Scammers using text messages to drain bank accounts in new ploy
Anna Werner Wernera@cbsnews.com – May 26, 2023
In a stark reminder of the growing threat of financial scams, Deborah Moss, owner of a small catering business, found herself ensnared in a sophisticated bank scam that started with a seemingly harmless text message.
Moss, who had dedicated over a decade to building her business, says she had finally accumulated enough savings to pursue a peaceful life in rural Guerneville, California. But her dreams began to shatter after she received a text message purporting to be from her bank, Chase, inquiring about an unauthorized $35 debit card charge from another state. Initially dismissing it as a minor inconvenience, Moss promptly replied.
Shortly after replying to the text, Moss received a call from someone claiming to be a representative from Chase Bank, with the caller ID displaying the bank’s name. On the other end of the line was an individual identifying herself as “Miss Barbara” from “Chase ATM.” She requested permission from Moss to issue a new debit card to resolve the alleged fraudulent charge.
Moss says Miss Barbara told her she needed to verify Moss’s identity and to do so, instructed Moss to read the numbers from a subsequent text message back to her over the phone.
“And I would just repeat those numbers to her, and she’d say, ‘That’s great. Thank you so much, Ms. Moss,'” said Moss.
Over the next week, Miss Barbara called Moss several times, each time saying there was a problem with delivery of the card and each time asking Moss to verify her identity by reading back the numbers from subsequent text messages.
It wasn’t until Moss visited her nearest bank branch that the devastating truth emerged. A supervisor informed her that her account had been drained, leaving her life savings of nearly $160,000 completely depleted.
“That was all my money. It took me 12 years to get that money, and that was my life savings,” Moss said.
Moss’ ordeal sheds light on the escalating trend of fraud and the alarming financial losses suffered by Americans, with reported losses reaching a staggering $8.8 billion last year, marking a 30% surge from the previous year, according to government data.
The text messages asking Moss to authenticate her account were authentic: they were sent by Chase Bank as part of its two-factor authentication system, designed to enhance customer security. But the scammers deceived Moss into revealing the numbers to them over the phone, enabling them to bypass security measures and transfer large sums of money from Moss’s account. In just one week, they conducted six wire transfers, some as high as nearly $48,000.
Moss filed a police report and submitted a claim to Chase Bank, hoping to recover her stolen funds. However, her hopes were dashed when, after a five-week wait, the bank denied her claim.
Chase Bank appeared to fault Moss, writing her in a letter, “During our review we found you did not take the appropriate steps to protect your account from theft or unauthorized use.” Bank officials said they would not reimburse her account, leaving Moss devastated and feeling betrayed.
“My world fell apart. My whole world fell apart,” Moss said. “You think of your bank as being some place that you put your money so that it’s safe but it’s not safe. It needs to change.”
JPMorgan Chase provided a statement to CBS News in response, stating, “Regrettably, Ms. Moss’s account was compromised as a result of scammers deceiving her and obtaining her personal confidential information.”
Chase Bank told CBS News that bank officials had attempted to contact Moss via phone and email regarding the wire transfers at the time. Moss says she did not receive any of these messages. Chase offered the following tips for consumers to remember: Do not share personal account information such as ATM PINs or passcodes. Keep in mind that the bank typically does not initiate phone calls, but if you want to ensure you are speaking with the bank, call the number on the back of your card. Lastly, avoid clicking on suspicious links in texts or emails.
JPMorgan Chase defended its commitment to combating fraud, saying in a statement: “Each year we invest hundreds of millions of dollars in authentication, risk models, technology and associate, client education to make it harder for scammers to trick customers.”
David Weber, a certified fraud examiner and forensic accounting professor, believes that Chase Bank bears responsibility for, in his opinion, failing Moss and neglecting to implement stronger security measures.
“Anyway you look at it, they failed. They failed her,” Weber said. “The bank could have required her to come in and sign the wire form in person. They left everything for her to be at risk, and now they’re saying they bear no responsibility.”
He also said that the current two-factor authentication systems, including text messages, are insufficient in combating the increasingly sophisticated tactics employed by scammers.
“This is happening hundreds and thousands of times a day in the United States using the exact same methods here. The two-factor authentication is not strong enough to protect this customer,” Weber said.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM JPMORGAN CHASE:
Threats are changing every day as scams become more sophisticated. As threats evolve, so do our methods to prevent both fraud and scams.We know we cannot thwart these scams alone. It takes an all-hands-on deck approach in partnership with law enforcement, the private sector, and government to help prevent, avoid and prosecute these crimes. Consumers play a critical role too, which is why we continue to educate them about the latest scams so that they can spot and avoid them.
SCAM PREVENTION TIPS:
Protect your personal account information, ATM pins, passwords and one-time passcodes. If someone contacts you and asks for this information, especially if it’s someone claiming to be from your bank, do not share it with them.If you want to be sure you’re talking to a legitimate representative of the company that contacted you, call the number on their official website. If you want to be sure you are talking to a legitimate representative of your bank, call the number at the back of your card or visit a branch. Never click on suspicious links in a text or email or grant anyone remote access to your phone or computer. Do not respond to phone, text or internet requests for money or access to your computer or bank accounts. Banks will never call, text or email asking for you to send money to yourself or anyone else to prevent fraud. To learn more about common scams and ways to protect yourself visit: www.chase.com/security-tips.
To Improve Circulation and Boost Heart Health, Doctors Recommend Eating These Surprising Super Foods
Alyssa Shaffer – May 26, 2023
You probably know by now what you shouldn’t eat when it comes to maintaining a healthy heart. But what about the stuff that can help keep your ticker beating strong? Cambridge, Massachusetts-based researcher William Li, MD, has spent more than 30 years studying angiogenesis — the process of how the body grows blood vessels and keeps them healthy.
“That is actually the beating heart of the cardiovascular system,” Dr. Li explains. After all, our body has more than 60,000 miles of vessels that pump oxygen and nutrients throughout the body, including to and from the heart. “What we eat is vitally important to the function of these vessels and to the heart itself,” says Dr. Li, whose bookEat To Beat Disease is based on the latest research in this field.
Here, a few of the latest findings, including Dr. Li’s recommendations for the best foods to reduce your risk of heart disease.
Foods That Improve Circulation
“It’s crucial to eat foods that can stimulate or help maintain good blood vessel growth for the heart and the rest of the body,” says Dr. Li. Angiogenesis not only keeps blood circulating throughout the body but also jumps into action if there is a threat to circulation, such as a blockage in a blood vessel with atherosclerosis or a narrowing of the coronary vessels or carotid arteries. In fact, Dr. Li writes, people can live for years or even decades with coronary heart disease or carotid disease if the angiogenesis defense system does its job. These foods can help stimulate the growth of blood vessels and improve how blood flows throughout the body.
Sample Fare: Apples (including the peel), capers, sesame seeds, cranberries
Foods That Activate Stem Cells
“We know through research that humans regenerate from the inside out using our own body’s stem cells,” says Dr. Li. These cells have a wide range of functions, including helping to protect and rebuild the heart after injury such as a heart attack. They also help protect blood vessels throughout the body, including those that line the heart. Research has shown that subjects with the highest levels of stem cell factor (a blood marker essential for healthy stem cell functions) had a 50 percent lower risk of heart failure and a 34 percent lower risk of stroke — as well as a 32 percent lower risk of death from any cause — over a 19-year period.
Sample Fare: Green tea, red wine, dark chocolate, mangoes
Foods That Reduce Inflammation
Inflammation plays an important role in helping our immune system do its job, like attacking unwanted invaders like bacteria or viruses. But chronic inflammation is problematic for a number of health concerns, including your heart. Inflammation plays a pivotal part in the development of atherosclerosis (the buildup of plaque inside the arteries). “Almost all of us have some plaque in the blood vessels,” says Dr. Li. “If these rupture and break off, they can form a clot that can block blood flow, causing a heart attack or stroke.” Anti-inflammatory foods can help tamper down the chronic inflammation that can trigger this immune response.
Sample Fare: Dark leafy greens, citrus fruits, green tea, garlic
Foods That Improve the Microbiome
Your heart and gut have a surprisingly close relationship. “We have about 39 trillion bacteria that make up their own ecosystem in the gut, known as the microbiome,” explains Dr. Li. “These bacteria help to lower inflammation, reduce the amount of lipids in the body, and control blood pressure.” Eating foods that nourish your microbiome can also help your cardiovascular system.
Sample Fare: Prebiotics (which feed the bacteria that live in the gut) including lentils, walnuts, and mushrooms; Probiotic foods (rich in bacteria) including yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and cheeses like Gouda and Parmigiano-Reggiano
Star Players
Want to lower your risk of heart disease while making your stomach happy? These foods (and beverages) can play an especially important role in keeping you healthy.
Dark Chocolate
As if we need one more reason to love chocolate, turns out it’s good for your heart, thanks to its rich source of natural polyphenols, which help protect blood vessels as well as boost overall heart function. It also helps stimulate stem cell production — a study from the University of California San Francisco among subjects with heart disease found those who had hot chocolate made with extra-potent dark chocolate twice a day had double the number of stem cells in their bloodstream, as well as improved blood flow, after 30 days. Dark chocolate also has a positive effect on gut microbiota, says Dr. Li.
Green Tea
A regular on lists of the world’s healthiest foods, it helps to reduce chronic inflammation, stimulate the growth of new blood vessels, feed the microbiome, and support the growth of stem cells. Green tea is especially rich in the polyphenol EGCG, which reduces harmful angiogenesis, lowers blood pressure, improves blood lipids, and has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
Beer
Believe it or not, brewski has its own health benefits, thanks to bioactive compounds that float into beer during the fermentation process. One of these, xanthohumol, is a polyphenol that may help reduce the risk of heart disease, says Dr. Li. “Drinking a moderate amount of beer — one glass or bottle a day — can help lead to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease,” he notes. The emphasis here, of course, is in moderation — too much of any alcohol is harmful to your overall health, and those liquid calories can add up.
Coffee
Your morning eye-opener contains a large number of natural chemicals, including chlorogenic acid, which helps blood vessels stay dilated and protects the heart, says Dr. Li. “It can also help prevent harmful blood vessels from growing into plaque, feeding its growth, which can cause it to rupture.” Studies have found that people who drink two to three cups of coffee daily may have a lower risk of heart disease.
Chicken Thighs
Dark chicken meat contains high levels of vitamin K2, or menaquinone, a naturally occurring fat-soluble vitamin. Research has shown that people who eat more foods rich in K2 had more than a 57 percent reduction in the chance of dying from heart disease and a 52 percent reduced risk for severe hardening of the arteries due to plaque buildup, says Dr. Li.
A version of this article appeared in our partner magazine, The Complete Guide to Heart Health, in 2019.
This article originally appeared on our sister site, Woman’s World.
NC Governor declares ‘state of emergency’ due to GOP school voucher expansion, tax cuts
T. Keung Hui – May 22, 2023
Kaitlin McKeown
Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper declared Monday that “public education in North Carolina is facing a state of emergency” in the face of “extreme legislation” being promoted by Republican state lawmakers.
In a video posted online Monday, Cooper said GOP lawmakers are “starving” public schools and “dropping an atomic bomb on public education” with plans to further cut taxes and increase funding for private school vouchers. He said the public needs to speak out against the changes before they’re adopted in the state budget.
“It’s clear that the Republican legislature is aiming to choke the life out of public education,” Cooper said. “I am declaring this state of emergency because you need to know what’s happening.
“If you care about public schools in North Carolina, it’s time to take immediate action and tell them to stop the damage that will set back our schools for a generation.”
Cooper’s speech comes as Republican legislative leaders are negotiating a state budget deal for the next two years that includes tax cuts and expansion of private school vouchers. The GOP has a legislative supermajority, so it can adopt a spending plan and other legislation without needing Cooper’s support.
The governor will hold public events across the state in the days ahead to call on parents, educators and business leaders to speak against the GOP proposals, the Associated Press reported.
Cooper, who can’t run again for a third consecutive term, has been losing political power. Last week, seven Democrats joined Republicans in passing the Senate budget proposal.
“Meaningless publicity stunts do nothing to improve educational outcomes in our state,” Randy Brechbiel, a spokesman for Senate leader Phil Berger, said in a statement Monday. “The House and Senate will continue working together to put forward budget proposals that address the needs of students and parents.”
‘Our teachers deserve better’
Under the Senate budget, average teacher pay would increase 4.5% over the next two years with the biggest increase going toward beginning educators. The House GOP budget had average 10.2% raises for teachers over the next two years.
Cooper has advocated for 18% raises for teachers over the next two years.
“Our teachers deserve better pay and more respect but the legislature wants to give them neither one,” Cooper said.
The $250 pay raise that the Senate would provide veteran teachers over the next two years “is a slap in the face,” Cooper said. He said the proposed Senate pay raise will not help the state deal with the thousands of teacher vacancies.
‘Cut public schools to the bone’
The Senate GOP budget would also expand the Opportunity Scholarship program so that any family, regardless of its income, would qualify to apply for vouchers to attend a K-12 private school.
Republicans point out that public education spending would grow by several hundred million dollars a year annually in their competing plans. And GOP leaders consider expansion of the private-school vouchers program part of a philosophy to give all children access to education options — whatever the source — to help them succeed.
But an Office of State Budget and Management analysis says the bill could cost traditional public schools $200 million in state funding, rural counties being particularly hard hit.
The Senate budget would also accelerate the tax cuts that Republicans put in previous budgets.
Cooper accused GOP lawmakers of wanting to help millionaires by giving them more tax cuts and making it possible for them to get private school vouchers. Currently, the Opportunity Scholarship program is limited to lower-to-middle-income families.
GOP lawmakers are choosing corporations and millionaires over public schools, the governor charged.
“Public school superintendents are telling me they’ll likely have to cut public schools to the bone — eliminate early college, AP and gifted courses, art, music, sports — if the legislature keeps draining funds to pay for private schools and those massive tax breaks,” Cooper said.
Trump Rolled Back Decades Of Clean Water Protections. The Supreme Court Just Went Even Further.
Alexander C. Kaufman, Chris D’Angelo – May 26, 2023
More than three decades ago, a Michigan man named John Rapanos tried to fill in three wetlands on his property to make way for a shopping center. State regulators warned him that doing so was illegal without federal Clean Water Act permits. Rapanos argued that you couldn’t navigate a boat from his wetlands to a federal waterway, so the Environmental Protection Agency had no jurisdiction on his land. When Rapanos ignored the EPA’s cease-and-desist letters, the government successfully brought a civil lawsuit against him, which he then vowed to “fight to the death.”
Instead, he made it all the way to the nation’s highest court. In a split decision in 2006, the Supreme Court overturned the judgment against Rapanos, but did not reach a majority ruling on whether wetlands that flowed into federally regulated “waters of the United States” qualified for the same protections.
In 2016, President Barack Obama sought to answer that question with a new EPA rule extending the Clean Water Act of 1972 to include millions of acres of marshes, bogs and lagoons whose water — and any pollution added to it — channel into already federally regulated waterways.
Republicans chided the move as a federal land grab, while environmentalists cheered what they saw as a reasonable interpretation of the decadesold law through the lens of the latest science shows about hydrology and the increasing threat of extreme droughts and toxic algae blooms.
In 2020, President Donald Trump rolled back much of the rule’s protections, slashing the total protected area of wetlands roughly in half. In 2022, President Joe Biden moved to restore the Obama-era rule.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court’s new right-wing supermajority revisited the 2006 decision to strike down federal protections for virtually all the wetlands Trump deregulated — and then some, eliminating even the few safeguards the Republican administration tried to preserve.
An environmental advocate holds up a sign during a rally outside the Supreme Court in October. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Protect our Waters)
An environmental advocate holds up a sign during a rally outside the Supreme Court in October. (Photo by Paul Morigi/Getty Images for Protect our Waters)
The 5-4 decision — written by Justice Samuel Alito, and joined by Justices John Roberts, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett — revoked the Clean Water Act’s authority over at least 59 million acres of wetlands across the U.S., according to an estimate by the environmental group Earthjustice.
“You’re going to see the Clean Water Act significantly scaled back in terms of coverage,” said Duke McCall, a partner who specializes in federal water rules at the law firm Morgan Lewis. “The impacted waters are going to be significantly narrowed.”
The Obama administration included any wetlands linked to existing federal waterways via underground aquifers or streams. The Trump EPA narrowed the scope to only include wetlands with visible surface connections to rivers, lakes and other long-standing “waters of the United States.” But the Republican administration made an exception for wetlands cut off from federal waterways via a berm, bridge or other artificial barrier.
The court granted no such leeway, instead dismantling nearly half a century of established federal jurisdiction over wetlands — a fact that conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh noted in his dissenting opinion.
At the very least, the ruling takes the U.S. back to the mid-1970s, to the early days of the Clean Water Act, said Emily Hammond, an energy and environmental law professor at George Washington University. But Hammond stressed it could be worse than that, noting that the majority’s opinion repeatedly cites the Supreme Court’s 1870 decision in The Daniel Ball case, which found that waterways are “navigable” only if they are “navigable in fact” and used for interstate or foreign commerce.
“It’s always been understood, I think, by courts and by Congress and by agencies that when Congress used the term ‘waters of the United States’ it meant to go further than that ‘navigable in fact’ standard that Daniel Ball stood for,” Hammond said. “To see the majority now citing that old decision suggests their eye is to shrink the scope of the Clean Water Act down back to where it would have been before we had a Clean Water Act.”
“In some ways, this takes us back that far,” Hammond said, referring to the 1870 case.
Kavanaugh wrote that while the last eight previous administrations dating back to 1977 “maintained dramatically different views of how to regulate the environment, including under the Clean Water Act,” all of them “recognized as a matter of law that the Clean Water Act’s coverage of adjacent wetlands means more than adjoining wetlands and also includes wetlands separated from covered waters by man-made dikes or barriers, natural river berms, beach dunes, or the like.”
Thursday’s ruling, he argued, will have “negative consequences for waters” across the country.
“By narrowing the Act’s coverage of wetlands to only adjoining wetlands, the Court’s new test will leave some long-regulated adjacent wetlands no longer covered by the Clean Water Act, with significant repercussions for water quality and flood control throughout the United States,” Kavanaugh wrote.
Michael and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake, Idaho, pose for a photo in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 14, 2011. The Supreme Court on Thursday, May 25, 2023, made it harder for the federal government to police water pollution in a decision that strips protections from wetlands that are isolated from larger bodies of water. The justices boosted property rights over concerns about clean water in a ruling in favor of an Idaho couple who sought to build a house near Priest Lake in the state’s panhandle.More
Michael and Chantell Sackett of Priest Lake, Idaho, pose for a photo in front of the Supreme Court in Washington on Oct. 14, 2011. The Supreme Court on Thursday, May 25, 2023, made it harder for the federal government to police water pollution in a decision that strips protections from wetlands that are isolated from larger bodies of water. The justices boosted property rights over concerns about clean water in a ruling in favor of an Idaho couple who sought to build a house near Priest Lake in the state’s panhandle.
The ruling is part of what liberal Justice Elena Kagan views as a clear trend by the court to curb the federal government’s legal authority to regulate pollution in an era of dramatic ecological upheaval — when other countries are taking drastic steps to preserve some semblance of nature’s current biodiversity and order. Last year, the Supreme Court drastically limited EPA’s authority to curb power plant emissions under the Clean Air Act.
“The vice in both instances is the same: the Court’s appointment of itself as the national decision-maker on environmental policy,” Kagan wrote. “So I’ll conclude, sadly, by repeating what I wrote last year, with the replacement of only a single word. ‘[T]he Court substitutes its own ideas about policymaking for Congress’s. The Court will not allow the Clean [Water] Act to work as Congress instructed. The Court, rather than Congress, will decide how much regulation is too much.’”
Last year, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of hearing a case on a defunct power plant regulation — the high court typically rejects suits with no active legal bearing — in what was widely seen as an attempt to preemptively stop the Biden administration from reviving a controversial Obama-era rule. The court’s six conservative justices, including Kavanaugh, ruled in favor of permanently sealing off the legal avenue the Obama administration took to justify parts of its Clean Power Plan regulation.
The conservative justices’ apparent partisan agenda is hardly the only perceived conflict of interest sowing mistrust in the nation’s highest court. The Trump-appointed Barrett, whose father spent much of his career working for Royal Dutch Shell, declined to recuse herself from key cases involving the oil giant, even as Justice Samuel Alito stepped aside over his disclosed investments in oil and companies.
The investigative news outlet ProPublica published a series of exposés over the past month revealing that Thomas, who was appointed by President George H. W. Bush, failed to disclose private jet trips and land deals he received from billionaire real-estate developer Harlan Crow. The National Multifamily Housing Council, which has close ties to Crow — the CEO of Crow Holdings Inc. is also the chair of that group, and three of Crow’s companies are dues-paying members — filed an amicus brief on an earlier iteration of this case, as HuffPost’s Paul Blumenthal reported.
Republican lawmakers celebrated Thursday’s decision as a win for family farmers crushed under the boot of regulators seeking to make living off the land ever harder and more complicated.
“In a huge win for farmers, ranchers, small business owners, and families — the Supreme Court has ditched the Obama/Biden WOTUS rule overreach once and for all,” Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) wrote in a statement.
But while “farmers and small business owners have been held up” as the most sympathetic victims of purported government overreach, McCall said “developers are a huge affected group who have been strong opponents” of expanded wetland protections.
Another way that Thursday’s ruling turns the clock back to before the Clean Water Act was passed in 1972 is by effectively restoring a variable patchwork of state water rules, Hammond said.
“The Clean Water Act was designed of course to create some floor among the states so that we wouldn’t have the race to the bottom, polluters moving to states where they could pollute more because the policies were more lenient,” they said. “This decision so dramatically undermines the Clean Water Act that we do in a sense go back to the times of significant disparities among the states in terms of protections for our waters.”
“These kinds of decisions are starting to add up,” Hammond added. “There’s no doubt there will be cumulative impacts and we’ll see shifts as a result.”
CORRECTION: A previous version of this story suggested the facts of the Rapanos case occurred in the 2000s. They occurred in the 1980s.
The coming Russian revolution will unleash horrifying new demons
Colonel Richard Kemp – May 25, 2023
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner Group military company speaks holding a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers in Bakhmut
Yevgeny Prigozhin’s latest bombast against the Russian MOD and, by inference, the Kremlin itself, should not be seen as just another rant from a blowhard with a track record. His extraordinary threats of internal violence – “mobs with pitchforks” – and even revolution are a stark indicator of just how serious things are getting behind the scenes for Putin’s regime.
Prigozhin was predictably swift to claim credit for his Wagner forces in the capture of Bakhmut, but seemed to place greater emphasis on the cost. He claimed 20,000 of his own men had been killed, which is almost certainly a gross under-estimate, and to that we must add a very large number of Russian army troops. Given that possession of Bakhmut brings Russia no obvious strategic or even tactical gain, Prigozhin’s apocalyptic talk almost echoes the sentiments of King Pyrrhus of Epirus after he defeated the Romans at the Battle of Asculum, that “one other such victory would utterly undo him”.
Bakhmut stands as an allegory of the entire Russian war so far – inflicting huge damage at great cost and to no advantage. If it continues in this vein, Prigozhin’s vision of revolution is not impossible. He spoke of 1917, when soldiers and their families stood up against the Russian government. But you don’t need to go back that far to draw even closer parallels to what is happening today. The war in Afghanistan played a major role in the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Originally conceived as a short-term intervention, like Ukraine, the campaign in fact went on for 10 years and cost more than 15,000 Soviet lives. Defeat at the hands of US-armed mujahideen fighters humiliated and discredited the Soviet army, vitiating the glue that was so essential in holding the country together. Loss of perception of military invincibility emboldened dissidents including disaffected war veterans and their families, especially in the non-Russian republics which provided a disproportionate quantity of the fighting troops – and the casualties.
Afghanistan also undermined the confidence of Soviet leaders to rely on the army to quell rebellion. Anti-war feeling grew among the population as the conflict ground on and casualties built up, causing a fundamental shift in the hitherto compliant media, which began to publish non-approved news stories about what was going on in the war and at home.
All of these effects are more acute today, with vastly greater casualties in a much shorter time, inflicted on a significantly smaller population. And in an era where the internet and social media throws military ineptitude under a much more intense spotlight than was ever imaginable back in the days of Afghanistan.
The impact of a catastrophically failing war could perhaps be weathered better in a country with greater structural resilience. But the Russian Federation is hyper-fragile, with its energy dependent economy ruptured by sanctions, rampant corruption increasingly resented by a population with limited prospects of prosperity further diminished by war, growing ethnic resentments among non-Russian populations who have paid the highest price in the fighting, and a political system totally dependent on Putin’s cult of personality that has now been harshly exposed as damaged goods.
If this war does lead to fundamental change in the Russian Federation it is likely to follow a much rockier road than the break-up of the Soviet Union. One thing we should not expect to see is an emergent regime that wants to end the war, usher in a new democracy and establish cordial relations with the West.
Don’t expect another Mikhail Gorbachev. Instead, we could well be looking at a protracted scenario of chaos, violence, rebellion and repression, with fighting between the Russian army, national guard, security services, the plethora of private armies and perhaps Prighozin’s vision of mobs on the streets with pitchforks. Even if it doesn’t collapse into ethnic fiefdoms, it will be fought over by competing hardliners incensed by the betrayal of their forces by a corrupt elite.
None of this might happen of course, but we should remember that the disintegration of the Soviet Union was unexpected both in scale and speed; it was too big to fail. If, however, something like it does come to pass, the fall of the Russian Federation might diminish the present threat it presents to European and global security.
But this time, let’s not hear any talk of “peace dividends”, because we can be certain of one thing – Russia will rebuild itself and once again come out fighting.
Colonel Richard Kemp is a former British Army officer. He was an infantry battalion commander and saw active duty in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan
Wagner boss, “Putin’s butcher,” warns Russia could face new revolution
CBSNews – May 25, 2023
The man in charge of Russia’s notorious Wagner Group private mercenary army, Yevgeny Prigozhin, has warned that Russia could face a “revolution” and lose its war in Ukraine unless the country’s “elites” fully commit to the fight and put the country “into North Korea mode,” with martial law imposed, to achieve results on the front lines.
In a lengthy video interview with a pro-war, pro-Kremlin blogger, Prigozhin lashed out against Russia’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and his daughter Ksenia, a sports executive whose New Year wartime vacation in Dubai drew ire from the Russian public.
Russia at risk of a pitchfork “revolution”
“The children of elites… allow themselves to lead a public, fat, carefree life,” Prigozhin fumed, “while the children of others arrive back shredded to pieces in zinc coffins.”
An image taken from a video posted online by the Prigozhin Press Service on May 5, 2023, shows the head of Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, standing by bodies in an unknown location as he addresses the camera. The owner of Russia’s private military company Wagner, Prigozhin, said he would pull Wagner forces from the battle for the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut on May 10, accusing Russia’s military command of starving the group of ammunition. / Credit: Prigozhin Press Service via APMore
“This duality may end like it did in 1917, with a revolution, when first the soldiers rise up, and after that their loved ones do,” he warned, referring to the Russian Revolution that toppled the country’s monarchy more than a century ago. Prigozhin said Russian citizens could raid the elites’ homes with “pitchforks… and don’t think there are hundreds of them, now there are now tens of thousands of relatives of those killed, and there will probably be hundreds of thousands.”
It was hardly the first time Prigozhin has criticized the country’s top brass or its political and business elite, whom he considers incompetent and has even accused of treason for having foreign property and sending their children abroad, but the interview stood out for the harshness of his critique of the strategic blunders by Russian military forces in their flagging war in Ukraine.
“Prepare for a hard war”
“We stormed in an aggressive manner and stomped our boots all over Ukraine while looking for Nazis,” Prigozhin said. “We approached Kyiv, s**t our pants, and retreated. Next onto Kherson, where we also s**t our pants and retreated, and nothing seems to be working out for us.”
He said the vague goals stated by his long-time associate President Vladimir Putin and other Russian officials at the beginning of the war, as aiming to “denazify” and “demilitarize” Ukraine, had failed.
Prigozhin avoided criticizing Putin himself. He even reaffirmed his devotion to the Russian leader, the war in Ukraine and the Russian motherland, blaming Shoigu and the Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov for a poorly organized chain of command and corruption that left the Russian Armed Forces unprepared for Ukraine’s fierce, Western-backed resistance.
Prigozhin, who grew rich on government catering contracts and has since branched out, as CBS News’ own investigation has found, to bankroll his private army through a vast and brutal international criminal enterprise, offered two potential scenarios of how he believed the war in Ukraine may pan out for Russia:
“There are optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. The optimistic one, which I don’t really believe in, is that Europe and America will get tired of the Ukrainian conflict, then China will put everyone at the negotiating table,” he said. “We will agree that everything that we have already seized is ours, and everything that has not been seized is not ours. It is unlikely that this scenario is possible.”
Instead, Prigozhin said, Ukraine could get more Western weapons and ramp up its long-expected counteroffensive, which “may succeed in some places.”
“They will try to restore their 2014 borders, and this could easily happen; they will attack Crimea, they will try to blow up the Crimean bridge, cut off the supply lines, and for us, this scenario won’t be good, so we need to prepare for a hard war,” he continued.
“We are in such a condition that we could f***ing lose Russia, which is the main problem… We need to impose martial law,” Prigozhin concluded.
Prigozhin offers Wagner Group death toll
The Wagner chief gave his first estimates on the levels of casualties among his company’s mercenaries, saying he had recruited 50,000 convicts from Russian prisons during the war, 20% of whom had died, along with 10,000 other forces who were hired on contract.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner Group and an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is seen in a video aired on January 12, 2023 by Russian state media addressing a group of men identified as the first set of former prisoners released in exchange for serving in Russia’s war in Ukraine. / Credit: RIA Novosti
The White House said in early May that around 10,000 Wagner fighters had been killed around the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the bloodiest battle of the war so far, since December alone.
It’s impossible to verify either the U.S. estimate or Prigozhin’s own figure, which is double, but spans the entire 15 months of the war.
Russia’s Defense Ministry hasn’t released casualty figures since September, when it said only around 6,000 regular soldiers had died in the war — a significant undercount according to Western intelligence and military experts.
“Putin’s butcher”
For the first time, Prigozhin also commented on his nickname, “Putin’s chef,” given to him by Russian investigative journalists after they uncovered his vast government catering contracts.
“I have never been a chef; I used to be a restaurateur and quite successful. I can’t cook myself. They should have just come up with ‘Putin’s butcher’ instead,” Prigozhin quipped in an apparent reference to the brutal tactics his mercenary army has now deployed from Ukraine to central Africa.
Prigozhin’s ability to spew bitter criticism at senior Russian officials with seeming impunity, which is then amplified by cohorts of influential pro-war bloggers on Russian Telegram channels, has puzzled many Russia-watchers. Similar comments, even tamer ones, have landed dozens of political dissidents and others in prison under strict laws passed by Russia’s rubber-stamp parliament at the onset of the Ukraine invasion to silence opposing voices.
Those limited successes, after months of embarrassing routs suffered by the regular military, prompted Putin to recently congratulate both Wagner and the army for taking control of Bakhmut, though Ukraine still insists the city is being fought over.
Many have taken Putin’s praise as confirmation that, despite his public antics, Prigozhin still carries high-up approval for his dedication to Russia’s war.
“I love my homeland. I obey Putin. To hell with Shoigu,” Prigozhin said in his latest rant. “We will continue to fight.”
These Science-Backed Supplements May Help Ease Joint Pain, According to Experts
Adele Jackson-Gibson – May 25, 2023
The 10 Best Supplements to Improve Joint HealthYulia Lisitsa – Getty Images
“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”
We updated this article in May 2023 to add more information about each featured product, based on extensive research done by our team.
Anyone who’s experienced joint pain in their life knows how frustrating it can be. Even the most basic activities can be painful when your joint are stiff, inflamed, and achy. Although the pain can be temporary, like the kind of soreness you might feel after a long day being desk-bound, it can also stem from a chronic condition. In fact, about one in four adults with arthritis, or 15 million people, report experiencing severe joint pain. Thankfully, the best joint supplements might help.
Of course, for some people, relief can come in the form of over-the-counter medications like acetaminophen (Tylenol), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB), and naproxen (Aleve), which can help lessen pain and reduce inflammation. However, long-term use of these painkillers can come with unpleasant side-effects.
That’s why many physicians suggest exploring other strategies to find relief. For example, eating a balanced diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods, strength training, and maintaining your ideal weight are “the most effective and proven way[s] to improve the symptoms of osteoarthritis,” says Elizabeth Matzkin, M.D., the surgical director of Women’s Musculoskeletal Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
Meet the Experts:Elizabeth Matzkin, M.D., the surgical director of Women’s Musculoskeletal Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Thomas Wnorowski Ph.D., a clinical and biomedical nutritionist and the lead researcher of the Neurolipid Research Foundation in Millville, NJ; Jordan Mazur, M.S., R.D., the coordinator of performance nutrition for the San Fransisco 49ers; Valentina Duong, A.P.D., owner of the Strength Dietitian; Kendra Clifford, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and birth doula at Uxbridge Chiropractic Centre in Ontario; Nicole M. Avena, Ph.D., a nutrition consultant and assistant professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
In addition to making lifestyle changes, some people turn to supplements to improve the health of their joints. But before you rush to the vitamin aisle of your pharmacy, beware: Not all of these supplements are the joint-relieving panaceas that they claim to be. And with so many options out there, sifting through the supplement aisle is definitely not a walk in the park—which is why we’ve done the work for you and found quality joint supplements recommended by medical pros to ease pain and improve your overall joint health. Before you shop, though, always consult your doctor and do your research to determine what’s best for you.
Ahead, check out expert-recommended supplements to help improve your joint health.
Dietary supplements are products intended to supplement the diet. They are not medicines and are not intended to treat, diagnose, mitigate, prevent, or cure diseases. Be cautious about taking dietary supplements if you are pregnant or nursing. Also, be careful about giving supplements to a child, unless recommended by their healthcare provider.
Collagen Peptides Powder
“Taking 20 to 30 grams of high-quality collagen [peptides] is a good preventative measure to provide the body what it needs to synthesize collagen, an important protein for joint and ligament health,” says Jordan Mazur, M.S., R.D., the coordinator of performance nutrition for the San Fransisco 49ers. He prefers this brand which has been certified and tested by NSF International and contains 11.9g of collagen peptides per scoop.
Though palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is still being researched, some studies have suggested its potential for improving lower back pain and chronic pelvic pain. Nootropic Depot’s capsules are manufactured in facilities that are GMP-certified, with each capsule containing 400 mg of PEA. There is no recommended dosage for this particular nutrient, but 300 mg to 600 mg of PEA have been shown to be effective in certain cases. If you want to try this supplement, ask your doctor what dosage they recommend.
This nutrient is best absorbed when combined with black pepper (or piperine), which this brand includes. Experts from the Arthritis Foundation suggest that 100 mg daily can help ease osteoarthritis pain. Tribe’s vegan capsules contain 112.5mg per serving. The company also produces its supplements in Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) approved facilities.
Joint Collagen Tablets Advanced Formula + Boswellia
This product contains collagen, boswellia, and turmeric—three joint health powerhouses. Nicole M. Avena, Ph.D., a nutrition consultant and assistant professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, likes Youtheory’s variety because the company has been in the collagen supplement game for a long time. “Their ingredients are sourced from all over the world to ensure the highest quality, and their products are manufactured in their own facility,” says Avena. Youtheory’s facility is also Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certified.
Shop NowJoint Collagen Tablets Advanced Formula + Boswellia$18.17amazon.comProduct Shot ImageMore
Omega Triple Super Strength Fish Oil Capsules
Blackmores’ fish oil contains 540mg of EPA and 36 mg of DHA, making it a solid choice among fish oil supplements. Bonus: This is an Australian brand, which is worth noting because the Australian government regulates “complementary medicines” (aka supplements) as rigorously as they do pharmaceutical drugs. Blackmore also makes their products in GMP-certified facilities, which is another major plus.
Shop NowOmega Triple Super Strength Fish Oil Capsules$41.43amazon.comProduct Shot ImageMore
Super EPA & DHA Supplement
Thorne is a well-respected supplement brand that has had partnerships with the Mayo Clinic and has certifications from GMP and NSF. Its fish oil product “Super EPA” packs a decent serving of pain-relieving goodness: 425mg of EPA and 270mg of DHA per capsule.
Shop NowSuper EPA & DHA Supplement$36.00iherb.comProduct Shot ImageMore
Vitamin D3 Supplement
Nordic Naturals provides 1,000 IU of D3 that is non-GMO and third-party tested. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends adults ages 19-70 get at least 800 IUs a day, which means this supplement’s got you covered.
Longvida comes recommended by Thomas Wnorowski Ph.D., a clinical and biomedical nutritionist and the lead researcher of the Neurolipid Research Foundation in Millville, NJ. It’s a “clean and effective source” of curcumin. This brand provides 400mg of “bioavailable” curcumin per capsule, which means your body will be able absorb most of the nutrients. The Arthritis Foundation says that the best dosage of curcumin to alleviate arthritis pain is 500 mg twice daily, but that amount might vary according to your needs.
Omgea-3 fats typically come from fish, but vegetarians or vegans can still find omega-3 supplements that are suitable with their diet. This pick from Deva is vegan-friendly, providing 500mg of DHA and EPA derived from algae oil instead of fish. The supplements are also produced in an FDA-inspected facility under GMP regulations.
Shop NowVegan Omega-3 DHA EPA$31.69amazon.comProduct Shot ImageMore
Devil’s Claw Dietary Supplement
This vegetarian formula contains 575mg of devil’s claw per capsule. While recommended dosages vary, experts at the Arthritis Foundation suggest adults take 750mg to 1,000mg three times a day. But again, consult your physician before deciding how much to take. Dosage aside, what’s great about Greenbush’s devil’s claw is that it was produced in FDA-inspected plants under GMP guidelines.
Just because a supplement has solid research backing it, that doesn’t mean whatever you find on the shelves of your pharmacy will be effective. For one thing, “products can have a wide range of dosages of their active ingredients,”says Kendra Clifford, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and birth doula at Uxbridge Chiropractic Centre in Ontario. “[But] in order for a supplement to work, there needs to be an effective dosage.”
While you can find general dosage recommendations from reliable sources like the Arthritis Foundation, an effective dose for you really depends on your condition, adds Clifford. A convo with your physician can help you figure out the right amount.
Once you nail that down, it’s time to select the brand. Keep in mind that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates dietary supplements under a different set of regulations than those covering “conventional” foods and drug products. You’ll want to find labels that have stamps of approval from third-party certification programs like Consumer Lab, NSF International, the US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), or Good Manufacturing Practice to ensure that there are no harmful ingredients and that the product contains everything it claims to have.
Are joint supplements really effective?
It depends. In many cases, the research is mixed, so there are no definitive answers. For example, glucosamine and chondroitin are often touted for their joint pain-relieving abilities, but according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, these supplements are not much more effective than a placebo in treating arthritis pain. On the flip side, the Arthritis Foundation suggests otherwise and includes both glucosamine and chondroitin on its list of supplements that can help with arthritis symptoms.
The good news is, there are supplements out there that have less conflicting evidence, meaning they may be worth a try.
Which joint supplements have proven benefits?
So far, research shows that the supplements below may help improve joint pain and overall joint health:
✔️ Curcumin: This is the active compound in turmeric that gives the spice its flavor and color. It’s known for its anti-inflammatory effects, as it disrupts pro-inflammatory cells in the body, according to Wnorowski.
✔️ Boswellia: Boswellia serrata or Indian frankincense is one of those dark horses in the world of anti-inflammatories. According to the Arthritis Foundation, it works by blocking the enzymes that turn your food into the molecules that attack your joints. In 2018, researchers who conducted a systematic review of 20 osteoarthritis-relieving supplements found that boswellia extract was a standout for easing joint pain.
✔️ Collagen: One of the keys to preventing joint pain is to protect the cushy cartilage that protects your bones. Cartilage is partially made of a protein called collagen, which “plays a major role in the proper maintenance and strength of joint and ligament health,” says Mazur. A 2014 review suggests that collagen can protect cartilage, relieve pain, and potentially increase the strength of your bones.
✔️ Fish oil: The omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil have been extensively studied for their anti-inflammatory effects for many conditions, including arthritis. Some researchers have found that people suffering from osteoarthritis who took 200 mg of EPA and 400 mg of DHA (fish oil’s active ingredients) daily for 16 weeks experienced less chronic pain. Fish oil has also been proven to be an effective treatment for gout, a common but complex form of arthritis where symptoms tend to be more sudden and severe. For an effective fish oil supplement, you’ll want to find a brand that contains a minimum of 500mg of combined EPA and DHA, says Valentina Duong, A.P.D., owner of the Strength Dietitian.
✔️ Vitamin D: It won’t take the place of OTC painkillers, but it is vital for strong bones—including the ones that make up your joints. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Vitamin D helps you absorb calcium, one of the major building blocks of your bones. It also regulates phosphate, which allows you to contract the muscles that move the bones of your joints.
Many of us need more of this essential nutrient. “Lower levels [of vitamin D] may result in bone, joint, and muscle pain,” says Kendra Clifford, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and birth doula at Uxbridge Chiropractic Centre in Ontario. “Bone aches can often be difficult to distinguish from muscle aches, therefore, vitamin D deficiency can be the direct cause of pain in many individuals.”
✔️ PEA: Palmitoylethanolamide was discovered in the 1950s as a potent anti-inflammatory, and it’s still being studied for its pain-relieving potential. Several studies have found that PEA can assist people with lower back pain and chronic pelvic pain. Clifford has found in her practice that PEA “is very well tolerated and can be used in at risk populations—such as those on a large number of medications—where typical pain relievers have a large number of adverse effects.”
✔️ Devil’s claw: Derived from a plant native to South Africa, this is a popular supplement in France and Germany to treat inflammation, arthritis, headaches, and low back pain. Taking devil’s claw for 8 to 12 weeks can reduce pain and improve joint function in people with osteoarthritis.
How we chose the best joint supplements
We consulted Elizabeth Matzkin, M.D., the surgical director of Women’s Musculoskeletal Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital; Thomas Wnorowski Ph.D., a clinical and biomedical nutritionist and the lead researcher of the Neurolipid Research Foundation in Millville, NJ; Jordan Mazur, M.S., R.D., the coordinator of performance nutrition for the San Fransisco 49ers; Valentina Duong, A.P.D., owner of the Strength Dietitian; Kendra Clifford, N.D., a naturopathic doctor and birth doula at Uxbridge Chiropractic Centre in Ontario; and Nicole M. Avena, Ph.D., a nutrition consultant and assistant professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. We also combed through countless ratings, reviews, and product specs online.
Why trust us
For more than 70 years, Prevention has been a leading provider of trustworthy health information, empowering readers with practical strategies to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Our editors interview medical experts to help guide our health-focused product selections. Prevention also examines hundreds of reviews—and often conducts personal testing done by our staff—to help you make informed decisions.
The Supreme Court has narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act
Nina Totenberg, Heard on All Things Considered – May 25, 2023
The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on May 16.Alex Brandon/AP
The U.S. Supreme Court Court on Thursday significantly curtailed the power of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the nation’s wetlands and waterways. It was the court’s second decision in a year limiting the ability of the agency to enact anti-pollution regulations and combat climate change.
The challenge to the regulations was brought by Michael and Chantell Sackett, who bought property to build their dream house about 500 feet away from Idaho’s Scenic Priest Lake, a 19-mile stretch of clear water that is fed by mountain streams and bordered by state and national parkland. Three days after the Sacketts started excavating their property, the EPA stopped work on the project because the couple had failed to get a permit for disturbing the wetlands on their land.
Now a conservative Supreme Court majority has used the Sacketts’ case to roll back longstanding rules adopted to carry out the 51-year-old Clean Water Act.
While the nine justices agreed that the Sacketts should prevail, they divided 5-to-4 as to how far to go in limiting the EPA’s authority.Sponsor Message
Narrowing the scope of the law
Writing for the court majority, Justice Samuel Alito said that the navigable waters of the United States regulated by the EPA under the statute do not include many previously regulated wetlands. Rather, he said, the CWA extends to only streams, oceans, rivers and lakes, and those wetlands with a “continuous surface connection to those bodies.”
Justice Brett Kavanaugh, joined by the court’s three liberal members, disputed Alito’s reading of the statute, noting that since 1977 when the CWA was amended to include adjacent wetlands, eight consecutive presidential administrations, Republican and Democratic, have interpreted the law to cover wetlands that the court has now excluded. Kavanaugh said that by narrowing the act to cover only adjoining wetlands, the court’s new test will have quote “significant repercussions for water quality and flood control throughout the United States.”
In addition to joining Kavanaugh’s opinion, the court’s liberals signed on to a separate opinion by Justice Elena Kagan. Pointing to the air and water pollution cases, she accused the majority of appointing itself instead of Congress as the national policymaker on the environment.
Reaction to the opinion
President Biden, in a statement, called the decision “disappointing.”
It “upends the legal framework that has protected America’s waters for decades,” he said. “It also defies the science that confirms the critical role of wetlands in safeguarding our nation’s streams, rivers, and lakes from chemicals and pollutants that harm the health and wellbeing of children, families, and communities.”Sponsor Message
Two former EPA chiefs saw Thursday’s decision as a major setback for the nation’s environment, and its future in combating the effects of climate change. William K. Reilly, who served as EPA administrator in the George H.W. Bush administration, said that while he understands the economic objections of farmers and builders to many wetland regulations, the Supreme Court’s decision is “too broad” and will only limit further the already disappearing wetlands that protect many parts of the country from flooding and drought.
Carol Browner, who served as EPA administrator in the Obama administration, echoed those sentiments, calling the decision “a major blow to the landmark Clean Water Act and the federal government’s ability to protect our people from pollution and its negative health side effects.”
The decision also dismayed environmental groups.
“I don’t think it’s an overstatement to say it’s catastrophic for the Clean Water act,” said Jim Murphy of the National Wildlife Federation. Wetlands play an “enormous role in protecting the nation’s water,” he said. “They’re really the kidneys of water systems and they’re also the sponges. They absorb a lot of water on the landscape. So they’re very important water features and they’re very important to the quality of the water that we drink, swim, fish, boat and recreate in.”
As in last year’s case limiting the EPA’s ability to regulate air pollution from power plants, the decision was a major victory for the groups that supported the Sacketts — mining, oil, utilities and, in today’s case, agricultural and real estate interests as well.
Mercenary Prigozhin warns Russia could face revolution unless elite gets serious about war
Guy Faulconbridge – May 24, 2023
FILE PHOTO: Funeral held in Moscow for Russian military blogger killed in cafe blast
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner mercenary group, warned that Russia could face a revolution similar to those of 1917 and lose the conflict in Ukraine unless the elite got serious about fighting the war.
Russia’s most powerful mercenary said his political outlook was dominated by love for the motherland and serving President Vladimir Putin, but cautioned that Russia was in danger of turmoil.
Prigozhin said there was a so-called optimistic view that the West would get tired of war and China would broker a peace deal, but that he did not really believe in that interpretation.
Instead, he said, Ukraine was preparing a counteroffensive aimed at pushing Russian troops back to its borders before 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea. Ukraine would try to encircle Bakhmut, the focus of intense fighting in the east, and attack Crimea, he added.
“Most likely of all, this scenario will not be good for Russia so we need to prepare for an arduous war,” he said in an interview posted on his Telegram channel.
“We are in such a condition that we could fucking lose Russia – that is the main problem … We need to impose martial law.”
Prigozhin said his nickname “Putin’s chef” was stupid as he could not cook and had never been a chef, quipping that “Putin’s butcher” might be a more apt nickname.
“They could have just given me a nickname right away — Putin’s butcher, and everything would have been fine,” he said.
If ordinary Russians continued getting their children back in zinc coffins while the children of the elite “shook their arses” in the sun, he said, Russia would face turmoil along the lines of the 1917 revolutions that ushered in a civil war.
“This divide can end as in 1917 with a revolution,” he said.
“First the soldiers will stand up, and after that – their loved ones will rise up,” he said. “There are already tens of thousands of them – relatives of those killed. And there will probably be hundreds of thousands – we cannot avoid that.”
The defence ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
UKRAINE WAR
Prigozhin criticised Russia’s post-Soviet policy towards Ukraine and cast the implementation of what the Kremlin calls the “special military operation” as unclear, contradictory and confused.
Russia’s military leadership, he said, had “fucked up” repeatedly during the war. The stated aim of demilitarising Ukraine, he said, had failed.
Prigozhin said Soviet leader Josef Stalin would not have accepted such failure. A cross-border attack into Russia’s Belgorod region indicated the failures of the military leadership, he said, warning that Ukraine would seek to strike deeper into Russia.
Russia needed to mobilise more men and to gear the economy exclusively to war, Prigozhin said.
Wagner, he said, had recruited around 50,000 convicts during the war, of whom about 20% had perished. Around the same amount of his contract soldiers – 10,000 – had perished, he said.
In Bakhmut, Prigozhin said, Ukraine had suffered casualties of 50,000-70,000 wounded and 50,000 dead.
Reuters is unable to verify casualty claims from either side, and neither Russia nor Ukraine release figures on their own casualties. Ukraine has said Russian losses are far higher than its losses.
Prigozhin said Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu should be replaced by Colonel General Mikhail Mizintsev while Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov should be replaced by Sergei Surovikin, nicknamed “General Armageddon” by the Russian media.
Asked about his political credo: “I love my motherland, I serve Putin, Shoigu should be judged and we will fight on.”
(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Alex Richardson)
Putin could have a ‘revolution’ on his hands because Russian elites refuse to send their kids to die in the Ukraine war, Wagner boss Prigozhin warns
Chris Panella – May 24, 2023
Russian conscripts called up for military service line up before their departure for garrisons as they gather at a recruitment centre in Simferopol, Crimea.Alexey Pavlishak/Reuters
Putin could face a “revolution” because of outrage over war in Ukraine, Wagner boss Prigozhin said.
Russia’s elite not sending “fat, carefree” kids into war could spark public unrest, he added.
The Times reported that Prigozhin compared the current environment to the 1917 Russian Revolution.
Russian President Vladimir Putin could have a “revolution” on his hands over his botched war in Ukraine, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin said.
In a profane rant during an interview with pro-Kremlin blogger Konstantin Dolgov, the head of the Wagner Group called out Russia’s elite for protecting their children from being drafted into the war, according to a translation from The Times.
“The children of the elite smear themselves with creams and show off on the internet, while ordinary people’s children come home in zinc [coffins], torn to pieces,” he said, according to The Times. “I recommend that the elite of the Russian Federation gathers up, bitch, its youth and send them to war.”
Prigozhin said their “fat, carefree” lives could spark outrage and a “revolution,” leading working-class citizens to storm the elite’s “villas” with “pitchforks.”
That revolution, he concluded, “might end as in 1917,” referencing the Russian Revolution of 1917, when citizens overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and his family.
The comments come as Russian forces, including Wagner Group members, claimed victory in Bakhmut over the weekend. Ukraine contested the victory, with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insisting to G7 leaders in Hiroshima that Kyiv’s soldiers were still fighting for control of the region.
Prigozhin’s volatile attitude and criticisms of Putin are increasingly shocking, but the Russian president is still too reliant on Wagner’s army to punish Prigozhin.
