#Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

[jovialbasementbouquetblr]

2023: Chinese Tourists Questioned, Visas Cancelled, PRC Protests, Tour Guide Boasts

Saw this on Twitter today: a story about a car with a Chinese tour guide and four Chinese tourists being stopped as they attempted to enter Russia on their visas. They were interrogated for four hours and their visas were cancelled — according to Russian officials because their actual destination did not match the destination on their visa application.  The rejected tourists contacted the…

[minnesotafollower]

Russian Military Ships’ Recent Visit to Cuba 

On June 12th  four Russian warships, including a nuclear-powered submarine and a frigate capable of carrying hypersonic missiles, arrived in Cuba. Their arrival and visit were monitored by U.S. and Canadian ships.[1] Just hours later on June 12th a U.S. Navy nuclear-powered submarine (the USS Helena) stopped in the waters near the U.S. Guantanamo Naval Base at the eastern end of Cuba, and other…

[blastnews]

Russia and Hungary discussed the Ukrainian conflict

Lavrov discussed the Ukrainian conflict with the Hungarian foreign minister

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has held a telephone conversation with his Hungarian counterpart Péter Szijjártó. The sides discussed the Ukrainian conflict and bilateral cooperation. This was reported by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"During the discussion of the Ukrainian crisis, both ministers noted the need for Kiev to unconditionally ensure the rights of all national minorities living in the country," the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

It is noted that the Russian and Hungarian diplomats highly appreciated the achieved level of bilateral dialogue.

Source: mk.ru

Picture: illustrative

[justacynicalromantic]

“I would sooner come to an agreement with the Martians than with the Russians”

The former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine🇺🇦 speaks on his experience in working with Russian diplomats.

“I held many negotiations with the Russians. They don't want to come to an agreement. They spin like snakes on a frying pan, they lie, make promises, and don't fulfill them - that's their tradition.”

Volodymyr Ohryzko believes that, as of today, it is unrealistic to think that it is possible to sit the Russian dictator Vladimir Putin at the negotiating table. He can make concessions only after the loss of Crimea, which is of sacred importance to the occupiers.

[mariacallous]

A well-known Georgian transgender model has been murdered, local officials said, a day after the government passed legislation that will impose sweeping curbs on LGBTQ+ rights in the country.

Georgia’s interior ministry said Kesaria Abramidze, 37, was believed to have been stabbed to death in her apartment in suburban Tbilisi on Wednesday.

Georgian media later reported that a man had been arrested in connection with the crime.

Abramidze was one of the country’s first openly trans public figures. Her death follows controversial legislation on “family values and the protection of minors” that will allow officials to outlaw Pride events and censor films and books.

The law, which was approved by the Georgian parliament on Tuesday in its third and final reading, includes bans on same-sex marriages and gender-affirming treatments. It is expected to be another point of contention between Georgia and the EU as the country seeks to join the bloc.

Critics argue that the bill, initially introduced by the ruling Georgian Dream party in the summer, mirrors laws enacted in neighbouring Russia, where authorities have implemented a series of repressive anti-LGBTQ+ measures over the past decade.

Although the motive behind Abramidze’s murder remains unclear, her death was swiftly cast by Georgian civil society as part of a state campaign against minorities in the country.

Under the Georgian Dream party, which has taken an increasingly anti-liberal stance, the country has seen a rise in violence against LGBTQ+ people.

Last year, hundreds of opponents of gay rights stormed an LGBTQ+ festival in Tbilisi, forcing the event to be cancelled. This year, tens of thousands of people marched in the capital to promote “traditional family values” at an event attended by the ruling party amd the deeply conservative and influential Orthodox church.

“There is a direct correlation between the use of hate speech in politics and hate crimes,” the Social Justice Center, a Tbilisi-based human rights group, said in its statement reacting to the murder.

“It has been almost a year that the Georgian Dream government has been aggressively using homo/bi/transphobic language and cultivating it with mass propaganda means,” it added.

On Wednesday, Josep Borrell, the EU’s top diplomat, called on the Georgian government to withdraw the “family values” law, warning it would harm Georgia’s chances of joining the bloc. The legislation would “increase discrimination & stigmatisation”, he said on X.

After Abramidze’s death, Michael Roth, the Social Democratic party chair of the Bundestag foreign affairs committee in Germany, echoed that call. “Those who sow hatred will reap violence. Kesaria Abramidze was killed just one day after the Georgian parliament passed the anti-LGBTI law,” Roth wrote on X.

The introduction of the law comes just five weeks before parliamentary elections that many see as a litmus test of whether Georgia, once one of the most pro-western former Soviet states, will now drift towards Russia.

The country’s pro-western president, Salome Zourabichvili, whose functions are mostly ceremonial, is expected to veto the law before it comes into effect. However, Georgian Dream and its allies have enough seats in parliament to override her veto.

Earlier this year, the Georgian Dream also pushed through the divisive “foreign influence” law, which western critics argue is authoritarian and Russian-inspired, and has derailed the country’s EU aspirations.

Meanwhile, tributes have started to pour in for Abramidze, who represented Georgia at Miss Trans Star International in 2018 and had more than 500,000 followers on Instagram.

“Kesaria was iconic! Provocative, wise, incredibly brave! A trailblazer for Georgia’s trans rights,” Maia Otarashvili, a Georgian political scientist, wrote on X.

Zourabichvili said the murder should be a “wake-up call” for Georgian society.

“A terrible murder! The death of this beautiful young woman … should not be in vain!” the president wrote on Facebook.

[stop-ugly]

SIGN AND REBLOG TWO PETITIONS TO PROTECT LGBT+ IN RUSSIA

Due to the recognition of LGBT+ as an "extremist organization", "Sphere Foundation" launched the petition calling on foreign countries that have signed international human rights conventions to ensure that visas and travel documents are obtained for LGBT+ people and specialized human rights defenders from Russia.

Human rights activists emphasize that recognition of LGBT+ as an "extremist organization" will lead exclusively to mass repressions against LGBT+ people, especially those who publicly advocated for the LGBT+ community.

The petition is addressed to the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of EU member states; UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk; EU commissioners.

There's also the petition "Erleichterte Aufnahme von Trans*Personen aus dem Ausland vom". There are only 15 days left and trans people need 46000 signs! I know it's sounds impossible but we can't give up on lives of Russian trans people. You can sign this petition from any country so please do it and boost it! You can ask me if you need help with filling out forms. We only have time until 18.12.2023!

Summarizing:

Click here if you think queer people should be able to escape from homophobic country where they can end up in jail for years for being queer

And click here if you support Germany simplifying reception of trans*people from abroad where they can't have surgery, take hormones, change their documents, get married etc

[zvaigzdelasas]

[Kyiv Independent is Private Ukrainian Media]

The European Union will urge its member states to shut off all EU funding to Budapest if Hungary does not back down on its pledge to veto the EU's proposed $55 billion military aid package for Ukraine, a leaked document prepared by EU officials and seen by the Financial Times revealed on Jan. 28.[...]

The leaked document, drawn up by officials in the European Council, criticizes the "unconstructive behaviour of the Hungarian PM," while establishing a framework for countries to permanently cut EU funding with the intention of "spooking the markets, precipitating a run on the country’s forint currency and a surge in the cost of its borrowing," according to the Financial Times.

The alleged document also notes that Brussels would aim to impact investor confidence in the country's ability to create jobs and drive growth.[...]

The EU has also considered using the "nuclear option" of revoking Hungary's voting rights if it again vetoes the $55 billion aid package for Ukraine at an upcoming European Council summit next week, Politico reported on Jan. 26.

The Hungarian far-right party Our Homeland declared its claim to Ukraine's Zakarpattia Oblast if Ukraine loses the war, party leader Laszlo Toroczkai said on Jan. 27.

Zakarpattia Oblast, bordering Slovakia and Hungary to the west, and Romania to the south, has a significant population of ethnic Hungarians. The issue of minority rights has created friction between Hungary and Ukraine, particularly centered around Ukrainian state linguistic policies.

The language law that has long been a source of strife between Hungary and Ukraine was instituted in 2017 and requires at least 70% of education above fifth grade to be conducted in Ukrainian.

In response to criticism, Ukraine has said that it does not intend to limit the linguistic rights of its minorities but rather to simply ensure that all Ukrainian citizens have the sufficient capability to speak the national language, Ukrainian.[...]

Hungary's Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment on Toroczkai's statements, Reuters said.

The news came ahead of a meeting between Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Hungarian counterpart Peter Szijjarto scheduled to take place on Jan. 29 in the Zakarpattia Oblast city of Uzhhorod.

In the leadup to Szijjarto's visit, the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Nemzet, considered to be closely affiliated with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, published an article condemning the state of Ukraine's press freedom. It also criticized Ukrainian media directives for journalists to use the official Ukrainian spelling of city names instead of the Russian version.

28 Jan 24

[Ukrinform is Private Ukrainian Media]

The Hungarian side is asking Ukraine that a Hungarian minority be given back all the rights it had before 2015.

This was stated by Hungarian Minister for Foreign Affairs Peter Szijjarto at a joint briefing with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba and Head of the Ukrainian President’s Office Andriy Yermak following the talks in Uzhhorod, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"We have come here to reestablish good neighborly relations, we have a long way to go, but we, from the Hungarian side, are ready to do this work. In Zakarpattia, Hungarians and Ukrainians live in peace," Szijjarto said.[...]

"Since 2017, laws have been passed to reduce the rights of the Hungarian minority. In December, Parliament passed a law that stopped that. But we have a request - maybe it's too much, and you will think I'm not being polite - but we ask that the Hungarian minority be given back all the rights it had before 2015. We are not asking for anything else," the minister said.

The Foreign Minister said that the Hungarian side had formulated an 11-point request: including restoring the status of the national school, the possibility of taking a high school diploma in Hungarian and using Hungarian in social life. According to him, the commission was tasked with agreeing on these issues as soon as possible and developing proposals for the ministries.

29 Jan 24

[smokingasters]

A detail about the Peacebreakers in Providence. (translated + spoilers)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Overseas Research Department Field Survey Team/Peace Breaker Official activity period: 2098/04~2113/04

A unit that obtains and manipulates information useful to Japan from other countries. Its main mission is to enter other countries, gather information, carry out sabotage operations, and provide weapons and operational support to anti-government organizations who support the Japanese government. Regarding anti-government support operations, operations were carried out through domestic third-party organizations

(Example 1). It has been confirmed that it was provided to and expanded to the government and rebel forces of the former Southeast Asian Union (commonly known as SEAUN) (see corresponding data 04231 for details). Through "monitoring"derived from [...] The members were selected from among the soldiers who belonged to the Special Forces of the National Defense Force, based on the Sibyl System's advanced decisions, and from among them, those who had a particularly strong sense of national pride were selected. Establishment: Wave After its establishment, the company did some original work. Main strategies and execution records. 2099_Conflict within the Union of Southeast Asia

2111_Rebellion in the Republic of South Asia 2112_Operation Footstamp 2113_Kona Island independence group reduced cropping Involved in etc. For details, see 67721 data

In June 2118, the decision was made to dismantle the unit, and in the same month, the whereabouts of the unit commander and training staff went missing.

In October 2118, independent activity was confirmed, and it was completely destroyed. To this day, it is said that its range has expanded to include Japan, Northern Russia, and the Russian Federation. Tonami is said to have been the general manager since the company's founding.

■ PB2098 type TUSIMA PS (Peacebreaker Armor) A powered suit that is standard equipment for the Peace Breaker Corps. It covers the head, upper body, and lower body, and is equipped with heavy armor and assist functions in each part. Increases the wearer's mobility by 1.25 times. Visibility is ensured by using cameras in front and behind the head to project images directly onto the eyes using internal scale projection sensors. It is also equipped with an infrared sensor and 3D prediction function MS2 as an option. It is possible to carry out operations without securing visibility even under conditions of poor visibility. Multi-type labeling function installed on the front of the waist

***

Sibyl itself is promoting conflicts to expand itself, and then denying asylum to the refugees which is why they're confined to Dejima/Kyushu. Sibyl lets MFA do the dirty work and it's obvious that Sibyl just turns a blind eye to this because it benefits their colonisation approach. I wonder what Kogami's thoughts will be when he comes to realise that his "democratisation" in Siam Reap (Psycho Pass Movie) was just a part of Sibyl's grand plan. Also Kona Island? Didn't Rutaganda and his mercenaries live on an island? The knowledge that Sibyl would let the world suffer, after having seen the true effects of it in his journey abroad and that probably every person he met or lost on his journey (including the people that Tenzing lost) was suffering due to Sibyl's duplicity. In Case 3 Novel, Frederica is investigating the Peacebreakers in Tibet-Himalaya and Garcia by extension. Honestly, Kogami Shinya seeing the horrors of war, trying to help people and then returning to become a cog in the System is a tragic enough ending for me. I guess this was the meaning of that painting in that room. (The Abyss, I assume?)

Anyhow, I'm on my fourth rewatch (first time with subs so thank god I can follow the dialogues), and Sibyl has a knack of grinding my gears (pun intended), I've come to despise the System as much as Kogami. I'll delve into a proper review later, for now just accept my ramblings. I have 10,000 thoughts on Akane too, who in this movie punched me right in the heart, honestly I don't know how Akane-chan is so strong. I admire her grit.

[shafran-saffron]

Hey langblr check out this mythical pull I got the other day:

That's a russian to burmese textbook, I've been searching for something like that for MONTHS(I've even found a scan of the first few pages of that exact book online tho), but then I found out that the site of the biggest bookstore in Moscow (and probably the whole of Russia by extension) had LITERALLY ONLY 1 COPY so I went there and bought it!! It was pretty cheap too (like 15$)!!!

The wildest part is that it's from 1971 and was published by the ministry of foreign affairs of the Soviet Union!! There are people out who think their textbooks are too old because they're from early 2000s and I got this relic.

[aer-in-wanderland]

PSYCHO-PASS: Providence - According to Japanese Twitter

After a long wait (or maybe it just felt long to me), PSYCHO-PASS: Providence finally hits North American theaters this week (14 July 2023), before becoming more widely internationally available in early August.

Unfortunately, as I'm not currently in Japan, I've not yet seen it. Fortunately, I speak Japanese, so I've read pretty much everything I could find about what happens. If you're like me and can't wait to see it in cinemas/don't mind major spoilers, this post is for you.

What follows is a compilation of everything my sister and I know about PPP -- drawing from fan talk on Twitter, director and writer interviews and tweets, and other official promotional materials only available in Japanese -- without actually having seen it.

We also explain some of the major plot points and go into detail on the real-life works referenced in the film, so if you watched it but feel like you could still use some clarification (as many Japanese fans did), this post might be for you too.

Once again, this post is nothing but spoilers (to be taken with several grains of salt as there is a certain amount of guesswork involved), so read on at your own risk.

*Note: "SN" denotes tweets/quotes by director Shiotani Naoyoshi.

We open on a snowy, stormy night, January 2118 (2 months post-SS Case.3).

A team of armed mercenaries board a transport ship off the coast of Kanagawa, Japan and set about killing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Suppressing Action Department (SAD) agents on board. 

Among them is Kai Mikhaylov, a Russian agent with a large burn scar on the left half of his face.

Kai Mikhaylov (VA: Kase Yasuyuki): A member of the “Peacebreakers.” In order to obtain the Stronskaya Document, he launches an attack on the ship Milcia is on. 

Leading the mercenaries is fellow mercenary Bokamoso Murray, who sports distinctive red dreadlocks.

Bokamoso Murray (VA: Shirokuma Hiroshi): A combatant affiliated with the “Peacebreakers.” He operates in tandem with Kai Mikhaylov; beginning with the assault on the Grootslang, he works to seize the Stronskaya Document. 

For the record, the Grootslang (the ship’s name) is a mythical giant snake rumoured to dwell deep in a cave in the Richtersveld, South Africa. It’s said that anyone who encounters it will meet with misfortune. Well then.

Indoors on the same ship, we find Dr Milicia Stronskaya, who has been invited to Tokyo from Russia to participate in an important political conference. 

Milcia Stronskaya (VA: Tsuda Shōko): A researcher and global authority on behavioural economics and statistics. She establishes the basic theory simulation referred to as the “Stronskaya Document.”

Realising the ship is under attack, she hurriedly sends a communication to someone, apologising under her breath as she does so.

She pulls out a gun just as a helmeted mercenary bursts into the room, and she shoots him dead. You can tell from how she handles it that she’s competent.

Kai charges in next, dodging her shots and pinning her down.

Leaning over her, Kai calls her “professor,” at which she startles. He then says to her, “There’s nowhere left to run.”

Kai shoots Dr Stronskaya, killing her. 

Bokamoso shows up then and says to Kai, “You screwed up, huh, Kai,” and “We’re switching to Plan B.”

Meanwhile, Kogami Shinya, one of our two main protagonists, heads to her rescue.

Kōgami Shinya (VA: Seki Tomokazu): Special Investigator, Suppressing Action Department, Overseas Coordination Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Age 33. He was living a nomadic life abroad acting as a mercenary but was recruited by Frederica and returned to Japan; currently, he’s pursuing international incidents. He prides himself on his advanced combat techniques and honed physique.

Kogami makes an insane jump from an aircraft wearing a wingsuit. (I’ve seen him described alternately as Batman, Captain America, and a flying squirrel here lol)

SN: What colour suits a man who flies... Thinking about it.

Kogami proceeds to fight his way through the enemy soldiers with his typical efficiency.

Unfortunately, he arrives too late to save the professor, and the mercenaries have already absconded with her head. The reason for this is explained later.

On deck, Bokamoso and his team board their aircraft and make their escape.

Kogami, who has followed them out, takes aim at the aircraft but is tackled to the deck by a reanimated SAD agent. The man’s mouth doesn’t move but we hear a voice quoting what appears to be a passage from a religious text.

An explosion goes off and Kogami breaks free of his attacker and escapes the conflagration by jumping into the ocean.

Backlit by the flames and treading water, Kogami — vexed but composed as usual — reports on the situation via his device.

<<Opening Credits>>

OP: 「アレキシサイミアスペア」 (alexithymiaspare) ~ 凛として時雨 (Ling tosite sigure)

We cut to the opening credits, set to Ling tosite sigure’s “Alexthymiaspare.” The group also contributed to the soundtracks for PP1, PP2, and PP: The Movie (M1), so this is one of many ways in which the film “returns to its roots.”

The credits are then followed by a brief shot of the Sibyl System accompanied by the following text: 《"The Sibyl System," a vast surveillance network that assigns numeric values to and governs human beings’ mental states. Detectives who carry "Dominators" — guns that measure "crime coefficients" — pursue "latent criminals" before they commit crimes.》

The next morning, our other main protagonist, Tsunemori Akane, now Chief Inspector of the CID, attends a meeting of senior bureaucrats to discuss the proposed abolishment of the Ministry of Justice and the old system of law.

Tsunemori Akane (VA: Hanazawa Kana): Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Public Safety Bureau. Age 25. She commands the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Department. She possesses an incontrovertible sense of justice and a stalwart mentality that makes it difficult for her Hue to cloud; she makes an appeal for maintaining the law under the Sibyl System.  

The official name of the conference, which is being held at Nona Tower (i.e. the Ministry of Welfare’s HQ), is “Review Meeting on the Topic of the Overseas Expansion of Industry RE: the Sibyl System.”

Shindo Atsushi — father to PP3 protagonist Shindo Arata — is also in attendance, alongside officials from the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Public Management, Home Affairs, Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shindō Atsushi (VA: Sugō Takayuki): Director-General of the Statistics Department, Minister’s Secretariat,  Ministry of Health and Welfare. One of the elite who started his career as an Inspector [at the CID] and entered the MHW. He’s involved in the exportation of the Sibyl System, immigration policy, etc.

For the record, this is the same conference that Dr Stronskaya was originally scheduled to attend at Atsushi’s invitation.

Akane is the only woman and by far the youngest person present, but she doesn’t hesitate to say her piece. When it’s her turn to speak, she opens by saying, “‘Under the Sibyl System, the law is unnecessary.’ Is that truly the case?”

Akane is basically the sole voice of dissent, while Atsushi assumes a more neutral position. 

During the meeting, Atsushi receives a text message, which he checks covertly before stashing his device in an inner pocket of his suit jacket.

Moments later, Akane receives a red alert on her device and excuses herself.

Atsushi calls a break in the meeting while Akane steps out to take a call from Mika.

Shimotsuki Mika (VA: Sakura Ayane): Inspector, Division 1, Criminal Investigation Department, Public Safety Bureau, Ministry of Health and Welfare. Age 21. The youngest Inspector ever inducted. At the time, she took a negative stance towards Akane’s way of thinking, but the two have a good working relationship now. She’s competitive but possesses both presence of mind and rational judgement.

Director Shiotani tweeted a quote by Rousseau that I saw someone identify as having been in reference to this scene. It’s not clear to me though whether a character quotes it aloud, or if Shiotani just meant it as an overarching theme:

SN: “Keep this truth ever before you—Ignorance never did any one any harm, error alone is fatal, and we do not lose our way through ignorance but through self-confidence.” by.Rousseau

from Rousseau’s Emile (On Education), Book III

SN: “Real knowledge is knowing the extent of one’s ignorance.”〈matcha emoji〉

from Confucius’ Analects II, Political Philosophy

Keep reading here.

[good-old-gossip]

Israel has killed 60 family members of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before assassinating him in Tehran on July 31.

Qatar’s prime minister and minister of foreign affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Jassim Al Thani, has accused Israel of targeting the Palestinian negotiating team for a ceasefire, raising concerns about the viability of peace talks.

“The approach of political assassinations and intentional escalation against civilians in Gaza at every stage of the negotiation prompts the question: How can negotiations take place in which one party kills its negotiator at the same time?” said Al Thani in a post on X.

“Regional and international peace needs serious partners and an international stance against escalation and disregard for the lives of the peoples of the region,” he added.

The Qatari Foreign Ministry labelled the killing of Haniyeh on Wednesday as a “heinous crime, a dangerous escalation, and a flagrant violation of international and humanitarian law.”

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim condemned the assassination of Hamas’ political bureau chief, Ismail Haniyeh, on Wednesday, describing it as a “heinous act” aimed at undermining peace efforts in the besieged Gaza Strip.

“It is patently clear that this could only have been carried out in an environment of utter impunity,” he said in a video statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Only the heedless and unconscionable will not see the need to intensify pressure on Israel to stop their murderous rampage,” Ibrahim added. Ibrahim went on to mourn the loss of Haniyeh, who he described as a “friend” and a “valiant advocate” for the Palestinian people.

The Malaysian prime minister joins several state leaders that have condemned the killing of Haniyeh.

Hamas' military wing, the Qassam Brigades, has released a statement calling the killing a “dangerous event” with “major repercussions across the entire region."

Here is a portion of the statement, as provided by Al Jazeera:

“With the highest expressions of pride and honour, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades announce to our struggling Palestinian people, our Arab and Islamic nations, and the free people of the world, the martyrdom of the leader Ismail Abdul Salam Haniyeh, commander of the Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas. He was martyred following a cowardly Zionist assassination operation targeting his residence in Tehran."

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a statement, vowed "harsh punishment" for Israel following the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh.

Here is his full statement:

“The brave and prominent Palestinian leader Ismail Haniyeh passed away at dawn last night, and the great resistance front is in mourning. The criminal and terrorist Zionist regime killed our esteemed guest in our home and has made us mournful, but it has also set the stage for its own severe retribution.

Martyr Haniyeh devoted many years to honourable struggle, ready for martyrdom, and he sacrificed his children and people for this cause. He faced the possibility of martyrdom with courage, and it is now our duty to avenge his blood for this grievous act that occurred on the soil of the Islamic Republic.

I extend my condolences to the Islamic ummah, the resistance front, the brave and proud nation of Palestine, and especially to the family and loved ones of Martyr Haniyeh and his companion who was martyred with him. I pray to God Almighty to elevate their ranks."

The Russian Foreign Ministry has described the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh as completely unacceptable political murder.

“This is an absolutely unacceptable political murder, and it will lead to further escalation of tensions,” RIA cited Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.

Last week the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Israel’s war objective to destroy Hamas in Gaza as a precondition for a ceasefire is unachievable.

“In my opinion, and many of my colleagues share this point of view, it is an unrealistic task to eradicate the organisation which exists, which has enough capabilities and enough support, including in the Muslim world,” said Lavrov.

He also expressed support for the Palestinian cause and promised to “continue to help restore the Palestinian unity”

[fuckyeahmarxismleninism]

Vice Foreign Minister of DPRK Clarifies Stand on Rumor of Troop Dispatch to Russia

Pyongyang, October 25 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Gyu, vice foreign minister of the DPRK in charge of Russian affairs, gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA on Friday as regards a rumor that the troops of the Korean People's Army are dispatched to Russia which is recently drawing public attention in the world:

I heeded the rumor of the dispatch of KPA troops to Russia, which the world media is building up public opinion.

The DPRK Foreign Ministry does not directly engage in the things of the Ministry of National Defence, and does not feel the need to confirm it separately.

If there is such a thing that the world media is talking about, I think it will be an act conforming with the regulations of international law.

There will evidently exist forces which want to describe it as illegal one, I think.

[qqueenofhades]

ngl disappointed but not surprised that the reaction from the major left-leaning public in latam to leaders like lula supporting russia and china being unquestioned applause. just a month ago everyone agreed Ukraine was the victim (even with the mentioned russian propaganda issue making them think "they weren't saints") and now they think this is great because it's owning the us and is anti-monroe action or whatever.

Like, the importance of BRICS aside, it's just such a black and white stupid point of view

An old-school Latin American leftist like Lula is never going to align himself with the US too closely, because it would be anathema in his political/ideological tradition and reflects the historical grievances of years of Cold War-era CIA interference, sponsored coups, and social disruption in Latin America. However, it is deeply disappointing, especially since everyone was so relieved when he defeated Bolsonaro and promised to restore Brazil's democratic traditions and participation in international affairs. Giving the likes of Sergei Lavrov and the Russian Foreign Ministry a state visit/official reception and recognition isn't "neutrality," no matter how the administration might like to call it, because THEY ARE COMMITTING GENOCIDE. THEY ARE LITERALLY COMMITTING GENOCIDE. YOU DON'T NEED TO SOFT-WALK IT OR PROVIDE COVER JUST BECAUSE IT'S POLITICALLY CONVENIENT FOR YOU.

Anyway: Yes. This. Again.

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Nick Anderson

* * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

April 17, 2024

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

APR 18, 2024

Yesterday on the social media site X, formerly Twitter, Miles Taylor wrote: “After 2016, I helped lead the US gov[ernmen]t response to Russia’s election interference. In 2024, foreign interference will be *worse.* Tech[nology is] more powerful. Adversaries more brazen. American public more susceptible. Political leaders across party lines MUST UNITE against this.” 

Taylor served as chief of staff in the Department of Homeland Security under Trump. 

Today, Catherine Belton of the Washington Post reported on a secret 2023 document from Russia’s Foreign Ministry calling for an “offensive information campaign” and other measures that attack “‘a coalition of unfriendly countries’ led by the United States. Those measures are designed to affect “the military-political, economic and trade and informational psychological spheres” of Russia’s perceived adversaries. 

The plan is to weaken the United States and convince other countries, particularly those in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, that the U.S. will not stand by its allies. By weakening those alliances, Russian leaders hope to shift global power by strengthening Russia’s ties to China, Iran, and North Korea and filling the vacuum left by the crumbling democratic alliances (although it is not at all clear that China is on board with this plan).

According to Belton, one of the academics who advised the authors of the Russian document suggested that Russia should “continue to facilitate the coming to power of isolationist right-wing forces in America,” “enable the destabilization of Latin American countries and the rise to power of extremist forces on the far left and far right there,” increase tensions between the U.S. and China over Taiwan, and “escalate the situation in the Middle East around Israel, Iran and Syria to distract the U.S. with the problems of this region.” 

The Russian document suggests that the front lines of that physical, political, and psychological fight are in Ukraine. It says that the outcome of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine will “to a great degree determine the outlines of the future world order.” 

Putin critic Mikhail Khodorkovsky told Belton: “The Americans consider that insofar as they are not directly participating in the war [in Ukraine], then any loss is not their loss. “This is an absolute misunderstanding.”

Media and lawmakers, including those in the Republican Party, have increasingly called out the degree to which Russian propaganda has infiltrated American politics through Republican lawmakers and media figures. Earlier this month, both Representative Michael R. Turner (R-OH), chair of the House Intelligence Committee, and Representative Michael McCaul (R-TX), chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned about Russian disinformation in their party. Turner told CNN’s State of the Union that it is “absolutely true” that Republican members of Congress are parroting Russian propaganda. “We see directly coming from Russia attempts to mask communications that are anti-Ukraine and pro-Russia messages, some of which we even hear being uttered on the House floor.” When asked which Republicans had fallen to Russian propaganda, McCaul answered that it is “obvious.” 

That growing popular awareness has highlighted that House Republicans under House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) have for six months refused to pass a national security supplemental bill with additional aid for Ukraine, as well as for Israel and the Indo-Pacific, and humanitarian aid to Gaza. After the Senate spent two months negotiating border security provisions House Republicans demanded, Republicans killed that bill with the provisions at Trump’s direction, and the Senate then passed a bill without those provisions in February.

Johnson has been coordinating closely with former president Trump, who has made his admiration for Russia and his disregard for Ukraine very clear since his people weakened their support for Ukraine in the 2016 Republican Party platform. Johnson is also under pressure from MAGA Republicans in the House, like Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who oppose funding Ukraine, some of them by making statements that echo Russian propaganda.

While the White House, the Pentagon, and a majority of both chambers of Congress believe that helping Ukraine defend itself is crucial to U.S. security, Johnson has refused to take the Senate measure up, even though the House would pass it if he did. But as Ukraine’s ability to defend itself has begun to weaken, pressure for additional aid has ramped up. At the same time, in the wake of Iran’s attack on Israel last weekend, Republicans have suddenly become eager to provide additional funds to Israel. It began to look as if Johnson might bring up some version of foreign aid.

But discussions of bringing forward Ukraine aid brought not only Greene but also Thomas Massie (R-KY) to threaten yesterday to challenge Johnson’s speakership, and there are too few Republicans in the House to defend him. 

Today, Johnson brought forward not the Senate bill, but rather three separate bills to fund Israel, the Indo-Pacific, and Ukraine, with pieces that House Republicans have sought. A fourth bill will include other measures Republicans have demanded. And a fifth will permit an up-or-down vote on most of the measures in the extreme border bill the House passed in 2023. At the time, that measure was intended as a signaling statement because House Republicans knew that the Democratic Senate would keep it from becoming law.

Johnson said he expected to take a final vote on the measures Saturday evening. He will almost certainly need Democratic votes to pass them, and possibly to save his job. Democrats have already demanded the aid to Gaza that was in the Senate bill but is not yet in the House bills. 

Reese Gorman, political reporter for The Daily Beast, reported that Johnson explained his change of heart like this: “Look, history judges us for what we do. This is a critical time right now…  I can make a selfish decision and do something that is different but I'm doing here what I believe to be the right thing.… I think providing lethal aid to Ukraine right now is critically important.… I’m willing to take personal risk for that.”

His words likely reflect a changing awareness in Republican Party leadership that the extremism of MAGA Republicans is exceedingly unpopular. Trump’s courtroom appearances—where, among other things, he keeps falling asleep—are unlikely to bolster his support, while his need for money is becoming more and more of a threat both to his image and to his fellow Republicans. Today the Trump campaign asked Republican candidates in downballot races for at least 5% of the money they raise with any fundraising appeal that uses Trump’s name or picture. They went on: “Any split that is higher than 5% will be seen favorably by the RNC and President Trump’s campaign and is routinely reported to the highest levels of leadership within both organizations.”

Nonetheless, Greene greeted Johnson’s bills with amendments requiring members of Congress to “conscript in the Ukrainian military” if they voted for aid to Ukraine. 

A headline on the Fox News media website today suggested that a shift away from MAGA is at least being tested. It read: “Marjorie Taylor Greene is an idiot. She is trying to wreck the [Republican Party].” The article pointed out that 61% of registered voters disapprove of the Republican Party while only 36% approve. That approval rating has indeed fallen at least in part because of the performative antics of the extremists, among them the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that made him the first cabinet officer to be impeached in almost 150 years. Today the Senate killed that impeachment without a trial.

As soon as Johnson announced the measures, President Joe Biden threw his weight behind them. In a statement, he said: “I strongly support this package to get critical support to Israel and Ukraine, provide desperately needed humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza, and bolster security and stability in the Indo-Pacific. Israel is facing unprecedented attacks from Iran, and Ukraine is facing continued bombardment from Russia that has intensified dramatically in the last month.

“The House must pass the package this week and the Senate should quickly follow. I will sign this into law immediately to send a message to the world: We stand with our friends, and we won’t let Iran or Russia succeed.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[girlactionfigure]

🔅Thu morning - ISRAEL REALTIME - Connecting to Israel in Realtime

🟨  SUMMARY .. there are many signs of impending Iranian hostile action, and it appears some nations concerned for Israel, and some concerned about Israel’s possible significant response and its potential impact to the region. 

BUT, it could be propaganda, an intentional threat/fear campaign on Iran’s part - an effective one if so.

Don’t panic, however some preparations would be wise.  Home Front Command -> https://www.oref.org.il/12490-15903-en/pakar.aspx (link only works in Israel - or use a VPN app to connect to Israel)

⚠️RUSSIA - AVOID MIDDLE EAST.. Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "We strongly recommend avoiding travel to the Middle East and especially to Israel, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories."

⚠️BIDEN SAYS.. Biden at a press conference last night: “Iran is threatening to launch a significant attack on Israel, but as I told Prime Minister Netanyahu, our commitment to Israel's security against these threats from Iran and its proxies is an ironclad commitment.”

Brett McGurk, Biden's special envoy for the Middle East, spoke with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates requesting that they convey messages to Iran in order to defuse tensions in the region. 

⚠️TURKEY TRIED TO HELP?  Unofficial sources claim that Tehran rejected Turkey's mediation offer in order to prevent a military confrontation between Iran and Israel.

▪️IRAN, DON’T NEED GPS..The Iranians announce that all their missile systems, developed in 12 years, are not based on GPS navigation, but ‘advanced technology’.

▪️HEZBOLLAH QUIET (ish).. The terrorist organization concluded yesterday with only 2 events, firing anti-tank missiles and rockets at positions in the Har Dov area.

▪️GAZA.. According to the Arab reports, Israel attacked during the night with heavy forces in the vicinity of the Nuseirat camp in the center of the Gaza Strip, an area that has been left alone to date.

HINTS.. Cabinet member Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich: "We have dismantled Hamas' form, we will have to continue to fight terrorism and deepen the operations in Rafah and Deir al-Balach, Nusairat - part of this begins today.”

▪️ARAB RIOTS IN TKAO, BETHLEHEM AREA.. Riots by terrorists in the town of Tkao in the Bethlehem Governorate, the IDF forces respond with measures to disperse demonstrations.

▪️ISRAEL SOCIETY - COUNTER-PROTEST.. The Tikva Forum, made up of (some of the) families of hostages, and the "If You Want" organization will hold a demonstration tonight in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, DEMANDING that the fighting in Gaza CONTINUE until "total victory”.

▪️HOUTHI DRONES AT SHIPS.. US forces have successfully shot down 11 drones launched from areas controlled by the Houthis in Yemen. Two of them were launched over the Gulf of Aden and another one over the Red Sea. No injuries or damage to merchant ships or US and coalition ships were reported.

[mariacallous]

In March, a little-known volunteer organization dedicated to “reviving the religious and secular unity of the Russian people” escorted agents from the Internal Affairs Ministry and the Russian National Guard on a raid in the remote city of Orenburg, a city of 500,000 near the Kazakh border.

Their target was a bar called Pose, which was locally famous for its drag shows. The volunteer organization, called Russian Community Orenburg, posted videos of the raid online, highlighting people in skimpy outfits, asking attendees why they were in a “faggot bar,” and showing clubgoers cowering on the floor as agents conducted their search.

“This is not [a scene from] the decaying West, this is from within the ranks of a country that is at war for a third year,” the group lamented when it posted the video online.

Conservatives in Orenburg had been outraged about Pose since it opened in 2021, according to the Russian outlet Mediazona, and a local media outlet published a sensationalist article about the club, complaining that laws like Russia’s longstanding “gay propaganda ban” did not give local law enforcement the tools to shut it down. That law, enacted in 2013, only bans materials made available to minors and carries light penalties.

The agents in Pose that night were armed with a major new weapon in Russia’s long crusade against its queer citizens. Last November, in a secret proceeding sealed to observers, Russia’s Supreme Court decreed the “international LGBT movement” to be an “extremist” organization, adding it to a list of banned entities that includes terrorist groups and the political operation of the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny. The decision is so broad that it can potentially be used against anyone who has—or simply “promotes”—a “nontraditional sexual orientation,” including people who are not LGBTQ but support queer people’s rights. People convicted under the law face up to 10 years in some of Russia’s harshest prisons, where queer people fear sexual violence or worse.

“This is not a decision to punish you for a few years. This is the death penalty, and it’s clear for everybody,” one longtime activist said, referring to the harsh conditions in Russian prisons. (The activist asked not to be named due to security concerns.) “We will not have a chance to survive there.”

Pose’s owner and two of its employees are now awaiting trial. A court announcement on Telegram notes they are accused of “being persons with nontraditional sexual orientation … who also support the views and activities of the international public LGBT association banned in our country.”

Others close to the bar are now living in fear. Only one regular Pose patron would agree to speak with me, and he said his friends had mostly stopped communicating with one another, afraid they could be discovered. Several had left the city or the country. He thinks he should maybe leave the country, too, but doesn’t have a passport or the money to go into exile, nor a safe place to flee to.

Pose, the patron said, “was my whole life. It was the only place where they accepted me.”

Homophobia became a major part of President Vladimir Putin’s political strategy in 2013. That’s when the Duma passed a national version of the “gay propaganda law.” The legislation was domestically useful to Putin, who was seeking to reinforce his political support by cozying up to the Russian Orthodox Church.

The law, which went into effect just before Russia was due to host the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, provoked an international outcry, and Putin detected homophobia could also be a tool of foreign policy. His government leaned into the controversy, portraying Russia as a defender of traditional values against a degenerate West that had lost its way. Kremlin allies also began using it in a more targeted way in Ukraine, where an oligarch close to Putin ran an ad campaign warning closer ties to the European Union would force the recognition of same-sex marriages. His decade-long strategy has used homophobia to try to drive a wedge between Eastern Europeans and the West, as well as to delegitimize fundamental notions of human rights and democracy.

To some Russian LGBTQ activists, it was inevitable that the Russian government would double down on going after queer people following Putin’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Swiftly, the Russian government made a broad effort to dismantle the last spaces for opposition to his regime. Other steps have included shuttering Russia’s remaining independent media outlets and effectively banning any speech critical of the war or of Putin.

The organization Coming Out, which held an eight-day annual public event in St. Petersburg as recently as 2021, decided to move its whole team outside the country almost as soon as Russian tanks rolled across Ukraine’s borders.

“A few weeks after the war started, I understood that things were not going according to the plan,” said Aleksandr Voronov, Coming Out’s former director, who led its relocation to Lithuania. “I understood that they were going to start looking for new enemies.”

Putin also justified the war partly as a crusade against the LGBTQ movement, which he initially derided in a speech announcing the full-scale invasion as part of a Western plot to “destroy” Russia’s traditional values. Then, in September 2022, he referred to the movement as “satanic” in a speech illegally annexing four Ukrainian regions.

As the war continued, the regime’s propaganda machine pushed outlandish stories, rushing a state television crew to an LGBTQ center in decimated Mariupol that it claimed was “practically under the direct patronage” of U.S. President Joe Biden. Russian lawmakers also responded, expanding the gay propaganda ban in November 2022 and enacting a draconian anti-trans bill in 2023 that would outlaw gender confirming medical treatment, prohibit people from changing their gender on legal documents, and prohibit trans people from adopting children.

“A special military operation is taking place not only on the battlefields, but also in the consciousness, in the minds and souls of people,” said Aleksander Khinshtein, a member of the Russian parliament and an author of the updated gay propaganda law, in a speech to the Duma in October 2022. “LGBT today is a tool of hybrid warfare. And in this hybrid warfare, we must protect our values. We must protect our society and we must protect our children.”

Despite many threats to Russia’s queer movement—the original gay propaganda law, a state requirement that forced many LGBTQ organizations to register as “foreign agents,” growing vigilante violence—Russia’s queer movement had remained vital throughout most of Russia for most of the past decade. (A notable exception is Chechnya, where local officials have detained, tortured, or murdered dozens of queer people.) Queer organizations continued to work and even hold major public events like St. Petersburg’s long-running QueerFest, a multiday festival of LGBTQ-themed talks and exhibitions ending with a large public concert. But the extremism designation is far more dangerous than any previous threat.

Part of the danger comes from the court’s secrecy around the ruling. It not only closed the proceedings, but also barred LGBTQ organizations from participating when they tried to challenge the Ministry of Justice’s petition. Technically, any group the government seeks to declare extremist has a right to respond to the allegations against it, but the Ministry of Justice brought its petition against the “international LGBT movement,” which meant no specific organization would have standing to respond. And even when a group of LGBTQ activists formed an organization called the International LGBT Movement in an effort to intervene, the court refused to allow them to participate.

In fact, the Supreme Court never officially made the order public. It only reached LGBTQ activists in their lawyers when prosecutors in the city of Nizhny Novgorod attached it to their filings in a case against a woman who was arrested for wearing rainbow-colored earrings. (The six-color pride flag and other LGBTQ symbols were banned by the order, and the court sentenced the woman to administrative detention, despite the fact that the woman’s earrings were not discernible pride symbols—they had seven colors and were shaped like frogs.)

Olga Baranova, who has been executive director of an LGBTQ community center in Moscow since 2015, told me that the movement is now backpedaling after years of encouraging people to come out. They used to believe visibility would gradually make Russian society more supportive of LGBTQ people. Now it’s just dangerous.

“We’ve worked all these years just to be [out] and to be in the mainstream. And now we just say, ‘Okay, stop, stop, stop!’” Baranova said. Most people she knows who were visibly out have left the country, Baranova said—as has she—and she and other activists now advise people living in Russia to stay in the closet for their own safety.

Natalia Soloviova, chair of the Russian LGBT Network, a federation of more than 20 queer organizations from across the country, called the decision “absolutely horrifying,” but said that even despite it, the reality is that most queer people are not able or don’t want to flee Russia. The war has made it harder for LGBTQ people to reach countries that promise the most safety to LGBTQ refugees—like the United States or members of the European Union—because those countries have radically restricted visas for Russians. Georgia, which allows Russians to enter without visas, has become an important haven for Russian dissidents of many kinds in the past two years. But Georgia’s ruling party has advanced its own laws attacking LGBTQ people, one of many initiatives to bring the country closer to Moscow’s orbit.

Still, Soloviova estimates a significant exodus, with “hundreds” going abroad. Almost 40 percent of the Russian LGBT Network’s member organizations have relocated at least some members of their team abroad, generally visible activists or people in senior management. And many other queer people have been displaced internally, fleeing threats in their hometowns for larger cities where their pursuers are less likely to find them. Baranova acknowledged that if queer people all either leave the country or live in the closet, as she and others counsel them to do, “the movement will expire.”

Soloviova is one of those who’ve left the country. She first spoke to me in April from Georgia’s capital, Tbilisi, but has since left Georgia. (She feared that country’s new propaganda law and also knew of three queer Russians who were attacked on the street.) She is from the Siberian city of Novosibirsk—Russia’s third-largest city—and said she’d never thought she’d live outside Russia until the extremism designation.

Even today, key details about the Supreme Court order remain secret. For example, the order refers to a list of 281 individuals and 40 organizations considered part of the outlawed movement, but no one knows who is on those lists.

“The hardest thing here is that you have no opportunities to protect yourself,” Soloviova said. “You never know if you’re going to be prosecuted or not, and you will know only when the police come to your house directly and get you to prison directly.”

The charges in Orenburg are the first to reach court, but police appear to be flexing their new muscles across the country. In February alone, Mediazona reported several raids on “private parties” and a night club. LGBTQ activists told me they knew about several other similar incidents but didn’t want to share details, fearing publicity would put those involved in greater danger.

The arrests in Orenburg are just the beginning, worries Stanislav Seleznev, a lawyer with the Russian human rights organization Net Freedoms Project. Regional security officials generally have quotas for making significant arrests, and now LGBTQ people are an untapped pool of so-called “extremists” that can help them reach their goals.

“I’m compelled to assume that we are currently witnessing a model process that will be spread as much as possible all over the Russian regions,” Seleznev said. “Many more people are in a very dangerous situation now.”

Additional reporting contributed by a Russian reporter who asked not to be named, fearing that this article could lead to their arrest under the extremism law.