Category: Europe

EU: Big Tech shields Ursula

Blog, EU, Europe, International

Brussels 25.10.2022 Anna van Densky OPINION On Sunday night, October 23 at 10:50 PM, I received an email from the YouTube team, informing me, that my video was removed and my channel was suspended for one week. The explanation of this hostile measure against the Freedom of speech was announced in a standard, non personalized text:

“Our team has reviewed your content, and, unfortunately, we think it violates our medical-misinformation policy. We’ve removed the following content from YouTube: “EU: demand of Ursula resignation”.
I immediately launched an appeal explaining the political and non-medical nature of my reporting from the European Parliament Strasbourg Plenary, but to no avail.

Well… But seriously, what the loud political demands of a group of the Members of the European Parliament for Ursula von der Leyen resignation have to do with the “medical-misinformation”? Ursula von der Leyen holds a position of the European Commission president, or in the other words the Prime-minister of the “United States of Europe”, and the MEPs demands of the resignation are relevant to the democratic practices, in the context of corruption allegations.

In mid-October the European Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into the EU’s coronavirus vaccines purchases, an announcement attracting attention to the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s questionable actions in concluding €71 bn contracts in total to November 2021.

My reporting censored by YouTube was correct because MEPs articulated the demands publicly a few times during the European Parliament second October Plenary in Strasbourg. Why the YouTube team is suppressing the vital for the EU citizens information, revealing corruption in the institutional highest ranks, and deleting the content about the legitimate demands of people’s representative for transparency enshrined to the EU Treaty?

Who is behind this YouTube team, who claims to be the guardians of the World Health Organization policies? On what grounds a Digital platform manifests itself as a censor, declaring that “YouTube doesn’t allow content that spreads medical misinformation that contradicts local health authorities’ (LHA) or the World Health Organization’s (WHO) medical information about COVID-19”. And what does the “medical misinformation” mean, while WHO, and other influential players in the field as the Chief Medical Advisor to the President of the U.S. spasmodically, but brazenly adapted their own slippery tactics in promotion of the Big Pharma products? Remember?

According to the statistic research the YouTube was among the major beneficiaries from the lockdown policies. According to The Insider YouTube is a powerhouse for Google, with revenue up 46% to almost $7 billion in the last quarter of 2020, doubling its profits due to lockdowns.

Just a few words about the YouTube, which is a video sharing platform where users around the world stream 694,000 hours of content every minute.
It is owned by Google, and is the second most visited website, after Google Search. YouTube has more than 2.5 billion monthly users who collectively watch more than one billion hours of videos each day. However policies of this Big Tech giant are becoming increasingly obscurant, influencing without any democratic mandate the political, and public life, moreover, manipulating and misguiding societies on epic scale.

However the concerns over the active “misinformation” censorship in favour of promotion of Big Pharma scheme of eternal use of their products reached the U.S. Senate. Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, sent a letter to YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki demanding documents and communications explaining each instance of YouTube’s censorship of him and requesting information on the development of YouTube’s COVID-19 misinformation policies.

“YouTube has displayed a troubling track record of censoring a sitting United States Senator, the proceedings of the United States Senate, journalists that interview me, and the display of data that is entirely generated from U.S. government health agencies,” the senator said.

Senator Johnson pressed Big Tech executives on censorship,  the silencing of conservative voices internal political bias at social media companies and their role in removing “COVID-19 disinformation.” The executives would not answer his questions.

Meanwhile on the other side of the Atlantic Ursula von der Leyen does not shy away from forceful imposition of decisions in a totalitarian power style, trampling The Nuremburg Code, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Declaration of Helsinki, and the Siracusa Principles.

Moreover led by Ursula von der Leyen the European Commission is eager to bring the “Health dictatorship” to another level. The EU is also determined to play a leading role in the negotiations for a new international legally binding agreement on “pandemic prevention, preparedness and response” and targeted amendments to strengthen the 2005 International Health Regulations.

This institution, which has become deeply authoritarian, asks Member States to relaunch their vaccine strategies and to fight against misinformation about the vaccine, which means nothing other than the return of the vaccination pass, and “health dictatorship”.

However, in spite of the heavy “editing” and mass-scale censorship the demands of transparency around the dealing of Ursula von der Leyen and the Big Pharma companies, namely Pfizer are mounting.

Olivier Frot, Doctor of Public Law, from Bordeaux University, France, managed to obtain the framework agreement from the European Commission for the purchase of “anti-Covid vaccines” from the company Pfizer BioNtech.

“We are in the presence of a very original and unusual contractual form in terms of public procurement, an ‘advance purchase agreement’, a form unknown to the writer before this study and not provided for in the texts governing public contracts awarded by the European Commission” commented Oliver Frot.
“This is a type of leonine contract in which the contracting party is exempt from economic risk (firm price over a short period, fixed contractual quantities, significant financial advance), exempt from legal risk (responsibility transferred to the participating Member State” the researcher continued.
“The information making it possible to determine the legality of the procedures for awarding and drafting these contracts is unfortunately not available. Given the totally unbalanced nature of these contracts, one can legitimately ask questions about their award conditions and the absence of corruption and/or conflicts of interest” he added.

Russia: Putin stable level of confidence

Blog, Europe

Brussels 21.10.2022 The Russian citizens’ confidence in President Vladimir Putin dropped by 0.3% and stood at 80.6%, according to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center that published the results of a survey conducted from October 10 to 16 among 1,600 respondents aged over 18.

“When asked about trust in Putin, 80.6% of respondents answered positively (-0.3% over the week), the approval rate of the Russian president’s work was 77% (+1.4 % over the week),” the pollsters noted.

https://twitter.com/ivan_8848/status/1583232012651225088?s=20&t=4BSC86oUaChqQU02pKP45w

Positive assessment figures for the Prime Minister and the Russian government stood at 52.6% (+1.8%) and 52% (+2.2%), respectively,” the report stressed. Mikhail Mishustin was trusted by 62.8% of respondents (+0.4% over the week).

Those surveyed also expressed their confidence in the heads of various parliamentary factions. Russia’s Communist Party (CPRF) leader Gennady Zyuganov was trusted by 34.7% of respondents, Sergey Mironov, the leader of A Just Russia – For Truth, received 31.9% (-1.2%), the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) Leonid Slutsky got 17.6% (-0.7%), and the leader of The New People party Alexey Nechaev procured 8.5% (-3.4%).

The poll also revealed that the level of support for the United Russia party stood at 41%, with the CPRF still supported by 10.1%. The LDPR got 8.2% (-0.9%), A Just Russia – For Truth was supported by 5.8% (+0.5%), and The New People party’s figures came to 5.8% (+0.5%).

Crimea: Kerch bridge explosion

Blog, Conflict, Europe

Brussels 08.10.2922 fire is burning on the Kirch Strait Bridge that connects Russia to Crimea Saturday morning, with images showing multiple train cars fully engulfed and two spans of the road bridge in the water. The Ministry of Transport of Russia told RBC news that the coastal infrastructure is ready for the resumption of the operation of the Kerch ferry crossing. As of 08:30 Moscow time, the first ferry started moving to the terminal for loading and starting transportation, three more ferries of various ship owners are preparing to enter the crossing.

Traffic on the bridge, a critical strategic artery for Russian forces in Crimea amid its war in Ukraine, has reportedly been halted as heavy flames and black smoke spew from a train carrying unknown cargo. Photos also show spans of both east and westbound lanes have collapsed into the water near the burning train.

The bridge cost billions to build after Russia seized Crimea in 2014 and has been one of Ukraine’s top targets, although it lacked traditional weaponry capable of striking it from far away. Even the Pentagon has openly stated that it sees the bridge as a viable target for Ukrainian forces. Russia has deployed air defenses and decoy barges in an attempt to protect it from some kind of attack in recent months.

As it becomes clear from the conversations of local inhabitants, filming the fire, they talk about “flight”, which is colloquial for air missile strike.

Saint-Petersburg festivities cancelled

Blog, Conflict, Europe

Brussels 07.10.2022 Traditional Christmas and New Year celebrations in Saint Petersburg will be cancelled and all previously allocated funds for the festivities will be channelled to finance volunteers and mobilised troops of the “special military operation” (SMO) in Ukraine, the municipal authorities said in a statement on Friday, October 7. (Image: Saint-Petersburg, Russia)

“During a session with Governor Alexander Beglov with members of the municipal administration it was decided to cancel previously scheduled events dedicated to New Year festivities,” the statement reads.

“All available funds will be channelled into a special Saint Petersburg stipulating extra outfit and gear for volunteers and mobilised citizens,” Beglov said.

It was previously noted that all mobilised people in Saint Petersburg would be paid a bonus of 100,000 rubles (over $1,600), while volunteers would get 300,000 rubles in bonuses (over $4,800).

Mayor of the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod Yury Shalabayev also stated that previously scheduled New Year and Christmas celebrations, including music concerts and festivities, would be cancelled and all previously allocated financial means would be channelled to aid the families of mobilised Russian nationals.

“I have received numerous questions via social websites from our citizens about planned mass festivities, concerts and fireworks to mark the New Year. My response is no, although we planned them initially,” he said.

“However, we will still carry on with New Year celebrations for children and festive events in schools and kindergartens,” the mayor of Nizhny Novgorod added.

On September 21, President Vladimir Putin declared a partial mobilisation in Russia. Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu clarified that 300,000 reservists would be called up, who would undergo training before being sent to the special military operation zone.

The partial mobilization will not involve students and conscripts. Only citizens who have prior combat experience and military specializations needed for the operation will be mobilized. The defense chief emphasized that the call-up is being carried out first and foremost to support the territories liberated during the special military operation.

Putin appoints governors for Donbass

Blog, Europe, Politics

Strasbourg 05.10.2022 President Putin appoints acting heads of four “new Russian regions”, Russian TASS news agency reports. (Image above: archive)

Following referenda where voters opted for the accession of the regions to Russia, Putin and the heads of the four regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia at a Kremlin-hosted ceremony, the news agency continues. THe moved unanimously condemned by the European Union, assessing the change as “annexation”.

Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed acting heads of the four new Russian regions who will govern until the regions’ heads are elected according to Russian law.

The same politicians who headed the regions prior to their accession to Russia have retained their posts. Denis Pushilin, who was a leader of Russian-speaking protests in the Donetsk Region after a coup in Ukraine, became acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR). Pushilin participated in a ceremony on April 7, 2014 when the DPR was created, and in 2018 he was elected head of the republic.

Leonid Pasechnik has been a head of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR). In 2014, when protests against Euromaidan events and a nationwide coup began in southeastern Ukraine, he took the side of the Lugansk Region’s people’s militia and was elected head of the republic in 2018.

The leaders of the two self-proclaimed Donbass republics retained the title of heads, while the heads of the other two regions became acting governors.

Yevgeny Balitsky, who has been leading the Zaporozhye Region’s military-civilian administration, will be the region’s acting governor. The military-civilian administration was formed in the region’s liberated areas after those had been taken over by Russian troops. And Vladimir Saldo, previously the head of the Kherson Region’s military-civilian administration, will become the region’s acting governor.

Following referendums where voters opted for the accession of the regions to Russia, Putin and the heads of the four regions signed treaties on their accession to Russia at a Kremlin-hosted ceremony on Friday. Pushilin, Pasechnik, Balitsky and Saldo signed off on the documents on behalf of the four regions.

Kaliningrad: military combat training

Blog, Europe

Brussels 28.09.2022 Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday, September 28, that newly mobilised reservists in the Kaliningrad region have started combat training at the base of Russia’s Baltic Fleet.

“All mobilised military personnel comply with the standards for shooting from small arms. In addition, citizens called up from the reserve restore their skills in the operation and maintenance of weapons, military and special equipment,” the ministry said on its Telegram channel.

Courses have been also held to increase firing skills and prepare military personnel for “confident actions on the battlefield”.

President Vladimir Putin ordered Russia’s first military mobilisation since World War Two last week, which could see hundreds of thousands more people sent to fight in Ukraine.

Russia has a significant military presence in Kaliningrad, a Russian Baltic coast enclave located between NATO and European Union members Poland and Lithuania, including nuclear-capable missiles, its Baltic fleet and tens of thousands of soldiers.

Putin vows to overcome hardships

Blog, Conflict, Europe, International, Politics

Brussels 18.07.2022 Russia is not going to lose heart or have decades of its progress reversed, despite inhospitable forecasts from opponents, President Vladimir Putin told the Council for Strategic Development at a meeting on Monday.

The president said Russia was being completely denied access to foreign hi-tech products.

“We understand that this is a major challenge to our country, however we are not going to lose heart or have decades of our progress reversed, despite predictions from a number of our ill-wishers, the opposite is true,” Putin insisted.

“[We are] aware of the huge amount of obstacles” being put up, so Russia will be “looking for new solutions while making effective use of its own technological capacities available in the country and research by innovative Russian companies,” Putin explained.

“I understand that this is a complicated task. All of us are perfectly aware of that. And it’s also clear that we cannot and will not live in isolation from the rest of the world,” the Russian president pledged.

The head of state stressed that Russia cannot be isolated from the rest of the world, or fenced off from it.

“Obviously, we cannot develop in isolation from the rest of the world. And we won’t. It is impossible in the present-day world to merely issue as decree and erect a huge fence. It is simply impossible,” he said and outlined top priority tasks.

According to the president, one of such tasks is to develop end-to-end technologies, which have major influence on structural changes in the economy.

Russia: Belgorod hit by missile

Blog, Conflict, Europe, Uncategorized

Brussels 03.07.2022 At least three people were perished and dozens of residential buildings damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said, after reports of several blasts in the city.

At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 private houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov posted on the Telegram messaging app.

Governor Gladkov said earlier that the “incident” was being investigated, adding: “Presumably, the air defence system worked.”

At least four people were injured and two hospitalised, including a 10-year-old boy, he said.

The news agencies could not independently verify the reports. There was no immediate reaction from the Ukraine relevant authorities.

Belgorod, a city of nearly 400,000 some 40km north of the border with Ukraine, is the administrative centre of the Belgorod region.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov confirmed that tonight, from 3:00 to 3:30 Moscow time, the “Kyiv regime” carried out a “deliberate strike with Tochka-U ballistic missiles with cluster munitions and Tu-143 Reis drones on residential areas of Belgorod and Kursk, where there are no military installations”.

All three Tochka-U ballistic missiles with cluster warheads launched by Ukrainian military at Belgorod were destroyed in the air by Russian air defense systems. As a result of the defeat of Ukrainian missiles, the wreckage of one of them fell on a residential building in the city.

Putin follows Peter the Great footsteps

Blog, Europe, International

Brussels 11.06.2022 President Vladimir Putin compared himself to the country’s Emperor, Peter the Great (pictured), in a speech marking the 350th anniversary of the figure’s birth.

Putin made the comments while visiting a multimedia exhibit about the 18th-century tzar, who led a conquest of the Baltic region while at war with Sweden. Putin remarked that Peter the Great viewed the land as rightfully Russian, drawing a connection to the current war Russia is waging against Ukraine.

“He was returning it and strengthening it,” Putin said, according to Russian media. “Well, apparently, it has also fallen to us to return and to strengthen.” Putin also underlined that when Peter founded the city of St. Petersburg, “none of the countries of Europe recognized it as Russian.”

“It is impossible — do you understand — impossible to build a fence around a country like Russia,” Putin added. Putin has repeatedly attempted to justify Russia’s invasion of Ukraine since the Feb. 24 beginning of the war, which has since resulted in thousands of deaths and millions of displaced people. Shortly after he launched the invasion, Putin said he was “forced” to attack Ukraine due to Western “intransigence” over security issues.

The Russian president’s comments occurred after the war in Ukraine surpassed 100 days last week.

“Peter the Great fought the Northern War for 21 years. It would seem that he fought with Sweden and rejected something there. He didn’t reject anything! He returned,” the head of state explained.

Putin noted that the fate of modern Russia also fell to “return and strengthen” its sovereignty and territories.

Russia accuses EU for grain shortage

Blog, Conflict, Europe, Uncategorized

Brussels 20.05.2022 Russia can export 25 million tonnes of grain via the port of Novorossiysk starting from August 1 and until the end of this year, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya said, speaking at UN Security Council meeting on conflicts and food security Thursday,May 19.

According to Nebenzya, Russia “continues to remain a responsible supplier of food and energy.”

“This year, we expect a record high wheat harvest. In this regard, we can offer 25 million tonnes of grain for export from the port of Novorossiysk starting on August 1 and until the end of this year,” the envoy said.

“We can also discuss other procurements, including considering that, between June and December, potential export of fertilizers will stand at least 22 million tonnes. But, if you have no intention to withdraw your sanctions, imposed on your own initiative, then why do you accuse us? Why do the poorest nations and regions have to suffer because of your irresponsible geopolitical games?” the diplomat pointed out, addressing the representatives of Western states.

In the current circumstances, attempts to “groundlessly shift responsibility” for deteriorating food situations in the world to Russia “are not just absurd, they are sacrilegious.”.

Nebenzya said that grain exports from Ukrainian ports have been blocked because of Ukraine’s military actions, and they are not the result of decisions of Russian Federation.

“You claim that we are allegedly blocking the possibility of exporting agricultural products from Ukraine by sea,” he said at a UN Security Council meeting on food security. “However, the truth is that it’s Ukraine, not Russia, that continues to block 75 foreign ships from 17 states in the ports of Nikolayev, Kherson, Chernomorsk, Mariupol, Ochakov, Odessa and Yuzhny, and it was Ukraine that mined the waterways.”

“Given that, how can we talk about grain export?” he said. “And no matter what you say here today, only you can change this situation, gentlemen.”.

Exported Ukrainian grain is not directed to countries in need, but is being loaded in EU storages – possibly as payment for arms shipments, Nebenzya accused.

“A logical question arises: where do these shipments [of Ukrainian grain] go? What do they have to do with ensuring food security in the world?” Nebenzya said. “We have justified suspicion that the grain does not go to aid the starving global South, but is being loaded in European states’ grain storages. As we understand, this is how Ukraine pays for weapons being shipped by the West.”.