nostr:nprofile1qqsp4lsvwn3aw7zwh2f6tcl6249xa6cpj2x3yuu6azaysvncdqywxmgpz4mhxue69uhk2er9dchxummnw3ezumrpdejqzenhwden5te0ve5kcar9wghxummnw3ezuamfdejj7mnsw43rzun5d3ckxcfcwgmxzatev9mn2m34dqekcdf5xgexgmf5wde8jdty0fnx2ef5xcunven3v5u8xdn3va6kg6mnxajx5arxwvlkyun0v9jxxctnws7hgun4v5dpfm4n

What better way to celebrate the #Christmas season than by spreading the #Gospel! Could you help share this video? Would be much appreciated! God bless and #MerryChristmas #Nostr

https://youtu.be/BIsaH7H2dZg?si=3lTazRe0v7LpeCAY

https://modernity.news/2025/12/22/aussie-leaders-crush-online-free-speech-to-prop-up-failing-multiculturalism/

As radical Islamist threats continue to plague Australia, politicians are pivoting to policing speech and tightening gun laws on law-abiding citizens—now openly admitting curbs on free expression are needed to shield their multicultural agenda.

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Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has unveiled a sweeping plan to combat what she calls rising anti-Semitism, but the measures conveniently sidestep the core issue of unchecked radical Islamism behind recent attacks, focusing instead on doxxing anonymous social media users and reviewing gun laws.

In a joint news conference, Allan announced legislation that would force social media platforms to reveal identities behind anonymous accounts accused of spreading ‘hate’. “Under Victoria’s civil anti-vilification scheme which starts in 2026, the speaker of a vilifying statement generally needs to be identifiable and held accountable,” she stated.

?BREAKING: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan will push to legislate stronger hate speech laws by compelling social media platforms to identify people behind anonymous accounts used to ridicule another person or group, with a specially appointed jurist to make it legally possible. https://t.co/EaeIwSM0TY

— Australians vs. The Agenda (@ausvstheagenda) https://twitter.com/ausvstheagenda/status/2002929856833810454?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

She continued, “We recognise that this could protect cowards who hide behind anonymous profiles to spread hate and stoke fear.” emphasising, “That is why Victoria will spearhead new laws to hold social media companies and anonymous users to account and will appoint a respected jurist to unlock the legislative path forward.”

The move comes in the wake of the horrific Bondi Beach attack, where Pakistani radicals with ISIS ties slaughtered 16 people, including Jews celebrating Hanukkah. Yet, rather than addressing the importation of radical ideologies through porous borders, Allan’s response echoes the deflection seen from federal leaders.

Allan also announced a review of Victoria’s gun laws, appointing former police chief commissioner Ken Lay to examine ways to “toughen” them further. This aligns with a national push for stricter controls, even as Australia’s existing laws are among the world’s toughest—proving once again that disarming citizens does little to stop determined terrorists.

Allan’s government is also granting police new powers to ban protests in the aftermath of terror incidents, following New South Wales’ lead. While framed as a response to anti-Semitism, the timing—right after an Islamist massacre—highlights a pattern of Aussie politicians avoiding direct confrontation with radical Islam.

Instead, figures like Allan and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese repeatedly spotlight “right-wing extremists” and “neo-Nazis” as the supposed primary threats. In the days following Bondi, Albanese warned of the “rise of right-wing extremists,” despite the attackers’ clear Islamist motivations.

This unwillingness to name radical Islamism head-on persists. Clips from recent press conferences show leaders dodging questions on Islamist radicalization, pivoting to vague warnings about “extremism” from all sides—but with a heavy emphasis on the far-right. For instance, in a Sky News appearance, Albanese reiterated concerns over “neo-Nazis” infiltrating protests, even as intelligence agencies thwart Islamist plots weekly.

Reporter: “Is radical Islam the greatest domestic security threat Australia faces?”

Albanese: “Neo-Nazis” https://t.co/qFWcJqNPVG

— chris mate ? (@ChrisLXXXVI) https://twitter.com/ChrisLXXXVI/status/2001942914717597942?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

As we detailed previously, Albanese doubled down on the “diversity is our strength” mantra while cops smashed yet another Islamist terror cell en route to Sydney. That incident saw seven suspects from Victoria—Allan’s own state—rammed off the road, underscoring the real dangers festering under lax migration policies.

Victoria’s latest measures, including potential civil liability for social media giants if users can’t be identified, reek of a surveillance state expansion. Platforms could face lawsuits for “hate speech” posted anonymously, effectively ending online anonymity for critics of government policy.

In a stunning admission during a joint news conference, New South Wales Premier Chris Minns also defended Australia’s restrictive speech laws, explicitly linking them to preserving multiculturalism amid rising tensions.

Minns pushed back against calls to repeal vilification statutes, stating, “There’s been some that have been agitating in the Parliament to nullify The laws, To remove them off the statute books.”

He warned, “Think about what kind of toxic Message That would send to the New South Wales community.”

Challenging opponents, Minns demanded, “Advocates for those changes need to explain What do they want people to have the right to say? What kind of racist abuse do they want to see or be able Lawfully see on Streets of Sydney.”

Minns openly contrasted Australia with the U.S., declaring, “I recognise and I’ve fully said from beginning, we don’t have the same freedom of speech laws That they have in the United States. And the reason for that is we want to hold together our multicultural community and have people live In peace free from the kind of vilification and hatred that we do see around the world.”

Australia continues to respond to a massacre by Islamic terrorists by censoring the ability to say multiculturalism doesn’t work. https://t.co/u7ReOUnxiH

— Paul Joseph Watson (@PrisonPlanet) https://twitter.com/PrisonPlanet/status/2003115133913231433?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The clip, widely shared on X, exposes how leaders view free speech as a threat to their imported diversity model—preferring censorship over addressing the Islamist violence eroding public safety.

Australia’s slide toward authoritarianism accelerates as leaders exploit tragedies to muzzle dissent. From hate speech crackdowns to gun grabs, the focus remains on controlling citizens rather than securing borders against radicals.

If history teaches anything, it’s that sacrificing freedoms for “safety” never ends well. True security demands confronting the Islamist menace directly—not hiding behind laws that punish speech and disarm the innocent.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via https://pauljosephwatson.locals.com/support

.

https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 08:05

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/aussie-leaders-crush-online-free-speech-prop-failing-multiculturalism

https://x.com/nana_ollife/status/2003437179356192807?s=46

https://youtu.be/Rb_PGnYQO08?si=eM6pE0maH95_zB9d

https://youtu.be/2izoDpUjvho?si=ZcKLbhJiC55deoQ8

https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/12/in-their-total-war-on-online-privacy-the-liberal-democracies-of-the-collective-west-are-now-turning-their-sights-on-vpns.html

The current Danish government is clearly no friend of online privacy or anonymity. During its rotating six-month presidency of the EU council, which is, thankfully, coming to an end, it tried to push through the European Commission’s proposed Regulation to Prevent and Combat Child Sexual Abuse — aka, the “Chat Control Law” — despite widespread opposition.

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As we https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/08/the-eus-new-plans-for-online-communications-are-terrifying.html

at the time, the ostensible goal of the proposed regulations — curbing the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online — is commendable. However, the way the EU was going about it not only threatened fundamental rights and protections for everyone; it risked transforming the Internet into an even more centrally controlled, surveilled environment.

In its original form, the proposed law effectively mandated the scanning of private communications, including those currently protected by end-to-end encryption. If enacted, messaging platforms, including WhatsApp, Signal and Telegram, would have to scan every message, photo and video sent by users, even when encrypted.

The proposal was opposed by enough member states, including Germany, in large part due to grassroots pressure, to prevent it from passing the EU Council. So, the Danish government went back to the drawing board. The compromise bill it came up with mandates a voluntary search for sensitive material in private chats, instead of general monitoring, and was duly approved.

While a marked improvement on the original, the new proposal still raises serious concerns. Former MEP Patrick Beyer, one of the key defenders of privacy in Europe, warns that three major problems still remain unsolved. From https://www.euronews.com/next/2025/11/05/new-danish-proposal-for-chat-control-three-fat-problems-remain

:

[T]he proposal still does not follow the European Parliament’s position that only courts can decide to access communication channels; it still bans children from downloading messaging apps; and, lastly, anonymous communication is effectively outlawed.

[T]he current Danish proposal does not follow the European Parliament’s (EP) position to allow scanning of communications only by court order.

The EP’s proposal is a fundamental safeguard for Europeans’ privacy of communications and sets a standard that cannot later be changed by extra pressure from EU institutions, such as the famous “Voluntary Codes of Practice/Conduct” we’ve seen for general-purpose AI and disinformation.

“Voluntary” in Europe often isn’t: opting out of a “voluntary code” can mean stricter treatment, nudging tech firms toward de facto mandatory scanning without explicitly regulating it…

[T]he Danish proposal’s Article 4(3) would effectively ban anonymous email and messenger accounts, as well as anonymous chatting:

“They would need to present an ID or their face, making them identifiable and risking data leaks”.

This alone should alarm journalists and civil society organisations that rely on private communication with whistleblowers.

Seemingly not satisfied with achieving a consensus on EU-wide control of messaging apps, the Danish government recently came up with a legislative proposal that sought to https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/denmark-wants-to-ban-vpns-to-unlock-foreign-illegal-streams-and-experts-are-worried#mrfhud=true

— to access geo-restricted streaming content and bypass website blocks.

The proposal formed part of a broader legislative effort to combat online piracy that has alarmed digital rights advocates, reported Tech Radar:

Jesper Lund, chairman of the IT Political Association, expressed deep concern over the bill’s ambiguous language, stating it has a “totalitarian feel to it.”

Lund argued that the current wording could be interpreted so broadly that it would not only criminalize streaming but also hinder the sale and legitimate use of VPN services across Denmark.

“Even in Russia, it is not punishable to bypass illegal websites with a VPN,” Lundhttps://www.dr.dk/nyheder/politik/regeringen-vil-forbyde-vpn-er-til-streame-udenlandsk-tv-og-aabne-ulovlige-hjemmesider

, pointing out that the proposed Danish law could go further than measures seen in more authoritarian states.

The good news is that the proposed measure drew so much flak from digital rights advocates and the general public that the government withdrew it — or at least temporarily shelved it — last week. Again, from https://www.techradar.com/vpn/vpn-privacy-security/denmark-scraps-controversial-vpn-ban-proposal-after-public-backlash

:

The Danish Minister for Culture, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, announced on Monday that he was cutting the contentious section from the bill. “I do not support making VPNs illegal, and I have never proposed to do so,” Engel-Schmidt said in ahttps://www.thelocal.dk/20251215/denmark-drops-plan-to-restrict-use-of-vpns

. He admitted the initial text was “not formulated precisely enough” and led to a fundamental misunderstanding of its purpose.

The original proposal, part of a wider anti-piracy effort, sought to make it illegal to “use VPN connections to access media content which would otherwise not be available in Denmark, or to circumvent blocks on illegal websites.” This sparked alarm among privacy groups, who warned that the vague wording could criminalize not only streaming enthusiasts but also ordinary citizens using thehttps://www.techradar.com/vpn/best-vpn

services for legitimate privacy and security reasons…

Jesper Lund of the IT Political Association described the proposal as having a “totalitarian feel to it” and warned it could go further than measures seen in more authoritarian countries.

Denmark is by no means the only Western “liberal democracy” to have turned its sights on VPNs in recent months. Since VPNs essentially function as anonymity masks that allow users to hide their online activity and access restricted content, their popularity has grown as governments have sought to impose increasingly draconian restrictions on Internet use.

As readers https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2025/08/the-eus-new-plans-for-online-communications-are-terrifying.html

, when the UK’s Starmer government made age verification checks mandatory for accessing pornography and other supposedly adult content online in July, it sparked an explosion in VPN use. As we had previously warned, these online age verification checks, that are now proliferating across the collective West’s ostensibly liberal democracies, threaten to trap everyone, not just minors, in their web.

The Starmer government’s predictable response has been to buckle down by including amendments to its Orwellian-titled Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill that seek to ban children from using VPNs, among other things.

The UK Parliament just debated a petition with 550,000 signatures calling to repeal the Online Safety Act. It could have been a moment to defend free speech. Instead, MPs used it to demand even more control over the internet.

They said it’s “not about controlling speech,” while… https://t.co/AUNNWRs3on

— Reclaim The Net (@ReclaimTheNetHQ) https://twitter.com/ReclaimTheNetHQ/status/2001658539643691055?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

As with the age verification checks for pornography websites, the new checks, if implemented, will trap both adults and children in their web.

It would be bad enough if this were just another bout of madness on the part of Europe’s political class, but the same thing is happening throughout the so-called “Collective West”. Australia just introduced its long-awaited age verification legislation, which blocks under-16s from joining social media platforms, thereby all adults to submit ID to access platforms.

As we warned in November 2024, online age verification appears to be the Trojan Horse for the mass rollout and enforced adoption of digital IDs. Other Western jurisdictions, including the UK, the EU, and the US, are now treating the Australian rules as a blueprint for their own legislation, reports Reclaim the Net.

In the United States, https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-12-11/us-republicans-democrats-praise-australias-u16-social-media-ban/106128242

said she hopes “Australia taking this step…leads the US to actually doing something.”

Britt, a mother of two, is one of the sponsors of the bipartisan Kids Off Social Media Act, which would prevent children under thirteen from using social platforms.

Senator Josh Hawley, a Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told https://www.nbcnews.com/world/asia/australia-leader-defends-social-media-ban-teens-brag-staying-online-rcna248575

that he supports similar limits. “I like it. I’ve supported age limits here in the US for kids on social media,” he said.

“I say this as a parent…Parents need help, and they feel like they’re swimming upstream when everybody else has social media.”

Hawley, author of The Tyranny of Big Tech, said he has spoken with Australian stakeholders about the ban, though he did not identify them.

The Starmer government’s proposed amendment to the also calls for requiring social media to use “highly-effective” age assurance measures to prevent children under 16 from using such services.

The problem is that most age assurance measures are anything but effective. While governments in the West are lauding the benefits of Australia’s age verification system and its social media ban for under-16s, the reality on the ground is that Australian teenagers, like their counterparts in the UK, are finding embarrassingly easy workarounds, including using VPNs and other people’s faces, as the report below explains.

Looks like Australia's social media ban for under 16s is a colossal failure and the laughing stock of the world. Young people are smart and have easy workarounds for the "ban". They are openly mocking Anthony Albanese and one even says straight up, "I know who I'm not voting for… https://t.co/wyxxeeRUIo

— Francynancy (@FranMooMoo) https://twitter.com/FranMooMoo/status/2001793954510172361?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

After the UK implemented its similar Online Safety Act to prevent youth from accessing online adult content in July, the country’s VPN usage https://www.vpnmentor.com/news/uk-vpn-surge/

6,430% as teens sough to skirt age checks on social media platforms and pornography websites. Perhaps with time, the restrictions will become more effective.

According to Information Age, tech companies, including SNAP, Meta and Reddit, are confident of being able to comply with the new age restrictions — failure to do so could result in eight-figure fines:

Speaking with Information Age, a spokesperson for social media company Snap confirmed using a VPN won’t change existing users’ “ability to access Snapchat”.

“Snapchat determines eligibility based on where your account has been active over the past month, not just your current network connection,” they said.

“If your account is locked because you’re under 16 in Australia, it will stay locked until you turn 16 and complete age verification.”

Social media giant Meta – which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads – also confirmed it is prepared to adhere to the ban despite VPN usage.

“While VPNs allow users to change their IP address, we also consider signals beyond just IP when determining a user’s location,” a spokesperson said.

Reddit did not explain precisely how it plans to block underage VPN users, but a spokesperson confirmed it is “taking steps to comply with Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age Law, including suspending accounts of users confirmed to be under 16 and requiring new users to be at least 16 to create accounts”.

As other governments are looking to impose their own online age verification rules, they’re also looking at ways to close off access to the most important workaround: VPNs. A few months ago, Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/11/30/stop-using-your-vpn-feds-warn-iphone-and-android-users/

”:

This reissued advice first surfaced a year ago, now it will resonate given the VPN surge seen since.

Virtual Private Networks work by tunnelling data to and from a device via third-party servers. This masks location and specific activity (sites and platform visited) from the networks and ISPs carrying the traffic. Good VPNs also provide a layer of protection when connecting via public Wi-Fi networks, albeit they’re not strictly necessary.

CISA warns that “personal VPNs simply shift residual risks from the internet service provider (ISP) to the VPN provider, often increasing the attack surface. Many free and commercial VPN providers have questionable security and privacy policies.”

As a blanket warning its not unhelpful. An unsafe VPN from an unsafe developer is much worse than no VPN at all. And while hiding your location to bypass a porn ban is straightforward, most if not all the content to/from your device is encrypted anyway.

What the Forbes article doesn’t mention is the extent to which Israeli tech companies have come to dominate the VPN market. As Alan Mcleod reports for Mint Press, “a considerable chunk of the market — including three of the six most popular VPNs — is quietly operated by an Israeli-owned company with close connections to that country’s national security state, including the elite Unit 8200 and Duvdevan Units of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).”

This is the same Israel whose companies and intelligence agencies have created many of the world’s most advanced online surveillance programs and hacking tools, including https://www.mintpressnews.com/cellebrite-spyware-israel-privacy/274854/

The fact that it also controls many of the world’s VPNs, with which it could “create backdoors for Israeli intelligence to carry out a vast kompromat operation on users around the globe” is an obvious cause for concern, warns Mcleod.

In other words, one should be selective when choosing a VPN service, especially now that governments have them squarely in their sights — at the same time that they are intensifying their censorship efforts.

“Politicians have now discovered that people are using VPNs to protect their privacy and bypass these invasive laws,” https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/11/lawmakers-want-ban-vpns-and-they-have-no-idea-what-theyre-doing

warns. “Their solution? Entirely ban the use of VPNs… And that battle is being fought by people who clearly have no idea how any of this technology actually works.”

NC reader Baron Aroxdale raised a similar point in the comments section of a previous post, noting that VPN bans are unlikely to work — at least not without causing serious damage to the internet along the way:

VPNs are a very standard part of business IT. They are simply a means to connect remote computers together on the same virtual network. Support for them is normally inbuilt into operating systems, and hardware network companies will normally provide desktop applications to support VPN setup on their routers.

VPNs are about as common as internet proxies or email. You can’t just “ban” them without breaking the backbone of modern IT systems since the late 1990s.

That didn’t prevent the Danish government from trying. However, it was forced into a retreat by the ferocity of the public backlash. This may hold an important lesson for us all in the so-called “liberal” West: if we are to have any chance of preserving any degree of privacy and anonymity online, we’re going to have to fight tooth and nail for it.

Over a decade ago, popular grassroots movements in the US were able to halt the passage of the SOPA and PIPA bills that threatened free speech, internet security and online innovation. Similarly, one of the main reasons why the EU couldn’t push through the Chat Control legislation in its original form was a one-man grassroots online campaign that brought pressure to bear on Europe’s elected representatives.

In both cases, the unparalleled network effects of the internet were used as a powerful weapon against government’s repressive designs for the internet. The problem today, however, is that governments keep learning from these failures and adopting their strategy. They are also more determined than ever to bring the internet under their control, even if it means doing so in a salami slicing way — something the EU is particularly adept at.

https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 06:30

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/governments-west-turn-their-sights-vpns-they-escalate-assault-online-privacyanonymity

European security authorities have recently been loudly warning of Russian military or intelligence recruitment scams targeting unsuspecting citizens of the EU, by offering promises of jobs or money transfers, during which time the individuals are https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/germany-says-russia-using-disposable-agents-conduct-sabotage

by Moscow. This is apparently happening on the African continent as well, with a new Reuters investigation documenting that South Africans are being lured into the Russian armed forces under false pretenses.

People are allegedly promised high-level jobs and elite training in Russia, only to find out they've unwittingly joined the Russian military, and eventually find themselves fighting in Ukraine soon after documents are hastily signed. In these cases the implication is that these South African individuals are in desperate financial straits.

?itok=OvZSZn83

Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/south-africans-dragged-into-russias-war-ukraine-dig-trenches-dodge-bullets-2025-12-22/

the story of South African father-of-three Dubandlela, who was initially thrilled when his 20-year-old son signed up last summer to receive specialized training as a VIP bodyguard in Russia.

The family had struggled financially, couldn't provide university tuition for their son, and when an opportunity for a fast-tracked and solid job in Russia presented itself, the young man jumped at it as a path to a lucrative career.

And then, "Five months later, Dubandlela is in despair. His son had fallen for an alleged recruitment scam in which he and at least 16 other SA men say they were conscripted by an unspecified mercenary group and sent to join Russian forces in Ukraine."

While the South African government's relations with Russia has remained generally warm and positive even throughout nearly four years of the Ukraine war, the scandal has created strain at the highest levels.

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa's office has recently stepped in - given that several young men - possibly dozens, have been 'scammed' into joining the Russian military. Presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya issued a statement saying the Dubandlela case is "receiving the highest possible attention."

In some cases the fate of the South African citizens is unknown given the fluid and dangerous nature of a battlefield environment. "The process to retrieve those young men remains a very sensitive process,” he said. "They are facing grave, grave danger to their lives and we are still in discussions with various authorities, both in Russia as well as in Ukraine, to see how we can free them from the situation they are in."

The spokesman further sought to address the reality that many South Africans have also traveled to fight for Ukrainian forces. He suggested that this is less of an issue because it was more transparent they were either volunteering or getting paid specifically to fight on behalf of Ukraine.

"In fact, the emphasis is more with the authorities in Russia and less so with the authorities in the Ukraine, because the information that we have is that they were bungled into the Russian military forces," Magwenya told a press briefing.

While it would be hard to verify, the South African recruits are reportedly thrust into extreme conditions with lacking supplies and necessities given by the Russian military https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/south-africans-dragged-into-russias-war-ukraine-dig-trenches-dodge-bullets-2025-12-22/

:

On Dubandlela’s phone are photos that he said his son had sent earlier this month from what he said was a location near the front line in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donbas.

One shows his son in combat fatigues, awkwardly holding an AK-47 assault rifle. Another shows his son trying to sleep in his underwear on the concrete floor of a cupboard-sized basement after taking cover from Ukrainian drones. He looks so thin that his ribs are visible.

They reportedly are also given low-level positions like trench-diggers or tasked with hauling ammo or high risk logistical endeavors - all while "dodging bullets" according to the report.

"They are afraid that Russian military or Russian soldiers might kill them."

Thulani Mahlangu, a representative of parents of South African mercenaries fighting for Russia, tells https://twitter.com/SkyYaldaHakim?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

— Sky News (@SkyNews) https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/2001415779594494169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Western officials have warned that social media platforms are rife with these types of deceptive recruitment campaigns. For example, Telegram is one specific platform named by European authorities as being used by Russian intelligence to recruit unwitting actors.

In the case of the South African recruits, to many it might seem more obvious or common sense that any program advertising itself as a 'private security training course' inside Russia during an active war on its border would very likely signal that it is tied to the military and the need for extra manpower in Ukraine.

https://cms.zerohedge.com/users/tyler-durden

Wed, 12/24/2025 - 05:45

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/south-african-men-scammed-fighting-russia-become-trench-diggers