Julia Davis

Little-known American pianist, Valentina Lisitsa, created her own popularity out of thin air by posting videos of her performances on YouTube. Recently, she was propelled into notoriety for a number of hate-filled Twitter postings. Lisitsa’s hate-mongering, offensive and racist public speech caused the Toronto Symphony Orchestra to dismiss her from a previously scheduled performance. They’re now facing criticism for alleged censorship of what RT (formerly Russia Today) described as Lisitsa’s “pro-Russian Tweets.” Lisitsa was born and raised in Kyiv, Ukraine, but is quick to point out that she is Russian and Polish by nationality. She has been spewing her visceral hatred towards Ukraine and all things Ukrainian for years, after immigrating to the United States in the ‘90s. Lisitsa’s criticism may be sour grapes, caused by the fact that Ukraine never invited her to perform in her former homeland. She was also expressing her anger at the Ukrainian diaspora for referring to her as “U...

California Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R) stunned fellow Twitter users last Friday by claiming that all of Ukraine’s problems stem from “assassination of elected president” Viktor Yanukovych. This stupefying Tweet was made in response to another user (@UANews4ENMedia), who posted an article entitled “Putin Bootlickers Assemble in D.C.” The article aptly wiped the floor with a slew of Putin supporters in the West, including Congressman Rohrabacher, who obviously felt the need to discuss the topic on social media. Astonished Twitter users questioned Rohrabacher about the reasons behind his obviously false statement. Vodka, peyote, pot, hacked account and incompetent interns were among suspected reasons for the public flub. After all, it was difficult to fathom that such a glaring misrepresentation could be made by a Congressman who is serving his 13th term, while also heading the Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, as Ch...

This week’s abhorrent terror attacks in France outraged people around the world, prompting them to rally in defiance against those behind this attack on free speech. Twitter was ablaze with more than 5 million Tweets bearing #JeSuisCharlie hashtag, with some glaring exceptions. Chief among them is Russia, where the hashtag clearly didn’t catch on. The issue, however, goes much deeper. Russian politicians, religious organizations and public figures largely blamed the victims of the attack for having brought these acts upon themselves. Today, Russian police detained activists for holding up signs that said “Je Suis Charlie,” clearly demonstrating the official position against Charlie Hebdo. The controversial newspaper published irreverent cartoons poking fun at Russia’s lies and hypocrisy with respect to its unlawful annexation of Crimea and covert activities in Ukraine. Continue reading:  http://www.juliadavisnews.com/articles-about-russia/russia-takes-the-wrong-side-in-th...

Whether you’re a young, proactive blogger, a prolific Facebook poster, an occasional Twitter user or a compulsive promulgator of cat photos, someone you don’t know is watching you. Social media activities are being meticulously recorded, scanned and organized to determine your “threat level” that is then transmitted to various law enforcement agencies. For example, your local police department is likely using numerous tools and applications that might determine how you get treated during a routine traffic stop, or in response to your neighbor’s call about loud music. One such application, Beware, has been sold to police departments since 2012. It can be accessed on any Internet-enabled device, including tablets, smartphones, laptop and desktop computers, while responders are en route to, or at the location of a call. This app explores billions of records in social media postings, commercial and public databases for law enforcement needs, churning out “risk profiles” in real time. ‘B...