EU is Terrified of Free Speech on Elon Musk’s Twitter, MEP Says

Peter Caddle15 Feb 2023

The idea that free speech could spread on Elon Musk’s Twitter is terrifying many within the European Union, an MEP serving in the bloc’s parliament has said.

Tom Vandendriessche, a Flemish nationalist elected representative within the European Parliament, has told Breitbart that the EU’s repeated attacks on Elon Musk and his social media platform Twitter are the result ofthe bloc fearing the impact of free speech.

Senior officials within the union have repeatedly attacked the platform since Musk’s takeover last year, with some commissioners even threatening to ban the platform from the EU should the billionaire refuse to implement the union’s censorship regime.

Such pressure has only increased with the continued implementation of Brussels’ Digital Services Act, which is set to force major social media platforms to implement more measures tackling what the bloc calls “disinformation”, including by working with so-called independent “fact checkers”.

This attempt at radical censorship may not be coming from a position of strength, however, with Vandendriessche telling Breitbart Europe that, in reality, many within the union actually fear the potential impact free speech could have on those in power.

“Social media has broken the control over the information people get to see,” the politician, who is a member of the populist Vlaams Belang party, told Breitbart Europe.

The MEP went on to explain that the availability of “free information is far too dangerous for those in power”, with senior officials in the bloc now desperate to clamp down on online platforms to maintain control.

“That’s why they want to ‘regulate’ social media,” he continued, emphasizing thatEU talk of “hate speech and fake news” is really about people being able to contradict narratives drawn up by those in power, in turn allowing them to doubt the bloc’s “imposed version of reality”.

Ultimately, Vandendriessche says that the EU’s view of censorship is closer to that of the Chinese Communist Party than the views held by those in the United States, with Musk’s takeover of Twitter getting such a hostile reaction from senior Eurocrats due to them perceiving the social media platform as a threat to their power.

“[T]he European Union is importing the Chinese totalitarian communist modelwhere modern technology is used to oppress and disenfranchise citizens,” he said.

“Ever since Elon Musk took over Twitter with the intention of making this the marketplace of ideas again, they have been threatening him,” he continued. “They fear that citizens will be able to speak freely on Twitter.Because they fear being driven from power.”

The latest of these threats appeared to drop last week, with the bloc publicly admonishingTwitter for failing to implement the union’s anti-“disinformation” rules.

Although such a transgression does not come with any penalty as of writing, things are set to change this coming September, when many major social media platforms will begin to face fines of up to six per cent of their global revenue should they not obey EU censorship demands as set out by the Digital Services Act.

It remains ultimately unclear whether or not Musk will abide by the demands of the Union, with Twitter being ultimately slow to implement the EU’s censorship regime despite the billionaire Tech tsar repeatedly affirming to senior officials that he will make the platform abide by the bloc’s rules.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2023/02/15/eu-is-terrified-of-free-speech-on-elon-musks-twitter-mep-says/

15 Feb, 2023 13:08

Lavrov challenges French neocolonialism claims

Paris is attempting to “demonize” Moscow by projecting its own guilt onto it, the foreign minister has said

French allegations that Moscow is pursuing a neocolonialist policy in Africa turn reality upside down, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has said, adding that they are part of the Western proxy war against Russia.

France and other European nations “committed multiple bloody atrocities on the continent,” and even today, Paris “openly considers Africa its backyard,” Lavrov said at a briefing of MPs on Wednesday.

Moscow on the other hand “played the leading and decisive role in liberating the continent from the colonial yoke,” and assisted African nations in “building their statehood, forming the basis of their economies and defense,”according to the foreign minister. This assistance was often provided for free, he noted.

Several French officials, including President Emmanuel Macron, accused Russia of trying to exploit Africa. Earlier this month, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Claire Legendre slammed Moscow for what she called its “neocolonial political involvement” on the continent, claiming that Russia is using “mercenaries” in various parts of Africa.

This was in response to remarks to the media by her Russian counterpart, Maria Zakharova, who accused Paris of looking down on its former colonies, and said that African nations no longer need Paris’ approval for policy decisions.

In recent months,Burkina Faso, Mali, and the Central African Republic have shown France’s military forces the door. The Central African Republic invited Russia’s Wagner Group to help with its sectarian conflict. The government in Bangui has said that Russia “saved” the country.

Lavrov called the French allegations “an attempt to demonize Russia” – claims that require no comment, he added.

There are remnants of European colonialism surviving today, the foreign minister said.Paris remains in control of the island of Mayotte, which it considers a French overseas department, despite multiple UN resolutions condemning its failure to return it to the Union of the Comoros.

The Russian government described as ‘neocolonialist’ the international system, in which theUS and its allies leverage military strength and power over key global trade and financial instruments to undercut fair competition.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571515-lavrov-france-neocolonialism-africa/

(War is a racket, EU and US make or steal money with it. That doesnt count out Russia and China. I think Russia just wants to be left alone.)

15 Feb, 2023 10:17

Western sanctions bring Russia and India closer – diplomat

The two countries have been deepening economic ties despite the pressure, Ambassador Denis Alipov says

The West’s sanctions on Russia have led to closer trade and economic cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi, according to the Russian ambassador to India, Denis Alipov.

“Talking about the explosive, record growth of our cooperation in the energy field, our oil supplies, it would be appropriate to say that the sanctions that were introduced and expanded against us, in this case,had the opposite effectand became a catalyst for our trade relations,” Alipov told Channel One on Tuesday.

The ambassador suggested that New Delhi “will continue to be interested in maintaining this high level” relationship. “Of course, we are also interested in this… We have a very extensive, comprehensive cooperation, including in the field of economy and trade,” he said.

The Russian diplomat hailed the positive dynamics in the two nations’ cooperation in the construction sector, as well as in petrochemicals, railway, and heavy engineering. The mining industry, agriculture, and information and communication technologies are also examples of strengthening cooperation, he said.

According to Alipov, bilateral trade has been developing dynamically,hitting a record $35 billion. “There has never been such cooperation in the history of Russian-Indian relations,” the envoy stated.

https://www.rt.com/business/571481-russia-india-trade-sanctions/

(Allies of Trump and America working together, very interesting.)

15 Feb, 2023 08:03

Biden willing to let Germans freeze – Seymour Hersh

The US blew up Nord Stream fearing that Berlin would lift sanctions on Russia during a cold winter, the journalist claims

The US conducted a covert operation to destroy the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines based on doubts that Germany would stick to a hard line on Russia, renowned American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh has alleged. Last week, he published a bombshell report laying blame on Washington for several blasts that severely damaged the energy conduits in September 2022.

In an interview published by the Berliner Zeitung on Tuesday, Hersh suggested that Washington went ahead with the sabotage because the Ukraine conflict “was not going well for the West.” He added that Nord Stream 2 “was put on hold by Germany itself, not international sanctions, and theUS was afraid Germany would lift sanctions because of a cold winter.”

The point is that Biden has decided to let the Germans freeze this winter. The President of the United States would rather see Germany freeze than [see] Germany possibly stop supporting Ukraine.

According to Hersh, the bombs were planted in June 2022 during NATO naval exercises in the Baltic Sea. “But at the last minute, the White House got nervous. The President said he was afraid to do it. He changed his mind and issued new orders to get an opportunity to remotely detonate the bombs at any time,” he noted.

Explaining possible motives for the attacks, Hersh suggested that some people in the US thought that the operation was going “to give the American economy a long-term boost,”while the White House was more focused on politics. “I think they've always beenobsessed with re-election, and they wanted to win the war… they wanted Ukraine to somehow magically win,” he said.

Nord Stream 1 and 2, which connected Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were damaged in a series of underwater explosions on September 26. On February 8, Hersh, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, released a report blaming the US for the attack. The White House dismissed the allegation as “utterly false and complete fiction.”

However, in early February 2022, some two weeks before the Ukraine conflict began, Biden stated at a press conference with Germany’s chancellor that “if Russia invades… we will bring an end” to Nord Stream 2.

In the aftermath of the report, Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov called for “an open international investigation into this unprecedented attack,” saying that instead, Russia is witnessing “attempts to silently wind down” such probes.

https://www.rt.com/news/571502-biden-freeze-germany-nord-stream/

“Mark Milley Is The Kraken Of The Swamp”: Patel Goes Off The D.C.’s Mishandling Of CCP And Ukraine

https://rumble.com/embed/v271lzq/?pub=4

>>18352134

Second

Patel Slams The Biden Regime For Their “Tectonic Failure Of Leadership” Regarding CCP’s Aggression

https://rumble.com/embed/v271n0e/?pub=4

EPA Goes Silent When Asked Who Authorized Controlled Release, Michael Patrick Leahy Reports

Norfolk Southern really wanted to

Open up the tracks, that’s why they accelerated the controlled burn. The EPA would not answer if the person on the scene gave them permission to do the controlled burn!

https://rumble.com/embed/v271pha/?pub=4

>>18352229

Dewine is the one that granted the control burn order. Dewine’s office will not answer any questions

>>18352229

Dewine is the one that granted the control burn order. Dewine’s office will not answer any questions

There’s always an slightly illegal racket with politicians

https://twitter.com/TheStarNewsNet/status/1625385334832783362?s=20

15 Feb, 2023 16:34

More Nord Stream ‘bombshells’ to come – Seymour Hersh

The legendary reporter slammed the mainstream media for ignoring his story, which pinned the act of sabotage on the US

JournalistSeymour Hersh has promised to reveal more incriminating informationlinking the US to the demolition of the Nord Stream gas pipelines. President Joe Biden ordered the lines destroyed to prevent Germany from resuming the purchase of cheap Russian gas, he claimed.

In a post to his Substack page on Wednesday, Hersh slammed the mainstream media – singling out the New York Times and Washington Post – for refusing to “run a word”on the pipeline story, and for ignoring Russia and China’s calls for an international investigation.

Both papers, he said, published his exposés on the US military’s war crimes in Vietnam, but are now seemingly uninterested in “national security or matters of war and peace.”

Nord Stream 1 and 2, which connected Russia and Germany under the Baltic Sea, were damaged in a series of underwater explosions last September. Hersh, a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist, released a report last week blaming the US for the attack and detailing how the Biden administration and the CIA planned the operation. The White House dismissed the allegation as “utterly false and complete fiction.”

The article backed up Moscow’s repeated assertions that the US carried out the strike in order to prevent rapprochement between Russia and Germany, while making Berlin dependent on more expensive American liquefied natural gas.

Germany halted certification of Nord Stream 2 in the days before Russian troops entered Ukraine, and EU sanctions throttled the flow of gas through Nord Stream 1 since late summer by impeding vital repairs. However, Hersh told Germany’s Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday that the Biden administration feared Berlin would lift these sanctions and resume gas transit as temperatures dropped over the winter.

“The President of the United States would rather see Germany freeze than [see] Germany possibly stop supporting Ukraine,”he asserted.

“There may be more to learn about Joe Biden’s decision to prevent the German government from having second thoughts about the lack of cheap gas this winter,” Hersh wrote on Wednesday. “Stay tuned,” he said. “We are only on first base…”

https://www.rt.com/news/571532-new-nord-stream-report-hersh/

15 Feb, 2023 15:19

US training Ukraine to conserve ammunition

As Western stockpiles dwindle, Kiev’s forces need to ration artillery rounds, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin warned

The US and its European allies are training Ukrainian troops to use less artillery ammunition, American Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters on Tuesday. Kiev has received millions of shells from the West, leaving NATO stockpiles depleted.

“We’re working with the Ukrainian soldiers in various places throughout Europeto emphasize additional training on maneuver,”Austin said after a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. “As they place more emphasis on maneuver… there’s a good chance that they’ll require less artillery munitions, but that’s left to be seen.”

Fighting in and around the Russian regions of Donetsk and Lugansk has been defined by grinding artillery duels, and Russia has held a firepower advantage since the conflict began. The Ukrainian side is currently firing between 5,000 and 6,000 shells per day, Norwegian arms industry executive Morten Brandtzaeg estimated last week. Assessments of Russian fire have varied hugely from anywhere between 5,000 and 60,000 artillery rounds per day.

The US alone has given Kiev’s forces more than a million 155 millimeter artillery rounds, and 160 M777 howitzers with which to fire them. Washington has donated an additional 491,000 rounds of other calibers, and has reportedly raided its stockpiles in Israel and South Korea to keep the shells flowing.

“In terms of munitions, this has been a tough fight throughout,” Austin said. “We're going to do everything we can, working with our international partners, to ensure that we get them as much ammunition as quickly as possible.”

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called on Monday for the military bloc’s members to “ramp up” their munitions production to keep pace with the “enormous amount of ammunition” consumed by Ukraine, after months of media reports suggested that European and American stockpiles are nearly depleted.

The US Army has already planned to increase its monthly production of 155mm shells from 14,000 to 20,000 this spring, stillonly enough for four days of firing. France and Australia agreed last month to jointly manufacture 155mm ammunition for Ukraine, although neither state said how many shells will be made per month, or when production will begin.

(They should teach them to stop selling arms on the black market first)

https://www.rt.com/news/571527-ukraine-training-less-ammo/

15 Feb, 2023 14:48

Leopard tanks will burn – Wagner head to RT

Evgeny Prigozhin says Kiev’s Western military equipment will inevitably be destroyed

Russian forces could capture Artyomovsk, referred to as Bakhmut in Ukraine, sometime in March or April, Evgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military group, said in an interview with RT on Wednesday.

Prigozhin noted, however, that the timing is difficult to predict because Kiev continues to receive military aid from Western countries. He added that deliveries of Western military equipment, such as German-made Leopard main battle tanks, could be an important factor in the operation.

Nevertheless, the Wagner Group chief saidthey will “100% learn how to destroy these Leopards and will 100% learn how to burn them.”

Prigozhin also spoke about why Kiev is so insistent on holding on to Artyomovsk; he told RT there are three main reasons.

The first reason, Prigozhin says, is political, because the battle for Artyomovsk has now essentially become a new Stalingrad – the city in which the most brutal battle between Soviet and Nazi forces took place during WWII, and which proved to be a turning point in the war.

Artyomovsk is now seeing a huge amount of artillery fire, he said. “In Popasnaya, if you put out your hand, in just 30-40 seconds, you will be hit with shrapnel.” He added that in Artyomovsk, the intensity of artillery fire is 2 to 3 times higher. “The enemy is sparing no ammunition, and we should be doing the same,” he said.

The second reason for Ukraine is strategic, as the city, which is part of a 70km Ukrainian defensive line created after Kiev initiated the fighting in Donbass in 2014, is a “good transport and logistics hub for military operations,” the Wagner chief says.

The third reason, according to Prigozhin, has to do with morale. As long as Artyomovsk stands, the Ukrainian army’s morale will remain high, he said. He added that Kiev’s forces generally maintain good morale, and that it’s not the case that they are demoralized and on the run.

The Wagner Group has been at the forefront of Russian efforts to capture Artyomovsk – a key Donbass crossroads city which has seen intense fighting for months and is now close to being encircled by Russian forces.

https://www.rt.com/russia/571529-leopard-tanks-will-burn-wagner/

15 Feb, 2023 15:28

Investigators claim Israeli group meddling in elections worldwide

‘Team Jorge’ reportedly deployed thousands of bots to shift public opinion

A secretive Israeli group allegedly manipulated more than30 elections worldwide using hacking and state-of-the art disinformation techniques, according to an investigation conducted by an international consortium of journalists.

Several media outlets, including the Guardian, Le Monde, ZDF, Der Spiegel and El Pais looked into a team of contractors known as ‘Team Jorge’, run by Tal Hanan, a 50-year-old former Israeli secret services operative. The latter has denied any wrongdoing.

To expose the group’s alleged clandestine operations, the reporters passed themselves as prospective clients while covertly recording several hours of footage inside the meetings with the unit's members. Hanan allegedly told reporters that his services could be used by both private companies and intelligence agencies, with operations taking place in Europe and Africa, as well as in North, Central and South America.

In a video clip released by The Guardian on Wednesday, Hanan himself appears to boast that his group has completed “33 presidential-level campaigns … 27 of which were successful.” He also reportedly said that he took part intwo “major projects” in the US, adding that he does not engage directly in the nation’s politics.

According to the investigation, ‘Team Jorge’ would charge their clients between €6 and €15 million ($6.4–16 million) to interfere in elections.

During the meetings, the team reportedly demonstrated their methods for swaying elections, which included cyber hacking and special operations.

The key tool in the group’s arsenal, however, appears to be a software package called Advanced Impact Media Solutions, or Aims. With its help, the group is believed to be controlling some 30,000 sophisticated bots on various social media platforms.

The team also reportedly claimed that it had planted the required information in legitimate new outlets. Against this backdrop, French BFM TV Channel suspended one of its anchors, Rachid M’Barki, after undercover journalists were reportedly told by one of ‘Team Jorge’ members that the group was behind one report broadcasted by the outlet.

M’Barki himself told Politico that he “used information that [he] received from sources”and that “they did not necessarily follow the usual editorial process.”

https://www.rt.com/news/571528-investigation-team-jorge-election-meddling/