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Kiev rebuffs Indonesian peace efforts

Subianto
© screenshot
Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto offering peace plan
Ukraine has rejected Indonesia's proposal for a peace settlement with Moscow, arguing that Jakarta's plan would only serve Russia's interests.

President Vladimir Zelensky's top adviser Mikhail Podoliak wrote on Twitter on Saturday that the roadmap
"frankly looks like a twin of the Russian proposal... about the surrender [of Ukraine]. The only one realistic proposal is [for Russia] to "withdraw from the sovereign territory of Ukraine."
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko also insisted that Russia should surrender its newly incorporated regions, which Kiev says were illegally occupied. He said on Facebook:
"There can be no alternative scenarios. Ceasefire without the withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine will allow Russia to win time, regroup, fortify the occupied territories and accumulate forces for a new wave of aggression."
Speaking at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Saturday, Indonesian Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto suggested that both Russian and Ukrainian troops withdraw 15km (nearly 10 miles) from their current positions, creating a demilitarized zone that would be monitored by UN peacekeepers. He also proposed holding UN-sponsored referendums to determine the future "disputed" territories.

Comment: There are voices of reason with realistic proposals:
Indonesia's defense minister presented a new peace initiative on Saturday aimed at resolving the conflict in Ukraine. Prabowo Subianto urged military officials from around the world to issue a declaration calling for a cessation of hostilities.

Additionally, he suggested conducting a UN-sponsored referendum in the disputed territory to objectively determine the wishes of the majority of the inhabitants. He didn't specify the regions to which he was referring.
"I propose that the Shangri-La Dialogue find a mode of... voluntary declaration urging both Ukraine and Russia to immediately start negotiations for peace."
During the same panel discussion, Josep Borrell, the high representative and vice president of the European Commission, acknowledged that ending military support for Ukraine would lead to a swift conclusion of the war. However, he cautioned against such a move, as it could result in the country's sovereignty being compromised by external force.
"We need to bring peace to Ukraine," but it must be a "just peace, not a peace of surrender."
Indonesia's peace initiative follows President Joko Widodo's visit to Moscow and Kiev last year, during which he offered to mediate peace talks between the two leaders. President Widodo, who was chairing the G20 group of major economies at the time, expressed his willingness to act as a peace broker.

Despite voting in favor of a United Nations resolution denouncing Russia's offensive in Ukraine, Indonesia has refrained from imposing economic sanctions on Moscow.



Bullseye

Scholz branded 'warmonger' at rally held by his own party

Scholz
© Global Look Press/dpa/Jonas Walzberg
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz
German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, received an icy welcome at a 'European Festival' organized by his own Social Democratic Party (SPD) on Friday. Scholz was booed and whistled at as he sought to address a festival held in the town of Falkensee, in the German state of Brandenburg, near Berlin.

Footage published by the Ruptly video agency shows event attendees criticizing Scholz for being a "people's traitor" and a "warmonger." Few supporters are seen cheering for the chancellor. A group was also heard shouting "liar" and "bandit" while demanding "peace without weapons" and urging Scholz to "go away."

According to the German tabloid Bild, some of the chancellor's critics are associated with the country's right-wing scene and were wearing clothes bearing symbols of Russia and the anti-vaccination movement.

Scholz defended his government's policies amid the chilly reception, insisting that Russian President Vladimir Putin was a "warmonger" for ordering the military operation in Ukraine. He also dismissed his critics as "loudmouths," adding that had they had "any sense in [their] brains" they would criticize the Russian leadership instead of him.

The chancellor was supported by Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke, who remarked that the demonstration "belongs on the Red Square." Woidke, an SPD member, told the demonstrators that it was thanks to "democracy" and "freedom" that they were allowed to "quarrel" at the rally.

Comment: Dissing the concerns and callouts from the people, Scholz triggers 'an enemy' within.


Brick Wall

National Archives refusing to hand over emails between Hunter Biden and Joe Biden's staff

joe and hunter biden deboard
© AP Photo / Patrick Semansky
President Joe Biden, left, and his son, Hunter Biden, step off Air Force One, Feb. 4, 2023, at Hancock Field Air National Guard Base in Syracuse, New York.
America First Legal on Wednesday released a batch of heavily-redacted emails it received from NARA that showed Hunter Biden advised his father's office during his vice presidency.

The National Archives and Records Administration is refusing to release myriad communications between first son Hunter Biden and his father's staff, asserting they are protected under an exemption to the Freedom of Information Act that covers communications between the president and his advisors, or between advisors.

America First Legal on Wednesday released a batch of heavily-redacted emails it received from NARA that showed Hunter Biden advised his father's office during his vice presidency. The organization obtained the emails from NARA through a FOIA request and has gradually released batches of the materials it obtained. While NARA redacted many of the emails, it further withheld entirely several more, merely confirming their existence.

Of particular interest is a communication from Hunter Biden business partner Eric Schwerin to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) about a "China Lunch" that preceded an official visit from then-Chinese President Hu Jintao to the U.S. in 2011. NARA acknowledged the communication's existence but refused to release it because doing so "would disclose confidential advice between the President and his advisors, or between such advisors."

Comment: The New York Post report:
First son Hunter Biden advised then-Vice President Joe Biden's office on who to invite for state occasions involving China, as well as where to visit on a trip to Africa, emails reviewed by The Post show.

A heavily redacted trove of messages was released by the National Archives on Wednesday — with uncensored emails from Hunter's abandoned laptop filling in some of the blanks. The emails cast more doubt on the elder Biden's blanket denial that he ever discussed his offspring's overseas business interests.

Three entirely redacted emails refer in the subject line to a "China Lunch" in apparent connection with then-Chinese President Hu Jintao's January 2011 state visit to Washington, while three others pertain to "Nairobi ideas" ahead of Joe Biden's visit to Kenya in June 2010.

The emails were acknowledged but "withheld in full" in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking communications between Joe Biden's office, Hunter Biden and first brother James Biden, with whom Hunter partnered on many ventures.

The China and Nairobi-focused emails were redacted in their entirety, with the Archives citing a "p5" exception under the Freedom of Information Act. The exception shields "confidential communications requesting or submitting advice, between the President and the President's advisers, or between such advisers."

The "China Lunch" email thread on Nov. 19, 2010, was archived because it includes Evan Ryan and Michele Smith, then of the vice president's office. Ryan currently is President Biden's cabinet secretary and is married to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

One day before those emails were sent, Hunter Biden's business partner Eric Schwerin emailed the then-second son regarding a Chinese state dinner two months in the future, which would feature a "traditional VP/SecState Lunch," to which Schwerin suggested inviting close Biden family business associates including Jim Bulger and Jeff Cooper.

"Michele called and said they would like some suggested names for the lunch. They have 30 spots for the VP's personal list," Schwerin wrote.

"Your Dad has 22 spots already allocated, but if someone fits into a 'business leader,' 'elected official', 'think tank' type, they could be added beyond the 8 remaining personal spots. She is asking [fellow second son and then-Delaware Attorney General] Beau [Biden] if he has suggestions as well."

Schwerin added:
"Some thoughts - what about President Harris of Widener [University]? They are desperately trying to get into China with that Confucious [sic] Institute. Could also think about Father Pilarz of Scranton (soon to be Marquette) they are also interested in China. Jim Bulger (or someone from his group)? Greg Penner? Gavin Newsom? Cooper? David Boren? Anyone from Labor?"
Two emails bearing the subject line "China Lunch" — matching the redacted thread's title — appeared on Hunter's laptop showing Schwerin writing to Hunter, "Here are my thoughts: Greg Penner Jim Harris, President Widener Jeff Cooper Also consider: Someone from Amtrak (Boardman/Carper?)."

Cooper, a wealthy asbestos litigation attorney, was a close business associate of Hunter and James Biden and was involved in a 2006 attempt by Hunter and James to take over a New York investment bank, into which Cooper's law firm invested $1 million. Bulger, meanwhile, was involved with Hunter and James Biden's China ventures.

In a Nov. 18 email to Schwerin, Hunter writes, "Greg Penner is great idea" and recommends that an invite also be extended "if Devon is there also," appearing to refer to his since-convicted associate Devon Archer, with whom he joined the board of Ukrainian natural gas firm Burisma, which paid him up to $1 million per year as his father assumed the Obama administration's Ukraine portfolio.

Less than a week later, Archer, who has since been convicted of defrauding an American Indian tribe, emailed Hunter a list of "sovereign targets."

"What are your off the cuff thoughts on foreign target countries? Based on both your core relationships and your gut on likelihood of success? ....For me its: China[,] Turkey[,] Mexico[,] Argentina[,] India[,] Columbia[,] Israel[,] Norway, Serbia, Singapore, Korea, Canada[,] Germany & Australia [and] Gulf Region," Archer wrote.

One laptop email titled "China Lunch" showed Schwerin emailing Smith: "Michele- Working on a few other names, which we can get you early next week but one suggestion Hunter has is Greg Penner. Greg Penner is General Partner of Madrone Capital Partners and on the Board of Directors of Wal-Mart. We can get you more info as needed. Just let me know."

None of the "China Lunch" emails from the laptop trove match the timestamps of the three listed in the Archives redactions, though one that cc-ed Hunter could match if the sender and recipient were in different time zones.

The "Nairobi Ideas" chain, meanwhile, featured three emails in early June 2010 involving Anthony Bernal, who worked at the time for the vice president's office and who currently is a key adviser to first lady Jill Biden.

Although they are redacted in their entirety, emails with the same title appear from late May 2010 in the laptop trove. The laptop thread of that title was started by former diplomat David Lane, then associated with U2 singer Bono's One Campaign against poverty, who recommended to Hunter on May 30, 2010, "three interesting ideas for Nairobi."

Lane proposed visiting a hospital, a slum and meeting with Kenyan anti-corruption campaigner John Githongo.

"These all look great," Hunter replied to Lane on June 1. "I am running them by OVP [Office of the Vice President] Staff to see what fits schedule wise and see what if anything similar they are already planning. As soon as I can get my hands on a draft schedule ill send it over. Also, I tried to by [sic] that book but it has not been released yet. Thanks."

The Nairobi-focused emails with the same title that were released by the Archives include one message from Hunter to Bernal dated June 3. On June 5, Bernal forwarded the recommendations in two different threats — one to recipients who were redacted due to being "personal email address[es]" and another to Annmarie Tomasini, who then worked for the vice president's office and worked as President Biden's director of Oval Office Operations.

The Archives did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.

Hunter Biden's legal team and White House representatives also did not immediately respond.

The America First Legal Foundation, founded by former Trump White House adviser Stephen Miller, filed the FOIA lawsuit and previously submitted a complaint to the Justice Department accusing Hunter of violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act by corresponding with the VP's office about Burisma.

Hunter is under investigation by Delaware US Attorney David Weiss for alleged tax fraud, money laundering and FARA violations linked to his foreign income.

IRS whistleblower Gary Shapley, who supervised the five-year-old investigation for more than three years, on Friday testified to the House Ways and Means Committee about an alleged coverup featuring "preferential treatment" and false testimony to Congress by Attorney General Merrick Garland about Weiss' ability to independently bring charges.




Cult

Backlash in the ranks? US Navy quietly removes LGBTQ+ Pride Month posts on social media

U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships
© U.S. Navy / Reuters
U.S. Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships.
The U.S. Navy has inexplicably taken down posts celebrating LGBTQ+ Pride month on social media, including rainbow banners that read, "Pride."

Pride posts made on the Navy's Instagram and Twitter accounts on Thursday, June 1, are no longer there as of Friday, June 2.

The posts showed outlines of Navy vessels and aircraft with streaming rainbow trails and the word "Pride" stylized in different colors. They were removed without explanation.

A meme account on Twitter called "End Wokeness" called attention to how the Navy also took down an LGBTQ+ Pride banner on its account. Some users left comments suggesting the posts were taken down in response to backlash over military support for Pride.

Comment: MIcrosoft's XBox is feeling the heat too:
Xbox was among the brands to debut its new colorful design after announcing its long-term partnership with GLAAD to grow the number of queer characters in upcoming first-party Xbox titles.

"Representation is a vast and multifaceted topic: it can mean more LGBTQIA+ characters, more story moments featuring LGBTQIA+ themes, or even creating worlds LGBTQIA+ players can feel at home in," Pav Bhardwaj Chief of Staff of Xbox Marketing, said in a press release.

"For us, it includes empowering our LGBTQIA+ team members to create the kinds of change they're hoping to see in our games and in the industry at large."

He added that the company would be making changes so that queer visibility is a driving factor moving forward.
xbox pride logo
© Facebook/Xbox
And along with this proclamation, the new logo was debuted, only to be removed four days into Pride Month.

It was subsequently replaced by Diablo IV artwork.

However, the company reverting to its old logo did not go unnoticed.

One user penned on Twitter: "Wbk [We been knew] these corporations giving 'support' to Pride Month is only for monetary benefits. Look what happens when they think showing support is no longer profitable."

Another said: "We got a whole three days!!! Happy Pride, everyone. I'm so glad I'm on steam now. These corporations really are just like the gays aren't making as much money... next."

A third commented: "It being fire themed is taking me outtttt like they're really saying we're gonna burn in hell."

While another shared: "Not even a week, oh we down bad this year."

However, some were seemingly unbothered, as one wrote: "It's okay; they are promoting a game that has a song by two gay people."

Another defended: "Can't believe some people are actually making a big fuss out of this. It'll probably go back to the Pride Month profile picture later on anyway."

Xbox also uploaded a Facebook cover photo to celebrate the month, however that has also been replaced for a Diablo IV image.

UNILAD has approached Xbox for comment.

It comes after the Navy removed its rainbow flag after it came under fire from alt-right users.

Forbes reported that the Navy had also included LGBTQIA+ posts on its social media, which had been removed after less than 12 hours due to the significant backlash.

Many have also threatened to boycott companies such as NASCAR and MLB after they tweeted in celebration of Pride Month.



Binoculars

The plan: Next pandemic will reinstate lockdowns

lockdown
What if the coronavirus pandemic was not a once-in-a-century event but the beginning of a new era of regular deadly respiratory viral pandemics? The Biden administration is already planning for this future. Last year, it unveiled a national strategy to develop pharmaceutical firms' capacity to create vaccines within 130 days of a pandemic emergency declaration.

The Biden plan enshrines former president Donald Trump's Operation Warp Speed as the model response for the next century of pandemics. Left unsaid is that, for the new pandemic plan to work as envisioned, it will require us to conduct dangerous gain-of-function research. It will also require cutting corners in the evaluation of the safety and efficacy of novel vaccines. And while the studies are underway, politicians will face tremendous pressure to impose draconian lockdowns to keep the population "safe."

In the case of COVID-19 vaccines, it took about a year for governments to deploy the jab at scale after scientists sequenced the virus. Scientists identified a vaccine target — fragments of the spike protein that the virus uses to access cells — by early January 2020, even before the WHO declared a worldwide pandemic.

NPC

Biden appointee calls upon the UN to act to secure reparations and end the "continuation of slavery" in the US

Howard Law Professor Justin Hansford
Howard Law Professor Justin Hansford addressed the United Nations Permanent Forum on People of African Descent last week and called for the establishment of a United Nations Reparations Tribunal that could order the payment of reparations to African Americans.

Professor Hansford objected that white lawyers and politicians have been allowed to control this debate in the United States for too long:
But so far we have left it to the scholars of the past, the lawyers of the past, the white scholars, white lawyers, to determine the bounds of our legal imagination, to determine the narrow structures that we will use to determine what justice looks like for our own people.

So I come to you today with a novel proposal, that we begin to think our own thoughts, propose our own vision of justice, and implement that justice, as part of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent.

Eye 1

Bank for International Settlements to use AI to monitor global bank transactions for "money laundering"

bank of international settlements
While the IMF is currently gearing up to introduce its new global CBDC system called the UMU (also known as the Unicoin), The Bank for International Settlements has been busy with multiple projects designed to centralize all international banks and central banks into a single umbrella network that allows for quick cross-border transactions using digital currencies. In other words, a cashless society.

One such concept, called Project Icebreaker, dealt specifically with creating a SWIFT-like bottleneck system which would allow global banks to regulate and eventually homogenize all currencies into a single one world exchange model that would give them the power to cut out any nation or company that does not meet their ideological approval.

The latest idea from the BIS is Project Aurora, which may be even more disturbing than Icebreaker in its implications. Aurora is designed to use "machine learning" (AI) as a tool to monitor vast flows of financial transactions from all over the world in order to identify specifically flagged patterns. The BIS says that this is meant to discover criminal money laundering structures protected by "money mules." However, in order for the AI to sift through global transactions in real time, corporate banks and governments would have to create extensive streamlined access to accounts then open the doors wide for the AI to operate with impunity.

X

The EU is desperate to clamp down on Elon Musk's free speech as 'disinformation'

musk macron
© Ludovic Marin/ Pool Photo via AP
Elon Musk.
If Brussels' tech disinfo code is voluntary, then why did officials freak out when Musk yanked Twitter from it?

European Union officials are having a meltdown, all because Twitter CEO Elon Musk has withdrawn the platform from a "voluntary" EU code of conduct for tech firms to combat so-called "disinformation." And they have yet to cite a single actual example of it.

EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton tweeted, "You can run, but you can't hide," citing a legal obligation to prevent disinformation from August. He's basically treating Musk, a guy who builds rockets and cars in America, like an unruly schoolchild, with Brussels in the role of the principal. French Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barrot even threatened to ban Twitter from the EU in a recent interview, citing the "grave" threat of disinformation.

Comment: See also:


Cow Skull

Zelensky aide: Ukraine lacks weapons to launch counteroffensive

Igor Zhovkva
© NBC
Zelensky aide Igor Zhovkva in a 'Meet the Press' interview April 24, 2022
Igor Zhovkva urges EU countries to do more to help Kiev in the fight against Moscow

Ukraine needs more weapons and ammunition to be able to carry out a successful counteroffensive against the Russian forces, the deputy head of President Vladimir Zelensky's office has said.

In an interview with British newspaper The Times on Saturday, Igor Zhovkva was asked why the much-anticipated operation by Ukraine, aimed at retaking land lost to Russia, still hasn't been launched.

"If you want to start a successful counteroffensive you need everything at your disposal, including artillery, armored vehicles and tanks, so probably we don't have enough," he replied.

Comment: Ukraine is delaying the counteroffensive it is being pressured into by the West for as long as it can. Zelensky et al., know it's doomed.


Binoculars

Russian governor says he will accept Kiev-backed militants' demand for meeting, to free POWs

Gladkov
© Sputnik / Taisiya Liskovets
Russian Belgorod region governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov
Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Sunday that he was ready to meet the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), a neo-Nazi group of Russian nationals fighting for Kiev, if the militants return two of Moscow's soldiers that were shown as captives in a recent video.

"If [the Russian soldiers] are alive, [I'll be at] the automobile border-crossing point Shebekino between 17:00 and 18:00," Gladkov said in a video address published on his Telegram channel. He was referring to a border crossing separating Russia's Belgorod Region from Ukraine's territory.

The governor was responding to a video published by the RDK and the 'Freedom of Russia Legion' - two neo-Nazi groups that previously claimed responsibility for several incursions into Russia this spring. Footage published by the militants shows them standing next to two Russian POWs, with one of them apparently injured.

Denis Nikitin, the RDK leader, claimed on the video that his fighters had entered the town of Novaya Tavolzhanka in Belgorod Region and offered to meet Gladkov in a local church "for a talk" in exchange for the POWs' release.

Gladkov said the fate of "our boys that are at the hands" of the militants was the only thing that prevented him from outright dismissing the militants' offer. He branded the RDK and the 'Freedom of Russia Legion' militants as "scoundrels, bastards, murderers and fascists," blaming them for civilian deaths.

Comment: The group includes Polish mercenaries, who released a statement today claiming involvement in the latest raid.
The announcement, accompanied by alleged photo and video evidence, was shared on social media accounts of the so-called "Polish Volunteer Corps."

The statement appears to refer to an incursion by saboteurs into the Grayvoron District of Belgorod Region, which took place on May 22.

The "Polish Volunteer Corps" said it unequivocally confirmed its role in the operation, stating that the group collaborated with the Russian Volunteer Corps, a neo-Nazi unit of Russian nationals fighting on behalf of Ukraine under the authority of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

In a bid to prove its role in the May 22 raid, fighters from the Polish Volunteer Corps shared videos, in which they can be seen with Ukrainian T-72B tanks, American HMMWV armored vehicles, and Mi-8 helicopters of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

The governor of Belgorod Region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, also mentioned the presence of Polish citizens among the saboteurs. On his Telegram channel, he recounted the story of a woman, whose husband - a member of the local self-defense forces - was killed in front of her. According to Gladkov, the woman was held captive by two Ukrainians, and she stated that the other group members were Poles and Americans.

Previously, the Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry discussed the involvement of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" and members of the "Freedom of Russia" legion in the Belgorod Region operation.

However, the "Russian Volunteer Corps" issued a statement on Sunday denying that members of the "Polish Volunteer Corps" had crossed the Russian border. The group claimed on social media that their Polish fellow combatants were involved in tasks such as prisoner escort, along with military and medical logistics, but strictly within the borders of Ukraine.

Warsaw has insisted it has nothing to do with the Polish militants fighting for Kiev. "The activities of Polish volunteers supporting Ukraine in the fight against Russia should not be identified with the authorities of the Republic of Poland", said Stanislaw Zaryn, spokesman for the coordinating minister of the country's special services.