Whether or not Labour wins Batley and Spen, the party is in deep trouble | Owen Jones [_link]

— Guardian Opinion (@guardianopinion) June 16, 2021

The evidence is clear - there was no excuse for Hancock's care homes strategy [_link]

— Guardian Opinion (@guardianopinion) June 17, 2021

It is shameful Dem Pres Biden's UN amb attacks UN Human Rights Council 4 correctly criticizing Israeli apartheid and war crimes. Then doubles down by affirming Trump's recognition of Israel's conquest of the Golan, which violates international law. [_link]

— Tikun Olam (@richards1052) June 17, 2021

Samuel Kasumu breaks his silence. Two months after resigning as no 10's race adviser, he tells me he fears another Stephen Lawrence or Jo Cox tragedy if members of the government continue to inflame the culture wars. [_link]

— Aamna Mohdin (@aamnamohdin) June 15, 2021

Russian war games set stage for Biden and Putin's head-to-head | The Guardian |

An unexciting outcome - but not entirely lacking in substance. Such strategic stability dialogue has been patchy to nonexistent since the Russian seizure of Crimea in 2014, provoking fears of a conflict blowing up through miscalculation and distrust.

So obviously false by this journalist... putting blame on Russia where sole initiatief to make Russia a pariah state was by the Americans directly from White House and through "experts" of the Atlantic Council...

NATO Gen. Breedlove a complete whacko who led the attack on Russia ...

Trump's Revival of anti-EU Sentiment in Warsaw | July 6, 2017 |

My writings @ the Pond ...

Galeotti: The West's Paranoia About Putin | Dec. 2016 |

NATO and Soros Crossed Russia's Red Line in Europe | Jan. 2017 |

Double-jabbed UK tourists could skip amber-list quarantine under proposals [_link]

— The Guardian (@guardian) June 16, 2021

Having communication wires that directly connect your banks, your power grid controllers, your stock markets, and your military computers to the computers of hackers in offshore countries seems sort of dumb, in retrospect.

"... a nuclear sword of Damocles that hangs above us. ... our leaders [need] to take a more strategic approach to reducing nuclear risks and eliminating these weapons. There is no time to waste" writes @baklitskiy via @RStatecraft [_link]

— Daryl G Kimball (@DarylGKimball) June 16, 2021

Biden and Putin agree, 'nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought'

Yellen says U.S. may decouple to some extent from China to protect security [_link] pic.twitter.com/fUJaIb851n

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 16, 2021

NATO leaders branded China as a security risk to the alliance for the first time.

The leaders urged Beijing to "uphold its international commitments and act responsibly in the international system," NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at the Brussels summit this week. pic.twitter.com/nP1HQum1LB

— DW News (@dwnews) June 16, 2021

President Joe Biden apologized after telling a CNN reporter she is in the 'wrong business' pic.twitter.com/ScVdigBJsK

— Reuters (@Reuters) June 16, 2021

China set to send first [?] crew to new space station Thursday

The astronauts will be traveling in the Shenzhou-12 spaceship launched by a Long March-2F Y12 rocket set to blast off at 9:22 a.m. (0122 GMT) from the Jiuquan launch center in northwestern China.
[...]
Beijing doesn't participate in the International Space Station, largely due to U.S. concerns over the Chinese space program's secrecy and its military connections. Despite that, foreign science missions and possibly foreign astronauts are expected to visit the Chinese station in the future, China Manned Space Agency Assistant Director Ji Qiming told reporters at Jiuquan.
[...]
The mission is the third of 11 planned through next year to add the additional sections to the station and send up crews and supplies. The main living section of the station was launched in April while the other two modules will be primarily for scientific work.

Chinese astronauts ready for in-orbit space station construction, task details
phys.org, schematic

Today in WTF: Noor bin Laden, Osama bin Laden's niece, protests the Biden-Putin summit in Geneva with a "Trump Won" flag. pic.twitter.com/pwVW0rsh8A

— The Recount (@therecount) June 16, 2021

Strategic dialogue... in 2008 Bucharest Summit the US threw Russia/Putin out of NATO non-member partnership ... halted the dialogue ! Each year of NATO expansion up to the Russian frontier, the US violated the agreements made with Soviet president Gorbachev.

Crossing Russian red lines ...

10 years after Bucharest
Why NATO should double-down on Georgian membership

Today, as we commemorate the 10th anniversary of the @UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the U.S. reaffirms that States must protect human rights; businesses must respect human rights; and when adverse human rights impacts occur, victims need access to solutions.

— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) June 16, 2021

in order in which they appeared

Joe takes off his jacket to answer questions @ 3:35:34 when SANGER kicks of the presser with a Cold War proposition.

< wipes tears >
Not any more. The youngsters have stormed the castle and are rifling the goodies.

Biden smiles, puts on his aviators, and responds "thank you very much" after being asked about his infamous Putin/eyes/soul comment and if he has a better understanding of the Russian pres. after today pic.twitter.com/xYfYT1oH2P

— Christian Datoc (@TocRadio) June 16, 2021

Biden rejects Putin's 'ridiculous comparison' between Capitol rioters and Alexei Navalny

Passing low point ... restart basic diplomacy ... exchanging ambassadors ... we're talking to one another ... beyond Twitter and Instagram 😠 🇷🇺 🇺🇸

Biden says `I did what I came to do' in tense summit with Putin, stressing human rights - live [_link]

— Guardian US (@GuardianUS) June 16, 2021

🇷🇺 🇺🇸 Even in periods of tension, #Russia & #US are able to make progress on our shared goals of ensuring predictability in the strategic sphere, reducing the risk of armed conflicts & the threat of nuclear war, that cannot be won & must never be fought.

🔗 [_link] [_link] pic.twitter.com/xi8V7mlH6B

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) June 16, 2021

💬 President #Putin following talks with @POTUS:

As for the return of ambassadors - of the US ambassador to Moscow, and, respectively, of the Russian to Washington, we agreed that this issue is resolved. They will return to their place of service.

🔗 [_link] pic.twitter.com/Ff0eyJlg9E

— MFA Russia 🇷🇺 (@mfa_russia) June 16, 2021

Five years ago, June 2016:

Calm down. Trump won't be President - and Britain won't leave the EU - NewStatesman

The nightmare of a Trump presidency and a Brexit vote ain't gonna happen, says Ian Leslie.

You'd hope Mr Leslie has quit the prediction making business.

#Today in #Athens: Large mobilization in Syntagma Square, in front of the Greek Parliament, against the despicable anti-labor law of the government. The last word belongs to the working people! [link] #Greece #Βουλη #δυναμηστουςεργαζ& #959;μενους

— In Defense of Communism (@id_communism) June 16, 2021

Windows 11 leak reveals new UI, Start menu, and more

APsplainin "a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in the United States" named "Juneteenth National Independence Day" for federal employees.

The bill would lead to Juneteenth becoming the 12th federal holiday. It is expected to easily pass the House, which would send it to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Juneteenth commemorates when the last enslaved African Americans learned they were ["]free["]. Confederate soldiers surrendered in April 1865, but word didn't reach the last enslaved Black people until June 19, when Union soldiers brought the news of freedom to Galveston, Texas. That was also about two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation freeing slaves in the Southern Confederate states.
[...]
The vast majority of states [BWAH!] recognize Juneteenth as a holiday or have an official observance of the day, and most states hold celebrations. Juneteenth is a paid holiday for state employees in Texass, New York, Virginia and Washington.

TheHillsplainin popular support for "Juneteenth National Independence Day" with Gallup polling familiarity with historical significance of ["]the end["] of slavery in Texass instead of the 13th amendment of the United States Constitution, 6 Dec 1865.

More Americans are in favor of making Juneteenth a national holiday than not, according to a new poll released by Gallup on Tuesday [15 June 2021].

According to the poll, nearly 35 percent of Americans believe that Juneteenth should become a federal holiday while only about 25 percent are against it. Forty percent of Americans are undecided on the matter.
[...]
The poll was conducted May 18-23 among a random sample of 3,572 adults, aged 18 and older. It had a margin of error of 2 percentage points.

Texas Gov. Abbott signs anti-critical race theory bill, 16 June

Group W Bench is a reference to "Alice's Restaurant" by Arlo Guthrie.

The human/chimp DNA difference figure is about 1.2%.

What Does It Mean to Be Human? -- Genetics Evidence

 

Shaking hands in front of a grand #Geneva villa, US President @JoeBiden and Russian @KremlinRussia_E Vladimir Putin on Wednesday began their first #summit since #Biden took office, with deep disagreements likely and expectations of solving them low. [_link]

— i24NEWS English (@i24NEWS_EN) June 16, 2021

Sausages? Don't they mean Emulsified High-Fat Offal Tubes?