Russia not looking for ‘new lands’ – Putin

The president stressed that the Ukraine conflict is not about territory

The conflict with Ukraine is not the result of a territorial dispute, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a speech at the Valdai International Discussion Club on Thursday.

Putin stressed that Russia is already the largest country in the world and therefore is not seeking to obtain new territory.

He noted that Russia still has a lot of work to do in developing Siberia and the Far East.

“This is not a territorial conflict and is not even the establishment of a regional geopolitical balance,” the president said. “This question is much broader and more fundamental. We are talking about the principles of a new world order.”

The Russian leader insisted that a lasting peace can only be established when “everyone feels safe and knows that their opinion is respected.”

Elsewhere in his speech, Putin said that Russia was not the one that initiated the conflict in Ukraine, but is instead trying to put an end to it.

“We were not the ones who organized a bloody coup in Kiev; it wasn’t us who intimidated the Crimeans and Sevastopol residents with Nazi-style ethnic purges. We weren’t the ones who tried to force the Donbass to obey using shellings and bombings. We were not the ones who threatened violence against those who wanted to speak their native language,” Putin said, stressing that it was Kiev that used tanks and artillery to wage war against the Donbass.

Despite civilians and children being killed in Donbass long before Russia launched its military operation last year, no other countries, especially in the West, paid any attention to this or shed any tears for them, the president said.

“The war started by the Kiev regime with the active, direct support of the West is now in its tenth year,” Putin noted. “The special military operation is aimed at stopping it.”

The four-day 20th anniversary meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club has been taking place in Sochi since October 2. The end of the forum is marked by a plenary session. Its participants include politicians, scientists, and social activists, including foreign guests.

https://www.rt.com/russia/584093-no-new-lands-russia/

California Governor Signs Bill Banning Hand Counting of Ballots in Most Elections

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Oct. 4 signed a bill that bans hand counts in nearly all elections in California, drawing opposition from at least one county.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, signed Assembly Bill 969, authored by fellow Democrat Assemblywoman Gail Pellerin. The bill took effect immediately.

The bill forbids any election officials from performing a manual vote count in an irregular election with more than 1,000 registered voters or a regular election with more than 5,000 voters.

Exceptions are available to officials who receive approval from the California secretary of state. Other exceptions are available in the wake of a natural disaster or during states of emergency.

The bill “puts in important guardrails to ensure that California’s elections remain accessible, accurate, and auditable,” Ms. Pellerin wrote in a social media post after Mr. Newsom signed the legislation.

“By clarifying the conditions under which a manual count may be performed, AB 969 ensures that no California voter will be disenfranchised by the actions and decisions of ill-informed political actors. AB 969 also requires the use of a federally qualified, state-certified voting system,” she added.

The state Assembly passed the bill in September in a 62–14 vote, following a 31–6 vote in the state Senate. All the no votes came from Republicans.

Groups that supported the bill include the League of Women Voters of California.

Without such a bill, the organization said a preference for hand-counted votes could proliferate. “There is the threat that these costly and destabilizing actions will be repeated in other California counties,” the organization said previously.

The Election Integrity Project California is among the organizations that opposed the bill.

“AB 969 dictatorially removes from the table any election model other than one fully reliant on the very technology that so many people world-wide not only believe but know to be unreliable and manipulatable,” the group said recently.

A spokeswoman for Mr. Newsom told ABC that hand counting is not realistic.

“It’s not just impractical to hand-count, but it harms the election process. It will cost more and slow down our election results significantly,” Erin Mellon, the spokeswoman, said.

“Unfounded conspiracy theories have undermined our elections. California is focused on ensuring free and fair elections,” she added.

US midterm elections

https://www.ntd.com/california-governor-signs-bill-banning-hand-counting-of-ballots-in-most-elections_946113.html