Puppet Masters
© REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators attend a protest against a law that bans LGBTQ content in schools and media at the Presidential Palace in Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 2021.
FILE PHOTO: Demonstrators attend a protest against a law that bans LGBTQ content in schools and media at the Presidential Palace in Budapest, Hungary, June 16, 2021.
The condemnation of the European Union's activity comes after the Commission launched legal action against Hungary, claiming that a newly introduced law prohibiting the promotion of homosexuality discriminates against LGBT individuals.
Orban blasted the European Commission's stance as "shameful," declaring that the infringement action being taken against his government is "legalized hooliganism." Defending his administration's actions, the Hungarian leader reaffirmed that LGBT activists would be banned from being allowed to "march up and down" or to promote sexual propaganda in schools.
© Getty Images / Oleksii Liskonih; (inset) Sputnik / Ramil Sitdikov
Writing on the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Friendship, Sergey Lavrov explained that the two nations were successfully cooperating military in a manner that is "only defensive in nature."
The treaty, signed on July 16, 2001, by Presidents Jiang Zemin of China and Vladimir Putin of Russia, serves as a basis for peaceful relations between the two nations and provides for cooperation in the fields of trade, energy, and transport, among others.
Comment: Were it not for Russia and China's influence on our planet, it's likely that the situation would be even worse than it already is:
- China's Global Leadership List
- Watching Putin's entire 4-hour Q&A with the Russian people - he even answered my question
- Russia's hi-speed rail boom: Manufactured locally and set to traverse the world (VIDEO)
© Reuters / Michael Reynolds and Eduardo Munoz
Mark Milley (L) and Donald Trump (R)
Mark Milley (L) and Donald Trump (R)
Excerpts from an upcoming book by Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker describe how, in the aftermath of the 2020 election, as Trump disputed Joe Biden's victory, Milley, the nation's highest military officer, summoned the rest of the Pentagon's top brass to discuss the possibility of Trump attempting to use them in a "coup" attempt to stay in power.
Milley, according to the excerpts seen by CNN, drew on numerous World War II cliches, comparing Trump's rhetoric of a 'rigged' election to "the gospel of the Fuhrer," his supporters to the Nazi "brownshirts," and Trump himself as "the classic authoritarian leader with nothing to lose."
As Milley and his deputies discussed the possibility of Trump's supporters directly attacking Washington DC, he flexed his military muscles. "They may try, but they're not going to f**king succeed," he reportedly said. "You can't do this without the military. You can't do this without the CIA and the FBI. We're the guys with the guns."
Comment: Trump is America's greatest unappreciated comedian:
© Reuters
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L)
Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (R)
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L)
Unbeknownst to most in the West, the United Arab Emirates has been expanding its network of power throughout the Middle East and even beyond, to the point where its Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Zayed seriously contests the power of Saudi Arabia's Mohammed Bin Salman.
In the past weeks a dispute between Saudi Arabia and the UAE began when an OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) plan set out a new 2022 schedule during which there would be a prolonged reduction in oil output. The UAE quickly lashed out, publicly calling the plan "unfair" and sparking retaliatory rhetoric from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Under an OPEC+ (OPEC plus ten other oil-producing states) proposal, still in dispute, Saudi Arabia would have to cut its oil production by 5% and the UAE by 18%. The UAE fired back, declaring that the market is in need of higher oil production, due to a decline in prices, which comes as a result of the reduction in energy usage and international travel.
This spat between Persian Gulf powers may seem relatively inconsequential to the average western onlooker, but the implications have already been significant, with a six-year high in oil prices coming as a result. Although they seem to be moving towards an agreement, it is likely that the two allies will soon again be at loggerheads, as their proxy forces in Yemen wage war upon each other.
© Getty Images
Glenn Greenwald
Glenn Greenwald
On Sunday thousands of Cubans swarmed the streets of Havana amid ongoing blackouts, food shortages and rising prices. Increasing COVID infections have strained the island's healthcare system and put medical care at a standstill. The protests are the largest of their kind in over a decade. In turn, the government began a crackdown. More than 100 activists and journalists are reportedly in custody. One male protester was shot in his home on Wednesday during a police raid. Facebook and Twitter played a crucial role in allowing the rest of the world to witness the unrest — so of course the Cuban government has banned those platforms in the last 72 hours.
Almost unanimously, GOP lawmakers in the last few days have thrown their support behind the anti-communist protesters, including Sen Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and 2024 hopeful Florida governor Ron DeSantis.
In an interview with The Spectator, journalist Glenn Greenwald broke down why he believes 'America First' conservatives should reevaluate their support for Cuba's protests. The Intercept co-founder argues that conservatives with nationalistic tendencies should prioritize American domestic policy without embroiling themselves in foreign conflicts.
© Creative Commons
Russian Air Force MIG-31
Russian Air Force MIG-31
According to the National Defense Management Center, Moscow detected three targets approaching the state border. Four planes - two MiG-31 and two Su-35 fighters - were scrambled to escort the American aircraft.
"The Russian fighter crews identified the aerial targets as B-52H strategic bombers of the US Air Force Global Strike Command and escorted them over the waters of the Bering Sea," the center said.
After the bombers turned around, the Russian fighters returned to their home airfield, and there was no reported violation of state borders.
The Boeing B-52 bomber, also known as the Stratofortress, is a long-range, jet-powered plane first introduced in the 1950s.
Last week, Russia's Ministry of Defense scrambled two Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets after a US Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft flew over the Black Sea, approaching the country's border during NATO's Sea Breeze multinational naval exercise.
© AP/Jacquelyn Martin
National Guard troops keep watch on the Capitol
National Guard troops keep watch on the Capitol
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin recently approved a Capitol Police request for eight Persistent Surveillance Systems Ground - Medium (PSSG-M) units. The system provides high-definition surveillance video and is enabled with night vision. The system does not include facial recognition capabilities. The Pentagon said:
"This technology will be integrated with existing USCP camera infrastructure, providing greater high definition surveillance capacity to meet steady-state mission requirements and help identify emerging threats."The technology allowed U.S. troops fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan to monitor large areas 24/7 through extremely high-resolution cameras.
Some privacy rights advocates have raised concern that Capitol Police are getting into the business of spying on Americans.
© Reuters/Stringer
Demonstrators in Havana, Cuba protest against/in support of the government
Demonstrators in Havana, Cuba protest against/in support of the government
In a statement issued on Thursday, one of Moscow's top diplomatic representatives, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, blasted American "impudence" for suggesting that the demonstrations were a result of the Cuban government's own mistakes. Instead, she described the approach a part of "yet another political staging."
"Washington's cynicism is shown by the fact that throughout the entire period of the existence of revolutionary Cuba, it purposefully pursued a strategy of strangling the country, discriminating against its people and destroying the economy. Their thinking here is simple - it has already been repeatedly deployed by Washington in different situations. But in every case, there is the same goal - sparking 'color revolutions' in response to unwanted regimes."The approach, the official added, hinges on applying sanctions and provoking tensions by worsening the socio-economic situation in the country.
Comment: Psychopathic diplomacy: The tyrant and its prey.
© Nathan Stirk/Getty Images
A view outside the BBC Studios on 27 May 2021 in England
A view outside the BBC Studios on 27 May 2021 in England
The 29 June episode of The Long View was presented by Jonathan Freedland. He looked at the history of state-sponsored hijackings following a recent well-documented incident in Belarusian air space, involving a Ryanair plane en route from the Greek capital, Athens.
Comment: See also: