Silicon Curtain

Livestream with Yuri RashkinLINKS:https://rashkinreport.substack.com/https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/rashkin-report/id1183073638----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyslhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/-----------

David DeBatto is host of the ‘No Delusion Zone’ podcast @NoDelusionZone is a retired U.S. Army Counterintelligence Special Agent, a geopolitical analyst, writer, and podcaster. David is an Iraq war veteran who served as Team Leader of a Tactical Human Intelligence Team (THT) in operations within Iraq and is also a former police officer. David is considered too conservative for the progressive left and too independent minded for the radical right and seeks to challenge political dogma and the naked self-interest of politicians. ----------LINKS:@NoDelusionZone https://www.protectingtherepublic.com/podcasthttps://www.protectingtherepublic.com/https://x.com/ddebattohttps://www.kyivpost.com/authors/743----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtain----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/kharpp - Reconstruction project supporting communities in Kharkiv and Przemyślhttps://kharpp.com/NOR DOG Animal Rescuehttps://www.nor-dog.org/home/----------

Cormac Smith is a former UK government communications specialist and diplomat with extensive experience of Ukraine, Russian disinformation and strategic communications. He served as a strategic communications adviser to Ukraine’s foreign minister while attached to the British Embassy in Kyiv, becoming the first foreign national embedded within Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During roughly 18 months in Ukraine, he also advised the National Security and Defence Council, NATO’s mission in Kyiv and several Ukrainian ministries on crisis and strategic communications. After returning to the UK Cabinet Office in 2018, Smith worked on the British government’s response to Kremlin disinformation following the Salisbury Novichok attack, giving him direct experience of how Russian information operations accompany covert and hostile-state activity. His expertise lies particularly in counter-disinformation, strategic communications, narrative warfare and institutional resilience against Russian influence operations.----------Shaun Pinner is a former British Army soldier who later served in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, giving him rare first-hand experience of both the battlefield and Russian captivity. Born in Watford, he served for nine years with the Royal Anglian Regiment, including UN operations in Bosnia, before moving to Ukraine and joining its military in 2018. He served with the 36th Separate Marine Brigade and fought during the defence of Mariupol after Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Captured by Russian forces, Pinner spent around six months as a prisoner of war and was sentenced to death by the Russian-backed authorities in occupied Donetsk before being released in a prisoner exchange in September 2022. He has described being subjected to torture and psychological abuse in captivity. Ukraine subsequently awarded him the Order of Courage, 3rd Degree, and he has since briefed NATO personnel on his battlefield and POW experience. He is the author of 'Live. Fight. Survive.', an account of combat, capture and imprisonment.----------LINKS:https://shaunpinner.substack.com/podcasthttps://shaunpinner.com/https://www.youtube.com/@Live.Fight.Survivehttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shaun_Pinnerhttps://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/300663/shaun-pinnerhttps://cepa.org/author/sean-pinner/https://www.instagram.com/shaunpinnerua/----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

Jason Jay Smart is a political adviser who has lived and worked in Ukraine, Moldova, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Latin America. Due to his work with the democratic opposition to Vladimir Putin, Smart was made persona non grata for life by Russia in 2010. Jason is a Special Correspondent at the Kyiv Post. It’s the state of US support for Ukraine that we will discuss today.----------LINKS:https://jasonjaysmart.com/ https://www.kyivpost.com/authors/5 https://americanpoliticalservices.com/https://www.facebook.com/jasonjaysmarthttps://twitter.com/officejjsmart ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------ACTIVE CAMPAIGN:We are raising funds for 5 of 15 Vampire DronesSilicon Curtain for Kupiansk Vampires. Dzyga’s Paw, together with Jonathan Fink, is joining forces to raise $40,000 to provide the Khartiia Brigade with Vampire Drones.https://dzygaspaw.com/silicon-curtain-for-kupiansk-vampiresThese heavy bombers are designed to destroy manpower and equipment, as well as for remote mining. The Vampire UAV, manufactured by Skyfall, has proven itself to be one of the most effective weapons in the Kupiansk direction. Skyfall is one of Ukraine’s largest defense tech companies, producing Vampire bomber drones, various modifications of Shrike FPV drones, P1-SUN, Shahed drone interceptors, communication systems, and components.----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Car4Ukrainehttps://car4ukraine.com/en-US/campaignsDzyga's Pawhttps://dzygaspaw.com/projectsSuperhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.orgNGO “Herojam Slava”https://heroiamslava.org/----------PLATFORMS:Substack: https://substack.com/@siliconcurtainTwitter: https://twitter.com/CurtainSiliconLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/finkjonathan/Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4thRZj6NO7y93zG11JMtqm----------

Silicon Bites SW26-224 | 2026-10-02 | Putin seizes Nestlé, Auchan and Leroy Merlin assets. One part of me wants to cheer, as this is predictable and inevitable punishment for those companies that thought they could remain in Russia and profit from death. On the other hand, it marks a new low in Russia’s slide away from a market economy and towards criminal, kleptocratic authoritarianism. ----------SUPPORT THE CHANNEL:https://www.buymeacoffee.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.patreon.com/siliconcurtainhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/scaling-up-campaign-to-fight-authoritarian-disinformation----------TRUSTED CHARITIES ON THE GROUND:Save Ukrainehttps://www.saveukraineua.org/Superhumans - Hospital for war traumashttps://superhumans.com/en/UNBROKEN - Treatment. Prosthesis. Rehabilitation for Ukrainians in Ukrainehttps://unbroken.org.ua/Come Back Alivehttps://savelife.in.ua/en/Chefs For Ukraine - World Central Kitchenhttps://wck.org/relief/activation-chefs-for-ukraineUNITED24 - An initiative of President Zelenskyyhttps://u24.gov.ua/Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundationhttps://prytulafoundation.org----------SOURCES:Ukrainska Pravda (English) — "Putin seizes Russian assets of Auchan, Nestlé and Leroy Merlin", 18 Sept 2026 — https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2026/09/18/8053993/The Moscow Times / Reuters — "Kremlin Seizes Nestlé and Auchan Assets in Latest Business Crackdown", 18 Sept 2026 — https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2026/09/18/kremlin-seizes-nestle-and-auchan-assets-in-latest-business-crackdown-a93745Bloomberg via SWI swissinfo.ch — "Russia Ties Nestle, Auchan Asset Grabs to Europe Aid for Ukraine", 18 Sept 2026 — https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/russia-ties-nestle%2c-auchan-asset-grabs-to-europe-aid-for-ukraine/92078072AFP via France 24 — "Russia seizes assets of Swiss food giant Nestle and three French firms", 18 Sept 2026 — https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20260918-russia-seizes-assets-of-swiss-food-giant-nestle-and-three-french-firmsEuromaidan Press — "'A warning to companies that remain': Russia takes control of Nestlé and Auchan's assets", 18 Sept 2026 — https://euromaidanpress.com/2026/09/18/russia-takes-control-of-nestle-and-auchan-assets/AP via The Washington Times — "Kremlin orders businesses seized", 18 Sept 2026 — https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/sep/18/kremlin-orders-businesses-seized/CNN — "Kremlin seizes Nestlé's assets in Russia as crackdown on private business grows", 18 Sept 2026 — https://edition.cnn.com/2026/09/18/business/kremlin-seizes-nestle-assets-russia-intlCharter97 — "Putin Signed A Decree Ordering The Confiscation Of Auchan And Nestlé's Assets In Russia", 18 Sept 2026 — https://charter97.org/en/news/2026/9/18/698850UA News — "The Kremlin explained the transfer of Auchan and Nestlé's assets to external management", 18 Sept 2026 — https://ua.news/en/world/kreml-poiasniv-peredachu-aktiviv-auchan-i-nestle-pid-zovnishnie-upravlinniaEuronews — "Risky to stay, costly to leave: French companies active in Russia face dilemma", 4 Nov 2025 (background: Leroy Merlin / Auchan revenue and tax rankings) — https://euronews.com/2025/11/04/risky-to-stay-costly-to-leave-french-companies-active-in-russia-face-dilemmaEuronews — "German companies pay Russia €17.2bn in taxes…" (KSE / B4Ukraine / Squeezing Putin data; Nezir Sinani), 1 Nov 2025 — https://www.euronews.com/2025/11/01/german-companies-pay-russia-172-billion-in-taxes-raising-concerns-of-funding-its-war-in-ukB4Ukraine — "How global firms bankrolled Russia's war chest in 2024" — https://b4ukraine.org/whats-new/how-global-firms-bankrolled-russias-war-chest-in-2024----------