This is as serious as it gets. Let’s survey the chessboard - from micro to macro.

The crying shadow in the funeral dance,

The loud lament of the disconsolate chimera.

T. S. Eliot, Burnt Norton

 

Iran Now First Line of Defense of BRICS and the Global South

BY PEPE ESCOBAR

 

Israel’s shock’n awe on Iran – straight from the trademark US playbook - essentially failed, despite the initial combination of speed, meticulous military planning and the element of surprise, including hacking the Iranian electronic communications within the military grid; decapitation of the vertical IRGC nomenklatura; the spiderweb drone attack playbook; and bombing – ultimately ineffectual – of key nodes of the Iranian nuclear infrastructure.

Yesterday’s statement by Defence Minister Richard Marles that Australia’s geography and continent would be crucial to any United States prosecution of a war against China will go down as a dark moment in Australia’s history.

A moment when an Australian Labor Government intellectually ceded Australia to the United States as a platform for the US and by implication, Australia, for military engagement against the Chinese state in response to a threat China is alleged to be making.

 

Paul Keating

Australia: A sovereign continent not for Marles to gift away

 

Well, Ukraine launched one of the most powerful attacks against Russia since 2022. On the first day of the month, five Russian military bases were hit by drones infiltrated into Russian territory and remotely operated. They allegedly disabled 40 fighter jets.

 

Prod the bear with a short stick… and then scream for help and jump into daddy’s lap!

    BY Eduardo VASCO

 

Simultaneously, explosions occurred on roads and bridges in Kursk and Bryansk, killing over 100 civilians. Russian authorities considered these terrorist actions and claim to have evidence that they were carried out under orders from Kyiv.

The leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) expressed support for Israel's security in a joint statement amid the escalation with Iran, pointing to the importance of de-escalation in the region.

"We affirm that Israel has a right to defend itself. We reiterate our support for the security of Israel," the statement says. "We urge that the resolution of the Iranian crisis leads to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza."

The statement also emphasized the importance of protecting civilians.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20250617/g7-leaders-express-support-for-israels-security---joint-statement-1122268924.html

 

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Iran denies US assertion it is 'months away' from developing nuclear bomb
"Iran does not seek a nuclear weapon. If we wanted to build a nuclear weapon, we could have done it some time ago, but we decided that nuclear weapons would not augment our security and are in contradiction to our ideological views," Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday rejected allegations by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that Tehran could be "weeks away" from developing enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb.

Speaking to NBC News, Blinken said that if Iran continued to violate the 2015 deal at the current rate, it could be "a matter of weeks" before it gets enough fissile material that, in turn, would allow it to build a nuclear weapon within months.

Millions of protestors gathered across the US on Saturday across thousands of events to protest against Donald Trump’s administration in a planned series of events called “No Kings”.

Organized by a coalition of groups, the demonstrations were largely peaceful, though they occurred on the same day Minnesota lawmakers were shot, and one killed, in political violence, and just a week after the federal government ordered military to descend on Los Angeles streets to quell protests there.

 

The Guardian spoke to dozens of protesters across the country about the mass demonstrations. Here is what they said.

... 2019: Note that JFK might have been assassinated because he was not following "the game plan"(see by now you should know the secret service killed JFK...). Meanwhile, Trump got elected because he "was not going to follow the game plan", but this was a ruse for the GOP to regain control of the Greater Game which Obama was mucking up by being a timid gambler in it. The game plan is back on track...

 

THE GAME PLAN....

 

Hillary was too compromised. Trump was "for America" whatever this meant then... Now we know: the Game Plan. Make America Great Again...

 

A pack of self-styled conservatives this week piled on after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a mournful, humane statement on the reality of nuclear war. Her brief video speaks powerfully for itself. But I feel compelled to respond to her detractors, if only to smack down the poisonous self-confidence of the many war promoters who have insinuated themselves into the political right.

 

Tulsi Goes Nuclear on the Warmongers
Opposing the atomic bombings of Japan is a great conservative tradition.

Jason Jones

 

After more than four years, the Information Commissioner has compelled the Defence Dept. to hand over information sought about expert advice on Australia’s Naval shipbuilding program. Rex Patrick reports.

In the FOI review decision, the Information Commissioner issued a scathing rebuke of Defence secrecy, saying,

“… the assertion made by the Department that disclosure of the relevant material would undermine the willingness of individuals to serve on the panel and provide full and frank advice 

does not appear to be supported by cogent reasoning or evidence.

Ouch!

 

Later the ruling class became even more sophisticated at channelling, diverting and destroying social and political opposition. They played hard cop and soft cop repression and bullying where necessary, but cooption tactics could be cheaper and more effective.

One ploy increasingly used by university administrations was to accede to demands for student participation, without relinquishing any real control. Some student activists were bought off by such cooption. 

 

CAPITALIST COOPTION:

EXTRACT FROM "RESISTANCE" BY JOHN PERCY....

 

US President Donald Trump has revealed that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, wished him a happy birthday during a phone conversation on Saturday.

Shortly after the phone call, the US president took to his Truth Social to provide details.

“President Putin called this morning to very nicely wish me a Happy Birthday, but to more importantly, talk about Iran, a country he knows very well. We talked at length,” Trump, who turned 79 on Saturday, wrote.

The two presidents spent “much less time” discussing the Ukraine conflict, he noted, adding that the topic “will be for next week.” “The call lasted approximately one hour. He feels, as do I, this war in Israel-Iran should end, to which I explained, his war should also end,” Trump wrote.

Israel has the right to defend itself, Foreign Minister Penny Wong says, but she has dodged questions over whether its surprise bombardment of Iran is a breach of international law.

Seeking to hamper Iran's attempts to develop military-grade nuclear capability, Israel struck military facilities, nuclear scientists, a major gas facility that exports internationally and other targets in a two-day barrage that Iran says has killed 78 people.

Iran retaliated with missile launches of its own that killed at least three people in Israel, with the US helping to shoot down a number of incoming missiles.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has threatened Iran to expect worse to come.

CNN — President Donald Trump praised the United States Army as the “greatest, fiercest and bravest fighting force” at the conclusion of a grand display of military might in the nation’s capital Saturday as the Army celebrated its 250th birthday with a parade.