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Russian teen sentenced to 5 years in prison for 'Minecraft'-
linked terrorism
Nikita Uvarov planned to blow up a security service building
after practicing on video game
By Ailis Halligan
Russian teen sentenced to 5 years in prison for 'Minecraft'-linked terrorism
Police cars outside the Federal Security Service (FSB) building on Lubyanka Square in Moscow.
© Sputnik / Evgeny Odinokov
A Russian teenager has been sentenced to five years in prison after planning to blow up a local headquarters of Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), and first practicing on a video game.
According to the Investigative Committee, 16-year-old student Nikita Uvarov planned to destroy the building on Minecraft, a popular world-building game, and then replicate the measure in real life. Uvarov, who comes from the small Siberian town of Kansk, was sentenced on Thursday morning, and was also told to pay a 30,000 ruble ($400) fine.
The investigators said that the teenager and two of his friends had been learning how to manufacture explosives since 2019, and had practiced throwing Molotov cocktails on abandoned land in Kansk. It was also alleged that they studied extremist literature and watched videos with instructions for making explosives, and successfully made four bombs.
The Eastern District Military Court found Uvarov guilty of charges of terrorism, namely, undergoing training to carry out criminal activity, his lawyer Pavel Chikov announced.
Chikov heads Agora, an organization that represents those who may be victims of suspected human rights abuses by the authorities. The group is classified in Russia as a ‘foreign agent’ due to receiving funding from abroad.
According to the investigators, Uvarov and two other males used the video game to construct the buildings of the Kansk police department and the city’s FSB division, and plotted to virtually blow them up. Russian newspaper Kommersant reported that the teenagers used the gaming world to demonstrate how a real explosion of the buildings would take place.
While being taken into custody following the court decision, Uvarov cried, “I'm a child, I’m not a terrorist,” it was reported. His co-defendants were exempted from criminal liability for “facilitating the investigation.”
Uvarov was first detained back in 2020 along with two school friends, Denis Mikhaylenko and Bogdan Andreev, for crimes committed in their hometown of Kansk, including flyer distribution and the use of fireworks.
Specifically, the trio was arrested for distributing posters backing the release of self-described anarchist and mathematician Azat Miftakhov, one of which appeared on the local FSB building. Miftakhov was arrested in 2019 for allegedly attacking the Moscow offices of the ruling political party United Russia.
After the schoolboys’ detention, law enforcement officers were able to gain access to their online communications and found details of how they would construct virtual buildings. Authorities also uncovered criticisms of the FSB and discussions about anarchism and pyrotechnics. This is also where investigators found plans to blow up buildings in the Minecraft computer game, the Baza Telegram channel reported.
Preschool shuts down after forcing toddlers to wear ‘blackface’ masks
A peculiar classroom activity meant to celebrate Black History Month
triggered outrage among parents
A Massachusetts preschool is closing its doors indefinitely after a class assignment saw children don a form of ‘blackface’ to mark Black History Month, with the facility issuing a lengthy apology to irate parents amid the controversy.
In a statement shared online late last week, the ICKids preschool in Newtown, Massachusetts said a teacher at the school had “carried out an activity that involved black mask/black face,” and that a parent later complained that the assignment was “offensive.”
While the school noted that the staffer in question was fired over the incident, it added, somewhat cryptically, “Considering of protests [sic] happening at the center that will put the children at risk… we are closing the ICKids daycare at this time.”
The preschool did not elaborate on what the controversial ‘blackface’ activity entailed, however, a Facebook post by a self-described relative of a student there shared a photo taken in the classroom, in which children are seen with what appear to be paper plates with black faces painted on them. One little girl is seen holding a plate to her face as a mask.
“My cousin sent me a picture of… her child’s daycare in the town of Newton, Ma. This is how they decided to celebrate Black history month, by having the students make Black Face,” the family member wrote alongside the photo.
Nadirah Pierce, the mother of a student at the Newton school, told a local NBC affiliate the assignment was “unacceptable,” adding “I don’t really understand the concept of this project.”
It's very likely that the staffer didn't understand the concept either. Much like Justin Trudeau when he was an elementary school teacher.
The mother was also critical of the school’s initial apology, which stated: “To all who are offended, we sincerely apologize for what happened with one of our classroom activities: blackface.
“Unfortunately we didn’t do enough research on black history and carried out a wrong activity. We are sorry about it and we mean it!” the original statement went on. Pierce described that missive as “empty,” and said the lengthier mea culpa posted to Facebook was still “disheartening.”
However, while the Newton school said it would be shutting down for an unspecified period of time, it did suggest it could someday resume operations, stating “In the event that we reopen our doors all staff will be trained in Diversity” and that “multicultural issues in child care and other mandated professional development will be done continuously through the year.”
I have to agree with him...
Billionaire compares crypto to ‘venereal disease’
Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger wants virtual currency banned
Charlie Munger, the longtime business partner of Warren Buffett, has ripped cryptocurrencies, likening them to a sexually transmitted disease. In a comment that went viral, the veteran investor also called for virtual currencies to be banned.
“I certainly didn’t invest in crypto. I’m proud of the fact I’ve avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. I just regard it as beneath contempt,” Munger said at a shareholder’s Q&A session at the annual meeting for LA-based newspaper company, Daily Journal Corp, where he serves as chairman.
The 98-year-old billionaire investor added that he “admire[s] the Chinese for banning it.”
The news, first reported by Bloomberg, comes months after Berkshire Hathaway bought $1 billion worth of stock in a digital bank that focuses on crypto. The SEC filing submitted earlier this week confirmed the holding’s crypto investments into Nubank, a digital bank based in Brazil.
Last December, Nubank raised $2.6 billion in its New York IPO, valuing the fintech firm at over $40 billion.
Munger and Buffett have been long-standing critics of cryptocurrencies. Buffett has previously derided Bitcoin for being an asset that “does not create anything,” calling it “rat poison” and saying that crypto is nothing more than a “delusion that attracts charlatans.”
Exactly! And blockchain is a horrendous waste of power that could be used for something useful.
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