RT News - July 02 2024 (early) Russian troops continue to advance; Trump has "absolute immunity"

Russian forces continue to successfully advance on the front lines in Ukraine and have taken control of several settlements. Russia's MOD reports Ukraine forces have retreated from four new areas of the Donetsk republic and Mirnoye (Zaporozhye). That's despite the vast quantities of western supplied heavy weaponry and materiel. Murad Gazdiev reports from the heavy tech-side of the front lines.
Ukrainians continue to be violently pressed into service; this constructed, proxy war which has taken the lives of so many (on both sides) has lost the support of Ukrainians. The Kiev regime has precious little public support.
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Larry Johnson (former CIA analyst, head of BERG Associates) spoke with RT about the way the proxy war could be ended before further pointless bloodshed'
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Israel/Gaza : Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the director of Al-Shifa hospital, spoke to the press about his seven months of detention without charges; "it was torture".
Israeli PM Netanyahu said the release of "such prisoners" was a mistake and a failure.
Maria Finoshina reports.
Amit Assa, former Shin Bet Colonel talks about "the release list".
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Former US President Trump has absolute immunity from prosecution of "official acts" - see also articles 5) and 5a) below. Rory looks at the background and talks to Sean Stone, Political Analyst.
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Pride frenzy. (I'll let the video do the talking as I don't know what to say) Martin Ssempa says he is shocked about what's going on.
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Russia has taken the Chairmanship of the United Nations Security Council for the whole of July (it's a rotational thing). On Monday, Russia's Ambassador Nebenzia held a press conference which detailed some of the topics and agenda to be covered during the Chair. RT's Caleb Maupin discusses what this month will mean.
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In Britain people can be detained, prosecuted and sanctioned just for telling the truth. Grayzone's journalist Kit Klarenberg talks of his experience - how he was forced to give his DNA, turn over his journalist kit, held and interrogated about his work with the Grayzone news. The full interview will be shown on RT during today, I don't have a link for it yet - will post a.s.a.p on news comments.
Here is a pdf copy of the National Security Act Kit referred to https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/661f87aa0a82cd0985bd3d29/ISN_2024-03_National_Security_Act_2023.pdf - I didn't even know it existed!
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Countries around the world are demanding that US and UK return to them, their gold reserves. - I will find out more about this story and post it later.
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Short take: As Western weapons pour into Ukraine, Russian forces take aim, and advance along the front lines in the conflict. The Director of the Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City describes seven months of torture he endured while held at an Israeli prison, without any charges. The US Supreme Court rules that presidents have full immunity from prosecution for official acts. It follows the January 6th case against Donald Trump expanding executive powers to a level never seen before. San Francisco lowers the bar, as its annual Pride parade spirals into debauchery, with attendees performing sex acts in front of children sparking outrage.
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Below: A) London sounds alarm over ‘Russian bots’ supporting Farage
1) Ukrainian ‘propagandist’ convicted of terrorism
2) Ukraine struggling for troop numbers – media
3) Russian region to ban niqab – mufti
3a) Russian government rejects niqab ban
4) Democrats ready to speed up Biden nomination – Bloomberg
4a) This is what US allies should learn from the Biden-Trump debate
5) US Supreme Court rules Trump has presidential immunity
5a) Biden reacts to Trump immunity ruling
6) Russia warns Israel over Ukraine missiles
6a) US in talks to send Israeli air-defence systems to Ukraine
7) Kremlin sees ‘trend’ in French election
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A) London sounds alarm over ‘Russian bots’ supporting Farage 1 Jul, 2024 11:36

A deputy PM has backed media claims that suspicious Facebook accounts are boosting the leading rival to the Tories

Five Facebook accounts supposedly spreading “Russian narratives” are a source of grave concern for the British government, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has said.

On Saturday, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) claimed to have detected a Russian disinformation campaign targeting British voters ahead of the July 4 snap election. The messaging is allegedly favourable to the anti-migrant politician Nigel Farage.

Dowden bemoaned the threat “from hostile state actors seeking to influence the outcome of the election campaign” in an interview by Sky News on Sunday. He claimed that “Russia is a prime example of this and this is a classic example from the Russian playbook.”

The Tory politician called the alleged operation “low-level” and involving bots. He stressed, however, that he was not suggesting that there was “some sort of collusion” between Farage’s Reform UK party and the Russian government.

When interviewed shortly afterwards, Farage told Sky News host Trevor Phillips that claims that his campaign enjoys Moscow’s support were a “Russia hoax.” He called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a very-very dangerous, dangerously clever man” and said he “abhorred totally and utterly” Moscow’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict.

“There’s no debate in this general election about foreign policy whatsoever other than the attempt to smear me,” he added.

ABC reported that five specific Facebook accounts with a combined 190,000 followers were posting similar content critical of the UK’s main political parties and criticizing London’s Ukraine policy. The latter fact was used to justify their attribution.

“For me, it’s Russian,” said Salvatore Romano, the head of an NGO that says it “investigates influential and opaque algorithms.”

“Now if you ask Putin, Putin may say ‘no, it’s not us’,” he added. “What is the smoking gun? Do you need to see these people behind their desks with the Russian flag?”

AI Forensics, the NGO Romano works for, cites as its partners a network of pro-Western funds and intermediaries, including George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, Pierre Omidyar’s Luminate and the Digital Freedom Fund. The firm grew out of Tracking Exposed, an app that was used to visualize the tracking of users by corporate entities online.

Farage was accused of being a Putin sympathizer after he blamed NATO expansion in Europe for the Ukraine conflict during a BBC interview last month. He claims that the US-led military bloc gave the Russian government an excuse to rally domestic support for the operation.

A speech he gave in Walton-on-the-Naze last week was interrupted by a banner showing Putin and with the words “I [heart emoji] Farage.” A campaign group called Led By Donkeys claimed credit for the stunt.

In early June, Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrey Kelin said he expected accusations of election interference even though he believes that no outcome could meaningfully change Britain’s policy towards Russia.
https://www.rt.com/news/600247-farage-russian-bots-concern/
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1) Ukrainian ‘propagandist’ convicted of terrorism 1 Jul, 2024 18:27

Dmitry Gordon had called for the US to attack Russia with nuclear weapons

A Russian military court has found Ukrainian journalist Dmitry Gordon guilty of inciting terrorism and dissemination of false information, sentencing him to 14 years in prison. Gordon was tried in absentia.

The Kiev-born Gordon, 56, was indicted by Russian authorities in May 2022. He was also put on the register of terrorists and extremists, in part because of a YouTube video in which he called for the US to launch a nuclear strike against Russia.

“Based on the totality of crimes, with some sentences running concurrently, Gordon is sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 14 years, with the first three years to be served in prison, and the rest in a general regime colony,” said Judge Roman Kiforenko of the Second Western District Military Court.

Gordon would also be forbidden from administering internet sites for up to three years after his release. The sentence will go into effect “after Gordon’s detention in the Russian Federation or extradition” to Moscow, Kiforenko added.

According to prosecutors, Gordon posted at least three videos in March 2022 in which he “disseminated false information about the actions of Russian military personnel during the special military operation [in Ukraine], and called on US President Joe Biden to launch a nuclear strike against Russia.”

In July that year, Russian prosecutors filed charges against the journalist in absentia, accusing him of public incitement of terrorist activities, incitement of hatred, knowingly disseminating false information about the armed forces, and public calls for a war of aggression.

Gordon is a household name in Ukraine, ranked among the top ten YouTube hosts in an August 2023 poll. In addition to social media channels with millions of followers, he has run a Russian-language newspaper and hosted a TV interview show.

While he is now an outspoken critic of Russia and promoter of the Kiev government, he had been critical of Vladimir Zelensky prior to the conflict. In 2020, he famously interviewed two Russians that Ukraine considers traitors – former Crimean prosecutor Natalia Poklonskaya and Igor ‘Strelkov’ Girkin, leader of the militia that held Slavyansk for months in 2014. He claimed that this had been a “sting operation” on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence, but the SBU denied knowing anything about it.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600287-ukrainian-journalist-gordon-sentenced/
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2) Ukraine struggling for troop numbers – media 1 Jul, 2024 21:19

Kiev is reportedly in no shape for offensive operations and has turned to recruiting from prisons

The government in Kiev can’t hope to launch offensive operations without more manpower, but even prison recruiting has fallen short of its needs, according to reporting by the Wall Street Journal and Die Welt.

According to the US-based Journal, neither Ukraine nor Russia appears poised for a decisive breakthrough.

“For Ukraine, after last summer’s failed counteroffensive, the task for now is to use fresh Western weapons to hold on to positions,” the outlet said on Monday.

Kiev has “little prospect of achieving much more than holding the front line in the coming months,” and has chosen to strike at Crimea with long-range missiles supplied by the US instead, the Journal noted.

According to one unnamed Western security official, Kiev has been able to replace losses and build up some reserves, but need “several times more to launch any kind of major offensive.”

While the Journal’s anonymous sources seemed confident that Ukraine was holding its own along the battlefield, Die Welt Am Sonntag appeared less convinced.

The Russian army “has the initiative on all fronts,” according to the German outlet. Ukraine’s biggest problem is the lack of troops, Die Welt continued, because “since the beginning of the war, the country has lost a six-figure number of soldiers who have been killed or wounded.”

In order to make up the losses and generate new brigades, Ukraine needs at least 200,000 troops by the end of the year, or 50,000 per quarter, but has “fallen well short of these numbers” in recent months, Die Welt was told by anonymous European security officials.

The latest mobilization scheme hopes to get up to 10,000 recruits from prisons, under a law approved by Kiev in May. So far, 2,800 convicts have enlisted into the military, Die Welt said, quoting Ukrainian government numbers.

Convicts have been promised six months of proper training and a monthly salary of around 100,000 hryvnia (almost $2,500), more if they serve in front-line ‘assault brigades’. One convict, identified only as Yuri, said he would still not enlist.

“The concern is that we will be thrown to the front as cannon fodder and used up in the first wave,” he told the German outlet. “Because many people think of prisoners as the dregs of society.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently estimated Ukraine’s losses at 50,000 a month, of which about half were irretrievable, noting that Russian casualties were five times lower.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600288-ukraine-struggling-troop-numbers/
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3) Russian region to ban niqab – mufti 1 Jul, 2024 22:12

The move comes days after a series of deadly terrorist attacks in Dagestan

Dagestan is about to ban the niqab on religious grounds, the head mufti of the Russian republic announced on Monday. The regional governor has spoken out against the face covering on security grounds, following last month’s terrorist attack.

The niqab is a type of headdress that covers the entire face, except for the eyes, and is used by some Muslim women to obey the religious requirement to dress modestly.

“The Muftiate of Dagestan will soon issue a fatwa [theological opinion] banning the niqab,” Chief Mufti Akhmad Abdullayev said in a meeting with regional head Sergey Melikov.

Abdullayev acknowledged that many Russian Muslims might disagree with his decision, but said he didn’t much care about their opinion. “My attitude towards people who will criticize me is neutral,” the cleric said.

Valery Fadeev, the head of Russia’s Human Rights Council, had proposed a niqab ban in May, citing the need to crack down on Islamic militants after the Crocus City Hall attack that killed over 140 people. Moscow’s chief mufti, Ildar Alyautdinov, opposed the measure as abridging religious freedoms. The government eventually sided with the mufti.

Last week, however, several groups of militants attacked Christians and Jews in Dagestan, killing more than 20 people – including a dozen police officers – and injuring 40 more in Derbent and the regional capital of Makhachkala.

In the aftermath of the attack, governor Melikov called for banning the niqab, arguing that such garb represented an unacceptable security risk.

“First of all, this clothing is not typical for the peoples of the Caucasus. But I am also against this from a security standpoint,” he said.

The niqab “allows men to hide behind these veils, and women to carry prohibited items behind them,” Melikov explained, noting that he was saying it as someone who has “repeatedly carried out counter-terrorism missions.”

Alyautdinov, the Moscow mufti, has yet to comment on the Dagestani announcement. He previously told Russian media that the Muslim community would support a niqab ban only if law enforcement were able to prove a direct connection between wearing the garment and the growing risk of extremism.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600292-dagestan-mufti-ban-niqab/

=========Related from 28 May, 2024 09:47

3a) Russian government rejects niqab ban

The measure would violate citizens’ rights and freedom of religion, the cabinet explained

The Russian government has rejected an initiative to ban the niqab, a traditional Muslim veil that covers the entire face apart from the eyes, Kommersant reported on Monday, citing a cabinet document.

Last week, the head of Russia’s Human Rights Council, Valery Fadeev, suggested the government should consider a ban on niqabs, citing the risk of extremism. His call came almost two months after the deadly terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall concert venue outside Moscow, in which 145 people died and over 500 were injured. The suspected perpetrators are citizens of Tajikistan, a majority-Muslim former Soviet republic in Central Asia.

Banning the garment could violate secular rights and freedom of religion, which are guaranteed to all citizens of Russia by the constitution, according to the document cited by Kommersant. The cabinet was responding to questions submitted by Russian MPs to Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin.

Government officials have also dismissed the idea of mandating that ethnicity be indicated in citizens' internal passports. Identity documents issued by the Soviet Union listed a citizen’s ‘nationality’, which was understood to mean ethnic origin. This practice was canceled after the collapse of the USSR in 1991; the new constitution didn’t require citizens to specify their background.

Addressing questions from Russia’s Communist Party related to illegal migration and ethnic crimes, the government said it is planning to develop a so-called digital profile for foreign citizens in order to track migration.

Fadeev’s proposal met with a mixed response. The head of the State Duma’s Labor Committee, Yaroslav Nilov, said that any such measures should be discussed behind closed doors with representatives of Muslim groups and local authorities, without widespread media coverage.

Moscow’s chief mufti, Ildar Alyautdinov, warned that banning the niqab could cause discontent among Muslims in Russia and lead to new unrest.

Alyautdinov told RIA Novosti last week that the Russian Muslim community would support the niqab ban only if law enforcement officials were able to prove a direct connection between wearing the niqab and the growing risk of extremism.

Earlier this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia is a “multinational and multi-religious country” that treats everyone with respect, emphasizing that some “190 ethnic groups live in the country,” some of which include “millions of people.”
https://www.rt.com/russia/598322-russian-government-rejects-niqab-ban/
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4) Democrats ready to speed up Biden nomination – Bloomberg 2 Jul, 2024 00:16

The party is reportedly seeking to “further coalesce” around its candidate after his poor debate performance

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) could formally nominate Joe Biden as its presidential candidate as early as July 21, aiming to put an end to speculation of a possible replacement in the wake of the incumbent’s lackluster performance in a recent TV debate with Republican rival Donald Trump.

The Democrats had already planned to nominate Biden before their August convention, but the proposed “fortuitous” timing will allow the party to “stamp out intra-party chatter of replacing him” and to “further coalesce around their nominee even as insiders call for him to step aside for a new candidate after his rocky June 27 debate performance,” Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The DNC is set to hold several committee meetings between July 16-21 to finalize the rules and procedures for a virtual vote. Speaking to Fox News, two Democratic sources also confirmed July 21 as the potential date, which would be just three days after Trump is expected to receive his party’s nomination.

This election cycle’s first faceoff between Trump and Biden took place last Thursday in Atlanta, Georgia. Political observers have widely agreed that the 81-year-old Biden failed to counter the perception that he has neither the energy nor mental acuity to lead the country for four more years.

The president’s team explained his failure in the debate by saying he had a cold, was over-prepared, and that CNN moderators did not fact-check claims by Trump. When asked by journalists last week if Biden was planning to step aside, his campaign replied “of course not.”

Some Democrats have since, either publicly or in private communications with journalists, said Biden should end his campaign after his dismal performance. Reports have also emerged that some Democratic donors are insisting that Biden be dropped as the party’s nominee for the November 5 election.

On Friday, Axios published the results of a poll by Morning Consult, which suggested that 60% of voters believe that Biden should “definitely” or “probably” be replaced as the Democratic presidential nominee.

However, the US president’s family, who reportedly are among the few who could convince him to quit, urged him to stay in the race during a meeting on Sunday, CNN sources have claimed.
https://www.rt.com/news/600295-biden-democratic-party-nomination/
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4a) This is what US allies should learn from the Biden-Trump debate 1 Jul, 2024 20:45

The fallout from the American president’s addled performance shows the real nature of Washington’s “democracy” and its empire

There is very little to say about the content of the recent televised debate between the current American president, Joe Biden, and the former and likely next president, Donald Trump. That’s because the one feature that mattered was so obvious: Biden is, as those with eyes to see have known for a long time, deeply senile. That is a personal if not uncommon tragedy. Given Biden’s many sins – a lifelong record of systematic, almost compulsive lying, of policies that have, for decades, abused the weak and the poor and pandered to the rich, and, last but not least, the Gaza genocide co-perpetrated with his Zionist friends – it is impossible to feel pity for him. But given the unfortunate power of America, his mental decline is also a global scourge. Yet another one the ‘indispensable’ nation is inflicting on the rest of us on this planet.

The difference between before and after the debate is simply that now even the most mendacious Democratic Party hacks and behind-the-scenes manipulators cannot deny this fact any longer. Don’t get me wrong: Many of them are at least pretending to try, including former president Barack Obama, despite ongoing, widespread, and irrepressible speculation that Michelle Obama, his wife, might enter the fray at the last minute in the melodramatic role of – nobly reluctant – savior. And, of course, Democrats are also blaming anyone but themselves and their atrocious president. Yet their efforts are largely in vain. Even in America, with its post-truth media, the “secret” that never really was, is out, and the taboo is broken.

Panicked by the return of Donald Trump, key outlets of extreme Centrism, such as, to name only three, the very popular TV ‘news’ (really, agitation and propaganda) show Morning Joe, the de facto Democratic Party newspaper the New York Times, and The Economist, the British Pravda of the American empire, are openly and insistently calling for Biden to quit. Polls in the US indicate that the public has had enough, too: According to a CBS News poll, only 28% of registered voters think Biden should stay in the race, while 72% acknowledge the obvious: Biden is mentally unfit for the presidency.

Yet none of this is a surprise. What is more interesting now is what the political fallout of Biden’s debate fiasco reveals about the nature of two things that, unfortunately, still shape much of our world: American ‘democracy’ and American empire.

Regarding ‘democracy’, even in the US, some observers – such former President Jimmy Carter and researchers at Princeton University, have long understood that it’s silly to describe their country as a democracy. Instead, any halfway objective assessment of its real political system has to start from the fact that it is an oligarchy. But Carter and the Princeton researchers acknowledged that fact a decade ago. The question is where are we now?

Spoiler alert: Things have only gotten worse. Exhibit A – the manner in which the Biden dementia debate debacle is being handled. It is not only the fact that Democratic Party apparatchiks are engaging in Orwellian falsifications to cover Biden’s catastrophic cognitive failure that enables us to see with our own eyes. It is also the way in which Biden’s family (or would clan be a more exact term?) is still widely treated as having the apparently divine privilege to help him decide whether finally to drop out or not.

A family matter? A political system in which issues of obvious and extremely urgent public interest are up to a totally unaccountable ‘family council’ – such as whether a dementia case should have final say over almost 5,000 nuclear weapons – does not qualify as a democracy. Indeed, it does not even qualify as a republic anymore. It may, with a ginormous dose of generosity, pass as a rather rotten monarchy. Less charitable observers would class it as a form of mafia or mobster rule.

But even the resistance to Biden continuing his zombie-like shamble toward electoral defeat offers no hope for democracy. Clearly, there are only two forces inside US politics that could actually compel the obstinate octogenarian and his stubborn wife and handler ‘Dr. Jill’ to accept reality: a rebel faction within the Democratic Party elite, or within the so-called ‘donor class’ – that is, those rich enough to buy American politics by financing its stupendously expensive election campaigns.

The possibility of a rebellion from within the Democratic Party nomenklatura is of course, a very real one, and when the day comes it will probably include most of those now ostentatiously still swearing fealty to Biden. In other words, it would be a mostly silent coup, a (political) knife in the back in a dark alley echoing with whispers of Obama’s almighty phone calls.

Regarding the donor class, its self-confident millionaires and billionaires are, as you would expect, a little more brash and louder, doing without any pious loyalty theater. Instead, as one of them has said, they are already “unanimous… that Biden needs to go.” If you want to call that ‘democracy’ – a bulldogs-under-the-carpet-like struggle (or dirty deal, as the case may be) between an unaccountable family clan and its personal retainers in the campaign on the one side, and a possible insider coup and all the money on the other – I have a special-deal Boeing 737 Max to sell to you.

What about the second thing on which the Biden cognitive catastrophe fallout can shed light? What about American empire? There we can again learn three important things: The US ‘elite’ hardly cares what its vassals think. Its vassals mostly shut up and do as they are told. And when they dare to speak up, they never challenge the real, underlying problems of systemic incompetence and irresponsibility.

Regarding Washington’s open disinterest in what its so-called allies around the world think about the fact that their leader is a wreck, just peruse American commentary. Yes, you will find some articles about international reactions to the debate debacle – for instance, in the Washington Post and Bloomberg – but you will not find any serious argument that the vassals’ opinion, anxieties, or even very timid complaints (if that’s the word) should play a role in deciding what to do next.

Imagine, if you will, the actual US political power structure as consisting of concentric rings. Right now at the center of decision-making you will find the Biden clan and a very small number of power brokers, mostly from the Democratic Party ‘elite’ (with a representative or two of AIPAC in the mix as well one way or the other). The next ring consists of the donor class, or simply put, the rich. The third one, the loyalist (or not so much anymore) media. And the fourth, perhaps, containing the Democratic Party as a whole, more or less.

Voters? No ring for you. Tell the pollsters what you feel and maybe someone who matters will be impressed enough to care. Imperial vassals? Hang in there with the voters, please.

Yet you cannot blame all of this on the Washington ‘elite’. The vassals also have themselves to blame because when they dare to make noise, it’s usually extremely muffled and deferential to a fault, with occasional exceptions. A recent one has been provided by the enfant terrible of Polish and NATO politics, Radek Sikorski. Yes, that’s the current foreign minister of Poland, who was indiscreet enough to admit (in obsequious gratitude, of course) that the US was behind the bombing of the Nord Stream pipelines. Now he has compared an American president to a Roman emperor (clearly oblivious to the fact that so-called republics and ‘democracies’ should not feature autocrats). And, even worse, he has implied that Emperor Biden is messing up his “ride into the sunset” (with apologies for the mixed “Magnificent Seven” and “Gladiator” references – they are not mine).

Sikorski’s boss, Poland’s current EU proconsul and prime minister, Donald Tusk, was bold enough to state in public that the American Democrats “have a problem.” The insight! Perhaps, if given enough time, Tusk will even think his way through to pondering the problems all of us have with the Democrats and their insane choices. But that, probably, is asking too much.

In general, Bloomberg finds “consternation and handwringing” among America’s EU clients. And that is, in essence, that. A silly X post and a sigh of misplaced commiseration out of Poland. Otherwise, long faces hardly even displayed in public. If Washington were to read this non-response as at least confirming its firm grip on its transatlantic underlings, it would be right: The emperor’s decline is naked, and the Europeans maintain decorum.

In a normal US, Biden would long have been retired. Indeed, he would never have been president. In a normal Europe, there would be a pervasive, urgent, high-priority debate about what is structurally wrong with an America that can produce and keep a Biden, and how to become independent of such a bizarre hegemon as quickly as possible. And yet, on both sides of the Atlantic, we see not only the political and cultural pathology of a man like Biden in the highest office. We also see virtually no normal responses to this pathology. The US ‘elite’ and its EU-NATO vassal ‘elites’ deserve each other: they both inhabit a topsy-turvy universe of so much lying that they could not find their way back to reality even if they tried. But how do all of us, the other 99.9%, deserve them?

By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory

...." The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT...."
https://www.rt.com/news/600284-biden-debate-us-allies/
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5) US Supreme Court rules Trump has presidential immunity 1 Jul, 2024 14:55

The Republican front-runner’s “official conduct” while in office is protected from prosecution, the justices found

American presidents have “absolute immunity” for their official actions, the US Supreme Court ruled on Monday, addressing a series of charges against former President Donald Trump.

Federal prosecutors have charged Trump with four criminal counts related to the 2020 presidential election, alleging that he “conspired” to overturn the results by spreading “knowingly false claims” of fraud to obstruct the collection, counting, and certification of the results.

“Under our constitutional structure of separated powers, the nature of Presidential power entitles a former President to absolute immunity from criminal prosecution for actions within his conclusive and preclusive constitutional authority,” the court said in a 6-3 decision. “And he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for all his official acts. There is no immunity for unofficial acts.”

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the majority opinion, which saw the six conservative-leaning justices opposed by the three liberal ones.

The decision favors the former president in terms of his tweets to the American public on January 6 and conversations with then-Vice President Mike Pence about his presiding over the certification of election results, as both of those clearly fell within the scope of official duties.

However, the verdict allows lower courts to hold evidentiary hearings to determine which actions by Trump may have been unofficial, such as when he contacted state and local election officials about the 2020 vote.

“In dividing official from unofficial conduct, courts may not inquire into the President’s motives,” the court warned.

“The President is not above the law. But under our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts,” said the ruling.

The Supreme Court saved the immunity case for the last day of its term. The long-awaited decision puts a dent in the plans for special counsel Jack Smith to prosecute Trump in the federal court in Washington, DC before the November election.

Trump challenged the 2020 election – marked by a series of unusual procedures, ostensibly adopted due to the Covid-19 pandemic – as irregular and possibly tainted by fraud, pointing to delays in counting mail-in votes that suddenly went in Democrat Joe Biden’s favor after the polls closed in a handful of states.

Democrats have insisted that the election was the most secure and legitimate ever and that any questioning of the result is an attack on democracy.
https://www.rt.com/news/600282-us-supreme-court-trump-immunity/
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5a) Biden reacts to Trump immunity ruling 2 Jul, 2024 01:08

The US leader has accused the Supreme Court of setting a “dangerous precedent”

US President Joe Biden has attacked the Supreme Court, urging citizens to “dissent” against its ruling that American presidents have “absolute immunity” for their official actions.

In a 6-3 decision on Monday, the highest US court ruled that under “our system of separated powers, the President may not be prosecuted for exercising his core constitutional powers, and he is entitled to at least presumptive immunity from prosecution for his official acts.”

Biden criticized the decision in a brief statement, calling it “a fundamentally new principle” and a “dangerous precedent because the power of the office will no longer be constrained by the law.”

“There are no kings in America. Each, each of us is equal before the law. No one, no one is above the law, not even the president of the United States,” Biden claimed – even as the Supreme Court ruling specifically stated that “the President is not above the law” and that “there is no immunity for unofficial acts.”

Federal prosecutors have charged former President Donald Trump with four criminal counts related to the 2020 presidential election, alleging that he “conspired” to overturn the results. The Supreme Court verdict allows lower courts to hold evidentiary hearings to determine which actions by Trump may have been unofficial.

Trump called the ruling – which puts a dent in the Democrats’ plans to prosecute him in the federal court in Washington, DC before the November election – a “big win for our constitution and democracy.”

Biden warned Americans about a possible presidential return for Trump, saying that “people must decide if they want to entrust … the presidency to Donald Trump, now knowing that he’ll be even more emboldened to do whatever he pleases whenever he wants to do it.”

Biden went on to quote Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s dissent, in which she wrote: “In every use of official power, the president is now a king above the law. With fear for our democracy, I dissent.”

“So should the American people dissent, I dissent,” Biden added, concluding his prepared remarks and taking no questions from the press.
https://www.rt.com/news/600296-biden-trump-immunity-ruling/
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6) Russia warns Israel over Ukraine missiles 2 Jul, 2024 02:12

West Jerusalem’s potential transfer of Patriots could backfire, Moscow’s ambassador to the UN has said

Israel must be ready to face the consequences if it moves forward with reported plans to supply Ukraine with US-made air defense systems, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has warned.

The US, Israel, and Ukraine are in discussions to deliver up to eight old Israeli Patriot systems to Kiev, the Financial Times reported last week, citing people familiar with the negotiations. This could affect relations between Israel and Russia, Nebenzia warned on Monday, as Moscow assumed the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council.

“I believe that this could of course have certain political consequences,” the Russian diplomat said.

“The weapons, whoever they are sent by… to Ukraine, will eventually be destroyed, just like other Western and US weapons. That is obvious,” he added.

Back in April, Israel announced plans to retire its M901 PAC-2 batteries, which are more than 30 years old, and replace them with more advanced air defense systems. However, they have not been put out of service yet due to concerns that growing tensions with Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah could escalate into an all-out war.

The latest FT report claimed that the deal, which has yet to be finalized, could see the Israeli Patriots first sent to the US, before being supplied to Ukraine, which is experiencing a shortage of air defenses.

Throughout the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Israel has only provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, refraining from sending any weapons. A year ago, the Jewish state rejected a demand by Vladimir Zelensky for Israeli Iron Dome air defense systems.

Russia has repeatedly warned that foreign weapons being sent to Kiev will not prevent Moscow from achieving its military goals, and will merely prolong the fighting and increase the risk of a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
https://www.rt.com/news/600297-israel-ukraine-patriots-nebenzia/

========Related from 28 Jun, 2024

6a) US in talks to send Israeli air-defense systems to Ukraine – FT

If agreed, the deal “would mark a shift” in Israeli-Russian relations, the paper has claimed

The US, Israel and Ukraine are in discussions to deliver up to eight old Israeli Patriot air-defense systems to Kiev, the Financial Times has reported, citing people familiar with the negotiations.

The deal, which has yet to be finalized, would likely see the Patriots first sent from Israel to the US, before being supplied to Ukraine, which is experiencing a shortage of air defenses in the conflict with Russia, the paper wrote on Thursday.

Recent talks on the possible delivery of the US-made systems involved ministers and senior officials from the three nations, including US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, as well as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba, and Vladimir Zelensky’s chief of staff Andrey Yermak, the sources said.

While the supply of eight defense systems was discussed, it’s possible that not all of them would end up in Ukraine, the FT reported.

In April, Israel announced plans to retire its M901 PAC-2 batteries, which are more than 30 years old, and replace them with more advanced air-defense systems. However, the eight Patriots in question have not been put out of service yet due to concerns by the government that growing tensions with Lebanese armed movement Hezbollah could escalate into an all-out war.

According to the FT, Kiev currently has at least four Patriot systems, which were supplied by the US and Germany. In late March, the Russian Defense Ministry said five Patriots operated by Ukraine had been destroyed by Moscow’s forces since the start of the year.

When asked to comment on the report, Kuleba said “Ukraine continues to work with various countries around the world on obtaining additional Patriot systems.” The foreign minister told FT that the Kiev authorities “urge all countries that have such systems to provide them to Ukraine.”

Throughout the conflict between Moscow and Kiev, Israel has only provided humanitarian aid to Ukraine, refraining from sending any weapons. A year ago, the country rejected a demand by Vladimir Zelensky for Israeli Iron Dome air-defense systems. Back then, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel needed all of its Iron Dome batteries to ensure “freedom of action” in Syria, a region where there is a large Russian military presence. He also said that, if Israeli weapons were captured on the battlefield in Ukraine, they could eventually be given to Iran.

The FT noted that a deal to supply the Patriot systems to Ukraine “would mark a shift” in Israel’s relations with Russia.

Moscow has repeatedly warned that deliveries of weapons and ammunition to Kiev by the US and its allies will not prevent Russia from achieving its military goals, but merely prolong the fighting. According to Russian officials, the provision of arms, sharing of intelligence, and training of Ukrainian troops effectively means that Western nations have become de facto parties to the conflict.
https://www.rt.com/news/600163-israel-ukraine-us-patriots/
=====================

7) Kremlin sees ‘trend’ in French election 1 Jul, 2024 12:38

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has commented on the first round of voting in the EU nation’s parliamentary elections

French voters on Sunday “confirmed the trend” that has been seen across the EU in recent ballots, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has said.

French President Emmanuel Macron’s bloc is in third place following the first round of his country’s snap parliamentary elections. The right-wing National Rally (RN) party led the vote, while the newly-created left-wing New Popular Front (NFP) trailed in second.

The Russian government “certainly pays great attention” to the French elections, Peskov told journalists during a regular briefing on Monday.

“The trends that have emerged earlier in several European nations, including France, have been confirmed,” he added. “We’ll wait for the second round, but the preferences of the French voters are more or less clear to us.”

Moscow considers the Macron government hostile to Russia and as occasionally setting the tone of the West’s confrontation with the country. The French president was the first to declare that it should not be ruled out that NATO nations may eventually send troops to Ukraine to prevent a Russian victory.

Macron has argued that he wants to maintain “strategic ambiguity” regarding Ukraine, supposedly keeping Moscow guessing as to how far NATO would go. Considering that many NATO member states, including the US, responded to Macron’s February remarks by ruling out sending troops to fight for Kiev, critics of the French leader claim he has achieved the opposite of his intentions.

Macron dissolved the National Assembly on June 9, following a European Parliament election in which RN won 30 of the 81 French seats in the EU legislature. Experts have called the move a gamble which has backfired, after left-wing French political groups overcame their differences and campaigned as a single force.

The second round is scheduled for July 7. According to Le Figaro sources, Macron is considering whether to dissolve the freshly-elected parliament.
https://www.rt.com/russia/600272-peskov-french-election-results/
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