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Arrow Up

Russia and North Korea agree on mutual aid against aggression - Putin


RT
Wed, 19 Jun 2024 09:47 UTC
Putin
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Pyongyang
Pyongyang has the right to defend its sovereignty against the US, the Russian leader has said.

Moscow and Pyongyang have pledged to assist each other against foreign aggression, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on Wednesday during a visit to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Putin and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, signed a strategic partnership which will serve as a roadmap for future cooperation in all spheres, from cultural and tourist ties, to trade, economic relations and security, the Russian leader has said, calling it "truly a breakthrough."
"The document on comprehensive partnership that we have signed today provides, among other things, for mutual aid in case of aggression against one of the participants.

"Overused Western propaganda tropes can no longer hide their aggressive geopolitical intentions, including in Northwestern Asia."
Moscow supports Pyongyang's intention to protect its security and sovereignty from possible Western aggression, which is its right, Putin said. The country considers the US and its allies responsible for the increasing tensions in the region.

Comment: Russia's new ally has weapons capable of reaching the US. Savvy diplomacy was achieved without numerous visits, empty promises or holding hands.

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Green Light

US greenlights new arms sale to Taiwan


RT
Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:22 UTC
soldier
© Ceng Shou Yu/NurPhoto/Getty Images
The US State Department has approved a new weapons sale to Taiwan involving hundreds of armed drones and missiles worth $360 million, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) has said.

Under the deal that was concluded on Tuesday, Taiwan will receive Altius-600M systems, which are unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with warheads, and related equipment at an estimated cost of $300 million, the agency said.

The US will also provide 720 Switchblade kamikaze drones known as "extended-range loitering munitions" along with accompanying fire control systems worth $60.2 million, according to the DSCA. Loitering munitions are small guided missiles that can fly around a target area until they are directed to attack.
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Calculator

Best of the Web: EU fines Hungary €200 million, plus €1 million per day, until it complies with opening its borders to mass migration

Jennifer Rankin
The Guardian
Thu, 13 Jun 2024 08:15 UTC
OrbanEU
© logicno.comHungarian PM Viktor Orban
European court also orders Budapest to pay €200m for 'unprecedented' breach of rules.

Hungary has been ordered to pay a €200m (£169m) fine for its refusal to uphold the rights of asylum seekers in what was described as an "unprecedented" breach of EU law by the bloc's highest court.

The European court of justice in Luxembourg also ordered Budapest to pay €1m a day until it complies with EU laws guaranteeing refugees the right to claim asylum inside Hungarian borders.

In a major judgment issued on Thursday, the court said Hungary had shown "deliberate evasion" in applying EU policy, which it described as "an unprecedented and exceptionally serious infringement of EU law" and "a significant threat to the unity of EU law and to the principle of equality of the member states".

The fine was higher than sought by the European Commission, the EU executive, which took Hungary to the Luxembourg court. Judges also identified "aggravating circumstances", including the repeat behaviour that contributed to the severity of the fine.

Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán responded to the judgement:
"The court's ruling is outrageous and unacceptable. It seems that illegal migrants are more important to the Brussels bureaucrats than their own European citizens."
The legal ruling comes less than three weeks before the Hungarian government takes charge of the rotating presidency of the EU council of ministers.
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Big Bomb

The smell of war versus a fresh breeze of peace and cooperation?

Peter Koenig
Global Research
Sun, 16 Jun 2024 00:00 UTC
stop war
© Massoud Nayeri
During the previous years, and more specifically the last few months, the intensity of a putrid smell of war has increased to the point where apocalypse could be just around the corner. More and more talks of war, a fear-mongering discourse, the projection of a hot (nuclear) WWIII - hitting Central Europe the third time in just over hundred years, is dominating the mainstream and even non-mainstream media.

It could be true, of course.

Hungary's Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, envisions a West entangled in Ukraine close to no return. This would mean a direct clash with Russia. Mr. Orban is especially referring to French President Macron's promise of delivering to Ukraine Mirage fighter jets (no numbers mentioned) and his repeated threats of sending French / NATO troops to fight in and for Ukraine and against Russia.

NATO soldiers in Ukraine is a fully understandable no-no for President Putin, as he repeated on many occasions. It had been part of the Minsk Agreements (2014 and 2015), as signed by all parties, but completely ignored. According to Madame Merkel, then-German Chancellor, Minsk was never meant to be serious, but rather to "buy time" for the west to bolster Ukraine for war with Russia. So, western lies, tricks and cheats are gradually seeping out.
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Attention

Sweden opens doors to possible US nukes deployment


RT
Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:40 UTC
US service member on a HIMARS at the Baltops 24
© Getty Images / Narciso Contreras/AnadoluUS service member on a HIMARS at the Baltops 24 military drills, alongside Swedish troops, in Uto, Sweden, June 11, 2024
The opposition is worried that a new defense pact does not prohibit acceptance of American nuclear weapons

Lawmakers in Stockholm have approved a controversial defense pact with Washington, which allows American troops onto 17 Swedish military bases and training sites. Critics have blasted the agreement for not explicitly barring US nuclear weapons from being deployed in the Nordic country.

The Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) was signed between Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in December of last year, but needed parliamentary approval to take effect.

On Tuesday, lawmakers in Stockholm overwhelmingly backed the DCA, with 266 members of parliament voting in favor and 37 against, while 46 were absent. As a high-stakes vote, a three-quarters supermajority with more than half of lawmakers present was required for the bill to pass.

The agreement was opposed by the Left and Green parties, who argued that the terms should explicitly state that Sweden would not host nuclear weapons.

Comment:
1) If the agreement or surrender allows the US: "unimpeded passage across the country ... set up its own facilities at existing Swedish military bases ... will be regulated by the US rather than local laws." then whether the agreement is explicit about the stationing of nuclear weapons could be said to be irrelevant, since there will be nobody to control what goes on in the US areas of the country except the US. Besides, with enough pressure even an informed government could be made to keep silent as Denmark and Sweden most likely did about the Nord Stream bombing, which was for the most part brushed under the carpet due to considerations of national security.

2) The move from the US has been well prepared. Sweden is a somewhat fragmented country with much energy spent on parallel society areas influenced by minority laws, whether religious, criminal or both. Still some mental preparations have been needed to get the Swedes formally into NATO.
Sweden won't allow citizens referendum vote over NATO membership (April 2022) which has:
Sweden does not plan to hold a referendum on the subject of NATO membership if its parliament approves of the measure, Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson announced on Thursday, suggesting that putting the matter to a vote would be a "bad idea."

"I don't think it is an issue that is suitable for a referendum," the Swedish leader told reporters, implying that Parliament's support was sufficient. "There is a lot of information about national security that is confidential, so there are important issues in such a referendum that cannot be discussed and important facts that cannot be put on the table," she explained.

The Swedish parliament is conducting an overview of security policy, with plans to release a report on the subject by the middle of next month. With a majority of Parliament reportedly backing membership in NATO, Andersson's own party, the Social Democrats, is considered the primary obstacle to Stockholm signing on to the 30-country alliance. However, Ulf Kristersson, head of the leading opposition party, the Moderates, agrees that a referendum is a bad idea.
3) With the military US-SE agreement in the central country on the Scandinavian Peninsula the road is paved for more influence. As a possible example, from Russia there was this claim: US preparing major anti-Russia propaganda campaign in Scandinavia - Moscow (May 30)
At the same time, high-ranking Swedish and Finnish officials are being trained, "like diligent students," to repeat the "Russophobic mantras of their American patrons without hesitation," the service wrote.

Specifically, it mentioned the commander-in-chief of the Swedish Armed Forces, Micael Byden, who recently claimed that Russia is planning to invade the island of Gotland to establish control in the Baltic Sea; and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, who has claimed that Russia poses an "existential threat" and has insisted that the only way to achieve peace is "through the battlefield."
If 'the only way to achieve peace is "through the battlefield."' the invitation for the Scandinavians to join the effort is open, even if for now the active game is by proxy and military-financial aid.

4) For recent articles that connect in a more peripherical sense:

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Star of David

Mossad and its network of little helpers, the Sayanim

David Miller
beeley.substack.com
Wed, 19 Jun 2024 00:00 UTC
VANESSA BEELEY (By David Miller for Al Mayadeen)

Mossad
As I am hoping to organise a conversation with colleague David Miller in the very near future to discuss his research into the Zionist movement tentacles that have embedded themselves deep inside the UK governmental and public sectors including education - I am publishing his recent article for Al Mayadeen English:
The Mossad have been exposed as targeting the International Criminal Court, including directly threatening its personnel and their families. What else does the Mossad get up to?
Zionist intelligence agencies launched a war on the International Criminal Court in January 2015. This was when it was confirmed that Palestine would join the court after it was recognised as a state by the UN general assembly.

"Israel's" intelligence agencies routinely surveilled the ICC's current chief prosecutor Karim Khan, his predecessor Fatou Bensouda, and dozens of other ICC and UN officials. Israeli intelligence also monitored materials that the Palestinian Authority submitted to the prosecutor's office, and surveilled employees at four Palestinian human rights organizations whose submissions are central to the probe.

Multiple agencies including the Mossad, Shin Bet, and "National Security Council" were involved, in addition to the occupation military. "Israel's" Ministry of Strategic Affairs, under Gilad Erdan, was involved in the surveilling of Palestinian human rights organizations that were submitting reports to the ICC.

It is reported that "a large whiteboard in an Israeli intelligence department contained the names of about 60 people under surveillance - half of them Palestinians and half from other countries, including UN officials and ICC personnel."
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Attention

Pentagon ran secret anti-vax campaign to undermine China during pandemic

Chris Bing and Joel Schectman
Reuters
Fri, 14 Jun 2024 09:45 UTC
CHina covid vaccine
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. military launched a secret campaign to counter what it perceived as China's growing influence in the Philippines, a nation hit especially hard by the deadly virus.

The clandestine operation has not been previously reported. It aimed to sow doubt about the safety and efficacy of vaccines and other life-saving aid that was being supplied by China, a Reuters investigation found. Through phony internet accounts meant to impersonate Filipinos, the military's propaganda efforts morphed into an anti-vax campaign. Social media posts decried the quality of face masks, test kits and the first vaccine that would become available in the Philippines - China's Sinovac inoculation.

Reuters identified at least 300 accounts on X, formerly Twitter, that matched descriptions shared by former U.S. military officials familiar with the Philippines operation. Almost all were created in the summer of 2020 and centered on the slogan #Chinaangvirus - Tagalog for China is the virus.
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Star of David

Blinken made secret weapons promise to Israel - Netanyahu


RT
Tue, 18 Jun 2024 19:08 UTC
BlinkNet
© Anadolu/Getty ImagesUS Secretary of State Antony Blinken • Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • West Jerusalem • February 7, 2024
The Secretary of State said the White House "is working day and night" to resume all arms shipments, according to the PM.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has claimed to have pressured the United States over arms supplies that his country needs in its war with the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The US paused delivery of weapons to Israel in early May amid calls for it to scale back its assault on the densely-populated city of Rafah in southern Gaza. The shipment reportedly included 3,500 bombs for fighter jets. The Jewish state's offensive on Rafah has left thousands of Palestinians dead and injured, according to the local Hamas-run authorities.

In a video posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday, Netanyahu said in English that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has assured him the White House "is working day and night to remove these bottlenecks," referring to arms supplies.

The statement confirms the latest media reports that during a meeting with Blinken last week in Jerusalem, Netanyahu had demanded the removal of barriers to the flow of munitions.

Comment: Regarding his recent reticence, Biden is roleplaying for the masses in an election year. He supports only one outcome: fulfilled, unimpeded.

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Arrow Down

Hunter Biden drops lawsuit against Rudy Giuliani over laptop data

Ashley Oliver
Washington Examiner
Fri, 14 Jun 2024 01:38 UTC
Giuliani
© Leah Mills/ReutersFormer New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani
Hunter Biden agreed on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit he brought against former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and his onetime attorney Robert Costello over allegations they unlawfully hacked the first son's computer data.

Biden's attorney Abbe Lowell signed off on the suit's dismissal, as did Giuliani and Costello, according to a court filing.

No explanation for the move was provided in the court papers, but a source told NBC News "it made no sense" to continue the suit while Giuliani was in a state of bankruptcy. The source also said the case would be brought again when Giuliani was out of it.

The former mayor declared bankruptcy last year after a court ordered him to pay two election workers $148 million. The penalty came as a result of a federal judge finding Giuliani defamed the two women when he accused them of committing election fraud in Georgia.

Biden's lawsuit against Giuliani came in response to the former mayor, who worked as former President Donald Trump's attorney, obtaining an external hard drive containing data from Biden's laptop and providing it to the New York Post in the lead-up to the 2020 election. The outlet proceeded to publish a string of stories targeting President Joe Biden, then Trump's leading opponent, based on the data from the hard drive.

Comment: 'They' dropped the suit against Giuliani. Shouldn't that be the end of it?

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Umbrella

Malaysia moving to join BRICS - PM


RT
Mon, 17 Jun 2024 18:49 UTC
towers
© unknownPetronas Twin Towers, Kuala Lumpur, Malasia
Malaysia has decided to apply for BRICS membership and will start filing the official paperwork soon, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said.

The 77-year-old leader of the Southeast Asian nation mentioned the decision in an interview with the Chinese outlet Guancha published on Sunday.
"We have made our policy clear and we have made our decision. We will start the formal process soon. We are waiting for the final result and the feedback from the South African government."
Anwar also mentioned bringing up the subject in a recent meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The organization was founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining in 2011. In January, BRICS officially admitted Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), but decided to keep the current name.

Kuala Lumpur's potential membership in the organization would be of strategic significance, as one of the world's most important shipping lanes - the Malacca Strait, connecting the Pacific and the Indian Ocean - is located between Malaysia and the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
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