via The Intercept

A secretive division of the Pentagon is now tasked with protecting its high-ranking officials not only from assassination and other bodily harm, but also from negative portrayals on social media, according to a procurement document obtained by The Intercept and published on Saturday.

While military records officially state the US Army Protective Services Battalion protects its charges from “assassination, kidnapping, injury or embarrassment,” this now includes monitoring social media for “direct, indirect, and veiled” threats, as well as identifying “negative sentiment” about individuals like Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, according to the document, which is dated September.

The document describes the program as “a reliable social media threat mitigation service” with an “Open-Source Web based tool-kit with advanced capabilities to collect publicly available information (PAI).” Beyond the data from Twitter’s “firehose,” 4Chan, Reddit, YouTube, VK, Discord, Telegram, and the like, “PAI” also includes a wealth of commercially acquired information from surveillance firms and private contractors like Dataminr, other data brokers, and unscrupulous smartphone apps and advertisers.

All this would be apparently combined with geo-fencing capabilities and actual cellular location data, allowing for near-exact pinpointing of the location of the supposedly “signal-rich discussions from elicit threat-actor communities” – keeping in mind that the “threats” discussed in the procurement document potentially include unkind tweets about current and retired generals.

The entirety of this information hoard – including CCTV feeds, radio stations, personal records, even individuals’ webcams – would be accessible through a “universal search selector,” according to the document.

The document specified the need for a two-way stream, requiring the contractor to maintain “the anonymity and security needed to conduct publicly accessible information research through misattribution” by “using various egress points globally to mask their identity.” The contract was given to SEWP Solutions LLC, described as the only company capable of “tunnel[ing] into specific countries/cities like Moscow, Russia or Beijing, China and come out on a host nation internet domain.”

The procurement document specifies that it does not want the Pentagon advertising its interest in violating the online and, potentially, physical privacy of those it deems threats to the reputation of generals retired and current. It is stamped “Controlled Unclassified Information”/FEDCON, meaning it is not meant to be seen by those outside the federal government and contractor system.

The revelation that still more intrusive powers are being sought by the national security state has outraged privacy advocates. “Expressing ‘positive or negative sentiment towards a senior high-risk individual’ cannot be deemed sufficient grounds for government agencies to conduct surveillance operations, even going as far as ‘pinpointing the exact locations’ of individuals,” Ilia Siatitsa of Privacy International told The Intercept.

“The ability to express opinions, criticize, make assumptions, or form value judgments – especially regarding public officials – is a quintessential part of democratic society.”

“And I find it laughable that those calling for arms to Ukraine, never call for arms for the people of Palestine or for the people of Yemen.” – Clare Daly

Clare Daly, MEP: . . .”if you (EU) really cared about Ukraine, you’d be pushing for peace, but the EU hasn’t lifted a finger to push for peace in Ukraine, in fact it’s done everything to escalate the conflict and prevent peace . . .”

pic.twitter.com/GXvlUL4Bwk

— Amar Taoualit (@TaoualitAmar) March 28, 2023

US House Oversight Committee uncovered evidence against Joe Biden and his family, sounds like a rap sheet any Mafia crime family would be proud of.

Joe, who continues to lie to Americans about his knowledge and participation in his shady family’s international business schemes is accused of federal crimes, conspiracy to defraud his country, wire fraud, tax evasion, and money laundering, while his family business dealings implicate him in human trafficking.

Nord Stream Enigma Deepens as OSINT Analyst Finds Mystery Tanker Hung Around Explosion Site for Week

The Nord Stream sabotage saga saw another development last week after US and German media offered “new evidence” of the alleged involvement of a shadowy “pro-Ukrainian group” in the September terror attacks. Now, a Denmark-based open source intelligence analyst has spotted something fishy off the Danish Baltic Sea island of Bornholm.

Russia attempted to peacefully resolve the issues involving Ukraine after 2014, but Western leaders were secretly preparing a completely different scenario, President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday during his address to the Federal Assembly, the country’s main legislative body.

Speaking to both chambers of parliament as well as senior officials and public figures, the Russian leader touched on a variety of key topics during a speech lasting almost two hours.

From the military operation in Ukraine to economic and social issues, here is a recap of what the president said.

The World should not be divided

Russia not only intends to firmly protect its own interests, but also its belief that the modern world should not be divided into “civilized countries” and “all the rest,” Putin said. He stressed the need for close partnerships without exceptionalism or resorting to aggression.

The president insisted that Moscow remains open to constructive dialogue with the West and continues to call for a united and fair global security system. However, Putin stated that instead of cooperating, the West has only issued a muddled response and hidden behind the umbrella of NATO, which continues to expand its borders towards Russia while American military bases spread throughout the world.

Why Russia acted in Ukraine

Putin recalled that all of Russia’s security guarantee proposals were rejected outright by the US and NATO, which he said made it clear that the go-ahead for aggressive actions by Kiev had already been given. According to the president, there was clear evidence that another “punitive action” was being planned in Donbass for February 2022.

Putin said Kiev and its Western backers initiated the conflict in Ukraine, while Russia is now using force to put an end to it.

West doesn’t care who it uses against Moscow

Western nations used the “despicable method of deceit” during campaigns in Yugoslavia, Iraq, Libya, and Syria, Putin argued. Regarding Ukraine, Putin said the West had openly admitted that the 2014-2015 Minsk agreements were a bluff. While “Donbass was burning and blood was being spilled,” Ukraine’s backers “were playing with people’s lives,” he stated.

Putin continued by claiming that the West does not actually care who it supports in its fight against Russia, which is why it turns a blind eye to Ukrainian fighters openly celebrating notorious Nazi divisions and bearing their insignia.

Putin asserted that the Ukrainian people have become expendable hostages for Kiev and its Western backers, who have occupied Ukraine in a political, military, and economic sense, devastating the country for the past several decades.

Consequences of long-range arms supplies to Kiev

Putin suggested that the West is treating Ukraine as a battering ram against Russia and is using the battlefield as a test-firing range. However, he stressed that one thing “everyone should understand” is that the longer the range of Western weapons systems being delivered to Ukraine, the farther Russia will be forced to move the threat away from its borders. “It’s only natural,” said the president.

West wants a global conflict

Western elites no longer hide their true intentions and are openly calling for a “strategic defeat for Russia,” Putin added. He accused them of trying to transform a local conflict into a global confrontation, but argued that Russia will “react accordingly” to any threats.

At the same time, Putin insisted that the West recognizes that it cannot defeat Russia militarily, which is why it is launching increasingly aggressive information attacks against Russian culture, history, the Orthodox Church, and other traditional values.

Sanctions have failed

The West has not only opened a military and information frontline against Russia, but also an economic one, according to Putin. However, its efforts have backfired and ultimately failed, despite attempts to spark inflation, crash the ruble, and blatantly steal Russia’s foreign exchange reserves, he added.

“Anti-Russian sanctions are only a tool,” Putin observed, claiming that the goal, as Western officials themselves have stated, is to “force suffering” upon Russian citizens. “But they miscalculated, and Russia’s economy proved much more robust than the West expected,” the president argued.

Russia is not just adapting to new realities but is bringing its economy to new frontiers and working with its partners on establishing a stable and secure system of international settlements, independent of the dollar or other Western reserve currencies, Putin explained.

New START suspended

Putin stated that Moscow is well aware of the West’s involvement in attempts by Ukrainian forces to strike Russia’s strategic aviation. This, coupled with “absurd” requests from NATO to be allowed to inspect Russia’s defense facilities within the framework of the New START nuclear treaty, leaves Moscow no choice but to temporarily withdraw from the agreement, the president announced.

via RT

Biden in 2023: “The appetites of autocrats are not to be indulged. They can only say “no”. No, you won’t take my freedom. No, you won’t take my country. A dictator seeking to revive his empire will never overpower the love of freedom. Brute force will never break the spirit of freedom, and Ukraine will never become a victim of Russia. Never”.

Biden in 1999: “It was me who suggested bombing Belgrade. It was I who suggested sending American pilots to blow up all the bridges on the Drina. It was I who suggested taking all their fuel supplies. It was I who suggested all these actions.”

via Gilbert Doctorow

Yesterday Russian television (Sixty Minutes) showed video recordings taken at the opening of the Munich Security Conference. Stomach churning scenes of Nancy Pelosi kissy-kissy with Annalena Baerbock, of everyone gladhanding Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba and Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov. The Ukrainian delegation to the Conference forms the second largest after the USA. Thirty U.S. Senators! The organizers have found worthy replacements for Sergei Lavrov: Khodorkovsky and Kasparov, who no doubt would be given central roles in any puppet regime installed by Washington in the event the Russians lose the war.

This surely was the single biggest concentration of evil in one building on our planet.

Today in the morning I watched a BBC feature news report on their own British soldiers of fortune fighting in Ukraine. Incredible. These degenerates are lionized. The only thing missing was distribution of medals to them by King Charles. That surely will come in a week or two.

Let us be clear about it: day by day this war in and about Ukraine is taking on resemblance to the Spanish civil war which preceded the outbreak of WWII. Russians are quietly reporting the existence of foreign volunteers serving on their side, including 16 Finns! And the North Koreans are said to have offered to send up to 200,000 soldiers to serve on the Russian side.

Meanwhile Euronews was reporting on the plans for a war crimes tribunal to be set up in the Hague in July. The purpose of this kangaroo court will be to enable the transfer to Ukraine of the seized assets of Russian oligarchs and of the 350 billion in Russian state reserves that are now frozen. By any measure this would constitute a declaration of war by the whole of Europe against Russia. In this context, the 8 billion dollars destroyed in the Nord Stream pipeline bombings look like kid stuff.

Oh, yes, this morning I find that the Iran Press TV video I recorded yesterday is blocked. Try it to see if it works in your area: http://www.urmedium.com/c/presstv/122019

Regrettably, it is clear we are in the antechamber before the onset of a generalized war when all hell breaks loose. There is not a minute to lose to bring out the fire extinguishers.

I wish the speakers and attendees of tomorrow’s Rage Against the War Machine demonstrations in Washington, D.C. and in San Francisco bon courage. The general public must be roused from its apathy. There is not a minute to lose.

©Gilbert Doctorow, 2023