EU Will 'Drag Its Feet’ on Ukraine Peace Push to Spite Trump, False Flags Can’t Be Ruled Out - Prof

EU Will 'Drag Its Feet’ on Ukraine Peace Push to Spite Trump, False Flags Can’t Be Ruled Out - Prof

SPUTNIK

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff has spoken to Tucker Carlson about the progress being made toward a lasting peace in Ukraine, calling the status of Russia's new territories the "key issue" to putting the crisis to bed, and saying Ukraine has "largely conceded" it won't join NATO. Sputnik asked a veteran conflict studies expert what risks lie ahead.

“You’ve got these deeply ideologically messianic anti-Russian figures in the Commission – von der Leyen, Kallas and others. They will do everything to try to disrupt this,” Dr. Greg Simons told Sputnik, commenting Witkoff’s bombshell interviewwith the former Fox News host, and the rapport Presidents Putin and Trump have apparently built up in the aim of reaching a peace deal.

Simons, an expert on contemporary armed conflicts and professor of journalism at Daffodil International University in Dhaka, doesn’t rule out major European powers heavily invested in the proxy war against Russia like the UK, France and Germany trying “to provoke some false flags or other such things,” to stop a peace deal and keep the conflict going indefinitely, highlighting the recent attack on the Sudhza compressor station “after Zelensky agreed not to attack them" as one possible example.

Idealism vs. Realism

Witkoff's comments on Washington's new thinking vis-a-vis Russia's new regions in particular are “a very rather strict departure from Biden and previous administrations,” Dr. Simons stressed.

“The Trump administration is going with a much more pragmatic focus, which is rooted in realism. This is the point that comes across here, that in order to get things moving [on a peace deal, ed.] they understand that there needs to be concessions," because "Russia is winning the war.”

Witkoff “mentioned communication…A lot of people think communication is about talking. But it’s not only about talking, it’s about listening. And this is something [the US] appear to be doing,” Simons stressed.

That's a far cry from the "stupid, petty, delusional demands" previously set out by the EU, Biden and Zelensky, which Russia will never accept, the academic said.

IDF chief: War on Hamas includes Judea and Samaria

IDF chief: War on Hamas includes Judea and Samaria

 Israel Today Staff

Gov’t minister says military operations must be accompanied by “settlement” expansion leading to sovereignty over biblical heartland.

Focus remains on Gaza, especially in the international arena, but Hamas must also be defeated in the biblical heartland of Judea and Samaria, stressed new IDF Chief of Staff Gen. Eyal Zamir.

“In Gaza, we launched a surprising and powerful operation, with the return of all the hostages as a top priority to which we are committed in every action,” Zamir said during a security assessment in the so-called “West Bank.”

“When we talk about defeating Hamas, it means defeating Hamas everywhere, including here in Judea and Samaria. Continue the ongoing counterterrorism operations alongside robust defense,” he added.

Israeli forces have been operating quietly (at least in terms of international media coverage) in Judea and especially Samaria since the outbreak of the war on October 7, 2023, with an emphasis on the northern Samaria terror hub of Jenin.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week visited the Border Police undercover units that carry out so many of the counter-terrorism operations in Judea and Samaria, and described theirs as “holy work for the State of Israel.”

“While we are waging an intense war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, we are aware of the possibility that a larger and more intense front could open here in Judea and Samaria,” Netanyahu noted.

Palestinian terrorists targeted Jews in Judea and Samaria at least 6,343 times in 2024, according to figures published by the Rescuers Without Borders (Hatzalah Judea and Samaria) NGO on Feb. 17. Twenty-seven Israelis were murdered in Judea and Samaria in 2024, and more than 300 others were wounded, according to the report.

Economy and Industry Minister Nir Barkat insists that the long-term solution to the problem in Judea and Samaria is for Israel to reassert sovereignty over its ancient biblical heartland.

“This is the time for sovereignty; the time to drive stakes deep into the ground and take advantage of the window of opportunity we now have,” Barkat stated during a visit to the Barkan industrial zone in central Samaria.

The minister called on the government to expand Israeli communities in Judea and Samaria and “solidify our presence in all parts of the Land of Israel.”

“The more we act and apply sovereignty in the Judea and Samaria areas, the more we determine, for generations, the future of the State of Israel,” added Barkat, who is a member of the ruling Likud Party

Samaria Regional Council head Yossi Dagan thanked Barkat, saying, “Victory is land, victory is ensuring our hold here in Samaria, victory is sovereignty—and sovereignty is victory.”

The Samaria leader also called on the government in Jerusalem “not to miss the historic opportunity to apply sovereignty in the region.”

President Donald Trump was asked back in February to clarify his view on Israel officially annexing Judea and Samaria. At the time he said that the issue was still being discussed, and suggested that Israel had presented its case well.

Around that time, Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana (Likud) issued a similar statement stressing that full Israeli control over Judea and Samaria was the only path to true peace:

“These biblical, original parts of our land, which in the Bible tells the story of our people, are intended for us, for the people of Israel, need to be in the territory of the State of Israel, under the ownership of Israel, under full Israeli sovereignty. Today, this thing is clearer than ever.”

Romania’s Storm Troopers Raid Homes of Pro-Georgescu Alternative Media Figures

Romania’s Globalist Storm Troopers Raid Homes of Pro-Georgescu Alternative Media Figures

Robert Semonsen

Videos circulating on social media have revealed that the police in Romania’s increasingly corrupt, globalist-authoritarian state have conducted house raids on alternative media figures accused of involvement in voter bribery during Călin Georgescu’s 2024 presidential campaign.

Amid a nationwide crackdown on supporters of Călin Georgescu, Romanian police, acting under the direction of prosecutors, carried out 17 raids across the capital, Bucharest, and nine other counties on Thursday. The raids mainly targeted TikTok influencers suspected of supporting the anti-establishment candidate, according to reports from the Romanian press.

Among those raided was TikTok personality Makaveli (real name: Alexandru Virgil Zidaru), known for his anti-establishment views and connections to right-wing MEP Diana Iovanovici-Sosoaca.

Sosoaca, an MEP for SOS Romania, one of Romania’s three populist right parties, was barred from last year’s election after the Constitutional Court ruled that her anti-NATO, anti-EU rhetoric and support for closer ties with Russia were disqualifying factors.

Georgescu, a vocal critic of NATO, the EU, and aid to Ukraine, achieved an unexpected victory in the first round of last year’s election, garnering some 23% of the central-eastern European nation’s vote to the establishment’s dismay.

Celebrations were short-lived, however, as it didn’t take long for Romania’s politicized Constitutional Court to annul the results, citing funding irregularities and intelligence reports that claimed Russia had influenced the election.

To this day, no evidence of Georgescu’s wrongdoing has been revealed, yet authorities have accused social media influencers of influencing public opinion. Like MEP Diana Iovanovici-Sosoaca, Romania’s election authority has banned Georgescu from running, even though he had been leading in the polls with 44% of the first-round vote.

On Friday, the General Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had ordered the preventive arrest of businessman and TikTok influencer Bogdan Peschir, who stands accused of financing Georgescu’s campaign with hundreds of thousands of dollars in digital gifts and transfers.

More...

Online Safety Act: The truth behind one of UK’s most authoritarian pieces of legislation yet

Online Safety Act: The truth behind one of UK’s most authoritarian pieces of legislation yet

Rhoda Wilson

The Online Safety Act, which originated in 2017 after the death of 14-year-old Molly Russell, has evolved to include provisions which introduce a new criminal offence for “knowingly sending false information” that causes harm and criminalising sending “seriously threatening messages” online.  Not just for content targeting children but adults as well.

The Act also grants significant power to Ofcom, the government-approved regulator, and exempts “recognised news publishers” from fines for potentially harmful material, while independent journalists, citizen journalists and social media commentators face content restrictions.

It gives significant censorship powers to a single civil servant, Ofcom’s Melanie Dawes, and grants police chiefs the power to arrest citizens for sending “false communications” or “threatening messages” online, which has been used to restrict free speech.

The Act compromises privacy rights by forcing online platforms to deploy technology that detects and removes illegal content, even within end-to-end encrypted messages, and requires age verification for users.

Aiming to make Britain the “safest place” to be online, the paper outlined plans for a voluntary code for social media companies to tackle abuse, annual reports on harmful content and responses, and a levy on tech firms to fund awareness campaigns.

Education was also key – integrating digital literacy into school curricula for parents, children and caregivers alike.

The initial recommendations placed some burdens on social media firms but they were far from draconian. They contained some inconvenient safeguards but ones arguably needed.

Then, the tide shifted.

By April 2019, Theresa May’s Home Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport were involved, co-publishing the ‘Online Harms White Paper’. Now, with ministers citing Molly’s fate, the scope of their plans expanded.

It was here we first saw proposals of a legal obligation for companies to take reasonable steps to safeguard users from illegal content, underage exposure to legal content and – the big one – “harmful but legal content.”

The mandate was widened to seemingly include almost everything.

They also proposed the establishment of an independent regulator to oversee compliance, develop codes of practice and have the authority to impose sanctions on companies failing to meet their new rules.

This is what came into force on Monday, 17 March 2025, with technology companies needing to complete compulsory content risk assessments, showing how their algorithms downgrade certain content.

Failure to do so could result in fines of up to £18 million or 10% of their worldwide revenue.

After subsequent draftings of the bill in 2021 and legislative amendments in parliament throughout 2022, the bill, dubbed ‘The Online Safety Act’, passed through parliament and received Royal Assent in October 2023.

Campaigners successfully pressured representatives to withdraw the “harmful but legal” provision, citing its vague and subjective nature that would have no doubt had a damning effect on online speech.

It marked a solid win. But while attention fixated on the former, the government, civil service and stakeholders successfully pushed through more, let’s say, insidious clauses.

One of those was Section 179, which introduced a brand new criminal offence for “knowingly sending false information” that causes “non-trivial psychological or physical harm.”

The provision obviously intends to prevent things like cyber-bullying. What we didn’t know was that it would be used by police forces to arrest citizens for speculation.

You read that right.

The story of Bernadette “Bernie” Spofforth is a case in point.

On 29 July 2024, Bernie misidentified Southport child murderer Axel Rudakubana as Ali-Al-Shakati on X (formerly Twitter) hours after the heinous attack. About a week later, Cheshire Police arrested her for “stirring up racial hatred” and “false communications.”

More...

Soros-funded chaos:

Soros-funded chaos:

Willow Tohi

• Far-left activists, allegedly funded by George Soros and organizations like Indivisible, are escalating violent attacks on Tesla, including vandalism, arson and targeted violence, described as a campaign of domestic terrorism.
• Indivisible, a Soros-backed non-profit, is accused of organizing "Tesla takedown" protests, with ties to other far-left groups like the Democratic Socialists of America, amid a wave of attacks on Tesla facilities.
• Several suspects arrested for Tesla-related vandalism identify as transgender or nonbinary, including individuals like Justin Thomas Nelson (Lucy Grace Nelson) and Erin L. White, who have been linked to violent acts and far-left ideologies.
• U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi has labeled these attacks as domestic terrorism, with ongoing FBI and DOJ investigations aiming to hold perpetrators and their funders accountable.
• At the heart of this nationwide campaign is Indivisible, a Soros-funded non-profit that has received nearly $8 million from the billionaire’s foundation. According to anti-DEI crusader Robby Starbuck, Indivisible is orchestrating a series of “Tesla takedown” events across the country. “Over the next few days, you're going to see an organized progressive protest effort at Tesla stores put together by a group called Indivisible,” Starbuck explained. “They're calling these ‘Tesla takedown’ events, and they're doing it in the midst of a domestic terror spree targeting Tesla and Tesla owners.”

The timing of these protests is no coincidence. They come amid a wave of violent attacks on Tesla facilities, including showrooms, service centers and Supercharger networks. These incidents, which the FBI is actively investigating, have been linked to far-left groups that share Indivisible’s radical agenda. Elon Musk himself has pointed to the involvement of ActBlue-funded organizations, including Troublemakers, Disruption Project, Rise & Resist and the Democratic Socialists of America, in fueling these protests.

Starbuck minced no words in condemning the role of Soros and Indivisible in this chaos. “How can this not be seen as encouraging more violence and terrorism? I personally think that any violence occurring near locations they've chosen should result in Soros, his foundation, Indivisible, and their founders being held criminally accountable as co-conspirators.”

MORE...