Karen Piper

I don’t know what other slap the EU needs to finally wake up. A bill has been introduced in the Russian parliament that openly speaks of a future war between Russia and the EU. According to the document, Russian troops may invade any country by the president’s decision to protect Russians. This could happen in cases of arrests or persecution of Russians under decisions of foreign or international courts. You can make the list of countries where “Russians are being discriminated against” yourselves, starting with the Baltics.

A robot couldn't stop dancing at a HaiDiLao Hotpot restaurant in Cupertino, California, sending food and chopsticks flying despite the best efforts of three staff members.

В Москве задержали администратора чата «Алый Лебедь», где координировался митинг против интернет-блокировок Силовики задержали москвичку Софию Чепик (имя из соцсетей девушки) — одного из администраторов телеграм-чата «Алый Лебедь», где последнюю неделю обсуждается митинг 29 марта на Болотной площади против интернет-блокировок. Чепик сообщила в чате о задержании, а затем выложила «кружок» из автомобиля, предположительно силовиков. Девушке сказали, что ее везут на «профилактическую беседу». Куда — неизвестно. Накануне власти Москвы отказали в проведении акции 29 марта на Болотной площади, сославшись на «эпидемиологическую обстановку» в городе. При этом в чате «Алый Лебедь», который возник 13 марта для обсуждения митинга, действует строгий запрет на призывы к участию в несогласованных акциях и к насильственным действиям. «Верстка» выяснила, что за организацией чата «Алый Лебедь» стоят в основном очень молодые люди 14–20 лет из Москвы. Главным организатором указан 20-летний Степан Разин, который и подавал заявку на митинг. Среди соорганизаторов есть несовершеннолетние 15–17 лет, а также 19-летние активисты с опытом участия в «Молодой Гвардии», молодежных крыльях ЛДПР и «Новых людей», а также бывший кадет, генерирующий мемы с Путиным. Задержанной Софии Чепик, судя по соцсетям, 19 лет.

Raju: If there are U.S. ground troops in Iran, should the administration go to Congress for approval? Speaker Mike Johnson: “If we're completing the mission, and it's a limited scope, then that's not a declaration of war.”

Unbelievable. Michael Caputo admits that Trump personally directed the FBI to end an investigation into Caputo's work with Russian spies. This is corruption and obstruction of justice.

I came to Amsterdam with a goal: to tell Europe about Russian operations in Africa; how they are aimed at creating a migration crisis in Europe and undermine democracy in the EU. I came to ask for partnership with Africa to combat this. I am here for seriousness not complacency.

The travails of Remeslo, the Russian pro-Kremlin lawyer who led the charge against Navalny back in the day, who recently came out with all barrels blasting against Putin, and who is now cooling his heels at a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg. First, let's just say how out of whack it is for this sort of thing to come out from Russia these days. This is not some random blogger who finally had it with the Internet blocking and who let it rip. It's a prominent establishment figure who was a very vocal supporter of Putin's regime for many, many years. Second, he was offered an easy way out when people started suggesting that perhaps his account had been hacked, but he doubled down, and not just in writing. He actually recorded videos to ensure that everyone knew he had written the posts and that he was not drunk either. Third, it's sort of odd that he has not been hauled into court on some trumped up charges (discrediting the Russian military or something) but that might be in part because he's a lawyer and so was careful to phrase his criticisms to focus specifically on Putin. The fact that he hasn't fallen out of a window (yet) but got hauled into a psychiatry could also mean that he has some powerful protectors who had given him the green light to voice what might be an increasingly widespread opinion of Putin. This is the most interesting possibility as it would constitute an attempt to make opposition to Putin in the corridors of powers common knowledge. It's not for nothing that Remeslo specifically refers to the well known tale about the Emperor's New Clothes: recall that the fable is about a situation where everyone knows the truth but because nobody says it, nobody knows who else shares that opinion, and so everyone remains quiet. The power of making a privately shared truth common knowledge is substantial in authoritarian systems, which is why rulers expend a lot of energy suppressing it through propaganda, intimidation, and coercion. Let me translate his original posts so you see what's going on. After reading these, read the translation of a panicked post by Anastassia Kashevarova, from the pro-Kremlin propaganda show Solovyev Live. Her reaction is telling me that this is no mere outburst and that regime supporters are very, very nervous indeed. 1/6

Meanwhile, overnight on Thu, Mar. 18, Ukraine continued its retaliatory strikes on Russia. Kyiv launched a massive drone swarm attack on Russian territory, highlighting two key points: 1) Ukraine is bringing the war back to the territory where it originated. 2) Russian forces are severely weakened by the countless shellings they carried out over the winter and their failed offensive. This is the perfect moment to increase pressure on Russia - militarily, economically, and politically. They are on the brink of being crippled.

The intelligence community assess that Russia has maintained the upper hand in the war against Ukraine. Until an agreement is made, Moscow is likely to continue fighting a slow war of attrition until they view their objectives have been achieved.

COHEN: The people you fired were experts on Iran, were they not? PATEL: I don't believe so COHEN: They worked in counterintelligence, did they not? PATEL: I'm taking you at your word COHEN: You're the director. I'm not. You should know the answer