Features
Letter from one Russian dissident to another dissident
The April 13, 2022 issue of The Jewish Post & News carried my article, “Conversations with a Friend in Russia,” about the war in Ukraine.
My friend and I have continued to exchange messages about the ongoing illegal war of aggression by Russia via a secure network.
Here is an edited version of a recent long letter my friend asked me to send via email to Russian dissident émigré Mark Feygin.
Feygin is a former Russian lawyer and human rights activist. He also served from January 1994 to December 1995 as a deputy of the State Duma and was the vice mayor of Samara, notes Wikipedia.
In 2011 and 2012, Feygin was active in opposition to President Vladimir Putin, and announced that he was forming an opposition party. Since the February 24, 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, he has gained a following on YouTube, hosting daily discussions with Ukrainian presidential advisor Oleksiy Arestovych on his channel. I have made some minor grammatical and syntactical corrections to the letter.
“Dear Mark!
“I hope my letter will not only reach you, but you will find time to read it. I considered it important to share with you the following considerations. I developed them as a result of a long – since February 24, and continuing all the time – following the course of Putin’s war against Ukraine.
‘“… this (Putin’s lies) is not obvious to the Russian layman …”’ These were your words in the New Year’s Eve stream at Zhdanov’s. That’s exactly what it is – for the main contingent, from which Putin’s occupying army is replenished, Putin’s lie is not obvious! This category of citizens has their brains blocked by many years of Putin’s propaganda. But it is necessary to make sure that Putin’s lies, his real war crimes and crimes against his own people become obvious even to the most recent idiots in this country! We need replacement drivers in their primitive and zombied brains.
“Why is it important to do this now, and not wait until Putin is somehow demolished and his accomplices, remaining in power, begin to explain to the masses that the dwarf ‘turned out to be not a father, but a bitch’ (as Andrey Piontkovsky voiced this scenario).
“This must be done now, in the midst of the war; because the doubts sown in the brains of marginals deformed by Putin’s propaganda is a real mechanism for influencing their motivation. This is a real mechanism to reduce the ranks of creatures ready to become consumables in Putin’s occupying army. The more degenerates join the ranks of the occupying army, the longer the war will last, the longer the torment of Ukrainians will continue, the more destruction there will be in Ukraine, the longer the maniac will be able to continue his terrorist activities. Therefore, it is important to reduce their ranks and change their motivation.
“The human psyche is a plastic material, an easily induced substance, but in order to reorient it, it must be acted upon. Putin’s propagandists, for their part, make an active direct impact on the brains of this redneck mass (and very effectively), but there is no counter-influence on this contingent.
“Clever verbose analytical streams of opposition bloggers and experts do not solve the problem of suppressing the drivers operating in the heads of this category of the population. They do not hear and do not listen to these clever arguments.
Here, Kiriyenko calls on the masses to make this real terrorist war the people’s war…. And, who is calling the Russian layman to the people’s war against Putin and his occupation regime?
Some of the citizens come to understand the realities themselves. But the majority in this demographic cohort won’t make it on its own. If such appeals are heard, then (it must be done) in the verbose context of analytical reasoning and assessments.
“But in this format, these appeals will not pierce the brains of idiots. They must be broken through with short and sharply directed formulations – directly calling Putin the only enemy of their homeland, of their nation.
“Cattlemass, which includes representatives of all social categories of citizens, does not care about the suffering of Ukrainians. On the contrary, they rejoice at this because they have already had hammered into their heads that their enemies have settled in Ukraine, and Putin is their protector. These deformed brains cannot be reoriented by clever reasoning and revelations.
“They need to briefly and clearly drive other formulas into their minds: that Putin is an enemy of the Russian (their) people; that Putin has plundered their country and is now finally destroying it; that Putin is an enemy of Russia, destroying the population of their country, exterminating them; that Putin is depriving their children and grandchildren of a future in this country; that each of their volleys in Ukraine is a volley that destroys their own country; that those who serve Putin are traitors to their country and there will be punishment for this; that Putin in power in Russia is Hitler’s revenge for the defeat in the Second World War, etc. – that Putin must be destroyed in order to save Russia and restore a normal life in their country for themselves.
“Your own shirt is closer to the body” and this should be emphasized in the information war. For them, these formulas should sound short, repeated and continuous. Otherwise, the majority will not reach.
“The lamentations of some well-known anti-Putin and anti-Russian bloggers-journalists that ‘Russians are genetically predetermined slaves’ are not just stupid and unfair (remember how the people rose in Khabarovsk, at least) – they are harmful, because they only help Putin’s mafia to consolidate the rednecks around Putin and use them as an instrument of his crimes.
“For the benefit of the cause of victory over Putin’s evil, it is necessary to reprogram these deformers as far as possible, in all possible ways, right now. Seeds of doubt can only germinate if they are thrown into the ground. Otherwise no.
“There is such a formula: “If a person is told every day that he is a donkey, he will soon scream like a donkey!’
“This is how the human psyche works. Putin’s propaganda actively and aggressively uses this principle, it is built on this. And it gives results, as we all see. And yet there is no effective counteraction to this in the information war! The situation in the information field is similar to the situation in the real war on the combat front, where the defenders of Ukraine are forced (so far) to respond to massive shelling by the occupiers only by shooting down missiles in their skies and destroying the occupiers within their own territory.
“In the information war, Putin’s people are persecuting lies, but by a method that affects simple brains. They aggressively stigmatize the victims of their aggression as ‘Nazis’, attribute all their own crimes to the victims, inspire their inhabitants that this is a holy war for the ‘defense of the Russian world’, etc. In the brains of Russian inhabitants (in very many) induced by Putin’s propaganda, there was a merger of retrospective images of the Second World War with their perception of the current acts of Putin’s occupiers as the war against enemies. And, in response to that from the so-called opposition on the information field, only wordy explanations of the depth of the maniac’s mental deformation, endless exposure and ridicule of his paranoid delirium, repeated discussions of his health and the vile tricks of his lackeys, etc.
“This also needs to be voiced, of course, but this is absolutely not enough to achieve a result. Where are the active direct accusations and calls for a people’s war against the occupiers? The information war on the part of the anti-Putin forces should change from debatable and explanatory to offensive and accusatory, calling for resistance.
“Moreover, now the long-winded and repeatedly repeated arguments of anti-Putin bloggers also come with oppositionists (true and pseudo) attacking each other and their mutual denials. I do not give examples, they are well known. Well, what result should be expected from such an ‘information war’? Oppositionists cease to be trusted. The opposition seems to be there, well, at least this, but the result? In the current format, these moans of the opposition can last forever.
“To achieve success on the field of “information warfare” an active, aggressive counter-action is needed. We need a consolidation of all forces, and not neurotic outbursts and mutual pecking. If there is real resistance, it will objectively work to sow doubts in the zombie brains of the bulk of the Russian layman, reprogram them – point them to their real enemy, urge them not to become accomplices in the destruction of their own country. Moreover, it will be pure truth, reinforced for them by what they experience every day in their own skin. They experience, but endure and do not think about the reasons, because they are under hypnosis. There is no anti-hypnosis. There is no massive ‘trench agitation’. (It is all the more strange that it does not exist in a country with such historical experience – let us recall what successes the Bolsheviks achieved with their “trench agitation”).
“Orcs can only be changed by driving other motivating blocks into their minds – that their real enemy is the one they currently serve. There are still surprisingly few examples of such active offensive work on the information front (as Arestovich said – “little, bad, not enough” – that’s exactly the case here!)
“A positive example of how this should be done is the New Year’s address of the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Reznikov. Everything is on point, strong and concise. It is all the more strange that “trench propaganda” is not used by anti-Putin informationists, when a maniac and the actions of his gang provide abundant objective texture for guilty verdicts and calls for a people’s war against a real enemy.
“These accusations and appeals must be made not only on some Telegram channels and (intricate, lengthy, often contradictory) on some YouTube streams, but in 24×7 mode, on all possible channels, briefly, persistently, with conviction and clearly.
“It is necessary to use all available modern technologies in order to convey the necessary messages to the addressee. It is necessary to hack federal TV channels and load them with the necessary content (experience with regional TV has already begun to appear).
“It is necessary to hack the loading of advertising plasmas on the streets of big cities and display the necessary frames and appeals on them. (It is technically possible, because there was a case when an amateur hacker put a porn video on Moscow street plasmas). Well, and so on. Do it now, and not wait until after the victory over Putin’s fascism. Information warfare is important as a direct instrument of real physical warfare, but to be effective it must be carried out with methods that penetrate to the target.
“That’s all for now. But, there’s a lot more to say.
“Respectfully,
“Good luck and victories in your fight!
Features
Hacker and Fraud Prevention for Online Gambling Profiles
Safeguard your online casino & sports betting accounts from cyber threats
Follow these 10 vital steps to reinforce your online gambling profile by enabling two-factor authentication, using VPNs, unique passwords and more.
With the global online gambling market projected to reach over $100 billion by 2026, securing your online casino and sportsbook accounts is more critical than ever. As digital wallets swell with winnings so too does the motivation for cybercriminals to steal credentials and loot accounts.
#1. Activate Two-Factor Authentication
Topping the list is two-factor authentication (2FA) – requiring two credentials to login instead of one at FanDuel. Often this entails providing your password plus a one-time code sent via SMS or email.
Per an Oracle study, implementing 2FA would have thwarted 99% of historical cyber attacks that involved stolen credentials.
Most regulated online gambling sites offer 2FA, accessible under account settings. Turn it on immediately for stronger defense.
#2. Never Reuse or Recycle Passwords
A cardinal sin is recycling the same password across multiple sites or services. Once one account is breached, cyber thieves can access more accounts using that same password.
To avoid this, every account deserves a unique, strong password. For simplicity, utilize a password manager app to randomly generate and store site-specific passwords.
#3. Install a VPN for Public Wi-Fi Access
When playing online casino games on shared/open wireless networks, your data flows openly and risks interception. That’s where virtual private networks (VPNs) come in.
VPNs encrypt all network traffic to and from your device. This protects your gambling activity and account credentials from Wi-Fi eavesdroppers. VPNs also disguise your IP address.
Some top-rated services include NordVPN, ExpressVPN and CyberGhost.
#4. Keep Software Updated & Run Anti-Virus Scans
You must keep computers and mobile devices updated with the latest OS and security patches. Postponing critical updates leaves open dangerous holes that malware exploits.
Likewise run reputable anti-virus scans to catch viruses attempting to infiltrate systems and spy on login credentials for financial accounts.
#5. Verify the Security & Encryption of Sites
When signing up at online betting sites and casinos, verify the legitimacy of their security measures:
- Confirm the address starts with HTTPS, not HTTP
- Check that data transmissions are encrypted using at least 128-bit SSL
- Ensure site has proper licensing
- Review privacy policy for data storage and sharing
Reputable sites will display trust badges from companies like Norton and TrustE.
#6. Avoid Account Sharing
While tempting to give friends or relatives access to funded accounts, sharing login credentials is extremely risky. You lose control over deposits/withdrawals while exposing yourself to potential theft.
Instead, gift deposits to other player accounts or refer them to open their own secure accounts.
#7. Beware Account Takeover Scams
Exercise caution if contacted unexpectedly about unusual account activity. Savvy scammers will pretend a breach occurred to trick you into handing over your username and password.
If concerned about account integrity, directly access the site yourself and contact customer support – don’t click any links in unsolicited emails.
#8. Monitor Financial Statements
Carefully review online betting account and credit card statements to detect unauthorized transactions right away. Dispute unrecognized activity ASAP to limit losses.
For further vigilance, some banks offer real-time purchase alerts via email or SMS.
#9. Don’t Save Payment Info
Saving credit card or e-wallet details on gambling sites for faster future deposits also expedites withdrawals – by you and potentially hackers.
Instead, manually enter payment info each time to contain potential damage from any account infiltration.
#10. Create a Secure Email
A strong yet oft-overlooked defense is creating a secure email account strictly for gambling transactions. Keep it completely separate from your personal email to isolate threats.
Use a nickname, enable 2FA and establish a strong password using special characters, numbers, case changes and 15+ letters.
Table: Comparison of Top VPNs for Online Gambling Site Security
| VPN Service | Encryption Standard | Number of Server Locations | Allows P2P Traffic | Number of Simultaneous Connections | Money Back Guarantee |
| NordVPN | AES 256-bit | 5400+ | Yes | 6 | 30 days |
| ExpressVPN | AES 256-bit | 3000+ | Yes | 5 | 30 days |
| CyberGhost | AES 256-bit | 7400+ | Yes | 7 | 45 days |
Fortify Your Online Gambling Fortress
As online casinos and sportsbooks explode in popularity, no player is immune to the growing plague of cyber fraud and account theft.
Guard your profile by enabling two-factor authentication, setting strong passwords, installing critical software updates and more. Also research site security measures and payment options.
Features
Vital Role of True Randomness in Modern Computing
The critical need for true randomness in cryptography, simulations, and more
True randomness is essential for encryption, statistical sampling, simulations, and more computing applications to work effectively. We explore why.
The concept of randomness often evokes thoughts of unpredictability and chance occurrences. However in the world of computing, having access to true randomness is vital for many critical applications to function properly. Without the ability to generate random values and data, key aspects of modern technology simply would not work reliably.
In this article, we will explore what constitutes true randomness from a computational perspective, why it is crucially important, and some of the ways that software and hardware attempt to produce randomness reliably. Gaining insight into this topic highlights the dependence much of digital functionality has on the availability of non-deterministic, uniformly distributed random data.
What Makes Randomness “True”?
For data to be considered truly random from an information theory perspective, values must satisfy key mathematical and statistical qualities, for example at Lucky Seven Casino. True randomness implies meeting three core criteria:
- Uniform distribution — All potential values have an equal probability of occurring so that no bias exists towards certain numbers.
- Independence — The value at any position does not relate to or depends on values at other positions. Previous numbers do not influence future ones.
- Unpredictability — Knowing some values provides no useful information to predict other values. Guessing upcoming numbers is mathematically impossible.
Hence, true randomness requires generated data featuring high entropy (information density) with no observable patterns or correlations over any length or time period analyzed. Values must pass various statisticatests of randomness to qualify. True randomness exists only in specific natural phenomena scientists believe exhibit fundamental uncertainty such as radioactive decay. Computational methods can attempt to produce randomness but technically generate only an approximation usually called pseudo-randomness. However for many practical purposes, computationally generated randomness proves sufficient if it passes robust statistical testing.
Why True Randomness Matters Cryptography
Arguably, the area with the most crucial dependence on true randomness is cryptography. All modern encryption technologies require random number generation to ensure security. Encryption systems work by utilizing random numbers for:
- Key generation
- Initialization vectors
- Salts
- Nonces
- Padding
Any bias, predictability or correlation within random values used for the above purposes significantly compromises encryption protocols and introduces vulnerabilities. With trillions of dollars transferred online daily and vast amounts of sensitive data stored digitally, safeguarding cryptography requires high-quality random number generation rooted in solid entropy sources.
Simulations & Modeling
Outside of security, many more computing applications need randomness to operate correctly per their design intent. Monte Carlo simulations extensively utilize randomness to model complex real-world behaviors by running many iterations with differing random inputs. Financial analysis, climate modeling, nuclear reactions and molecular behavior represent common Monte Carlo simulation applications.
Games, Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning
Gaming, AI and ML commonly incorporate randomness to increase variation, introduce unpredictability, and improve realism. For example, non-player characters in video games use randomness for movement, dialog and behavior to feel more lifelike and less robotic. AI/ML leverage randomness to train networks more thoroughly against a wider possibility space and build more resilient models less prone to biases.
Generating True Randomness via Hardware
Given the pervasive need for genuine randomness across computing, how do software and hardware reliably produce it? Most systems today use either specialized hardware random number generators or hybrid combinations of hardware and software.
Hardware options utilize the inherent randomness within low-level physical phenomena to produce entropy. Different techniques for generating randomness exist but most hardware implementations focus on three main sources:
- Thermal Noise
- Semiconductor Quantum Physics
- Chaotic Oscillator Outputs
| Generator Type | Description |
| Thermal Noise | Amplifies and extracts random electrical noise from resistor thermal vibrations |
| Quantum Physics | Leverages quantum mechanical properties like photon emission timing from LEDs/lasers |
| Chaotic Circuits | Uses unpredictable oscillator circuit outputs from chaos theory |
Semiconductor-based solutions can generate high bitrates up to 5Gbps using compact modern chip fabrication allowing extensive harvestingof entropy. However these sources derive from complex, random physical processes proving impossible to predict or fully model mathematically. This unpredictability provides excellent entropy quality unattainable via software algorithms alone.
Most general-purpose computers now integrate random number generators within CPUs allowing applications access to decent hardware-based random data. For the highest security use cases, dedicated standalone hardware random number generators exist exceeding >100Gbps speeds. Hence accessing genuine randomness is available today even on common computing devices.
Cryptographically Secure Pseudo-Random Number Generators
While hardware mechanisms utilize hard-to-predict physical phenomena to produce randomness, software solutions must take a different approach. Algorithmically-generated randomness cannot achieve true randomness from a physics perspective. However clever mathematical techniques like cyclical algorithms can generate randomness passing many statistical tests of randomness within their output bit length limits.
Cryptographically secure pseudo-random number generators (CSPRNG) serve as the premier software-based method for generating randomness. CSPRNGs work by repeatedly applying cryptographic primitives like hash or cipher functions on initial random seed values. This process produces a chain of output bits not reproducible without the original seed key. Leading CSPRNG algorithms include:
- Hash_DRBG
- HMAC_DRBG
- CTR_DRBG
Software libraries implement these CSPRNGs so developers can integrate quality randomness into applications with proper seeding. Seeding establishes the initial starting point for randomness generation using an entropy source like hardware random number generators or timing variability.
CSPRNGs allow the production of vast quantities of randomized data for any purpose needed. Compared to hardware mechanisms limited by physics on maximum speeds, algorithms scale boundlessly in the bits created as long as adequate computational power exists.
Yet key differences between software and hardware randomness remain. While CSPRNG outputs pass statistical testing and contain no observable patterns, their pseudo-randomness means given the same seed, the exact same value sequence will generate each time. Also, if a CSPRNG algorithm or implementation has flaws, adversaries could predict and exploit output resulting in compromised security. Still, with proper cryptographic design and regular reseeding, CSPRNGs provide quality randomness for most software needs.
Conclusion
From the above exploration, we see true randomness plays a pivotal role across computing – from cybersecurity to simulations and beyond. While no substitutes for true physically-derived entropy exist, modern hardware and hybrid hardware-software solutions provide abundant randomness for practical usage.
However as computing continues evolving with new technologies like quantum, ensuring high-quality randomness generation tackles emerging information security and system reliability challenges. Access to ample true randomness stands necessary now for current computing functionality and lays the foundation for future innovation.
Features
News from Israeli hotels
Introduction: The current wars in Gaza and Lebanon have had a disastrous effect on Israeli tourism. Recently we were contacted by a friend in the advertising business in Israel who asked us whether we would help to promote a couple of well-known Israeli hotels – who are hoping for a huge rebound in bookings once the wars come to an end.
Here is news about two leading Israeli hotels:
Mr. Roy Avidor is the new GM at The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya.
We are delighted to welcome Roy Avidor as the new General Manager of The Ritz-Carlton, Herzliya!
Roy brings over a decade of leadership in the international hospitality industry, with a proven track record of operational excellence.
Most recently, Roy served as Director of Operations at the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, where he oversaw daily operations across multiple departments, always ensuring the highest standards of service. Prior to that, he held management positions at Celebrity Cruise Line and Isrotel Hotel Chain.
Roy’s extensive background in luxury hospitality, combined with his passion for service, makes him the perfect addition to our team and to his newest position as General Manager.
Boaz Elani Appointed General Manager of Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv
Boaz Elani has been named the new General Manager of the Sheraton Grand Hotel Tel Aviv, a prestigious property within the global luxury Marriott portfolio.
Bringing extensive expertise in luxury hospitality, Boaz most recently served as the General Manager of the Ritz-Carlton Herzliya, also part of the Marriott group. During his three-year tenure, he successfully navigated the hotel through two major challenges: the COVID-19 pandemic and the conflict in Israel. His steadfast dedication to exceptional service significantly enhanced guest satisfaction, solidifying the hotel’s reputation as a premier destination.
“I am honored by Marriott’s trust in me and thrilled to join the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv team,” said Boaz. “This hotel holds a distinguished place as one of Israel’s finest and most iconic. Following its comprehensive renovation, we are committed to delivering unmatched experiences for our guests and continuing its tradition of excellence.”
The Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv, overlooking the Mediterranean, features 320 beautifully redesigned rooms, including premium, deluxe, and club accommodations, along with luxurious suites. Guests staying in club-level rooms enjoy exclusive access to the 18th-floor lounge, offering breathtaking sea views. The recent renovations incorporate modern aesthetics with natural, seaside-inspired materials, creating a serene and inviting ambiance.
The hotel boasts a range of world-class amenities, including a newly updated beachfront pool, a popular sushi bar open to both guests and the public, and a renowned gourmet breakfast. Its versatile meeting spaces and state-of-the-art conference halls have garnered international acclaim, earning it the 2024 World MICE Award for Best Event and Conference Hotel.
In line with Marriott’s global commitment to sustainability, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv has held Green Key Certification since 2014, highlighting its dedication to environmentally responsible practices.
With Boaz Elani at the helm, the Sheraton Grand Tel Aviv is poised to further elevate its status as a premier destination for both leisure and business travelers.