22 Mar, 2023 10:58

Nordic country targets Telegram over ‘Russian origins’

The messaging app, along with the Chinese TikTok, are now banned from devices used by Norwegian government officials for work purposes

The Norwegian Justice Ministry has instructed government officials not to install TikTok or Telegram on their work devices, after a security agency labeled the apps as risks. Many Western nations have cracked down in a similar way on TikTok, a Chinese-owned video sharing service, but Norway is the first to include Telegram, a popular messenger, in its restrictions.

The decision, which the ministry announced on Tuesday, is based on a review conducted by Oslo’s National Security Authority (NSM) earlier this month. It branded Telegramsuspicious due to its “Russian origins,” the ministerial statement said.

Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl said she supported the recommendations provided by the NSM and told officials not to use the two apps. If required for work purposes, they should be installed on a separate device, she added.

Mehl, who is 29 and is the youngest member of the Norwegian cabinet, earlier drew criticism for running TikTok on her work phone. She said she wanted to reach out to younger audiences, among whom the app is highly popular, and removed it after about a month of use.

The NSM expressed broader concerns over apps that collect user information,including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. But the ministry singled out TikTok and Telegram, citing a report released in February by the national armed forces, which described China and Russia as the biggest threats to the Nordic country’s security.

TikTok has also been targeted in the US, UK, Canada, and by EU authorities in recent weeks. The Norwegian parliament is set to ban its use by lawmakers, according to local media.

Telegram’s “Russian origins” are an apparent reference to its creator, Pavel Durov, who was born in what is now St. Petersburg and obtained his degree in linguistics in Russia.He left the country in 2013, and has since become a citizen of the United Arab Emirates and France.

Telegram’sparent company operates from Dubaiand is registered in the British Virgin Islands. In 2018, a court in Moscow banned the app at the request of media regulator RKN, which complained about the company’s failure to provide encryption keys to security services. Telegram claimed it was impossible due to the way the platform operates. Attempts to enforce the prohibition were unsuccessful, and it was lifted two years later.

https://twitter.com/alexbruesewitz/status/1638544079255478274?s=20

(Meanwhile the US and EU think FB, Google, snapcat, twitter spying on the world is fine)

22 Mar, 2023 17:47

Macron says he’s ready to be unpopular

Controversial pension reform is not a “luxury” but a long-overdue measure, the French president says

French President Emmanuel Macron has stood by his controversial pension reform in his first public remarks since pushing the measure through without the approval of lawmakers. He said the move, which has deepened ongoing unrest in the country, had been postponed for way too long by his predecessors.

Macron was adamant about the decision to increase the retirement age in France from 62 to 64 during a televised interview on Wednesday, insisting the only mistake he had made was “failing to convince people” of its merits.

“When I started working, there were ten million retirees; today there are 17 million, and by 2030 there will be 20 million,” he said. “Do you really think we can continue with the same rules?”

The president criticized his predecessors, saying he “could sweep the dust under the rug like many before,” but instead had opted to take the heat for the long-overdue changes.

“Do you think I enjoy doing this reform? No,”Macron said. “But there are not a hundred ways to balance the accounts … This reform is not a luxury or a pleasure, it’s a necessity for the country.”

If I have to shoulder unpopularity today, I shoulder it.

Macron also brushed off his opponents’ accusations of being “undemocratic” by pushing through the divisive legislation without full parliamentary approval, invoking Article 49.3 of France’s constitution.

He instead accused protesters of being undemocratic, denouncing violent riots that have gripped the country. However, he expressed respect for “the labor unions who defend their point of view.”

“When groups, as they have this week, use violence without any rules because they are not happy with something, then that is no longer democracy,” Macron said.

In addition to mass strikes and widespread protests, the legislation also prompted multiple no-confidence motions against the government in the National Assembly, which is dominated by Macron’s centrist alliance. The cabinet managed to survive them all, with the closest motion falling nine votes short of toppling the government.

The controversial pension reform legislation is now pending review by the Constitutional Council before it can be signed into law. While the body can dismiss certain articles within a bill if it deems them unconstitutional, it rarely exercises this power.

https://www.rt.com/news/573431-unpopular-macron-pension-reform/

(Kek,that picture is perfect!)

22 Mar, 2023 02:47

US to speed up Ukraine tank deliveries(Fairytale)

The new plan will make the 70-ton tanks ready “as quickly as possible,” the Pentagon said

The US military will accelerate its shipment of M1 Abrams battle tanks to Ukrainian forces, opting to send an older model after establishing it could take more than a year to send the latest version of the weapon to the battlefield. (What happened with Bidan’s no tanks? The US already have 300+ US tanks and personnel in the Baltics, why not transfer them? they have been there since 2014)

Speaking to reporters during a press briefing on Tuesday, Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said that while the military initially planned to send the tank’s newer M1A2 variant, it would now supply the previous M1A1 model in order to “significantly expedite delivery timelines.”

“It will … give Ukraine a very similar capability to the M1A2, which includes advanced armor and weapons systems,” Ryder said, stressing that the decision “is about getting this important combat capability into the hands of the Ukrainians sooner rather than later.”

Asked about the Pentagon’s original timetable for the Abrams, the spokesman said deliveries were first slated to take “over a year,” but the military now hopes to start shipments before theend of 2023.

The tanks will be outfitted with “refurbished”hulls taken from US inventories, Ryder added, going on to predict that the cost of the procedure wouldn’t go “very much beyond”$400 million.

While President Joe Biden initially said he would not authorize the Abrams for Ukraine, his administration reversed course earlier this year after Germany agreed to send its own Leopard battle tanks, now pledging to transfer 31 M1A1 models. (They literally need over 300-500 tanks for a real war, 31 tanks will be blown up on arrival)

Ryder’s announcement came just one day after Washington unveiled its latest $350 million weapons package for Kiev, including ammunition for US-made howitzers and the HIMARS multi-launch rocket platform, anti-armor systems, mortars and high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARMs), among other gear. The new aid brought total American military assistance toUkraine to some $32.5 billionsince the conflict with Russia kicked off last year.

Moscow has repeatedly urged against foreign arms shipments to Kiev, saying they would do nothing to deter its military aims and only make a negotiated settlement more difficult. Earlier on Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin offered a stern warning to the British government after it said it would provide depleted uranium munitions to Ukraine, saying Russia would be “forced to react accordingly.” Asked if the United States was currently supplying similar DU weapons – which contain highly toxic radioactive material– Ryder said “not to my knowledge,” afterofficials previously declined to provide an answerand refused to discuss the “technical specifics” of US arms.

(Scott Ritter and Kash Patel both said, there is no way to sends this complex tanks to Ukraine without military personnel!)

https://www.rt.com/news/573398-us-speed-tanks-ukraine/

21 Mar, 2023 12:41

Ukraine issues update on mooted Xi-Zelensky talks

Kiev is still waiting for Beijing to confirm top-level virtual discussions, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister says

Ukraine’s President Vladimir Zelensky and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping have a lot to discuss, but it’s currently unclear if their conversation will actually take place, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereshchuk has said.

A phone call being considered between the two heads of state “would be an important move.They have things to say to each other,”Vereshchuk told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Tuesday. (Ukraine obviously doesn’t know the etiquette for speaking with a world leader. Threats don’t work!)

But when asked if this conversation will happen “for sure,” she replied: “I don't know. We're waiting for confirmation.”

Xi hasn’t spoken with Zelensky since the conflict between Moscow and Kiev began more than a year ago. Last week, the Wall Street Journal reported, citingunnamed sourcesfamiliar with the matter, that the leaders of China and Ukraine may hold a“virtual meeting” after Xi returns from his visit to Russia.

The Chinese leader landed in Moscow on Monday and held five-hour-long, one-to-one talks with Russian president Vladimir Putin. He met with Russia’s Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin on Tuesday, with high-level delegations from the two countries, headed by Putin and Xi, to continue negotiations later in the day.

Beijing’s views on the conflict in Ukraine were summarized by Xi in an article he wrote that was published in the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper ahead of his visit. China maintains “an objective and impartial position” regarding the crisis, while making “active efforts to promote reconciliation and peaceful negotiations,” he wrote.

The Chinese leader pointed out that the settlement of the conflict should be based on the principles laid out in the UN Charter, which“respect the reasonable concern of all states in the field of security” and ensure the stability of global production and supply chains.

However, Vereshchuk said thatKiev expected Beijing to standwith the side seeking what she called “truth and justice” by supporting Zelensky’s ten-point “peace plan,” which, among other things, calls for the withdrawal of Russian forces to borders claimed by Ukraine, for the payment of reparations and for submission to war-crime tribunals. “Bejing should understandthat the idea of a ceasefire is impossible if it’s not preceded by a Russian pullout from the territory of Ukraine,”she explained.

(Even I know you don’t start off insinuating China, saying they don’t understand something. The barbarians will not do well with China, guilt and shame never works like it does on the weak leaders of US and EU)

Russia instantly rejected Zelensky’s proposal as “unacceptable,” insisting that it actually proved Kiev’s unwillingness to look for a diplomatic solution.

https://www.rt.com/news/573362-xi-zelensky-china-ukraine/

(Kekkity, Zelensky is being ghosted…not long now anons)

I was 11 when I was told about the birds and bees, and even then I didn’t believe it. What are they doing to children now? Its hideous!

https://twitter.com/Timcast/status/1638563569032654848?s=20

Michael Knowles

Biden tried to read a poem. It turned out precisely as well as you would expect.

https://t.co/PhAF20AUqQ

He didn’t get his amphetamines before this nonsense. It’s painful to hear.

https://twitter.com/michaeljknowles/status/1638304730077118465?s=20

>>18560779

Kekkity, thats what you get with no education and taking drugs before robbing a place

>>18560791

He’s just that arrogant. They let him get away with everything.

>>18560797

Now its foreign policy, good luck with that. MacGregors video explains the decline of the US

>>18560728

He’s doing exactly what the President of Ukraine rejected in 2014. No money has gone to the citizens since 2014, and the rest now will be drained off by the IMF.

>>18560809

The end is soon for someone or country

>>18560797

Wow, I’m surprised he wasn’t taken out back and thrown off a building

“Secretary of State Antony Blinken said last year that he brings up gay sex in "every conversation" with the Saudis.”

>>18560703

notableand true, how many of these networks are from countries that hate America?

>>18560611

The story is so unbelievable they must have tasked it to the worst experts of all time at the agency. Maybe they put a half hearted attempt into the story because they knew no one would believe it. They punked Joe and Scholz on this one

Hersh said the information The New York Times received “originated witha group of CIA experts in deception and propagandawhose mission was to feed the newspaper a cover story—and to protect a president who made an unwise decision and is now lying about it.”

>>18560585

I bet there a lot of Trump supporters on the jury

>>18560455

I have it on good authority no one listens to Schitt any longer. So pathetic

>>18560430

The royalty are no longer relevant without the Queen

I think DeSantis knows he gonna lose but he likes the billions from funders, so he won’t announce because he’ll have to resign. I wonder of he ever announces. It’s like the Shadow Running for President. Maybe the funders have another one in the wings. I hope its Pompeo, that will be funny

https://twitter.com/alexbruesewitz/status/1638595410997518356?s=20

KASH'S CORNER

KASH PATEL AND JAN JEKIELEK

Recently, the New York Times published a lengthy piece claiming John Durham’s investigation was flawed and “failed to find wrongdoing in the origins of the Russia inquiry.” Subsequently, a number of congressmen have called for Durham and Bill Barr to be investigated. What’s really going on?

“They do these preemptive strikes when they know something is about to happen,” says Kash Patel.

We also discuss House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan’s (R-Ohio) investigation into the federal government’s collusion with big tech to suppress free speech. Jordan recently subpoenaed the CEOs of Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft. Patel says Jordan should also send subpoenas in the other direction—to the FBI and DOJ—for all communications, contracts, and agreements with the tech giants.

“Once you run those two subpoenas on a parallel track, Jan, then you can get some real documentation and answers for the American people because someone is going to get caught lying,” Patel says.

And finally, we take a look at the Chinese spy balloon, the other downed aerial objects, and the train filled with toxic chemicals in Ohio that recently derailed. Are these events connected?

https://www.theepochtimes.com/kash-patel-heres-how-jim-jordan-can-set-trap-to-expose-collusion-between-big-tech-and-intelligence-agencies_5065846.html