Puppet Masters

Russian journalist Golunov released after drug allegations dropped following high profile investigation

RT
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 19:19 UTC

Russian investigative journalist Ivan Golunov has been released from house arrest as the criminal case against him was dropped due to a lack of evidence. His arrest sparked widespread protests and allegations of police misconduct.

The journalist appeared at the Investigative Committee building in Moscow late on Tuesday to have his ankle monitor removed. A large crowd of supporters and reporters - as well as his dog - awaited him outside.

Golunov revealed that he has no plans to investigate his own case, stating that there would be "a conflict of interests" in doing so.

"I'll continue to pursue the work I've been doing. I'll make investigations, since I have to justify the trust of those who supported me. That [support] has been, indeed, fantastic," the journalist told reporters.

Comment: RT reports that Golunov was likely targeted because of his investigations into corruption involving the police force:

The interior minister said he will be asking President Vladimir Putin to sack the senior Moscow police official responsible for counter-drug investigations as well as other officials responsible for the scandal.

The police officers suspected of framing the journalist have been suspended pending an internal investigation, Kolokoltsev said. "The materials of a probe conducted by the police internal investigation unit have been sent to the Investigative Committee [an office under the Prosecutor General] to evaluate the validity of the actions of the officers who detained him," he said.

Golunov was detained on Thursday, with police officers claiming they found drugs in his possession and accusing him of dealing drugs. The journalist denied the allegations and said the evidence was planted by the police in retaliation for his investigative journalism about local authorities.The case triggered widespread outrage in Russia, with leading media outlets and public figures demanding a swift probe into suspected police corruption.

Golunov also said police mistreated him while in custody, refusing his right for an attorney and even assaulting him violently. Allegations of brutality further fueled the public outrage over the case.

The developments were hailed by Russian human rights activists and media professionals, who were supporting Golunov.

"The only thing I have to say is I am very happy," said Mikhail Fedotov, the chair of the presidential human rights council. "This is an outcome I was expecting and I hope it's not the end of this story."

Galina Timchenko, the editor-in-chief of the news website Meduza, for which Golunov works, said she was "happy, crying" after learning the news.

"We all know that this happened thanks to the effort of hundreds and thousands of people. I am grateful to them all," she said.

For more details surrounding the case, see: "We are Golunov": Unanswered questions and inconsistencies in arrest of Russian journalist exposing corruption

And for insight into how the West deals with its whistlerblowers, see: Assange Espionage Act indictment a war on press freedom and threat to First Amendment

Social Media Policing: WhatsApp vows to sue users for 'abuse' - even if evidence of the offence is found on another app, website or social network

Jasper Hamill
Metro
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:00 UTC

WhatsApp has promised to take legal action against people or companies who break its rules - even if the 'abuse' took place on another platform.

The messaging app has strict guidelines governing its own users' behaviour and anyone who breaks the terms of service can already be hit by a ban. But now the Facebook-owned company wants to take things a bit further by hauling users into court.

And you don't need to break the rules on WhatsApp itself to find yourself in trouble, because its enforcers will strike even they find 'off platform-evidence of abuse'.

Comment: Is it the time to ditch Whatsapp? See also:

Leftist Policing on Social Media: Pro-life group kicked off Pinterest for 'misinformation' after flagged as porn site

RT
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 00:00 UTC

Pro-life outfit Live Action has had quite the week on social media. After appealing Pinterest's decision to flag the group's website as porn, the platform hit back and banned the group altogether, citing "medical misinformation."

Live Action's director of external affairs, Alison Centofante, took to Twitter on Tuesday to announce the suspension.

"Your account was permanently suspended because its contents went against our policies on misinformation," Pinterest informed the organization. "We don't allow harmful misinformation on Pinterest," including "medical misinformation and conspiracies that turn individuals ... into targets for harassment or violence."

Comment: See also:

Trump's G20 tariff threat to China sinks US diplomacy to 'new low'

RT
Wed, 12 Jun 2019 08:43 UTC

US President Donald Trump's threat of more tariffs if Chinese President Xi Jinping doesn't show up to the G20 summit is a "new low" for US diplomacy, crossing the line and threatening to unravel global trade, analysts tell RT.

China will agree to a trade deal with the US "because they have to," Trump said on Monday, adding that new tariffs on Chinese goods will go into effect immediately if Xi does not attend the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan later this month. Washington and Beijing have been negotiating a new trade deal for months, without results.

"This is a new low in American diplomacy," Sourabh Gupta, senior policy specialist at the Institute for China America Studies, told RT. "That an American president would advance and impose tariffs on a counterpart country if that country's president did not consent to a sit-down bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a multilateral summit is absurd, to the point of being almost comical."

Bolton: US has expanded 'offensive cyber operations' against state actors; 'they will pay a price'

RT
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 17:14 UTC

The United States is ramping up cyber operations targeting Russia and other so-called adversaries, in what US National Security Advisor John Bolton says is a response to election meddling.

Speaking at the Wall Street Journal's CFO Network conference on Tuesday, Bolton said Washington had taken steps to create "structures of deterrence" in cyberspace in order to stop interference in US elections, but what he described sounded a lot like launching a cyber war.

Under a new presidential directive, the administration has "fundamentally changed the way the United States government makes decisions about offensive cyber operations," Bolton said, adding that the new approach has improved "capabilities across the board to engage in more offensive cyber activities."

Comment: See also:

China invites India to join in warding off US 'bullying' trade practices

RT
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:49 UTC

Chinese authorities have invited the Indian government to join efforts to effectively offset the potential impact of "protectionist" and "unilateral" trade practices implemented by the US across the world over recent months.

According to Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Zhang Hanhui, "trade frictions between China and the US and the specter of trade frictions between the US and India" may become a crucial subject for talks between the two states, bullied by Washington.

"Trade protectionism and unilateralism are very much on the rise. How to respond to the bullying practices of the United States ... its practices of trade protectionism is an important question," Zhang said.

The comment comes ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, which is to kick off in the Kyrgyz capital of Bishkek later this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to meet with his Indian counterpart Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the event.

The top official stressed that the heads of state would reach deeper understanding on the issue of "upholding justice and opposing trade protectionism" in global trade. Moreover, Zhang expressed hopes that the neighboring nations would agree on bilateral trade.

Comment: See also:

CNN's Acosta warns 'conservative media': 'There's no guarantee you get to stay in power'

RT
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 17:23 UTC

CNN White House correspondent and professional Donald Trump antagonist Jim Acosta warned his "friends" in the conservative media that they could face the same treatment the liberal press now gets if the other side takes power.

"To our friends in conservative media, I say this: It is no guarantee that you get to stay in power forever," Acosta said during an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Monday.

Acosta suggested that while conservative news groups have been favored by the current administration, they might not be so lucky the next time a Democrat takes the White House, given the dangerous precedent.

His comments came alongside the release of his new book The Enemy of the People which covers Trump's troubled relationship with the press.

Comment: See also:

Corking the bottle: Trump threatens to tariff French wine

RT
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 14:34 UTC

US President Donald Trump has once again accused France of creating trade barriers to US wine exports. He promised that he would work to open the European market to 'great' American wine.

"France charges us a lot for the wine. And yet we charge them very little for French wine," Trump told CNBC during an interview. He said that California winemakers have complained to him about the EU tariffs.

"So the wineries come to me and say 'Sir, we're paying a lot of money to put our product into France, and you're letting' - meaning, this country is allowing - 'these French wines, which are great wines, but we have great wines too - allowing it to come in for nothing. It's not fair,'" said Trump.

He continued: "And you know what? It's not fair. We'll do something about it."

Pentagon: Turkish pilots grounded from F-35 training in retaliation for Ankara's refusal to ditch S-400

RT
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 08:38 UTC

Turkish pilots have been banned from training on F-35s at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, the Pentagon confirmed, as Washington steps up pressure on Ankara to force it out of S-400 air defense deal with Russia.

"The department is aware that the Turkish pilots ... are not flying," Pentagon spokesman, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mike Andrews, told Reuters. "Without a change in Turkish policy, we will continue to work closely with our Turkish ally on winding down their participation in the F-35 program."

Four Turkish pilots and 47 personnel were undergoing training at the facility in Arizona, where they were instructed by the US Air Force on how to maintain the fifth-generation jets - four of which have already been ceremonially transferred to Turkey, without leaving the US soil though. Turkey planned to deploy the first batch of fighters by November, alongside the Russian S-400 air defense systems that are due for delivery in summer.

While Ankara argues it has a sovereign right to diversify its defense suppliers, Washington demands full obedience and insists that the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan should only purchase NATO-approved weapons systems.

BIG: Nearly 1,700 child predators behind bars in massive operation by Trump's DOJ

Big League Politics
Tue, 11 Jun 2019 23:42 UTC

Attorney General Barr's leadership appears to be crippling those who exploit children.

Today the Department of Justice announced that nearly 1,700 child predators were arrested in the two month duration of operation "Broken Heart", resulting in 357 who were exploited being identified.

In total, the Internet Crimes Against Children "investigated more than 18,500 complaints of technology-facilitated crimes targeting children" between April and May, resulting in the nearly 1,700 arrests.

In the agency's press release, Attorney General William Barr said that "The sexual abuse of children is repugnant, and it victimizes the most innocent and vulnerable of all," and went on to say that "Over the span of just two months, our ICAC task forces investigated more than 18,000 complaints of internet-related abuse and helped arrest 1,700 alleged abusers.

"We must bring the full force of the law against sexual predators, and with the help of our Internet Crimes Against Children program, we will." Barr added, "We are committed to bringing the defendants in these cases to justice and protecting every American child."

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Puppet Masters

Russian journalist Golunov released after drug allegations dropped following high profile investigation

Social Media Policing: WhatsApp vows to sue users for 'abuse' - even if evidence of the offence is found on another app, website or social network

Leftist Policing on Social Media: Pro-life group kicked off Pinterest for 'misinformation' after flagged as porn site

Trump's G20 tariff threat to China sinks US diplomacy to 'new low'

Bolton: US has expanded 'offensive cyber operations' against state actors; 'they will pay a price'

China invites India to join in warding off US 'bullying' trade practices

CNN's Acosta warns 'conservative media': 'There's no guarantee you get to stay in power'

Corking the bottle: Trump threatens to tariff French wine

Pentagon: Turkish pilots grounded from F-35 training in retaliation for Ankara's refusal to ditch S-400

BIG: Nearly 1,700 child predators behind bars in massive operation by Trump's DOJ

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