Friday 26 May 2023

Jeff Monson: US Elite Mutes Russian Media to Keep Ukraine Conflict Raging On

Jeff Monson: US Elite Mutes Russian Media to Keep Ukraine Conflict Raging On

Jeff Monson: US Elite Mutes Russian Media to Keep Ukraine Conflict Raging On




© Sputnik / RIA Novosti






Legendary mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter Jeff Monson, who has renounced his US citizenship in opposition to Washington's Ukraine policies, told Sputnik that the American elite is cashing in on the Ukraine conflict and silencing alternative narratives to keep the standoff going.







"You don't have to be a political scientist to understand what's really going on, because we see this happening live," Jeffrey William Monson, 52, the legendary "Snowman," who scored a whopping 61 victories in 89 fights, told Sputnik.


Jeff believes that Washington's attempt to prolong the Ukraine conflict for as long as possible benefits no one but the American elites.


"This (conflict) benefits the big corporations of America, which benefits the leaders of America, the government leaders who get money from these corporations for the reelection campaigns, for their political parties," Monson told Sputnik. "So very, very few people benefit from this, the Congress people, the big businesses. And that's why America is in this conflict, not because ordinary Americans want this [proxy] war. No, because the media has sold this to ordinary Americans that they think they're supporting something good."




The MMA legend obtained Russian citizenship in May 2018 and became a lawmaker in the city of Krasnogorsk, near Moscow. Earlier, he proved to be an ardent supporter of Donbass, which resisted the Kiev regime after the illegitimate ouster of Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich in February 2014.


"I've been to Donetsk and Lugansk, maybe 11 or 12 times already," he said




In late April this year, Jeff announced that he would renounce his American citizenship because of his opposition to the current policies of the US government, including the militarization of Ukraine. He walked the talk in May and handed his American passport to the US Consulate in Istanbul, Turkiye.



Ukraine 'Put Up for Sale'



The thing is that Zelensky put Ukraine up for sale – that is how he is going to pay the bills, according to Monson.


"He sold the public utilities, he sold the transportation," the MMA legend continued. "He's selling the penal system. He's selling the transportation; he's selling the water supply. He's selling the physical and utilities to American corporations. So after the conflict, these American corporations [will] come in, help 'rebuild' Ukraine. But they will own Ukraine."









US Elites Don't Want Ukraine Conflict to End



Generally, the US establishment is fanning the conflict to exhaust Ukraine, bleed Russia white, and undermine Europe, thus making it even more dependent on the US, according to Monson.


"America destroyed the Nord Stream pipeline, now America is the new supplier, not Russia, but America is the new supplier of gas to Europe, which needs it badly. But they're selling it at four times the price that Russia sold it to them for."


Since a protracted conflict is exactly what the American elite and its associates want, it is hardly surprising that they ruined the concurrent Russo-Ukrainian peace talks and then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's settlement effort in March 2022, according to Monson. In his bombshell interview in February 2023, Bennett recalled that Russia and Ukraine had proved to be pragmatic negotiators; France and Germany were ready to reach a compromise; but the UK and US pushed for continuing hostilities.


"Now China has also tried to negotiate a peace agreement," Jeff continued.


"America's saying: 'Go away, go away. Don't listen to them, we don't want to end this conflict'. America doesn't literally want to end this conflict. It is allowing people to die because they want these corporations to make money. And that's the opinion they have in America: corporations before people."



US Government Censoring Alternative Narratives



How does the US elite manage to sell its proxy war in Ukraine to the American public? According to Monson, they made this possible by muting inconvenient truths and killing alternative narratives. "The reason is that, what's the number one thing America, or especially an American politician, is going to say about America? 'We have democracy, we have freedom. The world doesn't have freedom. We have. Freedom, Freedom, Freedom.' Well, how is that freedom? If the people who live in America are censored and they're only shown one position and they're told what to think. Americans literally have no idea, the bulk of Americans have no idea of what's going on in the world. It's just what they hear on mass media."


For its part, US media corporations are not just "misinforming" the people, but blatantly lying to them, the MMA legend said.




"And so you can control the people. You don't have to force people with a gun. In America, they don't take a gun to your head and say, 'Hey, you need to do this.' No, no, no. They educate you and tell you what's going on, what they want you to believe. And then you're going to freely do what they want."


As a result, Americans are buying into the establishment's narrative and are "freely" supporting the US proxy war in Ukraine. They think that Russia is a "bad guy," they think that it "invaded" Ukraine, and they haven't got the slightest idea of Kiev's nine-year-long war against Donbass civilians, Monson said.


"You never heard of it because the American media doesn't tell you," he noted, addressing the American audience. "And so when the media can control the situation, the government is able to do what they want without the people rebelling. And so that's why they blocked Sputnik. That's why they blocked RT, that's why they blocked the different outlets in Russia, because they don't want people to have an alternative, to see a different perspective. Look, if this is the only way that you know, then of course you're going to believe that because that's all you're told. That's all you believe."



'This is Our Land'



"I talked Having visited Donbass many times, Jeff knows what he is talking about.


"I've been on the front line, I've seen what the soldiers do," he said. The last time, maybe five or six weeks ago, he went to Donbass and talked to soldiers who have been fighting for their land for the last nine years.








"I talked to a man, a soldier, and I said, 'Why are you here?' He picked up the ground and he kissed it and he said, 'This is Russia. This is ours, man. We've got to protect this. My relatives live here, my grandparents, their grandparents. This is us. This is my love. I'll give my life for this place. I'll give my life for my country, for my fellow soldiers, for the people who live here.'"



‘My Country Does Terrible Things’: MMA Fighter Jeff Monson On Why He Renounced US Citizenship



American-born athlete Jeff Monson, known for his skill in a variety of martial arts, renounced his US citizenship earlier this week, having obtained his Russian citizenship in 2018. Sputnik spoke with Monson about the changes in himself and his life through the process of changing from a US citizen to a Russian.


“I felt Russian for a long time in my heart and my soul, even before I got a Russian passport. I'd been coming to Russia for maybe 12, 13 years now, and I felt Russian for a long time. And when I got the passport, it just made it official. You know, it obviously made it easier for me to have jobs here, to do work here, to have family here,” Monsoon told Sputnik.


"But now the American citizenship... It was a difficult decision because I need an American passport to freely go to the USA because I have three children in America. And now, without a visa, it's impossible to go to America. The United States is angry with me, of course. So they're not going to likely give me a visa. So when I meet my kids, it's going to have to be in some other country. So this was a problem with this decision.”


“But I can't support a country that's attacking my country where I live with my family. They're attacking the people of Donbass. They've killed thousands and thousands by supporting Ukraine. They've killed three of my friends in Donbass already. When I went to Donetsk, they had a big bomb that landed in the middle of the city, where people would park, and it didn't explode. They left it there, though. And I went and saw it said "Lockheed Martin". It's the American company that made this bomb. It's from an American company. So, we know this already, but it's just a reminder that America is supporting this war.”


Monson told Sputnik that traveling to Russia in 2011 changed his perception of what kind of people Russians are, helping him realize they’re not the perpetual villains always seen in Western films. However, his friends who haven’t shared his experiences have had trouble with that revelation.


“Luckily, I had a pretty open mind when I came to Russia. Like Red Square, some of the sites of St. Petersburg are exactly how I saw, how I envisioned it. But the people were much different. In America, I thought the Russians were very cold and did not have a big heart and did not care about other people and were very angry, and that was shocking to me, to find out this was absolutely not true, that Russians are very supportive, very oriented towards family, very oriented towards community. And they cared very much about other people.”


“But it's the American movies, American media, Western media, and the American government that portrays this picture. You watch an American movie, if there's a Russian guy in it, he's always, always a bad guy. He's never a good guy, always a bad guy, like - ‘Vladimir - He wants to kill people. He does this.’ He's always bad. Americans don't have any idea about how Russians really are, about how patriotic they are, how they love their country, how they love their community.”




“And when I’ve had American friends, my best friend Shane came from America to Russia and spent one week here and he was shocked. He said the same thing. He was like, ‘Man, I thought Russians were like, this and that’. And my team, American Top Team, my fighting team in Miami, they have now maybe 20 Russians that are part of this team that came from Russia. And all my friends on this team, my American friends said, ‘Man, these Russians are so good guys. They work hard, they're polite, they're respectful, they're funny, they're our friends, that's nothing like we expected.’


“And when I’ve had American friends, my best friend Shane came from America to Russia and spent one week here and he was shocked. He said the same thing. He was like, ‘Man, I thought Russians were like, this and that’. And my team, American Top Team, my fighting team in Miami, they have now maybe 20 Russians that are part of this team that came from Russia. And all my friends on this team, my American friends said, ‘Man, these Russians are so good guys. They work hard, they're polite, they're respectful, they're funny, they're our friends, that's nothing like we expected.’


“My real friends, especially from the American Top Team, support me because they actually see Russians. So they support me. My friends who've come here, I have like three friends who come to Russia, and they support me because they see what I see. Some family members - not so much my children, but some of my cousins, aunts, uncles - they don't support this at all and they don't understand Russia. And so I've unfortunately lost communication with some people from my family and some people who I kind of kept in contact with don't talk to me anymore not just because I'm in Russia, but because I support Russia.”


“My true friends who I communicate with all the time, my children who I communicate with, they want me home, of course. They want me to be there next to them so they don't like me being away. But they support what I believe in. They believe what I see and what I tell them. So in this way I have their support.”














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Serbian president puts nation’s armed forces on high combat alert

Serbian president puts nation’s armed forces on high combat alert

Serbian president puts nation’s armed forces on high combat alert




Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic
©AP Photo/Boris Grdanoski






The Serbian armed forces have been put on high combat alert based on a decree issued by President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief Aleksandar Vucic, the Vecernje Novosti newspaper reported on Friday.







According to the newspaper, the Serbian president issued a decree ordering the armed forces to immediately move to the administrative border of Kosovo and Metohija as a response to [Prime Minister of the unrecognized Republic of Kosovo Albin] "Kurti’s special police... using violent tactics against the Serbian residents of Zvecan, Zubin Potok and Leposavic."


The head of state also called on NATO officials to take urgent measures to end the violence being perpetrated against the Serbian population of Kosovo, the report said.


The Serbian president’s move comes amid rising tensions in four Serb-populated municipalities in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija, where Kosovar law enforcement officers are trying to seize administrative buildings despite local residents’ attempts to defend them. Media outlets have reported of sirens going off, disruptions in mobile communications and law enforcement’s use of stun grenades and tear gas.


Earlier, Igor Simic, deputy chairman of The Serb List, the largest Serb party representing the interests of the Serbian population of Kosovo and Metohija, said that the Serbs would fight back against the Kurti regime on June 1, using "all available means" to protect themselves should the persecution and violation of Serbs’ rights continue. The politician stressed that the inauguration of Erden Atic, a Kosovar Albanian elected as head of the North Kosovska Mitrovica municipality on April 23, was a symbol of the occupation of the region.


Local elections took place in four municipalities - Zvecan, Zubin Potok, Leposavic and North Mitrovica - in the northern part of Kosovo and Metohija on April 23. Serb List members boycotted the vote, citing Pristina’s failure to meet its obligations. As a result, voter turnout reached only 3.47% due to the boycott by the Serbian population.


Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic placed the country's army on full combat alert and ordered its units to move closer to the border with Kosovo, the Tanjug news agency reported on Friday.


Vucic's orders came as Serbs in the northern Kosovo's municipality of Zvecan clashed with Kosovo police who were trying to help the newly elected ethnic Albanian mayor enter his office.








The local vote had been boycotted by Serbs who represent a majority in the area.


Local media reported that Kosovo police fired tear gas at a crowd gathered in front of the municipality building.



Serbian defense minister confirms army rapid advance to administrative border with Kosovo



Serbia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Milos Vucevic has confirmed that Serbia’s armed forces have been ordered to rapidly advance to the administrative border with Kosovo and Metohija.


"Serbian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of our armed forces Aleksandar Vucic has signed a decree raising the combat readiness of the Serbian armed forces to the highest level and ordered them to move rapidly toward the administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija," he wrote on his Twitter account.


The minister told journalists earlier on Friday that "everything President (of Serbia Aleksandar) Vucic has been warning about for days and weeks, i.e. that Pristina continues escalation and terrorizes Serbs, primarily in Kosovo and Metohija," is happening in real life. He stressed that the actions by Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti "lead to red lines, to a total collapse of dialogue.".





















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Malaysia Masters 2023 - Christian Adinata dan Gregoria Mariska Tunjung Lolos Semifinal

Malaysia Masters 2023 - Christian Adinata dan Gregoria Mariska Tunjung Lolos Semifinal

Malaysia Masters 2023 - Christian Adinata dan Gregoria Mariska Tunjung Lolos Semifinal




Christian Adinata lolos ke semifinal Malaysia Masters 2023. (Foto: PBSI)






Tunggal putra Indonesia, Christian Adinata mencetak sejarah baru lolos semifinal Malaysia Masters 2023. Berhadapan dengan unggulan India, Kidambi Srikanth saat babak perempat final, di Axiata Arena, Kuala Lumpur, pada hari Jumat pagi WIB, 26/05/2023, Dia mengaku tak merasakan tekanan dari lawannya tersebut, menang dengan rubber set, 16-21, 21-16 dan 21-11.







Tentu bukan perkara mudah untuk mengalahkan pemain sekaliber Srikanth. Namun, Christian mengaku tidak menyerah begitu saja demi merebut kemenangan. Padahal, dia sempat kalah di set pertama.


“Tidak ada tekanan. Hal itu sama sekali tidak mengganggu. Pertandingannya memang ketat, tetapi saya berjuang untuk menang hingga akhir,” kata Christian di laman resmi BWF.


Pemain berusia 21 tahun tersebut menilai semangat pantang menyerah menjadi kunci utama. Karena dia merasa akan sulit untuk menang atas Srikanth, jika pasrah begitu saja.


“Pada gim pertama, saya memang terlalu pasif. Tetapi, saya menjadi lebih percaya diri setelah memenangkan gim kedua. Hal itu membantu saya lebih berani di gim penentian. Saya bangga tidak patah semangat usai kalah di gim pertama,” ujarnya.


Christian Adinata, peringkat 57 dunia itu di semifinal nanti akan menghadapi utusan India lainnya, Prannoy HS, Pemain peringkat sembilan dunia itu menyingkirkan andalan Jepang Kenta Nishimoto dengan tiga gim 25-23, 18-21, 21-13, di perempat final.


Sejauh ini, pencapaian terbaik Christian di BWF World Tour Super 500 adalah lolos ke babak 32 besar pada Indonesia Masters 2023, Januari lalu.


Nomor Tunggal putri, Gregoria Mariska Tunjung juga mengikuti jejak Christian, berhasil lolos ke babak semifinal Malaysia Masters 2023, mengalahkan unggulan kedua turnamen, Wang Zhi Yi.


Gregoria menang dengan straight set langsung atas Wang dalam durasi 39 menit dengan skor akhir 21-11 dan 21-14.


Menurut Jorji, sapaan akrab Gregoria, kunci dari kemenangannya hari ini ialah dengan tampil percaya diri pada gim pertama.








Gregoria mengaku kini dirinya mulai semakin percaya diri setelah sebelumnya kerap merasa minder dengan kemampuan dan kualitasnya.


"Saya tidak mau puas di sini, saya mau melebihi hasil tahun lalu pastinya. Saya bersyukur sekarang saya sudah sudah bisa lumayan percaya sama diri sendiri, baik di dalam maupun di luar lapangan," ucap Gregoria dikutip dari rilis PBSI.


Gregoria Mariska Tunjung saat menghadapi unggulan kedua tunggal putri di perempat final Malaysia Masters 2023. (Istimewa/tim Humas dan Media PP PBSI)


"Dulu saya merasa tidak cukup dengan kemampuan atau kualitas yang saya punya yang membuat saya tidak lepas dan tidak berkembang," kata Gregoria menambahkan.


"Dari pertandingan hari ini yang membuat saya percaya diri adalah saat di gim pertama, lawan tidak bisa berkembang permainannya. Dan saya tidak ingin menyia-nyiakan hal itu," ucap Gregoria.


"Puji Tuhan di gim pertama saya bisa menang dengan selisih poin yang lumayan jauh, sementara di gim kedua memang lawan sudah lebih membaik permainannya tapi saya punya motivasi untuk menang juga. Saya tidak berpikir harus menang atau bagaimana, saya mengadu permainan saja karena dia juga punya kualitas pukulan yang sangat baik," kata Gregoria menambahkan.


Gregoria pun mengungkapkan dirinya tidak punya strategi khusus untuk mengalahkan Wang Zhi Yi.


"Setelah kalah di dua pertemuan sebelumnya, sebenarnya hari ini saya tidak menyiapkan strategi khusus. Saya hanya berusaha semaksimal mungkin untuk mengurangi kesalahan-kesalahan sendiri dan juga punya keinginan lebih untuk meladeni reli-reli," ujar Gregoria.








Pertandingan ini sempat diwarnai kejadian lucu saat Gregoria secara mengejutkan melemparkan raket ketika sudah tak mampu menjangkau shuttlecock hasil pukulan Wang Zhi Yi.


Momen Gregoria lempar raket di perempat final Malaysia Masters 2023 itu terjadi saat skor 8-5 pada gim kedua. Saat melakukan reli panjang terdapat satu momen Gregoria susah payah harus menjangkau pukulan lawan di sisi sebelah kanan, bola pun berhasil dikembalikan kepada lawan.


Namun saat Wang Zhi Yi melepaskan pukulan balik dia mengarahkan bola ke arah sebelah kiri yang sangat jauh untuk dijangkau Gregoria.


Gregoria yang merasa tak sanggup menjangkau bola sampai harus melemparkan raketnya hingga membuat penonton dan hakim garis tertawa.


Di partai semifinal, akan berhadapan unggulan pertama India, Pusarla V Sindu setelah mengalahkan wakil China, Zhang Yi Man, 21-16, 13-21, 22-20.



Hasil Lengkap Tunggal Putra Perempatfinal Malaysia Masters 2023







Hasil Lengkap Tunggal Putri Perempatfinal Malaysia Masters 2023
























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US Develops Biological Weapons in Ukraine - Russian Defense Ministry

US Develops Biological Weapons in Ukraine - Russian Defense Ministry

US Develops Biological Weapons in Ukraine - Russian Defense Ministry




©Flickr / Francisco Javier Argel






The data obtained by the Russian Defense Ministry once again proves that the United States is developing biological weapons on the territory of Ukraine, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the head of the radiation, chemical and biological defense troops of the Russian armed forces, said on Friday.







"The US defense ministry is actively studying these economically significant infections outside the national territory in biolaboratories located along the borders of its geopolitical opponents. This once again confirms that the United States is developing biological weapons components outside of national jurisdiction, including on the territory of Ukraine," Kirillov told reporters.


He added that Russian Defense Ministry specialists have seized documents from a Askaniya-Nova Biosphere Reserve laboratory, confirming that the Kharkov Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine have worked on military biological projects of the Pentagon.


"Documents seized from a veterinary laboratory of the reserve confirm the involvement of the Kharkov institute in the work within the framework of the US projects Yu-Pi-8, Pi-444 and preparation for the implementation of the Flu-Fly-Way project," Kirillov said.


The projects aim at evaluating of the conditions under which the transmission of pathogens of economically significant infections can become uncontrollable, cause economic damage and create food security risks, the official stated. Kirillov added that the rising incidence of bird flu in Russia raises concern against the background of a mass death of birds due to biological experiments in Ukraine in 2021.


The ministry has already drawn attention to the documented fact of a mass death of birds on the territory of the Askaniya-Nova nature reserve in 2021, which, according to experts, was of an infectious nature, the official said. The simultaneous death of birds was provoked by ongoing experiments and neglect of safety requirements, he added.


"Against this background, we are especially concerned about an increase in the incidence of bird flu in Russia and in European countries, where, according to the International Epizootics Bureau, the disease has acquired a year-round character, and losses from it since 2021 have exceeded 3 billion euros," Kirillov told reporters. Since the start of the year, Russia has recorded 32 outbreaks of bird flu across the country, he added.


Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov stressed that employees of Askaniya-Nova Biosphere Reserve in the Kherson region, before the start of the special operation, collected strains of the avian influenza virus that could overcome the interspecies barrier, including the H5N8 strain with a lethality of up to 40%.








"A task force of the Russian Defense Ministry, together with employees of the Federal Security Service and Rosselkhoznadzor [Russian agriculture safety watchdog], confirmed the facts of the collection and certification of strains of the bird flu virus that have a high epidemic potential and are able to overcome the interspecies barrier, in particular, the H5N8 strain, the lethality of which when transmitted to humans can reach 40%" Kirillov told reporters.


Additionally, Ukraine tried to destroy biomaterials left in a Askaniya-Nova Biosphere Reserve biolaboratory, but Russian military scientists managed to identify traces of highly pathogenic bird flu there, the official said.



US Working on 'Universal' Genetically Engineered Bioweapon: Russian Parliamentary Investigation



Russian lawmakers have completed an investigation into Washington's military-related biological activities at laboratories across Ukraine on the basis of findings made public by Russia's Radiation, Chemical and Biological Defense Troops over the past year.


Washington is working on a "universal" genetically engineered bioweapon designed to cause severe damage to enemies comparable to that of a "nuclear winter," a Russian parliamentary commission investigating US biolabs in Ukraine has concluded.


"The United States aims to develop a universal genetically engineered biological weapon capable of infecting not only people, but animals as well as agricultural crops. Its use involves, among other things, the goal of inflicting large-scale and irreparable economic damage on the enemy," the commission wrote in its final report.


"The covert and targeted use of such a weapon in anticipation of a positive inevitable direct military confrontation could create a significant advantage for US forces over the adversary, even against those who possess other types of weapons of mass destruction," the commission added. "The possession of such highly effective biological weapons creates, in the view of the US military, the real prerequisites to change the nature of contemporary armed conflicts.


The commission report indicated that unfortunately, contemporary scientific advancements in the fields of genetic engineering, biotechnology, toxicology and synthetic biology have increased the possibility of their use to create advanced biological weapons agents of a new generation - at the same time that detecting and identifying their use using traditional diagnosis tools has become extremely difficult. "The situation is aggravated by the fact that the production of such biological agents can easily be dispersed over various industrial enterprises, disguising them as products used for peaceful purposes," the document noted.








The creation of new, ever more advanced biological agents doesn't remove the dangers posed by traditional bioweapons, the report stressed. Among these are agents including "smallpox, anthrax, tularemia and the plague, all of which can be modified to enhance their deadly properties. Added to this is the objective difficulty in determining the true cause of outbreaks of infectious diseases, which can be both natural and artificial."



US Bioweapons Danger



The Duma commission report cited the US bioweapons programs dotting the globe as the biggest clear and present danger to the biological security of both Russia and the world.


"The US military biological program has not only not been curtailed, but has acquired a large-scale character in recent years with a focus on offensive actions, carried out under the guise of activities which are permitted under the Biological Weapons Convention, as well as anti-terrorism projects. The United States is supporting and developing the ability to produce biological weapons and, if necessary, to use them. However, there have been changes in Washington's strategic view with regard to the role of bioweapons in geopolitical competition, and the means of its possible use," the report said.


US bioweapons programs are long term in nature, with their roots dating back to cruel experiments conducted on civilians and prisoners of war by Imperial Japan during the Second World War, including against citizens of the USSR. "In our country, captured Japanese militarists were brought to justice within the framework of the Khabarovsk Process; however, in the US, such 'specialists' were provided safety, with their work factually continuing to live on to this day in the contemporary US programs on the development of biological weapons," the report said.


According to the parliamentary commission, a key difference between traditional bioweapons programs and contemporary ones being pursued by the Pentagon is the propensity for the use of pathogens of little-studied natural infections with a high mortality rate, a long incubation period and symptoms typical of common diseases. This complicates adversaries' ability to discover the use of such weapons, and to quickly identify the attacker, the report indicated. Among the biggest threats, according to the commission, is the military biological research based on work with the decoded human genome, which threatens to "radically" change the entire geopolitical and military situation in the world, and is comparable in significance to the start of the 'atomic era' in the 1940s and 1950s.


Among the biggest threats, according to the commission, is the military biological research based on work with the decoded human genome, which threatens to "radically" change the entire geopolitical and military situation in the world, and is comparable in significance to the start of the 'atomic era' in the 1940s and 1950s.


'Key Role' Played by Subcontractors Drawing on evidence provided by the Russian military over the past year on US military biological activities in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, the Caucasus and countries in Africa and Asia, the commission pointed to the "key role" played by facilities abroad in the implementation of the Pentagon's bioweapons programs.


Foreign countries effectively serve as a 'testing ground' for US military biological researchers to study infectious agents in the climactic conditions of their habitat, to monitor their distribution and mutation, and determine the prospects for strengthening their dangerous properties," the commission indicated.


"The lack of international control over such work provides the United States the opportunity to act in other countries without being restrained by moral and legal norms and humanistic principles, and to ignore the demands of the public." These efforts are further hidden from public view via the transfer of programs to civilian ministries and private companies, the report stated.


The report pointed to the special attention US bioweapons research has committed to the transmission of pathogens which attack humans using insects, mammals and wild birds, including the study and identification of their migration routes.


"The results of this research provided American military biologists the ability to not only simulate the scenarios of the spread of epidemics in a particular region, but the opportunity to control them. They are also working out the 'biological routes' of the likely injection of atypical diseases through third countries to a territory of interest," the commission said.


"The analysis of strategic US documents in the field of defense and security indicates that the activities in biolaboratories under their control are focused on providing potential military advantages to the US military and the waging of military operations using pathogenic microorganisms with desired properties created using synthetic biology," the report said.


The commission believes the choice of countries where US bioweapons research infrastructure takes place is made on the basis of geopolitical considerations, and designed for scenarios in which host countries serve as a potential "bridgehead" against enemies in the event of conflicts.


This is particularly true in relation to US military biological activities in the post-Soviet space, the commission says, where their presence "allows the Pentagon to address a wide range of tasks: from the targeted collection of pathogens of especially dangerous infectious diseases and the study of of the reaction of immune systems of local populations to preparations of the territories of the former Soviet republics in the anti-epidemic sense for the deployment of large US military contingents there."


The report considers the continued implementation of Pentagon biomilitary programs in the post-Soviet space a key security risk, given the free flow of people and goods across the region, including within the Eurasian Economic Community, the Commonwealth of Independent States or the Collective Security Treaty Organization, as well as labor migration, animal and bird migration, air flows and



Recommendations



In light of US activities, the commission highlights the need to develop and implement a "complex of urgent, effective measures aimed at strengthening the system of biological security of the country and to bring it into line with contemporary realities." This includes a proposed reexamination of government regulatory and legal acts in the field of biological safety and security, including for the "synchronization of existing monitoring" activities and the "creation of a single network of biological risk monitoring."


The report proposes the preparation of an annual report submitted to the president and parliament on the "state of biological safety in the Russian Federation," and the clarification of penalties for non-compliance with mandatory requirements in the field of biological safety, as well as measures to facilitate the identification and assessment of the long-term impact of infectious diseases and vaccines for them on human health. The commission recommends the creation of a registry of products necessary to ensure public safety, and a list of enterprises capable of producing these items.


"The commission notes that national biological security should be centralized and have systemic capabilities in the detection, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of infectious diseases." The report highlights the need to create, test and certify vaccines against non-endemic viruses "as quickly as possible after the recognition of the threat of an epidemic," and to create tools to allow for "the rapid modification of these vaccines to adapt to new pathogens."


It also proposes the creation of a "control mechanism" for research in biotechnology and synthetic biology and related disciplines whose activities are carried out with the involvement of foreign capital, including grant funding, and the strengthening of export controls on biological materials from Russia. The document stresses the need to "intensify work to reduce Russia's technological dependence from foreign manufacturers of pharmacological products and the formation of a domestic segment for the production of medical and protective equipment" and medicines.














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Google Removes ‘Slavery Simulator’ Game From App Store Following A Wave Of Criticism In Brazil

Google Removes ‘Slavery Simulator’ Game From App Store Following A Wave Of Criticism In Brazil

Google Removes ‘Slavery Simulator’ Game From App Store Following A Wave Of Criticism In Brazil




Screengrab of 'Slavery Simulator' game Photograph:( Others )






Google has removed a game from its online store in Brazil which allowed players to trade and torture enslaved people, following criticism from figures in the South American country who say the US tech giant and the game’s developer should be held to account.







A game entitled “Slavery Simulator,” where players can “buy and sell” enslaved Black characters, has been taken down from Google’s app store after widespread criticism from Brazilian social media users.


The app, developed by Magnus Games, was launched on Google’s Play Store on April 20 and was downloaded more than 1000 times before it was removed on Wednesday, according to a statement from Google.


On Wednesday, Brazil’s Public Prosecutor’s Office opened an investigation into why the game was made available on the Play Store in the first place, it said in a statement.


The game – called ‘Slavery Simulator’ – casts the player in the role of a slave owner who can buy and sell black characters, and inflict various forms of torture on them. It was withdrawn from Google’s online store in Brazil on Wednesday, a little over a month after its release, but remains playable for the more than 1,000 people who downloaded it over the past four weeks, according to the Brazilian publication Globo.


One review of the game in the Google Play store describes it as “excellent to pass the time but lacking more torture options.”


The game has prompted an outcry in Brazil. “Blatant racism,” Renata Souza, a black activist and politician in Rio de Janeiro, tweeted on Wednesday. “The image illustrating the game has a white man surrounded by black men. It is absurdly violent. Google and the developer must answer for this crime of hatred and racism.”


Brazil’s ministry for racial equality said it has contacted the developer, Magnus Games, as well as Google to implement measures to restrict racist content online. It added that the people behind the game will be held legally responsible, the Guardian reported on Thursday.


“The racial equality ministry reiterates its irreversible commitment to eliminating racial inequalities and promoting policies that curb the dissemination of racist content online, in football stadiums, and in society as a whole,” the governmental body said in a statement this week, referencing the abuse directed at Brazilian footballer Vinicius Junior during a recent game in Spain.








Brazil’s ministry for racial equality said it has contacted the developer, Magnus Games, as well as Google to implement measures to restrict racist content online. It added that the people behind the game will be held legally responsible, the Guardian reported on Thursday.


“The racial equality ministry reiterates its irreversible commitment to eliminating racial inequalities and promoting policies that curb the dissemination of racist content online, in football stadiums, and in society as a whole,” the governmental body said in a statement this week, referencing the abuse directed at Brazilian footballer Vinicius Junior during a recent game in Spain.


The legislature in the South American country is currently considering proposals which aim to require social media companies to implement measures to reduce criminal or dangerous content spread by their platforms. This comes after tech companies in Brazil – including its Google office – were criticized for a failure to adequately moderate racist or criminal content.


Brazil is estimated to have transported around 4 million slaves from Africa before it implemented the so-called ‘Golden Law’ in 1888 which abolished slavery in all forms. It was the last country in the Americas to do so.


Prosecutors requested “specific information about the game” from Google, adding a “great number of racist comments” were also identified in the Google platform.


Within the game, users could “exchange, buy and sell slaves,” images show. “Choose one of two objectives at the start of the slave owner simulator: the Path of the Tyrant or the Path of the Liberator. Become a wealthy slave owner or achieve the abolition of slaver,y” the game’s description said.


In one of the modes offered to players, the game said, “Use slaves for your own enrichment. Prevent the abolition of slavery and accumulate wealth.”


Throughout the game, prompts to users included: “Slave level: the highest the level, the highest the profit the slave will bring,” and “You need guards! You have slaves but no one is guarding them. Without guards, the slaves will run away or rebel. Hire some fighters. Usually, 1 guard is enough for 30 slaves,” screenshots of the game show.








The game quickly went viral on social media, with multiple people criticizing both the game developers and Google.


“The normalization of violence against Black people is so wide than then things like this happen,” Levi Kaique Ferreira, an influencer activist and professor, wrote on Twitter.


“Our country was built with the blood of the Black population. People were killed, tortured. A “Slavery Simulator” is not a theme for games,” lawmaker Denise Pessoa posted on Twitter.




Google said: “We have a robust set of policies that are designed to keep users safe and that all developers must follow. We don’t allow apps that promote violence or incite hatred against individuals or groups based on race or ethnic origin, or that depict or promote gratuitous violence or other dangerous activities. Anyone who believes they have found an app that violates our rules can file a report. When we identify a policy violation, we take appropriate action”.


According to Google’s own platform, the application had a rating for “all ages.”














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