TikTok takes action against Russia

Social networking service halts livestreaming and posting of new content as it evaluates situation in Russia.

Israel National News
07.03.22 00:02
TikTokiStock


Social networking service TikTok on Sunday became the latest company to take action against Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, announcing it is immediately halting livestreaming and the posting of new content as the company evaluates the escalating situation in Russia.

“TikTok is an outlet for creativity and entertainment that can provide a source of relief and human connection during a time of war when people are facing immense tragedy and isolation. However, our highest priority is the safety of our employees and our users, and in light of Russia's new ‘fake news’ law, we have no choice but to suspend livestreaming and new content to our video service in Russia while we review the safety implications of this law,” the company said in a statement.

“Our in-app messaging service will not be affected. We will continue to evaluate the evolving circumstances in Russia to determine when we might fully resume our services with safety as our top priority,” it added.

Several companies have taken steps against Russia since it launched its invasion of Ukraine. Last week Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced that it would be restricting access to Russian state-controlled media in Europe, including RT and Sputnik.

Meta added that content from Russia state-controlled media would be demoted on Facebook and Instagram, and that links from those outlets would be labeled in order to give “context” to people who do access them.

Music streaming giant Spotify announced last Wednesday it is closing its Russia-based office and removing Russian state-sponsored content from its service.

Twitter began taking steps against Russian content on Tuesday, announcing that it would be labeling all websites affiliated with the Russian government and reducing the circulation of their content. According to Yoel Roth, head of site integrity at Twitter, over 45,000 tweets a day share links to Russian state-affiliated media outlets. These will now be stamped with “Stay Informed” labels.

Over at Google, its Google Maps service is no longer showing live traffic data in Ukraine out of concern that it could be used by Russia to identify troop movements. Google Pay has stopped working in Russia, and YouTube has announced that it will begin blocking channels that have links to Russia state-backed media outlets across Europe, due to their “spread of disinformation.” Google’s Alphabet has begun blocking mobile apps connected to RT and Sputnik media from its Play store.

Apple is no longer selling its products in Russia and has removed RT’s and Sputnik’s apps from its App Store outside Russia. Following in Google’s footsteps it has disabled traffic incidents on its Apple Maps in Ukraine.

Ukraine conflict: Anonymous (and the internet) vs. Russia [Continuously updated]

• By Alan Buckingham
• Published 4 days ago

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A few days ago, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of the sovereign nation of Ukraine. Likely most of you have seen at least some of the endless coverage that currently blankets the airwaves. But TV is only giving you part of the story; you can learn a lot more by nosing around online. For the past several days I have kept a running update of what hacktivist collective Anonymous has been up to. The group has been busy and they have made the Russian government even busier, hacking their various state-run 'news' services, such as RT (Russia Today). You can look back at the original post and the multiple updates that were added to it on a daily basis. 

Now it’s time to start again and unlike the original story, this time we are letting you know there will be updates that you’ll want to check back in on. We will post them as they happen, which could be once or more in a day. We will begin with what is happening today, March 2. 

SEE ALSO: In the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Anonymous is working quicker than government red-tape [Updated]

Earlier this morning, we learned that someone at Google is being especially unhelpful to the Ukrainian cause, in fact actively working against those trying to get the truth out to the people in Russia who are living in the middle of an overwhelming disinformation campaign orchestrated under Putin’s orders. 

That announcement came not long after MSN had pointed out that Google Maps and reviews were being used to help get information to people. 

Anonymous also posted several images of a leaked document that show that Putin had this planned out a long time ago, and had already given the order a month before the invasion began. That was the time when he was claiming he had no plans to do anything and entered into talks with various world leaders under false pretenses. 

Update 1:

While everyone is worried about the people of Ukraine during this time, those who have friends and family located in the nation with the unfortunate Russian border, are suffering more than most. 

A Twitter feed called Duty2Warn, which focuses on current news, has made an announcement regarding communications service Frontier that has allegedly sent out an announcement to its customers promising free calls to Ukraine, now through March 11. We have sent an inquiry to Frontier to verify this, although there is really no reason to doubt it.

 

Update 2:

As of today, March 3, Anonymous has announced (although it hasn't taken responsibility for the act), that the Russian Space Agency has been hacked. 

 

Problems continue to mount for the Russian leader and, to a certain extent, his main ally, Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko.

Update 3:

This evening, March 3, Anonymous is announcing the Crimean government website has been successfully taken offline. Crimea, for those who don’t know, is a district in Ukraine, which Vladimir Putin seized back in 2014 in his ongoing attempt take to put the old USSR back together.

Update 4: 

This morning March 4, Anonymous is announcing that the personal data of Russian soldiers who are or have fought in Ukraine have been released to the internet. Many may consider this a questionable move, as the soldiers are following the orders of Vladimir Putin at penalty, not only of death, but the death of their families. 

Update 5: 

Today, March 5, the fight in Ukraine continues unabated. In the tech news from this invasion the fight also continues.  

Anonymous has set up a new way for people to help and it has posted instructions. 

 

 

Meanwhile, The Times of London is reporting the Ukraine president Zelensky has survived three assassination attempts during this week. 

And a Russian private jet is being tracked and appears headed for the United States. 

You can also track the private jets of all of the Russian oligarchs on Twitter at: https://mobile.twitter.com/ruoligarchjets 

Update 6:

Late Saturday after (EST US), March 5, Anonymous has announced it has taken down the website FSB. Ru. This is the Russian Security Services. 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has published a guide to help Ukrainian and Russian users to stay safe with the Telegram app. You can find that here. 

Update 7: 

Sunday morning, March 6, began with news a lot of people have been waiting for. For the past several days the cries have been forthcoming for Visa and Mastercard to pull out of the Russian market, and today many people got their wish as each company issued a statement late Saturday that all transactions taking place in Vladimir Putin’s nation would no longer be accepted. You can read the lengthy statements, if you wish from Visa and Mastercard. 

One wonders now if this will finally push holdouts McDonalds and Burger King to follow suit. Transactions for the two just became much more difficult, given that the current value of the Ruble is less than one penny per US dollar. Other holdouts such as Pepsi and Coca Cola may stick it out longer. 

After being caught and widely shamed for buying a load of Russian oil at a big discount, Shell had to release the following statement via its Twitter account. 

Anonymous, meanwhile, released a statement regarding its attacks, reassuring everyone that it was doing everything it could to minimize effects on regular citizens. 

In a follow-up to yesterday’s post, regarding the Russian jet that seemed to be bound for the US, it landed at Dulles, outside of Washington DC. It was here to pick up the recently expelled Russian diplomats and return them to Russia. 

Update 8: 

A lot can change in a day, and this one has been no exception. As of the late afternoon, Sunday March 6, several services have made big announcements and we’ve learned about more of Vladimir Putin’s plan for his own country. 

It began with TikTok blocking Russian users. That sounds bad on the surface, as people have been uploading videos and news about what is going on there, but the service gave a compelling reason in its official statement. 

Just hours later, it was reported that Netflix will cease business in Russia, stranding approximately one million subscribers there. 

In a Facebook post, we learned that the Chief of General Staff in Belarus has resigned "Due to the mass refusal to take part in hostilities...Belarusian army does not have the ability to staff any battalion group." 

Meanwhile, Reuters has reported that Italy has seized villas and yachts from Russian oligarchs totaling a whopping $156 million dollars. 

Finally, it has been learned of Putin’s plans to take Russia off the internet, isolating the people to only what state-run media approves for them. Anonymous announced that it plans to take action on this as well, shortly after Nexta TV, Eastern European news and media service, released documents confirming the plan 

Biden And Allies Are Coming For Russian Billionaires’ Yachts: Forbes Tracked Down 36. Here’s Where To Find Them

Giacomo Tognini
Forbes Staff
Billionaires
Staff Writer, Wealth Team.



ILLUSTRATION BY FORBES, ALFA NERO BY NEWSCOMN
Most of the yachts are registered through offshore vehicles and docked in far-flung locales.

Russian billionaires have been in the spotlight since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine on February 24. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, President Joe Biden said his administration would work with European countries to target Russian oligarchs by seizing “their yachts, their luxury apartments, their private jets.”

The European Union imposed sanctions on six Russian oligarchs on Monday, bringing the total number of sanctioned Russian billionaires to 16. At least four yachts owned by sanctioned billionaires—Alexey Mordashov, Gennady Timchenko, Alisher Usmanov and Viktor Vekselberg—were last tracked in Italy, Germany and Spain. Their personal assets in the European Union, from private jets and superyachts to luxury real estate, may now be frozen. Italian authorities froze Mordashov’s Lady M yacht and Timchenko’s Lena yacht on March 4, a day after German authorities confirmed Usmanov’s Dilbar yacht couldn’t leave a shipyard in Hamburg.

It’s still unclear whether the EU, the U.S. or the U.K. will declare additional sanctions on other individuals. As recently as February 28, Forbes tracked the wealth of more than 100 Russian billionaires. Using data from yacht valuation experts VesselsValue, Forbes has compiled a list of every yacht owned by Russian billionaires and recent dropoffs—both those that have been sanctioned and those that have not. At least 12 Russian billionaires fell out of the three-comma-club on Tuesday.

According to VesselsValue’s head of superyachts, Sam Tucker, yacht “ownership is notoriously private.” The firm has 90% confidence in its data on these yachts, which are generally owned through offshore companies registered everywhere from the Isle of Man to the Cayman Islands. Collectively, the 36 yachts are worth at least $4 billion. The eight yachts owned by sanctioned Russian billionaires are worth nearly $1 billion.

“Technically speaking, these yachts are owned by a special purpose vehicle, often being in a different jurisdiction to the beneficial owner,” Tucker said. “There are also lease systems, which further distance the [owner] from the asset.” Lease systems are legal structures commonly used to purchase yachts, allowing individuals to own a yacht through a separate company—often registered in places such as Malta and Cyprus—that then leases the yacht to the individual.

While the Russian economy crashes under the weight of sanctions, yachts owned by the country’s billionaires are anchored in much sunnier climes: everywhere from Monaco and Barcelona to Dubai and the Seychelles.

Here is a list of all of the yachts owned by Russian billionaires and billionaires born in Russia tracked by Forbes and Vessels Value:

Philipsburg, St. Martin
Malé, Maldives
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Barcelona, Spain
Victoria, Seychelles
Off the coast of Victoria, Seychelles
La Digue, Seychelles
Tivat, Montenegro
Imperia, Italy
Galle, Sri Lanka
Monaco
St. Augustine, Florida
Trieste, Italy
Off the coast of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
English Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda
Five Islands Harbour, Antigua and Barbuda
Istanbul, Turkey
Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Hamburg, Germany

Russian billionaires are starting to leave Vladimir Putin

Source: Wikimedia Commons

Russia's business and political elites are against the invasion of Ukraine. This is an extremely rare display of opposition to Kremlin policy, notes the Moscow Times. Among Putin's critics, there are many Russian oligarchs who until recently supported him.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced on Sunday in the Bundestag that Russian banks will not only be disconnected from the SWIFT system but will also be ejected from the European Union. Not only that, the billions of euros in the assets of the Russian oligarchs will be seized, so immediately there were criticisms of Russian oligarchs who oppose the war in Ukraine.

In the terrorized, bribed and propaganda-laden Russia of Putin, every, even the smallest, criticism of the government is treated as an attack on Putin, whom he identifies with Russia. Anyone who criticizes the authority and its decisions have problems. Those most involved in civil society and attempts to democratize Russia end up in labor camps. Many oppositionists were killed. Despite this, two of the most powerful Russian oligarchs spoke out against their own country's aggression in Ukraine. Russian oligarch Oleg Deripaska even said it was time to end "state capitalism" in Russia. According to the Moscow Times, on Sunday, the co-founder of Alfa Bank, Mikhail Fridman, whose parents live in Lviv, Ukraine, called the war in Ukraine "a tragedy" and said that the bloodshed should be stopped as soon as possible.

The statements of the business magnates are accompanied by other signals from the Russian political elite. Tatiana Yumashev, daughter of Putin's predecessor Boris Yeltsin and the driving force behind his 1999 presidential nomination, joined celebrities, artists, and ordinary Russians by turning her Facebook profile picture black square by signing it "No for War". She was joined by several other people, including the daughter of the oligarch Roman Abramovich, son-in-law of defense minister Sergei Shoygu, and the son of the head of RosTech and longtime friend of Putin, Sergei Chemezov.

(bizblog) 

Peaky Blinders: The Real Diana Mitford, Blackshirts and British Fascism

Who was Diana Mosley, the real historical character encountered by Tommy Shelby in season six?

By Louisa Mellor|March 6, 2022|

Photo: BBC


Warning: contains spoilers for Peaky Blinders season 6 episode 2 ‘Black Shirt’

At the end of every Peaky Blinders episode comes the expected fiction disclaimer declaring that its names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. The usual next line about “any resemblance to persons living or dead” being purely coincidental isn’t included, for the obvious reason that several of the show’s characters don’t just bear a resemblance to persons living or dead, they’re unequivocally them. Charlie Chaplin, Oswald Mosley, Winston Churchill… The latest is Lady Diana Mitford, played by Amber Anderson (Strike, Emma.).

Peaky Blinders season six is currently taking place in early 1934, when the real Diana was 24 years old. She was one of seven Mitford siblings including six sisters whose lives were endlessly reported by the contemporary press due to romantic scandals, a range of published writing including Nancy Mitford’s comic and biographically inspired novels, and Diana and Unity Mitford’s ties to British fascism and Adolf Hitler.

A renowned beauty, Diana married brewing heir Bryan Guinness aged 18, but divorced him four years later after starting a relationship with anti-Semitic politician Oswald Mosley, by then leader of the British Union of Fascists. Speaking to Mavis Nicholson in this 1977 television interview, Diana recalled being drawn to Mosley’s charisma and cleverness, citing general dissatisfaction with the National Government of the time and saying, “there was somebody who seemed to know the answer. Now, looking back, one sees that he was right.”



Unlike many others who shared Diana Mosley’s politics in the 1930s but later distanced themselves in the wake of the holocaust, she remained unrepentant about her Nazi sympathies, anti-Semitism and fascist beliefs. “When we knew Hitler, he hadn’t committed his crimes,” Diana maintained in 1977, arguing that other dictators including Joseph Stalin and Chairman Mao had been responsible for more bloodshed than Hitler and yet continued to be visited – and as she saw it, endorsed – by British politicians.

After her divorce, Diana had intended to live alone as Mosley’s mistress. Instead, she became the second Mrs Mosley three years after the shock death of his first wife Lady Cynthia Curzon, from peritonitis following a perforated ulcer.
“Our friend in Berlin”

In 1933, the year that ‘Cimmie’ Mosley died, Diana and her younger sister Unity – a badge-wearing member of Mosley’s BUF – took a summer holiday to Bavaria. The choice of destination was partly due to curiosity about the newly appointed German Chancellor. Speaking in 1977 to interviewer Mavis Nicholson, described Hitler as a fascinating man whom everybody wanted to meet: “People don’t get from being an out of work painter to being dictator of a very big powerful evolved country like Germany unless they’ve got some very special thing within them, and obviously he had it.”

As described in Mary S. Lovell’s 2001 biography The Mitford Girls, through a society contact, the sisters secured tickets to the first Nuremberg rally, which Diana described in a personal letter as “a demonstration of hope in a nation that had known collective despair.” From that point on, Diana and Unity befriended Hitler and several high-ranking members of the Nazi Party, a friendship that became an obsession for Unity (who shot herself in the head in protest on the day that Britain went to war with Germany, but survived). Around that time, Diana suggested that Winston Churchill (a cousin of the Mitfords on his wife Clementine’s side) meet the German Chancellor, but he refused.

At this time, Oswald Mosley was holding regular fascist rallies in venues around the UK, which became known for violence when fights broke out between his supporters and protesters, as seen in the Peaky Blinders season five finale and season six, episode two ‘Black Shirt’ (so named for Mosley’s supporters’ Mussolini-inspired ‘camicia nere’ fascist uniform). These fights culminated in 1936’s Battle of Cable Street in London’s East End, in which Metropolitan police and Mosley’s supporters violently clashed with anti-fascist protesters.

Two days after the Battle of Cable Street, in October 1936, Diana and Oswald Mosley married in a secret ceremony in Berlin. Their wedding was held in the drawing room of apartments belonging to chief Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels and was attended by their “friend in Berlin” Adolf Hitler. Earlier that year, Diana and Unity had attended the 1936 Berlin Olympics as Goebbels’ particular guests.


Oswald and Diana Mosley were fascists and sympathisers of the Nazi party who continued to regret Britain’s role in WWII throughout their lives. They had been in favour of making peace with Nazi Germany and had planned for Oswald Mosley to become Britain’s fascist leader. Instead, when Winston Churchill became PM in 1940, Oswald and Diana Mosley were imprisoned under the Defence Regulation 18B, which allowed for the internment without trial of those suspected to have Nazi sympathies or otherwise opposed to the war with Germany. They were released in 1943, and thereafter exiled from London. Oswald Mosley died near Paris in 1980, and Diana Mosley followed 23 years later in 2003.

PM must reveal his role in peerage – Yvette Cooper

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper wrote to Boris Johnson asking him to hand over information to Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee.

Evgeny Lebedev and Boris Johnson (Ian West/PA) / PA Archive

By Geraldine Scott

Boris Johnson has been urged to tell a powerful parliamentary committee everything he knows about Russian-born media mogul Evgeny Lebedev’s elevation to the House of Lords.

Labour’s shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper has written to the Prime Minister following a report in The Sunday Times which alleged that security services withdrew an assessment that granting a peerage to the Moscow-born son of an ex-KGB agent posed a national security risk after Mr Johnson personally intervened.

The newspaper reported that intelligence provided by MI5 and MI6 to the House of Lords Appointments Commission via Cabinet Office security officials initially said there could be a national security threat, but this was later withdrawn.

Ms Cooper has now called on the PM to “make available to the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) the advice and information you were given about the ennobling of Evgeny Lebedev and full information about the role you played in the process”.

Lord Evgeny Lebedev (Dominic Lipinski/PA) / PA Wire

The cross-party ISC has the security clearance to view highly-classified intelligence on matters of national security, and Ms Cooper said in her letter: “As you will agree, it is the first duty of the Prime Minister to protect national security.

“Given that Mr Lebedev is still a member of the House of Lords, it is in all our interests to ensure that these allegations can be thoroughly investigated.”

Earlier, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “very concerned” about the reports surrounding Lord Lebedev and insisted the case should be referred to the ISC as it goes to “the heart of national security”.

Speaking on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, he said: “I’m very concerned about that story, because it goes to the heart of national security and there’s at least the suggestion that the Government and the Prime Minister were warned that there was a national security risk in this particular appointment.”

Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Secretary Dominic Raab (PA/Joe Giddens) / PA Wire

Speaking on the same programme, Dominic Raab suggested Lord Lebedev, who owns the Evening Standard newspaper alongside The Independent, went through a “very strict and stringent” process when he was granted his peerage.

The Justice Secretary and Deputy Prime Minister said he did not know the facts of the case, but claimed the peerage appointment process had been “applied very rigorously”.


He said: “There is a strict and stringent process when anyone is granted a peerage. I don’t know the facts of the case, I wasn’t involved in it. But I do know that it was applied very rigorously in this case.”

He added: “This was done properly and correctly, and we have procedures and systems in place to make sure it is.”

Lord Lebedev told the Sunday Times that “all” of the allegations in its report were incorrect and the questions did not “merit an answer”.

Last week, the media mogul appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the invasion of Ukraine, through the Evening Standard newspaper.

The crossbench peer said: “I plead with you to use today’s negotiations to bring this terrible conflict in Ukraine to an end.”

In a statement published alongside a photograph of a paramedic performing CPR on a girl injured by shelling, Lord Lebedev said: “On this page are the final minutes of a six-year-old child fatally injured by shells that struck her Mariupol apartment block on Sunday.

“She is still wearing her pink jacket as medics fight to save her. But it is too late. Other children, and other families, are suffering similar fates across Ukraine.

“As a Russian citizen I plead with you to stop Russians killing their Ukrainian brothers and sisters.

“As a British citizen I ask you to save Europe from war. As a Russian patriot I plead that you prevent any more young Russian soldiers from dying needlessly. As a citizen of the world I ask you to save the world from annihilation.”

How useful are Turkish-made drones fighting in Ukraine?

Propaganda videos boasting of the successes of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drones in the Ukraine war are popular on social media. But what role are these drones really playing in the conflict?


Ukraine has had TB2 drones since 2019, and has purchased around 50 over the past three years

Several congratulatory videos have circulated on Ukrainian and Turkish social media channels in recent days, boasting of the exploits of the Turkish-made Bayraktar TB2 drone. The Ukrainian military has used the drone successfully against the Russian military several times, the videos, with English and Turkish subtitles, claim. They often include pictures of exploding or destroyed Russian vehicles and equipment.

But exactly how successful the Bayraktar drones, often known simply as TB2s, have been during the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not yet been independently verified.

Ukraine has had TB2 drones since 2019, and has purchased around 50 over the past three years. Last Wednesday, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry stated that a further, unspecified number of TB2 drones had been purchased and that these were ready to enter combat. On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said his country had benefited greatly from the Turkish-made drones.

Turkish-made drones a popular purchase

As usual when it comes to arms shipments, Turkey has not commented on the matter. The world often only learns of the existence of these drones from media reports, if they are used in combat or if the recipient country talks about it.

The Bayraktar TB2 was developed and produced by a Turkish company, Baykar Technology. The business belongs to two brothers and was first founded in 1986. Over that time it has grown to become a giant of Turkish arms manufacturing, belonging to the Bayraktar family. The son-in-law of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Selcuk Bayraktar, is the company's chief technology officer.

According to the company itself, it grew its exports sevenfold between 2006 and 2021. Media reports say the TB2 has brought business orders from 16 countries, including Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Morocco, Tunisia, Qatar, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan. Poland was the first NATO member to purchase the drone last year, adding 24 to its arsenal.

Baykar Technology has close ties with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The TB2 has flown more than 420,000 hours in places like Syria , Libya and Iraq. Many analysts believe the drone was a decisive weapon during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020.

The TB2 has also recently been used in Ethiopia. According to investigators, an attack by the drone killed at least 59 civilians in Tigray.

The Bayraktar TB2 is 6.5 meters (21 feet) long and has a wingspan of 12 meters. It can stay in the air for up to 24 hours and travels at maximum speeds of 220 kilometers an hour (135 miles per hour). Additionally, the TB2 is less expensive than other similar drones.
Could the TB2 influence the Ukraine war?

It's unclear how many drones Ukraine actually has at its disposal, and whether Turkey has delivered all of the latest order. But if Ukraine did have all the drones it asked for, could this change the outcome of the country's war with Russia?

Wolfgang Richter, a retired colonel in the German army and a military expert at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), doesn't think so.

A drone can only attack one target at a time, he pointed out. "That means it can take out tanks or artillery pieces," he told DW. If the Ukrainian military did have all the drones it had ordered, it could inflict losses on the Russian side but compared to ground combat, the impact of drone warfare would be limited, Richter argued.

Richter pointed out that there was a column of around 600 combat vehicles approaching the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, and that the Russians were attacking Ukraine from four different directions. Additionally nobody knew whether Ukrainian combat drones were still operational or whether some had already been destroyed.
What is the Turkish position on the conflict?

Turkey's President Erdogan has maintained a good relationship with both Russia and Ukraine for years. Turkey has supplied combat drones to Ukraine but bought surface-to-air missiles, the S-400 system, from the Russians.

It's going to become more difficult to maintain that kind of balance in the future, said Daria Isachenko, an expert on security and defense policy at the Center for Applied Turkey Studies at SWP. She believes Erdogan cannot afford to play favorites with either Russia or Ukraine, as this would have serious security and economic consequences.

Russia cannot replace what the Western alliance offers Turkey, but nor can the West replace Russia in Turkey's calculations, she said. So, she believes, Erdogan will only do what is necessary.

Although Turkey has invoked the Montreux Convention and blocked the passage of Russian warships from naval areas it controls, Isachenko doesn't think Turkey would join the West's sanctions regime against Russia.

"Because that could quickly be followed by a response from Moscow," she told DW. "And this would then hit the Turkish economy hard, especially in areas like tourism, construction and wheat imports." Turkey imports around 70% of its wheat from Russia.

This article was originally published in German

MARIUPOL AND VOLNOVAKHA: BESIEGED CITIES APPEAL FOR HELP

Escape from Mariupol

Residents in the besieged port city of Mariupol say they are running out of water and have no more electricity or gas. City officials were forced to postpone the planned evacuation of civilians along a humanitarian corridor after Russia violated the agreed upon cease-fire on Saturday.

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SEE  https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/03/ukrainian-drone-enthusiasts-sign-up-to.html

British firm acquires entire catalog of folk icon Leonard Cohen

Sun, 6 March 2022

Song management firm Hipgnosis says it has acquired rights to 'all 278 songs and derivatives' by Leonard Cohen, pictured December 2021, including the haunting anthem 'Hallelujah' (AFP/Mike Lawrie) (Mike Lawrie)


British song management firm Hipgnosis said Sunday it has acquired the entire catalog of famed Canadian singer-poet Leonard Cohen, in the latest big catalog purchase to hit the music world.

The London-based company said it had acquired rights to "all 278 songs and derivatives" written by Cohen, including the haunting anthem "Hallelujah," which Hipgnosis said had been covered more than 300 times and "streamed more than five billion times."

It did not reveal what it had paid the heirs of the Montreal songwriter, who died at age 82 in 2016.

Cohen's longtime manager Robert Kory represented the heirs in the negotiations.

In all, 127 of the songs come from Cohen's "Stranger Music" catalog, for which Hipgnosis acquired "the songwriter's share" of royalties for songs written up through 2000.

The company said it had also acquired full ownership of copyrights and royalties for the "Old Ideas" catalog, 67 songs written from 2001 to Cohen's death.

"To now be the custodians and managers of Leonard Cohen's incomparable songs is a wonderful yet very serious responsibility," said Hipgnosis founder and CEO Merck Mercuriadis.

"Leonard wrote words and songs that have changed our lives," said the Canadian-born Mercuriadis, who has managed artists including Beyonce, Elton John and Mary J. Blige.

The acquisition was carried out by Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a partnership between Hipgnosis Song Management and Blackstone LLP.

Hipgnosis previously purchased the catalogs of stars including American-Canadian Neil Young and alternative rockers Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Several top artists have sold their catalogs for impressive sums. British singer Sting sold his entire catalog in February for an estimated $250 million, American media reported.

Bruce Springsteen last year sold his musical rights to Sony for an estimated half-billion dollars, a record, while Bob Dylan sold his catalog to Universal Music for some $300 million.

ps/bbk/to

Thousands march in El Salvador to demand abortion rights

Author: AFP|Update: 07.03.2022


Women march in El Salvador on March 6, 2022 to demand the right to abortion / © AFP

Around 2,000 women marched in El Salvador's capital on Sunday to demand the legalization of abortion and a decrease in the killings of women in the Central American country.

With slogans such as "It's my body, abortion is my right," "No more patriarchal violence" and "Women are strong and together we take care of ourselves," they demonstrated in San Salvador wearing purple or green scarves around their necks in anticipation of International Women's Day on March 8.

They called "for abortion to be decriminalized in the country on certain grounds, so that we no longer have women imprisoned, unjustly criminalized for having suffered an obstetric emergency," Morena Herrera, leader of the Citizens' Association for the Decriminalization of Therapeutic, Ethical and Eugenic Abortion (ACDATEE), told AFP.

Herrera said abortion should be decriminalized to save the lives of women and girls; when a fetal malformation incompatible with life outside the womb has been detected; and when the pregnancy is the result of sexual violence.

El Salvador has had an outright ban on abortion since 1998, even in cases of rape or if the health of the woman or fetus are in danger.

Terminating a pregnancy can send a woman to jail for up to eight years, but Salvadoran judges often instead find women guilty of "aggravated homicide," which is punishable by up to 50 years in prison.

Many women are prosecuted after seeking medical help for complications in pregnancy, suspected of having attempted an abortion.

At least a dozen women are currently facing varying sentences for termination of pregnancy.

At the march, the women also demanded that authorities combat femicides in the country.

"Femicides must stop, women have the right to a safe life, no more violent deaths," Abigail Alvarado, a student at the state-run University of El Salvador (UES), told AFP.

Figures from the Observatory of Violence against Women indicated that in 2021, 132 women were murdered, slightly higher than the 130 cases recorded in 2020.

Probe accuses Swiss mining firm of hiding Guatemala pollution

Sun, 6 March 2022

Members of the Guatemalan army patrol the northeastern indigenous municipality El Estor, in October 2021, following protests against the Guatemalan Nickel Company, a subsidiary of Solway Investment Group (AFP/Johan ORDONEZ) (Johan ORDONEZ)

Two subsidiaries of Swiss mining company Solway Investment Group hid reports of pollution in an indigenous area of northeastern Guatemala, an international consortium of media companies said Sunday.

The "Mining Secrets" investigation -- in which 65 journalists from 15 countries participated -- also accused Solway subsidiaries Guatemalan Nickel Company (CGN) and PRONICO of intimidation and influence peddling.

The investigation run by the Forbidden Stories NGO "reveals the strategies that Solway has used to hide, in collusion with authorities, any element that could infer its responsibility in serious cases of environmental pollution."

Solway has rejected the accusations, telling AFP in a statement it had reviewed the research in the investigation and found it to be "false."

According to the investigation, one of those cases was the appearance of a large red slick in Lake Izabal, the largest in Guatemala and which adjoins the company's nickel processing plant in Izabal department.

Both the company and the state blamed algae for the patch.

That sparked a protest from local fishermen, who blamed the miner for the slick. One protester, Carlos Maaz, was shot dead during a clash with police.

But investigators said documents and emails obtained by Guatemalan hackers "disprove official statements and confirm the fishermen's intuition."

According to the investigation, an internal PRONICO communication acknowledged that some mining deposits reached the lake "following heavy rainfall."

The consortium of journalists, including some from Spain's El Pais and Le Monde in France, said they had evidence that reporters were spied on, local community leaders were intimidated and manipulated, and the company had relations with a judge and "paid the police to end the protests."

In October, a group of indigenous people blocked off the town of El Estor, where the processing plant is located, for several days, alleging that the company was failing to comply with a court ruling to cease mining.

The government and the company both insisted that the court ruling only prevented PRONICO from extracting from its Fenix mine but not from continuing to process minerals mined from other plants.

Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei sent military personnel to the area, while police used tear gas to clear protesters.

Local activists accused security forces of intimidation and carrying out raids.

hma/yow/bc/to

Roger Stone said Trump's presidency was the 'greatest single mistake in American history' in video tapes obtained by WaPo

Alia Shoaib
Roger Stone, a former adviser and confidante to former U.S. President Donald Trump, addresses reporters in Washington, DC on December 17, 2021.Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images


Roger Stone was furious with Trump for not issuing preemptive pardons for him and other allies, per WaPo.

The Post viewed 20 hours of documentary footage of Stone filmed by Danish filmmakers.

The videos reveal Stone's role in trying to overturn the 2020 election and events surrounding January 6.

Longtime GOP strategist and Trump ally Roger Stone said Donald Trump's presidency was the "greatest single mistake in American history," in footage obtained by The Washington Post.

The Washington Post said it had viewed 20 hours of footage of Stone filmed by Danish filmmakers for an upcoming documentary titled "A Storm Foretold."

Stone was filmed for two years, including on January 6, 2021, as the Capitol riot unfolded.

The footage reveals that Stone was furious with outgoing president Trump for issuing a blanket pardon to protect himself and other Trump allies from prosecution over their attempts to overturn the 2020 election but had ignored his wish-list, It included Michael Sessa and Victor Orena, former members of the Colombo crime family serving life sentences for murder and racketeering convictions in the 1990s, said the Washington Post.

On Inauguration day, Stone was filmed talking to a friend and savagely criticizing Trump's son-in-law and adviser Jared Kushner – "he needs to have a beating" – before rounding on the former president dubbing him the "greatest single mistake in American history."

Stone was also recorded saying he would support Trump's impeachment in a video published by The Post.

"I'm done with this president. I'm going to go public supporting impeachment. I have no choice. He has to go. He has to go. Run again! You'll get your fucking brains beat in," Stone said in the clip, appearing to mock any future presidential runs by Trump.

However, a few weeks later, Stone said he would support a Trump 2024 presidential bid.

In the footage, Stone seemed especially enraged that the former president had on that day pardoned his former chief strategist Steve Bannon, who was facing federal fraud charges, The Post said.

Stone and Bannon have long feuded after the latter testified in Stone's 2019 obstruction trial, which resulted in him being sentenced to 40 months in prison. Trump later commuted Stone's sentence and then issued a full pardon.
Stone denied any involvement in the Capitol riot

The footage obtained by The Post helps piece together Stone's activities following the 2020 election, as he worked to help overturn the results, and his involvement in the January 6 rallies in Washington culminating in the Capitol attack.

Stone worked behind the scenes to promote the "Stop the Steal" movement, which spread false election fraud conspiracy theories, and galvanized Trump supporters in the lead up to January 6, the outlet reported.

Roger Stone leaves after speaking to supporters of US President Donald Trump outside the US Supreme Court January 5, 2021, in Washington, DC. 

Brendan Smialowski/ AFP via Getty Images

While Stone was initially billed as a top-tier speaker at the January 6 rally, footage filmed by the Danish filmmakers reveals that Stone ultimately did not attend because organizers had not secured him VIP access to reach the stage.

The filmmakers filmed Stone in his hotel room at the Willard Hotel, packing up to leave DC as he watched the riot unfolding on TV.

Stone appears to condemn the riot, saying: "I think it's really bad for the movement. This hurts. It doesn't help."

However, he repeated false claims about the 2020 election being stolen and suggested that violence was inevitable, The Post said.

The footage also reveals that Stone met with and corresponded with members of far-right militia groups, including Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio, before and after January 6.

The cameras captured Stone being guarded on January 5 by multiple Oath Keepers, including Joshua James and Brian Ulrich, as well as James inside Stone's suite in the hours before the riot, The Post reported.

Rhodes, James, and Ulrich have all been charged with seditious conspiracy concerning the Capitol riot.

Stone denied any involvement in the Capitol riot in an email to The Post.

"Any claim, assertion or implication that I knew about, was involved in or condoned the illegal acts at the Capitol on Jan 6 is categorically false and there is no witness or document that proves otherwise," he said.

He also suggested without proof that the video clips of him could be "deep fakes."

Insider reached out to Roger Stone for comment but had not heard back at the time of publishing.

Dogs can get a canine form of dementia — and it is very similar to the human version

Matthew Rozsa, Salon
March 06, 2022

Dog (Shutterstock)

If you have ever been close with a dog, the chances are that you have wondered what your canine companion might be thinking. As time goes on and your relationship grows — whether as a primary owner, a family member or an occasional visitor — you will probably ask yourself if the dog remembers you. Like our human friends and family, we would like to think that, even if we are not in the room, dogs still think about us.

Scientists agree dogs are intelligent, emotional and capable of forming lasting relationships with humans. While there is robust debate about the extent to which this is true, animals like Bunny the "talking" sheepadoodle are able to communicate in such a sophisticated manner that they will even discuss their dreams.

The bad news is that, just like humans, dogs can develop degenerative nerve diseases which damage their minds. One illness in particular has a direct analogue in dogs: Alzheimer's disease. Dogs, sadly, can develop a similar condition — and tragically, that might mean that your dog could suffer some of the same sad Alzheimer's-like conditions, such as forgetting its close family, in its final days.

"Canine Cognitive Dysfunction [CCD] mirrors two key components of Alzheimer's disease in humans," Dr. Silvan Urfer of the Dog Aging Project and the University of Washington told Salon by email. It comes down to a pair of amino acids that will suddenly accumulate in your brain: Amyloid-beta 42 and hyperphosphorylated Tau (pTau). "While there are likely a few differences regarding the details of pTau pathology in particular, it is fair to say that CCD is the dog analog of Alzheimer's Disease," Urfer noted.

Dr. Elizabeth Head, a professor in the Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, Irvine, told Salon in writing that in addition to developing these beta-amyloid plaques — one of the hallmark features of Alzheimer disease — the dogs also suffer like humans, in that neurons die. The synapses, or connections between neurons, are lost, and these are observed in humans who as they age suffer from cognitive decline.

"From a psychological perspective dogs may show signs of disrupted sleep patterns (e.g. up pacing at night), more vocalizing, [being unable to] remember how to signal to go out and may have trouble recognizing family members," Head explained. "This can lead to more anxiety. From a physical perspective, there may be more episodes of incontinence but oftentimes other physical problems are ruled out with the CCD diagnosis (e.g. deafness, blindness, systemic illness)."

Indeed, the similarities between CCD and human dementia are so striking that researchers believe man's best friend could actually help him find a cure for the debilitating ailment. There is a nationwide study known as The Dog Aging Project — which was launched by Cornell University, the University of Washington and the University of Arizona and funded by the National Institute on Aging — which exists precisely because scientists are intrigued by those similarities. They believe that learning more about how to help dogs with the condition can, in the process, provide research data that helps fight human diseases related to senescence.

"What we're trying to do is find a better understanding of the disease in dogs and translate those findings to humans," Dr. Marta Castelhano, director of the Cornell Veterinary Biobank and one of the involved scientists, told Cornell News at the time.

Until a cure for CCD exists, the sad reality is that dogs and humans alike who experience cognitive decline will be left to manage their symptoms to the best of their ability. When speaking with Salon, Urfer stressed that he is "not providing veterinary advice on individual dogs, as there is no vet-patient-client relationship here." People who are concerned about their dogs should consult a veterinarian. What we do know for sure, however, is that causal treatments do not exist for CCD. All we know is that there are certain physical characteristics that make dogs more or less likely to be at risk.

"We know that bigger dogs have a lower risk of developing CCD than small dogs, and there is also some evidence that intact males have a lower CCD risk than neutered males, and that existing CCD progresses faster in neutered than in intact males," Urfer explained. "This is interesting in that it also mirrors findings from human medicine that taller people are less likely to get Alzheimer's disease, and that men who undergo anti-androgen treatment for prostate cancer have an increased Alzheimer's disease risk."

If your dog is healthy now, then the best thing to do is make sure they stay healthy. That can prevent CCD from developing. It is the exact same as the approach for homo sapiens.

"The best approach is always prevention – ensure good physical health (e.g. keep up with dentals), exercise, lots of social and cognitive enrichment, and a good diet, manage co-occuring conditions (e.g. obesity) – just like for people!" Head told Salon.