Ukraine

[Thaluikhain]

They did it because the method worked. And still works.

True.

Also the guy was a recently hired civilian that only at an earlier stage of his life was in the army, not sure how much of that training he got.

Retired Lt. Colonel, according to that article. Really should have known better.

 

[Ag3ma]

So...does everyone in the US army have to sit through a 3 hour powerpoint presentation about not giving top secret information to net randoms?

To be fair, it is almost inevitable that some people vulnerable to this sort of manipulation are going to end up with access to secret information. As the saying goes about throwing enough shit at the wall, keep testing and you'll eventually find one. Just think - with the development of AI agencies won't even have to waste their own time on it. Just send a bunch of bots to butter up enemy officers. In fact, we can all look forward to the point where 20% of the Earth's entire electricity consumption is AI bots trying to chat each other up on the internet.

But someone who surely must have been trained - I find the idea that they're handing it over based on nothing but lines of text.... I mean, at least be suckered by someone who has to turn up and meet you in person.

 

[Gordon_4]

Also the guy was a recently hired civilian that only at an earlier stage of his life was in the army, not sure how much of that training he got.

Any organisation that handles classified material tends to drum this kind of learning into all its people's heads on a very regular basis. Regardless of clearance level, regardless of position in the hierarchy, regardless of actual job. Everyone does this shit.

Why a recently hired civilian can get those documents in the first place is more of a question.

Its not uncommon for people to leave a government body - in this case the Department of Defence - and then be hired back as a civilian contractor as soon as the obligatory waiting period has expired. Especially if its a role that doesn't strictly need an active duty military member to do it. And if he left the service in good standing with a still active clearance......

 

[Cicada 5]

Austin in Ramstein: 'Russia has paid a staggering cost for Putin's imperial dreams'

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin opened the 20th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) held in Ramstein, Germany, on March 19.

kyivindependent.com

 

[Hades]

Currently there's a terrorist attack in Moscow. It should be noted Putin started his reign by bombing his own civilians so he could start a war in order to prop up his image as a though guy. I wouldn't discount this attack being yet another crime of the Kremlin against their own population.

 

[Silvanus]

Islamic State has posted videos claiming responsibility for the mass shooting at the concert hall outside Moscow, at which 133 have died and over a dozen more are critically injured. They also included videos of their own gunmen filming themselves during the incident.

Four suspects in Moscow concert hall terror attack appear in court

Footage of gunmen reinforces terror group’s claim to have masterminded worst terror attack on Russia in two decades

www.theguardian.com

Russian state media had sought to blame Ukraine. Even now, after the above videos have been released, Russian media avoids mention of Islamic State and continues to point to Ukraine.

 

[Silvanus]

Russian foreign ministry is doubling down, disputing that Islamic State is responsible for the Crocus City massacre and again accusing Ukraine. Their spokesperson today wrote an article to that effect in Komsomolskaya Pravda.

This is despite the fact IS released images of the gunmen before the attack, and also released bodycam footage from their men during the attack itself.

 

[Hades]

Russian foreign ministry is doubling down, disputing that Islamic State is responsible for the Crocus City massacre and again accusing Ukraine. Their spokesperson today wrote an article to that effect in Komsomolskaya Pravda.

This is despite the fact IS released images of the gunmen before the attack, and also released bodycam footage from their men during the attack itself.

So essentially we can take away from the Kremlin's response that against all odds they weren't behind the attack but seem to regret that, and now act as if they were behind the attack.

 

[Ag3ma]

So essentially we can take away from the Kremlin's response that against all odds they weren't behind the attack but seem to regret that, and now act as if they were behind the attack.

I think Russia's line on this is that ISIS carried this out, but with the backing of Ukraine, USA and UK. (Because after all, ISIS gets on with the USA so well.) The argument of the Russian government roughly is that ISIS doesn't have the capability to get some gunmen into a Russian entertainment venue, so it could only do so with the support of more powerful players.

 

[Cicada 5]

Russia Sentences Meta Spokesman to 6 Years in Prison for 'Justification of Terrorism'

Meta's Andy Stone won't be locked up unless he decides to visit Russia.

gizmodo.com

A military court in Russia sentenced a spokesperson for Meta to six years in prison on Monday, according to a new report from the English-language Moscow Times. Andy Stone was convicted in absentia for the “justification” of terrorism after the Facebook parent company changed its rules about what’s considered violent speech shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.


The Russian military court first opened a criminal inquiry into Meta on March 11, 2022, according to U.S.-government-run news outlet Radio Free Europe, less than a month after Russia invaded Ukraine in February of that year. The inquiry was a response to Meta’s policy change that allowed more violent rhetoric about Russia’s invasion on Facebook and Instagram, two platforms that were subsequently banned in Russia.



Stone announced the loosened speech restrictions on March 10, 2022, which apparently made him a target for the Russian authorities.

“As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine we have temporarily made allowances for forms of political expression that would normally violate our rules like violent speech such as ‘death to the Russian invaders.’ We still won’t allow credible calls for violence against Russian civilians,” Stone tweeted.

The new policy also allowed for users to call for the death of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, according to a 2022 article from Reuters. Stone would later clarify that while the company was allowing more violent speech on its platforms to account for frustration in Ukraine at a violent invasion, any calls for violence against Russian civilians were still strictly banned.


Calls for violence against Russian soldiers were only permitted by people living in a dozen countries and didn’t include anyone living in the U.S., according to Reuters: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

Stone should be safe from the Russian courts, provided he doesn’t decide to take a vacation in Moscow anytime soon. Facebook founder and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been banned from entering Russia since April 2022.

 

[Ag3ma]

Russia Sentences Meta Spokesman to 6 Years in Prison for 'Justification of Terrorism'

Meta's Andy Stone won't be locked up unless he decides to visit Russia.

gizmodo.com

Unable to visit Russia? I'm sure he'll be devastated.

I suppose Russia could pursue extradition if he sets foot in some other countries, but I don't fancy Russia would push its luck except in a tiny few, or that many other countries would comply.

 

[Satinavian]

Belasrus or Syria might comply. And... that's it. I don't think even Serbia or Khasachstan would.