Finnish President Alexander Stubb and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store have spoken by phone with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the Finnish presidential office said.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the report to TASS.
The states of Scandinavia and the Baltic region must row back on their recent extreme hostility to Russia.
The Houthi have launched missile attacks on oil facilities in the city of Najran, in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia offered the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) one billion dollars through Iranian mediation to halt attacks on the Kingdom, according to diplomatic sources in the Gulf, as… pic.twitter.com/20tEl73Hvy
At first, the Yemeni Houthis were regarded by many in the West as a bit of a joke, unlikely to be militarily effective, and reminiscent of the adoo of the 1960s and early 1970s in Dhofar, but they are now a very significant force in the region, and their actions are having effects globally.
More photos showing the aftermath of the attack by Russian armed forces on the Southern Bridge in Kyiv.
The Russian Ministry of Defense has confirmed the destruction of the Southern Bridge over the Dnieper River in Kyiv. pic.twitter.com/xKjKK0dWs9
Meanwhile, the government of little twerp Burnham is cutting the cost of gherkins by a few pence. It’s almost (?) insulting.
As I said on the blog recently, Burnham majors in minor things.
Most people forsee a collapse, they are waiting for an apocalyptic explosion. In reality you are living through the collapse. Everything just gets worse and worse until you accept any offer of assistance the system offers you.
“A mouse has been filmed secretly tidying up a man’s shed almost every night for two months.
Wildlife photographer Rodney Holbrook noticed that objects he left out of place were being mysteriously put back where they belonged overnight.
“I couldn’t believe it when I saw that the mouse was tidying up,” Holbrook said.
“He moved all sorts of things into the box, bits of plastic, nuts and bolts. I don’t bother to tidy up now, as I know he will see to it. I leave things out of the box and they put it back in its place by the morning. Ninety-nine times out of 100 the mouse will tidy up throughout the night.”
[Guardian]
Remarkable. Like something from a fairy tale or one of the Brothers Grimm stories.
I hope that the man leaves the mouse a little bit of cheese or some nuts occasionally.
“The study, by the thinktank British Future, projects that the number of ethnic minority MPs is most likely to rise from 65 to as many as 83, with much of this rise expected whatever the actual outcome of the election.
If the number of ethnic minority MPs does reach 75 or more, it will have increased fivefold in a decade and a half, having been just 15 out of 650 in the 2005 to 2010 parliament.“
[Guardian]
White people (the people formerly termed “British”) are being removed from Parliament too now. What will be the proportion, both in the population and/or in the House of Commons (and the Lords) by 2030, 2040, 2050? Over-representation in Parliament will be plainly obvious, I think.
In any case, this is the British Parliament, and should only have fully British —in every sense— MPs and (so long as the upper house exists) peers.
Worth reading. I have been writing the same, or similar, about the “Atlas Network” (or “Group”) on the blog for years. As always, others are late to the party.
Monbiot somehow leaves out the fact that the sinister Antony Fisher was a fervent Zionist…
What do you expect? Import this or that national or ethnic group, and you import with them their customary behaviours, and it matters not a jot that they or their offspring were born in, say, Southampton rather than Bombay, or that they attended Winchester, or Eton, or Oxford University.
American M1 Abrams tanks delivered to Ukraine will not participate in combat operations for the foreseeable future. After one vehicle broke down near Avdejevka in November 2023 – the tank broke down before reaching the front line – the remaining vehicles were evacuated. pic.twitter.com/i1UmsqQhVd
US Treasury Secretary Jeannette Yellen, who is on a visit to China, is criticized for her excessive friendliness, which was expressed in numerous bows at a meeting with her Chinese counterpart.
Diplomatic etiquette experts at The New York Post note that American officials do not… pic.twitter.com/PoQrLbUMJr
“US Treasury Secretary Jeannette Yellen, who is on a visit to China, is criticized for her excessive friendliness, which was expressed in numerous bows at a meeting with her Chinese counterpart.
Diplomatic etiquette experts at The New York Post note that American officials do not bow at all and point out that Chinese Vice Premier He Lifen, to whom Yellen bows glibly, does not respond with a mutual movement. A protocol error that critics will call a sign of America’s weakness.”
How embarrassing for the USA, to be represented by a peculiar and aged Jewish woman who has no idea how to behave. In fact, she looks like a giant chicken. She also looks like she would like to pull off the Chinaman’s hand and keep it as a souvenir.
In 1873 the US government killed 1.5 million buffalo to starve natives so they’d be more dependent on the US government. Now governments all over the world are killing livestock to "meet climate goals".
Valentin Tomberg was right. The “mask of Evil” did “start to come off” from the late 20thC onwards. Even more so in the first quarter of the 21st. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentin_Tomberg.
"Without hunger and thirst among the Gazan population, we will not be able to recruit collaborators, we will not be able to recruit intelligence, we will not be able to bribe people, with food, drink, medicine, in order to obtain intelligence" – Israeli Knesset MK Tally Gotliv pic.twitter.com/s2O6L5gbPg
Oh, look, one of (((those))) lovely (((you-know-who)))…
People like Vince Cable propped up an obscene Austerity driven Tory regime. He also botched up Royal Mail privatisation. And now he says it's not right to play "blame game",when so many innocent people lost their livelihoods. Another useless Yellow Tory like Nick Clegg!
I was tweeting (when I still had a Twitter account) and blogging for years about this scandal, long before most others. Incredible injustice. Cable seems incapable of seeing it, just as he did not want to see the miseries inflicted by the Con Coalition during 2010-2015. Like almost all LibDems, he is a useless waste of space.
I have, though years ago now, also criticized Paula Vennells, that dishonest careerist woman who also posed, at one time, as one of those Church of England “priestesses” of recent decades: see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paula_Vennells.
Chris Skidmark resigned over his objections to the oil licensing in the North Sea which conflicted with his 2nd, 3rd and 4th incomes amounting to many hundreds of thousands of pounds from the green energy companies. https://t.co/rLbjPckVMb
I blogged recently about the fact that useless Skidmore had stepped down as MP before he got binned (his constituency disappears at the 2024 General Election, and no other constituency’s Conservative Party committee wanted him).
Skidmore is thus, as blogged previously, positioning himself to get a job heading some “green” quango or company.
A citizen walked more than 12 kilometers to transport his weak and sick mother to a safe place in the southern Gaza Strip. pic.twitter.com/wsVaruUMav
The Rwanda idea will only, even if implemented, deal with only a small fraction of migrant-invaders (on small boats), and none of the hugely-bigger number entering superficially “legally”.
Day 41 since the deadline to sue Lee Anderson expired. Rich poverty-cosplayer Jack Monroe @BootstrapCook lies & harasses those asking for refunds & transparency after taking 100s of 1,000s of donations for 1 year. 20d ago she doxxed a creditor. 8d ago she didn’t show in court.
Any "abuse" is too much, but I get the impression we may have different definitions of that word. Fair criticism of Jack Monroe is not abuse. Educating others on her dodgy activities is not abuse. I believe she should be encouraged to stop tricking people out of money.
Why are the Essex Police (or other police) not actively investigating “Jack Monroe” and her fraudulent behaviour? Surely they cannot be spending all their time snooping on Twitter tweets and blog postings, or seizing “racist” teddy bears?
The World Bank will provide Ukraine with a new $1.75 billion aid package
$500 million will be issued by the financial institution itself as a loan guaranteed by the UK, $1.25 billion as a grant from the United States, $15 million from Finland, follows from the bank's statement.…
The transnational conspiracy in action. On some level, the ruling circles of the West are fomenting war with Russia, meaning West/Russia war. There is an occult (in both senses) aspect to this.
The financial system itself is a fraud, and the 'money' they throw about is immaterial to them and their agenda. They're inciting war as a catalyst to bring in the technocratic totalitarianism that will replace the current, dead, finance system.
Several bridges on the border of Crimea and Kherson region (including the Chongarsky bridge) were damaged as a result of shelling from Ukraine, Volodymyr Saldo reports.
According to preliminary data, Storm Shadow missiles were used for the attack. There were no casualties. pic.twitter.com/y0o6cfxtts
Putin about the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
1. At the moment, we are seeing a lull, because the enemy is suffering serious losses. 2. As of June 21, 245 Ukrainian tanks and about 680 armored vehicles of various types have already been destroyed. 3. Among the… pic.twitter.com/XdnveKV25j
Soldiers of the Russian Federation using the Solntsepek heavy flamethrower system strike with thermobaric shells at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donetsk direction. pic.twitter.com/rXPxEhud9t
❗️ An “IRA unit” supposedly caught red-handed by defence secretary Ben Wallace during his army career was not prosecuted, casting doubt over his dramatic account of the incident. ICYMI. https://t.co/rA06UgGIHm
Reminds me that a young lady barrister I once knew, in the 1990s, used to talk about chemicals in the UK water supply feminizing human consumers (she was looking at her boyfriend, the particular time that sticks in my mind).
"I will put Ukraine first no matter what my German voters think or how hard their life gets"
I agree. It is bitter to have to do it, but it may have to be done.
On the other hand, a change of President in Washington, and who knows?
'When you've needed to find the money to support Ukraine you have found the money, why can't you find the money for people who are on the verge of losing their homes?'
Ben and Susanna question James Cleverly MP about the support available for mortgage holders pic.twitter.com/rghBTfoUJN
“The family who were caught on CCTV ‘doing a runner’ after enjoying £215 slap-up Father’s Day lunch at a Cornish gastropub have settled their tab.
The group of six allegedly ran up the bill at The Fisherman’s Arms, Newlyn, in Penzance, Cornwall on Sunday and walked off without paying after saying they were going for a cigarette.”
So-called “Travellers” (Irish “tinkers”). Quite typical behaviour. I once witnessed such an incident myself. I was in a cafe at Dover, near the port, and waiting to embark for France with my car. On entering the cafe, I saw that the main area was empty, but that a noisy group of Irish persons, aged from 40+ to small children, had been put in a side room. They were both eating and drinking (beer).
After about 20 minutes, they all came out into the main area, and while one or two talked to the two Italian (I think) staff, the rest went out into the street. The two inside seemed to be preparing to pay, but made up a story about how others were going to pay. One of the two, then the other, went “to fetch the others” but of course disappeared. The waiters ran out and took the number of one of the cars. They also called the police.
Well, there were two minor sequels to that incident. The first was the same day. On arrival in Calais or Boulogne (I forget which, and was a regular arrival at both, in those days), and on going back to my car on the ferry, I noticed the small crowd of foot passengers at a disembarkation point. One of them was a tall girl aged about 18-20, who was part of that “tinker” group. I noticed that she was now alone, and trying to “play grey”, i.e. blending in with the other foot passengers.
The other members of the “tinker” group were not there. Had they stayed in the UK? Had they gone to vehicles? Who knows?
The other sequel was that I stopped by the same cafe about 6 months later, and asked whether the police had done anything. Apparently not, though that may have been because the registration number taken was not a known one (probably false).
Statement
Regular readers of the blog will be aware that I am being prosecuted on 5 counts of breach of the notorious “bad law” known as Communications Act 2003, s. 127, relating to five blog posts allegedly posted by me.
Political “crime”.
I have already stated that I shall not be blogging in detail about the case until it is concluded.
Today, I attended the magistrates’ court for a case management hearing. At that hearing, various directions were given. The only ones of interest to readers of the blog are that there will be another case management hearing later in the year (in October), and that a trial date has not as yet been fixed but possible dates are in the latter half of November 2023. If those dates prove ineffective, then it may be that the trial of this entirely pointless and malicious prosecution will not take place until December 2023, or even a later date, i.e. in 2024.
I shall blog in detail about the matter once the trial has been held (assuming that one is held).
Biden put his hand over his heart as the Indian national anthem was sung, just before meeting with Indian Prime Minister Modi. The American president, it seems, did not immediately understand that it was not the US national anthem. pic.twitter.com/4cD4UmhKsD
Surely Biden will not stand for election again? He’s totally ga-ga.
The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published a video of the flight of the Ka-52 helicopter, during which the Alligator crew destroys the fortifications of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/8noFCdWeWM
The activity of Tu-95 strategic bombers was observed in Russian airspace, which could be a hint of H-101 cruise missiles hitting ground targets on the territory of Ukraine.
