The notification is being widely seen as the most forceful evacuation order yet, and suggests that Beijing might be aware of Russian plans for possibly imminent bigger, sweeping airstrikes against Ukrainian cities, such as the widespread escalatory strikes conducted last Monday into Tuesday.

The first big evacuation of Chinese citizens took place starting last March, in which some 6,000 Chinese nationals left the country amid the Russian invasion. But now, as state media Global Times writes, "Some Chinese nationals still in Ukraine have signed up for evacuation from the country, with most registering for organized evacuations, while others are preparing to leave Ukraine on their own, the Global Times learned on Sunday, after the Chinese Foreign Ministry urged Chinese citizens to leave Ukraine, citing the grave security situation."

The foreign ministry and embassy warned of the "grave security situation" and ordered an immediate departure, citing the need "to enhance safety precautions and evacuate." The statement indicated that "the embassy will assist in organizing the evacuation of people in need." Russian state sources also on Sunday began publicizing the new alert notification.

GT is reporting that an evacuation is now in progress:

As of press time on Sunday, 161 people had registered on the form the embassy sent out for organized evacuation, and another 27 people registered on the form for self-evacuation, according to a Global Times' count of the registration on the embassy's WeChat account.

It additionally comes at a moment of stepped-up cross-border attacks on the Russian city of Belgorod, which lies just north of the Ukrainian border opposite Kharkiv.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/china-orders-evacuation-its-citizens-still-ukraine-sparking-fears-more-escalation

Child sex-crime epidemic in K-12, one arrest per day so far this year: report

"The question for critics who seek to downplay the extent of public-school sexual abuse is this: How many arrests need to happen before you consider it a problem?"

With nearly 270 public educators arrested on child sex-related crimes in the first nine months of 2022, this is a largely hidden and widespread epidemic that is receiving far too little attention. The crimes range from grooming to raping underage students.

According to Fox News Digital, this epidemic is averaging approximately one arrest per day. The number includes four principals, two assistant principals, 226 teachers, 20 teacher's aides and 17 substitute teachers, according to Fox News. Three-quarters of the arrests involved alleged crimes against students. Men made up approximately 80% of the arrests.

Among the most egregious examples cited is the case of Eugene Pratt, 57, a former principal, elementary school teacher and coach who taught at-risk youth in multiple Michigan public schools. He was charged with first-degree criminal sexual conduct in August and stands accused of sexually assaulting at least 15 boys and young adult men over the course of his career.

"The number of teachers arrested for child sex abuse is just the tip of the iceberg — much as it was for the Catholic Church prior to widespread exposure and investigation in the early 2000s," Christopher Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The best available academic research, published by the Department of Education, suggests that nearly 10% of public school students suffer from physical abuse between kindergarten and twelfth grade."

"According to that research, the scale of sexual abuse in the public schools is nearly 100 times greater than that of the Catholic Church," he said. "The question for critics who seek to downplay the extent of public-school sexual abuse is this: How many arrests need to happen before you consider it a problem? How many children need to be sexually abused by teachers before you consider it a crisis?"

According to the outlet, there are approximately 3.2 million public school teachers in the country, meaning that the arrests counted in this study, which were only those that were publicized, make up only 0.009% of all teachers. But it also means that the actual number of crimes and victims is likely much higher.

https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/child-sex-crime-epidemic-k-12-one-arrest-day-so-far-year-report