Eldritch Mlems

If a social media account is spreading Russian disinformation - does sharing content from the account give it legitimacy?

No, says Carl-Oskar Bohlin, Minister for Civil Defence. But at the authority the minister is responsible for, the answer sounds different.

— In any case, you spread something that a foreign power might intend to spread to make us worried, says Mikael Östlund, press officer at the authority.

It was a year ago that Carl-Oskar Bohlin shared a tweet from the American influencer Lauren Southern, known for her far-right advocacy. The original video warned of how AI is used in influence operations, something the minister forwarded to his around 45,000 followers. "The ability and height of the impact operations risk increasing avalanche-like with disruptive technology shifts," wrote Carl-Oskar Bohlin on X.

Now, an American indictment against two Russian government employees shows that the production company Tenet media, where Lauren Southern is employed, must have been secretly financed by the Russian news agency RT. A total of just over SEK 100 million is said to have been transferred from the Russian state employees to the American company. In turn, influencers would push specific issues—such as questioning support for Ukraine—to their millions of followers. On YouTube alone, the videos have received more than 16 million views.

In light of the American indictment, Carl-Oskar Bohlin has been criticized for not checking his sources better. But the Minister of Civil Defense lets the tweet stay on X.

"For the simple reason that it is difficult to misunderstand." writes Bohlin to DN.

"One should of course refrain from spreading harmful narratives from foreign powers. However, it is a somewhat strange indictment that my warning about deepfakes and doctored videos would in itself constitute Russian disinformation. With such a threshold, it will be difficult to talk about or warn about the phenomenon at all," continues the minister.

Carl-Oskar Bohlin is responsible for the agency for psychological defence, MPF. Countering misdirection and misinformation, including rumor spreading and propaganda, is one of the agency's main missions.

In case you wonder, mr. Bohlin is from the conservative party (Moderaterna).

Borrowed from that other site...

New EU report: “Europe is stuck in a static industrial structure… [N]o EU company with a market capitalisation over EUR 100 billion that has been set up from scratch in the last fifty years, while all six US companies with a valuation above EUR 1 trillion have been created in this period.”

An Ifop poll commissioned by the French weekly Journal du Dimanche found that 52 percent of respondents said they were satisfied with newly appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier, who was named by Emmanuel Macron after two months of political deadlock. The poll, which had a margin of error of up to 3.1 points, also found that almost three out of four respondents believed the conservative prime minister would quickly be toppled by a no-confidence vote.

Here is the original YT link

Project 2025 is shot through with anti-trans ideas and draconian proposals to crack down on, not only the rights, but even the mention of LGBTQ people.

The conservative blueprint for the next Republican presidency lays out a plan that equates trans identity with pornography in a calculated attempt to classify anyone who is not straight and cis-gender as obscene, dangerous, and ultimately, illegal. The tactic falls right in line with the authors’ fixation on anything that might threaten the conservative image of what the American family should be.

The former Italian prime minister proposes "radical change" as the bloc faces aggressive competition from China and the US. Draghi touts use of controversial eurobonds; proposed plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness could entail defensive trade measures, he says.

This comic follows on from the Previous comic which will almost certainly provide context.

This is peak political strategy, we all know it.

Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the BfV, issued a warning on Monday that a cybercrime group belonging to Russian military intelligence (GRU) had been behind a number of online attacks against NATO and EU countries.

Together with US intelligence and other international partners, the BfV found that groups belonging to GRU Unit 29155 were "responsible for computer network operations against global targets for the purposes of espionage, sabotage, and reputational harm since at least 2020."

It cautioned that the unit, also known as Cadet Blizzard or Ember Bear, was behind the WhisperGate malware attacks against Ukrainian targets in January 2022, a month before Russia invaded the country.

Unit 29155 also "attacked networks in NATO member states in Europe and North America as well as countries in Latin America and Central Asia," the BfV said.

Dragonmount Press proudly announces the upcoming crowdfunding campaign for Zombie Road RPG, a groundbreaking tabletop role-playing game set in a post-apocalyptic world. The campaign will launch on Gamefound on September 10, 2024, at 3:00 PM CET.

Zombie Road RPG introduces several innovative features to the tabletop role-playing genre:

• Players assume their own identities rather than fictional characters.
• Gameplay is set in the players' real-world locations, reimagined post-apocalypse.
• The game focuses on quick, one-shot adventures instead of extended campaigns.
• A streamlined ruleset provides accessibility for newcomers while offering depth for experienced players.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LRopu2PLX8

Set more than a decade after societal collapse, Zombie Road RPG tasks players with escorting an immune individual through dangerous territories to a laboratory developing an antibody. The game incorporates unique mechanics such as a special d6 system, an endurance feature for recovering from failed rolls, and a "strigula" collection system.

Early supporters will receive exclusive benefits:

• Followers joining before September 10 will receive a free adventure module based on David A. Simpson's Zombie Road novel series.
• The first 48-hour supporters will receive an early bird package including a DIY game master board and additional game materials such as a set of unique items and several random tables.

The crowdfunding campaign will offer various support tiers, including digital and print editions, a special edition supporting WWF Hungary Foundation, and a deluxe version featuring an exclusive cover art by renowned Hungarian comic artist Krisztián Tuli.

For more information or to sign up for updates, visit: https://gamefound.com/en/projects/dragonmount-press/zombieroadrpg

One of UK's oldest nuclear waste storage silos is currently leaking radioactive liquid into the ground. That is a “recurrence of a historic leak” that Sellafield Ltd, the company that operates the site, says first started in the 1970s.

Sellafield has also faced questions about its working culture and adherence to safety rules. The company is currently awaiting sentencing after it pleaded guilty, in June, to charges related to cyber-security failings.

Two German warships are set to pass through the Taiwan Strait in the middle of this month, becoming the first German naval vessels to do so in 22 years, Der Spiegel reported on Saturday.

Media last month reported that the warships, the frigate Baden-Wuerttemberg and the replenishment ship Frankfurt am Main, were awaiting orders from Berlin to sail the Strait, prompting a rebuke to Germany from Beijing.

Reports cited unspecified sources as saying Beijing would not be formally notified of the German ships’ passage to emphasize that Berlin views the trip as normal.

[...]

While the US and other nations, including Canada, have sent warships through the Strait in the past few weeks, it would be the German Navy’s first passage since 2002.

China says it has jurisdiction over the nearly 180km-wide waterway between it and Taiwan.

[...]

The Taiwan Strait is a major trade route through which about half of global container ships pass, and both the US and Taiwan say it is an international waterway.

The commander of the German naval task group, Rear Admiral Axel Schulz, last month said that such a passage would demonstrate Germany’s commitment to a rules-based order and the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts.

“We are showing our flag here to demonstrate that we stand by our partners and friends, our commitment to the rules-based order, the peaceful solution of territorial conflicts and free and secure shipping lanes,” Schulz said at the time.

Romania and Latvia, both NATO members and supporters of Ukraine in its 2 1/2-year-old war with Russia, on Sunday were investigating instances of Russian drones that crashed after breaching their airspace, authorities in both countries said.

The incidents prompted officials to call for measures to act jointly to counter Russia air incursions.

NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoana denounced the incidents as “irresponsible and potentially dangerous”, while saying there was no indication of a deliberate attack on Alliance member-states.

The Romanian defence ministry said the “radar supervision system identified and tracked the path of a drone which entered national airspace and then exited towards Ukraine”.

[...]

In Latvia, which borders both Russia and its close ally Belarus, President Edgars Rinkevics posted on social media platform X that his government sought a common NATO response.

“The number of such incidents is increasing along the Eastern flank of NATO and we must address them collectively,” Rinkevics wrote.

[...]

“There weren’t serious issues on the ground,” Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu told reporters on Sunday after consulting with the defence minister.

“(Attacks) will continue. That is it, we have a war on the border.”