Also on today’s menu:
Trump Expresses Concern About Future
Music Suffers But Endures In Russia
Ukrainian Censorship Alleged
As leaders of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathered in Madrid, Spain, for the June 29-30 summit at which they are attempting to strengthen a rules-based international order, officials and journalists expressed puzzlement at finding a combination of potatoes, mayonnaise, and vegetables known as ensaladilla Rusa — potato salad Russian style — at the summit venue, The Guardian reports. “Russian salad at a Nato summit? I’m a little surprised by that choice of dish,” journalist Iñaki López told the Spanish media outlet la Sexta.
The summit comes at an historic moment for the Transatlantic Alliance, as Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine continues. The White House says President Joseph Biden Jr. will reaffirm the United States’ “unwavering commitment to the Transatlantic bond and NATO’s Article 5 — that an attack on one is an attack on all.” The president also announced the stationing of U.S. forces and capabilities in Europe to support NATO and to deter any aggression against the Allies.
South Korea’s president, Yoon Suk-yeol, warned of the threat to universal values posed by Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and China’s engagement with Russia. Yoon hopes to build relations with NATO members in the face of the unpredictable international situation, South Korean officials said before the summit.
The alliance has formally invited Finland and Sweden to join after Turkey dropped its objections. NATO’s updated mission statement acknowledges that Russia now poses the “most significant threat to Allied security,” and it mentioned China for the first time, saying the budding partnership between Moscow and Beijing “runs counter to our values.”
CNN reports that, before returning to Washington, Biden plans to convene a news conference “where he’s certain to address the state of the war. His top spy on Wednesday said the U.S. assessment of the conflict remained ‘grim.’”
Trump Expresses Concern About Future
Former president Donald Trump has complained publicly that pro-Trump House Republicans erred in boycotting the the Select Committee To Investigate The January 6 Attack On The United States Capitol because it left no one on the panel to defend him. He also indicated concern that the overturning of Roe v Wade will have a negative effect on the political future for Republicans.
“Both represent clear forks in the road on matters of fundamental national policy,” Politico reports. “People are being asked to walk one path or the other, with a vivid awareness that to walk down one path or the other will have large and lasting consequences for the nation, and even for themselves as individuals.”
For many of the arguments of Trump’s presidency, “the argument itself — and the way it divided one tribe from the other — was the primary point,” the article continues. “The two issues now before the country are unmistakably in a different category.”
Music Suffers But Endures In Russia
For progressive musicians in Russia, the attack on Ukraine made it unclear how to continue making music, Russian Dissent reports. Many groups stopped rehearsing or recording, canceled concerts, and in some cases “left for nowhere.”
Amidst that stupor and despair, the group Shame released “Anti-War Statement” in an album reacting to what was happening. The all-girl pop-punk group Kis-kis joined in the protest, with drummer Alina Olesheva actively expressing her position on social networks, with no repressive measures forthcoming.
Police have disrupted the concerts of anti-fascist groups such as The Dead President and Criminal State; yet the events of other artists with an open anti-war position have taken place and will continue to do so, the article states.
Ukrainian Censorship Alleged
Opposition to dissent does not exist only in Russia. Ukraine has outlawed nine political parties, according to RT. Yes, that is a Russian state media outlet, but while some information cannot be trusted, much of its reporting is factual.
The article states that a Ukrainian court has banned two political movements, the Left Opposition and the Party of Shariy, both of which appeared on a list of 11 political factions suspended by Ukraine’s Security Council. The regime of Volodomyr Zelensky outlawed the country's largest opposition group, Opposition Platform, for life.
Rulings by the Eighth Administrative Court of Appeal in Lviv prohibited all activities of the Left Opposition and the Party of Shariy, with “funds and other assets” set to be nationalized, according to the report.
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