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Russia's Putin Calls For Web Activities of Some Firms To Be Monitored (reuters.com)
President Vladimir Putin said on Monday the Russian authorities should monitor the activity of "some companies" on social media during next year's presidential election and assess the extent of their involvement in domestic politics. From a report: He did not name the companies or say if he was concerned about the activities of foreign or local firms, but Russia has been accused by the United States and other Western nations of meddling in their elections. "We need to look carefully at how some companies work in internet, in social media, and how widely they are involved in our domestic political life," Putin said, speaking at a meeting with leaders in Russia's parliament about a new "foreign agents" law.
Need I say more?
Here's the full sentence and a bit of context:
"In no circumstances must freedom in Internet be diminished, but a careful look is needed at how certain compalies work online, in social networks, how they are involved in our domestic politics. We need to analyse carefully, how they will behave during our elections. Do you remember the song and dance about the air time RT and Sputnik had in the US? There was a lot of noise, but it turned out to be on the order of 1/100's of 1 percent. And how much are their media getting here? I'm not saying we need to make quick decisions. Now is not the time for this, not before elections. We need to look at it, to analyse it, and make the decision when we have a clear view." He also did not exclude no special decisions will be necessary.
Source (Russian business newspaper): https://www.vedomosti.ru/polit...
Who else here remembers the 1996 Russian elections? I do. Putin does. Everyone in Russia does. How is it that Americans don't remember? Here's a quick refresher, from Time magazine:
Time was so proud of getting that drunk Yeltsin elected that it ran its cover bragging about how we interfered in the Russian election. Yep. This happened.
Yeltsin sent troops into a quagmire in Chechnya, his economic reform programs resulted in widespread poverty and misery, and he had little respect for the law. He was a bad choice for Russia. He colluded with a hostile foreign power to get elected, something Americans have forgotten but Russians never will.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Who else's Putin?
Gotta get that R-ssia keyword in there somewhere though!
You know... The guy who was put in power by Boris Yeltsin. Who himself was put in power by 300 million election funds by the USA, funnelled to him via the world bank. Versus 5 million for his competitor, whose hotel booking was always strangely cancelled by some "prankster", among other forms of permanent harassment. Something the CIA themselves openly admit nowadays.
Aka: Yet another convenient scapegoat troll in the closet, that the US can take out, whenever things aren't going so great at home. Like Saddam, for example, until dumbass W. Bush emptied that closet.
So if you think Putin got Trump into power ... ROFL.
The leading German political comedy show "Die Anstalt" had a whole show dedicated to that topic.
It wasn't Time. It was the CIA and 300 million dollars VS 5 million dollars and permanent harassment of the competitor. I guess that's the same thing in the US though. Media == TLAs = politicians == corporations.
Buut of course, certain Americans here want to uphold their Stockholm syndrome reality distortion filter bubble ... similar to North Koreans .. and downvote you as "Troll".
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I compare Russians and Americans like this: Both their leaders are fucked-up. But at least the Russians have truly accepted it. That's why they drink. :)
Goes with the culture. The US culture is all about fake smiling and putting up a front of minimal (human!) emotion and maximum "plastic fantastic" as we call it. The Russians are more upfront and pragmatic, with even the lowest (gopniks) seeing intelligence as a good thing. Also, frankly, a large difference is that Americans have become such insane pussies (emphasis on both words) in the last generations, that their ancestors must turn in their graves.
I just wish they got better. Quickly. Be it through stepping on the brakes or through hitting a brick wall.
Because some people around here are shills for the military-industrial complex and want to promote anything to attack Russia and bury anything that is critical of the Russiagate narrative.
Now, to be fair, the Russian government is evil. But so is the U.S. government. Why the obsession with resurrecting Joe McCarthy? Do you miss the Cold War and constant threat of nuclear holocaust? Do you want World War III?
Yeah, okay, it is entirely fair and right to criticize Putin for this. Unfortunately, that is not the motive. The motive is bloodthirsty warmongering.
AKA, Trump's owner
In the intelligence community the person who runs an intelligence asset is called a 'handler' so technically, Putin is Trump's FSB handler which also explains James Clapper's recent comment on Trump for those who didn't get it, although Clapper probably meant it to be taken as sarcasm.
So Tzar Vladimir is getting a bit nervous is he? I rather expect the intelligence agencies of the US, German, UK, French, other countries who have been hit by Putin's little interference election campaigns to be itching to pay him back. We can presumably count the US out since Trump is such a Russophile but the German BND has proven adept at digging up people's dirty financial dealings in shady tax havens so one thing Putin should be very nervous about is well timed releases of even more Lichtenstein/Panama/Paradise type data leaks detailing the corrupt dealing of the Russian Elites of which there is no shortage.
Who is this Putin?
If you want news from today, you have to come back tomorrow.
AC Re "And one, why is this news on Slashdot, and two, why is this news at all?"
The USA is giving away stories for free that are pro USA and against Russia every day.
The "Countering Foreign Propaganda and Disinformation Act"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
All that fictional US gov/mil/NATO created propaganda ends up on domestic US publications as "news" everyday.
Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
Don't reply to yourself?