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Russian Troops Take Another Eastern Ukraine Town As NATO Leaders Wrangle Over ‘What’s Next’

As NATO leaders met in The Hague for their major annual summit – where the focus was collective increased defense spending, Trump’s proclamation of Iran’s nuclear program having been ‘obliterated’, and more support for Ukraine – Russian forces gained another town in Eastern Ukraine.

According to Reuters on Wednesday, “Russian forces have taken control of the settlement of Yalta in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, the state-run RIA news agency reported on Wednesday citing the Russian Defense Ministry.”

“Battlegroup East units liberated the settlement of Yalta in the Donetsk People’s Republic through active and decisive actions,” the defense ministry said in the statement.

While Reuters and others are not able to independently verify the battlefield report, this is part of Russian forces’ slow but steady momentum in the east, and even lately expanding west of Donetsk as part of establishing Putin’s big security ‘buffer zone’. 

At this point it’s clear that Kiev’s backers in NATO can do nothing about this, except throw more money and weapons at the conflict, and President Trump met with Zelensky on Wednesday on the sidelines of the NATO meeting.

The two reportedly discussed Ukraine procuring more US anti-air defense systems, which ironically enough will likely be purchased with US taxpayer funds already poured into Kiev’s coffers.

As for Ukraine’s push for more US sanctions on Moscow, the response from The Hague was as follows:

“If we did what everybody here wants us to do, and that is come in and crush them [Russia] with more sanctions, we probably lose our ability to talk to them about the ceasefire – and then who’s talking to them?” Rubio said at the NATO summit.

Trump will “know the right time and place” for fresh punitive measures, he added. “If there’s an opportunity for us to make a difference and get them [Russia] to the table, we’re going to take it,” the state secretary emphasized.

But meanwhile, Russia will be busy gaining more territory, and future leverage at the negotiating table, as war fatigue has continued to set in among Ukraine’s Western backers.

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Instant Regret Hits Bernie Sanders as Joe Rogan Interview Backfires Spectacularly

It’s not every day a major politician sits down with Joe Rogan.

Bernie Sanders did, and now we know why most skip the invitation.

Bernie pushed the global warming narrative. Rogan crushed him with undeniable data.

Then it got worse.

Rogan made Sanders instantly regret saying we should tax the rich more—because Rogan immediately asked why we’d give more money to a corrupt government.

Then, Rogan questioned the government’s monopoly on power, which left Sanders scrambling.

Watch it all unfold below.

The conversation started off strong for Bernie, as he returned to his 2015–2016 form.

Sanders shined a light on three mega-powerful investment firms with a massive grip on American politics: BlackRock, State Street, and Vanguard.

“The three of them combined are the major stockholders of 95% of American corporations,” he said. “That’s power.”

Rogan nodded in agreement.

The conversation shifted to money in politics, and Sanders made some great points.

He noted that billionaires have had way too much power ever since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which opened the floodgates for corporate spending.

But he made the fatal error of singling out Elon Musk, while ignoring George Soros, Reid Hoffman, and every other mega-billionaire. Rogan quickly called this out.

SANDERS: “Elon Musk—And I know Elon was on your show… he spent $270 million to elect Trump as president. I think that’s absurd that any one person—”

ROGAN: “What’s the most someone donated towards the Harris campaign?”

SANDERS (now disrupted): “They spent a lot of money on Harris as well.”

ROGAN: “They spent $1.5 billion just over the course of a couple of months.”

SANDERS: “Combined. You got it. All right, let me talk about it. So I’m not here just to say it’s a Republican. That’s my point here.”

ROGAN: “Right.”

SANDERS: “Okay.”

And just like that, Rogan turned Bernie’s Elon attack into a total flop.

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DC government is faking crime data, systematically under-reporting violence

Despite triumphant claims of “historic drops” in violent crime, D.C. residents find ourselves kicking off the summer with feelings of uncertainty. As I explore a possible run for local office, I have learned that systematic undercharging is fueling some portion of these so-called declines in violent crime. In short, a manipulation of the crime statistics is causing them not to align with reality, which helps explain why people in Washington don’t feel safe. 

When a violent crime is reported as a “felony threat,” rather than “assault with a dangerous weapon,” it is not counted as a violent crime.

Our city leaders must act now to determine whether this is happening, to what extent, and how it impacts not only those within my own Ward 6, but also throughout the district.

On Feb. 20, to great fanfare, the Metropolitan Police Department Public Information Officer released the following statement: “Our initiatives and investments led to a historic 35 percent drop in violent crime in 2024, including a 32 percent drop in homicides and a 39 percent decrease in robberies. These decreases drove crime in Washington, D.C. down to its lowest levels in more than two decades.”

Similarly, the Department of Justice previously announced that “total violent crime for 2024 in the District of Columbia is down 35 percent from 2023 and is the lowest it has been in over 30 years, according to data collected by the [Metropolitan Police Department].”

And, not surprisingly, these statistics have worked their way into the community’s bloodstream. In a May 24 Ward 6 Update, Councilman Charles Allen trumpeted them in his public safety updates by noting “a consistent decline in violent crime that we want to sustain and continue to drive down even further.” 

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All of Nato, including US, ‘totally committed’ to keeping Ukraine in fight, Rutte says

The whole of Nato, including the United States, is “totally committed” to keeping Ukraine in the fight against Russia’s invasion, alliance secretary-general Mark Rutte told Reuters in an interview on June 25.

Speaking at the end of a summit of Nato leaders in The Hague, Mr Rutte also said nobody in Nato was naive about Russia and all alliance members “have more or less the same assessment” of Moscow.

US President Donald Trump’s more conciliatory stance towards Russia in his efforts to bring an end to the war in Ukraine has prompted questions about US commitments to Kyiv.

“The whole of Nato, including the United States, is totally committed to keep Ukraine in the fight, to make sure that if there is a peace deal, that peace deal – or the ceasefire – will be lasting, will be durable,” Mr Rutte said.

He said the clear direction of travel was that Europeans would be responsible for more of the military aid to Ukraine.

But he said the US would still be “very much involved with intelligence-sharing, with also practical military support” including potentially air defence systems.

“I think there will still be a huge, big American involvement,” Mr Rutte said.

The Trump administration has also told Europeans that they must take over primary responsibility for their own security, rather than relying on the US through Nato.

Mr Rutte said this process would be possible as Europeans had committed to spending more on defence, and it would be “well-organised” to avoid any gaps that Russia could exploit.

“I’ve had these discussions in Washington over the last couple of months,” he said.

“For years, the US has said ‘we have to pivot more towards Asia’. Now that the Europeans are stepping up, that also makes it possible,” he said.

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Trump’s Disbanding Of A Secret “Deep State” Working Group Raises Hopes Of Peace With Russia

Reuters reported in mid-June that the Trump Administration had recently disbanded a secret inter-agency working group overseen by now-dismissed National Security Council members tasked with formulating strategies for coercing Russia into concessions to Ukraine.

According to their three unnamed US official sources, Trump’s hitherto refusal to escalate American involvement in the conflict led to this initiative losing steam, though he could still potentially reverse gears in the future.

At any rate, what’s most significant about Reuters’ report is that it confirms that a secret group of officials from the US’ permanent military, intelligence, and diplomatic bureaucracies (“deep state”) was set up to manipulate Trump into pressuring Russia, which could have worsened tensions had it succeeded. Just as significantly, however, was its failure to do so thus far. Nevertheless, the plans that they devised could still be implemented by subversive deep state elements and therein lies the problem.

According to Reuters, “Ideas ranged from tailored economic deals designed to peel some countries out of Russia’s geopolitical orbit to covert special operations efforts”, the first scenario of which included a proposal to “incentivize” Kazakhstan into cracking down on Russia’s evasion of Western sanctions. That country has been drifting Westward for some time already, which could pose challenges for Russia and China as explained here in summer 2023, but it doesn’t appear that anything came from that scheme.

The second scenario, however, might have speculatively been connected to Ukraine’s strategic drone strikes against Russia in early June. No one can say for certain whether or not Trump knew about this in advance, but Reuters’ revelation about the existence of this previously unreported “deep state” working group lends credence to those of his supporters who claimed that he didn’t. After all, it’s entirely possible that this was orchestrated by them without his knowledge, which he might have told Putin.

There’s also the possibility that these “covert special operations efforts” included the two false flag plots in the Baltic Sea that Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service recently warned about.

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CDC’s New Vaccine Advisers Vow to Study Cumulative Effect of Childhood Vaccine Schedule

The CDC’s new advisory committee today announced plans to look at the cumulative effect of all vaccines given during childhood.

Martin Kulldorff, Ph.D., the committee’s new co-chair, said:

“The number of vaccines that our children and adolescents receive today exceeds what children in most other developed nations receive — and what most of us in this room received when we were children.

“In addition to studying and evaluating individual vaccines, it is important to evaluate the cumulative effect of the recommended vaccine schedule. This includes interaction effects between different vaccines, the total number of vaccines, cumulative amounts of vaccine ingredients, and relative timing of different vaccines.”

A new committee work group will look into these issues, Kulldorff said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention currently recommends at least 70 doses of 15 different vaccines for children and adolescents up to age 18.

Another new work group will look at vaccines that have not been subject to reviewed in more than seven years, he added. “This was supposed to be a regular practice of the ACIP, but it has not been done in a thorough and systematic way. We will change that.”

ACIP began its two-day meeting today despite a call from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) late Monday to delay the meeting until the committee “is fully staffed with more robust and balanced representation.”

On June 11, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. named eight researchers and physicians to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory panel, two days after removing all 17 ACIP sitting members.

However, according to The New York Times, one of the new members, Dr. Michael A. Ross, a physician licensed in Virginia and a former professor of obstetrics and gynecology, withdrew from the committee.

Kennedy reconstituted the committee to “avoid conflicts of interest,” citing past members’ financial ties to pharmaceutical companies, he said in a Wall Street Journal op-ed about the change.

According to Cassidy, although the new committee members “have scientific credentials, many do not have significant experience studying microbiology, epidemiology or immunology. In particular, some lack experience studying new technologies such as mRNA vaccines, and may even have a preconceived bias against them.”

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German police launch nationwide crackdown on online ‘hate speech’

Germany’s law enforcement authorities have launched a nationwide crackdown on alleged internet ‘hate speech’, the Federal Criminal Police (BKA) have announced. Two thirds of the cases being investigated are linked to “right-wing” ideologies, the BKA said, with the media reporting they often involve “insults against politicians.”

Some “isolated cases” have been tied to “religious… left-wing and foreign” ideologies, according to police. More than 140 criminal investigations have been opened across all German states.

The list of the most common crimes included incitement of hatred, use of prohibited symbols, and approval of crimes and insults, the police said. According to Germany’s ARD broadcaster, the criminal cases often involve “insults against politicians.” 

The police operation included over 65 searches and “numerous” questionings, the BKA stated. Law enforcement has not reported that any suspects were detained as part of the investigations. The BKA also called on the people to “support” the police and contribute to combating online hate by reporting “hate postings” to either law enforcement or their network providers.

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COPPA 2.0: The Age Check Trap That Means Surveillance for Everyone

A new Senate bill designed to strengthen online privacy protections for minors could bring about major changes in how age is verified across the internet, prompting platforms to implement broader surveillance measures in an attempt to comply with ambiguous legal standards.

The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (S.836) (COPPA 2.0), now under review by the Senate Commerce Committee, proposes raising the protected age group from under 13 to under 17. It also introduces a new provision allowing teens aged 13 to 16 to consent to data collection on their own.

The bill has drawn praise from lawmakers across party lines and received backing from several major tech companies.

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

Supporters frame the bill as a long-overdue update to existing digital privacy laws. But others argue that a subtle change in how platforms are expected to identify underage users may produce outcomes that are more intrusive and far-reaching than anticipated.

Under the current law, platforms must act when they have “actual knowledge” that a user is a child.

The proposed bill replaces that threshold with a broader and less defined expectation: “knowledge fairly implied on the basis of objective circumstances.” This language introduces uncertainty about what constitutes sufficient awareness, making companies more vulnerable to legal challenges if they fail to identify underage users.

Instead of having to respond only when given explicit information about a user’s age, platforms would be required to interpret behavioral cues, usage patterns, or contextual data. This effectively introduces a negligence standard, compelling platforms to act preemptively to avoid accusations of noncompliance.

As a result, many websites may respond by implementing age verification systems for all users, regardless of whether they cater to minors. These systems would likely require more detailed personal information, including government-issued identification or biometric scans, to confirm users’ ages.

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Dystopia UK: Genocidal RAF Squadron Targeted by Palestine Action is Owned by a Hedge Fund

If you thought RAF jets were owned by the RAF, think again.

The RAF squadron targeted for a repaint by Palestine Action due to its involvement in supplying Israel’s genocide, does not in fact belong to the RAF at all. It belongs ultimately to Polygon Global Partners LLP, a Hedge Fund.

Through a chain of seven cutout companies, which I will take you through, the direct ownership is with Airtanker Ltd, which gives its address as RAF Brize Norton. It owns, maintains and operates the RAF’s Voyager refuelling aircraft, which have been providing mid-air refuelling to the Israeli Defence Forces as well as carrying, in their cargo role, munitions to the IDF.

Note that Airtanker Ltd states that five of the Voyager aircraft while available to the RAF:  “can also be made available to other parties. This can include providing military capability to other nations…”.

Whether the aircraft have been operated by the RAF on behalf of the Israelis, or whether they have been “provided to” the IDF direct, is an interesting question. Is this designed to build in plausible deniability for the UK government?

Eight of the Voyager Aircraft though fully painted in RAF livery, actually are the property of Airtanker Ltd.

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California vice mayor calls for GANGS to defend their ‘hood’ from ICE

The vice mayor of a Los Angeles County city is reportedly under federal investigation after posting a video to social media in which she called on gang members to defend their “turf” from Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Cynthia Gonzalez shared the video to social media late last week, Fox News reported, in which she said, “Not for nothing, but I wanna know where all the cholos are at in Los Angeles. 18 Street, Florencia, where’s the leadership at? Because you guys are all about territory and this is 18 Street and this is Florencia, you guys tag everything up claiming hood and now that your hood’s being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain’t a peep out of you.

“It’s everyone else who’s not about the gang life that’s out there protesting and speaking up. We’re out there, like, fighting our turf, protecting our turf, protecting our people, and like, where you at,” she continued.

“I’m like, dude, they’re running amok all up on your streets, on your streets and in your city, and peep when the big gang guns come in, nothing but like, quiet. And we’re out here, the regular ones that have never been jumped in, out here calling things out, out trying to organize people, trying to do the thing. So don’t be trying to claim no block, no nothing if you’re not showing up right now, trying to like, help out and organize. I don’t want to hear a peep out of you once they’re gone, tryna claim that this is my block. This was not your block, you weren’t even here helping out. So whoever’s the leadership over there, just f*cking get your members in order.”

The video was reportedly deleted shortly after it was posted. Federal sources told Fox News that she was later visited by FBI agents at her home and is now under a federal investigation. The sources said that she went back on social media to say that the FBI had come to her home and she needed a lawyer. 

The Department of Homeland Security called Gonzalez’s comments “despicable,” adding, “She calls for criminal gangs – including the vicious 18th street gang—to commit violence against our brave ICE law enforcement. This kind of garbage has led to a more than 500 percent increase in assaults against our ICE law enforcement officers. Secretary Noem has been clear: If you assault a federal officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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