Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk laid bare deepening divisions among EU leaders in London over confiscating frozen Russian assets. While Baltic and Northern European nations push for immediate seizure to aid Ukraine, economic powerhouses like France, Germany, Italy, and Spain remain hesitant, fearing financial instability. Tusk warned that Europe’s disunity only strengthens Russia, stressing the need for transatlantic cohesion, especially amid growing uncertainty over U.S. support. His cryptic reference to “that very strange Friday” at the White House hinted at broader geopolitical tensions, as Russia watches the cracks in the EU’s front widen.

Is Putin Winning Without Lifting a Finger? EU Nations Paralyzed by Fear Over Russian Assets!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-8akISwGis

Peter Dutton deserves a little sympathy as he indignantly denies any conflict of interest or impropriety over his purchases of banking shares and real estate. Many people always believe the worst of politicians, particularly if there is any suggestion of abuse of position, making money on the side, or personal enrichment.

'We should have woken up earlier': Europe races to rearm as old alliances falter
European countries are ramping up defence spending, spurred by the war in Ukraine and uncertainty over continued US backing. After a decisive weekend meeting in London, several nations committed to significant increases in their military budgets.

Donald Trump might be a speed hump on the road to net zero, but the business and climate case for renewables leaves Australia in the box seat to capitalise.

The start of a second Trump presidency has led many to question the future outlook for energy in Australia and around the world, and what impact the new US administration will have on the move towards net zero.

Economist Ross Garnaut AC, who is Professor Emeritus at both The Australian National University and The University of Melbourne, spoke to Andrew Jaspan, editor-in-chief of 360info, about where things now stand.

"Another devastating world war, potentially bringing China and the United States into direct conflict. The spread and even the use of nuclear weapons. The wars in Ukraine and Gaza failing to ultimately produce favourable outcomes for Kyiv and Israeli-Palestinian peace. A more multipolar world without robust multilateral institutions. A democratic recession further devolving into a democratic depression."

The next federal election looms ahead menacingly. This is when the metal hits the meat and we have to make hard decisions or become just the burnt bits on the edge of the Democracy Sausage Sizzle.

The incumbent government is a bucket of time-ex bait on a hot day, with a leader odds-on for worst PM since Billy McMahon (if anyone wanted to contest that dubious honour) His panoply of Noddy dolls in ministerial positions — with too few exceptions — have turned the Light on the Hill into a penny candle on a traffic speed bump. Massively disappointing.

After hosting crisis talks on Ukraine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer laid out important steps that the leaders discussed behind closed doors on Sunday.

"We will keep the military aid flowing and keep the economic pressure on Russia to strengthen Ukraine now," Starmer said at the press conference.

He also underlined that "any lasting peace must ensure Ukraine's sovereignty and security" with Ukraine at the table. 

In the event of a peace deal, he said "We will keep boosting Ukraine's own defensive capabilities to deter any future invasion."

Starmer also mentioned the plan to develop "a coalition of the willing" to guarantee peace in Ukraine. "Those willing will intensify planning now with real urgency."

Israel will stop the entry of essential aid into the Gaza Strip starting Sunday, according to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office.

The move is in response to what Netanyahu's office called "Hamas' refusal" to accept an outline for the resumption of truce talks presented by US President Donald Trump's envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.

The first phase of the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, which included a surge in humanitarian assistance, expired on Saturday.

US National Security Advisor Mike Waltz has revealed how Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky and his delegation reacted to being expelled from the White House following a heated confrontation with President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D. Vance.

The altercation occurred during a meeting on Friday where the leaders had intended to finalize a minerals agreement between the United States and Ukraine. The discussion deteriorated when Zelensky dug in his heels in and insisted that Trump should be supporting Kiev more rather than staying neutral in an attempt to mediate a deal with Moscow.

Governments want you to feel powerless, but the tools for change are in our hands. Australia’s economy is failing to decarbonise. Burning trees to produce electricity is phoney environmentalism.

You’re never too small to make a difference

Politicians, media commentators and academics routinely assert that Australia is a middle power. They assume that while their country is not a great power, it has a loftier status than smaller states around the globe, enabling it to “speak louder than the latter and to exert some influence on the former”, as John Campbell once put it. In fact, Australia’s middle power imagining is delusional. This has always been the case, but Trump 2.0 is presenting Australia with a wake-up call about its middle power delusion.

For those who keep track of the slings and arrows crossing the broader geopolitical chessboard non-stop, it’s an immensely powerful – and humbling – experience to one day be contemplating the devastated Avdeyevka, in the heart of the war in Donbass, and a week later struggling to understand the devastation inflicted on villages in southern Lebanon.

It's all about the transcending power of Resistance – uniting Orthodox Christianity in the black soil of Novorossiya to political Shi’ism in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Pepe Escobar: From Donbass to South Lebanon, and All Across BRICS, It’s All About Resistance

The European Union’s top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, has suggested that the United States can no longer act as the “leader of the free world,” after President Donald Trump publicly scolded Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky for his disrespect and ingratitude toward the American people.

The meeting between Zelensky, Trump, and Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday descended into an openly hostile exchange. Zelensky was asked to leave the White House early without signing an agreement that would have granted the US rights to Ukraine’s natural resources, or holding a joint press conference.

a dose of reality....

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

         Gus Leonisky

         POLITICAL CARTOONIST SINCE 1951.

Former US National Security Advisor John Bolton tells Times Radio’s Maddie Hale there’s “something wrong” with President Trump who isn’t “all there” in the head if he is constantly comparing himself to authoritarian figures such as Vladimir Putin.

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

ONE COULD SAY THAT THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH JOHN BOLTON WHO WANTS WAR, WAR WAR ALL THE TIME... AND THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH TIMES RADIO TO GIVE THE TIME OF DAY TO JOHN BOLTON'S  OPINIONS THAT HAVE NO VALUE EXCEPT IN A DUNNY VERTICALLY LINKED TO A RESERVOIR OF CRAP.