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After Orchestrating Telegram Takedown in France, Feds Begin Direct Attack on First Amendment in U.S.: DOJ Indicts Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool’s ISP for “Russian Collusion”

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In a move that has raised significant concerns about First Amendment rights, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has unsealed a controversial indictment accusing a prominent Tennessee-based media company of involvement in a Russian influence operation. The indictment, revealed Wednesday, alleges that the company, widely identified as Tenet Media, was covertly funded and directed by Russian nationals to spread pro-Kremlin propaganda across U.S. social media platforms.

Tenet Media, which describes itself as a network for “fearless voices” focusing on Western political and cultural issues, features high-profile conservative commentators such as Dave Rubin, Benny Johnson, Tim Pool, Lauren Southern, Tayler Hansen, and Matt Christiansen. The DOJ’s indictment claims that two Russian nationals, Kostiantyn Kalashnikov and Elena Afanasyeva, orchestrated a scheme to infiltrate U.S. media by funneling nearly $10 million through a network of foreign shell companies to finance Tenet Media.

The DOJ’s press release emphasizes that Kalashnikov and Afanasyeva, operating under multiple fake identities, used their financial and editorial influence to promote narratives that allegedly align with the goals of the Russian government and its state-funded media outlet, RT. According to the indictment, the Russian operatives were involved in editing and directing content posted by Tenet Media on platforms including YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Since its inception in November 2023, the company has reportedly posted nearly 2,000 videos, garnering over 16 million views on YouTube alone.

The indictment accuses Tenet Media of disseminating content that exacerbates domestic divisions on sensitive issues like immigration and inflation, purportedly to further Russia’s agenda of sowing discord in the United States. Notably, the indictment claims that Tenet Media did not disclose its foreign funding or register with the Attorney General as an agent of a foreign principal, as required by law.

Critics argue that the DOJ’s actions against Tenet Media and its associated commentators represent a troubling precedent for governmental overreach into free speech and press freedom. Supporters of the indictment, however, contend that it is a necessary step to combat foreign interference and safeguard the integrity of American media and democracy.

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

Look Who’s Stirring up Trouble Between Russia and China

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Taiwan’s president is stirring up trouble between allies Russia and China, after he stated on Taiwanese media that China should take back land from Russia if Beijing truly believes Taiwan being in China’s control is about territorial integrity, according to the Straits Times.

During the Quing dynasty, China’s last royal dynasty, China signed the Treaty of Aigun in 1858 which turned over a huge swath of land to Russia – a treaty modern-day China has referred to as “unequal.”

Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, who has been labeled a “separatist” by China, mentioned this tidbit during his interview, and dismissed China’s claim it wants control of Taiwan because of “territorial integrity.”

“China’s intention to attack and annex Taiwan is not because of what any one person or political party in Taiwan says or does. It is not for the sake of territorial integrity that China wants to annex Taiwan … If it is for the sake of territorial integrity, why doesn’t it take back the lands occupied by Russia that were signed over in the Treaty of Aigun? Russia is now at its weakest right?” Lai said.

Lai said the intentions of China are clear, it wants to change the international order and establish a hegemony.

(Read more from “Look Who’s Stirring up Trouble Between Russia and China” HERE)

What is Happening in the Ukraine War Should Scare the Hell Out of Us

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There is a lot to criticize about America’s current military – and I’ve criticized it – but there’s another problem no one seems to want to talk about. It’s scary as hell. The United States is not ready for the kind of war we are seeing played out in Ukraine, a peer-to-peer conventional fight that is rewriting the rules of what we thought war was supposed to be. And, with leadership in the White House sitting in a rocker staring slack-jawed at Matlock reruns, we are not in a position to fix what will mean defeat in our next real war.

This is not solely about wokeness and how the officer corps has embraced the ridiculous shibboleths of the progressive left regarding race, gender, and the climate scam, but wokeness relates to the problem that the Ukraine War has revealed. When the leadership is focused on ridiculous frivolities like “white nationalism” and trans idiocy, it is not integrating the massive changes to how we fight that we need to compete on a modern battlefield.

And we do need massive changes. The old wisdom is that the military always fights the last war. Now, we’re trying to fight the last two wars. We are trying to refight the conventional Cold War model that won the Gulf War while also fighting the counterinsurgencies of the Global War on Terror. What we are not preparing to fight is the kind of war we are seeing in Ukraine.

The Russo-Ukraine War is a test bed for new technologies overlaid over old styles of warfare, particularly the static, dug-in trench warfare of World War I. What is different? A lot. For one thing, electronic warfare (EW) is an enormous new factor. You know all those awesome precision-guided munitions we saw America use in Iraq and Afghanistan? We gave many of them to Ukraine. According to open source reports – I do not know anything secret and would not write about it if I did – the Russians, who are very good at this sort of thing, have figured out how to use EW to defeat them. Remember, GPS is based on radio waves, which can be jammed, spoofed, or otherwise messed with. A missile that misses is useless. Imagine America going into a fight with its limited or completely defeated precision strike capabilities. Yeah, scary, right? (Read more from “What is Happening in the Ukraine War Should Scare the Hell Out of Us” HERE)

China Poised to Cut Off U.S. Military From Key Mineral as America’s Own Reserves Lay Buried Under Red Tape

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China is planning to restrict exports of a key mineral needed to make weapons while a U.S. company that could be reducing America’s reliance on foreign suppliers is languishing in red tape, energy experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Chinese government announced on August 15 that it will restrict exports of antimony, a critical mineral that dominates the production of weapons globally and is essential for producing equipment like munitions, night vision goggles and bullets that are essential to national security, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Perpetua Resources, an American mining company, has been navigating red tape for years to develop a mine in Valley County, Idaho, that could decrease reliance on the Chinese supply of antimony, but the slow permitting process is getting in the way, energy experts told the DCNF.

It can take years to secure all the necessary approvals and permits to develop a mine like the one Perpetua Resources is trying to operate. One of the key permitting laws in place is the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which also applies to federal land management actions and the construction of certain public infrastructure projects like highways.

“After six years of planning and early engagement, we began the [NEPA] permitting process in 2016. We are now eight years into NEPA,” a Perpetua Resources spokesperson told the DCNF. The company is hoping to extract antimony from the largest known deposit in the U.S., and Perpetua Resources’ development could also produce millions of ounces of gold as well. (Read more from “China Poised to Cut Off U.S. Military From Key Mineral as America’s Own Reserves Lay Buried Under Red Tape” HERE)

Report: Russia Evacuating 180,000 People From Border Over Ukraine Invasion

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The acting governor of Kursk, Russia – a border region Ukraine launched an invasion into last week – told Russian strongman Vladimir Putin on Monday he has evacuated 121,000 people from their homes and plans to move another 59,000 out of threatened areas as soon as possible.

Reports began surfacing on August 6 of Ukrainian troops crossing the border and seizing territory in Kursk, which Ukrainian officials have long identified as a launchpad for attacks into their territory. The attacks mark the first time since Putin launched a “special operation” to oust Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in February 2022 that Ukraine pushes Russian forces back into uncontested Russian territory and seizes Russian land. It is also the first time since World War II that Russia has lost land to a foreign invader.

The operation was preceded by an odd declaration by Zelensky in January branding Kursk and five other Russian territories “historically” Ukrainian.

Putin has colonized five regions of Ukraine arguing that they are rightfully Russian territory: Crimea in 2014 and the regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia in 2022.

Governor Alexei Smirnov made the shocking revelation of the size of the evacuation operation in Kursk on Monday evening during a meeting with Putin that also featured the governors of two other border regions, Belgorod and Bryansk. (Read more from “Report: Russia Evacuating 180,000 People From Border Over Ukraine Invasion” HERE)

UN Issues Horror Nuclear Warning as Russia Evacuates Thousands and WW3 Fears Mount

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The head of the nuclear safety watchdog has called for “maximum restraint” amid ongoing hostilities in Russia’s Kursk region.

The call comes amidst reports showcasing towering infernos in Kursk as Ukraine intensifies its unexpected offensive into Russian territory, now in its sixth day.

As Ukraine’s bold strike against Russia continues an effort to push back against the invasion started in 2022 alarm bells are ringing over possible escalation, especially after Ukraine allegedly sent drones flying into Belarus airspace last Friday, shot down in what was described by the Putin-endorsed regime as ‘provocation’.

In reaction to these Ukrainian movements, Moscow has broadcasted its intention to carry out a “counter-terrorism operation” across Kursk and the neighbouring districts of Bryansk and Belgorod, with Saturday witnessing supposed clips of Ukrainian soldiers marking their presence in one village.

The alarm is also being raised about the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant given the fierce combat in that sector, which has seen Russian military forces activate both airstrikes and a thermobaric weapon, an explosive device known for its blast wave and subsequent vacuum effect causing asphyxiation. This isn’t the first instance where the extended conflict has ignited concerns about nuclear facilities; the Zaporizhzhya plant located near Ukraine, now under Russian control, has indeed been a previous point of contention. (Read more from “UN Issues Horror Nuclear Warning as Russia Evacuates Thousands and WW3 Fears Mount” HERE)

The Biden Administration’s Prisoner Swap With Russia Was Ridiculously Lopsided

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The Biden administration’s prisoner swap with Russia is being touted by the corporate press as “historic,” and in a way it is. Nothing like this, on this scale, has happened since the Cold War. But the swap is as lopsided as it is historic.

All Americans should welcome the release of our three unjustly imprisoned compatriots: Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, and Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. They were among the 16 western prisoners released by Moscow in exchange for eight Russian nationals released by the U.S. and allies.

But this wasn’t a Cold War-era prisoner swap of the kind immortalized in the Oscar-winning 2015 film “Bridge of Spies.” It was a dangerously uneven exchange that saw the release of a Russian assassin along with Russian spies and hackers, all of whom have committed serious crimes in western countries. Essentially, Moscow arrested a bunch of innocent western journalists and political dissidents, and then used them as bargaining chips to secure the release of its own killers, criminals, and spies.

Among the Russians released from western prisons, for example, was Vadim Krasikov, a Russian assassin who in 2019 killed a Chechen separatist commander in broad daylight in a park in central Berlin. Krasikov, who shot his victim twice with a Glock 26 and then threw it in a river, was sentenced to life in prison in 2021. At the time, German officials said he was a member of the F.S.B., Russia’s domestic spy agency.

Also released was suspected F.S.B. agent Vadim Konoshchenok, arrested in 2022 on espionage charges in Estonia and extradited to the U.S. He was accused of conspiring to obtain military-grade technologies from U.S. companies and pass them to Moscow. (Read more from “The Biden Administration’s Prisoner Swap With Russia Was Ridiculously Lopsided” HERE)

Photo credit: Gage Skidmore via Flickr

U.S. Veteran Journalist, Investigating Ukraine Military, Murdered in Kiev

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Titawny Cook, 41, had traveled to Kyiv to write about life in a country pummeled by bombings, ground skirmishes and widespread power outages since Russia invaded in February 2022. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran raised in the East Bay, Cook had dreamed of becoming a war correspondent and documenting the suffering in Ukraine, his mother Christine Cook said, even though he knew the assignment would be dangerous.

Having served in Iraq, Cook wanted to bring his experience and expertise to document the conflict in Ukraine, according to his mother. Getting to the war-torn country wasn’t easy: Titawny Cook had to convince administrators at Chabot, the community college he attended in Hayward, to sponsor the trip so that he could secure a press pass. . .

Over time, Cook linked up with Ukrainian soldiers who had returned from the front lines to hear their stories and understand the battle conditions. Throughout the assignment, he communicated with his mother via the Signal smartphone app, which allowed them to exchange texts and chat over video.

In recent weeks, Christine Cook said, her son somehow roused the suspicions of people in his circle. She didn’t know how the tension flared up, but she said Titawny was unable to quell it because of the language barrier. When she last spoke with him on July 25, he said he believed someone was inside his fifth-floor apartment with a gun. He gave her the name and phone number of another friend to call for help. . .

Later, she received a call from a woman who had found her son’s phone on the street. Then, on the morning of July 26, an official at the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv called, saying that police had found her son lying unconscious. They transported him to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. The location and circumstances of his death were not clear.

(Read more from “U.S. Veteran Journalist, Investigating Ukraine Military, Murdered in Kiev” HERE)

Romania Confirms Russian Drones in Its Airspace

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Russia launched 38 Shahed kamikaze drones at Ukraine overnight, three of which strayed into Romania’s airspace, Romanian and Ukrainian ministries have confirmed.

Ukraine’s air defense systems managed to shoot down 25 of the drones, the Ukrainian air force said in a statement on Thursday. Three of the Shaheds crossed the border with Romania, bordering Ukraine’s Odesa region, which was heavily bombed overnight, the air force said.

“More heinous attacks have been perpetrated by Russia against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure,” Romanian Foreign Minister Luminiţa Odobescu said in a post on X. “Debris has been found on Romanian territory. We have informed and are coordinating with our Allies on this matter. Romania strongly condemns these irresponsible actions,” Odobescu said.

As the Russian drones were attacking ports in the Odesa region, residents of Romania’s Tulcea area heard multiple blasts and were warned by authorities that fragments of drones might fall to the ground, local media reported. The authorities asked the public not to panic, saying the Russian drones “were not specifically targeting Romania.” (Read more from “Romania Confirms Russian Drones in Its Airspace” HERE)

Hungary’s Orban Says Anti-LGBTQ Russia Stands to Gain as ‘Irrational’ West Loses Power

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Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday Russia’s leadership was “hyper rational” and that Ukraine would never be able to fulfil its hopes of becoming a member of the European Union or NATO. . .

“In the next long decades, maybe centuries, Asia will be the dominant center of the world,” Orban said, mentioning China, India, Pakistan and Indonesia as the world’s future big powers.

“And we Westerners pushed the Russians into this bloc as well,” he said in the televised speech before ethnic Hungarians at a festival in the town of Baile Tusnad in neighboring Romania. . .

Orban, whose own government has passed a number of anti-LGBT measures, said Russia had gained clout in many parts of the world by cracking down on LGBTQ+ rights.

“The strongest international appeal of Russian soft power is its opposition to LGBTQ,” he said. (Read more from “Hungary’s Orban Says Anti-LGBTQ Russia Stands to Gain as ‘Irrational’ West Loses Power” HERE)

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