Former Moscow-linked Church claims religious persecution as security raids heat up

(CNN) — The vertically shot video published last November shows no weapons, battlefield atrocities or even soldiers. But the sound of a patriotic Russian song reverberating through a church on Kyiv’s famous Lavra monastery grounds seemed to open a new front in Ukraine’s war with Russia.

Former Moscow-linked Church claims religious persecution as security raids heat up

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“Do not ban the UOC” petition appears on the Cabinet of Ministers’ website

On MSNBC and “Authoritarianism”

MSNBC opinion columnist Zeesham Aleem just penned the latest in what’s become a parade of hit pieces from mainstream outlets directed at me and other independent journalists. Even by the low standards of the genre, “How the populist left has become vulnerable to the populist right” is a humorous standout. It argues that after I spent a month detailing how the FBI, DHS, DOD, CIA and other agencies built a system for mass delivery of censorship requests to firms like Twitter and Facebook, I helped fuel a subculture that “could funnel people from leftism to authoritarianism.”

On MSNBC and “Authoritarianism”

War game suggests Chinese invasion of Taiwan would fail at a huge cost to US, Chinese and Taiwanese militaries

Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2026 would result in thousands of casualties among Chinese, United States, Taiwanese and Japanese forces, and it would be unlikely to result in a victory for Beijing, according to a prominent independent Washington think tank, which conducted war game simulations of a possible conflict that is preoccupying military and political leaders in Asia and Washington.

War game suggests Chinese invasion of Taiwan would fail at a huge cost to US, Chinese and Taiwanese militaries

Notice how they blatantly ignore civilian casualties!?

Brazil Is Having Its Own Jan. 6 Right Now

Brazil Is Having Its Own Jan. 6 Right Now (archived)

Much like former U.S. President Donald Trump, the right-wing populist Bolsonaro has claimed for years that the country’s elections are riddled with fraud, claims many elections officials, election security experts, and fact-checkers have adamantly refuted. Bolsonaro has even alleged that detractors attempted and failed to steal the election from him in 2018. For weeks since Bolsonaro’s defeat by leftist opponent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Nov. 1, his supporters have been calling for a coup. Trump allies Steve Bannon and Jason Miller have reportedly been advising Bolsonaro since his defeat, and his son, Brazilian congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro, has reportedly met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago.

Video via Mizoto Tv

Related:

Bolsonaro Backers Storm Government Buildings

The three buildings, representing Brazil’s three branches of government, are connected through Three Powers square. Brazilian TV aired footage of the attackers in the palace, per the AP. Bolsonaro, who left Brazil for Florida before Lula took office, did not immediately comment on the violence—evocative of the Jan. 6 attack on the US Capitol. Aides to former President Donald Trump have met with Bolsonaro’s aides since Brazil’s election, per the Insider, and Steve Bannon recommended contesting the results of the Oct. 30 vote. Like Trump, Bolsonaro has not conceded the election. Brazil’s justice minister tweeted Sunday that reinforcements are on the way to stop the invasion. “This absurd attempt to impose their will by force will not prevail,” said Justice Minister Flavio Dino posted. (Read more Brazil stories.)

More videos from Brazil

Why China’s belt and road plan is facing threat of jihadist terrorism

Why China’s belt and road plan is facing threat of jihadist terrorism

Afghanistan and China share a 74km-long border along the mountainous Wakhan Corridor. At Beijing’s insistence, the Taliban relocated TIP militants from Badakhshan province, near the border, to other areas last year. However, some TIP elements are believed to have rebuilt their bases in Badakhshan.

Isis-K’s anti-China rhetoric may also be intended to attract Uygur militants to its fold. The more the Taliban regime curtail TIP activities, the greater the chances of Uygur militants gravitating towards Isis-K. According to a United Nations Security Council report, Isis-K has reached out to disgruntled fighters from other terrorist groups, and as many as 50 Uygur militants have joined it.

Notes for self:

  • ISIS-K, likely supported by the US, is actively recruiting members from groups like TIP, ETIM, and Uygur extremists to target China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
  • According to the Jamestown Foundation, a hawkish think tank, the Voice of Khorasan Magazine is produced by the al-Azaim Foundation for Media Production.
  • It’s noteworthy that ISIS-K adopted a name reminiscent of Voice of America, a US-funded media outlet, which raises questions about potential symbolic connections.

US adviser calls on Washington to provide Ukrainian forces with banned weapons

An American adviser to the Ukrainian military has called on Washington to send Kiev forces banned weapons such as cluster munitions to fight Russia.

US adviser calls on Washington to provide Ukrainian forces with banned weapons

Related:

Ukrinform: Ukraine needs cluster munitions to inflict devastating losses on massive Russian forces on the battlefield.

That’s according to Dan Rice, Special Advisor to Ukraine Army Commander-in-Chief Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, who spoke with CNN, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Daniel Rice:

Dan is the President of Thayer Leadership and a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. In 2010, Dan co-founded Thayer Leadership along with four other West Point graduates with the mission of bringing the world to West Point and bringing West Point leadership to the world. Over the past 10 years, Thayer has grown steadily, becoming one of the Top 40 leader development companies in the world. As a lifelong learner, he has earned 3 Masters degrees and recently completed his Doctoral classes.

In 2022, Dan was named Special Advisor to the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Thayer Leadership

Space Junk

Remember the Cold War Space Race between the former Soviet Union and the United States in the 1950s and 1960s? During the past year, Jeff Bezos, Richard Branson, and Elon Musk went ahead and turned that into a modern-day dick-measuring contest, for lack of a better phrase, to see who could get there first for the longest. Their space outfits, extensively reported on by CNN Science, received more attention than the pollution caused by this narcissistic billionaire power competition, in which one rocket launch produced an estimated 300 tons of carbon dioxide in the upper atmosphere, where it can remain for years.

Space Junk

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How Amazon Crushes Unions