31 Mar, 2025 16:22

Italian deputy PM blames EU for Le Pen prison sentence

The verdict against the veteran French politician is “a declaration of war by Brussels,” Matteo Salvini has said

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has condemned the verdict against French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen as “a declaration of war by Brussels.” Le Pen has been sentenced to four years in prison on embezzlement charges and barred from running for president in 2027.

In a post on X on Monday, Salvinicompared the outcome of the =trial in Paris to the recent barring of independent candidate Calin Georgescu in Romania.

”Those who fear the judgment of the voters often find reassurance in the judgment of the courts,”Salvini said. “A bad film that we are also seeing in other countries such as Romania.”

Georgescu, a critic of NATO, the EU, and aid to Ukraine, won an unexpected first-round victory in last year’s election. The results were promptly annulled by Romania’s Constitutional Court, citing funding irregularities. Georgescu was subsequently barred from running in the election rerun scheduled for May 2025.

Salvini called the ruling against Le Pen“a declaration of war by Brussels, at a time when the warlike impulses of Von der Leyen and Macron are frightening.” He was apparently referring to the push by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to militarize the EU and proposals by French President Emmanuel Macron to deploy troops to Ukraine.

Le Pen, the leader of the National Rally party (RN), was convicted of embezzling over €4 million from the European Parliament from 2004 to 2016. She received a four-year prison sentence, with two years suspended, and a five-year ban from holding public office, effectively disqualifying her from the 2027 presidential election.

Le Pen has been a prominent critic of NATO’s policies in Eastern Europe and has opposed Ukraine’s accession to the military bloc. She has also advocated against the EU’s anti-Russia policies. In the 2022 presidential election, she advanced to a runoff against Macron, securing around 41.5% of the vote. Earlier this year,polls suggested that Le Pen would secure 61% of the vote against her main rival in the upcoming presidential election. (So there is cheating in France.)

The conviction of Le Pen and the disqualification of Georgescu occur amid an emergence of political movements across the EU opposed to the bloc’s policies.A number of French and foreign politicians have condemned the court’s ruling as undemocratic.

https://www.rt.com/news/615042-italy-salvini-reaction-le-pen/

31 Mar, 2025 16:02

Trump sons join new crypto venture – WSJ

(WSJ hates Trump and Family they would destroy them if they could. FOX owned of course.)

Eric and Donald Trump Jr. have partnered with a cryptocurrency firm to start a major US-based Bitcoin-mining company

The Trumps have increasingly aligned themselves with the crypto industry through new ventures, investments, and public endorsements in recent months.

According to the WSJ, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. plan tomerge their company, American Data Centers, with a new mining venture called American Bitcoin, which is majority-owned by Hut 8, a publicly traded crypto infrastructure company.

The deal will reportedlygive the Trump brothers a 20% stake in the combined entity.

Eric, who will serve as American Bitcoin’s chief strategy officer, told the WSJ:“We are a hard-asset family,” adding, “My entire life has been spent building things, and I don’t think there is ever a better hedge against all of that than the true digital assets.”

Miami-based Hut 8 will transfer nearly 61,000 of its specialized mining machines to American Bitcoin in exchange for an 80% stake in the new company, according to the report. Hut 8 said in a press release on Monday that no cash changed hands in the deal.

American Bitcoin aims to become the world’s largest Bitcoin miner and build a strategic Bitcoin reserve, Hut 8 said.

Executives behind the venture saidthe plans are not connected to the US strategic crypto reserveestablished by President Trump earlier in March by executive order.

Once a crypto critic, Donald Trump changed his position during the 2024 presidential campaign, attracting significant industry support. Since returning to the White House, he has pledged to make the US the “crypto capital of the world” and to serve as a “crypto president.”

The administration of former President Joe Biden took a more “cautious approach”(?) to digital assets, supporting stricter regulations and greater oversight to curb fraud and money laundering. (He stole and prosecuted people for having bit coin, it was not a cautious approach, it was a thief and dictator approach.)

In recent months, the Trump family launched a decentralized finance project – World Liberty Financial – and said their social media company would invest in Bitcoin and other digital assets.They also announced plans for a dollar-backed stablecoin.

Somecrypto industry figures have reportedly expressed concern that the Trumps could undermine US market credibility after launching highly volatile meme coins featuring the president and his wife Melania.

https://www.rt.com/business/615013-trump-crypto-mining-stake/

31 Mar, 2025 12:26

French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen sentenced to jail: Live Updates

A Paris court has barred the right-wing politician from taking part in the 2027 election French and foreign politicians are reacting to sentences handed down on Monday by a Paris court in a case against the far-right National Rally party (RN) and several of its most prominent figures, including Marine Le Pen, the party’s former leader who currently heads its parliamentary faction. Le Pen and others have been convicted of embezzling EU funds intended for political assistants and face a variety of sentences, including a five-year ban on seeking public office and two years house arrest. Several other defendants have also been sentenced to prison terms of various lengths.

RN is the single largest party in the French parliament and the sentencing has sent a shockwave through the country's, and wider European, politics.

31 March 2025

16:32 GMT: RN President Jordan Bardella, in a post on X, has called the verdict against Le Pen“a democratic scandal” and urged “peaceful and popular mobilization” to show that “the will of the people is stronger.”

An accompanying petition titled ‘Save democracy, support Marine’ has said: “You have always been able to count on Marine Le Pen, on her willingness to defend you, on her patriotism. Today, she is counting on you.”

16:01 GMT: French Prime MinisterFrancois Bayrou is “troubled” by the embezzlement rulingagainst Le Pen, a source close to him has told AFP. Bayrou does not plan to make “any statement on a judicial ruling,” the source added.

15:49 GMT:France is plunging into an “unpredictable maelstrom” and could see protests similar to those in Romania after presidential candidate Calin Georgescu was barred from running, former Austrian Foreign MinisterKarin Kneisslhas said, according to TASS.She added that strong reactions from the US were likely to follow.

15:28 GMT: Tech billionaireElon Muskhas responded on X to the Le Pen verdict, saying:“When the radical left can’t win via democratic vote, they abuse the legal system to jail their opponents. This is their standard playbook throughout the world.”

15:13 GMT: Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has described the verdict as a violation of democratic norms, saying “more and more European capitals” are undermining them. He added, however, that the issue is France’s internal affair.

13:44 GMT: National Rally leaders are reportedly conducting a crisis meeting at the party’s headquarters in Paris to discuss how to proceed.

13:44 GMT:Eric Zemmour, president of the minority right-wing Reconquete party, has expressed support for Le Pen, saying that regardless of his political disagreement with her, he believes she should be able to run for office.

”I regret that politicians have voluntarily given this exorbitant power to the justice system. Everything will have to change,” Zemmour wrote on social media

13:44 GMT: MP Harold Huwart of the minority Liberties, Independents, Overseas and Territories (LIOT) group in the French National Assembly, has berated condemnations of the verdict as nearing the“peak of ridiculousness”.

”For years and years, MPs have been collectively voting for provisions that toughen sentences for elected officials in the name of fighting corruption,” he told the press. Huwart added that whileRN voters may be frustrated by the outcome of the trial, it was a logical consequence of criminal justice reforms stretching back decades.

13:43 GMT: Former French government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot, who is a member of the Renaissance party, has described the verdict as “justice served” in an interview with Franceinfo, urging people to respect the court’s ruling. Respecting the rule of law is required for theprotection of democracy, she argued.

13:21 GMT: French MEP Francois-Xavier Bellamy, who serves as vice president of the Republicans, has called the sentence“a very dark day for French democracy” and “major interference in our democratic life,”regardless of people’s opinions of the National Rally.

”The candidate whom the polls actually place in the lead in the presidential election has been barred from running by a court decision: this unprecedented event will leave deep scars,” he said on X.

The French judicial system is “taking the risk of casting suspicion of arbitrariness” and needs to redeem itself in the eyes of the people by proving its impartiality, the politician added.

https://www.rt.com/news/615015-le-pen-live-updates/

>>22846865

You know how they know Le Pen didn’t embezzle, Macron has been trying to get rid of her for years, and he likely stole his last election.

Since she knew who Macron is, she would have never taken a chance of embezzlement or even a speeding ticket.

La Pen was sharing the political leadership with Macron, the two other parties kept on kicking out his recommendations for treasurer.

31 Mar, 2025 14:36

Ukraine places actor from Oscar-winning film on ‘kill list’

Mark Eydelshteyn, who starred in ‘Anora’, has been accused of “attacking the sovereignty” of the country

A Russian actor who starred in the Oscar-winning movie 'Anora’has been listed on the notorious Ukrainian state-linked Mirotvorets (Peacemaker) database. Mark Eydelshteyn has been accused of attacking “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

The controversial database lists individuals who supposedly pose a threat to Ukrainian national security, and has been branded a ‘kill list’ due to the number of people featured on it who have died under suspicious circumstances.

Eydelshteyn, 23, was listed for a supposed attack on Ukraine’s “sovereignty and territorial integrity” and“repeated deliberate violation of the state border of Ukraine” by visiting Crimea, which joined Russia in 2014.

According to Russian media, the accusationmay stem fromEydelshteyn’s participation in the movie ‘The Land of Sasha’, released in 2022, which was shot on the peninsula.

The movie, in which Eydelshteyn played the lead role, propelled the actor to international prominence after premiering at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival in 2022.

Last year, Eydelshteyn starred as Ivan ‘Vanya’ Zakharov in US director Sean Baker's film 'Anora', a performance that contributed to the movie's critical acclaim, including winning the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival and securing five Oscars at the 97th Academy Awards in March.

Created in 2014(Nina Jankowicz developed that site), Mirotvorets was initially backed by Anton Gerashchenko, a former adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, and has partnered with the nation’s security services.

While the moderators of the website claim it is merely a list of individuals considered enemies of Ukraine, the state-linked site has becomeknown as a ‘kill list’ after several people on it died under suspicious circumstances, often attributed to Ukrainian intelligence.

Mirotvorets claims that it operates in accordance with the laws of Ukraine and international legal norms. (what countries put people on a kill list by entering a foreign country) However, its front page features calls to kill Russians and displays graphic images of deceased soldiers alleged to be Russian.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has described the extremist site as effectively ahit list of those Kiev wants to “eliminate.”

The list has included US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and prominent American journalist Tucker Carlson.

https://www.rt.com/news/615039-ukraine-eydelshteyn-anora-kill-list/

Hey at least the US doesn’t kill the illegals for “attacking the sovereignty of the US”. Crimea voted to join Russia, the EU, US, UN and others refused to acknowledge they were Russian territory now. Russia has 3 or 4 more territories that chose to be under Russia, what are they going to do with them now.

>>22846955 An article written by Nina in 2018, and guess what "The Atlantic" publishes her trash.

Kennan Institute

Insight & Analysis by Nina Jankowicz

• Insight & Analysis

Ukraine’s Election Is an All-Out Disinformation Battle

Ahead of the presidential election, the campaigns themselves have become combatants in the information war. That’s exactly what Russia wants.

By Nina Jankowicz April 17, 2019

Support for this article was provided by a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.

KYIV, Ukraine—“Everything,” Dmytro Zolotukhin tells me, “is going like they wanted.”

Slumped in a chair in a café here in the Ukrainian capital, Zolotukhin wasn’t talking about the campaign of Volodymyr Zelensky, a comedian who is favored to win the country’s presidential elections this weekend, or the incumbent, Petro Poroshenko. No, they are the Russians. Moscow has used Ukraine as a disinformation laboratory for years—and Zolotukhin is one of the men charged with fending them off.

The Kremlin stands accused of interfering in elections the world over, driving division in societies through an array of tactics, chief among them online disinformation. Using fabricated or misleading news stories and fake accounts, Russian operations have sought to sow doubt in the democratic process. Ahead of European Parliament elections next month andthe American presidential contest in 2020, Putin’s online armies are auditioning their tactics in Ukraine.

Keep reading The Atlantic.

People walk past a campaign billboard, showing Poroshenko and Putin, in Kyiv. (Valentyn Ogirenko / Reuters) Oh so Nina was also involved in the 2020 steal and casting aspersions on PDJT as a Putin Puppet.

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/04/russia-disinformation-ukraine-election/587179/

this is her link in the anti American think tank:

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/person/nina-jankowicz

>>22846992

I just realized the Nina Jankowicz left the US and went to work for the UK disinformation departments. So she's the one or more, pushing this horrible disinformation arrests on English people. It accelerated after she left the in 2022Everything they are doing in the UK, is changing the culture, just like she ruined Ukraine, years ago. She is Big Brother with Pimples. By changing the culture like she did in Ukraine, now the people are treated as cattle to be shot and killed in a useless war, they are dying by genocide by their own country; and the native England citizens get put in jail but Muslims don't her tracks are all over the place.

Facebook Oversight Board Decision on Former President Donald Trump

Posted date/time:May 5, 2021 By Nina Jankowicz

Statement from Nina Jankowicz, Wilson Center Disinformation Fellow.

"The Facebook Oversight Board's decision to uphold the ban on former President Trump for another six months and ultimately leave the decision on the permanence of the ban in the platform's hands underlines the need for an independent, government regulatory body to provide oversight of and transparency within social media.Ultimately, the Oversight Board is still a body that was created and paid for by Facebook.

What is more striking about the decision and related recommendations is not related to President Trump, but how Facebook will deal with other world leaders and government officials. The Board acknowledges that not just officials, but influencers have an outsized influence on politically motivated violence, and recommends that Facebook invest in local subject matter, cultural, and linguistic experts to help them monitor content and enforce policies, an area in which Facebook has been notoriously underinvested.

The Board also emphasized the need for transparency in Facebook's content moderation decisions, dinged Facebook for its opacity in not responding to the Board's requests for material in its investigations, and urged Facebook to conduct a review of its role in the January 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.

In short: the decision is not a "win" for any political force (oh yes it is). It is a start toward more equitable enforcement and discourse on Facebook,but until some of these recommendations are translated into law and carry consequences, democratic discourse around the world will continue to be at the mercy of social media executives"

https://www.wilsoncenter.org/article/facebook-oversight-board-decision-former-president-donald-trump

31 Mar, 2025 14:24

Vandals set fire to grave of Russian military correspondent (VIDEO)

The resting place of Izvestia’s Aleksandr Fedorchak in Crimea has been desecrated three days after his funeral

The grave of a Russian journalist who was killed by a Ukrainian strike last week has been desecrated in Crimea, just days after his funeral. Vandals set fire to the resting place of Aleksandr Fedorchak in the early hours of Monday morning, according to the local administration.

Fedorchak, a reporter with the Izvestia newspaper, was killed in an artillery strike in the Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) last Monday. Russia accused Ukrainian forces of deliberately targeting the news crew. Fedorchak, who was 28, was buried in his home village of Nizhnegorsky on Friday.

“Vandals set fire to the graves of war correspondent Aleksandr Fedorchakand three fighters of the special military operation at the cemeteryin Nizhnegorsky,” the head of the local administration, Anton Kravets, posted on Telegram early on Monday morning.

Three criminal cases have been launched into the desecration of the burial sites and damage to a military grave, media outlets have reported, citing the local Interior Ministry. Izvestia director Vladimir Tyulin has claimed that the attack on the cemetery was orchestrated by Ukraine.

The governor of Crimea, Sergey Aksyonov, has vowed to punish those behind the act of vandalism.

”This act is not that of a human being but rather that of a mean, hateful and unscrupulous beast. Cowardly avoiding a fight with the living, they insult the dead. Retribution is inevitable however here on earth, and there in heaven,” Aksyonov wrote on Telegram on Monday.

The attack on the news crew in the LPR last Monday also claimed the lives of a cameraman and a driver, leaving another reporter seriously wounded. The vehicle, marked as press transport, was reportedly struck by two missiles fired from a US-supplied Ukrainian HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system.

The incident was one of the most recent in a series of deaths of Russian media workers since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in 2022.Two days afterFedorchak’s death, a news correspondent for Channel One,Anna Prokofieva, was killedwhile on assignment in Belgorod Region.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has accused Ukrainian forces of terrorism.

According to spokeswoman Maria Zakharova,“The series of brutal reprisals against Russian journalists by Ukrainian neo-Nazisis yet more proof of their readiness to commit any crimes against the civilian population without hesitation, including media workers, who are protected under international humanitarian law.”

Zakharova also accused Kiev of escalating attacks on civilians as a result of its failure to achieve military success.

Ukrainian officials have not issued any public statements regarding the deaths of Russian journalists.

https://www.rt.com/russia/615006-vandals-desecrate-grave-war-correspondent/

31 Mar, 2025 14:05

Russian drone blows up Ukrainian dugout – MOD (VIDEO)

A clip released by the Defense Ministry shows a ‘Mole’ tankette breaching a fortification in Donbass

Source: Russian Ministry of Defense

Russian kamikaze ground drones have destroyed several Ukrainian fortifications in Donbass, the Defense Ministry in Moscow has said, releasing footage of the attacks.

In a statement on Monday, the ministry saidKrot (‘Mole’) robotic systems had destroyed several Ukrainian positionsnear the settlement of Yampol in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Yampol is an important railway hub located some 20km from the city of Slovyansk=.

An undated clip, apparently filmed from a reconnaissance UAV, depicted theground drone crawling to a well-camouflaged shelter in the forest and entering a hole in the ground, before a powerful explosiondestroys the fortifications moments later.

A second similar clip released by the ministry showed the same type of drone blowing up another covered position in reportedly the same area.

Source: Russian Ministry of Defense

Remotely piloted ‘Mole’ drones have an extremely low profile, high maneuverability, and a payload of up to 60kg. In addition to explosives, the tankettes can be used to transport ammunition or wounded.

According to various footage, the tankette, which is shielded by light armor, can also be equipped with a machine gun, anti-tank missiles, or grenade launchers.

The drone is powered by an electric motor, making it harder to detect, and its operations are usually supported by aerial UAVs.

https://www.rt.com/russia/615027-russian-drone-blows-ukrainian-cover/

pretty cool to watch.

>>22847350

31 Mar, 2025 15:06

India rejected NYT claims on sensitive exports to Russia

New Delhi has called the report “misleading and factually incorrect”

New Delhi has dismissed a report by the New York Times that alleged one of India’s largest defense and aerospace companies was involved in rerouting UK-made items to Russia. Indian government sources called the report “factually incorrect and misleading,” denying claims against Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a state-run giant that manufactures fighter jets, helicopters, jet engines, avionics, and various spares.

The report by The New York Times, published on Friday, claimed that British aerospace manufacturer H.R. Smith Group has shipped some equipment to HAL, which is also one of the largest trading partners of Russia’s Rosoboronexport agency, which has been sanctioned by the UK, US and EU since 2022, as a part of broader move by Western governments coming to cut Moscow off from global markets.

The report alleges, without providing any evidence, that HAL “in some instances” sends items imported from the UK firm to Russia. However, N.R. Smith denied this, and NYT itself noted in the report that “records do not prove that N.R. Smith’s products ended up in Russia.”

“The said report is factually incorrect and misleading. It has tried to frame issues and distort facts to suit a political narrative,” Indian government source said. He added that the Indian company mentioned in the report has “scrupulously followed all its international obligations on strategic trade controls and end-user commitments” and also underlined the strength of country’s legal system regarding trade in sensitive technologies.

“We expect reputed media outlets to undertake basic due diligence while publishing such reports, which obviously was overlooked in the instant case,” the sources added.

HAL has not commented publicly on the report at the time of publication. The company has in fact been one of Russia’s largest defense partners in India for decades. It has upgraded Russian-origin MiG-21 and MiG-29 aircrafts deployed by the Indian Air Force, and discussions are ongoing between New Delhi and Moscow on upgrading the Su-30 MKI. The Su-30MKI is the India-specific version of the Russian Su-30, which was brought into the Indian Air Force in 2002.

HAL has been manufacturing the Su-30MKIs since 2004 under a Russian license. As many as 222 aircraft have been produced at HAL’s Nashik factory (the Air Force today operates a fleet of total 260 Su-30MKIs).

This is not the first time Western media has alleged India’s role in supplying sensitive technologies and components to Russia. In October 2024, the administration of then-US President Joe Biden sanctioned four Indian companies for allegedly supplying “advanced components, including microelectronics, to Moscow. A State Department official then told Reuters that there has been a “rise” in exports of such goods from India to Russia, threatening action against companies “facilitating such activity.”

NYTs going after Trump Friendly Allies

https://www.rt.com/india/615040-india-rejected-nyt-claims-russia/

>>22846309 SICKENING AND DISHONORABLE FOR AMERICANS: Key Takeaways From NYT's Secret History Detailing US 'Shocking' Involvement In Ukraine WarPN

This is the untold story of America’s hidden role in Ukrainian military operations against Russia’s invading armies.

By Adam

Adam Entous conducted more than 300 interviews over more than a year with government, military and intelligence officials in Ukraine, the United States, Britain, Germany, Poland, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Turkey.

March 29, 2025

• In the early days after Russia’s armies crossed into Ukraine, two Ukrainian generals journeyed from Kyiv under diplomatic cover on a secret mission.

• In the early days after Russia’s armies crossed into Ukraine, two Ukrainian generals journeyed from Kyiv under diplomatic cover on a secret mission.

• Map highlights Ukraine and labels the city of Kyiv.

• At the U.S. military garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, they sealed a partnership that would bring America into the war far more intimately than previously known.

• At the U.S. military garrison in Wiesbaden, Germany, they sealed a partnership that would bring America into the war far more intimately than previously known.

• Map pans and highlights Germany, with the city of Wiesbaden labeled.

==NYTs article on archive so you can copy and download the entire article, with pics its about 34 pages, without pics, less, but extremely long, and frankly discusting what Bidan and the war mongers, and to see the military joy going into an illegal war, is even more awful. What the did to Russia and used Ukraine, but those rats were in on it, should never be forgiven. Joe Bidan should be punished for never get permission from Congress. Most all of them knew it, so this is the depths they will go for war and money, especially the Senate.

No wonder Russia didn't take Ukraine out in the first 6 months the US and Ukraine military was all over there, no wonder they say there are over 1 million dead and 500,000 casualties. the United States owes an apology to Russia and all the innocents of Ukraine. Est Russia dead and injured 500,000 to 700,000 but we will never know. Russia counted all dead in battles for both sides. Ukraine didn't bother, just threw more in.

https://archive.is/NLYRh

>>22847749

The White House was still debating these questions when, on May 10, the Russians attacked.

This became the moment the Biden administration changed the rules of the game. Generals Cavoli and Aguto were tasked with creating an “ops box” — a zone on Russian soil in which the Ukrainians could fire U.S.-supplied weapons and Wiesbaden could support their strikes.

At first they advocated an expansive box, to encompass a concomitant threat: the glide bombs — crude Soviet-era bombs transformed into precision weapons with wings and fins — that were raining terror on Kharkiv.

A box extending about 190 miles would let theUkrainians use their new ATACMS to hit glide-bomb fields and other targets deep inside Russia. But Mr. Austin saw this as mission creep: He did not want to divert ATACMS from Lunar Hail.

Instead, the generals were instructed to draw up two options — one extending about 50 miles into Russia, standard HIMARS range, and one nearly twice as deep. Ultimately, against the generals’ recommendation, Mr. Biden and his advisers chose the most limited option — but to protect the city of Sumy as well as Kharkiv, it followed most of the country’s northern border, encompassing an area almost as large as New Jersey.

The C.I.A. was also authorized to send officers to the Kharkiv region to assist their Ukrainian counterparts with operations inside the box.

The box went live at the end of May. The Russians were caught unawares: With Wiesbaden’s points of interest and coordinates, as well as the Ukrainians’ own intelligence, HIMARS strikes into the ops box helped defend Kharkiv. The Russians suffered some of their heaviest casualties of the war.

The unthinkable had become real. The United States was now woven into the killing of Russian soldiers on sovereign Russian soil.

https://archive.is/NLYRh

>>22847760