Does he have human stuck in his teeth, or is just very uncouth? This creature is disgusting
We all know why.
https://twitter.com/KariLake/status/1540777548019146753?s=20&t=vNWaDOMvC_m_A75ayjgPZA
https://twitter.com/burningplat/status/1540710487310172160?s=20&t=vNWaDOMvC_m_A75ayjgPZA
One would think a law firm would be thrilled to win a SC ruling
https://twitter.com/seanmdav/status/1540712690821128192?s=20&t=vNWaDOMvC_m_A75ayjgPZA
God bless and protect Justice Thomas and his wife Ginnie and their son, forever
https://twitter.com/WhitlockJason/status/1540710846162157568?s=20&t=vNWaDOMvC_m_A75ayjgPZA
Mollie and friends are tge best
https://twitter.com/MZHemingway/status/1540706532924395526?s=20&t=vNWaDOMvC_m_A75ayjgPZA
25 Jun, 2022 18:14
Ukraine won’t pursue NATO membership – Zelensky adviser
However, Kiev wants the alliance to acknowledge its role as a “cornerstone” of European security
Ukraine has accepted that NATO membership is off the table, and will not take any further steps toward joining the US-led military alliance, Igor Zhovkva, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the Financial Times on Saturday. Nevertheless, Kiev wants a say in NATO’s policies.
NATO leaders are set to meet in the Spanish capital of Madrid next week, and during two days of meetings and consultations, the alliance will unveil its Strategic Concept – a document that outlines the alliance’s mission and stance toward non-members, including China and Russia.
Zhovkva told the Financial Times that Zelensky’s government wants the alliance to acknowledge that Ukraine is “a cornerstone of European security,” and to reaffirm its partnership with Kiev, first established in 1997.
However, he said that Ukraine will not push to become a member of NATO.
“Nato members have declined our aspirations. We will not do anything else in this regard,” he said.
Ukraine’s prospective membership in the alliance was a key factor behind the current conflict with Russia. Ukraine wrote its goal of becoming a NATO member into its constitution in 2019, despite Moscow’s warnings that having the alliance’s forces and weapons on its border would constitute an unacceptable security threat.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has insisted that the alliance’s membership books remain open for interested nations, but has not promised or ruled out membership for Ukraine in the near term. Under the 2008 Bucharest Declaration, NATO’s official position is that Georgia and Ukraine “will become members of NATO” at an unspecified future date.
NATO’s Strategic Concept has not been updated since 2010, with that version of the document stating that the alliance seeks “a true strategic partnership” with Russia.
Zhovkva wants NATO to purge any mention of Russia as a “partner” from the coming update.
“We expect in the Nato strategic concept . . . there will be more strict and severe warnings to the Russian aggressor,” he said, urging the alliance “Don’t be shy” in inserting anti-Russian text.
Furthermore, Zhovkva said that he wants the Ukrainian conflict to be described in the strategy document, arguing “it’s not enough just to cross out the word ‘partner.’”
https://www.rt.com/russia/557824-ukraine-doesnt-want-to-join-nato/
25 Jun, 2022 16:59
Sweden should address fundamental issues to join NATO – key member
Stockholm has so far taken no ‘tangible’ action to address Ankara’s concerns, Turkey says
The Swedish government should deal with issues of “fundamental importance” for Turkey to reach an agreement on its NATO membership bid, Ankara said on Saturday. The news follows a phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson.
Stockholm should “change its attitude” towards the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey and many Western nations consider a terrorist organization, the Turkish president’s office said in a statement. So far, Stockholm has not taken any “tangible action” to alleviate Ankara’s concerns in this regard, it added.
Other issues preventing the two sides from reaching an agreement are Sweden’s arms embargo, and restrictions imposed on the Turkish defense industry. Ankara has urged Stockholm to take on “binding commitments” on these matters, setting out “clear implementation” mechanisms.
Andersson described the phone call with Erdogan as a “good conversation” in a Twitter post, but otherwise provided little detail on the discussion.
In a separate conversation on Saturday, the Turkish leader also addressed Sweden and Finland’s membership bids with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. According to the Turkish side, Erdogan informed Stoltenberg of persisting concerns regarding the admission of Finland and Sweden.
The two Nordic nations applied to join the US-led military alliance in May, voicing concerns over their security amid Russia’s military operation in Ukraine. The move encountered staunch resistance from Turkey, which demanded Finland and Sweden stop harboring PKK members.
On Thursday,Stoltenberg admitted he could not “guarantee” the two nations’ membership but said that was his goal. At the same time, he praised Turkey as an important NATO member, adding that its concerns should be addressed.
(Its a game of chicken)
https://www.rt.com/news/557820-turkey-sweden-nato-member/
25 Jun, 2022 14:53
=Many EU countries are in ‘direct war’ with Russia – Serbia
Europeans are sending weapons to Ukraine and are angry that Serbia “is not in their shoes,” President Aleksandar Vucic claims
(Don’t be stupid EU, you got suckered by US and UK)
Many EU states are in “a direct war” with Russia and are “angry” with Belgrade for refusing to go along with sanctions, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic said on Saturday.
Speaking at a press conference two days after attending a meeting between the 27 EU leaders and six heads of government from the West Balkans, Vucic claimed the Balkans “were not important that day” for the EU, as the bloc is “completely at war with Russia” and its priority was to provide Ukraine and Moldova with EU candidate status.
“Viktor Orban [Hungarian prime minister] said that in the economic sense, Serbia and Montenegro are much more ready to be part of the EU than some other countries. But who cares?” Vucic remarked.
He explained that Serbia is now in a difficult position due to the pressure to join EU members in imposing sanctions on Russia. The president stressed he is aware of “how angry many of them are” over the issue.
“Many EU countries are in a direct war against Russia. They send howitzers, planes, S-300s to Ukraine, and how do you think they will treat us? They are not in our shoes as we are not in theirs, and that is why our position is extremely difficult. Will it be easier? Well, it won't,” Vucic said.
However, he pledged that Serbia will continue to pursue its European path as “there must be a rational and pragmatic approach in politics, which takes the interests into account.”
He noted that in Serbia, 300,000 people work directly and 500,000 indirectly for foreign companies, two thirds of which are from the EU.
“If you do not understand how important the EU is to us, I cannot change that,” he said, while claiming the West fails to appreciate how important it is for Serbia to refrain from anti-Russia sanctions, and to maintain good relations with both Russia and China.
Addressing the economic situation in Europe, Vucic gave a gloomy forecast, saying if the conflict in Donbass does not end with a truce, the world will face “a worse world war than the previous one.”
“A little man from the Balkans says that. I hope that they will start peace negotiations, otherwise we will all go,” he added.
On Thursday, the day when Ukraine and Moldova were granted EU candidate status, Serbian Interior Minister Aleksandar Vulin said a military conflict with Russia appears to be the condition for fast-track accession to the European Union.
Pointing out that Ukraine falls short of the standards which are “so carefully applied to Balkan countries,” the minister claimed Kiev's “participation in the war was enough to start negotiations” on its EU membership. He added that if getting into war with someone is the only way to speed up Serbia’s accession to the EU, then “it is not worth it.”
Earlier this month the interior minister said his country was not interested in diminishing its “closeness and cooperation” with Moscow, and that by trying to force Belgrade to impose sanctions on Russia, the West simply seeks to “absolve” itself of its own crimes. His remarks came soon after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz urged Serbia to follow the EU's lead in sanctioning Russia, and recognize the breakaway province of Kosovo as an independent state if it hopes to join the bloc.
https://www.rt.com/news/557816-serbia-eu-relations-russia/
25 Jun, 2022 14:29
HomeWorld News
US is now international ‘outlier’ – Biden
(We were never supposed to be an international partner asshole)
Abortion rights in the US are not quite as restricted as the president implied, however
President Joe Biden claimed on Friday that a Supreme Court ruling restricting abortion access has made the US “an outlier among developed nations.” However, while some states have pressed ahead with banning the procedure, others are writing laws in line with other wealthy nations, and Democratic-run states are pushing far more permissive policies than many European countries.
Biden addressed the nation after the Supreme Court struck down Roe v Wade, a 1973 ruling that guaranteed the absolute right to a first-trimester abortion and limited rights in the second. Writing the majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito argued that Roe v Wade rested on an “egregiously wrong” and “exceptionally weak” interpretation of the Constitution, and that by striking down this ruling, the court would “return the issue of abortion” to state legislatures.
“With this decision, the conservative majority of the Supreme Court shows how extreme it is, how far removed they are from the majority of this country,” Biden said at the White House. “They have made the United States an outlier among developed nations in the world. But this decision must not be the final word.”
Despite Biden’s proclamation, abortion access in the US is now more in line with the international norm than before, at least for the moment.
Prior to the court’s ruling, the US was one of only seven countries worldwide to permit unrestricted abortion past 20 weeks of pregnancy, with the others Canada, China, the Netherlands, North Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam. Some Republican-controlled states have attempted to lower the cutoff to the point where a fetal heartbeat can be detected, typically between six and 15 weeks into a pregnancy.
Mississippi was one of these states, and the Supreme Court’s Frida ruling was made in a case evaluating the legality of its law banning abortion after 15 weeks.
Even with its 15-week cutoff point, Mississippi’s abortion law was more permissive than the policies of Austria, France, Spain, Ireland, Germany and Italy, all of which ban abortion after between 12 or 14 weeks.
However, Mississippi will soon ban almost all abortions. The state is one of 13 with a “trigger law” on its books. These provide for a near-total abortion ban to come into effect in the event of Roe v Wade being overturned, and following certification by state officials, abortion is expected to be banned except in cases of rape, incest, or threat to the mother’s life, in the coming two weeks.
Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming have all banned abortion in most cases since Friday’s ruling, or will do so in the coming days and weeks. Abortion law in these most restrictive states will then be in line with that of Poland.
In Arizona, Florida, and Georgia, Ohio and South Carolina, legislation will soon take effect banning elective abortions past a cutoff point between six and 15 weeks into pregnancy. Lawmakers in several other states, including Nebraska, Virginia and West Virginia, have promised to introduce similar European-style restrictions in the near future.
Access to abortion will remain unchanged in a number of mostly Democratic-run states, and will be expanded in others. California Governor Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill shielding out-of-state women seeking abortions in California from prosecution, and another bill that would enshrine abortion access in the state’s constitution is currently working its way through the State Assembly.
Alaska, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Oregon, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico and Vermont all allow elective abortion at any stage of pregnancy. Internationally, only Canada, China, North Korea and Vietnam allow this practice.
https://www.rt.com/news/557814-biden-abortion-international-law/
25 Jun, 2022 07:44
US launches new alliance in Pacific
The informal group includes America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the UK
The US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the UK have formed a new group to boost economic and security ties with Pacific island nations.
In a joint statement on Friday, the members said the informal alliance, dubbed Partners in the Blue Pacific (PBP), was aimed at increasing the effectiveness of their ongoing efforts “to support prosperity, resilience, and security” in the region.
The group will operate “according to principles of Pacific regionalism, sovereignty, transparency, accountability, and most of all, [will be] led and guided by the Pacific islands,” the statement read.
PBP’s core goals also include the expansion of opportunities for cooperation between the Pacific island nations and the rest of the world, it added.
The alliance was needed because the region is facing “most urgent challenges,” including the climate crisis, Covid-19, and “growing pressure on the rules-based free and open international order.”
This may refer to China’s intensified attempts to bolster its influence in the Pacific and reach out to local players.
In April, Beijing signed a security pact with the Solomon Islands and has already begun training local troops. Last month, it also agreed an economic and technical cooperation deal with Samoa.
Those developments caused serious concerns in Australia and New Zealand, with the Biden administration promising to commit more resources to the region to counter China’s moves.
White House Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell said on Thursday that more high-level US officials will visit the Pacific islands in the future, “recognizing that nothing replaces, really, diplomatic boots on the ground.”
“Sovereignty is central in terms of how we see the Pacific overall. Any initiative that compromises or calls into question that sovereignty, I think we would have concerns with,” Campbell said, without mentioning China specifically.
Last year, Australia, UK and the US launched the so-called AUKUS security alliance, which would see the trio working to arm Canberra with nuclear-powered submarines and cooperating on the development of hypersonic weapons.
China criticized the deal, saying it would only undermine security in the Pacific region.
https://www.rt.com/news/557794-us-uk-australia-pacific/
25 Jun, 2022 15:22
Ukraine's neo-Nazi Azov battalion has built a 'state within a state,' and it despises both Russia and the liberal West
The Ukrainian regiment adheres to its own brand of ‘National Idea,’ loosely modelled on Mussolini's Italy
Despite the surrender of the Azov regiment at the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during the fighting in Mariupol, last month, the legend of this unit has turned out to be enduring. The Ukrainian command has already announced that new Azov special operations forces will be created in Kharkov and Kiev.
At the same time, a partial rebranding has been carried out. A medieval heraldic symbol – a trident (the coat of arms of Ukraine) consisting of three swords – is now depicted on the chevron of the ‘new’ Azov in place of the stylized Wolfsangel (‘wolf's hook’) that has attracted so much criticism from not only Russia, but also the West and fellow Ukrainians. This condemnation is for good reason, as the symbol was used on the lapels of the SS’s Das Reich and Landstorm Nederland divisions, as well the logo of the Dutch Nazi Party.
The Azovites have rejected all such accusations, claiming their regimental symbol was not a Wolfsangel, but rather the first letters of the phrase ‘National Idea’, allegedly written in the old Ukrainian alphabet, which was a mix of Cyrillic and Latin letters. And this is not Azov’s first rebranding – at one time, the ‘wolf’s hook’ on their chevrons replaced the occult ‘black sun’ symbol, which was used in SS rituals and decorated the floor of the order’s castle in Wewelsburg. However, back then, the Azovites didn’t bother trying to explain how the ‘black sun’ had notional Ukrainian roots.
The rejection of the Wolfsangel is clearly intended to make it possible to say, “Yes, there used to be ultra-right elements in Azov, but that is all in the past now. The regiment is moving forward with new symbols and new ideas.”
However, this is not the case. On the contrary, the rebranding shows Azov has only strengthened its ideology, becoming more mature and discarding youthful outrage along with its Nazi symbolism, which alludes to an ideology that the regiment, as an organization, never really shared. To understand this, it is enough to look at Azov not only as a military movement, but also a political project.
Azov was founded by radicals crossing over from Patriot of Ukraine. This organization was based in Kharkov, a city in the northeast of the country, which has always had a predominantly Russian-speaking population. Therefore, Azov’s brand of nationalism was different. Unlike Ukrainian nationalists, they did not focus on issues pertaining to Ukraine’s language, ethnicity, or religion. They perceived the nation as a statist project in the spirit of Italian fascism. Actually, Patriot of Ukraine’s main ideologist, the 20th-century Ukrainian publicist Dmitry Dontsov (whose ideas were also a major influence on the Nazi collaborators of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists), called his ideology of ‘integral nationalism’ the Ukrainian version of nationalism developed in the 1920s, while repeatedly referring to the works of Benito Mussolini and Giovanni Gentile, the main authors of fascism.
At the same time, Dontsov equated the concepts of nation and race. The latter he divided into master and slave races. According to Dontsov, Ukrainians are a race of masters, while Russians are a race of slaves seeking to enslave Ukrainians. The clash between Ukrainians and Russians is of an absolute, existential nature and can only end with the destruction of one of the parties, Dontsov believed. Romanticism plays a key role in this struggle, which he defines as the will to sacrifice, the coherence of multiple individuals’ will to attain power, and directing all efforts towards one goal – the building of a Ukrainian nation. It is this romanticism that ensures that the individual belongs to the collective whole and directs the nation on the path of expansion.
Dontsov's romanticism is based on the myth of the ‘final battle’ from German-Scandinavian paganism. In this scenario, the destruction of the world and its subsequent rebirth will come. The worship of the idea espoused in this myth must take the form of religious fanaticism. This is the only way an idea can penetrate into the inner sanctum of a person’s character and bring about what Dontsov calls a radical revolution in the human psyche.
Aggression towards bearers of other views should be engendered in adherents to this idea, allowing them to reject universal morality and ideas about good and evil. The new morality should be anti-humanist, based only on the will to take power. Personal interests must submit to the common good, anything that makes the nation stronger should be considered ethical, and everything that prevents this should be declared immoral…..
https://www.rt.com/russia/557743-neo-nazi-regiment-azov-ideology/
25 Jun, 2022 08:22
US banks ask Washington for Russia sanctions workaround – media
A swaps panel has urged the US Treasury to temporarily allow trading in Russian assets
A group of 13 banks and asset managers have asked the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) to temporarily allow trading in credit default swaps (CDS) on Russian government bonds, Bloomberg reports, citing people familiar with the situation.
The request reportedly refers to swaps that would allow investors who wagered on Moscow defaulting to be paid what they’re owed. At stake is a potential payout of $1.5 billion after the Credit Derivatives Determinations Committee (CDDC) ruled that Russia missed an interest payment of just $1.9 million on a sovereign bond, which is seen as a failure-to-pay event.
(US banks getting fucked…kek)
The ban on purchases of Russian securities in the secondary market, imposed by the OFAC earlier this month, makes it difficult for US financial institutions to conduct transactions with CDS on Russian government bonds.
The CDDC, which regulates the credit derivative swap market, is reportedly engaging with the OFAC. A final decision may come only after the Group-of-Seven summit concludes this weekend.
“The first scenario is that CDDC appeals to OFAC for an extension and a ‘one day only’ pass so that we can hold an auction and properly settle the CDS at the right price,” Jochen Felsenheimer, a managing director at XAIA Investment in Munich, told Bloomberg.
“I believe this is being discussed currently but it will take time to pass,” he added.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree establishing a temporary procedure for payments of external foreign currency public debt. Under the scheme, the obligations will be considered fulfilled by payment in rubles.
The Russian Finance Ministry confirmed that Moscow would pay its Eurobond obligations in its national currency if it is unable to pay in foreign currency, in order to defend its reputation as a reliable borrower. The ministry has repeatedly claimed that Washington is trying to engineer an artificial default, as the sanctions-hit nation has the funds to pay its debts.
https://www.rt.com/business/557788-us-banks-sanctions-workaround-treasury/