The activist group Palestine Action was designated a terrorist organization by by Parliament on July 2 after it splashed red paint on a British war plane in protest of it assisting Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The non-violent group is in court challenging its designation by a violent government. The author, a former British diplomat, was in the courthouse and filed this report. This is the second and last installment of his two-part article.

This is the second in a two part article. Part one is here. 

The US must be told that we will not be involved in any way and at any time in a war with China over Taiwan.

Trump is pressing US allies to increase their defence expenditure. Anthony Albanese has wisely responded that the Australian Government will decide how much we spend on defence, and not the US.

John Menadue

Another possible surrogate for the control of potential enemies of society is the reintroduction, in some form consistent with modern technology and political processes, of slavery. Up to now, this has been suggested only in fiction, notably in the works of Wells, Huxley, Orwell, and others engaged in the imaginative anticipation of the sociology of the future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVDjpLhCPI0

Keith Edwards discusses how Karoline Leavitt, typically seen wearing a gold cross necklace, noticeably left it off during a Fox News interview about the Epstein client list—prompting speculation that she removed it to avoid wearing a religious symbol while possibly being deceptive. Social media users and critics seized on the moment, suggesting it signaled discomfort or intentional symbolism.

YOURDEMOCRACY.NET RECORDS HISTORY AS IT SHOULD BE — NOT AS THE WESTERN MEDIA WRONGLY REPORTS IT.

         Gus Leonisky

Donald Trump’s recent comments on Ukraine were highly anticipated, especially given his habit of surprising even those who consider themselves seasoned observers. His remarks on 14 July, delivered alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, were characteristically loud but ultimately underwhelming. That in itself should not be surprising. Over the past six months, Trump’s style on major international issues has followed a familiar pattern. Ukraine is no exception.

Fyodor Lukyanov: This is the fatal flaw of Trump’s Ukraine ‘strategy’
Trump’s rhetoric masks a deeper instinct to disengage – and a refusal to confront Moscow on substance

Donald Trump is on the brink of tearing up his 'no foreign wars, pro-peace' pre-election pledge on Ukraine, with plans to deliver more weapons, and threats against Russia edging him closer toward inheriting "Biden's war." Sputnik asked a renowned US geopolitics and military affairs expert to break it down.

The president claims that his plans to ramp up arms deliveries to Ukraine and threaten Russia with secondary tariffs are designed to help end the conflict, “when in fact these steps are serving to prolong and escalate the war unnecessarily with no end in sight,” ex-US Army staff officer David Pyne says.

France’s Strategic National Review predicts a large-scale military conflict with Russia in Europe by 2030, despite Russia repeatedly rubbishing the scenario.

Why It's a Non-Starter

"When talking about war in Europe, the key question is: war between Russia and whom? NATO countries? France directly?" Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, tells Sputnik.

Both scenarios don't hold water: 

Russia won't unleash a war on NATO—it would mean nuclear war

France is currently a major buyer of Russian gas in Europe

What’s Really Behind the Claim?

The Gaza genocide is special. And not in one but two regards.

As has often been observed, this is the first genocide in history that is, in essence, livestreamed. No genocide before has been committed under the eyes of the world like this one. And second, the Gaza genocide is undermining and, in effect, devastating whole moral and legal orders – or at least longstanding claims to them – in an equally unprecedented way.

Humanitarian aid from hell: The extermination of Palestinians is being disguised as help
Israel and America want to ‘benevolently’ put the population of Gaza into what amounts to a concentration camp

BY Tarik Cyril Amar

Here goes a strange wheelbarrow, with a dog in front and a woman behind. The dog pulls, the woman pushes. Whatever one thinks of the proverbial cleanliness of Flanders, it's worth recalling this amusing observation by Victor Hugo: "The Lord of Canaples," he said, "who feared fleas so much for his dogs, would not have tied them to those carts." But these are well-dressed carts, where the brass of the milkmaids gleams; every morning, they crisscross the streets of Brussels. Along the way, the four-legged drivers try to rub each other's noses as a sign of friendship, but there is no time to lose. Butcher, baker, or milkman, all these daily suppliers must trot tirelessly and arrive on time; As soon as the rope is around one's neck, the struggle for life begins.

Sonya Wilson explains why wonder is at the heart of her novels Spark Hunter and The Secret Green. 

Last winter, about halfway up a small, damp slope in the Paradise Valley, I saw some steam rising from a lump of moss. 

I might’ve walked on past, brushing it off as a nothing-much, but since becoming a writer of fiction I’ve become much more concerned with paying attention to the details of real life, so I stopped, and I sat, and I watched.

The discussion centers around the depletion of U.S. weapons stockpiles due to aid sent to Ukraine, particularly long-range systems like ATACMS. Former National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan admitted that the U.S. initially withheld these weapons because they were critically low and needed to maintain their own deterrence capability. Even after supplying some, their battlefield impact was limited. Similarly, additional weapons like Germany's Taurus or UK's Storm Shadow missiles are seen as insufficient to change the tide of the war, while accelerating Western stockpile depletion.

There was much to read in the papers last Monday, the 7th of July. Three stories caught my attention.

Hannah Thomas, who ran as a Greens candidate in Grayndler against Anthony Albanese in the recent federal election, was told that she would possibly lose the sight in her right eye as a result of forthcoming surgery. It had been injured when she was thrown to the ground by police during a protest outside a factory in Belmore which manufactures components for F-35 jets used by the Israel Defence Force.

Henry Reynolds

The Guardian has published an op-ed in which is being called for more support for Ukraine. The piece acknowledges the difficulties for the Ukrainian army, the Russian advance and the lack of support on the part of NATO members. The author proposes that the West intervenes and organises no-fly zones in order to protect the unoccupied parts of Ukraine.

What Happens If Ukraine COLLAPSES? Who's To Blame?

US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose “severe” tariffs of up to 100% on Russia’s trading partners unless a deal is reached to end the Ukraine conflict within 50 days.

Trump issued the warning on Monday during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office.

“We’re very, very unhappy – I am – with [Russia], and we’re going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don’t have a deal in about 50 days,” he stated.

Trump blamed his predecessor Joe Biden for dragging Washington into the conflict, saying the US had spent approximately $350 billion on aid for Ukraine.