So when people talk about an empowered Russia, I just don't believe that narrative.

Finland and Sweden wouldn't have joined had Russia not attacked Ukraine, and we're one of the strongest military powers in the region. Failure number three: the aim was to keep European defense expenditure down, and now we're pushing north of 5%.

STUBB: What were Russia's strategic aims in this war? One was to deny Ukraine's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity. Failure number one: Ukraine is going to become EU and NATO member. Failure number two: the aim was to prevent NATO from enlarging.

Accurate! 😂

It was a blessing to have you all. Thank you for making time. #friendship #englishconversation @jaro4man.bsky.social @jurasimu.bsky.social and all our friends from around the world. @rivkah1401.bsky.social

“Hello. I am your new cat. Do not be concerned that I look weird. It is purely because I am a very rare and special breed.”

Today's newsletter, in which I politely ask you to pre-order the paperback of my latest novel with free worldwide delivery, a new story is shared for people who like writing at least as much as beer, and a herring gull moves into our spare room: www.tom-cox.com/all-the-unde...

Don't miss this bit about a prior approval of the expansion at Aughinish. www.limerickleader.ie/news/environ...

Amid a focus on Aughinish's export of materials to Russia, the court refuses to let it expanding dumping. www.limerickleader.ie/news/environ...

⚡️Ukrainian military forces have struck Russia's largest satellite communications hub located just outside of Moscow. united24media.com/war-in-ukrai...

Donald Trump doesn't own the White House. He didn't own the East Wing. The Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool is not his, either. They are ours and his acts of destruction are attacks on all of us.

Vance is like if the JEB Bush please clap meme became sentient and ran for office

Momma finally found a food that I LOVE. She bought 3 cases of it. Now, I won’t touch it.

In the Moscow region, it’s now becoming a regular occurrence for air defences to be activated against incoming drones, highlighting how the war is increasingly reaching deep into Russian territory.

'Octopi Embedded in Ceramic Vessels' series by Japanese ceramic artist Keiko Masumoto #WomensArt

Happy Father's Day 🖤

Throwback to the time I took my cat to the vet and we ended up sitting next to a mellow goose named Bob.

This Father's Day, I'm thinking about how my dad immigrated to the US after escaping the bloody Vietnam War, only to see his bloodline die out because his son stumbled into a menswear forum, where he spent the bulk of his adult life arguing about pants with teens named Pablo Thriftscobar.

Fuel shortages, burning ferries, discounted property sales and growing pressure on Russia's southern corridor are exposing vulnerabilities that Moscow can no longer easily hide. My latest on why Crimea is becoming increasingly difficult for the Kremlin to hold. substack.com/@pinnerpatte...

I woke up needing to say just this: I don't think people understand how expansive the plan for this indictment is.

'Last breath' by Beth Robertson Fiddes, contemporary land and seascape painter whose work concentrates on the Scottish highlands, and Western Isles #WomensArt

Ossoff: “The election deniers, they tell a lie so absurd, and therefore so debasing to tell, that the act of telling it proves the teller's total and humiliating submission. And you may have seen that one of those election deniers now asks to represent Georgia in the Senate.”

THREAD. A collection of excellent scarecrows I have met on walks in the countryside. You will find the all-important caption to each photo in the alt text.

Sums it up nicely

"Will the tyrannical emotional state that brought us the war now be applied inside the United States?...The attack on Iran began with a longing -- a subjective sense that violence is pleasurable and can bring a utopia in which desires become reality." open.substack.com/pub/snyder/p...

To all the dads out there – Happy Father’s Day! Nothing we do is more fulfilling!

🧵

“So it was, on that misty morning, that Brenda set off for the capital. She knew not what she would find there, only that the time had come to move on - away from small-minded rural attitudes and people who called her ‘Oreo’ and ‘the wide panda’ - to seek a more fulfilling life.”

More details are emerging about the factory struck and now burning in Voronezh, Russia. The facility is reported to manufacture semiconductor and electronic components used in Russian air-defence systems, as well as ballistic and cruise missiles.

Instead, the ideologues of Russian fascism attended: Dugin, Malofeev, and Bezrukov. The economy has completely turned into ideology. This says a lot about the state of the Russian economy and Russia as a whole. Agony.

A few more words about the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Russia's chief economist, Central Bank governor Elvira Nabiullina, did not attend the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. Because she has no good news to deliver and nothing to say.

In Vittorio Veneto www.rainews.it/tgr/veneto/v...

⚡️ Moldova is seeking cooperation with Ukraine on interceptor drones to counter rising risks from Russian drones violating its airspace. united24media.com/world/moldov...

JUST FILED: A barrage of legal challenges this week, will test Trump's slush fund and White House UFC fights open.substack.com/pub/macfarla...

Insane, wasteful, destructive, and mindblowingly stupid.

Delighted to be joining former Congressman Adam Kinzinger for a conversation later this week on my substack. open.substack.com/pub/shaunpinner Adam has been one of the most consistent voices supporting Ukraine throughout this war. Looking forward to the discussion. 🇺🇦🇺🇸

🔥 Only $1,629 left to complete the Clear Sight for Azov fundraiser! We need $50,000 to equip the Azov Brigade’s special unit “Tuman” (“FOG”) with 50 sniper scopes to improve precision and effectiveness on the battlefield! Help us cross the finish line! 👉🏻 dzygaspaw.com/clear-sight...

⚡️ EU warships now have the authority to board Russian shadow fleet tankers in the Mediterranean, according to EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas. united24media.com/world/eu-war...

For the first time ever, NATO fighter jets have shot down a drone in Latvian airspace. The aircraft entered the country due to Russian electronic warfare activity, triggering air alerts across eastern Latvia before being intercepted by NATO aircraft. www.kyivpost.com/post/77747

On June 4, President Zelenskyy published an open letter to putin proposing direct negotiations and a ceasefire. The war criminal was hurt, calling the letter “rude” and refusing peace talks. Turns out, it wasn’t even the first draft😏 What do you think it said initially?

We elected this unrestrained, delusional, ass-ignorant brat to the United States presidency twice. Our republic is tragedy and farce.

Bari Weiss' Free Press built an entire fantasy around the idea that Pratt was actually a serious candidate, promoting a bogus narrative that Republicans were ascendent in an "angry" California revolting against the left leaving the "far-left" Raman in ruins. NOPE

Good fiction requires research.