I’d Be Jailed For 15 Years
Mōrena lil shits!!
Yesterday I did something embarrassing as hell on a zoom call (we’ve all been there right??? Actually plz reply with your most mortifying zoom stories 👀👀👀) Anyway, Rubes and I were on a call with a bunch of other NZ newsrooms for some ✨training✨ and I was speaking (which is already brave of me, I know) and then someone was giving us some advice and he said: “you want to make sure your goals are nerve-wracking.” A normal person would have said “yep, ok!” or “great advice, thank you!” but noooooo, Luce had to have the last word and say “YES. I WANT OUR NERVES TO BE WRACKED.”
This is something I don’t think anyone has said or should say, ever, and it was met with the purest of silence. I reacted by hitting mute and putting my head into my hands (cameras were well and truly on, as Rubes reminded me, so they all saw this) and someone did eventually try and move the conversation along but not after those few long seconds of mortifying silence.
Anyway, then I went to a quiz night with my pals where we named our team “NZ Rugby Association” for a laugh and then proceeded to get called out by the quizmaster for getting every single rugby question wrong. A great day for humbling myself really!
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In today’s newsletter:
If I was in Russia, I’d probs be in jail for 15 years
One brave as hell Russian TV journalist protested live on air
An earthquake hits Japan
Elon Musk challenged Putin to a fistfight for Ukraine
Do you have an inner monologue?
Cooked lettuce? EW
If I was in Russia, I’d probs be in jail for 15 years
I know you’re probably sick of me talking about the media and free speech on here - but this shit is important to me, and the fact that I can speak freely on this lil daily newsy about it (without the state threatening me with prison for 15 years) means that maybe it should be important to you too.
Russia has cracked down even further on their already pretty strict media censorship, by blocking access to Facebook and major foreign news outlets, and enacting a law to punish anyone spreading “false information” about its Ukraine invasion with up to 15 years in prison.
First of all punishing people for spreading “false information” is rich coming from the Russians when that’s literally… all they do. Second of all - 15 YEARS???
This law could also make it a crime to simply call the war a “war” (the Kremlin have only been calling it a “special military operation”) either on social media or in an article or during a broadcast, so it’s dangerous as hell over there to be a journalist.
On that note, one badass Russian TV journalist protested live on air
Marina Ovsyannikova, an employee on Russia’s state Channel One television, interrupted the channel’s main news programme to protest against Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. During a live broadcast, she burst onto the set, shouting: “Stop the war. No to war.” She also held a sign saying: “Don’t believe the propaganda. They’re lying to you here.” It was signed in English: “Russians against the war.”
Ovsyannikova also released a pre-recorded video where she said:
“Regrettably, for a number of years, I worked on Channel One and worked on Kremlin propaganda, I am very ashamed of this right now. Ashamed that I was allowed to tell lies from the television screen. Ashamed that I allowed the zombification of the Russian people. We were silent in 2014 when this was just beginning. We did not go out to protest when the Kremlin poisoned [opposition leader Alexei] Navalny,”
“We are just silently watching this anti-human regime. And now the whole world has turned away from us and the next 10 generations won’t be able to clean themselves from the shame of this fratricidal war.”
“What is happening in Ukraine is a crime and Russia is the aggressor,” she said. “The responsibility of this aggression lies on the shoulders of only one person: Vladimir Putin.”
You’ve just read my above story, so you know how dangerous/ brave/badass this is - and Volodymyr Zelenskyy thought so too. He responded in a video saying:
“I’m thankful to those Russians who don’t stop trying to deliver the truth, who are fighting against disinformation and tell real facts to their friends and families, and personally to that woman who went in the studio of Channel One with an anti-war poster.”
In terms of her punishment. Ovsyannikova got off pretty lightly (if you can call this lightly) being charged 30,000 rouble ($280USD) in relation to the video message she released. She told reporters though, that she had been questioned for more than 14 hours, had not been allowed to speak to her relatives and was not provided with legal assistance. It also isn’t clear yet whether she will be facing charges for her protest on live TV - for this, she could be charged and sentenced under that “false information” law I just mentioned, but I’ll keep you in the loop.
But Marina Ovsyannikova’s actions have sparked a wave of resignations.
The BBC just reported on a bunch of the people leaving their jobs, including Marina's Channel One colleague Zhanna Agalakova who "quit her job as Europe correspondent while two journalists have left rival NTV. Lilia Gildeyeva had worked for the channel as a presenter since 2006 and Vadim Glusker had been at NTV for almost 30 years.”
I’m in two minds about this. Half of me is like “couldn't you do more by being inside these institutions” but then I’m like “nooo, it's Russia & that’s dangerous as hell, and maybe if other Russians notice you’re missing, and connect the dots as to why, they’ll start questioning these stations” and then I’m also like “you can’t douse a fire from inside the house, so you’re better to get out.” Many thoughts and feelings, the last of which: I have extremeeeee respect for journalists in Russia and Ukraine right now.
NOW THAT YOU SEE HOW IMPORTANT IT IS...
NORMALISE PAYING FOR THE MEDIA U LOVE 🥺 — www.getrevue.co
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A magnitude 7.3 earthquake hits Japan
11 years after a major earthquake hit this very region - triggering the Fukushima nuclear disaster - another huge quake has hit Japan. The epicentre was just over 50kms off the coast of Fukushima, cutting power to two million homes & prompting a tsunami warning for parts of the coast.
Thankfully at this stage, there have been no reports of damage or injuries, but the government is still trying to asses the sitch!
The Complicated Life of Kanye West, Part 2: Kim, Trump & Mental Health - Culture Vulture — open.spotify.com
In part two of our series on Kanye West, we discuss two major relationships in his life: Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump. Underpinning all of this is a long-overdue lesson on bipolar disorder - what it is & how it has manifested in Kanye's actions. A super important discussion this week, and one we hope you all take the time to tune in to!
Elon Musk challenged Putin to a fist fight for Ukraine
This section was written by Squish, who also writes stuff here & chats about it here!
The other day Elon tweeted “I hereby challenge Vladimir Putin to single combat, Stakes are Ukraine.”
Unsurprisingly Putin hasn't responded to Elon calling him out on Twitter, but Dimitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian space agency, who has been calling NASA lil bitches and threatening to deorbit the Space Station for weeks now, replied saying, “you, little devil, are still young, Compete with me weakling. It would only be a waste of time.”
To which Elon responded:
[Luce here, Squish didn’t finish this story, so I will]
Ramzan Kadyrov, the Head of the Chechen Republic, also sent a response to Elon, with a bunch of tips for him, like telling him to “attend Akhmat Fight Club to learn how to “take a punch,” going to a Broadcasting school to learn how to use the media, and train with firearms at the Russian Special Forces University.”
And Elon said:
Honestly, the more I’ve been reading about/ writing this section the stronger the “Kim there are people dying” GIF has been getting in my head. It’s another example of how this war is just extremely online and how rich ppl are removed as hell from this shit.
YOU GET HOROSCOPES TODAY
✨Here u go xx✨
Do you have an inner monologue?
Ok so I don’t, and I find it really hard to imagine what it’s like. I don’t feel like ever hear anything that’s happening in my brain, and I reckon for me it’s because every thought I have just comes out of my mouth (or onto this page) before I can control it. I genuinely don’t think I’ve ever formed a sentence in my head first, and then gone on to write it or say it - it’s all instant and extremely impulsive. However - a lot of you do! You can think things to yourself like “that was stupid” or “I’ve gotta get bread” or “fuck harry styles is hot” and actually hear it! So buzzy!
88% of you have an inner monologue
12% of you don’t
Cooked lettuce?
The fact that 12% of you think this is yum is so gross to me (also we had the exact same split for these two polls! Woah!)
12% yum
88% yuck
The Complicated Life of Kanye West, Part 2: Kim, Trump & Mental Health (Culture Vulture)
NFTs will be on Instagram soon, according to Mark Zuckerberg (The Verge)
Culture Warriors Are Very Upset About the Sweet and Inoffensive ‘Turning Red’ (VICE)
New Secret Service report details growing incel terrorism threat (CBS)
The Real Hot Vax Summer Is Coming (The Atlantic)
What is the Reading Rainbow TikTok trend? (Refinery29)
A Huge Russia/ Ukraine Update! (The Shit Show)
You can listen to us talk about all things pop culture on Culture Vulture, about THE WORLD on The Shit Show or watch us explain the internet on Extremely Online.
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LOVE YOU THE MOST, LUCE XX
