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Attention

Fyodor Lukyanov: The arrest of Telegram's billionaire boss shows that big changes are coming

Fyodor Lukyanov
RT
Tue, 27 Aug 2024 20:08 UTC
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 23, 2016.
© Getty Images / Getty ImagesTelegram CEO Pavel Durov at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, February 23, 2016.
Big changes are coming to the global information sphere, and the Telegram founder's standing is a canary in the coal mine

The arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov, when he had decided to take a little trip to Paris, has caused a stir in various spheres - from the business and tech world to media and politics. We will focus on the latter, especially as the incident is becoming another milestone in a wider political reorganization.

Durov comes from a niche that claims transnational status above all else. Information and communication technologies seem to have turned the world into a common space and abolished sovereign jurisdiction. The enormous influence that the IT giants have acquired has been converted into gigantic amounts of money, which has in turn increased their influence further. Transnational corporations have always existed - in areas such as mining, engineering, and finance. But despite their international character, they were still tied to particular states and their interests. The global communications industry, and its associated innovation sector, has dared to break that link.

Comment:
1) From the article:
The 'transnational' entities will increasingly be required to 'ground' themselves - to identify with a particular state.
Is the author right on this point, or it also that some states are more aligned with the Deep State.
Recall this article: Best of the Web: Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, released by American regime from British prison and this comment:
Robert Kennedy Jr. said he was "overjoyed" by the news.

"He's a generational hero," he posted on X. "The bad news is that he had to plea guilty to conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense info. Which means the US security state succeeded in criminalizing journalism and extending their jurisdiction globally to non-citizens."
2) From the article:
if relatively recently it seemed impossible to dig up the world's information superhighway and make it unusable for travel, this no longer seems so far-fetched.
Eventually people may need to develop new ways to connect, or reinvigorate the old ways of meeting people face to face.

3) See also: 4) Durov released on €5 million bail
He was ordered to remain in France until the investigation against him concludes, and to report to a police station twice a week.


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Gold mine

Durov released on €5 million bail


RT
Wed, 28 Aug 2024 20:19 UTC
Pavel Durov posted on Instagram.com
A French court has accused the Russian billionaire of a dozen offenses, including facilitating illegal transactions

A French court has formally indicted Telegram founder Pavel Durov, accusing him of complicity in a litany of offenses and barring him from leaving France until the case against him concludes.

Durov appeared before a magistrates' court in Paris on Wednesday, four days after he was arrested upon arrival in the French capital from Azerbaijan. In a statement released on Wednesday night, the court said that Durov had been formally charged with a dozen offenses, including complicity in "administering an online platform" used by a criminal gang to conduct an illicit transaction, a charge that the court noted carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.

The rest of the charges, which were announced by prosecutors on Monday, include facilitating fraud, money laundering, and the distribution of narcotics and child pornography, as well as refusal to turn over user data to law enforcement investigations.

Comment:
From the same source:
28 Aug, 2024 19:10
Durov under investigation for child abuse - AFP
The Telegram boss has reportedly been accused of violence against his six-year-old son

French authorities have launched an investigation into claims that Telegram founder and CEO Pavel Durov committed "serious acts of violence" against his own son, AFP reported on Wednesday. The investigation is separate from an ongoing probe into his alleged complicity in a wide range of crimes.

The 39-year-old Russian, who also holds the citizenship of France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis, appeared before a Paris court on Wednesday. Though he has not been formally indicted in either French case a decision is expected overnight on Wednesday.

Durov could be charged with 12 criminal offenses, including facilitating narcotics distribution, money laundering, and organized crime, and aiding in the distribution of child pornography. According to Paris prosecutors, a "person unnamed" used Durov's app to commit multiple offenses. Durov's refusal to turn over the user's data to law enforcement led to him being investigated, Politico reported on Wednesday.

Shortly after Durov arrived at the court, France's AFP news agency reported that the entrepreneur was also being investigated on suspicion of "serious acts of violence" against his six-year-old son. Citing "a source close to the case," AFP claimed that the probe was recently opened by France's child welfare office.

Durov's son was born in Russia and now resides in Switzerland with his mother, Irina Bolgar. It is unclear whether the investigation is linked to a criminal complaint filed against Durov by Bolgar in Switzerland last year. According to court documents seen by Forbes magazine, Bolgar accused her ex-partner of five instances of violence against his son, before filing a child custody case.

Both cases were filed shortly after Durov allegedly stopped paying Bolgar €150,000 ($167,500) in child support per month, Forbes noted. Durov has also claimed to have fathered over 100 children in 12 countries through sperm dnoation.

In a statement on Sunday, Telegram called it "absurd to claim that a platform or its owner are responsible for abuse of that platform." Telegram complies with local laws, including the EU's Digital Rights Act (DSA) and anti-Russian sanctions, the company added. Neither Durov nor Telegram have commented on the alleged child abuse case.

Anti-censorship activists have described Durov's arrest as part of a wider campaign against free speech waged by Western governments, with NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden accusing France of taking the entrepreneur "hostage" in order to access private communications on Telegram. X Owner Elon Musk, American journalist Tucker Carlson, and Silicon Valley investor David Sacks have all condemned Durov's arrest as an attack on free speech.
28 Aug, 2024 13:06
Durov taken to French court - media
The Telegram CEO was arrested in France as part of a probe into his alleged complicity in numerous criminal activities on the platform

Telegram CEO and founder Pavel Durov has been transferred to a Paris courthouse, where a decision will be made on whether he will be put under formal investigation following his arrest last week, according to several news outlets.

Durov's detention period expired on Wednesday according to AFP, citing a source familiar with the matter. He has reportedly now been released from police custody and transferred to court for possible indictment. According to Reuters, the judges' decision on the matter is expected by 8pm local time (18:00 GMT).

[...]

On Wednesday, Politico reported that back in March, the French authorities had issued warrants not only for Pavel Durov, but also his brother Nikolay, who co-founded Telegram. The magazine claimed that the move stemmed from "Telegram's almost non-existent cooperation" in numerous cases, including related to child sex abuse.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that before obtaining his French passport, Pavel Durov had had lunch with President Emmanuel Macron, who invited him to move Telegram's HQ to Paris. The Russian billionaire, however, reportedly declined.
[...]
28 Aug, 2024 13:36
Macron proposed that Durov relocate Telegram to Paris - WSJ
The Telegram CEO had a face-to-face discussion with the French leader in 2018 that was not previously reported, the outlet has said

French President Emmanuel Macron had lunch with Telegram CEO Pavel Durov in 2018 and proposed that he move the company's headquarters to Paris, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, citing anonymous sources.

Durov declined the offer at the time, the outlet said, citing people familiar with the matter. During the meeting, which has only recently come to light, Macron reportedly discussed granting French citizenship to the Russian-born entrepreneur.

According to the article, the lunch took place a year after French and United Arab Emirate intelligence services reportedly hacked Durov's iPhone in a joint operation carried out over concerns that Telegram was being used by Islamic State to organize terrorist attacks, the report said.

"Governments have targeted Durov because of the groups that were drawn to his app, which range from pro-democracy demonstrators and dissidents to Islamist militants, drug traffickers and cybercriminals," the WSJ wrote.

One of the sources told the outlet that for years Telegram ignored subpoenas and court orders sent by law enforcement authorities, which "piled up in a rarely checked company email address."
[...]
28 Aug, 2024 14:08
France issued Durov arrest warrants in spring - media
Court papers contradict claims that the probe against the Telegram CEO and his brother was launched in July, Politico has reported

France issued arrest warrants against Telegram CEO Pavel Durov and his brother Nikolay, the co-founder of the messaging app, in March, months earlier than officials previously claimed, Politico reported on Wednesday.

Durov was taken into custody last Saturday in a surprise move, which French President Emmanuel Macron has claimed was not political. The Russian businessman has the citizenship of several nations, including France, the UAE, and St. Kitts and Nevis. He is accused of complicity in serious crimes allegedly committed with the help of Telegram and failure to cooperate with French authorities in investigating them.

The arrest warrants were issued on March 25, after Telegram gave "no answer" to a judicial request sent by French investigators earlier, French documents leaked to Politico by an insider said. The initial inquiry demanded that the privacy-focused service disclose the identity of one of its users. The documents mentioned "Telegram's almost non-existent cooperation" with authorities in other cases, the outlet said.

The new evidence contradicts claims by French officials, who previously stated that the probe against Telegram had been opened in July, the outlet noted. The warrants were requested by the cybercrime branch of the Paris prosecutor's office as part of an investigation into a child pornography case. Authorities did not allege that either Durov or his brother were directly involved in criminal activity.
[...]

He fled Russia in 2014 after law enforcement in his home country accused him of protecting terrorism suspects from being investigated by refusing to provide access to their communications. He argued that his app was purposefully designed in a way that prevents such surveillance. Telegram and the Russian government have since reconciled.

While Pavel Durov is the public face of Telegram, Nikolay is understood to be the brains behind the inner workings of several products, including the messenger app. He was also the lead designer of the social network VK and is believed to be the architect of TON, a blockchain network that Telegram intended to use for cryptocurrency payments, but abandoned in 2020 due to opposition to the project by US authorities.
28 Aug, 2024 23:27
WATCH Durov walk out of French court
The Russian tech billionaire and Telegram CEO was detained in Paris and formally indicted on multiple charges

Videos of Telegram co-founder and CEO Pavel Durov being released from French custody late Wednesday have circulated on social media.

A court in Paris formally indicted the Russian billionaire four days after he was detained at the airport, shortly after arriving in the French capital.

He faces a dozen charges, including complicity in administering an online platform that enabled an organized gang to conduct illicit transactions, which carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, according to a press statement released by the French authorities.

Other charges released by the French prosecutor's office include complicity in "allowing criminal activity," such as the distribution of drugs and child pornography, fraud, money laundering, as well as refusing to share information with the authorities.

In videos circulating online, Durov is seen walking out of a gated parking lot while police look on. He is escorted to a private car with tinted windows, and did not answer any questions from the waiting press outside.

[...]
See also:

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Hourglass

How the EU tightened the noose on Telegram


RT
Sun, 25 Aug 2024 14:59 UTC
Telegram
© Getty Images
Before Pavel Durov's arrest, the messaging app's "Russian origins" placed it in the bloc's crosshairs

The arrest in France of Telegram founder Pavel Durov is the latest escalation in an EU-wide campaign against the Russian entrepreneur and his privacy-focused messaging app. After limited bans in some member states, officials in Brussels announced earlier this year that they would bend their own laws to enforce censorship rules on the platform.

Durov, who also holds French citzenship, was arrested at Paris-Le Bourget Airport on Saturday, immediately after arriving from Azerbaijan by private jet. According to French media, prosecutors in Paris plan to accuse the 39-year-old of complicity in drug trafficking, pedophilia offenses, and fraud. They will reportedly argue that Telegram's insufficient content moderation, its strong encryption tools, and its alleged lack of cooperation with police allow criminality to flourish on the app.

In the years leading up to Durov's arrest, EU officials and individual member states have targeted Telegram with bans, regulations, and threats of legal action.

Comment: The article is from before Durov was released on bail for the paltry sum of five million Euros, but the content still holds.
See also:

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Bullseye

It's coming: America's reckoning with reality

Douglas Macgregor
The American Conservative
Sat, 24 Aug 2024 19:21 UTC
capitol building u.s. flag
© Shutterstock
The major parties' national conventions paper over the facts of the Uniparty's anti-American agenda.

The Republican and Democratic National Conventions, always heavy on glamor and light on substance, are over. It's time to move beyond sloganeering and address reality.

In the United States, the price of food is up 21 percent in three years. Thirty-year mortgage rates were 3.7 percent; they are now 7 percent. Rents are skyrocketing, car loan delinquencies are rising and, last year, there were at least 150,000 reports of American children going missing in what is becoming a child-trafficking emergency.

Millions of Americans think that our society is experiencing a moral collapse. Divorce is widespread, single parents struggle to raise children, drug abuse is rampant, suicide rates are high, and the rule of law is collapsing across the country.
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Car Black

If everything is so great, why are millions of Americans sleeping in their vehicles?

Michael Snyder
the most important news
Mon, 26 Aug 2024 00:00 UTC
yellowvan
© Pixabay
Have you noticed an unusual number of vehicles in the parking lots of major retailers in your area at night? If you look closely enough, you will see that many of those vehicles actually have people sleeping in them. At this point, millions of Americans are sleeping in their vehicles every night. This is happening even though we are being told that the economy is just fine. But of course the truth is that the system is failing all around us. So if you get to sleep in a very warm bed in a very warm home, you should consider yourself to be very blessed, because vast numbers of people are really struggling right now.

The primary reason why so many people are living in their vehicles is because the cost of living has soared to unprecedented heights.

In particular, the cost of housing has become extremely oppressive. In fact, housing in the United States has become more unaffordable than it has ever been before.
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Cell Phone

No messaging app is reliable - Kremlin


RT
Tue, 27 Aug 2024 12:26 UTC
cell phone, cell, mobile phone, smartphone
© Getty Images / Westend61
Russian government employees should not use any messenger app for official purposes as none of them are safe in terms of information security, including Telegram, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said.

Speaking with journalists on Tuesday about the arrest of Telegram founder Pavel Durov in France, Peskov denied that the presidential administration had asked officials to delete messages and "clean up" their correspondence.

He warned, however, that government employees should refrain from using any messaging application in official communication, noting that "no messenger is reliable" enough to provide information security and Telegram is no exception.

"This is why in the [presidential] administration we do not use any messenger for official purposes, because this would simply be a violation of official rules and official ethics," Peskov noted.

Comment: While it's smart to assume that no digital device or application is safe, Lavrov's not wrong that some apps are better than others.

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Bell

Trump rally counter-sniper backs bombshell 'evidence tampering' claims by House GOPers

Josh Christenson
New York Post
Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:48 UTC
Washington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer
© C-SPANWashington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer in a Monday hearing near Capitol Hill said it was “absolutely” concerning that Crooks’ body was cremated before the autopsy was released.
A SWAT counter-sniper who was working the Pennsylvania rally where former President Donald Trump was nearly assassinated last month agreed with Republican lawmakers Monday that an "odd" pattern of evidence-handling had occurred following the deadly shooting.

Washington Regional SWAT counter-sniper Ben Shaffer said it was "absolutely" concerning that the roof of the AGR International building had been quickly scrubbed and gunman Thomas Matthew Crooks' body disposed of before an official autopsy report could be released.

Five House Republicans — Reps. Andy Biggs and Eli Crane of Arizona, Matt Gaetz and Cory Mills of Florida, and Chip Roy of Texas — hosted the panel discussion with Shaffer and other witnesses at the conservative Heritage Foundation.
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Arrow Up

Jury sides with Pennsylvania teacher in suit against district over Jan. 6 rally

Michael Rubinkam
The Associated Press
Wed, 28 Aug 2024 11:36 UTC
J6 january 6th capitol
© AP
A Pennsylvania school district violated a teacher's constitutional rights by falsely suggesting he took part in the U.S. Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, a federal jury has concluded.

After an 11-day trial, jurors found the Allentown School District retaliated against Jason Moorehead when it suspended him after the deadly insurrection in the nation's capital and asserted he "was involved in the electoral college protest that took place at the United States Capitol Building."

Although Moorehead was in Washington, D.C., to attend Donald Trump's "Stop the Steal" rally, he said he never got closer than a mile to the Capitol and was not among the rioters who stormed the building. He has never been charged with a crime.

Moorehead, who taught middle school social studies, said individual school board members later orchestrated a public smear campaign against him even though his teaching record was spotless, claiming they acted out of "ideological hatred." He said the ordeal has destroyed his reputation and ended his teaching career.

Jurors decided on Friday that the district — one of the largest in the state with more than 16,000 students — should pay Moorehead $125,000 for economic damages. The jury also found that school board member Lisa Conover and former board president Nancy Wilt acted "maliciously or wantonly," ordering Conover to pay $6,000 in punitive damages and Wilt to pay $500.

Comment: Is anything really going to happen to the school board members and whoever else had a hand in this abuse which just cost the district a not small amount of money and bad press?

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NPC

Cornell University to offer course on 'Ecological Justice' focused on 'Feminist, Queer, and Trans Perspectives'

Sarah Prentice
Campus Reform
Tue, 20 Aug 2024 11:28 UTC
Cornell University
Cornell University
Cornell University is set to offer a course on ecological justice from feminist, queer, and trans perspectives.

The Ivy League school will teach a "Ecological Justice: Feminist, Queer, and Trans Perspectives" class that will present "an in-depth study of ecological justice from feminist, queer, and trans perspectives."

The course claims it will unpack how these "marginalized" groups have "led environmental movements and ecological theorizing around the globe," as well as draw on the "traditions of ecofeminism, racial justice, queer and trans ecology, and disability theory" to show how these perspectives have "reshaped environmental ethics."

The course description also alleges: "Historically, people marginalized by race, gender, sexuality, disability, and poverty have borne the brunt of environmental degradation."

The course will be taught by Perry Zurn, a society fellow at Cornell University. Zurn is also a Provost Associate Professor of Philosophy at American University, and affiliate faculty in the Department of Critical Race, Gender, and Culture Studies.

Comment: Zurn's preoccupation with all things abnormal suggests he has some dark and twisted skeletons in his sick closet.

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Gavel

Pedophile sentenced to 350 years in abduction, molestation of 5-year-old girl may be freed because he's elderly

Isabel Keane
New York Post
Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:20 UTC
Charles William Mix
© Riverside Police DepartmentCharles William Mix was sentenced to 350 years in prison in 2003 in the abduction of a 5-year-old girl.
A depraved pedophile who was sentenced to 350 years in prison for abducting and molesting his friend's 5-year-old daughter may soon be freed under a woke California law — despite his victim's family begging he be kept behind bars.

Charles William Mix was expected to die behind bars for kidnapping his roommate's daughter and smuggling her over state lines into Utah in 2003, KABC reported.

"He befriended her father, gained everybody's trust, groomed her, and then he stole a child out of her own home," said the victim's sister, Claira Stansbury, who was just 9 when her younger sibling was snatched.
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