‘Cynicism and hypocrisy': Russian ambassador weighs in on recent US strikes against Iran
'All of the assertions of our Western colleagues are falsehoods, calculated for an audience that has not read these reports,' Mr Nebenzya said.
"The cynicism and hypocrisy of our Western colleagues reached a peak."
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Sydney Morning Herald
19 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Father who moved family to Russia to escape ‘woke' America is sent to front line
'You're not. So, unfortunately, he feels like he's being thrown to the wolves right now, and he's kind of having to lean on faith, and that's what we're all doing.' Huffman's last message came in June, marking Father's Day in the US. Wearing camouflage and military gear, he appeared in a one-minute video addressed to his family. Loading 'I miss you all more than you can imagine,' he said. 'I can't wait to see you ... hopefully I get a vacation at some point and I get to go home and spend a couple of weeks with you. 'But man, you're on my mind 24/7 and just know that what I'm doing is important to me and important to our family. Just know I will do whatever it takes to be safe and to come home to you. Take care of each other.' Since then, there have been no new images or videos of Huffman. The family commented on their YouTube channel that he was 'doing fine'. However, a link on their channel, which has since been deleted, directed users to a Telegram group titled 'Save the little girls'. Created on Sunday, the group contained one message: 'We are asking the United States government to save this family,' along with a photo of DeAnna Huffman and her daughters crying in the street. It is unclear if the family created the group. London masthead The Telegraph has contacted the Huffmans for comment. Their move to Russia was prompted by their dissatisfaction with what they saw as progressive overreach in the American education system. After relocating from Arizona to Texas, they were disturbed when their daughter, Sophia, was expected to speak about lesbian topics at school. 'The final straw was when we found out my daughter Sophia learnt about lesbians from a girl in her class. She didn't fully understand it, but for us, that was enough to realise something had to change,' Derek Huffman told Russia Today. Traditional values A trip to Moscow in May 2023 convinced the family that Russia offered the traditional values they desired. 'The city was cleaner, safer, and more orderly than we ever imagined. Most importantly, we found a place that respected our values – where we finally felt at home,' Huffman continued. Upon arriving in Russia, the family were featured in several state-affiliated media outlets, where they described their move as a rejection of Western cultural values. Derek Huffman said he wanted to earn his place in Russian society not via handouts but through service. 'The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia,' he said. 'If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts.' But DeAnna Huffman has since claimed her husband was misled. 'When he signed up and had all of that done, he was told he would not be training for two weeks and going straight to the front lines,' she said. 'But it seems as though he is getting one more week of training, closer to the front lines, and then they are going to put him on the front lines.' Loading DeAnna Huffman said in her vlog: 'It's been just a few months since our family made the big move from America to Russia, and while we've had amazing adventures, this journey has also brought deep challenges. 'Being alone in a new country, raising kids, and trying to stay strong has tested me in ways I never imagined,' she said. The Huffmans settled in an 'American village', a settlement in Istra created by US expat and blogger Tim Kirby, who has lived in Russia for two decades. It was founded in 2023 as a refuge for Americans fleeing what Kirby described as 'liberal gender norms'.
The Age
19 hours ago
- The Age
Father who moved family to Russia to escape ‘woke' America is sent to front line
'You're not. So, unfortunately, he feels like he's being thrown to the wolves right now, and he's kind of having to lean on faith, and that's what we're all doing.' Huffman's last message came in June, marking Father's Day in the US. Wearing camouflage and military gear, he appeared in a one-minute video addressed to his family. Loading 'I miss you all more than you can imagine,' he said. 'I can't wait to see you ... hopefully I get a vacation at some point and I get to go home and spend a couple of weeks with you. 'But man, you're on my mind 24/7 and just know that what I'm doing is important to me and important to our family. Just know I will do whatever it takes to be safe and to come home to you. Take care of each other.' Since then, there have been no new images or videos of Huffman. The family commented on their YouTube channel that he was 'doing fine'. However, a link on their channel, which has since been deleted, directed users to a Telegram group titled 'Save the little girls'. Created on Sunday, the group contained one message: 'We are asking the United States government to save this family,' along with a photo of DeAnna Huffman and her daughters crying in the street. It is unclear if the family created the group. London masthead The Telegraph has contacted the Huffmans for comment. Their move to Russia was prompted by their dissatisfaction with what they saw as progressive overreach in the American education system. After relocating from Arizona to Texas, they were disturbed when their daughter, Sophia, was expected to speak about lesbian topics at school. 'The final straw was when we found out my daughter Sophia learnt about lesbians from a girl in her class. She didn't fully understand it, but for us, that was enough to realise something had to change,' Derek Huffman told Russia Today. Traditional values A trip to Moscow in May 2023 convinced the family that Russia offered the traditional values they desired. 'The city was cleaner, safer, and more orderly than we ever imagined. Most importantly, we found a place that respected our values – where we finally felt at home,' Huffman continued. Upon arriving in Russia, the family were featured in several state-affiliated media outlets, where they described their move as a rejection of Western cultural values. Derek Huffman said he wanted to earn his place in Russian society not via handouts but through service. 'The point of this act for me is to earn a place here in Russia,' he said. 'If I risk myself for our new country, no one will say that I am not a part of it. Unlike migrants in America who come there just like that, do not assimilate, and at the same time want free handouts.' But DeAnna Huffman has since claimed her husband was misled. 'When he signed up and had all of that done, he was told he would not be training for two weeks and going straight to the front lines,' she said. 'But it seems as though he is getting one more week of training, closer to the front lines, and then they are going to put him on the front lines.' Loading DeAnna Huffman said in her vlog: 'It's been just a few months since our family made the big move from America to Russia, and while we've had amazing adventures, this journey has also brought deep challenges. 'Being alone in a new country, raising kids, and trying to stay strong has tested me in ways I never imagined,' she said. The Huffmans settled in an 'American village', a settlement in Istra created by US expat and blogger Tim Kirby, who has lived in Russia for two decades. It was founded in 2023 as a refuge for Americans fleeing what Kirby described as 'liberal gender norms'.
West Australian
19 hours ago
- West Australian
Justin Amler: Call for ceasefire wilfully ignores realities of Gaza conflict
On Monday, Australia joined 27 other Western countries in signing onto a statement regarding Gaza that was not only highly critical of Israel but bereft of any value in solving the ongoing Gaza war, or ending the suffering that results from it. It demonstrated once again the profound lack of understanding of the Middle East or the Hamas-Israel conflict that has become all too common in this country. It's also incredibly ill-timed. US mediators said on the weekend that Israel is 'bending over backwards' to reach a six-week ceasefire deal with Hamas that would see the humanitarian aid situation in Gaza improve dramatically, but Hamas is still refusing. So why would Hamas agree to any deal when statements like the one we just signed on to give it every reason to continue refusing? Far from neutral, the statement actually empowers Hamas and rewards its intransigence. The statement attacks the new Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid delivery model system set up by the US with support from Israel, saying it 'fuels instability and deprives Gazans of human dignity'. Yet it conveniently ignores the fact that the GHF has delivered almost 85 million meals to Gazans so far, and it's done so without Hamas interference — and Hamas had previously routinely hijacked aid to resell for profit and to bankroll terror. There is hunger in Gaza, but it's not because of Israel — it's because of Hamas, so while some civilians may go hungry, Hamas terrorists never do. For these countries to ignore the complicity between UN organisations and Hamas is more than just an oversight. The reason why Hamas is so adamant in its demands that the GHF be shut down is because it's a direct threat to the power of Hamas, which relies on weaponising aid by controlling civilians through food. The statement also blindly accepts as fact the figure that 800 Palestinians have been killed while seeking aid, without once questioning the validity of that claim, which is based largely on information provided by Hamas itself — often with amplification by UN agencies which take Hamas claims as gospel. It is simply astounding that information from a proscribed terror organisation, whose claims have repeatedly been debunked, continues to be accepted as fact. Would we accept casualty claims from ISIS as fact? Then why from Hamas? The statement does mention the Israeli hostages held by Hamas, and condemns 'their continued detention', but calls for their release via a negotiated ceasefire. However, elsewhere it calls for an 'immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.' So why should Hamas release them in exchange for a ceasefire when Australia and the others are telling Israel it must accept a ceasefire unconditionally and permanently even if Hamas does not release anyone? Hamas is currently attempting to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, so the idea of calling for an 'immediate and permanent ceasefire' without addressing Hamas' stated goals of repeating the October 7 atrocities doesn't mean an end to the conflict, but at best a pause until the next one. This provision also contradicts our Foreign Minister's and Prime Minister's repeated declarations that Hamas must have no future role in Gaza. Because just how do they propose to make that happen with a permanent ceasefire that leaves Hamas in power? The statement's call for 'all parties to protect civilians and uphold the obligations of international law' is also farcical when the entire modus operandi of Hamas is a deliberate strategy to inflict casualties on Gaza's civilians through its use of human shields. But perhaps most telling of all is that Hamas has welcomed the statement. So if a terror organisation, proscribed by Australia, and whose acts have shocked all people of good conscience in their brutality and cruelty, welcomes such a statement, it clearly means that such a statement demonstrates serious flaws in its basic understanding of right and wrong. This statement does nothing to help either Palestinians or Israelis. It is neither constructive nor helpful in bringing about the end of the conflict. It ignores the fact that Hamas has rejected repeated ceasefire offers, including the one from just a few days ago. Instead of a joint statement calling on Hamas to end the war and release the hostages, the conditions required for ending the war, it instead focuses on denouncing Israel, which is defending itself against Hamas and attempting to release the hostages. If these 28 countries genuinely want peace, let them issue a joint demand that would be genuinely reality-based and effective: Return the hostages, disarm Hamas. Then, and only then, will peace be possible, benefiting both Israelis and the long-suffering residents of Gaza. Justin Amler is a policy analyst at the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council
