99
New York Times
Soviet Author's Humor Has a Bitter Aftertaste
By Richard Bernstein
Nov. 28, 1989
November 28, 1989, Section C, Page 19
Vladimir Voinovich, standing a bit uncomfortably in front of a camera, gently reprimanded himself for smiling. Satirists should be gloomy, he murmured in his Russian-accented English. Gogol, he said, his smile disappearing, was gloomy.
Mr. Voinovich is not gloomy. Indeed, he is amiable, self-effacing and good-humored, a bit like the discreet narrators of his sharp and funny novels of life in the Soviet Union, novels like The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin, which first brought him success in the West.
Mr. Voinovich was in New York for a couple of days recently to promote his latest book, The Fur Hat, which seems likely to enhance the Soviet author's reputation for satire.
Yet he says he never particularly wanted to be a satirist. He wanted merely to describe society as it was, he said, going on to describe his discovery of the obvious: that realism and satire are one and the same. In any case, gloomy or not, he has emerged among the most celebrated contemporary incarnations of Gogol, whose dead souls seem like precursors of the hypocrites and cynics that populate Mr. Voinovich's farcical, comedic pages. All Too Human
Mr. Voinovich's Fur Hat, translated from the Russian by Susan Brownsberger and published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, is, like his Ivan Chonkin, funny, seemingly lighthearted, insouciant, its characters not so much cruel or monstrous as all too humanly selfish, incompetent, solipsistic.
Then the bitterness begins to seep upward. Mr. Voinovich pours a sweetish liquor laced with a caustic grit that sticks in the throat.
It's very interesting: Russians and Americans read my books in very different ways, Mr. Voinovich said in an interview during his New York visit. Americans usually say they are funny. Russians say, yes, they are very gloomy, dark.
In 1975, he said, evoking a painful period in his own life when, as an outspoken advocate of human rights, he was subjected to police harassment, I was poisoned by the K.G.B. It was a terrible story and I wrote it. I met an American editor and she told me, 'Oh, I read the story about how you were poisoned by the K.G.B.,' and I asked her, 'What do you think about it?' She said, 'Oh, it's very funny,' but I didn't consider it to be a funny story.
I believed, and not only I, other Russian satirists believed, that we were not satirists, Mr. Voinovich said. When I first started publishing prose, the critics said, 'Voinovich uses a method that is very alien to us, depicting reality as it is.' Mr. Voinovich laughed at the absurdity of that remark.
I say now that Soviet reality is a satirical reality. For example, he said of his latest novel, it's a real story. You can consider it without any exaggerations. Based on Actual Incident
In fact, The Fur Hat does include some exaggeration, like the lunatic anti-Semitic writer who believes that in order to save himself he has to join forces with what he sees as the Yiddish Masonic conspiracy. Nonetheless, Mr. Voinovich says, the main incident in the book - a decision by the Soviet writers' association to offer all of its members' winter hats - did take place, and with many of the consequences described with hilarity in the novel.
The problem is that not everybody warrants the same type of hat. There are gradations of fur, from reindeer fawn at the top of the scale to fluffy tomcat at the bottom. The story tells how the Jewish writer Yefim Rakhlin strives, with ever-intensifying desperation, to upgrade himself from tomcat to at least rabbit, if not something better.
Along the way, Rakhlin has dealings with the likes of Karetnikof, the head of the Moscow Writers' Association, who holds his ears and bangs his head against the wall to show, in private, his utter loathing for the state, the same state that he serves with selfless public devotion, gaining in return such rewards as a reindeer fawn hat.
He is a typical functionary in Soviet society, Mr. Voinovich said. They hate the system but they are slaves of the same system. Began as a Poet
Mr. Voinovich, though not a slave of the system, is, as his novels show, well informed about it. He was born in 1932 in the central Asian republic of Tadzhikistan, served four years in the Soviet army in Poland, and then, embarking on his literary career, began writing poetry about the experience.
None of it was published, but in the mid-1950's during a post-Stalin thaw, he published stories in the magazine Novy Mir and wrote songs in collaboration with Oskar Feltsman, the father of the pianist Vladimir Feltsman who emigrated to the United States two years ago. Some of the songs, which include the Soviet astronauts' anthem, became very famous, and so did Mr. Voinovich.
In the late 1950's, he got the idea for The Life and Extraordinary Adventures of Private Ivan Chonkin. He overheard a woman on the street telling another person about her absent husband, who, she said, was an army colonel. Mr. Voinovich perceived delusion.
There were many women who, because of the war, had lost their dream of getting married and having a happy family, he said. I realized that this woman was that kind and so I went home and wrote a short story about a woman with imagination who dreamed about her husband who was not really her husband. She tells stories about him and how he was, and that he was a soldier during the war. She wrote letters to herself from him. And in her letters he was awarded high Soviet medals and became a Hero of the Soviet Union.
Then I thought for a very long time, maybe a year, who could be her hero, he said. Of course, it had to be somebody very different from the hero of her imagination. Mr. Voinovich remembered a certain Chonkin, a drunken Soviet soldier whom he had known in Poland. The real Chonkin died in a hunting accident. He became the imperishable Chonkin of Mr. Voinovich's first book - which was banned in the author's own country. Moved to West Germany
Mr. Voinovich, having become active in the human-rights movement, was warned by an agent of the state security system in 1980 that the Soviet people had run out of patience with him. If he stayed, he was told, the situation will become unbearable. He accepted an invitation to join the faculty of the Institute of Fine Arts in Munich, West Germany, where he still lives. But given the new thaw under Mikhail S. Gorbachev, he has since been back home for a visit. His Ivan Chonkin is being published in the Soviet Union.
Given the changes in his native land, a reasonable question was whether his satires, in which the Soviet dictatorship is so deftly targeted, have become obsolete, whether the society he lampooned is rapidly passing from existence.
Mr. Voinovich's answer reflects very little optimism. He likens his country to a bus taking passengers from a mountain, where they have eaten all the food, to a valley where they may find new provisions. The bus has a faulty motor, the brakes work badly, and the passengers are competing with one another for control over the wheel.
The Soviet Union has only a little chance to be successful in this process and a great chance to fall into disaster, he said.
In short, Mr. Voinovich added, nobody can know what will happen. But in his satiric Moscow 2042, his first book written in exile, he imagines the future of the Soviet Union.
In my novel, he said, Communism is dead. The system is completely new, but the new system is really the same system under a different flag. I'm afraid that is the real future of the Soviet system.
| [ e] |
| text |
| e |
|
The definitive guide to the differences between Russians and Americans - 2nd edition
|
7 American "Whistle-blower" laws*
As a whistle blower today.
- Questions I ask myself:
- What is a whist-blower?
- Who is a traitor?
'At its very core, these two labels are really restrictions on free speech.'
The next thing is going to shock you
- freedom do we have more freedom in Russia than you do in America?
- Do you have the freedom of speech saying that you don't want to serve the gay person, do you have the freedom to say what you feel about dating and women?
- Do you have the freedom to share how you feel about many of the deep culture war issues in America?
- There is no political correctness in Russia. ** There are no snowflakes. Freedom of speech is quite restricted in America. Join us in Russia and see for yourself.
Snowflake (slang): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowflake_(slang)
One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist[1]
Contents
[hide]- 1 1. Espionage Act
- 2 2. Sedition Act of 1918
- 3 3. 18 U.S. Code § 793(e)
- 4 List of Whistle-blowers
- 5 End WikiLeaks video: 'Collateral murder' in Iraq
- 6 Notes
- 7 Wikipedia articles I wrote
- 8 Spy articles
- 9 Spy book
- 10 https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/2er2tt/rpging_the_cold_war/
- 11 dungeon and dragons
- 12 spy mision russia game
- 12.1 Send a free fax
- 12.2 Copy cyrillic webpage names
- 12.3 Calendar
- 12.4 VPN
- 12.5 Download programs
- 12.6 windows 10 change mouse visible
- 12.7 Desktop programs downloaded and installed
- 12.8 Firefox Need to get rid of "ImportEnterpriseRoots" Certificate
- 12.9 Telegram
- 12.10 upload video anonymously drag and drop
- 12.11 VLC MEDIA PLAYER
- 12.12 ActivePresenter
- 12.13 Bulk converting audio files into one
- 12.14 Reset password Change or reset your Windows password
- 12.15 Download youtube videos in bulk
- 12.16 how to burn a disk
- 12.17 HP INK TANK WIRELESS
- 12.18 Download whatsapp messages in bulk batch
- 12.19 Download all whatsapp contacts in a whatsapp group video
- 12.20 Shortcuts for chrome webpages
- 12.21 subtitles and closed caption freeware
- 12.22 Transfer import facebook to vk
- 12.23 Convert audio m4a to video
- 12.24 kdenlive: crop a video
- 12.25 merge 2 videos online
- 12.26 Quotes background maker
- 12.27 Delete portions of a page for printing
- 12.28 wifi
- 12.29 Change Rename Batch Files and Folders in Windows
- 12.30 How to set a default Folder View for all folders in Windows 11/10
- 12.31 Sections in a taskbar
- 12.32 Unpin a program on the taskbar
- 12.33 QUICK LAUNCH open folder
- 12.34 show blue links instead of { HYPERLINK link } in a document Word
- 12.35 YOUTUBE Add more channels to YouTube
- 12.36 Screenshot program for laptop
- 12.37 HOW TO GET FILE NAMES FOR ALL FILES IN A FOLDER
- 12.38 SSL certificate
- 12.39 Recording voice "on the fly"
- 12.40 To sort
- 12.41 External links
- 12.42 Notes
- 12.42.1 Introduction
- 12.42.2 The Values Americans Live By
- 12.42.2.1 1. Personal Control over the Environment
- 12.42.2.2 2. Change Seen as Natural and Positive
- 12.42.2.3 3. Time and Its Control
- 12.42.2.4 4. Equality and Fairness
- 12.42.2.5 5. Individualism and Privacy
- 12.42.2.6 6. Self-Help/Initiative
- 12.42.2.7 7. Competition and Free Enterprise
- 12.42.2.8 8. Future Orientation
- 12.42.2.9 9. Action/Work Orientation
- 12.42.2.10 10. Informality
- 12.42.2.11 11. Directness/Openness/Honesty
- 12.42.2.12 12. Practicality/Efficiency
- 12.42.2.13 13. Materialism/Acquisitiveness
- 12.42.3 Summary
- 12.42.4 Application
- 12.43 Origin
- 12.44 Organizers
- 12.45 Offices
- 12.46 Work organization
- 12.47 Trolling themes
- 12.48 Organized anti-Ukrainian campaign
- 12.49 Reactions
- 12.50 Assessments
- 12.51 Additional activities of organizers
- 12.52 Lawsuit
- 12.53 Indictments
- 12.54 Timeline of the Internet Research Agency interference in United States elections
- 12.55 Notes
- 12.56 See also
- 12.57 References
- 12.58 Further reading
- 12.59 External links
1. Espionage Act
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage_Act_of_1917
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law passed on June 15, 1917, shortly after the U.S. entry into World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code (War) but is now found under Title 18, Crime. Specifically, it is 18 U.S.C. ch. 37 (18 U.S.C. § 792 et seq.)
It was intended to prohibit interference with military operations or recruitment, to prevent insubordination in the military, and to prevent the support of United States enemies during wartime. In 1919, the Supreme Court of the United States unanimously ruled through Schenck v. United States that the act did not violate the freedom of speech of those convicted under its provisions. The constitutionality of the law, its relationship to free speech, and the meaning of its language have been contested in court ever since.
Among those charged with offenses under the Act are German-American socialist congressman and newspaper editor Victor L. Berger, labor leader and five-time Socialist Party of America candidate, Eugene V. Debs, anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, former Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society president Joseph Franklin Rutherford, communists Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, Cablegate whistleblower Chelsea Manning, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, Defense Intelligence Agency employee Henry Kyle Frese, and National Security Agency (NSA) contractor and whistleblower Edward Snowden. Rutherford's conviction was overturned on appeal.[1] Although the most controversial sections of the Act, a set of amendments commonly called the Sedition Act of 1918, were repealed on March 3, 1921, the original Espionage Act was left intact.[2]
Shouting fire in a crowded theater
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shouting_fire_in_a_crowded_theater
"Shouting fire in a crowded theater" is a popular metaphor for speech or actions made for the principal purpose of creating panic. The phrase is a paraphrasing of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.'s opinion in the United States Supreme Court case Schenck v. United States in 1919, which held that the defendant's speech in opposition to the draft during World War I was not protected free speech under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
Eugene V. Debs
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debs_v._United_States
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
The trial of the Rosenbergs and Sobell on federal espionage charges began on March 6, 1951, in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. Judge Irving Kaufman presided over the trial, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Irving Saypol leading the prosecution and criminal defense lawyer Emmanuel Bloch representing the Rosenbergs.[24][25] The prosecution's primary witness, David Greenglass, said that he turned over to Julius Rosenberg a sketch of the cross-section of an implosion-type atom bomb. This was the "Fat Man" bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, as opposed to a bomb with the "gun method" triggering device used in the "Little Boy" bomb dropped on Hiroshima.[26] He also testified that his sister Ethel Rosenberg typed notes containing US nuclear secrets in the Rosenberg apartment in September 1945.
The Rosenbergs both remained defiant as the trial progressed. During testimony, they asserted their right under the US Constitution's Fifth Amendment not to incriminate themselves when asked about their involvement in the Communist Party or their activities with its members.
On March 29, 1951, the Rosenbergs were convicted of espionage. They were sentenced to death on April 5 under Section 2 of the Espionage Act of 1917,[27] which provides that anyone convicted of transmitting or attempting to transmit to a foreign government "information relating to the national defense" may be imprisoned for life or put to death.[28]
2. Sedition Act of 1918
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedition_Act_of_1918
The Sedition Act of 1918 (Pub.L. 65–150, 40 Stat. 553, enacted May 16, 1918) was an Act of the United States Congress that extended the Espionage Act of 1917 to cover a broader range of offenses, notably speech and the expression of opinion that cast the government or the war effort in a negative light or interfered with the sale of government bonds.[1]
It forbade the use of "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, its flag, or its armed forces or that caused others to view the American government or its institutions with contempt. Those convicted under the act generally received sentences of imprisonment for five to 20 years.[2] The act also allowed the Postmaster General to refuse to deliver mail that met those same standards for punishable speech or opinion. It applied only to times "when the United States is in war." The U.S. was in a declared state of war at the time of passage, the First World War.[3] The law was repealed on December 13, 1920.[4]
Though the legislation enacted in 1918 is commonly called the Sedition Act, it was actually a set of amendments to the Espionage Act.[5] Therefore, many studies of the Espionage Act and the Sedition Act find it difficult to report on the two "acts" separately. For example, one historian reports that "some fifteen hundred prosecutions were carried out under the Espionage and Sedition Acts, resulting in more than a thousand convictions."[6] Court decisions do not use the shorthand term Sedition Act, but the correct legal term for the law, the Espionage Act, whether as originally enacted or as amended in 1918.
3. 18 U.S. Code § 793(e)
Criminal charge 18 U.S. Code § 793(e) – Gathering, transmitting or losing national defense information
Criminal penalty Five years and three months in prison
Criminal status Convicted upon guilty-plea
Military career
18 U.S. Code § 793.Gathering, transmitting or losing defense information
U.S. Code
The code
|
(a)Whoever, for the purpose of obtaining information respecting the national defense with intent or reason to believe that the information is to be used to the injury of the United States, or to the advantage of any foreign nation, goes upon, enters, flies over, or otherwise obtains information concerning any vessel, aircraft, work of defense, navy yard, naval station, submarine base, fueling station, fort, battery, torpedo station, dockyard, canal, railroad, arsenal, camp, factory, mine, telegraph, telephone, wireless, or signal station, building, office, research laboratory or station or other place connected with the national defense owned or constructed, or in progress of construction by the United States or under the control of the United States, or of any of its officers, departments, or agencies, or within the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, or any place in which any vessel, aircraft, arms, munitions, or other materials or instruments for use in time of war are being made, prepared, repaired, stored, or are the subject of research or development, under any contract or agreement with the United States, or any department or agency thereof, or with any person on behalf of the United States, or otherwise on behalf of the United States, or any prohibited place so designated by the President by proclamation in time of war or in case of national emergency in which anything for the use of the Army, Navy, or Air Force is being prepared or constructed or stored, information as to which prohibited place the President has determined would be prejudicial to the national defense; or (b)Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, and with like intent or reason to believe, copies, takes, makes, or obtains, or attempts to copy, take, make, or obtain, any sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, document, writing, or note of anything connected with the national defense; or (c)Whoever, for the purpose aforesaid, receives or obtains or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain from any person, or from any source whatever, any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note, of anything connected with the national defense, knowing or having reason to believe, at the time he receives or obtains, or agrees or attempts to receive or obtain it, that it has been or will be obtained, taken, made, or disposed of by any person contrary to the provisions of this chapter; or (d)Whoever, lawfully having possession of, access to, control over, or being entrusted with any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it on demand to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or (e)Whoever having unauthorized possession of, access to, or control over any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, or note relating to the national defense, or information relating to the national defense which information the possessor has reason to believe could be used to the injury of the United States or to the advantage of any foreign nation, willfully communicates, delivers, transmits or causes to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted, or attempts to communicate, deliver, transmit or cause to be communicated, delivered, or transmitted the same to any person not entitled to receive it, or willfully retains the same and fails to deliver it to the officer or employee of the United States entitled to receive it; or (f)Whoever, being entrusted with or having lawful possession or control of any document, writing, code book, signal book, sketch, photograph, photographic negative, blueprint, plan, map, model, instrument, appliance, note, or information, relating to the national defense, (1) through gross negligence permits the same to be removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of his trust, or to be lost, stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, or (2) having knowledge that the same has been illegally removed from its proper place of custody or delivered to anyone in violation of its trust, or lost, or stolen, abstracted, or destroyed, and fails to make prompt report of such loss, theft, abstraction, or destruction to his superior officer— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. (g)If two or more persons conspire to violate any of the foregoing provisions of this section, and one or more of such persons do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be subject to the punishment provided for the offense which is the object of such conspiracy. (h) (1)Any person convicted of a violation of this section shall forfeit to the United States, irrespective of any provision of State law, any property constituting, or derived from, any proceeds the person obtained, directly or indirectly, from any foreign government, or any faction or party or military or naval force within a foreign country, whether recognized or unrecognized by the United States, as the result of such violation. For the purposes of this subsection, the term “State” includes a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, and any commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States. (2)The court, in imposing sentence on a defendant for a conviction of a violation of this section, shall order that the defendant forfeit to the United States all property described in paragraph (1) of this subsection. (3)The provisions of subsections (b), (c), and (e) through (p) of section 413 of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (21 U.S.C. 853(b), (c), and (e)–(p)) shall apply to— (A)property subject to forfeiture under this subsection; (B)any seizure or disposition of such property; and (C)any administrative or judicial proceeding in relation to such property, if not inconsistent with this subsection.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 645, 62 Stat. 736; Sept. 23, 1950, ch. 1024, title I, § 18, 64 Stat. 1003; Pub. L. 99–399, title XIII, § 1306(a), Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 898; Pub. L. 103–322, title XXXIII, § 330016(1)(L), Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 2147; Pub. L. 103–359, title VIII, § 804(b)(1), Oct. 14, 1994, 108 Stat. 3440; Pub. L. 104–294, title VI, § 607(b), Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3511.) |
Robert Hanssen
He was charged with selling U.S. intelligence documents to the Soviet Union and subsequently Russia for more than $1.4 million in cash and diamonds over a 22-year period.[5]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Hanssen
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Team_B
https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Team_B&dir=prev&action=history 07:04, 5 December 2005 - 15 years ago.
Anti-Submarine Warfare: The report argued that despite the NIE's assessment in its 10-year forecast that the Soviet Navy was not aggressively developing more accurate ASW detection tools and would not be able to deploy new more advanced ASW capabilities in the next 10 years, the evidence in the NIE suggested that they had significantly ramped up ASW R&D, including non acoustic methods of detection. The report cautioned that to determine the real extent of Soviet ASW development would require significantly more research and access to classified materials, as the US Navy would not release its data to either Team B, or the CIA, they stressed that the probability of advanced Soviet ASW research was greater than zero, as the NIE implied it was.[31]
Reality Winner
Chelsea/Bradley Manning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eLocrnmVy0
U.S. Army intelligence analyst who released the largest set of classified documents ever, mostly published by WikiLeaks and their media partners. The material included videos of the July 12, 2007, Baghdad airstrike and the 2009 Granai airstrike in Afghanistan; 250,000 United States diplomatic cables; and 500,000 army reports that came to be known as the Iraq War logs and Afghan War logs.[198] Manning was convicted of violating the Espionage Act and other offenses and sentenced to 35 years in prison.[199]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Manning
United States v. Manning was the court-martial of former United States Army Private First Class Bradley E. Manning,[1] known now as Chelsea Manning.[2]
After serving in Iraq since October 2009, Manning was arrested in May 2010 after Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker in the United States, indirectly informed the Army's Criminal Investigation Command that Manning had acknowledged passing classified material to the whistleblower website, WikiLeaks.[3] Manning was ultimately charged with 22 specified offenses, including communicating national defense information to an unauthorized source, and the most serious of the charges, aiding the enemy.[1] Other charges included violations of the Espionage Act, stealing U.S. government property, charges under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act and charges related to the failure to obey lawful general orders under Article 92 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Manning entered guilty pleas to 10 of 22 specified offenses in February 2013.[4]
The trial on the 12 remaining charges began on June 3, 2013.[5] It went to the judge on July 26, 2013, and findings were rendered on July 30.[6][7] Manning was acquitted of the most serious charge, that of aiding the enemy, for giving secrets to WikiLeaks. In addition to five[8][9][10] or six[11][12][13] espionage counts, Manning was also found guilty of five theft specifications, two computer fraud specifications and multiple military infractions.[14]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_Manning
Chelsea Elizabeth Manning[4] (born Bradley Edward Manning, December 17, 1987) is an American activist and whistleblower.[5][6][7] She is a former United States Army soldier who was convicted by court-martial in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses, after disclosing to WikiLeaks nearly 750,000 classified, or unclassified but sensitive, military and diplomatic documents.[8] She was imprisoned from 2010 until 2017 when her sentence was commuted.[9] Manning is currently in jail for her continued refusal to testify before a grand jury against Julian Assange.[10][11][12][13] A trans woman, Manning released a statement in 2013 explaining she had a female gender identity since childhood and wanted to be known as Chelsea Manning. She also expressed a desire to begin hormone replacement therapy.[14]
Edward Snowden
https://apps.washingtonpost.com/g/documents/world/us-vs-edward-j-snowden-criminal-complaint/496/
List of Whistle-blowers
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_imprisoned_spies
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_whistleblowers
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_surveillance_disclosures_(2013%E2%80%93present)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_spies
End WikiLeaks video: 'Collateral murder' in Iraq
WikiLeaks video: 'Collateral murder' in Iraq
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYTxuW2vmzk
Notes
 |
This section is in the process of an expansion or major restructuring.
This page was last edited by Admin today. |
I have never claimed to be a spy.
https://www.united-citizens.org/spy-vs-whistle-blower.html
= COMPARE a WhistleBlower to a REAL SPY, which the media do not help to do. =
| WHISTLE BLOWER - | SPY FOR ENEMY - |
| Informs Citizens of Wrong Doing or Crimes in Government | Works solely for Enemy to help the enemy |
| Goes to Authorities (unless corrupt) or to Best Independent NEWS MEDIA and Requires discretion to NOT release that which is actually harmful to the country. | Works quietly for years giving secrets specifically to harm the Country spied-upon |
| Evidence of Government Wrong-Doing Shows Actual Wrong-doing: Acts outside of authority invading rights of Citizens and Waste, Misuse of Resources | Provides weaknesses and strengths of military |
| GETS NOTHING but Criticism, possible jail and Risks Everything For the People to warn them like Paul Revere and the Framers who warned you about Tyrants seeking power | GETS PAID - Something plenty in return usually hundreds of thousands of dollars in secret account, and gets protection, whisked away if suspected , to the foreign country BY that country (or killed). |
| Takes measures to keep the information from falling into hands of enemies of their country, such as Encryption and placement out of reach of others, hidden, sequestered. | Outright gives all the available secret information to the Enemy. |
| Asks INDEPENDENT News Journalists to study and Inquire of the Agency what specific parts are vital or harms would come from each specific release (of portion) (ie: NOT all the information is released, only that which informs Citizens | NO limit in releases, and certainly no cautious release, and none to journalists. |
| Collects only enough to inform the Media Journalists of the seriousness of the misconduct and its over-breadth (and may keep some back on a "deadman wire" to protect themselves) | Collects all they can and sends it all to the enemy. |
| Finds and rather promptly reports to Journalist or Authority (if not corrupt) | Continues for as long as possible, years or decades as long as they can get away with it. |
- See also Books and Chase/Books.
https://www.npr.org/2020/02/18/807117897/russians-among-us-author-on-actual-russian-spycraft
Wikipedia articles I wrote
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexpionage
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arrest_of_Mark_Kaminsky_and_Harvey_Bennett
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recruitment_of_spies
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glenn_Michael_Souther
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honeypots_in_espionage_fiction
Spy articles
Spy book
| KGB | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Billion Dollar Spy: A True Story of Cold War Espionage and Betrayal | David E. Hoffman | Story of a spy who cracked open the Soviet military research establishment. Portrait of the CIA’s Moscow station, in the last years of the Cold War | |
| Blowing Up Russia: Terror from Within | Yuri Felshtinsky | ||
| Farewell: The Greatest Spy Story of the Twentieth Century | Sergei Kostin | A mid-level KGB officer who was also a spy for the French intelligence service. During the years 1981-82, Vetrov, code-named "Farewell" by his French handlers, gave the French thousands of pages of highly classified documents containing many of the Soviet Union's most closely guarded secrets. The government of France shared this information with its allies. | |
| New Nobility: The Restoration of the KGB | Andrei Soldatov | ||
| Red Web: The Struggle Between Russia's Digital Dictators and the New Online Revolutionaries | Andrei Soldatov | ||
| Spy Handler: Memoir of a KGB Officer: The True Story of the Man Who Recruited Robert Hanssen and Aldrich Ames | Victor Cherkashin | ||
| The Sword and the Shield: The Mitrokhin Archive and the Secret History of the KGB | Christopher Andrew | ||
| The Interloper | Lee Harvard Oswald in the Soviet Union | ||
| CIA | |||
| Cultural cold war the CIA and the World of Arts and Letters | |||
| Left of Boom: How a Young CIA | |||
| Legacy of Ashes: The History of the CIA | |||
| Mormon Spies: Hughes and the CIA | |||
| Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception | |||
- Spy-related roleplaying systems https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/2er2tt/rpging_the_cold_war/
- CAMPAIGNS HUGE http://www.waynesbooks.com/TopSecretSI.html (paid)
- TSAC6: Covert Operations Sourcebook Vol. 2 | RPG Item https://www.boardgamegeek.com/rpgitem/53971/covert-operations-sourcebook-vol-2
Covert Operations Sourcebook, Vol. 2 (TSAC6) "...Like the first Covert Operations Source Book, this second volume starts off with the detailed inner workings of today's real-life spy agencies, including Russia's GRU (military intelligence), Israel's Mossad, and the espionage arms of East Germany, West Germany, Bulgaria, Poland, and more. Learn about the foundings of these organizations, their histories, their leaders and personnel, their methods, and their division of responsibilities... [This book] also contains real-life case histories of spies and covert operations all over the globe. The case histories of these people and their activities are not only fascinating reading, but they give the ... Administrator a glimpse into the inner workings of espionage as it is practiced all over the world..."
1988 ... John Prados ... 96 pages ... TSR 7632 ... ISBN 0880386169
https://yandex.ru/search/?text=%22Top%20Secret%22%20%2F%20SSI%20by%20%22TSR%22%20pdf&lr=213
https://www.reddit.com/r/rpg/comments/2er2tt/rpging_the_cold_war/
Posted byu/Shellout 6 years ago RPG-ing the cold war Working on a Spy-game starting in the early 70s during the height of the cold war. I have miniatures and am building scenery. So far we have played one campaign of my own building, but I was wondering if anyone else on this community had any story hooks/campaigns they want to share? If not are there people looking to colaborate and collect some together? I have been pointed in the direction of the 'spycraft 60s sourcebook' but reading most reviews, its not the best.
anyone able to help?
EDIT: thank you everyone for your responces. As always you are the most responsive and helpful subreddit I have in my list. On the phone at the moment so I will properly reply to your comments in the next few days. You have all given me some cool stuff to scheme through. Thanks
7 Comments
Share
Save
Hide
Report 76% Upvoted This thread is archived New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast
Sort By: Best
User avatar level 1 ashlykos · 6y If you want to focus on the psychological aspects of spying during the Cold War, in the vein of John LeCarre rather than James Bond, check out Spione
3
Share Report Save
User avatar level 1 SenseiZarn · 6y · edited 6y Spy-related roleplaying systems
Though I'll start out by mentioning systems, all of the systems I'll mention have a fairly rich background that can be mined for hooks. If you don't think of any hooks by yourself, you might just start watching TV-shows - the more cheesy the better - for plot hooks.
Top Secret / SSI by TSR has already been mentioned. Obviously, the James Bond RPG system should be a shoe-in.
Another system (and setting info) that might pique your interest might be SpyCraft. I've always considered SpyCraft to be the predecessor to d20 Modern, but SpyCraft aims to be a sort of modern successor to Top Secret / SSI.
For more slightly modern age systems and settings, try Millennium's End, Twilight 2000 (or its non-apocalyptic spinoff, Merc 2000), or RoleMaster's Black Ops book for background. You might also consider Leverage, both the tv show and the RPG based on the show using a more generic system.
Inspiration from other sources
Any technothriller or spy movie should work fine. Depending on how silly you want to get, the Man from U.N.C.L.E might work for you, as could the Six-Million Dollar Man, A-Team, or Mission: Impossible. Basically, the tone of your campaign should determine your inspirations or where you should mine for hooks. Even MacGyver and his Phoenix Foundation can be a good fit.
Heck, you might even fit in low-level superpowers if you consider something like Mutant X or The Champions.
If you want to have a more military style campaign (think the Pro from Dover), you might want to consider The Unit, Flashpoint, Airwolf, or perhaps the 24 franchise.
If you want to get really silly, consider Get Smart, Archer, Chuck, Middleman, Burn Notice, The Dream Team, or even Secret Agent Man. More serious series might be Alias, Nikita, or perhaps Hunted or The Equalizer. Oddly enough, V.I.P. might be a good inspiration as well.
A sort of middle ground might be The Saint, The Persuaders, Secret Agent / Danger Man or The Avengers.
2
Share Report Save
User avatar level 1 blacksheepcannibal · 6y Make sure you're okay with the mood and theme that really fits in well with the cold war - Paranoia, Patriotism, and Oh God Don't Push The Red Button. If the players make too many big waves, somebody fires ze missiles (with or without nap) and everything glows in the dark for the next 60 million years. Also, both sides think the other side is A: ridiculously powerful and capable of developing crazy advanced technology that will render defenses useless, B: Absolutely bloodthirsty, and C: Absolutely and inherently evil.
There is a lot of material to mine for in there for some awesome mood and theme stuff, although it's not something a ton of people these days really think about.
If I ever do this (and I really want to) I want to get a big counter with an arrow, going from DEFCON 5 down to DEFCON 1 (with DEFCON 1 being an immediate end to the campaign). That way whenever the players start doing crazy shite, I can start reaching towards the arrow...
2
Share Report Save
User avatar level 1 Addicted2aa · 6y NH-603 A free scenario http://www.gregstolze.com/adirtyworld/DangersFrat.pdf The PC's for the scenario http://www.gregstolze.com/adirtyworld/DangersFratPCs.pdf
1
Share Report Save
User avatar level 1 locolarue · 6y · edited 6y Top Secret is the RPG you're looking for.
Really, you can easily make up scenarios if the PCs are working for a government of some kind.
-Confirm this individual is/is not an enemy agent.
-Turn this traitor from our organization into a double agent. If you can't, kill him.
-Pilfer the stolen information back from this enemy agent.
-The enemy is testing a new piece of technology in this proxy war. Obtain a sample of it for testing and evaluation.
-A cause hostile to our interests is gaining support in a third world country. Ensure they do not topple the friendly dictator we've put in power.
-A third party may be considering joining a proxy war, which may tip the balance against us. Ensure they stay out.
-We've been conducting weapons testing we shouldn't have. Recover the weapon and kill anyone who knows about it, before the enemy exposes our wrongdoing.
-We think someone has been blackmailing our soldiers for valuable war information while they're on leave in a friendly city outside the war zone. Find out who's doing it and stop them.
And of course, a classic:
-Find out why a high-ranking officer of ours recently resigned, specifically, if he intends to defect.
1
Share Report Save
User avatar level 1 TheBeardedGM · 6y northern VA USA I know of a Call of Cthulhu sourcebook for the 1950s, and there is a GURPS 3rd edition book called Atomic Horror which is about the cold war era, though it looks primarily at the B-horror films of the time.
1
Share Report Save
User avatar level 2 locolarue · 6y With Gurps, I'd suggest Mysteries, Tactical Shooting, Social Engineering, and High Tech. Mysteries and Social Engineering cover the spy stuff, Tactical Shooting makes sure the PCs try and avoid open violence, and High-Tech gives you all the gadgets and firepower--bugs, scuba gear, codes, metal detectors, radios, microphones, computers, phone taps, poisons, pistols, explosives, SMGs, and heavier weapons.
1
Share Report Save
dungeon and dragons
https://yandex.ru/search/?text=monster%20manual%20d%20and%20d%20english&lr=213
spy mision russia game
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1219940/US_Spy_Mission_in_Russia/
https://store.steampowered.com/checkout/?purchasetype=self&snr=1_8_4__503 Stanislav Stanislav Igorevich Zaluzhsky
- REDIRECT Interview materials with a hostile American - June 21 2020 Saturday
- REDIRECT Follow-up after an interview with a hostile American - June 21 2020 Saturday
WHY DON'T RUSSIANS SMILE?
The definitive guide to the differences between Russians and Americans.
This guide will help Americans understand Russians better then Russians themselves.
Soberly viewed, there is little possibility that enough Americans will ever accomplish any general understanding of Russia. It would require a measure of intellectual humility and a readiness to reserve judgment which few of us are of us would be capable. Americans, individually and collectively, will continue to wander about in the maze of contradiction and the confusion which is Russia, with feelings not dissimilar to those of Alice in Wonderland, and with scarcely greater effectiveness.
He will be alternately repelled or attracted by one astonishing phenomenon after another, until he finally succumbs to one or the other of the forces involved or until, dimly apprehending the depth of his confusion he flees the field in horror.
Distance, necessity, self-interest, and common-sense may enable Americans, thank God, to continue that precarious and troubled but peaceful co-existence which we have managed to lead with the Russians up to this time. But if so, it will not be due to any understanding on our part.
,
- REDIRECTTraitor codes
Send a free fax
https://www.lifewire.com/free-fax-services-2378048
Copy cyrillic webpage names
https://www.webatic.com/url-convertor
Calendar
https://www.calendarpedia.com/calendars/october-2022-calendar.html
VPN
|
FREE VPN for Windows PC Download in 2021 - BETTERNET.co - entire internet |
- TOMSGUIDE https://www.tomsguide.com/best-picks/best-free-vpn - excellent
- Proton VPN Free - 10GB of unrestricted data run out very slow pace of 1Mbps. 12 locations in 9 countries. https://signup.privadovpn.com/best-free-vpn
- Privado VPN
- Windscribe
- Atlas VPN
- Hide.me
- Hotspot Shield Basic
Download programs
- CNET excellent! https://download.cnet.com
windows 10 change mouse visible
Make your mouse more visible by changing the color and size of the mouse pointer.
Start button
Settings >
Ease of Access >
Cursor & pointer , and
choose the options that work best for you.
Desktop programs downloaded and installed
Programs downloaded
- Active Presenter -
- AnyMP4 Studio - Paid
- Audacity - Free open source - https://www.audacityteam.org/
- Badicut - Bandicut Video Cutter, Joiner and Splitter Software - Bandicam https://www.bandicam.com/bandicut-video-cutter
- FalshIntegro - https://www.videosoftdev.com/about-us
- VSDC Free Audio Converter - https://www.videosoftdev.com/free-audio-converter
- Freemake -
- LabView -
- Lightshot - https://app.prntscr.com/en screenshot program
- ShareX -
- smart Notebook -
- WeChat -
- VLC Media player
- Free Cam 8 - WMV file only (cannot be uploaded needs to be converted first) - https://www.freescreenrecording.com
Bulk rename utility Bulk file rename utility
Firefox Need to get rid of "ImportEnterpriseRoots" Certificate
https://www.reddit.com/r/firefox/comments/utbtdl/need_to_get_rid_of_importenterpriseroots
The two ways to lock a preference are:
(1) Enterprise Policy -- check about:policies
This can be done by dropping a file: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/customizing-firefox-using-policiesjson
(2) Autoconfig
This is done by dropping two files: https://support.mozilla.org/kb/customizing-firefox-using-autoconfig
What is "ImportEnterpriseRoots" Certificate
https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/1306557
This is a pretty common question that gets asked here.
The ImportEnterpriseRoots policy is setup by a lot of security programs (antivirus, firewall, etc). Security programs often use this policy so that they can view incoming secure connections to check that the content is safe, without triggering error messages in Firefox.
That policy has no impact on what settings you will be able to use in Firefox. It will cause the "Your computer is being managed by your organization" warning message to appear on top of the settings page, but that's it.
Removing that policy from your computer often causes your security program to stop working and/or will cause issues in Firefox when loading some websites.
Hope this clears things up for you.
Telegram
Telegram discussion group with "chat history for new members"
Called Discussion button
- https://www.v-user.com/en/blog/how-to-activate-comments-on-telegram-channels
- https://core.telegram.org/api/discussion
- https://www.alphr.com/add-comment-to-channel-telegram
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6SvNrM8QW0 Youtube 2022
- https://www.istaunch.com/export-telegram-contacts-and-group-members/
scrape users in telegram
- https://exybot.com/telegram-kit-2-0/ expensive $250
Export telegram contacts on pc windows
How to Export Telegram Contacts and Group Members (PC)
Download and install Telegram for Windows/Mac on PC.
Launch Telegram on your PC and login to your account using Phone Number or QR code.
After successful login, it will take you to the Dashboard where you find the list of the conversations, here
- tap on the three lines icon at the top on PC.
- It will open a new menu with the list of options, select Settings.
- Next, click on Advanced as shown in the below image.
- Scroll down to the last and tap on the Export Telegram Data.
- After that, select the data you want to export from Telegram. Just select the Account Information and Contact list option.
- Scroll down and select the location where you want to download the data and select Human-readable HTML format. Tap on the Export.
VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3M6LRDTIPjE&t=42s&ab_channel=SmartFixer
upload video anonymously drag and drop
https://www.veed.io/send-video
VLC MEDIA PLAYER
ActivePresenter
Record screen with video.
Excellent! Downloaded from RuTracker.org August 28 2022 only 44 MB.
https://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6002607
How to Export ActivePresenter Projects to Videos
https://atomisystems.com/tutorials/export-activepresenter-projects-videos/
8 Best Screen Recorders for Windows 10 in 2022- Free & Paid
https://atomisystems.com/screencasting/record-screen-windows-10/
Bulk converting audio files into one
DOESNT WORK
VSDC Pro Video Editor 7.1
RuTracker.ORG
19 Best Free Software to Batch Convert WMA To MP3 for Windows https://listoffreeware.com/free-software-batch-convert-wma-to-mp3-windows/
- https://thepiratebay.org/description.php?id=40113587 Wondershare UniConverter does not support .WMA wma files
AnyMP4 MXF Converter 8.0.10 RePack (& Portable) by TryRooM [2020,Multi/Ru]
https://rutracker.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5956123
https://www.google.com/search?q=unlock+%22wma%22+protected+files
10 ways to bulk convert audio files into one
From: https://multimedia.easeus.com/video-editing-tips/audio-joiner.html#part3
3. Copy Command on Windows
Platform: Windows
Windows allows you to merge audio from the command prompt. Here is the command you can use is as follows:
copy /b *.mp3 c:\merged.mp3
The command above means it will find all MP3 files in the directory and join them into the merged.mp3 file.
If you want to add only a few files add them accordingly using a "+" sign in between.
- Pros
No need to install a software
The simplest way to merge audio files without losing quality
- Cons
Not possible to edit the files
No way to change the format of the output file
Cumbersome to use.
VLC
Source: https://www.videoproc.com/audio-editor/best-audio-mergers.htm
3. How to Merge MP3 Files on Windows 10 with VLC
VLC is an open-source free program that you can free access to. Based on its introduction of how to merge videos, we have tested its capability of combining audio files, and it turns out to be feasible as well. Before we kick off, you need to make sure that all of your audio files have the file extension of .mp3. Otherwise, this method may not work for you. (Notice: if you have different formatted audio files such as .flac and .mp3, see the workaround.)
Step 1. Download and install VLC on your computer.
You are recommended to install VLC locally by its default route.
Step 2. Use the keyboard shortcuts
Win+X > click Command Prompt in the pop-up list.
Or, use the hotkey combination
Win+R to open Run >
type cmd in the box >
hit Enter
Then the Command Prompt will be opened as well.
Run Command Prompt
[Win+R] > cmd to run Command Prompt
Step 3. In the Command Prompt, enter the command: cd c:\mp3, then hit the Enter key.
- Sidenote: The c:\mp3 command is the file folder directory where your mp3 audio files are kept. If your audio files are kept on C disk, c:\ file location
Step 4: There will be c:\mp3> command already existing, copy and paste commands as follows:
"C:\PROGRAMFILES\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe" -vv 1.mp3 2.mp3 --sout-keep --sout=#gather:transcode{acodec=mp3,ab=128}:standard{access=file,mux=dummy,dst=combinedout.mp3}
- Sidenotes:
- 1. C:\PROGRAMFILES\VideoLAN\VLC\vlc.exe command refers to the directory path where the VLC launching program is located in your Windows computer, which is also the default path of VLC setup. Change it if you've set a different destination path for your VLC installation.
- 2. The 1.mp3 2.mp3 command refers to the filename of your audio tracks. Customize the part based on your personal demands.
- 3. The combinedout.mp3 command refers to the file name of the combined file. You can change it to the one you like.
Reset password Change or reset your Windows password
Select Start >
Settings >
Accounts >
Sign-in options .
Under Password, select the Change button and follow the steps.
https://www.rbth.com/articles/2011/12/07/a_rewarding_challenge_13919.html
Download youtube videos in bulk
YouTube Playlist: How to Download YouTube Videos in Bulk
Try 4K Video Downloader Today! EXCELLENT
Free Video Downloader Trusted by Millions
https://www.4kdownload.com/products/videodownloader/21
Download YouTube videos that you've uploaded BASTARDS
https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/56100?hl=en
how to burn a disk
How to Burn a CD or DVD on Windows 10 https://www.howtogeek.com/689705/how-to-burn-a-cd-or-dvd-on-windows-10/
GRAMFILE
https://gramfile.com/active-iso-burner-download/
Ashampoo Burning Studio Free 1.23.8.0
https://www.majorgeeks.com/mg/getmirror/ashampoo_burning_studio_free,1.html
HP INK TANK WIRELESS
How do I switch between ink tank and cartridge on HP Ink 410 series ?
I want to disable the use of the ink cartridges completely.
Is there any articles or videos on how the HP ink cartridge works when there is tank? I wanted to buy a printer WITHOUT a ink cartridge. I did not realize there are two expensive to replace ink cartridges inside.
Download whatsapp messages in bulk batch
https://www.unictool.com/whatsapp/export-all-whatsapp-chats-at-once/
How to Take Batch Screenshots or Screencaps in VLC Media Player
FEB 1, 2021
https://turbofuture.com/computers/How-to-take-batch-screenshots-or-screencaps-in-VLC-Media-Player
Download all whatsapp contacts in a whatsapp group video
How to Export WhatsApp Group Contacts to Excel？ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll26Ha2Xfs0&t=67s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ll26Ha2Xfs0&t=67s
Shortcuts for chrome webpages
subtitles and closed caption freeware
Subtitle Editor
Subtitle Edit
Overview
Subtitle Edit is a free (open source) editor for video subtitles - a subtitle editor :)
With SE you can easily adjust a subtitle if it is out of sync with the video in several different ways. You can also use SE for making new subtitles from scratch (do use the time-line/waveform/spectrogram) or translating subtitles.
For a list of features see below or check out the Subtitle Edit Help page. On my blog you can download latest beta version and read about/discuss new features.
Also, you can watch a few videos about installing and using Subtitle Edit.
Transfer import facebook to vk
Coding
https://github.com/mekhovov/Export-Posts-from-FB-2-LI-VK/blob/master/export_FB_2_LI_VK.rb
Convert audio m4a to video
https://www.freeconvert.com/m4a-to-mp4/download DOESNT WORK ON YOUTUBE
RUSSIAN SITE https://online-audio-convert.com/ru/m4a-to-mp4/ DOESNT WORK ON YOUTUBE
kdenlive: crop a video
- kdenlive crop a video
- Click the zone start icon
- Click he zone end icon
- Right click the new zone and extract video
merge 2 videos online
Adobe
https://express.adobe.com/tools/merge-videos/#
Quotes background maker
Delete portions of a page for printing
- Print Edit WE
- To start editing the page:
- click on the Print Edit WE button on the main toolbar, or
- select Print Edit WE > Start Editing on the context menu.
- A blue 'EDIT' (editing) badge will appear on the button.
- To start editing the page:
- Not as good:
How to Print Web Pages and Remove Unwanted Content-
Print Friendly & PDF (overview)
-
wifi
WiFi Keeps Disconnecting on Windows 10? Here’s the Fix
- Wi-Fi drops connection and available networks disappear
- Suggestion: Turn Bluetooth on or off in Windows
Install a Bandwidth Monitor On Your Computer
What's system interrupts high CPU usage in Windows 10
Change Rename Batch Files and Folders in Windows
4 Ways to Batch Rename Files in Windows (USE POWERSHELL)
https://www.maketecheasier.com/batch-rename-files-in-windows/
Rename files by matching partial name (power toys - doesnt work)
https://www.windowscentral.com/how-rename-multiple-files-bulk-windows-10
General:
6 Ways to Rename Files and Folders in Windows 10
https://www.howtogeek.com/665514/6-ways-to-rename-files-and-folders-in-windows-10/
How to set a default Folder View for all folders in Windows 11/10
How to set a default Folder View for all folders in Windows 11/10
- Open File Explorer by using key combination Windows Key + E and navigate to the folder you want to use as a source for view layout settings.
- Windows 10, navigate to the View tab in ribbon baron the top and change the settings per your wish. You can change the layout and choose the folder details to display, add extra panes, adjust column width, etc.
- Once done with the changes, click Options to open the File Explorer Options, earlier called Folder Options. window.
- Finally, navigate to View tab in Folder Options window.
- Click/Tap on Apply to Folders button.\
Sections in a taskbar
- The Windows TaskBar
- The Start Button--Opens the menu.
- The Quick Launch bar--contains shortcuts to commonly used applications. ...
- The main Taskbar--displays icons for all open applications and files.
- The System Tray--contains the clock and icons for some of the programs running in the background.
Unpin a program on the taskbar
https://www.thewindowsclub.com/cant-unpin-or-remove-program-icons-from-windows-10-taskbar
QUICK LAUNCH open folder
[https://www.lifewire.com/add-quick-launch-toolbar-in-windows-10-5115231
Enter %APPDATA%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch\ into the navigation field at the top of the window, and press Enter. Click Select Folder. You now have a quick launch toolbar on your taskbar. However, it's on the right side, and the original quick launch was on the left.Aug 4, 2021
How to Add the Quick Launch Toolbar in Windows 10 - Lifewire
show blue links instead of { HYPERLINK link } in a document Word
How to show blue links instead of { HYPERLINK link } in a document Word
To change a representation of hyperlinks in a document, do the following:
1. On the File tab, click the Options button:
Options in Word 2016
2. In the Word Options dialog box,
- on the Advanced tab,
- under Show document content,
- uncheck the Show field codes instead of their values checkbox:
Advanced tab in Word Options 2016 After clicking OK, all hyperlinks in the document will be shown as usual, as blue hyperlinks:
Hyperlink in Word 2016
- MICROSOFT WORD - get hyperlinks to show
- File>Options>Advanced> [Show document content] section uncheck the box for "Show field codes instead of their values".
YOUTUBE Add more channels to YouTube
Can You Have More Than One YouTube Channel? (January 21, 2021)
Visit your list of Channels, https://www.youtube.com/account
Click Create a new channel button.
Create a new channel button on YouTube
Give your new account a name, and then click Create.
New Brand Channel Create button on YouTube You'll immediately be taken to your new channel where you can customize your account and upload videos.
Screenshot program for laptop
LIGHTSHOT The fastest way to take a customizable screenshot
HOW TO GET FILE NAMES FOR ALL FILES IN A FOLDER
If the folder you want to open in Command Prompt is on your desktop or already open in File Explorer, you can quickly change to that directory.
Type cd followed by a space, DRAG AND DROP the folder into the window, and then press Enter. The directory you switched to will be reflected in the command line.
INSTRUCTIONS:
0. Open Command Prompt
02: Copy and paste directory C:\Users\user\Desktop\STUFF
1. Type cd followed by a space,
2. drag and drop the folder into the window, and then
3. press Enter.
The directory you switched to will be reflected in the command line.
- How to copy a list of file names in a folder to text file?
EXCELLENT!
use cmd.exe
type dir /b > dirlist.txt
More instructions may 2024
Command to list all files in a folder as well as sub-folders in
Follow these baby steps:
1. Press Windows + R.
2. Press Enter.
3. cmd.
4. Press Enter.
5. ch (name of directory) Example: C:\Users\**\Desktop\**\** 1994\1993 ** central **
6. Type dir /b > dirlist.txt
7. Press Enter.
from search "get names of all files windows 10 in a folder":
[2] STACK OVERFLOW
"change directory in cmd"
Open the Command Prompt (CMD) and type "cd" with a space, followed by the name of the directory,
or drag and drop the directory into CMD from File Explorer.
Press "Enter." Type "cd.." and press "Enter" to go back one directory.
SSL certificate
Free SSL certificate: https://app.zerossl.com/
Recording voice "on the fly"
Recording voice "on the fly": https://www.vocaroo.com
To sort
https://bulkresizephotos.com/en Bulk Resize photos]
https://kzclip.com Youtube alternative]
https://alternatives.app/software/711/Kapwing free video editors list]
- https://alternatives.app/software/697/Filmr Editor free]
- https://www.videoconverterfactory.com/tips/m4a-to-youtube.html Open Shot video editor] - make a M4a into a youtube video
https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/General/UsingWildcards.htm Microsoft Advanced Find and replace]
https://wordribbon.tips.net/T006010_Breaking_a_Document_Link.html Breaking a Document Link]
https://quozio.com/ Quotes background maker]
- See also Templates/Only for book content
Template:13 Time Zones - The largest country on Earth
Template:2 Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts?
Template:Alcoholism - Russia’s Scourge
Template:Americans expect total honesty in marriage
Template:Americans find Russian rude because they hardly ever say please or thank you
Template:American’s infatuation with mental health
Template:Beyond Fruit - Why don’t Russians smile
Template:Beyond Fruit - Why don’t Russians smile?
Template:Body Language: Russians tend to gesture more
Template:Chapter 9 - Muscovites vs. “Real” Russians - What makes Russians tick?
Template:Cheating in Universities
Template:Clothing and public appearance
Template:Collective vs. Individualist
Template:Communication Differences
Template:Fidelity and Adultery - Russians cheat A LOT whereas Americans act like Puritans
Template:Friends - the key to getting anything done in Russia
Template:Further Reading and Links
Template:Household furnishings
Template:Intimate touch between friends
Template:Language - different shades of meaning
Template:Russian pessimism - A pessimist is an informed optimist
Template:Russians Extremes and Contradictions
Template:Russians are cautious and deeply conservative
Template:Russians are long winded
Template:Russians are willing to cheat on there spouses more than 24 other countries
Template:Russians interpret the question of “How are you
Template:Russians superiority complex (Messianism)
Template:Russians’ rebellious spirit
Template:Russian’s Deep Distrust of Government
Template:Russia’s American Dream
Template:Soviet Khrushchev administration policies encourages infidelity
Template:Soviet Propaganda - Americans’ smile hides deceit
Template:Soviet mentality and Russian leadership today
Template:Soviet policies which encouraged adultery
Template:The Importance of Equality
Template:Verification - Trust but Verify
Template:Visiting a Russian’s home
Template:Walking barefoot and sitting on the floor
Template:Westernizers and Slavophiles
Template:Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts
Template:Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts?
Template:Women in the workforce
Template:Women—the Stronger Sex
Template:Your American smile may be misinterpreted as arrogance
- See also Templates
- See also Templates/Only for book content
- See also Templates/Russian version
Template:13 Time Zones - The largest country on Earth
Template:2 Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts?
Template:Alcoholism - Russia’s Scourge
Template:Americans expect total honesty in marriage
Template:Americans find Russian rude because they hardly ever say please or thank you
Template:American’s infatuation with mental health
Template:Beyond Fruit - Why don’t Russians smile
Template:Beyond Fruit - Why don’t Russians smile?
Template:Body Language: Russians tend to gesture more
Template:Cheating in Universities
Template:Clothing and public appearance
Template:Collective vs. Individualist
Template:Fidelity and Adultery - Russians cheat A LOT whereas Americans act like Puritans
Template:Friends - the key to getting anything done in Russia
Template:Further Reading and Links
Template:Household furnishings
Template:Intimate touch between friends
Template:Language - different shades of meaning
Template:Russian pessimism - A pessimist is an informed optimist
Template:Russians Extremes and Contradictions
Template:Russians are cautious and deeply conservative
Template:Russians are long winded
Template:Russians are willing to cheat on there spouses more than 24 other countries
Template:Russians superiority complex (Messianism)
Template:Russians’ rebellious spirit
Template:Russian’s Deep Distrust of Government
Template:Russia’s American Dream
Template:Soviet Khrushchev administration policies encourages infidelity
Template:Soviet Propaganda - Americans’ smile hides deceit
Template:Soviet mentality and Russian leadership today
Template:Soviet policies which encouraged adultery
Template:The Importance of Equality
Template:Verification - Trust but Verify
Template:Visiting a Russian’s home
Template:Walking barefoot and sitting on the floor
Template:Westernizers and Slavophiles
Template:Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts
Template:Why are Americans like peaches and Russians are like Coconuts?
Template:Women in the workforce
Template:Women—the Stronger Sex
Template:Your American smile may be misinterpreted as arrogance
- See also Templates
- See also Templates/Only for book content
- See also Templates/Russian version
|-valign=top | https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_13_Time_Zones_-_The_largest_country_on_Earth&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Abortion&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_About_the_Authors&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Acknowledgements&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Bibliography&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Cheating_in_Universities&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Collective_vs._Individualist&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Divorce&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Domestic_Abuse&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Footnotes&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Further_Reading_and_Links&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Gift_giving&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Household_furnishings&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Housework&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Immigration&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Index&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Marriage&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Russians_Lie&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Russians_are_long_winded&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Russians_in_business&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Russians’_rebellious_spirit&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Russia’s_American_Dream&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Sex&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Sex_and_dating&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Talking_about_money&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_The_Importance_of_Equality&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_The_Russian_Soul&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_The_Toast&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_The_man_is_in_charge&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Time_and_Patience&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Title_Page&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Untranslatable_ideas&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Visiting_a_Russian’s_home&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Warning&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Westernizers_and_Slavophiles&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Women_in_the_workforce&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:2_Women—the_Stronger_Sex&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Abortion&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:About_the_Authors&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Acknowledgements&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Alcoholism_-_Russia’s_Scourge&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Bibliography&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Cheating_in_Universities&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Clothing_and_public_appearance&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Collective_vs._Individualist&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Divorce&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Domestic_Abuse&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Footnotes&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Further_Reading_and_Links&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Gift_giving&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Household_furnishings&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Housework&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Immigration&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Index&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Intimate_touch_between_friends&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Marriage&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Russians_Lie&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Russians_are_long_winded&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Russians_in_business&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Russians’_rebellious_spirit&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Russia’s_American_Dream&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Sex&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Sex_and_dating&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Talking_about_money&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:The_Importance_of_Equality&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:The_Russian_Soul&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:The_Toast&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:The_man_is_in_charge&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Time_and_Patience&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Title_Page&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Untranslatable_ideas&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Visiting_a_Russian’s_home&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Warning&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Westernizers_and_Slavophiles&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Women_in_the_workforce&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Women—the_Stronger_Sex&action=edit
https://whydontrussianssmile.com/index.php?title=Template:Your_American_smile_may_be_misinterpreted_as_arrogance&action=edit |} The 11 Differences Between Dating a European Man vs an American Man
Do you know the difference between dating a European man versus an American man? If not, read up!
Written by Amy C
Dec 21 · 4 min read
I never thought that the cultural background of a dating prospect would make much of a difference when it came to relationships. However, since living in New York, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many different people from various backgrounds and it’s become clear that there are definite cultural norms specific to European men versus American men (especially New Yorkers). I’m not to judge that one is better than the other, and mind you, my observations are based on my own experiences as well as a group of women I’ve interviewed in the last two years. The below is a list of some of the themes and commonalities observed. Now, when I discuss the differences between European and American, I’m referring to a mindset. You can very well be born in America but have a more “European” mindset and vice versa.
1. European men aren’t just aiming to score. American men on the other hand, tend to be goal oriented, with the aim of getting laid. Perhaps this ‘score mentality’ is for bragging rights, perhaps it’s for validation so they can feel wanted and desired, or perhaps it’s a pure ego play. American men will rush to get you in bed as quick as possible, while European men don’t appear to have the same rush (or desperation).
2. European men don’t ‘date’ – in the formal way that Americans are used to. The types of dates seen in movies – the formal ask, the fancy dinner and the entire dance that ensues simply doesn’t exist in the European mindset, in fact, the word “dating” isn’t even a part of their lexicon. Sure, they will go out for dinner and do fun activities, but it’s not packaged up in a formal and contrived manner.
3. European men aren’t into labelling. Unlike American culture, where there’s almost a rite of passage which takes two people from “hooking up” to “seeing each other” to “dating” to “exclusive”, these labels just aren’t a focus or concern for European men. They don’t over analyze the situation. Rather, the mentality is, “I like you, I want to see you, and if it’s enjoyable, let’s keep seeing each other”. It’s more organic and instead of defining the relationship in order to know how to act, they let the relationship unfold and the label of boyfriend/girlfriend just naturally develops in the process.
4. European men are comfortable with women, which leads to respect for women. Perhaps this has to do with their upbringing, where it’s very normal for boys and girls to play and intermingle together. They grow up developing friendships with the opposite sex and in turn, develop more empathy and understanding of the opposite sex. In American culture, there is a clear segregation of the sexes, boys play with boys and do boy things and girls do the same. Then these boys grow up and are exposed to the opposite sex in an abrupt, often sexualized way. The consequence of this is a lack of understanding of women, a lack of comfort and often, a lack of respect.
5. European men are raised to have great manners. This is definitely seen in how they treat not only women, but everyone around them. There is a courtesy, consideration, chivalry and thoughtfulness in how they act, behave and engage with others. They are also raised with strong family and community values, so there is a sense of responsibility and accountability for others, not just for the self. American culture raises children to be fiercely independent and to look out for ‘number one’. This breeds a generation of men who have habits of looking after their own needs versus the needs of the collective.
6. Europeans don’t get their sexual education from porn. For example, in the Netherlands, comprehensive sexuality education starts at age four. In America, sexual education is not taught until one hits their teens, if they are taught at all. The topic is still taboo and filled with shame. It’s no surprise that American men are left to their own devices, subconsciously learning about sex through porn and the media.
“Many American men are getting their sexual education from porn.”
7. European men do not “ghost”. Instead of cruelly dismissing someone by disappearing, they communicate that they are not interested. Again, this comes down to respect and manners.
8. European men have a different perception of beauty. As the media in Europe is a lot more heavily monitored, Europeans grow up surrounded by media and images of women who are curvy, comfortable in their own skin, and sensual (versus overly sexualized). The latest law passed in France where excessively skinny models need to prove their health is a testament to that. But when you’re surrounded by American media, filled with Barbie dolls, waif skinny models and Baywatch breasts, the idea of what ‘beauty’ is becomes skewed.
9. European men have a quiet confidence, a demeanor that doesn’t need to scream out loud to prove themselves. The American way is loud and even arrogant at times.
10. American men like to date around. The dating culture involves trying out many different options at the same time. Call it the revolving door or hedging – there’s the idea in the American approach to dating that there’s always something better around the corner. With European men, if there’s mutual interest, they keep seeing that person and don’t keep hunting for better options simultaneously. The dynamic may or may not move into a serious relationship, but they are not trying to gather other options or back up plans in case it doesn’t.
11. European men don’t play games. Nor will they freak out when discussions of commitment or future come up. Americans (both men and women) have been socialized to play games, to act unavailable, to wait a particular amount of time before texting back… There are a set of ritualized rules that are abided by in American dating culture, and if you don’t play within them, you are labeled as desperate or needy or undesirable.
So does this mean the only hope for a happy, committed relationship is to move to another country? Not at all. As mentioned above, the observations summarized above are not really about where one is born, but rather a mentality that is influenced by societal and cultural values. We must be aware of our own behavior in the dating game, because we are active participants in how we are treated. We must take a look at who we are drawn to in the first place, and why. If you keep attracting (and are attracted to) men who are emotionally unavailable and who treat you poorly, then it really doesn’t matter if your dating prospects are from France, New York, Vancouver or Mars – the shift needs to occur within you first and foremost. In fact, you may be experiencing attractions of deprivation, where you try to recreate the issues from childhood in your romantic partners. To find out more, read this article on “Why Do Good Women Pick the Wrong Men.” The 11 Differences Between Dating a European Man vs an American Man Do you know the difference between dating a European man versus an American man? If not, read up!
https://hearthackersclub.com/11-differences-dating-european-man-vs-american-man/
I never thought that the cultural background of a dating prospect would make much of a difference when it came to relationships. However, since living in New York, I’ve had the opportunity to meet many different people from various backgrounds and it’s become clear that there are definite cultural norms specific to European men versus American men (especially New Yorkers). I’m not to judge that one is better than the other, and mind you, my observations are based on my own experiences as well as a group of women I’ve interviewed in the last two years. The below is a list of some of the themes and commonalities observed. Now, when I discuss the differences between European and American, I’m referring to a mindset. You can very well be born in America but have a more “European” mindset and vice versa.
1. European men aren’t just aiming to score. American men on the other hand, tend to be goal oriented, with the aim of getting laid. Perhaps this ‘score mentality’ is for bragging rights, perhaps it’s for validation so they can feel wanted and desired, or perhaps it’s a pure ego play. American men will rush to get you in bed as quick as possible, while European men don’t appear to have the same rush (or desperation).
2. European men don’t ‘date’ – in the formal way that Americans are used to. The types of dates seen in movies – the formal ask, the fancy dinner and the entire dance that ensues simply doesn’t exist in the European mindset, in fact, the word “dating” isn’t even a part of their lexicon. Sure, they will go out for dinner and do fun activities, but it’s not packaged up in a formal and contrived manner.
3. European men aren’t into labelling. Unlike American culture, where there’s almost a rite of passage which takes two people from “hooking up” to “seeing each other” to “dating” to “exclusive”, these labels just aren’t a focus or concern for European men. They don’t over analyze the situation. Rather, the mentality is, “I like you, I want to see you, and if it’s enjoyable, let’s keep seeing each other”. It’s more organic and instead of defining the relationship in order to know how to act, they let the relationship unfold and the label of boyfriend/girlfriend just naturally develops in the process.
4. European men are comfortable with women, which leads to respect for women. Perhaps this has to do with their upbringing, where it’s very normal for boys and girls to play and intermingle together. They grow up developing friendships with the opposite sex and in turn, develop more empathy and understanding of the opposite sex. In American culture, there is a clear segregation of the sexes, boys play with boys and do boy things and girls do the same. Then these boys grow up and are exposed to the opposite sex in an abrupt, often sexualized way. The consequence of this is a lack of understanding of women, a lack of comfort and often, a lack of respect.
5. European men are raised to have great manners. This is definitely seen in how they treat not only women, but everyone around them. There is a courtesy, consideration, chivalry and thoughtfulness in how they act, behave and engage with others. They are also raised with strong family and community values, so there is a sense of responsibility and accountability for others, not just for the self. American culture raises children to be fiercely independent and to look out for ‘number one’. This breeds a generation of men who have habits of looking after their own needs versus the needs of the collective.
6. Europeans don’t get their sexual education from porn. For example, in the Netherlands, comprehensive sexuality education starts at age four. In America, sexual education is not taught until one hits their teens, if they are taught at all. The topic is still taboo and filled with shame. It’s no surprise that American men are left to their own devices, subconsciously learning about sex through porn and the media.
“Many American men are getting their sexual education from porn.”
7. European men do not “ghost”. Instead of cruelly dismissing someone by disappearing, they communicate that they are not interested. Again, this comes down to respect and manners.
8. European men have a different perception of beauty. As the media in Europe is a lot more heavily monitored, Europeans grow up surrounded by media and images of women who are curvy, comfortable in their own skin, and sensual (versus overly sexualized). The latest law passed in France where excessively skinny models need to prove their health is a testament to that. But when you’re surrounded by American media, filled with Barbie dolls, waif skinny models and Baywatch breasts, the idea of what ‘beauty’ is becomes skewed.
9. European men have a quiet confidence, a demeanor that doesn’t need to scream out loud to prove themselves. The American way is loud and even arrogant at times.
10. American men like to date around. The dating culture involves trying out many different options at the same time. Call it the revolving door or hedging – there’s the idea in the American approach to dating that there’s always something better around the corner. With European men, if there’s mutual interest, they keep seeing that person and don’t keep hunting for better options simultaneously. The dynamic may or may not move into a serious relationship, but they are not trying to gather other options or back up plans in case it doesn’t.
11. European men don’t play games. Nor will they freak out when discussions of commitment or future come up. Americans (both men and women) have been socialized to play games, to act unavailable, to wait a particular amount of time before texting back… There are a set of ritualized rules that are abided by in American dating culture, and if you don’t play within them, you are labeled as desperate or needy or undesirable.
So does this mean the only hope for a happy, committed relationship is to move to another country? Not at all. As mentioned above, the observations summarized above are not really about where one is born, but rather a mentality that is influenced by societal and cultural values. We must be aware of our own behavior in the dating game, because we are active participants in how we are treated. We must take a look at who we are drawn to in the first place, and why. If you keep attracting (and are attracted to) men who are emotionally unavailable and who treat you poorly, then it really doesn’t matter if your dating prospects are from France, New York, Vancouver or Mars – the shift needs to occur within you first and foremost. In fact, you may be experiencing attractions of deprivation, where you try to recreate the issues from childhood in your romantic partners. To find out more, read this article on “Why Do Good Women Pick the Wrong Men.”
External links
- https://thoughtcatalog.com/marisa-demarco/2015/03/10-differences-between-dating-american-and-european-men/
- https://www.readunwritten.com/2020/12/29/european-american-men-dating-differences/
- https://verilymag.com/2018/01/dating-french-men-european-culture-in-france
- https://blog.pimsleur.com/2020/02/14/dating-differences-between-americans-and-europeans/
|
The Chinese Century
The Chinese Century Without fanfare—indeed, with some misgivings about its new status—China has just overtaken the United States as the world’s largest economy. This is, and should be, a wake-up call—but not the kind most Americans might imagine
When the history of 2014 is written, it will take note of a large fact that has received little attention: 2014 was the last year in which the United States could claim to be the world’s largest economic power. China enters 2015 in the top position, where it will likely remain for a very long time, if not forever. In doing so, it returns to the position it held through most of human history.
Comparing the gross domestic product of different economies is very difficult. Technical committees come up with estimates, based on the best judgments possible, of what are called “purchasing-power parities,” which enable the comparison of incomes in various countries. These shouldn’t be taken as precise numbers, but they do provide a good basis for assessing the relative size of different economies. Early in 2014, the body that conducts these international assessments—the World Bank’s International Comparison Program—came out with new numbers. (The complexity of the task is such that there have been only three reports in 20 years.) The latest assessment, released last spring, was more contentious and, in some ways, more momentous than those in previous years. It was more contentious precisely because it was more momentous: the new numbers showed that China would become the world’s largest economy far sooner than anyone had expected—it was on track to do so before the end of 2014.
The source of contention would surprise many Americans, and it says a lot about the differences between China and the U.S.—and about the dangers of projecting onto the Chinese some of our own attitudes. Americans want very much to be No. 1—we enjoy having that status. In contrast, China is not so eager. According to some reports, the Chinese participants even threatened to walk out of the technical discussions. For one thing, China did not want to stick its head above the parapet—being No. 1 comes with a cost. It means paying more to support international bodies such as the United Nations. It could bring pressure to take an enlightened leadership role on issues such as climate change. It might very well prompt ordinary Chinese to wonder if more of the country’s wealth should be spent on them. (The news about China’s change in status was in fact blacked out at home.) There was one more concern, and it was a big one: China understands full well America’s psychological preoccupation with being No. 1—and was deeply worried about what our reaction would be when we no longer were.
Of course, in many ways—for instance, in terms of exports and household savings—China long ago surpassed the United States. With savings and investment making up close to 50 percent of G.D.P., the Chinese worry about having too much savings, just as Americans worry about having too little. In other areas, such as manufacturing, the Chinese overtook the U.S. only within the past several years. They still trail America when it comes to the number of patents awarded, but they are closing the gap. The areas where the United States remains competitive with China are not always ones we’d most want to call attention to. The two countries have comparable levels of inequality. (Ours is the highest in the developed world.) China outpaces America in the number of people executed every year, but the U.S. is far ahead when it comes to the proportion of the population in prison (more than 700 per 100,000 people). China overtook the U.S. in 2007 as the world’s largest polluter, by total volume, though on a per capita basis we continue to hold the lead. The United States remains the largest military power, spending more on our armed forces than the next top 10 nations combined (not that we have always used our military power wisely). But the bedrock strength of the U.S. has always rested less on hard military power than on “soft power,” most notably its economic influence. That is an essential point to remember. Tectonic shifts in global economic power have obviously occurred before, and as a result we know something about what happens when they do. Two hundred years ago, in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, Great Britain emerged as the world’s dominant power. Its empire spanned a quarter of the globe. Its currency, the pound sterling, became the global reserve currency—as sound as gold itself. Britain, sometimes working in concert with its allies, imposed its own trade rules. It could discriminate against importation of Indian textiles and force India to buy British cloth. Britain and its allies could also insist that China keep its markets open to opium, and when China, knowing the drug’s devastating effect, tried to close its borders, the allies twice went to war to maintain the free flow of this product. Britain’s dominance was to last a hundred years and continued even after the U.S. surpassed Britain economically, in the 1870s. There’s always a lag (as there will be with the U.S. and China). The transitional event was World War I, when Britain achieved victory over Germany only with the assistance of the United States. After the war, America was as reluctant to accept its potential new responsibilities as Britain was to voluntarily give up its role. Woodrow Wilson did what he could to construct a postwar world that would make another global conflict less likely, but isolationism at home meant that the U.S. never joined the League of Nations. In the economic sphere, America insisted on going its own way—passing the Smoot-Hawley tariffs and bringing to an end an era that had seen a worldwide boom in trade. Britain maintained its empire, but gradually the pound sterling gave way to the dollar: in the end, economic realities dominate. Many American firms became global enterprises, and American culture was clearly ascendant.
World War II was the next defining event. Devastated by the conflict, Britain would soon lose virtually all of its colonies. This time the U.S. did assume the mantle of leadership. It was central in creating the United Nations and in fashioning the Bretton Woods agreements, which would underlie the new political and economic order. Even so, the record was uneven. Rather than creating a global reserve currency, which would have contributed so much to worldwide economic stability—as John Maynard Keynes had rightly argued—the U.S. put its own short-term self-interest first, foolishly thinking it would gain by having the dollar become the world’s reserve currency. The dollar’s status is a mixed blessing: it enables the U.S. to borrow at a low interest rate, as others demand dollars to put into their reserves, but at the same time the value of the dollar rises (above what it otherwise would have been), creating or exacerbating a trade deficit and weakening the economy.
For 45 years after World War II, global politics was dominated by two superpowers, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., representing two very different visions both of how to organize and govern an economy and a society and of the relative importance of political and economic rights. Ultimately, the Soviet system was to fail, as much because of internal corruption, unchecked by democratic processes, as anything else. Its military power had been formidable; its soft power was increasingly a joke. The world was now dominated by a single superpower, one that continued to invest heavily in its military. That said, the U.S. was a superpower not just militarily but also economically.
The United States then made two critical mistakes. First, it inferred that its triumph meant a triumph for everything it stood for. But in much of the Third World, concerns about poverty—and the economic rights that had long been advocated by the left—remained paramount. The second mistake was to use the short period of its unilateral dominance, between the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of Lehman Brothers, to pursue its own narrow economic interests—or, more accurately, the economic interests of its multinationals, including its big banks—rather than to create a new, stable world order. The trade regime the U.S. pushed through in 1994, creating the World Trade Organization, was so unbalanced that, five years later, when another trade agreement was in the offing, the prospect led to riots in Seattle. Talking about free and fair trade, while insisting (for instance) on subsidies for its rich farmers, has cast the U.S. as hypocritical and self-serving.
And Washington never fully grasped the consequences of so many of its shortsighted actions—intended to extend and strengthen its dominance but in fact diminishing its long-term position. During the East Asia crisis, in the 1990s, the U.S. Treasury worked hard to undermine the so-called Miyazawa Initiative, Japan’s generous offer of $100 billion to help jump-start economies that were sinking into recession and depression. The policies the U.S. pushed on these countries—austerity and high interest rates, with no bailouts for banks in trouble—were just the opposite of those that these same Treasury officials advocated for the U.S. after the meltdown of 2008. Even today, a decade and a half after the East Asia crisis, the mere mention of the U.S. role can prompt angry accusations and charges of hypocrisy in Asian capitals. Now China is the world’s No. 1 economic power. Why should we care? On one level, we actually shouldn’t. The world economy is not a zero-sum game, where China’s growth must necessarily come at the expense of ours. In fact, its growth is complementary to ours. If it grows faster, it will buy more of our goods, and we will prosper. There has always, to be sure, been a little hype in such claims—just ask workers who have lost their manufacturing jobs to China. But that reality has as much to do with our own economic policies at home as it does with the rise of some other country.
On another level, the emergence of China into the top spot matters a great deal, and we need to be aware of the implications.
First, as noted, America’s real strength lies in its soft power—the example it provides to others and the influence of its ideas, including ideas about economic and political life. The rise of China to No. 1 brings new prominence to that country’s political and economic model—and to its own forms of soft power. The rise of China also shines a harsh spotlight on the American model. That model has not been delivering for large portions of its own population. The typical American family is worse off than it was a quarter-century ago, adjusted for inflation; the proportion of people in poverty has increased. China, too, is marked by high levels of inequality, but its economy has been doing some good for most of its citizens. China moved some 500 million people out of poverty during the same period that saw America’s middle class enter a period of stagnation. An economic model that doesn’t serve a majority of its citizens is not going to provide a role model for others to emulate. America should see the rise of China as a wake-up call to put our own house in order.
Second, if we ponder the rise of China and then take actions based on the idea that the world economy is indeed a zero-sum game—and that we therefore need to boost our share and reduce China’s—we will erode our soft power even further. This would be exactly the wrong kind of wake-up call. If we see China’s gains as coming at our expense, we will strive for “containment,” taking steps designed to limit China’s influence. These actions will ultimately prove futile, but will nonetheless undermine confidence in the U.S. and its position of leadership. U.S. foreign policy has repeatedly fallen into this trap. Consider the socalled Trans-Pacific Partnership, a proposed free-trade agreement among the U.S., Japan, and several other Asian countries—which excludes China altogether. It is seen by many as a way to tighten the links between the U.S. and certain Asian countries, at the expense of links with China. There is a vast and dynamic Asia supply chain, with goods moving around the region during different stages of production; the Trans-Pacific Partnership looks like an attempt to cut China out of this supply chain.
Another example: the U.S. looks askance at China’s incipient efforts to assume global responsibility in some areas. China wants to take on a larger role in existing international institutions, but Congress says, in effect, that the old club doesn’t like active new members: they can continue taking a backseat, but they can’t have voting rights commensurate with their role in the global economy. When the other G-20 nations agree that it is time that the leadership of international economic organizations be determined on the basis of merit, not nationality, the U.S. insists that the old order is good enough—that the World Bank, for instance, should continue to be headed by an American.
Yet another example: when China, together with France and other countries—supported by an International Commission of Experts appointed by the president of the U.N., which I chaired—suggested that we finish the work that Keynes had started at Bretton Woods, by creating an international reserve currency, the U.S. blocked the effort.
And a final example: the U.S. has sought to deter China’s efforts to channel more assistance to developing countries through newly created multilateral institutions in which China would have a large, perhaps dominant role. The need for trillions of dollars of investment in infrastructure has been widely recognized—and providing that investment is well beyond the capacity of the World Bank and existing multilateral institutions. What is needed is not only a more inclusive governance regime at the World Bank but also more capital. On both scores, the U.S. Congress has said no. Meanwhile, China is trying to create an Asian Infrastructure Fund, working with a large number of other countries in the region. The U.S. is twisting arms so that those countries won’t join.
The United States is confronted with real foreign-policy challenges that will prove hard to resolve: militant Islam; the Palestine conflict, which is now in its seventh decade; an aggressive Russia, insisting on asserting its power, at least in its own neighborhood; continuing threats of nuclear proliferation. We will need the cooperation of China to address many, if not all, of these problems.
We should take this moment, as China becomes the world’s largest economy, to “pivot” our foreign policy away from containment. The economic interests of China and the U.S. are intricately intertwined. We both have an interest in seeing a stable and well-functioning global political and economic order. Given historical memories and its own sense of dignity, China won’t be able to accept the global system simply as it is, with rules that have been set by the West, to benefit the West and its corporate interests, and that reflect the West’s perspectives. We will have to cooperate, like it or not—and we should want to. In the meantime, the most important thing America can do to maintain the value of its soft power is to address its own systemic deficiencies—economic and political practices that are corrupt, to put the matter baldly, and skewed toward the rich and powerful.
A new global political and economic order is emerging, the result of new economic realities. We cannot change these economic realities. But if we respond to them in the wrong way, we risk a backlash that will result in either a dysfunctional global system or a global order that is distinctly not what we would have wanted.[2]
Notes
- Jump up ↑ RESEARCH PAPER - One man’s freedom fighter is another man’s terrorist: a selected overview of the psychoanalytic and group analytic study of terrorism
- Jump up ↑ Stiglitz, J. (2015). The Chinese Century, Vanity Fair. Excerpt: [1].
Full: The Chinese Century (PDF)
Full on this webpage: File:The Chinese Century vanity fair ESSF_article-33840.pdf
| [ e] |
| text |
Closing Down the K.G.B.
By David Wise
November 24, 1991
November 24, 1991, Section 6, Page 30
YASENEVO.
Even to most Soviet citizens, the name is unfamiliar. But to anyone in the K.G.B., it needs no explanation. The highly guarded, restricted compound in a wooded area southwest of Moscow is the headquarters of the K.G.B.'s First Chief Directorate, its intelligence and espionage arm. The spies.
It is night, and we are speeding east along Moscow's outer ring road in a black Volga. I am the first Western reporter ever to be allowed into the directorate, the Pervoye Glavnoye Upravlenie. The huge K.G.B. man at the wheel has the broad shoulders of a linebacker; he is so tall that his head touches the top of the car.
All at once, through the darkness and the mist, the red lights atop the 21-story skyscraper inside Yasenevo come into view. A few minutes later, the Volga swings into an unmarked exit on the right. All that is visible from the ring road is an international "no entry" sign, designed to turn back any hapless civilians who take a wrong turn.
The Volga moves along a narrow road amid birch trees and we come, incongruously, to a small farm-style gate. The car stops for a moment, scrutinized by unseen armed watchers in a guardhouse just beyond. Then the gate swings open.
I had asked to visit Yasenevo, not believing it would really happen. Suddenly, in a burst of post-coup glasnost, I am actually inside. It is surreal.
Physically, the parallels with the rival Central Intelligence Agency are remarkable. Like the C.I.A., the espionage directorate is out in the woods, away from the capital. Indeed, K.G.B. insiders call Yasenevo "the Russian Langley." The sign at the C.I.A. turnoff reads "Bureau of Public Roads." Inside the grounds of the directorate, the sign says, "Scientific Research Center." Even the rivals' ultramodern offices bear a close resemblance.
Like C.I.A. officers, who call their agency by a variety of nicknames, of which "the Company" is best known, Soviet case officers never refer to the K.G.B. -- the initials stand for Komitet Gosudarstvennoi Bezopasnosti, or Committee for State Security -- by name. They call headquarters the "les" (forest) or the "kontora" (office).
In a moment, we are at a smaller, low building, its driveway bathed in bright floodlights. With my K.G.B. escort, I am shown to a second-floor reception room.
A few minutes later, Maj. Gen. Vyacheslav Ivanovich Artyomov, the acting chief of the directorate, mounts the stairs. He is 55 years old, a career spy with a crew cut, sharp features and a swarthy complexion. He invites me into an adjoining office furnished much like a traditional Russian living room, with two large low cocktail tables set with bottles of mineral water.
Forget Boris and Natasha, the cartoon character Russian spies. At the top, the K.G.B. leadership today is smart, smooth, sophisticated and well tailored. For three hours in near-perfect English, Artyomov covers a wide range of subjects, from past abuses to the spy agency's future.
Artyomov says he was born in Grozny, in the Caucasus, "the son of a truck driver." He pauses for a beat, and adds, "a teamster." It strikes me that Artyomov's command of the language is all the more remarkable if, as he claims, he has never lived in an English-speaking country.
He graduated from Moscow's Oriental Institute, joined the K.G.B. in the late 1950's and was a station chief, or resident, as they are known in the K.G.B., in Africa and Asia. As he speaks, his left hand fiddles with a double row of white worry beads, or chotki , a habit he picked up in his years abroad in Muslim countries. As acting chief, his rank is roughly equal to that of the director of the C.I.A. But this is the K.G.B., after all, and nothing is quite what it seems. Artyomov is an operational name, an alias. He declines to reveal his true name. (From other sources, I was able to learn that it is Vyacheslav Ivanovich Gurgenev.)
I ask him whether even a repackaged K.G.B. could ever fit into a democratic system. "Unfortunately for the K.G.B., it became and remained until recently the tool of the party," he responds. "And the party used it indiscriminately against all sorts of dissent. The K.G.B. should have completely divorced from the party. It should just be part of the Government. Intelligence agencies exist in all countries, and the K.G.B. should be like them. I believe it is possible.
"The K.G.B. had become a mammoth, monstrous organization, with too many functions. Instead of an institution to protect the state, the K.G.B. became an institution dangerous to the state." For a moment, I thought I had wandered into a seminar in Washington on the dangers of intelligence agencies to democratic government. Did Artyomov talk that way before the coup? Did he really believe what he was saying? He certainly seemed to, but there was no way to tell.
"I believe what remains of the K.G.B. will be two separate institutions," he says. "One for counterintelligence, antiterrorism, organized crime and corruption on the highest levels. The other, this directorate, will just be foreign intelligence, without any domestic powers. I don't know what the name will be, but I'm quite sure it will never be K.G.B. again. The society simply will not stand it."
Four days after my visit, President Mikhail S. Gorbachev announced that the directorate would become an independent agency under a presidential appointee, Yevgeny M. Primakov, who served as Gorbachev's closest foreign policy adviser. Its new name will be the Central Intelligence Service.
During the interview, Artyomov had talked about Vladimir A. Kryuchkov, the man who ran the espionage arm for 14 years before he was elevated to K.G.B. chief in 1988 and who is now imprisoned, charged with treason for leading the failed coup. Kryuchkov led the coup, Artyomov says, "to roll history back. It was a terrible miscalculation."
But the intelligence directorate, Artyomov adds quickly, "was not implicated, not at all. At 8 o'clock in the morning of Aug. 19, I was shaving and my wife had gone to her daughter to help with the children and she telephoned me. I said, 'Who the hell can be calling me at this time of the morning?' She said, 'You're shaving and there's been a coup.' "
All K.G.B. residencies around the world were alerted, Artyomov says, but not instructed to support the plotters. "It became clear that the whole affair was absolutely idiotic and unlawful. And then we did nothing but watch CNN."
The conversation is interrupted by a full-course dinner: lavish zakuski -- mushrooms, vegetables and other typical Russian hors d'oeuvres -- then beef stuffed with prunes, blueberry pie and tea. There is no food shortage in the K.G.B.
I ask Artyomov about the pervasive network of K.G.B. informers, the stukachi . Although Vadim V. Bakatin, the new K.G.B. chief, abolished the system of informers, he declined to release their names, on the grounds that it would tear Soviet society apart. Artyomov agrees. "We don't want a civil war in our country," he says. "The problem of reporting, of mutual suspicion, fear, these are the problems so deeply rooted in our soul and our genes, even. If we open up certain things in many parts of our country, real vendettas will start. You had wives, children, informing and so on. Most were not paid; they were forced into it."
K.G.B. bugging and wiretapping had turned the entire Soviet Union into a sort of giant electronic ear. What, I ask, would happen to the wiretap technicians, and the employees of the notorious Fifth Directorate and its recently disbanded successor, Directorate Z, which monitored internal dissent? It was the Fifth Directorate that hauled opponents of the regime off to the prison camps, suppressed dissident writers and artists and over the decades served as the secret police of a system that claimed millions of victims.
The wiretappers will be re-employed, Artyomov replies, and the officers of Directorate Z transferred into other jobs, some in the police. "The policy of the present bosses is that these people should not be made pariahs," he says. "If you force them into a tight corner, people with those skills can join all sorts of mafias."
Is it true that spies being sent to the United States are trained near Moscow in an exact replica of an American village? He laughs. "Coca-Cola city? Absolutely ridiculous. It doesn't exist."
It is approaching midnight and time to go. We walk out to the front of the building, into the strange bright floodlights. The Volga has turned around and the linebacker is in place at the wheel. I shake hands with the chief K.G.B. spy, get into the car and we move off into the darkness.
IN THE AFTERMATH of the failed coup, the question facing Soviet society is not so much whether the K.G.B. can be caged, whether a decades-old instrument of terror and repression can be brought under control. Rather, it is which parts of the vast security apparatus will survive at all, or should, and in what form. As the Soviet Union fractures, so does the K.G.B.
The C.I.A., of course, is closely watching what happens to its old adversary. Last month, Richard J. Kerr, then the agency's acting director, spoke privately to a group of Yale alumni -- including many former and current agency employees -- in the C.I.A.'s white-domed auditorium at Langley. "There are at least three K.G.B.'s today," he said, "and perhaps as many as 18." Kerr's point is that the K.G.B. is no longer a monolith, but is fragmenting, both in Moscow and in the republics, many of which may establish their own security agencies or take over existing K.G.B. organizations.
C.I.A. officials believe that the intelligence arm will concentrate on collecting the West's scientific and technological secrets and will reduce covert political action. This view is shared by Donald F. B. Jameson, a former senior Soviet operations officer for the agency. "Covert action, propaganda and political operations were really under the international department of the Communist Party, which used the K.G.B. as an instrument," Jameson says. "Since the party is gone, I expect a lot of that will disappear."
Although it continues to spy, the K.G.B. has fallen on hard times. Its former chairman, Vladimir Kry uchkov, is sitting in cellblock No. 4 of Matrosskaya Tishina prison, a grim building on the northern edge of Moscow, facing a possible death sentence. All of the intelligence agency's leaders have been fired by the new K.G.B. chief, Bakatin, a reformer and a leader of the democracy movement in what is left of the Soviet Union. Morale is low, and the K.G.B.'s size has been cut drastically. It no longer controls any troops or border guards. Bakatin has lost his army of spies, now that the First Chief Directorate has been declared independent. To top it off, the K.G.B. is broke; it does not have enough money to pay its officers.
If all that were not enough, Boris N. Yeltsin, the President of the Russian republic and the hero of the resistance to the coup, is eyeing the K.G.B., especially the intelligence directorate, as a rightful prize. The agency has become a pawn in the larger struggle for political control between Yeltsin and Gorbachev.
If its leaders in Lubyanka, the former prison that still serves as K.G.B. headquarters, have any doubt how far the K.G.B. has fallen, they have only to look out the window. The 14-ton statue of Feliks Dzerzhinsky, the Polish aristocrat who founded the Cheka, the first Bolshevik secret-police agency, is gone, toppled by the cheering crowds. In its place is a bare pedestal.
VADIM BAKATIN, THE modish, youthful-looking chairman of the K.G.B., is seated in his fourth-floor office in Moscow, drawing little circles in pencil on a sheet of white paper. Each circle represents a piece of the K.G.B. already stripped from his domain and transferred elsewhere.
"For the K.G.B.," Bakatin tells his visitor, "I see a process of disintegration."
Bakatin had headed the Interior Ministry until hard-liners forced him out last year. Now Bakatin is a player once more, albeit on a much smaller playing field.
His office, in a gray granite building across the street from Lubyanka, gives no hint of this; it is as big as a bowling alley. Bakatin has six white phones on his desk, another status symbol. The Soviets apparently do not believe in multiline phones. Bakatin sits in the chair occupied a few months ago by Kryuchkov.
The building, 3 Lubyanka Street, in which his office is located also houses the Second Chief Directorate, the K.G.B.'s counterintelligence arm, on the seventh floor. The building is packed with electronic equipment, as Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d discovered when he called on Bakatin in September. "There is so much stuff in here," one K.G.B. man says, "that your walkie-talkies didn't work. Baker's security people couldn't speak to each other."
Square-jawed, handsome and athletic-looking, Bakatin has reddish brown hair, brushed in the style of a television anchorman. He turned 54 on Nov. 6.
A photograph of Gorbachev hangs over his desk. But not all of the icons of the Soviet state have disappeared -- a white bust of Feliks Dzerzhinsky watches over Bakatin's reception room. In front of his desk, chairs are neatly arranged on both sides of a polished table at least 30 feet long. Before the coup, it was the meeting place of the K.G.B. collegium, the intelligence agency's board of directors. Bakatin fired them all; the collegium is no more.
Spies are being fired as well. K.G.B. sources say the espionage directorate is being slashed by 30 percent, and earlier this month Bakatin said the number of intelligence officers abroad would be cut by half.
Bakatin finishes drawing circles for his visitor. The circles, he explains, form a chart of independent intelligence components that he sees as loosely linked.
"To talk about the K.G.B.," he says, "we have to know what kind of state we will have in the Soviet Union. Assuming the Soviet Union will be preserved, there will be some independent directorates such as for intelligence, counterintelligence, Government communications, customs, border troops, the directorate that deciphers communications." He pauses, puts down his pencil and adds:
"We won't have a K.G.B."
What, then, will be left for Bakatin to preside over? Essentially, he says, the K.G.B.'s Second Chief Directorate, the unit in charge of counterintelligence, now renamed the Inter-republican Security Service. But as Bakatin envisions it, the service would also combat organized crime, terrorism and high-level official corruption. "We will coordinate the activities of the republics," he says.
Bakatin demonstrated a sure sense of public relations early on by firing his son from the K.G.B. ("I don't want him working under his father"), and permitting the wife and two daughters of the K.G.B. defector Oleg Gordievsky to join him in England.
Was it true that he liked the Beatles and Elvis Presley? "When I was younger. Now I like music of the 30's. I like American jazz, my favorite album is 'Blue Pyramid.' " (The K.G.B. chief has discriminating taste; the recording, from the mid-1960's, features Johnny Hodges, one of the greatest alto saxophonists, and two other artists from the Duke Ellington band.)
"I like tennis," Bakatin says. "I'm not a good player, but I don't like to lose. I try to fight, but I have an awful game." Bakatin's wife, Ludmilla, is a physician, a neurologist. He has two sons, Alexander, 32, and Dmitri, 26.
Asked what would happen to all the bad guys, the K.G.B. officials who suppressed dissent and bugged innocent citizens -- the people who exiled the Nobel laureate Andrei D. Sakharov to Gorky, for example -- Bakatin tries a lob. "Brezhnev had to be responsible for Sakharov. Can we accuse a colonel of the K.G.B. who took Sakharov to Gorky? He was accomplishing the will of the system. As for the bad guys, the whole collegium who presided over this table" -- he gestures toward it -- "they were dismissed. Nothing will happen to the others.
"We still have bugging of persons involved in intelligence or major crime. But I have decided to make reductions of 30 percent for bugging by the end of the year." Although Bakatin does not mention it, he fired Gen. Yevgeny Ivanovich Kalgin, chief of the notorious Department Twelve, the unit that actually performs the bugging and wiretapping.
Did Bakatin think the K.G.B. could be controlled?"Well, it can be," he replies. "The most complex problem is personnel. Old habits, customs. At the same time, I'm optimistic that all these people are military and will do exactly what they are told. If earlier they were taught to do bugging, they did bugging, but if today you tell them, 'Don't do it,' they won't do it. That's what makes me think its possible."
Old C.I.A. hands, of course, are skeptical. And Jameson, the former C.I.A. Soviet specialist, says he thinks the K.G.B. faces a real problem with its surplus operatives. "The K.G.B. may find jobs for some of their people in the Interior Ministry and the police," he says. "But there could be a lot of card shuffling going on without necessarily reducing the number of cards in the deck. Early retirement will be one option, whether willing or not."
FOR 74 YEARS, THE K.G.B. was much more than a spy agency. In American terms, it was the C.I.A., the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the National Security Agency, Border Patrol and other intelligence units, all rolled into one. To the Soviet people, it was the jackboot on the stairs, the instrument of terror that could, in an instant, pluck people from the safety of their homes and send them to some Siberian gulag. The K.G.B., especially under Stalin, was truly the Ministry of Fear.
Founded in December of 1917, two months after the Bolshevik Revolution, the Soviet secret police metamorphosed through a series of initials -- O.G.P.U., N.K.V.D., N.K.G.B., M.G.B. and M.V.D. -- before emerging as the K.G.B. in 1954. Abroad, its officers spied on the perceived enemies of the Soviet state, particularly the United States. Its gruesomely named Department of Wet Affairs (Mokriye Dela) assassinated its enemies abroad. In recent years, it has succeeded in recruiting an astonishing number of spies in United States intelligence and defense agencies, people like John A. Walker Jr., whose Navy spy ring passed cryptographic secrets to Yasenevo for 17 years.
In 1982, after the death of Leonid I. Brezhnev, Yuri V. Andropov became the first K.G.B. chief to lead the Soviet Union. His protege, Mikhail Gorbachev, came to power in March of 1985. Gorbachev thus owed much of his own rise to the K.G.B., and he relied on the security apparatus for political support. In 1988, he appointed Vladimir Kryuchkov, another Andropov protege, to head the K.G.B.
Despite its role in the failed coup, it was the K.G.B., the most worldly part of the Soviet bureaucracy, that recognized most clearly that the system was falling apart and needed reform to survive. "The K.G.B. was dedicated to the idea that somehow the system could be made to work right," Jameson says. "Their increasing opposition to Gorbachev was because the K.G.B. thought he was destroying the system, not modifying it."
Although there is a notably freer atmosphere today, fear of a resurgent K.G.B. and a return of the hard-liners lurks not very far below the surface. Is the fear realistic? Jerry Hough, a Soviet specialist at Duke University, says it's not. The K.G.B. has splintered, he says, adding: "The split is permanent. What the coup showed was that the K.G.B. was capable of levels of incompetence that are hard to believe."
Even veteran K.G.B. hands are gloomy about the future. Mikhail Petrovich Lyubimov served as a K.G.B. officer in London and as resident in Copenhagen before he retired and became a novelist and journalist -- and a highly vocal critic of his former employers. Lyubimov does not see happy days ahead for his old service. Asked to predict what will happen to the K.G.B., he replies, "I think, frankly, it's over."
The coup starkly revealed that the K.G.B. was riven by the same ideological and generational fault lines that were weakening all the major Soviet institutions long before August. Early this year, in an effort to consolidate his power, Kryuchkov named his own team, weeding out much of the pro-Gorbachev leadership. But when the crunch came in August, Kryuchkov's orders to prepare to attack the Russian Parliament were ignored by the K.G.B.'s crack young Group Alpha and lesser-known Cascade troops. Kryuchkov never gave the actual order to attack, because he knew it would not be obeyed.
GEN. ALEKSANDR Nikolayevich Karbainov is the K.G.B.'s full-time public relations man. His large, sunlit office is on the third floor of Lubyanka, the nine-story ocher building that housed an insurance company in czarist times. Under Communism, thousands of prisoners were held and tortured in its dungeons.
I suggested to the general that the K.G.B. was a tough sell. General Karbainov smiled, showing gold teeth. Although formal in manner, he is an affable man of 46, an engineer with no background as a spy.
The P.R. office has been busy. In an attempt to create an image of a warmer, friendlier K.G.B., the spy agency, among other gambits, held a beauty contest and selected one of its employees, Katya Mayorova, as "Miss K.G.B." She is rumored to be a crack shot. More recently, Karbainov has permitted reporters to tour the Lubyanka dungeons, which have been converted to offices for the K.G.B.'s cafeteria staff.
With the aid of his deputy, Col. Oleg I. Tsarev, a smooth career spy, Karbainov detailed the wrenching structural changes that have taken place in the K.G.B. since the failed coup. Before August, there were 13 directorates. Now, there are only five.
The K.G.B.'s size is an official secret, but the best estimate is that it had 620,000 employees. With the removal of some 220,000 border guards, that figure will drop to about 400,000, and much lower as the K.G.B. breaks up. By early November, Bakatin was claiming that the total reporting to him would soon shrink to a little more than 39,000.
"The budget of the K.G.B. is 4.9 billion rubles," General Karbainov says, which would be $8.3 billion at the inflated official rate. "The budget of the U.S. intelligence community is $30 billion," he adds, smiling. "That's four times as high as the K.G.B." It occurred to me that General Karbainov would do very well on Madison Avenue.
THE ARCHIVES OF the K.G.B. may hold the key to a number of mysteries to which the world hopes for answers, ranging from whether President Kennedy's assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald, had a relationship with the K.G.B. to whether the K.G.B. in cooperation with Bulgarian intelligence tried to assassinate Pope John Paul II in Rome in 1981. In time, the K.G.B. or its successor agencies may release information on these and other mysteries.
However, K.G.B. officials are quick to deny any link to Oswald or the plot against the Pope. One former high-ranking operative, Boris A. Solomatin, was in a position to know. Solomatin, 67, is a gray-haired man with hawklike features and an uncanny resemblance to Lyndon Baines Johnson. While the K.G.B. resident in Washington in the mid-1960's, he recruited the Navy's John Walker. Later, Solomatin was resident in Rome when Mehmet Ali Agca shot the Pope.
Was there a K.G.B. connection? "The answer is no," Solomatin says. He is smoking Pirins, Bulgarian filtered cigarettes. "It would have been idiotic to be involved. If anything was going on with the Bulgarians, I would have known."
Similarly, senior K.G.B. officials deny any link to Oswald, who lived in the Soviet Union for two and a half years before he returned to the United States and assassinated President Kennedy. I came away from these meetings thinking that K.G.B. denials of complicity in the assassination conspiracies might well be true. But I had the unsettling feeling that the K.G.B. would be saying exactly the same thing if it had been involved. As Kryuchkov once said: "Intelligence is a game without rules."
And did the K.G.B. have a mole inside the C.I.A. in the 1960's? The controversial C.I.A. counterintelligence chief, James J. Angleton, spent years looking for one, without success. "No," Artyomov says. "Mr. Angleton was one of the casualties of the cold war. You had McCarthyism inside the C.I.A." And is there a mole today? "Even I would not be told," he says. "And if I was told, I wouldn't tell you."
YURI MODIN LUMBERS into the little restaurant like a Russian bear. He is 69, a huge man who, with his gray hair and white goatee, looks more like Santa Claus than what he is, a retired colonel of the K.G.B. He is a legendary figure, Kim Philby's controller, the man who ran the K.G.B.'s greatest spy.
He has come for a rare interview with a reporter from the West. He is an old-line officer, not very impressed with the reformers who have taken over Lubyanka. But he is happy to talk about Philby, the MI6 mole who betrayed the secrets of British intelligence to the Soviets over a lifetime.
It was Modin, stationed in London, who arranged the escapes of Guy Burgess and Donald Maclean, the two Foreign Office spies for the K.G.B., as the net tightened on them in 1951. Their flight cast suspicion on Philby, who was subsequently fired by MI6 and was out of work.
"So in 1954, I made a special trip to London to give him money," he says. He did not dare to contact Philby directly. That had to be done through Anthony Blunt, the art historian and another member of the famed Cambridge spy ring. "It took me three months to find Blunt," Modin says. "I had to bump into him accidentally. I was haunting art exhibitions. I learned Blunt was to be at a large public gathering. I had a postcard with a Madonna on it. On the other side, I wrote the date, time and place for a meeting, a street crossing. After the meeting, Blunt was surrounded. I waited until only four or five people were left and went up to him and handed him the postcard and asked if the picture had been moved from one museum to another. He looked at the card, turned it over, saw the writing and said 'Yes, yes,' and handed it back. He met me two days later. We set up a meeting on the street with Philby in the western part of London. I gave Philby $:5,000."
Modin was unhappy with the disintegration of Soviet power. "There should be an authority, some things to be obeyed whether you like them or not," he says. "But I was against the coup. It wouldn't have helped." The K.G.B.'s espionage arm will certainly survive, Modin says. "We are silly, but not that silly."
IF BORIS YELTSIN TAKES over the K.G.B., Sergei Stepashin will be his point man. At 39, Stepashin, a member of the Parliament of the Russian republic, was named by President Gorbachev to investigate the K.G.B.'s role in the coup and to recommend reforms in its structure. But the committee, although technically appointed by Gorbachev, was heavily stacked with -- and controlled by -- Yeltsin supporters.
If Stepashin has his way, the K.G.B. will be abolished and the intelligence directorate absorbed into the Russian security service. That scenario may not come about, now that Gorbachev has named Yevgeny Primakov to head an independent spy agency, the Central Intelligence Service. A shrewd, jowly, veteran diplomat, Primakov, 62, is moving at full tilt to take control in Yasenevo.
"Authority of the K.G.B. on the territory of Russia has been passed to the Russian Federation," Stepashin insists. "Yeltsin signed a decree on Sept. 30 doing this. But the same day, Gorbachev signed a decree separating the intelligence directorate from the K.G.B. This illustrates the problem in our country; on the same day, two conflicting laws."
Did he really think Kryuchkov would be executed? "I don't think so," he replies. "I would be against it myself. Personally, I would set him free and make him work on a collective farm. But people who violate the law should be punished in accordance with the law. He will get a prison sentence."
The intelligence operations of the K.G.B. may well be absorbed into the Russian republic. But a Yeltsin power grab would almost certainly bring strong opposition from the other republics, which aren't about to subject themselves to a K.G.B. run by Russia. Moreover, even a scaled-down K.G.B. is enormously expensive. At a time when Yeltsin has called for painful economic measures, how can he justify financing Gorbachev's K.G.B.?
THE STATUES OF Dzerzhinsky, Stalin, Kalinin, Sverdlov, Khrushchev and other Communist icons lie broken and scattered in a little fenced area near the new Tretyakov art gallery. People come to photograph them or just to stare.
As I watch, Olga Prokhorova, a 16-year-old schoolgirl with dancing brown eyes, climbs atop the statue of Stalin and, giggling, straddles his head. Is she afraid of a resurgent K.G.B.? "I think the repressive system has almost collapsed," she replies. "The people were afraid. But now there is nothing to worry about and to fear." She says this with absolute, nonchalant assurance.
Boris M. Bakhrekh, 51, an engineer, has his camera out but does not want his own picture taken. "What we are seeing here is our past," he says. "And our children must understand the past in order to understand the future. We lived as in a prison, and now we hope that this nation, which struggled for freedom, will get it." His wife, who declines to give her name, motions toward the statue of Dzerzhinsky and says, "The problem is that he is lying down, but a lot of them aren't." K.G.B.
BEFORE THE COUP FIRST DIRECTORATE: Foreign intelligence. SECOND DIRECTORATE: Counterintelligence. THIRD DIRECTORATE: Military counterintelligence and criminal investigation in the armed forces. FOURTH DIRECTORATE: Transportation security for railroads and airports. DIRECTORATE Z (FORMERLY THE FIFTH): Internal dissent. SIXTH DIRECTORATE: Economic crimes. SEVENTH DIRECTORATE: Physical surveillance of people. EIGHTH DIRECTORATE: Government-wide communications and codes. NINTH DIRECTORATE: Security for top leaders. FIFTEENTH DIRECTORATE: Security for nuclear command centers. SIXTEENTH DIRECTORATE: Interception of electronic intelligence signals. INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS DIRECTORATE: Analysis and evaluation of intelligence information. BORDER GUARDS DIRECTORATE: Security at all border crossings. DEPARTMENT TWELVE: Electronic eavesdropping. CURRENT STATUS FIRST DIRECTORATE: Made an independent agency by Mikhail Gorbachev and renamed Central Intelligence Service. SECOND DIRECTORATE: Renamed the Inter-republican Security Service, will likely absorb the fourth and sixth directorates. THIRD DIRECTORATE: To be transferred to the military. FOURTH DIRECTORATE: To be merged with the sixth, which is to be folded into the second. DIRECTORATE Z: Abolished in September. SIXTH DIRECTORATE: To be merged with the second, where it will focus on fraud and corruption. SEVENTH DIRECTORATE: Undetermined. EIGHTH DIRECTORATE: Independent agency under the republic-dominated State Council. NINTH DIRECTORATE: Renamed the Bodyguard Service and placed in the direct control of President Gorbachev's office. FIFTEENTH DIRECTORATE: Undetermined. SIXTEENTH DIRECTORATE: Undetermined. INFORMATION AND ANALYSIS DIRECTORATE: Undetermined. BORDER GUARDS: Made an independent agency under the direction of the State Council. DEPARTMENT TWELVE: To be cut by 30 percent by the end of the year.
| [ e] |
| text |
THE VALUES AMERICANS LIVE BY
BY L. ROBERT KOHLS[1]
_Shared by Olga Diamant & Russian values were summarized by Oleg Bogomolov._
Introduction
Most Americans would have a difficult time telling you, specifically, what the values are which Americans live by. They have never given the matter any thought.
Even if Americans had considered this question, they would probably, in the end, decide not to answer in terms of a definitive list of values. The reason for this decision is itself one very American value -- their belief that every individual is so unique that the same list of values could never be applied to all, or even most, of their fellow citizens.
Although Americans may think of themselves as being more varied and unpredictable than they actually are, it is significant that they think they are. Americans tend to think they have been only slightly influenced by family, church or schools. In the end, each believes, “I personally chose which values I want to live my own life by.”
Despite this self-evaluation, a foreign anthropologist could observe Americans and produce a list of common values which would fit most Americans. The list of typically American values would stand in sharp contrast to the values commonly held by the people of many other countries.
We, the staff of the Washington International Center, have been introducing thousands of international visitors to life in the United States for more than a third of a century. This has caused us to try to look at Americans through the eyes of our visitors. We feel confident that the values listed in this booklet describe most (but not all) Americans.
Furthermore, we can say that if the foreign visitor really understood how deeply ingrained these 13 values are in Americans, he or she would then be able to understand 95% of American actions -- actions which might otherwise appear strange, confusing, or unbelievable when evaluated from the perspective of the foreigner’s own society and its values.
The different behaviors of a people or a culture make sense only when seen through the basic beliefs, assumptions and values of that particular group. When you encounter an action, or hear a statement in the United States which surprises you, try to see it as an expression of one or more of the values listed in this booklet. For example, when you askAmericans for directions to get to a particular address in their own city, they may explain, in great detail, how you can get there on your own, but may never even consider walking two city blocks with you to lead you to the place. Some foreign visitors have interpreted this sort of action as showing Americans’ “unfriendliness”. We would suggest, instead, that the self-help concept (value number 6 on our list), is so strong in Americans that they firmly believe that no adult would ever want, even temporarily, to be dependent on another. Also, their future orientation (value 8) makes Americans think it is better to prepare you to find other addresses on your own in the future.
Before proceeding to the list itself, we should also point out that Americans see all of these values as very positive ones. They are not aware, for example, that the people of many Third World countries view change (value 2) negative or threatening. In fact, all of these American values are judged by many of the world’s citizens as negative and undesirable. Therefore, it is not enough simply to familiarize yourself with these values. You must also, so far as possible, consider them without the negative or derogatory connotation which they might have for you, based on your own experience and cultural identity.
It is important to state emphatically that our purpose in providing you with this list of the most important American values is not to convert you, the foreign visitor, to our values. We couldn’t achieve that goal even if we wanted to, and we don’t want to. We simply want to help you understand the Americans with whom you will be relating – from their own value system rather than from yours.[2]
The Values Americans Live By
American Civil Religion is the theory developed by sociologist Robert Bellah in 1967 in the article, "Civil Religion in America". According to Bellah, Americans embrace a common civil religion with certain fundamental beliefs, values, holidays, and rituals in parallel to, or independent of, their chosen religion.[3] This belief includes Manifest destiny, which was a cultural belief in the 19th-century United States that White American settlers were destined to expand across North America, which, since the 1898 Spanish–American War, expanded internationally and still continues presently in the minds of most Americans.
1. Personal Control over the Environment
Americans no longer believe in the power of Fate, and they have come to look at people who do as being backward, primitive, or hopelessly naive.To be called“fatalistic” is one of the worst criticisms one can receive in the American context; to an American, it means one is superstitious and lazy, unwilling to take any initiative in bringing about improvements.
In the United States people consider it normal and right that Man should control Nature, rather than the other way around. More Americans find it impossible to accept that there are some things which lie beyond the power of humans to achieve. And Americans have literally gone to the moon, because they refused to accept earthly limitations.
Americans seem to be challenged, even compelled, to do, by one means or another (and often at great cost) what seven-eighths of the world is certain cannot be done.
2. Change Seen as Natural and Positive
In the American mind, change is seen as an indisputably good condition. Change is strongly linked to development, improvement, progress, and growth.
Many older, more traditional cultures consider change as a disruptive, destructive force, to be avoided if at all possible. Instead of change, such societies value stability, continuity, tradition, and a rich and ancient heritage -- none of which are valued very much in the United States.
These first two values -- the belief that we can do anything and the belief that any change is good -- together with an American belief in the virtue of hard work and the belief that each individual has a responsibility to do the best he or she can do have helped Americans achieve some great accomplishments. So whether these beliefs are “true” is really irrelevant; what is important is that Americans have considered them to be true and have acted as if they were, thus, in effect, causing them to happen.
3. Time and Its Control
Time is, for the average American, of utmost importance. To the foreign visitor, Americans seem to be more concerned with getting things accomplished on time (according to a predetermined schedule) than they are with developing deep interpersonal relations. Schedules, for the American, are meant to be planned and then followed in the smallest detail.
It may seem to you that most Americans are completely controlled by the little machines they wear on their wrists, cutting their discussions off abruptly to make it to their next appointment on time.
Americans’ language is filled with references to time, giving a clear indication of how much it is valued. Time is something to be “on,” to be “kept,” “filled,” “saved,” “used,” “spent,” “wasted,” “lost,” “gained,” “planned,” “given,” “made the most of,” even “killed.”
The international visitor soon learns that it is considered very rude to be late -- even by 10 minutes -- for an appointment in the United States. (Whenever it is absolutely impossible to be on time, you should phone ahead and tell the person you have been unavoidably detained and will be a half hour -- or whatever -- late.) Time is so valued in America, because by considering time to be important one can clearly accomplish more than if one “wastes” time and does not keep busy.This philosophy has proven its worth. It has enabled Americans to be extremely productive, and productivity itself is highly valued in the United States. Many American proverbs stress the value in guarding our time, using it wisely, setting and working toward specific goals, and even expending our time and energy today so that the fruits of our labor may be enjoyed at a later time.(This latter concept is called “delayed gratification.”)
4. Equality and Fairness
Equality is, for Americans, one of their most cherished values. This concept is so important for Americans that they have even given it a religious basis. They say all people have been “created equal.” Most Americans believe that God views all humans alike without regard to intelligence, physical condition or economic status. In secular terms this belief is translated into the assertion that all people have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. Americans differ in opinion about how to make this ideal into a reality. Yet virtually all agree that equality is an important civic and social goal.
The equality concept often makes Americans seem strange to foreign visitors. Seven-eighths of the world feels quite differently. To them, rank and status and authority are seen as much more desirable considerations -- even if they personally happen to find themselves near the bottom of the social order. Class and authority seem to give people in those other societies a sense of security and certainty. People outside the United States consider it reassuring to know, from birth, who they are and where they fit into the complex system called “society.”
Many highly-placed foreign visitors to the United States are insulted by the way they are treated by service personnel (such as waiters in restaurants, clerks in stores, taxi drivers, etc.) Americans have an aversion to treating people of high position in a deferential manner, and conversely, often treat lower class people as if they were very important. Newcomers to the United States should realize that no insult or personal indignity is intended by this lack of deference to rank or position in society. A foreigner should be prepared to be considered “just like anybody else” while in the country.
5. Individualism and Privacy
The individualism that has been developed in the Western world since the Renaissance, beginning in the late 15th century, has taken its most exaggerated form in 20th century United States. Here, each individual is seen as completely and marvelously unique, that is, totally different from all other individuals and, therefore, particularly precious and wonderful.
Americans think they are more individualist in their thoughts and actions than, in fact, they are. They resist being thought of as representatives of a homogenous group, whatever the group. They may, and do, join groups—in fact many groups—but somehow believe they’re just a little different, just a little unique, just a little special, from other members of the same group. And they tend to leave groups as easily as they enter them.
Privacy, the ultimate result of individualism is perhaps even more difficult for the foreigner to comprehend. The word "privacy" does not even exist in many languages. If it does, it is likely to have a strongly negative connotation, suggesting loneliness or isolation from the group. In the United States, privacy is not only seen as a very positive condition, but it is also viewed as a requirement that all humans would find equally necessary, desirable and satisfying. It is not uncommon for Americans to say—and believe—such statements as "If I don’t have at least half an hour a day to myself, I will go stark raving mad."
Individualism, as it exists in the United States, does mean that you will find a much greater variety of opinions (along with the absolute freedom to express them anywhere and anytime) here. Yet, in spite of this wide range of personal opinion, almost all Americans will ultimately vote for one of the two major political parties. That is what was meant by the statement made earlier that Americans take pride in crediting themselves with claiming more individualism than, in fact, they really have.
6. Self-Help/Initiative
In the United States, a person can take credit only for what he or she has accomplished by himself or herself. Americans get no credit whatsoever for having been born into a rich family. (In the United States, that would be considered "an accident of birth.") Americans pride themselves in having been born poor and, through their own sacrifice and hard work, having climbed the difficult ladder of success to whatever level they have achieved—all by themselves. The American social system has, of course, made it possible for Americans to move, relatively easily, up the social ladder.
Take a look in an English-language dictionary at the composite words that have "self" as a prefix. In the average desk dictionary, there will be more than 100 such words, words like self-confidence, self-conscious, self-control, self-criticism, self-deception, self-defeating, self-denial, self-discipline, self-esteem, self-expression, self-importance, self-improvement, self-interest, self-reliance, self-respect, self-restraint, self-sacrifice—the list goes on and on. The equivalent of these words cannot be found in most other languages. The list is perhaps the best indication of how seriously Americans take doing things for one’s self. The "self-made man or women" is still very much the ideal in 20th-century America.
7. Competition and Free Enterprise
Americans believe that competition brings out the best in any individual. They assert that it challenges or forces each person to produce the very best that is humanly possible. Consequently, the foreign visitor will see competition being fostered in the American home and in the American classroom, even on the youngest age level. Very young children, for instance, are encouraged to answer questions for which their classmates do not know the answer.
You may find the competitive value disagreeable, especially if you come from a society that promotes cooperation rather than competition. But many U.S. Peace Corps volunteers teaching in Third World countries found the lack of competitiveness in a classroom situation equally distressing. They soon learned that what they thought to be one of the universal human characteristics represented only a peculiarly American (or Western) value.
Americans, valuing competition, have devised an economic system to go with it—free enterprise. Americans feel strongly that a highly competitive economy will bring out the best in its people and, ultimately, that the society that fosters competition will progress most rapidly. If you look for it, you will see evidence in all areas—even in fields as diverse as medicine, the arts, education, and sports—that free enterprise is the approach most often preferred in America.
8. Future Orientation
Valuing the future and the improvements Americans are sure the future will bring means that they devalue that past and are, to a large extent, unconscious of the present. Even a happy present goes largely unnoticed because, happy as it may be, Americans have traditionally been hopeful that the future would bring even greater happiness. Almost all energy is directed toward realizing that better future. At best, the present condition is seen as preparatory to a latter and greater event, which will eventually culminate in something even more worthwhile.
Since Americans have been taught (in value 1) to believe that Man, and not Fate, can and should be the one who controls the environment, this has made them very good at planning and executing short-term projects. This ability, in turn, has caused Americans to be invited to all corners of the earth to plan and achieve the miracles that their goal-setting can produce.
If you come from a culture such as those in the traditional Moslem world, where talking about or actively planning the future is felt to be a futile, even sinful, activity, you will have not only philosophical problems with this very American characteristic but religious objections as well. Yet it is something you will have to learn to live with, for all around you Americans will be looking toward the future and what it will bring.
9. Action/Work Orientation
"Don’t just stand there," goes a typical bit of American advice, "do something!" This expression is normally used in a crisis situation, yet, in a sense, it describes most American’s entire waking life, where action—any action—is seen to be superior to inaction.
Americans routinely plan and schedule an extremely active day. Any relaxation must be limited in time, pre-planned, and aimed at "recreating" their ability to work harder and more productively once the recreation is over. Americans believe leisure activities should assume a relatively small portion of one’s total life. People think that it is "sinful" to "waste one’s time," "to sit around doing nothing," or just to "daydream."
Such a "no nonsense" attitude toward life has created many people who have come to be known as "workaholics," or people who are addicted to their work, who think constantly about their jobs and who are frustrated if they are kept away from them, even during their evening hours and weekends.
The workaholic syndrome, in turn, causes Americans to identify themselves wholly with their professions. The first question one American will ask another American when meeting for the first time is related to his or her work: "Where do you work?," or "Who (what company) are you with?"
And when such a person finally goes on vacation, even the vacation will be carefully planned, very busy and active.
America may be one of the few countries in the world where it seems reasonable to speak about the "dignity of human labor," meaning by that, hard, physical labor. In America, even corporation presidents will engage in physical labor from time to time and gain, rather than lose, respect from others for such action.
10. Informality
If you come from a more formal society, you will likely find Americans to be extremely informal, and will probably feel that they are even disrespectful of those in authority. Americans are one of the most informal and casual people in the world, even when compared to their near relative—the Western European.
As one example of this informality, American bosses often urge their employees to call them by their first names and even feel uncomfortable if they are called by the title "Mr." or "Mrs."
Dress is another area where American informality will be most noticeable, perhaps even shocking. One can go to a symphony performance, for example, in any large American city nowadays and find some people in the audience dressed in blue jeans and tieless, short-sleeved shirts.
Informality is also apparent in American’s greetings. The more formal "How are you?" has largely been replaced with an informal "Hi." This is as likely to be used to one’s superior as to one’s best friend.
If you are a highly placed official in your own country, you will probably, at first, find such informality to be very unsettling. American, on the other hand, would consider such informality as a compliment! Certainly it is not intended as an insult and should not be taken as such.
11. Directness/Openness/Honesty
Many other countries have developed subtle, sometimes highly ritualistic, ways of informing other people of unpleasant information. Americans, however, have always preferred the first approach. They are likely to be completely honest in delivering their negative evaluations. If you come from a society that uses the indirect manner of conveying bad news or uncomplimentary evaluations, you will be shocked at Americans’ bluntness.
If you come from a country where saving face is important, be assured that Americans are not trying to make you lose face with their directness. It is important to realize that an American would not, in such case, lose face. The burden of adjustment, in all cases while you are in this country, will be on you. There is no way to soften the blow of such directness and openness if you are not used to it except to tell you that the rules have changed while you are here. Indeed, Americans are trying to urge their fellow countrymen to become even more open and direct. The large number of "assertiveness" training courses that appeared in the United States in the late 1970s reflects such a commitment.
Americans consider anything other than the most direct and open approach to be dishonest and insincere and will quickly lose confidence in and distrust anyone who hints at what is intended rather than saying it outright. Anyone who, in the United States, chooses to use an intermediary to deliver that message will also be considered manipulative and untrustworthy.
12. Practicality/Efficiency
Americans have a reputation of being an extremely realistic, practical and efficient people. The practical consideration is likely to be given highest priority in making any important decision in the United States. Americans pride themselves in not being very philosophically or theoretically oriented. If Americans would even admit to having a philosophy, it would probably be that of pragmatism.
Will it make any money? Will it "pay its own way?" What can I gain from this activity? These are the kinds of questions that Americans are likely to ask in their practical pursuit, not such questions as: Is it aesthetically pleasing? Will it be enjoyable?, or Will it advance the cause of knowledge?
This practical, pragmatic orientation has caused Americans to contribute more inventions to the world than any other country in human history. The love of "practicality" has also caused Americans to view some professions more favorably than others. Management and economics, for example, are much more popular in the United States than philosophy or anthropology, law and medicine more valued than the arts.
Another way in which this favoring of the practical makes itself felt in the United States, is a belittling of "emotional" and "subjective" evaluations in favor of "rational" and "objective" assessments. Americans try to avoid being too sentimental in making their decisions. They judge every situation "on its merits." The popular American "trial-and-error" approach to problem solving also reflects the practical. The approach suggests listing several possible solutions to any given problem, then trying them out, one-by-one, to see which is most effective.
13. Materialism/Acquisitiveness
Foreigners generally consider Americans much more materialistic than Americans are likely to consider themselves. Americans would like to think that their material objects are just the natural benefits that always result from hard work and serious intent—a reward, they think, that all people could enjoy were they as industrious and hard-working as Americans.
But by any standard, Americans are materialistic. This means that they value and collect more material objects than most people would ever dream of owning. It also means they give higher priority to obtaining, maintaining and protecting their material objects than they do in developing and enjoying interpersonal relationships.
The modern American typically owns:
1. one or more color television sets,
2. an electric hair dryer,
3. an electronic calculator,
4. a tape recorder and a record player,
5. a clothes-washer and dryer,
6. a vacuum cleaner,
7. a powered lawn mower (for cutting grass),
8. a refrigerator, a stove, and a dishwasher,
9. one or more automobiles,
10. and a telephone.
11. Many also own a personal computer.
Since Americans value newness and innovation, they sell or throw away their possessions frequently and replace them with newer ones. A car may be kept for only two or three years, a house for five or six before trading it in for another one.
Summary
Now that we have discussed each of these 13 values separately, if all too briefly, let us look at them in list form (on the left) and then consider them paired with the counterpart values from a more traditional country (on the right):
| U.S. Values | Some Other Country’s Values | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Personal Control over the Environment | Fate |
| 2 | Change | Tradition |
| 3 | Time & Its Control | Human Interaction |
| 4 | Equality | Hierarchy/Rank/Status |
| 5 | Individualism/Privacy | Group’s Welfare |
| 6 | Self-Help | Birthright Inheritance |
| 7 | Competition | Cooperation |
| 8 | Future Orientation | Past Orientation |
| 9 | Action/Work Orientation | "Being" Orientation |
| 10 | Informality | Formality |
| 11 | Directness / Openness / Honesty | Indirectness/Ritual/"Face" |
| 12 | Practicality/Efficiency | Idealism |
| 12 | Materialism/Acquisitiveness | Spiritualism/Detachment |
Which list more nearly represents the values of your native country?
Application
Before leaving this discussion of the values Americans live by, consider how knowledge of these values explains many things about Americans.
One can, for example, see America’s impressive record of scientific and technological achievement as a natural result of these 13 values.
First of all, it was necessary to believe:
(1) these things could be achieved, that Man does not have to simply sit and wait for Fate to bestow them or not to bestow them, and that Man does have control over his own environment, if he is willing to take it. Other values that have contributed to this record of achievement include
(2) an expectation of positive results to come from change (and the acceptance of an ever-faster rate of change as "normal");
(3) the necessity to schedule and plan ones’ time;
(6) the self-help concept;
(7) competition;
(8) future orientation;
(9) action work orientation;
(12) practicality; and
(13) materialism.
You can do the same sort of exercise as you consider other aspects of American society and analyze them to see which of the 13 values described here apply. By using this approach, you will soon begin to understand Americans and their actions. And as you come to understand them, they will seem less "strange" than they did at first. https://www.wsj.com/articles/american-pundit-russians-love-to-hate-is-in-hot-demand-1457452420
American Pundit Russians Love to Hate Is in Hot Demand Expat gets bashed for defending U.S. on Moscow TV shows, but he doesn’t mind
Michael Bohm, a former insurance executive from a St. Louis suburb, has become both the unlikely star and the punching bag of Russian political talk shows. Photo: Michael Bohm
By James Marson March 8, 2016 10:53 a.m. ET 38 COMMENTS
MOSCOW—When Russians want to see their country sock it to America, they tune in to a former insurance executive from a St. Louis suburb named Michael Bohm.
The Cold War-style confrontation between Russia and the U.S. has made Mr. Bohm, 50 years old, into a star on popular political talk shows here, such as “Time Will Tell” and “Special Correspondent,” which attract millions of viewers.
He speaks fluent, slightly accented Russian, has lived in the country for about 20 years and is a former opinion-page editor at the Moscow Times, an English-language newspaper.
Mr. Bohm’s biggest appeal, though, is his good-natured willingness to be bashed for the perceived wrongs that the U.S. visits upon Russia and the rest of the world.
“We’re tired of you ruling the whole world,” Pyotr Tolstoi, the host of “Politics” and “Time Will Tell,” jabbed at Mr. Bohm in one show. When Mr. Bohm questioned a comment by a Russian political analyst on another show, the man blared: “We’ll bomb you to hell!”
Mr. Bohm usually stands impassively, waits his turn to try to score a few points and tries not to be “an ugly American,” as he puts it.
“Michael, go for it!” said the host of top-ranked “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” with a fist pump three Sundays ago. “First of all, may I ask: Is it true that Russia is at fault for everything?”
[IMG] Michael Bohm
Mr. Bohm responded: “Well, not for everything, of course.”
Always outnumbered and outshouted, Mr. Bohm has appeared almost every day in recent months on Russian television channels brimming with propaganda that lauds the Kremlin and lashes the White House.
He says the punishment is worth it for the opportunity to respond to “one-sided coverage” that casts the U.S. as a relentlessly malevolent force. “Do we want to reach the 80% to 90% of Russians who don’t read or watch liberal media?” asks Mr. Bohm. “We can either refuse to participate in a farce or accept the challenge.”
Mr. Bohm first came to Russia in 1987 and returned a decade later to work for a large insurer. The job bored him, so he went to Columbia University in New York to study international relations and then wrote a book about the Russian character titled “The Russian Specific.” It sold few copies.
He worked at the Moscow Times from 2007 to 2014. His ex-wife and 2-year-old daughter live in Russia, and he says he loves living there and being able to indulge his fascination with Russian politics and international relations.
He won’t comment on whether he is paid for the TV appearances. He also contributes to a liberal radio station’s blog and taught a journalism course last year at Russia’s top diplomatic school.
In 2013, Mr. Bohm said in one of his first TV appearances that Russia was “at a primitive stage” on gay rights. A journalist on the program demanded that Mr. Bohm apologize to Russia. A nationalist lawmaker proposed to “kick his a—.”
The explosive exchange “is how I made my name as an enemy of the people,” says Mr. Bohm.
U.S.-Russia relations soured rapidly following Russia’s military interventions in Ukraine and Syria. Sharply lower prices for crude oil, the main export from Russia, have mired it in a deep economic slump.
A November survey by Levada-Center, an independent research organization in Moscow, found 70% of Russians have a negative attitude toward the U.S., up from less than 40% two years earlier.
Mr. Solovyov, who taught economics at the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the early 1990s, says he welcomes different viewpoints on “Evening with Vladimir Solovyov” but has trouble getting foreigners or liberals to come on the show. “We cherish him,” he says of Mr. Bohm.
Last month, six Kremlin-friendly commentators faced off against Mr. Bohm and a liberal Russian politician. Production assistants in the audience encouraged applause at the right moments, usually after Mr. Solovyov zinged a one-liner that maligned the U.S. or boosted the Kremlin.
Some of Mr. Bohm’s friends in Moscow’s liberal journalist community say the American is being used as a punching bag whose presence gives legitimacy to bombastic TV shows.
“It’s not a serious debate. It turns into an emotional bazaar,” says Yury Pronko, a national radio host who generally avoids going on the shows. “They distract people from the problems in their own country.”
Mr. Solovyov concedes that his show’s ratings decline when it turns its attention to domestic issues.
Mr. Bohm defends his appearances as a form of cultural diplomacy and says he pays little attention to the hate messages he gets on Facebook, ranging from “Yankee go home” to threats.
Most of his on-air rivals are good-natured once the cameras are off, says Mr. Bohm. On the streets and subway in Moscow, “people come and say thanks for telling your side of the story.”
Frequent TV sparring partner Igor Korotchenko, a hawkish, silver-haired defense analyst, regularly posts photos of Mr. Bohm online, adding captions. One says: “We’re making fun of Michael Bohm, but maybe he’s a colonel in U.S. military intelligence or a CIA officer in deep cover. I’d love to see his file!”
A book publisher tried to cash in on Mr. Bohm by printing a collection of his TV musings titled “President Putin’s Mistake.” Mr. Bohm says he found out about the book only when a friend congratulated him on its publication.
Mr. Bohm has filed a lawsuit against the publisher, who told a Moscow radio station last year that he hoped to reach an agreement.
The American has an especially devoted following among Russian babushkas. They send Mr. Bohm supportive messages on social media, praising his calm demeanor, effort to get across another point of view and knowledge of Russian.
“He is an intelligent, good-natured man who speaks the truth with humor,” says Ekaterina Devyatkova, a 69-year-old pensioner who tunes in regularly from a small town just outside Moscow. “I don’t like the loudmouths who yell at him.”
When Mr. Bohm is running to catch the last subway of the night, the elderly ladies who guard the ticket barriers usually let him dart through even when they’re closed. “They feel sorry for me,” he says.
Write to James Marson at james.marson@wsj.com Appeared in the Mar. 10, 2016, print edition as 'No Love From Russia.'
- Kristina Yakush
Добрый день, я с первого канала, программа Время Покажет, мы ищем иностранцев в Москве, для участия в нашей программе. Вам было бы интересно?
Mar 29, 2016, 9:12 PM
- Kristina Yakush
А вы говорите по русски?
May 19, 2016, 4:17 PM
- Kristina Yakush
У нас программа называется "Время Покажет", это политическое токшоу
May 19, 2016, 4:42 PM
| [ e] |
| text |
| e |
|
The definitive guide to the differences between Russians and Americans - 2nd edition
|
Todd E. Pierce Traitor codes Online document translator
https://www.onlinedoctranslator.com/en/ Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates
The Internet Research Agency (IRA; Template:Lang-ru translit: Agentstvo Internet-Issledovaniy), also known as Glavset[4] and known in Russian Internet slang as the Trolls from Olgino, is a Russian company engaged in online influence operations on behalf of Russian business and political interests. It is linked to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin and based in Saint Petersburg.
The January 2017 report issued by the United States Intelligence Community – Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections – described the Agency as a troll farm: "The likely financier of the so-called Internet Research Agency of professional trolls located in Saint Petersburg is a close ally of [Vladimir] Putin with ties to Russian intelligence," commenting that "they previously were devoted to supporting Russian actions in Ukraine—[and] started to advocate for President-elect Trump as early as December 2015."
The agency has employed fake accounts registered on major social networking sites,[5] discussion boards, online newspaper sites, and video hosting services to promote the Kremlin's interests in domestic and foreign policy including Ukraine and the Middle East as well as attempting to influence the 2016 United States presidential election. More than 1,000 employees reportedly worked in a single building of the agency in 2015.
The extent to which a Russian agency has tried to influence public opinion using social media became better known after a June 2014 BuzzFeed News article greatly expanded on government documents published by hackers earlier that year.[6] The Internet Research Agency gained more attention by June 2015, when one of its offices was reported as having data from fake accounts used for biased Internet trolling. Subsequently, there were news reports of individuals receiving monetary compensation for performing these tasks.[7]
On 16 February 2018, a United States grand jury indicted 13 Russian nationals and 3 Russian entities, including the Internet Research Agency, on charges of violating criminal laws with the intent to interfere "with U.S. elections and political processes", according to the Justice Department.[8]
Origin
Template:See also The company was founded in mid-2013.[9] In 2013, Novaya Gazeta newspaper reported that Internet Research Agency Ltd's office was in Olgino, a historic district of Saint Petersburg.[10]
The terms "Trolls from Olgino" and "Olgino's trolls" (Template:Lang-ru, "Ольгинские тролли") have become general terms denoting trolls who spread pro-Russian propaganda, not only necessarily those based at the office in Olgino.[11][12][13]
Organizers
Strategic
Russian newspaper Vedomosti links the approved-by-Russian-authorities strategy of public consciousness manipulation through new media to Vyacheslav Volodin, first deputy of the Vladimir Putin Presidential Administration of Russia.[9][14]
Tactical
Journalists have written that Alexey Soskovets, who had participated in the Russian youth political community, was directly connected to the office in Olgino, and that his company, North-Western Service Agency, won 17 or 18 (according to different sources) contracts for organizing celebrations, forums and sport competitions for authorities of Saint Petersburg and that Soskovets' company was the only participant in half of those bids. In mid-2013 the agency won a tender for providing freight services for participants of Seliger camp.[10][15]
In 2014, according to Russian media, Internet Research Ltd. (Template:Lang-ru) was founded in March 2014, joined IRA's activity. The newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported that this company is a successor of Internet Research Agency Ltd.[16] Internet Research Ltd. is considered to be linked to Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the holding company Concord Management and Consulting. The "Trolls of Olgino" are considered to be his project. As of October 2014, the company belonged to Mikhail Bystrov, who had been the head of the police station at Moscow district of Saint Petersburg.[17]
Russian media point out that according to documents, published by hackers from Anonymous International, Concord Management is directly involved with trolling administration through the agency. Researchers cite e-mail correspondence, in which Concord Management gives instructions to trolls and receives reports on accomplished work.[12] According to journalists, Concord Management organized banquets in the Kremlin and also cooperated with Voentorg and the Russian Ministry of Defence.Template:Citation needed
Despite links to Alexei Soskovets, Nadejda Orlova, deputy head of the Committee for Youth Policy in Saint Petersburg, disputed a connection between her institution and the trolling offices.[10]
Finnish journalist Jessikka Aro, who reported extensively on the pro-Russian trolling activities in Finland, was targeted by an organized campaign of hate, disinformation and harassment.[18][19][20]
Offices
Saint Petersburg
2013: 131 Primorskoye Shosse, Olgino, Saint Petersburg
As reported by Novaya Gazeta, in the end of August 2013, the following message appeared in social networks: "Internet operators wanted! Job at chic office in Olgino!!! (st. Staraya Derevnia), salary 25960 per month (USD$780 as of 2013). Task: posting comments at profile sites in the Internet, writing thematic posts, blogs, social networks. Reports via screenshots. Individual schedule [...] Payment every week, 1180 per shift (from 8.00 to 16.00, from 10.30 to 18.30, from 14.00 to 22.00). PAYMENTS EVERY WEEK AND FREE MEALS!!! Official job placement or according to contract (at will). Tuition possible."[10]
As reported by media and former employees, the office in Olgino, Primorskiy district, St. Peterburg had existed and had been functioning since September 2013. It was situated in a white cottage,[11] 15 minutes by an underground railway from Staraya Derevnia station, opposite Olgino railway station.[10] Workplaces for troll-employees were placed in basement rooms.[15][21][22][23][24][25][26]
2014: 55 Ulitsa Savushkina (Street), Saint Petersburg
According to Russian online newspaper DP.ru, several months before October 2014 the office moved from Olgino to a four-story building at 55 Savushkina Street, Primorskiy district, St. Peterburg.[17][27] As reported by journalists, the building is officially an uncompleted construction and stayed as such as of March 2015.[16][28][29]
A New York Times investigative reporter was told that the Internet Research Agency had shortened its name to "Internet Research," and as of June 2015 had been asked to leave the 55 Savushkina Street location "a couple of months ago" because "it was giving the entire building a bad reputation." A possibly related organization, FAN or Federal News Agency, was located in the building. The New York Times article describes various experiences reported by former employees of the Internet Research Agency at the Savushkina Street location. It also describes several disruptive hoaxes in the US and Europe, such as the Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax, that may be attributable to the Internet Research Agency or similar Russian-based organizations.[30]
1 February 2018: Optikov street, 4, building 3, Lakhta-2 business center, Lakhta, Saint Petersburg
Reported by the Russian online newspaper DP.ru in December 2017, the office moved from the four-story building at 55 Savushkina Street to Lakhta on four floors at Template:Interlanguage link multi, 4 building 3 (Template:Lang-ru) near Template:Interlanguage link multi (Template:Lang-ru) in the Lakhta-2 business center (Template:Lang-ru) on 1 February 2018.[31][32][33] Beginning in February 2018, they are also known as the "Lakhta Trolls" (Template:Lang-ru).[31]
Other cities
Novaya Gazeta reported that, according to Alexey Soskovets, head of the office in Olgino, North-Western Service Agency was hiring employees for similar projects in Moscow and other cities in 2013.[10]
Work organization
More than 1,000 paid bloggers and commenters reportedly worked only in a single building at Savushkina Street in 2015.[34] Many other employees work remotely. According to BuzzFeed News, more than 600 people were generally employed in the trolls' office earlier, in June 2014.[6] Each commentator has a daily quota of 100 comments.[10]
Trolls take shifts writing mainly in blogs on LiveJournal and Vkontakte, about subjects along the propaganda lines assigned. Included among the employees are artists who draw political cartoons.[16] They work for 12 hours every other two days. A blogger's quota is ten posts per shift, each post at least 750 characters. A commenter's norm is 126 comments and two posts per account. Each blogger is in charge of three accounts.[17][27]
Employees at the Olgino office earned 25,000 Russian rubles per month; those at the Savushkina Street office earned approximately 40,000 Russian rubles.[17][27] In May 2014, Fontanka.ru described schemes for plundering the federal budget, intended to go toward the trolling organization.[12][9] In 2017 another whistleblower said that with bonuses and long working hours the salary can reach 80,000 rubles.[35]
An employee interviewed by The Washington Post described the work: Template:Quote
Trolling themes
According to the testimonies of the investigative journalists and former employees of the offices, the main topics for posts included:[10][13][17][27]
- Criticism of Alexei Navalny, his sponsors, and Russian opposition in general;[16]
- Criticism of Ukraine's and the United States' foreign policies, and of the top politicians of these states;
- Praise for Vladimir Putin and the policy of the Russian Federation.
- Praise for and defense of Bashar al-Assad.[36]
Journalists have written that themes of trolling were consistent with those of other Russian propaganda outlets in topics and timing. Technical points used by trolls were taken mainly from content disseminated by RT (formerly Russia Today).[16][27]
A 2015 BBC News investigation identified the Olgino factory as the most likely producer of a September 2015 "Saiga 410K review" video where an actor posing as U.S. soldier shoots at a book that turns out to be a Quran, which sparked outrage. BBC News found among other irregularities that the soldier's uniform is not used by the U.S. military and is easily purchased in Russia, and that the actor filmed was most likely a bartender from Saint Petersburg related to a troll factory employee.[37][38]
The citizen-journalism site Bellingcat identified the team from Olgino as the real authors of a video attributed to the Azov Battalion in which masked soldiers threaten the Netherlands for organizing the referendum on the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement.[39]
Organized anti-Ukrainian campaign
Template:See also In the beginning of April 2014 there began an organized online campaign to shift public opinion in the Western world in a way that would be useful for Russian authorities regarding the Russian military intervention in Ukraine in 2014. Hacked and leaked documents from that time contain instructions for commenters posting at the websites of Fox News, The Huffington Post, TheBlaze, Politico, and WorldNetDaily. The requirement for the working hours for the trolls is also mentioned: 50 comments under news articles per day. Each blogger has to manage six accounts on Facebook, post at least three posts every day, and participate twice in the group discussions. Other employees have to manage 10 accounts on Twitter, publishing 50 tweets every day. Journalists concluded that Igor Osadchiy was a probable leader of the project, and the campaign itself was run by Internet Research Agency Ltd. Osadchiy denied his connection to the agency.[6]
The company is also one of the main sponsors of an anti-Western exhibition Material Evidence.[40]
In the beginning of 2016, Ukraine's state-owned news agency Ukrinform claimed to expose a system of bots in social networks, which called for violence against the Ukrainian government and for starting "The Third Maidan".Template:Efn They reported that the organizer of this system is the former anti-Ukrainian combatant Sergiy Zhuk from Donbass. He allegedly performed his Internet activity from Vnukovo District in Moscow.[41]
Reactions
Foreign
Template:Wikisource In March 2014, the Polish edition of Newsweek expressed suspicion that Russia was employing people to "bombard" its website with pro-Russian comments on Ukraine-related articles.[42] Poland's governmental computer emergency response team later confirmed that pro-Russia commentary had flooded Polish Internet portals at the start of the Ukrainian crisis.[43][44] German-language media websites were also flooded with pro-Russia comments in the spring of 2014.[45][46][47][48][49]
In late May 2014, the hacker group Anonymous International began publishing documents received from hacked emails of Internet Research Agency managers.[9][13]
In May–June 2014, Internet trolls invaded news media sites and massively posted pro-Russian comments in broken English.[50][9][51]
In March 2015 a service enabling censorship of sources of anti-Ukrainian propaganda in social networks inside Ukraine was launched.[52][53]
The United States Justice Department announced the indictment on 16 February 2018, of the Internet Research Agency while also naming more than a dozen individual suspects who allegedly worked there as part of the special counsel's investigation into criminal interference with the 2016 election.[54]
Assessments
Russian bloggers Anton Nosik, Rustem Adagamov, and Dmitriy Aleshkovskiy have said that paid Internet-trolls don't change public opinion. Their usage is just a way to steal budget money.[12][9][13]
Leonid Volkov, a politician working for Alexei Navalny's Anti-Corruption Foundation, suggests that the point of sponsoring paid Internet trolling is to make the Internet so distasteful that ordinary people are not willing to participate.[30]
The Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax on 11 September 2014, was the work of Internet Research Agency.[30]
Additional activities of organizers
Template:Main is broken. Based on the documents published by Anonymous International, Concord Management and Consulting was linked to the funding of several media outlets in Ukraine and Russia, including Kharkiv News Agency,[13] News of Neva, Newspaper About Newspapers, Business Dialog, and Journalist Truth.[12]
The Columbian Chemicals Plant explosion hoax of 11 September 2014, which claim an explosion at a chemical plant in Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, has been attributed in June 2015, by The New York Times Magazine, as "a highly coordinated disinformation campaign" and that the "virtual assault" was the work of the Internet Research Agency.[55]
Three months later, the same accounts posted false messages on Twitter about an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta under the keyword #EbolaInAtlanta, quickly relayed and picked up by users living in the city. A video was then posted on YouTube, showing a medical team treating an alleged Ebola victim at Atlanta Airport. On the same day, a different group launched a rumor on Twitter under the keyword #shockingmurderinatlanta, reporting the death of a disarmed black woman shot by police. Again, a blurry and poorly filmed video is broadcast to support the rumor.[56]
Between July 2014 and September 2017, the IRA used bots and trolls on Twitter to sow discord about the safety of vaccines.[57][58] The campaign used sophisticated Twitter bots to amplify highly polarizing pro-vaccine and anti-vaccine messages containing the hashtag #VaccinateUS.[57]
In September 2017 Facebook said that ads had been "geographically targeted".[59][60] Facebook revealed that during the 2016 United States presidential election, IRA had purchased advertisements on the website for US$100,000, 25% of which were geographically targeted to the U.S.[61] Facebook's chief security officer said that the ads "appeared to focus on amplifying divisive social and political messages across the ideological spectrum".[59][60]
According to a 17 October 2017 BuzzFeed News report, IRA duped American activists into taking real action via protests and self-defense training in what would seem to be a further attempt to exploit racial grievances.[62]
On 16 February 2018, the Internet Research Agency, along with 13 Russian individuals and two other Russian organizations, was indicted following an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller with charges stemming from "impairing, obstructing, and defeating the lawful functions of government."[63]
On 23 March 2018, The Daily Beast revealed new details about IRA gathered from leaked internal documents,[64] which showed that IRA used Reddit and Tumblr as part of its influence campaign.[65] On the same day, Tumblr announced that they had banned 84 accounts linked to IRA, saying that they had spread misinformation through conventional postings rather than advertisements.[66][67]
In October 2018 the US Justice Department filed charges against Russian accountant Elena Khusyaynova for working with the IRA to influence not only the 2016 elections but also the upcoming 2018 midterm elections.Template:Needs updateTemplate:Fact
Rallies and protests organized by IRA in the United States
On 4 April 2016, a rally in Buffalo, New York, protested the death of India Cummings, a black woman who had recently died in police custody. IRA's "Blacktivist" Facebook account actively promoted the event and reached out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print. "Blacktivist" supplied the petitions and poster artwork.[64]
On 16 April 2016, a rally protesting the death of Freddie Gray attracted large crowds in Baltimore. IRA's "Blacktivist" Facebook group promoted and organized the event, including reaching out to local activists.[69]
On 23 April 2016, a small group of white-power demonstrators held a rally they called "Rock Stone Mountain" at Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. They were confronted by a large group of anti-racist counterprotestors, and some violent clashes ensued. The protest was heavily promoted by IRA accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website blackmatters.com. The IRA used its Blacktivist Facebook account to reach out, to no avail, to activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of Hosea Williams, to help promote the protests. Afterward, RT blamed anti-racists for violence and promoted two videos shot at the event.[64]
On 2 May 2016, a second rally was held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the 4 April rally, the event was heavily promoted by IRA's "Blacktivist" Facebook account, including attempted outreach to local activists.[64]
On 21 May 2016, two competing rallies were held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the Islamic Da'wah Center. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally was organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The posting for the event encouraged participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group conversed with the Houston Press via email but declined to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", was organized by another Facebook group called "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups were later revealed to be IRA accounts.[70][71]
On 25 May 2016, the Westboro Baptist Church held its annual protest of Lawrence High School graduation ceremonies in Lawrence, Kansas. The "LGBT United" Facebook group organized a counter protest to confront the Westboro Baptist Church protest, including by placing an ad on Facebook and contacting local people. About a dozen counter showed up. Lawrence High School students did not participate in the counter protest because they were skeptical of the counter protest organizers. "LGBT United" was an IRA account that appears to have been created specifically for this event.[72]
"LGBT United" organized a candlelight vigil on 25 June 2016, for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando, Florida.[73][74]
IRA's "Don't Shoot" Facebook group and affiliated "Don't Shoot Us" website tried to organize a protest outside St. Paul, Minnesota police headquarters on 10 July 2016, in response to the 6 July fatal police shooting of Philando Castile. Some local activists became suspicious of the motives behind the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting. Castille had been shot by a St. Anthony police officer in nearby Falcon Heights. Local activists contacted "Don't Shoot." After being pressed on who they were and who supported them, "Don't Shoot" agreed to move the protest to St. Anthony police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigated further and urged not to participate after deciding "Don't Shoot" was a "total troll job." "Don't Shoot" organizers eventually relinquished control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently declined to accept any money offered by "Don't Shoot" to cover expenses.[75][76]
A Black Lives Matter protest rally was held in Dallas on 10 July 2016. A "Blue Lives Matter" counter protest was held across the street. The "Blue Lives Matter" protest was organized by the "Heart of Texas" Facebook group controlled by IRA.[77][73]
The Blacktivist Facebook group organized a rally in Chicago to honor Sandra Bland on 16 July 2016, the first anniversary of her death. The rally was held in front of the Chicago Police Department's Homan Square building. They passed around petitions calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council ordinance.[78][79]
17 "Florida Goes Trump" rallies were held across Florida on 25 August 2016. The rallies were organized by IRA using their "Being Patriotic" Facebook group and "march_for_trump" Twitter account.[80]
The "SecuredBorders" Facebook group organized the "Citizens before refugees" protest rally on 27 August 2016, at the City Council Chambers in Twin Falls, Idaho. Only a small number of people showed up for the three hour event, most likely because it was Saturday and the Chambers were closed. "SecureBorders" was an IRA account.[81]
The "Safe Space for Muslim Neighborhood" rally was held outside the White House on 3 September 2016. At least 57 people attended the event organized by the IRA's "United Muslims of America" Facebook group.[82]
"BlackMattersUS", an IRA website, recruited activists to participate in protests on the days immediately following 20 September 2016, police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. The IRA paid for expenses such as microphones and speakers.[83]
The "Miners for Trump" rallies held in Pennsylvania on 2 October 2016, were organized by IRA's "Being Patriotic" Facebook group.[80]
The IRA ran its most popular ad on Facebook on 19 October 2016. The ad was for the IRA's Back the Badge Facebook group and showed a badge with the words "Back the Badge" in front of police lights under the caption "Community of people who support our brave Police Officers."[84]
A large rally was held in Charlotte, North Carolina, on 22 October 2016, protesting the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. BlackMattersUS recruited unwitting local activists to organize the rally.[85] BlackMattersUS provided one activist with a bank card to pay for rally expenses.[83]
Anti-Hillary Clinton "Texit" rallies were held across Texas on 5 November 2016. The "Heart of Texas" Facebook group organized the rallies around the theme of Texas seceding from the United States if Hillary Clinton is elected. The group contacted the Texas Nationalist Movement, a secessionist organization, to help with organizing efforts, but they declined to help. Small rallies were held in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and other cities. No one attended the Lubbock rally.[86][87][88]
A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracted 5,000 to 10,000 in Manhattan on 12 November 2016. Marched from Union Square to Trump Tower. The protest was organized by BlackMattersUS.[89]
The IRA's "United Muslims of America" Facebook group organized the "Make peace, not war!" protest on 3 June 2017, outside Trump Tower in New York City. It is unclear whether anyone attended this protest or instead attended the "March for Truth" affiliated protest held on the same day.[82][90][91]
Lawsuit
In May 2015, a trolling company employee Lyudmila Savchuk in Saint Petersburg sued her employer for labor violations,[92] seeking to disclose its activities. Ivan Pavlov from human rights defending initiative Team 29 represented Savchuk, and the defendant "troll-factory" agreed to pay Savchuk her withheld salaries and to restore her job.[93]
Savchuk later described extreme psychological pressure at the work place, with jokes circulating among employees that "one can remain sane in the factory for two months maximum", as result of constant switching between different personalities that the workers are expected to design and maintain during work time.[94]
Indictments
Template:Main is broken.
On 16 February 2018, 13 individuals were indicted by the Washington, D.C. grand jury for alleged illegal interference in the 2016 presidential elections, during which they strongly supported the candidacy of Donald Trump, according to special counsel Robert Mueller's office. IRA, Concord Management and Concord Catering were also indicted. It was alleged that IRA was controlled by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a wealthy associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[95][96]
The indicted individuals are Dzheykhun Nasimi Ogly Aslanov, Anna Vladislavovna Bogacheva, Maria Anatolyevna Bovda, Robert Sergeyevich Bovda, Mikhail Leonidovich Burchik, Mikhail Ivanovich Bystrov, Irina Viktorovna Kaverzina, Aleksandra Yuryevna Krylova, Vadim Vladimirovich Podkopaev, Sergey Pavlovich Polozov, Yevgeny Viktorovich Prigozhin, Gleb Igorevitch Vasilchenko, and Vladimir Venkov.[96] None of the defendants are in custody.[97]Template:Efn
On 15 March, President Trump imposed financial sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act on the 13 Russian and organizations indicted by Mueller,[98] preventing them from entering the United States to answer the charges should they wish to.
In October 2018 Russian accountant Elena Khusyaynova was charged with interferеnce in the 2016 and 2018 US elections. She is alleged to have been working with the IRA. She was said to have managed a $16 million budget.[99]
Timeline of the Internet Research Agency interference in United States elections
2014
- April: The IRA creates a department called the "translator project". The department's focus is on interfering in the U.S. election.[100][101]
- May: The IRA begins its election interference campaign of "spread[ing] distrust towards the candidates and the political system in general."[100][101]
- 4–26 June: Aleksandra Krylova and Anna Bogacheva, two IRA employees, travel to the U.S. to collect intelligence. Maria Bovda, a third employee, is denied a visa.[100] All three are indicted in February 2018 for their work on election interference.[101]
- 11 September: The IRA spreads a hoax they created about a fictitious chemical plant fire in Centerville, St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, purportedly started by ISIS. The hoax includes tweets and YouTube videos showing a chemical plant fire. Centerville is home to many chemical plants, but the plant named in the tweets does not exist. Initial tweets are sent directly to politicians, journalists, and Centerville residents.[102]
- 21 September – 11 October: The Material Evidence art exhibition is displayed at the Art Beam gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City. It portrays the conflicts in Syria and Ukraine in a pro-Russian light. It is promoted by Twitter accounts that also spread the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax.[102] The exhibition is partly funded by the IRA.[103]
- 13 December:
- The IRA uses Twitter to spread a hoax about an Ebola outbreak in Atlanta. Many of the Twitter accounts used in the September 11 chemical plant fire hoax also spread this hoax. The hoax includes a YouTube video of medical workers wearing hazmat suits.[102]
- Using a different set of Twitter accounts, the IRA spreads a hoax about a purported police shooting of an unarmed black woman in Atlanta. The hoax includes a blurry video of the purported event.[102]
2015
- July onward: Thousands of fake Twitter accounts run by the IRA begin to praise Trump over his political opponents by a wide margin, according to a later analysis by The Wall Street Journal.[104][105]
- 3 November:The IRA Instagram account "Stand For Freedom" attempts to organize a confederate rally in Houston, Texas, on 14 November. It is unclear if anyone showed up. The Mueller Report identifies this as the IRA's first attempt to organize a U.S. rally.[106][107]Template:Rp
- 19 November: The IRA creates the @TEN_GOP Twitter account. Purporting to be the "Unofficial Twitter account of Tennessee Republicans," it peaks at over 100,000 followers.[108]
2016
- 10 February: IRA instructs workers to "use any opportunity to criticize Hillary and the rest (except Sanders and Trump—we support them)." [109]
- April: The IRA starts buying online ads on social media and other sites. The ads support Trump and attack Clinton.[100][101]
- 4 April: A rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Cummings was a black woman who had recently died in police custody. The IRA's "Blacktivist" account on Facebook actively promotes the event, reaching out directly to local activists on Facebook Messenger asking them to circulate petitions and print posters for the event. Blacktivist supplies the petitions and poster artwork.[64]
- 16 April: A rally protesting the death of Freddie Gray attracts large crowds in Baltimore. The IRA's Blacktivist Facebook group promotes and organizes the event, including reaching out to local activists.[69]
- 19 April: The IRA purchases its first pro-Trump ad through its "Tea Party News" Instagram account. The Instagram ad asks users to upload photos with the hashtag #KIDS4TRU to "make a patriotic team of young Trump supporters."[110]
- 23 April: A small group of white-power demonstrators hold a rally they call "Rock Stone Mountain" at Stone Mountain Park near Stone Mountain, Georgia. They are confronted by a large group of protesters, and some violent clashes ensue. The counterprotest was heavily promoted by IRA accounts on Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook, and the IRA website blackmatters.com. The IRA uses its Blacktivist account on Facebook to reach out, to no avail, to activist and academic Barbara Williams Emerson, the daughter of Hosea Williams, to help promote the protests. Afterward, RT blames anti-racist protesters for violence and promotes two videos shot at the event.[64]
- 2 May: A second rally is held in Buffalo, New York, protesting the death of India Cummings. Like the 4 April rally, the event is heavily promoted by the IRA's Blacktivist Facebook account, including attempted outreach to local activists.[64]
- 21 May: Two competing rallies are held in Houston to alternately protest against and defend the recently opened Library of Islamic Knowledge at the Islamic Da'wah Center. The "Stop Islamization of Texas" rally is organized by the Facebook group "Heart of Texas". The Facebook posting for the event encourages participants to bring guns. A spokesman for the group converses with the Houston Press via email but declines to give a name. The other rally, "Save Islamic Knowledge", is organized by the Facebook group "United Muslims of America" for the same time and location. Both Facebook groups are later revealed to be IRA accounts.[70][71]
- 29 May: The IRA hires an American to pose in front of the White House holding a sign that says, "Happy 55th Birthday, Dear Boss." "Boss" is a reference to Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin.[100][101]
- 1 June: The IRA plans a Manhattan rally called "March for Trump" and buys Facebook ads promoting the event.[100][101]
- 4 June: The IRA email account allforusa@yahoo.com sends news releases about the "March for Trump" rally to New York City media outlets.[100][101]
- 5 June: The IRA contacts a Trump campaign volunteer to provide signs for the "March for Trump" rally.[100][101]
- 23 June: The IRA persona "Matt Skiber" contacts an American to recruit for the "March for Trump" rally.[100][101]
- 24 June: The IRA group "United Muslims of America" buys Facebook ads for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally.[100][101]
- 25 June:
- The IRA's "March for Trump" rally occurs.[100][101]
- The IRA Facebook group LGBT United organizes a candlelight vigil for the Pulse nightclub shooting victims in Orlando, Florida.[73][74]
- July: The IRA's translator project grows to over 80 employees.[100][101]
- Summer: IRA employees use the stolen identities of four Americans to open PayPal and bank accounts to act as conduits for funding their activities in the United States.[100][101]
- '5 July: "United Muslims of America", an IRA group, orders posters with fake Clinton quotes promoting Sharia Law. The posters are ordered for the "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally they are organizing.[100][101]
- 6–10 July: The IRA's "Don't Shoot" Facebook group and affiliated "Don't Shoot Us" website try to organize a protest outside the St. Paul, Minnesota, police headquarters on 10 July in response to the 6 July fatal police shooting of Philando Castile. Some local activists become suspicious of the event because St. Paul police were not involved in the shooting: Castile was shot by a St. Anthony police officer in nearby Falcon Heights. Local activists contact Don't Shoot. After being pressed on who they are and who supports them, Don't Shoot agrees to move the protest to the St. Anthony police headquarters. The concerned local activists investigate further and urge protesters not to participate after deciding Don't Shoot is a "total troll job." Don't Shoot organizers eventually relinquish control of the event to local organizers, who subsequently decline to accept any money from Don't Shoot.[111][112]
- 9 July: The "Support Hillary, Save American Muslims" rally occurs in Washington, D.C. The rally is organized by the IRA group "United Muslims of America."[100][101]
- 10 July: A Black Lives Matter protest rally is held in Dallas. A "Blue Lives Matter" counterprotest is held across the street. The Blue Lives Matter protest is organized by the "Heart of Texas" Facebook group, controlled by the IRA.[77][73][71]
- 12 July: An IRA group buys ads on Facebook for the "Down with Hillary" rally in New York City.[100][101]
- 16 July: The IRA's Blacktivist group organizes a rally in Chicago to honor Sandra Bland on the first anniversary of her death. The rally is held in front of the Chicago Police Department's Homan Square building. Participants pass around petitions calling for a Civilian Police Accountability Council ordinance.[113][114]
- 23 July: The IRA-organized "Down with Hillary" rally is held in New York City. The agency sends 30 news releases to media outlets using the email address joshmilton024@gmail.com.[100][101]
- 2–3 August: The IRA's "Matt Skiber" persona contacts the real "Florida for Trump" Facebook account. The "T.W." persona contacts other grassroots groups.[100][101]
- 4 August:
- The IRA's Facebook account "Stop AI" accuses Clinton of voter fraud during the Iowa Caucuses. They buy ads promoting the post.[100][101]
- IRA groups buy ads for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. The 8,300 people who click on the ads are sent to the Agency's "Being Patriotic" Facebook page.[100][101]
- 5 August: The IRA Twitter account @March_For_Trump hires an actress to play Hillary Clinton in prison garb and someone to build a cage to hold the actress. The actress and cage are to appear at the "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida on 20 August.[100][101]
- 11 August: The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP claims that voter fraud is being investigated in North Carolina.[100][101]
- 12–18 August: The IRA's persona "Josh Milton" communicates with Trump Campaign officials via email to request Trump/Pence signs and the phone numbers of campaign affiliates as part of an effort to organize pro-Trump campaign rallies in Florida.[115]Richmond, Yale. (2008). From Nyet to Da: Understanding the New Russia. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
- 15 August: A Trump campaign county chair contacts the IRA through their phony email accounts to suggest locations for rallies.[100][101]
- 16 August: The IRA buys ads on Instagram for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies.[100][101]
- 18 August:
- The IRA uses its joshmilton024@gmail.com email account to contact a Trump campaign official in Florida. The email requests campaign support at the forthcoming "Florida Goes Trump" rallies. It is unknown whether the campaign official responded.[100][101]
- The IRA pays the person they hired to build a cage for a "Florida Goes Trump" rally in West Palm Beach, Florida.[100][101]
- 19 August:
- 20 August: 17 "Florida Goes Trump" rallies are held across Florida. The rallies are organized by Russian trolls from the IRA.[101][80]
- 27 August: The IRA Facebook group "SecuredBorders" organizes a "Citizens before refugees" protest rally at the City Council Chambers in Twin Falls, Idaho. Only a small number of people show up for the three-hour event, most likely because it is Saturday and the Chambers are closed.[116]
- 31 August:
- 3 September: The IRA Facebook group "United Muslims of America" organizes a "Safe Space for Muslim Neighborhood" rally outside the White House, attracting at least 57 people.[82]
- 9 September: The IRA sends money to its American groups to fund the 11 September rally in Miami, and to pay the actress who portrayed Clinton at the West Palm Beach, Florida, rally.[100][101]
- 20–26 September: BlackMattersUS, an IRA website, recruits activists to participate in protests over the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott in Charlotte, North Carolina. The IRA pays for expenses such as microphones and speakers.[83]
- 22 September: The IRA buys ads on Facebook for "Miners for Trump" rallies in Pennsylvania.[100][101]
- 2 October: "Miners for Trump" rallies are held across Pennsylvania. The IRA uses the same techniques to organize the rallies as they used for the "Florida Goes Trump" rallies, including hiring a person to wear a Clinton mask and a prison uniform.[100][101]
- 16 October: The IRA's Instagram account "Woke Blacks" makes a post aimed at suppressing black voter turnout.[100][101]
- 19 October The IRA runs its most popular ad on Facebook. The ad is for the IRA's Back the Badge Facebook group and shows a badge with the words "Back the Badge" in front of police lights under the caption "Community of people who support our brave Police Officers."[117]
- 22 October: A large rally is held in Charlotte, North Carolina, protesting the police shooting of Keith Lamont Scott. The IRA website BlackMattersUS recruits unwitting local activists to organize the rally.[118] BlackMattersUS provides an activist with a bank card to pay for rally expenses.[83]
- 2 November: The IRA Twitter account @TEN_GOP alleges "#VoterFraud by counting tens of thousands of ineligible mail in Hillary votes being reported in Broward County, Florida." Trump Jr. retweets it.[100][101]
- 3 November: The IRA Instagram account "Blacktivist" suggests people vote for Stein instead of Clinton.[100][101]
- 5 November: Anti-Clinton "Texit" rallies are held across Texas. The IRA's "Heart of Texas" Facebook group organizes the rallies around the theme of Texas seceding from the United States if Clinton is elected. The group contacts the Texas Nationalist Movement, a secessionist organization, to help with organizing efforts, but they decline to help. Small rallies are held in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and other cities. No one attends the Lubbock rally.[119][87][120]
- 8 November: Hours after the polls close, the hashtag #Calexit is retweeted by thousands of IRA accounts.[120]
- 11 November: A large banner is hung from the Arlington Memorial Bridge in Washington, D.C., showing a photo of Obama with the words "Goodbye Murderer" at the bottom. The IRA Twitter account @LeroyLovesUSA takes credit and is an early promoter of the banner.[121][122]
- 12 November: A Trump protest called "Trump is NOT my President" attracts 5,000–10,000 protestors in Manhattan who march from Union Square to Trump Tower. The protest is organized by the IRA using their BlackMattersUS Facebook account.[100][101]
- 19 November: The IRA organizes the "Charlotte Against Trump" rally in Charlotte, North Carolina.[100][101]
- 8 December: The IRA runs an ad on Craigslist to hire someone to walk around New York City dressed as Santa Claus while wearing a Trump mask.[110]Richmond, Yale. (2008). From Nyet to Da: Understanding the New Russia. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
2017
- 9 April: The Internet Research Agency(IRA)'s "United Muslims of America" Facebook group posts a meme complaining about the cost of the 6 April missile strike on Syria by the United States. The strike had been made in retaliation for a chemical weapons attack by the Syrian government. The meme asserts the $93 million cost of the strike "could have founded [sic] Meals on Wheels until 2029."[82]
- 3 June: The IRA's "United Muslims of America" Facebook group organizes the "Make peace, not war!" protest outside Trump Tower in New York City. It is unclear whether anyone attends this protest or instead attends the "March for Truth" affiliated protest held on the same day.[82][123][124]
- Thousands of people participate in the "Protest Trump and ideology of hate at Trump Tower!" protest outside Trump Tower in New York City. The protest was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.[125][126]
- 23 August: The Internet Research Agency's @TEN_GOP Twitter account is closed.[108]
- 6 September: Facebook admits selling advertisements to Russian companies seeking to reach U.S. voters.[127] Hundreds of accounts were reportedly tied to the Internet Research Agency.[128][102] Facebook pledges full cooperation with Mueller's investigation, and begins to provide details on purchases from Russia, including identities of the people involved.[129]
- 9 September: Thousand of people participate in the "We Stand with DREAMers! Support DACA!" rally in New York City.[130] The rally was organized by the "Resisters" group on Facebook, one of the "bad actor" groups identified by Facebook in July 2018 as possibly belonging to the IRA.[126]
- 9 September: Trump responds to a tweet from @10_gop, the "backup" account for the now-closed IRA account @TEN_GOP, saying, "THANK YOU for your support Miami! My team just shared photos from your TRUMP SIGN WAVING DAY, yesterday! I love you- and there is no question - TOGETHER, WE WILL MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!" The response is to an @10_gop tweet that simply reads "we love you Mr. President."[115][107]Template:Rp
- 28 September:
- Twitter announces that it identified 201 non-bot accounts tied to the IRA.[131]
- Democrats rebuke Twitter for its "frankly inadequate" response to Russian meddling.[132]
- Mother Jones writes that "fake news on Twitter flooded swing states that helped Trump win."[133]
- 23 October: The Daily Beast reports that Greenfloid LLC, a tiny web hosting company registered to Sergey Kashyrin and two others, hosted IRA propaganda websites DoNotShoot.Us, BlackMattersUS.com and others on servers in a Staten Island neighborhood. Greenfloid is listed as the North American subsidiary of ITL, a hosting company based in Kharkiv, Ukraine, registered to Dmitry Deineka. Deineka gave conflicting answers when questioned by The Daily Beast about the IRA websites.[134]
- 1 November: Twitter tells the Senate Intelligence Committee that it has found 2,752 IRA accounts and 36,746 Russia-linked bot accounts involved in election-related retweets.[131]
2018
- 16 February: Mueller indicts 13 Russian citizens, IRA/Glavset and two other Russian entities in a 37-page indictment returned by a federal grand jury in the District of Columbia.[101]
- A 15 July Business Insider article revealed a new Russian intelligence-linked "news" site, USAReally,[135] which follows in the footsteps of previous Russian IRA-backed troll farms, and appears to be an attempt to "test the waters" ahead of the mid-terms.[136]
- 31 July: Facebook announces they have shut down eight pages, 17 profiles, and seven Instagram accounts related to "bad actors" identified recently with activity profiles similar to the IRA. The company says it doesn't have enough information to attribute the accounts, groups, and events to the IRA, but that a known IRA account was briefly an administrator of the "Resisters" group.[137] The "Resisters" group was the first organizer on Facebook of the upcoming "No Unite The Right 2 - DC" protest scheduled in Washington, D.C., for 10 August. Some of the event's other organizers insist they started organizing before "Resisters" created the event's Facebook page.[138]
- 25 September: The New York Times reports that the Moscow-based news website "USAReally.com" appears to be a continuation of the IRA's fake news propaganda efforts targeting Americans. The site, launched in May, has been banned from Facebook, Twitter, and Reddit. A new Facebook page created by the site is being monitored by Facebook.[139]
- 12 September: The Wall Street Journal reports that nearly 600 IRA Twitter accounts posted nearly 10,000 mostly conservative-targeted messages about health policy and Obamacare from 2014 through May 2018. Pro-ObamaCare messages peaked around the spring of 2016 when Senator Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton were fighting for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. Anti-Obamacare messages peaked during the debates leading up to the attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act in the spring of 2017.[140]
- On 19 October, The US Justice Department charges 44-year old Russian accountant Elena Alekseevna Khusyaynova of Saint Petersburg with conspiracy to defraud the United States by managing the finances of the social media troll operation, including the IRA, that attempted to interfere with the 2016 and 2018 US elections.[141][142]
- 20 November: The Federal Agency of News (FAN) sues Facebook in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California for violating its free speech rights by closing its account in April. The FAN is a sister organization to the IRA that operates from the same building in St. Petersburg. The FAN claims in its filing that it has no knowledge of the IRA, even though some current FAN employees were indicted by Mueller for their work with the IRA.[143]
2019
- 12 April: The Washington Post reports that researchers at Clemson University found the IRA sent thousands of tweets during the 2016 election campaign in an attempt to drive Bernie Sanders supporters away from Hillary Clinton and towards Donald Trump.[144]
2020
- 12 March: CNN's Clarissa Ward reveals that Russia and the IRA have been running “troll factories” based in Nigeria and Ghana, with the aim to disrupt the 2020 presidential campaign.[145]
Notes
Template:Reflist Template:Notelist
See also
Template:Portal Template:Div col
- 50 Cent Party
- AK Trolls
- Astroturfing
- CyberBerkut
- Fake news website
- Internet manipulation
- Internet Water Army
- Public opinion brigades
- Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Web brigades
References
Further reading
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite journal
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite news
- Template:Cite audio
- Template:Cite news
- Entous, Adam; Nakashima, Ellen; Jaffe, Greg (26 December 2017). "Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated options." The Washington Post.
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite web
- Template:Cite news
External links
Template:Disinformation Template:Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Template:War in Donbass Template:Special Counsel investigation (2017–2019) Template:Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections Template:Authority control
<html>#tulsigabbard2024
Who is Tulsi Gabbard?
Tulsi is the first female combat veteran to ever run for president and the...Posted by <a href="https://www.facebook.com/moscowamerican3">Travis Lee Bailey</a> on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/moscowamerican3/posts/411079973545128">Tuesday, 5 January 2021</a>
America is the most violent country internationally.
There is a reason why Americans support these policies.
This is how Washington DC works:
The most obvious obstacle between any noninterventionist (presidental) candidate and mainstream success is D.C.’s foreign-policy Establishment — the think-tankers and politicians and media personalities and intelligence professionals and defense-company contractors and, very often, intelligence professionals turned defense-company contractors who determine the bounds of acceptable thinking on war and peace. In parts of D.C., this Establishment is called “the Blob,” and to stray beyond its edges is to risk being deemed “unserious,” which as a woman candidate one must be very careful not to be. The Blob may in 2019 acknowledge that past American wars of regime change for which it enthusiastically advocated have been disastrous, but it somehow maintains faith in the tantalizing possibilities presented by new ones. The Blob loves to “stand for” things, especially “leadership” and “democracy.” The Blob loves to assign moral blame, loves signaling virtue while failing to follow up on civilian deaths, and definitely needs you to be clear on “who the enemy is” — a kind of obsessive deontological approach in which naming things is more important than cataloguing the effects of any particular policy
======
From the New York Magazine article: Tulsi Gabbard ( antiwar presidential candidate ) Had a Very Strange Childhood Which may help explain why she’s out of place in today’s Democratic Party. And her long-shot 2020 candidacy.
http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019/06/tulsi-gabbard-2020-presidential-campaign.html
USDA- Jump up ↑ The Values Americans Live By. By L. Robert Kohls (PDF)
- Jump up ↑ L. Robert Kohls, Executive Director, The Washington International Center. Washington, D.C., April 1984.
- Jump up ↑ Kaplan, Dana Evan (Aug 15, 2005). The Cambridge Companion to American Judaism. Cambridge University Press. p. 118. ISBN 978-0-521-82204-6.
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedF273 - ↑ Jump up to: 6.0 6.1 6.2 Template:Cite news Russian reprint: Документы показали, как армия российских 'троллей' атакует Америку (InoPressa).
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 Template:Cite news Ukrainian reprint: Американці розпочали полювання на проплачених Кремлем інтернет-тролів (zik.ua).
- ↑ Jump up to: 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 Template:Cite news Ukrainian reprint: Де живуть тролі у РФ: як працюють інтернет-провокатори в Санкт-Петербурзі і хто ними заправляє (finance.ua).
- ↑ Jump up to: 11.0 11.1 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 15.0 15.1 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Де живуть тролі у РФ: як працюють інтернет-провокатори в Санкт-Петербурзі і хто ними заправляє Template:In lang. finance.ua. 5 March 2014
- Jump up ↑ Где живут тролли. Как работают интернет-провокаторы и кто ими заправляет Template:In lang. TsenzorNet. 10 September 2013
- Jump up ↑ Где живут тролли. Как работают интернет-провокаторы в Санкт-Петербурге и кто ими заправляет Template:In lang. Novaya Gazeta. 9 September 2013
- Jump up ↑ Американці розпочали полювання на проплачених Кремлем інтернет-тролів Template:In lang. zik.ua. 5 June 2014
- Jump up ↑ De är Putins soldater på nätet Template:In lang. DN.se. 5 February 2015
- ↑ Jump up to: 27.0 27.1 27.2 27.3 27.4 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Тролли из Ольгино переехали в новый четырехэтажный офис на Савушкина Template:In lang. dp.ru. 28 October 2014
- Jump up ↑ СМИ: «Ольгинские тролли» стали «савушкинскими» Template:In lang. Lentizdat.ru. 28 October 2014
- ↑ Jump up to: 30.0 30.1 30.2 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 31.0 31.1 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNWPL140304 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedJT150429 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedJT150429-2 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSpiegel140530 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedSDZ140613 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedNZZ140629 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedReut141125 - Jump up ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedAP161228 - Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ TrolleyBust service (in Ukrainian and Russian).
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 57.0 57.1 Template:Cite journal
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 59.0 59.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 60.0 60.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 64.0 64.1 64.2 64.3 64.4 64.5 64.6 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 69.0 69.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 70.0 70.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 71.0 71.1 71.2 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 73.0 73.1 73.2 73.3 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 74.0 74.1 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 77.0 77.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Jump up to: 80.0 80.1 80.2 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 82.0 82.1 82.2 82.3 82.4 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 83.0 83.1 83.2 83.3 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 87.0 87.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite AV media
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 96.0 96.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ http://cdn.cnn.com/cnn/2018/images/10/19/khusyaynova.complaint.pdf
- ↑ Jump up to: 100.00 100.01 100.02 100.03 100.04 100.05 100.06 100.07 100.08 100.09 100.10 100.11 100.12 100.13 100.14 100.15 100.16 100.17 100.18 100.19 100.20 100.21 100.22 100.23 100.24 100.25 100.26 100.27 100.28 100.29 100.30 100.31 100.32 100.33 100.34 100.35 100.36 100.37 Template:Cite news
- ↑ Jump up to: 101.00 101.01 101.02 101.03 101.04 101.05 101.06 101.07 101.08 101.09 101.10 101.11 101.12 101.13 101.14 101.15 101.16 101.17 101.18 101.19 101.20 101.21 101.22 101.23 101.24 101.25 101.26 101.27 101.28 101.29 101.30 101.31 101.32 101.33 101.34 101.35 101.36 101.37 101.38 Template:Cite court
- ↑ Jump up to: 102.0 102.1 102.2 102.3 102.4 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 107.0 107.1 Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 108.0 108.1 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 110.0 110.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- ↑ Jump up to: 115.0 115.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 120.0 120.1 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite tweet
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 126.0 126.1 Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- ↑ Jump up to: 131.0 131.1 Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Roose, Kevin, Is a New Russian Meddling Tactic Hiding in Plain Sight?, New York Times, 25 September 2018
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite web
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Jump up ↑ Template:Cite news
- Pages with broken file links
- Russian propaganda organizations
- Internet manipulation and propaganda
- Companies based in Saint Petersburg
- Psychological warfare
- Politics of Russia
- Internet governance
- War in Donbass
- Internet trolling
- Organizations associated with Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Russian–Ukrainian cyberwarfare
- Pages with reference errors
.jpg){kind=link}
.jpg){kind=link}