US President Donald Trump has said he held a phone call with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Wednesday to discuss the Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian airbases.

Ukrainian drones hit multiple Russian airbases on Monday in a coordinated assault. Targets ranged from Murmansk in the Arctic to Irkutsk in Siberia. Kiev claims the strikes damaged or destroyed approximately 40 Russian military aircraft, including Tu-95 and Tu-22 long-range bombers. Moscow has not verified these claims, stating that most of the incoming drones were intercepted.

Reports suggest the attack was executed using explosive-laden drones launched from commercial trucks that had been covertly brought into Russian territory.

Ex-Israeli PM makes devastating condemnation of Netanyahu’s war in Gaza
Exclusive: Ehud Olmert tells The Independent that the ‘arrogance’ of his successor led to catastrophic security failures that allowed the bloody Hamas attack and that continuing an untenable military mission while hostages are still being held would be ‘absolutely unforgivable’

THE FOLLOWING TEXT COMES FROM “MISCELLANIES" BY WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS… 

CHAPTER : THE PRAYER OF THE CHURCH AGAINST THOSE DELIGHTING IN WAR. from page 367…

(A Discourse delivered on the first Sabbath of the year 1847.) 

"SCATTER THOU THE PEOPLE THAT DELIGHT IN WAR.” — Psalm lxviii. 30.

—————————-

As an idea, truth has been a recipient of disagreements and controversies for centuries. Different personalities and different schools of thought perceive the concept of truth differently. This debate about the authenticity of truth has been subject to greater scrutiny since the rise of postmodernism.

 

The Fragility of Truth

Pranay Kumar Shome
The idea of truth has long been subjected to scrutiny by intellectuals, in the 21st century; it is becoming all the more applicable to international politics

Russia dominates the battlefield, and one-off drone attacks by Ukraine are powerless to change that, Major General (retired) Shashi Bhushan Asthana, director of the United Services Institution (USI) of India, told Sputnik. This reality is reflected in Russia’s peace memorandum, he underscored.

 

Russia Holds All the Cards: Ukraine’s Drone Strikes are Just Delay Tactics – Experts

 

BY Svetlana Ekimenko

Here's how experts highlighted the key takeaways from the talks to Sputnik:

 

Ukraine Does Not Want Peace

I have just returned from a four-week holiday in China, my first visit ever. Wow!

I have to reach for my thesaurus for the appropriate superlatives to describe what I saw: thousands upon thousands of kilometres of high speed rail (my personal land speed record has now reached 308 kph – my guide was apologetic that we hadn’t nudged closer to 350 kph).

 

Edward Down

China – A country on the move

 

The speaker sharply criticizes Donald Trump’s effectiveness and credibility regarding the Russia-Ukraine war. He argues that:

Trump promised to end the war quickly but failed to develop or execute a real strategy.

His influence is undermined by his inability to control his own administration or U.S. foreign policy.

Despite claiming to support normalization with Russia, none of his efforts have yielded results.

Bureaucratic resistance and entrenched political forces (including allies of Israel in Congress) limit his impact.

Unlike decisive leaders like Eisenhower, Trump lacks clarity, consistency, and resolve.

The speaker emphasizes that:

The war is escalating dangerously, with Russia likely preparing a major offensive aimed at removing the Zelensky government.

Russia sees negotiations only as a tool for achieving total victory, not compromise.

Tech billionaire and former White House efficiency czar Elon Musk has blasted US President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful” tax bill as overspending and a “disgusting abomination.”

Trump’s centerpiece bill narrowly passed in the House of Representatives last week and will need to go before the Senate. The legislation aims to prevent an end-of-year tax increase and raises the limit on the already staggering US debt by a further $4 trillion.

Musk, who recently stepped down as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), has repeatedly criticized the bill, claiming it compromises his efforts to trim the fat off the federal budget.

“I just can’t stand it anymore. This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination,” he wrote on X on Tuesday.

A close associate of Vladimir Putin and key figures linked to Donald Trump's inner circle have reportedly been holding secret discussions to restart the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed he has been invited to attend this year’s NATO leaders’ summit in The Hague. Media reports earlier suggested that the US is opposed to Zelensky’s potential participation due to concerns he could be “disruptive.”

Zelensky made the announcement on Monday after attending sessions of a NATO event in Vilnius, Lithuania, where Secretary-General Mark Rutte met with leaders from Eastern and Northern Europe. During a virtual press briefing, Zelensky said he received a formal invitation from Rutte for the summit, scheduled for June 24-25 in the Netherlands.

Zelensky claims he has been invited to NATO summit

The phenomenon of failing upward is only too familiar among the ranks of Australian politicians. People from other countries also come readily to mind as examples, including former US President Joe Biden, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and European Union President Ursula von der Leyen. Lately we’ve also witnessed this with an international organisation.

 

The WHO Keeps Failing Upward

BROWNSTONE INSTITUTE, RAMESH THAKUR

 

Joining the flotilla that aims to break Israel’s naval blockade of the Gaza Strip may end badly for Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, US Senator Lindsey Graham has warned in a post on X.

On Sunday, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FCC) announced that one of its yachts, crewed by 12 people, including Thunberg, had left Sicily for Gaza with a “symbolic” cargo of humanitarian aid.

 

US senator posts ominous message to Greta Thunberg

Lindsey Graham has said he hopes the activist, who is sailing to Gaza to protest the Israeli naval blockade, can swim....

 

"Hope Greta and her friends can swim!” wrote Graham, a staunch supporter of Israel and an ally of US President Donald Trump, apparently implying that Thunberg’s boat, the Madleen, could be sunk.

Modern Western Europe is quickly becoming a real-world demonstration of Hegel’s famous dictum – that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. In the past, the missteps of its leaders could be seen as awkward but forgivable moments against the backdrop of a still-coherent West. Today, farce is becoming the default operating mode for the region’s political elite.

Whether the antics come from small states like Estonia or from former heavyweights like Germany, France, and Britain, the effect is the same: Europe, or more precisely the European Union and its close NATO-aligned partners in the West, is no longer behaving like a serious geopolitical actor. What was once merely weakness has become a lifestyle – a self-parodying style of politics defined by empty declarations, theatrical gestures, and media spectacle.

On Friday, August 13, 2010, just as St. Martin's Press was readying its initial shipment of this book, Operation Dark Heart (2010) by Anthony Shaffer, the Department of Defense contacted us to express its concern that our publication of Operation Dark Heart could cause damage to U.S. national security. After consulting with our author, we agreed to incorporate some of the government's changes into a revised edition of his book while redacting other text he was told was classified. The newly revised book keeps our national interests secure, but this highly qualified warrior's story is still intact. Shaffer's assessment of successes and failures in Afghanistan remains dramatic, shocking, and crucial reading for anyone concerned aboutthe outcomeof the war.

Enough food is produced to meet the needs of 11 billion people. Why do so many of the 8 billion people on the planet go hungry?

 

Vijay Prashad: Meanwhile, 100s of Millions of People Die of Hunger

 

I have written this article before. In fact, I could write it every year when a  new Global Report on Food Crises is published. The report rests on four points:

1. The number of people who are hungry is greater now than last year.

2. The amount of food produced this year is greater than that produced last year.