Friday, 27 January 2023

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword that’s why Putin is SCARED

The Pen is Mightier than the Sword that’s why Putin is SCARED

Russia outlaws Meduza in attempt to stamp out independent news

Outlet declared ‘undesirable’, with journalists, sources and donors facing threat of prosecution

State TV broadcasting in Moscow square with image of Putin
State TV broadcasting the official line on the war in Ukraine in Moscow in September. Most of Russia’s sources of independent reporting have been outlawed. Photograph: Yuri Kochetkov/EPA

Andrew Roth in MoscowThu 26 Jan 2023 18.17 GMT

Russia has declared the news outlet Meduza an “undesirable organisation”, in effect outlawing one of the country’s best-known sources of independent reporting on the Kremlin and war in Ukraine.

Meduza, founded by Russian journalists in Riga, Latvia, in 2014, was declared an undesirable organisation by the general prosecutor’s office on Thursday for “posing a threat to the foundations of the Russian Federation’s constitutional order and national security”.

The ruling is meant to obstruct the outlet’s continued reporting on Russia, by threatening its correspondents, sources and donors with fines or criminal prosecution for continuing to produce journalism from the country.

“An especially serious limitation for journalists who must speak to sources to report the news,” Meduza said in a report on Thursday. Meduza described its work as “in [Russia], our homeland, completely prohibited”. The restrictions are so severe that even sharing links to the outlet’s reporting can be considered a crime.

In a public letter, journalists on the Russian-language outlet vowed to continue working, despite the restrictions.

“We would like to say now that we are not afraid and we do not care about the new status – but this is not so,” the letter read. “We are afraid for our readers. We are afraid for those who have been cooperating with Meduza for many years. We are afraid for our loved ones and friends.

“Nevertheless, we believe in what we are doing. We believe in freedom of speech. We believe in a democratic Russia. The stronger the pressure, the tougher we resist it.”

Meduza has already been blocked by internet censors, being declared a “foreign agent” in 2021. That in effect stripped it of local advertisers, forcing it to adopt crowdfunding to finance its journalism.

Broadcast of Russian President Vladimir Putin's annual news conference

Nonetheless, Meduza said it had grown since it had come under greater pressure. “Despite this, we continued to work. We have retained a multimillion audience inside Russia and have become the largest uncensored publication published in Russian.”

Hundreds of Russian journalists were forced to flee the country after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine last February. In an Orwellian twist, journalists and individuals who have called the bloody invasion a “war” have been targeted for prosecution or been closed down by the authorities.

Independent journalists spoke out in Meduza’s support on Thursday, calling Russia’s decision an attempt to silence one of its most important media outlets.

Proekt, an investigative outlet added to the list of “undesirable organisations” in 2021, said the decision was a recognition of the importance of Meduza’s work. “This status is given only to those whom the Russian authorities fear above all, and it means that their journalists have truly continued to do their work well,” the outlet wrote.

A TRILLION DOLLARS DOWN THE TOILET, thanks to PUTIN, and RUSSIAN lives treated the exact same way, 200,000 Russian Lives LOST all for PUTIN’s VANITY

26th Jan 2002

The Dead and The Living

              The Dead and The Living (c)

                           by

                     Michael  Casey

     I first saw a deceased when I was nine years old ,my father said  not

     to worry as the dead are the same as the living ,  only the  laughter

     has left them ,  the sparkle has gone from their eyes , the worry has

     been lifted from their shoulders ,  and their voice has vanished  to

     eternity .

     In  paradise the sparkle will return for it is the  twinkle  of  the

     stars , the laughter will return too for it is the morning breeze and

     the turning tides are their sides shaking with laughter .

     I treat the deceased with the same courtesy as I give to the living,

     though I find the deceased are always more polite .  My father also

     had a few words to say about the living .

     He said that the living are only the caretakers of the  soul  ,  yet

     they think their existence is everything , that they know everything

      because they experience many things with their senses .

      What the living don’t acknowledge is that their time is  short  and

      when I lay their bodies to rest then their souls  continue  without

      them ,  without their strong ,  without their weak ,  without  their

      beautiful or even ugly temporary form , to where I cannot say , only

      that it is a better place .

      Percy the undertaker placed the lid on the coffin ,the soul was free

                          THE  BEGINNING

 *****

from The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker by Michael Casey  (me)

my dad died in 2002, so 21 years have passed

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