Announcement: "Stand With Ukraine" by Theatre on The Hill

 

We all know what happened on February 24, 2022. The Russian Federation invaded Ukraine and war has been raging in that country ever since. After 12 months of suffering, this country bravely stands up to the aggressor and defends the values that we understand as freedom and democracy. On this anniversary, "Theatre on the Hill" would like to present a special solidarity show with very beautiful Ukrainian and international songs in honor of the Ukrainian people.

There is also an opportunity to donate L$ to the benefit of suffering people during the show.

The show takes place on 02/24/2023 at 01:00pm SLT.

And here is the cab:

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/TheaterOn%20The%20Hill/194/39/21

 

The Russian Veteran Newcomer, Update on Hanna

 

 

 The Russia-Ukraine War remains in the daily news, the recent headlines being drone attacks on the capital city of Kiev (Kyiv). In Second Life, while the initial massive show of support has somewhat ebbed, some people still fly Ukrainian flags or have blue and gold displays up as a show of support. Last weekend, I'd gotten another reminder when someone in a veterans community, Soldier Waverider, announced in group chat he'd come across a Russian solider who'd just joined up with Second Life, and invited people to talk to him. As I was trying to calm down a friend who had a stressful day, I sent my alt Rezzdarnnit over. 

The soldier, whose name will not be mentioned in the Newser, had escaped Russia with his immediate family, and was now in Sweden. He had left partly out of not wanting to be part of the invasion again, and partially that he was about to be sent back despite post-traumatic stress disorder. He disagreed with Putin, and found no fault at all with the Ukrainians. 

Most of our conversation was in voice, and the man in question spoke in English with a strong accent. When he had first arrived, most greeted him with suspicion, some wondering if he was a troll. But then he ran into Waverider, and after some conversation the American veteran was convinced his story was genuine.

 

There's also an update on an Ukrainian resident of Second Life. Hanna Linberg (gabby11196), the owner of Osmia, was last reported hiding out in a city under Russian occupation, her situation complicated by pregnancy. Late last week, Hamlet Au would report that she escaped with her family and went to a free part of the country where she would give birth to her baby. While the war is still far from won, this one story has a happy update.

 

Addition: Third paragraph was added several hours after this story first went up. Sorry for those details being late.

Source: New World Notes.

Bixyl Shuftan

Further Reactions To Russia's Invasion of Ukraine

 *

It's been about a month since we last discussed how the Russian invasion of the Ukraine was being reflected in Second Life. Since then, there continue to be fundraisers to help out the Ukrainians, such as the one at Union Passage posted here a few days ago. The Marketplace has dozens of Ukraine-related items. And people are continuing to dress in blue and gold, or wearing blue and gold items, such as this back pocket cloth seen at a Relay for Life event (left).

Of the protests in the Moscow Island sim in which the demonstrators found themselves restricted to one tiny out of the way corner, returning to the place, there was one large sign asking people to please stop.

Our island does not belong to any country, it is a private territory. We are not a political organization, this iz just a historical sim, so please do not gather here whit political slogans! Thanks

One question that I've heard is what happens to Russian residents in Second Life? I've had people tell me that friends from the country are being IMed with insults. While the invasion has been marked with atrocities by Russian soldiers against Ukrainian civilians, it's also seen other soldiers sabotage equipment, thousands of Russians being arrested for demonstrating against the war, leaving the country, and Russians taking up arms in support of Ukraine against the invasion. 

With Paypal stopping business in Russia, as well as other means to trade Rubles for Lindens and vice-versa, Russian residents are increasingly unable to buy Lindens or cash in on any Second Life businesses. Hamlet Au recently interviewed one, whom had taken part since the start in helping out Ukrainian residents, and stated he was seriously considering leaving the country as his business was so successful compared to real-life job prospects. But some others who don't have that option may end up having to close their places down due to inability to pay, or possibly leave Second Life for a while if not being able to access money from a Second Life business leads to economic hardship.

The gaming industry has also seen a number of reactions, such as Blizzard and Epic Games halting sales in Russia. It should be noted that Wargaming, best known for "World of Tanks" and "World of Warships," got it's start in Belarus in the 1990s, but since moved its headquarters out of the country. Following the invasion, it fired one of the staff whom made some comments in support of the war. And a few days ago, it announced it was withdrawing completely from Belarus and Russia. The following was posted on it's Discord channel:

Over the past weeks, Wargaming has been conducting a strategic review of business operations worldwide. The company has decided it will not own or operate any businesses in Russia and Belarus and will leave both countries.

Effective March 31 2022, the company started the process of closing its studio in Minsk, Belarus and transferred its live games business in Russia and Belarus to local management of Lesta Studio that is no longer affiliated with Wargaming. The company will not profit from this process either today or going forward. Much to the contrary, we expect to suffer substantial losses as a direct result of this decision.

Going forward, in all other countries Wargaming will continue to operate World of Warships as before. The game servers will be operating as usual, and players' accounts, as well as their in-game property accumulated through purchase or any other means, will remain unchanged.

No doubt there will be more developments in this ongoing story.
 
Sources: BBC, New World Notes, Time , Reuters, PC Gamer, Wargaming 

Bixyl Shuftan
 

BREAKING NEWS: Hackers Redirecting Residents From Second Life to "Putin World"

* Update - April Fool's*

In what is either an escilation in the growing tensions between Russia and the West, a massive troll by pro-Putin hackers, or perhaps both, residents of Second Life are getting re-routed to the wrong virtual world.

Starting at 1 PM SL time March 31 (Midnight Moscow time), a few residents in Russia, Turkey, and east Africa were finding trying to login to Second Life, they ended up in another virtual world entirely. The entry area looked like Red Square in Moscow, complete with the Kremlin and Lenin's tomb. As time went on, more and more residents in more and more countries, starting when their own region reached Midnight, found themselves in this place as well. As of the writing of this article, a few residents in Eastern Standard Time in the Eastern US, Quebec & Ontario, and Columbia & Peru are posting on Facebook that they've somehow logged onto there. Logging out and logging back in, they end up back in this other virtual world.

This copy of Second Life is called "Putin World." Going beyond the Red Square area, there's a much smaller number of sims than Second Life. There are Russian cities with cheerful workers, Russian towns with happy locals, Russian farms with happy peasants, slums with banks flying American and European flags, with unhappy masses, WW2 battle scenes showing retreating German soldiers fleeing from T-34 tanks, and woods with builds of a bare-chested Putin riding a bear. Everywhere are signs describing Putin as the "glorious leader" who made Russia great again, and that anyone opposed to him is either a fool needing institutionalization, or a criminal needing prison.

So far, only a tiny fraction of residents have been re-routed. But the number has been growing as time goes on. Linden Lab is investigating the hacking, and trying to come up with a solution.

Update. Linden Lab has announced that they've come up with a patch that will prevent residents from being sent to Putin World, and should fix affected accounts and send them back to Second Life.

To read more on the patch and to download it, Click Here.

Bixyl Shuftan
 

EOTB: "Linden Lab's Statement on Ukraine"

 
Today, Fruday March 4, Linden Lab issued a statement on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has turned into a war with civilians often in desperate situations and over a million refugees having fled the country. It encouraged readers to donate to organizations helping out the Ukrainians, and free speech in Russia. They would also be suspending land tier and premium account charges to Ukrainian residents for at least thirty days (possibly in response to a thread in the forums).

*  *  *  *  *

Linden Lab strives to make positive change in the world by helping people connect, discover themselves, and grow both personally and financially. Ultimately, we build and support communities. Therefore, it is especially shocking to see the actions in Ukraine, to see the unwarranted attacks on people – on communities. We are heartbroken and horrified by the situation in Ukraine and the humanitarian crisis it has perpetuated. We are a proudly diverse team, and many of us have ties to these events - historically, emotionally, professionally, and socially. Our products reach worldwide, and many of our partners and customers are directly affected by this crisis. 

As a leadership team, this crisis has challenged us to better define and embrace what we believe to be the core principles at Linden Lab – our TAO so to speak.

Specifically, our TAO says:

MAKE CHANGE ON A GLOBAL SCALE

Our work brings people together, builds communities. Our work helps people understand who they are, helps them be better. Our work brings empathy, helps people see the world through others’ eyes. Settle for nothing less than changing the world for the better.

We intend to live up to this principle, and while there is much work to be done, we are starting with: 

• Providing financial support for humanitarian crisis aid through a donation to the Red Cross Ukraine and HIAS
• Supporting independent journalism in Ukraine through a donation to Keep Ukraine’s Media Going
• Supporting free speech in Russia through a donation to Meduza and OVD-INFO 

Effective Monday, we will be further supporting our eligible Ukrainian-based community members by granting them a temporary 30-day moratorium on recurring account fees such as Premium Membership and Land Maintenance fees.  We will review this again after 30 days and assess what we can do as next steps where necessary. We invite any of our Ukraine-based community members to contact support with any specific questions they may have.

Finally, we encourage our community to look at ways that they can help show their support. It is heartening to see the Second Life community come together to support each other with numerous inworld events and helpful initiatives that bring us together as a force for good in both the physical and virtual worlds.

 

Announcement: March 31 Campaign

 

Hi everyone,

I am launching a campaign to get 31,000 Russian troops to cross the border into neighboring countries, such as Poland or Turkey. The idea is to incentive them to drop their arms and walk to safety.

The name of the project is March 31. This means that, until the date of March 31, the troops from Russia that walk over peacefully will be given a gaming console (Playstation, XBox, Nintendo Switch)  each. So, on top of normal donation, we will somehow finance 31,000 consoles ready to give out. We will harness the power of the free Internet.

Our united clubs will work with all our guests to set social media ablaze with 'MARCH31' sayings and logos and calls for MARCH31. With these consoles, we will also give them food, drinks and perhaps some beer and friendly attention.

These soldiers are mostly 16-30 and do not want to be killed for Putin. Let's help them.

Please, reach me and add me if you want to be part of his historic effort.

Misticia Moonwall
 

Protest Against Russian Invasion of Ukraine in Moscow Island, And Other Support For Ukraine in Second Life

 
On Wednesday February 23, Russia launched a full scale invasion against it's neighbor of Ukraine. The result has been protests across the world against the unprovoked act of aggression ordered by Russian leader Vladimir Putin, and in support of the Ukrainians. But for those trying to protest within Russia, the results have been the demonstrations broken up by police and the protestors arrested.

Within Second Life, there have been some protests against the invasion as well. On Friday February 25, I got a tip of one. It was appropriately enough at the Moscow Island sim, which is known for having a build of the Kremlin and one of Lennin's tomb. Near the tomb, I saw several avatars. One was flying a sizeable Ukrainian flag. Another looked bloodied and was wearing a blue and yellow dress, the colors of the Ukraine's flag. And there was one girl wearing a Putin mask, AnuAmun (AnuAmun Alchemi). "Путин должен уйти!" The girl shouted, "Putin needs to GO!"

Going over to her, I asked if there were more people here earlier. "People do come and go," Anu told me, "Some of us are gonna keep avatars here for as long as possible. There's no sim for Ukraine that I know of. And this is the only one related to Russia that looks official enough, since the actual Red Square has been closed in real life. There should be more people here. Getting the word out may help."

The protestor went on, "I have friends - in Russia, that fear going out in the street because of the repercussions. For some the responsibility, even though not directly theirs, weighs them down strongly. And internationally no one is placing blame with the Russian people. They are all prisoners to a criminal organization ran in part by Vladimir Putin. The economical sanctions imposed by the west are going to hurt the spectrum of the population in Russia that already hurts economically. It's the sons and daughters of Russia that are loosing their lives for the personal financial growth of Putin and the ones around him. And 60,000 Ukrainians have crossed the border into Poland and Romania in the past day. 

"For Ukraine this is an existential crisis. People remember how the 'liberating army' forgot to leave after the end of WW2. No one diminishes the importance of Russia and it's sacrifice in WW2. But this is 2022. Ukraine is an independent nation that should and must choose it's own future. On a personal level - I am just of the opinion that Putin does not actually care about the lives Russia will loose, or the lives or Ukrainians or even Ukrainian-Russian ethnics in the east. His interests are in the control of however much territory he can get at the negotiating table - including the gas fields in eastern Ukraine and Odessa. And it's a bit hypocritical criticizing America or the UK for being imperialistic and then turning around and actually doing it. Little men with big egos throughout history have shaped and reshaped maps on the bodies and with the blood of the innocent and the young - this is no different. We're better than this!"

When I mentioned I was going to keep the anonymity of the protestors in the article aside from those who gave their okay, Anu told me in her case it was fine, "I am ok - in the West.  Also I am not Russian or Ukrainian , by birth I am Romanian. I do have countless friends in both countries. We're neighbors after all. And neighbors help each other, they don't invade each other.

Dropping by the next day, I noticed the protest had been moved to a corner of the sim away from Lenin's Tomb, and was smaller in number. I got a message from Anu, "We were removed from the sim! I filed a report, mass removal for protesting." So it appears the sim owner was no fan of the protests.

Later on, someone passed me a notecard, written by a Stephen Yuvensky, calling on people to support a number of Second Life stores owned by Ukrainians, "Ukrainian owners of the SL stores likely won't be able to create new releases in the nearest future. So I suggest supporting them by visiting their MPs and inworld stores ..." The notecard had a list of store links on Google Docs (link here). "Please note that none of the following owners asked for this list. It's fully a desire and idea of community to show our support! If you know any other designers who are in Ukraine please let me know for them to be added." More on the notecard can be read in a New World Notes article. 

I would also be told about a set of Ukrainian flags (flagpole, wall mounted, desk, etc) that was being given away by Lupinia Studios, owned by Natasha Petrichor (earlier, we wrote about her Frolicking Deer Cay). You can get the flag set/fatpack for free at Marketplace (link) or inworld or practically free at 1L at Braunworth (127/245/179) and Tofte (173/120/146). Someone would also pass me a free and shareable flag.

There's quite a bit of support for Ukraine in Second Life. So we may have more on the subject soon.

For more information on the invasion of the Ukraine, one can check these links at Fox News, CNN, and the BBC.

Sources: Wikipedia, Reuters

Hat tip : CLEOPATRA Xigalia

Bixyl Shuftan
 

A Tribute to The Airliner Tragedy

Last week, Flight MH17 of Malaysia Airlines crashed in the eastern Ukraine, has been the scene of conflict between the country's armed forces, and pro-Russian separatist rebels trying to break the region away from the country and unite with Russia.  The cause of the plane's demise was quickly found to be an anti aircraft missile. Although the Russians and rebels claim the Ukrainian government shot down the plane, there is evidence that the separatists, using Russian equipment were the cause of the disaster. Of the 298 people killed, the majority were Dutch citizens, resulting the country being in mourning. The airline, already in trouble from another of it's planes vanishing somewhere in the Indian Ocean earlier this year, may not survive a second disaster.

While on the Relay track, I came across this tribute to those who perished on the plane, showing the nationalities of those who were killed.