No ‘unfriendly nations’ for Russia, only ‘unfriendly elites’ – Putin

Unlike the West, Moscow will never “cancel” any foreign culture

Russia has no intention of cancelling any country’s culture, President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday during a working trip to Tver Region. Moscow understands the difference between the people and the elites and respects every nation’s culture, and also considers its own to be part of the world’s heritage, he added.

The president was talking to regional artists when the issue of attempts to “cancel” Russian culture by some Western nations was raised. According to Putin, Moscow has no plans to respond in kind.

“We do not have any unfriendly nations, we have unfriendly elites in those nations,” the president said, adding that the Russian government “has never tried to cancel” any foreign artists or cultural performances. “On the contrary, we believe the Russian culture to be a part of the global one and we take pride [in this fact].”

The Russian authorities seek to take the global cultural context into account and “exclude nothing,” he continued. Those seeking to abolish the culture of a nation inhabited by some 190 million people are “not wise,” the president said, referring to the Western actions during the Ukraine conflict.

Western nations have repeatedly sought to ban performances by Russian artists and musicians, as well as those deemed supportive of Moscow. Most recently, renowned Italian singer Enzo Ghinazzi, best known as Pupo, had an upcoming performance in Lithuania cancelled over a concert he gave at the Kremlin in March.

Pupo arrived in Russia to “convey the message that peace will return to the world,” he told TASS at the time. He also argued against an “embargo of any people’s culture,” calling such a stance “wrong.” The Lithuanian venue set to host his performance subsequently announced that it was being cancelled, calling it “good news” for those opposed to Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Earlier the same month, South Korea canceled a series of performances by Svetlana Zakharova, a renowned ballerina from Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, after Ukraine expressed anger over the planned events.

Many Western cultural institutions have sought to completely remove Russia-linked works from their galleries and theaters ever since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine broke out in February 2022.

The Cardiff Philharmonic Orchestra in Wales dropped the music of composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky from a concert, Britain’s Royal Opera House canceled a tour by the Bolshoi Ballet, and New York’s Carnegie Hall and Metropolitan Opera have stopped allowing most Russian musicians and organizations to perform.

The campaign has reached such a fever pitch that it has drawn criticism from some Western leaders. In April 2023, Italian President Sergio Mattarella branded it a “mistaken gesture.” In August of the same year, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz argued against such moves by calling Russian culture a part of “our common European history.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/595028-no-unfriendly-nations-russia/

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Virginia Governor Vetos 30 Gun Bills That Would 'Punish' Law-Abiding Citizens

Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R-Va.) took action on 67 bills on Tuesday, including vetoing 30 that he said would “punish” law-abiding citizens and impinge on their 2nd Amendment rights.

“I swore an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of Virginia, and that absolutely includes protecting the right of law-abiding Virginians to keep and bear arms,” Mr. Youngkin said in a statement.

“I am pleased to sign four public safety bills which are commonsense reforms with significant bipartisan support from the General Assembly, and offer recommendations to several bills which, if adopted, will make it harder for criminals to use guns in the commission of a violent act,” he added.

Among the vetoes the governor signed were measures that would criminalize possession of a firearm in a building owned or operated by a public institution of higher education.

One particular bill appeared to target a single individual, the governor noted. House Bill 585 would criminalize home-based firearm dealers who maintain their place of business at their residence within one and a half miles of an elementary or middle school.

“By all appearances, this legislation targets one individual in Prince William County, to whom the Prince William Board of County Supervisors granted a home-based firearms license,” Mr. Youngkin wrote in his veto memo.

A five-day waiting period for gun purchases, championed by Democrat state Sen. Suhas Subramanyam of Loudoun County, was also vetoed.

Another vetoed bill would have banned the import, sale, manufacture, purchase, or transfer of certain firearms and ammunition-feeding devices made on or after July 1.

Among the vetoed bills were ones that sought to prevent the open carrying of some semi-automatic rifles and shotguns in specific public areas. Another bill proposed the creation of safe storage requirements for firearms in homes where minors or people not legally allowed to possess guns reside. Additionally, there was a bill that sought to create a civil penalty for individuals who leave a handgun visible in an unattended vehicle.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/virginia-governor-vetos-30-gun-bills-would-punish-law-abiding-citizens

In Reversal, Israel Sending Delegation To White House After "Bibi Made A Mistake"

Israel's military has stepped up its airstrikes on the southern Gaza city Rafah in the last two days, on Wednesday bombing at least four homes, raising fears that the planned ground assault is imminent, despite the UN Security Council having just issued an official call for immediate ceasefire.

Gaza health officials said that one of these airstrikes killed eleven people from a single family, as cited in Reuters. One local eyewitness, Jamil Abu Houri, described that "The bombing has increased, and they have threatened us with an incursion, and they say that have been given the green light for the Rafah incursion. Where is the Security Council?"

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/reversal-israel-sending-delegation-white-house-after-bibi-made-mistake

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Baltimore Coal Exports Blocked After Bridge Collapse

Baltimore Port’s coal exports are likely to be blocked for weeks after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge on Tuesday, according to a Pennsylvania coal trading firm.

The bridge collapsed early on Tuesday after a cargo ship lost power and slammed into the construction, which crumbled within seconds and will disrupt navigation near the Baltimore port, which is one of the biggest coal export terminals in America.

Baltimore is the nation’s second-largest coal exporting port after Norfolk, Virginia, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). In 2022, about one-fifth of U.S. coal exports left through Baltimore.

The port of Baltimore is also one of the 20 largest ports in the U.S. and handles both coal and petroleum products.

Following the bridge collapse, up to 2.5 million tons of coal exports from Baltimore could be blocked for up to six weeks, Ernie Thrasher, CEO at Pennsylvania coal trading firm Xcoal Energy & Resources, told Bloomberg.

“You’ll see some diversion to other ports but the other ports are pretty busy,” Thrasher added.

“There’s a limit on how much you can divert,” said the executive, whose firm works with several coal suppliers.

Globally, the disrupted exports are unlikely to have a huge impact on coal prices, but many coal cargoes from Baltimore are typically headed for India, so there the impact could be felt along the supply chain, Thrasher told Bloomberg.

At any rate, the bridge collapse has already disrupted coal shipments and delivery times.

For example, rail company CSX, which owns the Curtis Bay coal pier in Baltimore, told Reuters on Tuesday that existing coal customers should expect “potential shipment delays.”

Coal producer CONSOL Energy said vessel access in and out of the CONSOL Marine Terminal, located in the Port of Baltimore, has been delayed. As of Tuesday morning, the company did not have a definitive timeline of when vessel access or normal operations will resume.

https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/baltimore-coal-exports-blocked-after-bridge-collapse

Telegram a national security issue – Ukraine’s top spy

Banning the app would not be censorship, GUR chief Budanov has said

Telegram a national security issue – Ukraine’s top spy

Ukraine can use Telegram for influence operations but the messaging application still represents a threat, the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service (GUR), Kirill Budanov, said on Wednesday.

In comments sent to the media by Kiev’s Center for Strategic Communications, Budanov admitted the wide reach of the encrypted instant-messaging platform, calling it both an opportunity and a problem.

“From the viewpoint of national security, Telegram is definitely a problem,” Budanov said. “Anyone can create a channel, start writing whatever he wants, and – when someone tries to do something about it – hides behind freedom of the press.”

“I am absolutely against the suppression of freedom of speech. But this is too much,” Budanov added. “This is not freedom of the media, it is something else.”

Telegram was created as an instant-messaging platform by Russian entrepreneurs Pavel and Nikolay Durov in 2013. What sets it apart from similar applications, such as WhatsApp and Viber, is the ability to create public broadcast channels and discussion groups. It is currently the number one messaging app in Ukraine.

“The most interesting thing is that everyone reads Telegram,” Budanov said. While this may have a “destructive effect” inside Ukraine, it also allows Kiev to spread its message in the Russian-controlled territories, he added.

His comments come two days after several Ukrainian lawmakers proposed a bill to “regulate” Telegram. The proposal defines messaging platforms as a separate legal category and creates reporting requirements for “providers of information” using them. If passed, it would require any messaging platforms operating in Ukraine to have a registered office in the country – unless they are headquartered in the EU – and disclose their ownership structure and funding to the government.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has consolidated all media outlets under the state’s umbrella, citing martial law imposed due to the conflict with Russia. Officials in Kiev have repeatedly lamented the fact that Telegram has enabled citizens to bypass government censorship.

Last month, a parliamentary committee agreed that the platform should be banned in Ukraine. This prompted criticism from a National Security and Defense Council official in charge of “countering disinformation,” who argued that Ukraine was using the platform to “strangle the pro-Russian segments of the media field” and that banning it would be “impossible.”

https://www.rt.com/russia/595026-budanov-ukraine-telegram-danger/

Israel has ‘no choice’ but Rafah offensive, Netanyahu tells US members of Congress

Hosting the congressional delegation, which the Prime Minister’s Office said was organized by the pro-Israel lobbying group American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), in Jerusalem, Netanyahu said it was “very important to maintain bipartisan support” but “especially in these trying times.”

Netanyahu said that Israel “had no choice” but to move into Rafah as the country’s “very existence is on the line.”

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/other/israel-has-no-choice-but-rafah-offensive-netanyahu-tells-us-members-of-congress/ar-BB1kExkd