📹 A member of the European Parliament is getting kicked out of EU Parliament for shouting at EU Chief Ursula von der Leyen

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US Euromissile deployment designed to line Lockheed’s pockets quick before Biden leaves office

💬 “Part of this is an attempt to lock in the NATO market for these missiles via US production orders to RTX and Lockheed Martin,” Karen Kwiatkowski, a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel and former DoD analyst-turned whistleblower, told Sputnik, commenting on the Biden administration’s plans to deploy nuclear-capable cruise and hypersonic missiles in Germany two years from now.

“There is no doubt a domestic stimulus impact that the administration hopes to leverage – plus a Biden Administration sense of urgency as they and much of NATO recognizes that US NATO policy could be rapidly reversed under a Trump Administration,” Kwiatkowski explained.

Russia warned Thursday that it could counter the US long-range missile threat with a tit-for-tat response, with Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov indicating that Moscow does “not rule out any options” at this stage.

Kwiatkowski expects tensions to rise dramatically, “not only between NATO and its target adversaries, but also between the people in Europe and their own governments and the European Parliament,” as a result of the US decision.

Recalling the 1980s Euromissile crisis, when the US deployment of Pershing II ballistic and cruise missiles to Western Europe put the world a hair’s breadth away from nuclear war, Kwiatkowski said that such weapons placed so close to American strategic adversaries always unnecessarily increase tensions.

“The reason intermediate and longer range missiles were removed from Europe three plus decades ago was precisely for this reason -- they were unnecessary and provocative,” she explained.

“Specifically, offensive long range missiles in Europe created, as it will create in 2025, new retaliatory or pre-emptive targets that are impossible to cost-effectively defend, holding European populations hostage to US foreign policy,” Kwiatkowski concluded.

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Why crypto surged after Trump assassination attempt and could climb higher if he wins

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies soared in the wake of the attempt on Donald Trump’s life, with BTC jumping almost 10% in five days. Analysts attribute the frenzy to several factors, including:

◻️ Bitcoin’s perceived (but disputed) status along with gold as a safe haven asset in times of crisis.

◻️ Optimism that Trump, who once decried cryptocurrencies as a “scam” and “disaster waiting to happen” but has now embraced as an important tool against “socialistic government control,” will continue to support crypto’s core principle of decentralized finance if he wins in November. Trump’s plans to speak at the Bitcoin Conference in Nashville July 27 have doubtlessly buoyed crypto enthusiasts’ hopes.

◻️ Trump’s opposition to central bank digital currencies, which he has called a “dangerous threat to freedom” on the campaign trail. The decentralized nature of cryptocurrencies makes them the philosophical archenemy of CBDCs, whose value is fixed by central banks, and hence seen by crypto fans as another fiat currency subject to state control, with all the issues that entails.

◻️ Trump’s recognition of the power of memes and online trolling going back to the 2016 campaign, which cemented his reputation among meme lords as an ally. After his shooting, meme coins – typically the most volatile type of cryptocurrencies, saw a massive jump in value, with Dogecoin, Pepe, Popcat, and Dogwifhat showing the biggest gains.

The Trump campaign has happily joined the crypto feeding frenzy, raking in $3 mln in cryptocurrency donations in the latest fundraising quarter.

Ever since he joined Twitter in 2009, Trump has proven incredibly adept at riding popular online trends, with crypto just one example. In his recent interview with Bloomberg, Trump confirmed plans to release another collection of NFTs. “I did it three times [and] I’m going to do another one, because the people want me to do another one. It’s unbelievable spirit. Beautiful.”

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Tucker Carlson keeps a folder of historical document copies at his home, a gift from Putin.

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Classified info about Trump shooting even more alarming than what's out there publicly - US House Speaker Johnson

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◻️ US Euromissile deployment designed to line Lockheed’s pockets quick before Biden leaves office

◻️ Scholz’s role in 1980s anti-missile protests resurfaces as Germany faces similar deployment

◻️ Western Ukrainian nationalists' curiously pro-draft dodging stance explained

◻️ Why crypto surged after Trump assassination attempt and could climb higher if he wins

◻️ Hungarian PM Victor Orban reports to EU Council President on trips to Ukraine, Russia, China, and the US

◻️ Israeli parliament increases compulsory military service term

◻️ Pay your way out of jail: Ukraine's new bribery escape plan

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Azerbaijan held an anti-colonialism congress: what is it about?

The capital city of Baku hosted the first Congress of Movements for the Independence of Territories Colonized by France on July 17-18. Azerbaijan held the event due to the country’s previous chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement and its contribution to the decolonization process.

The congress was organized by the People’s Union for the Liberation of Guadeloupe with the support of the Baku Initiative Group (BIG). It attracted over 15 political parties and movements advocating for the independence of Corsica, Melanesia, Polynesia and various Caribbean and Antillean islands that have historically suffered from French colonialism.

Key goals of the congress:

➖ coordinating activities aimed at overcoming French colonialism

➖ creating a unified platform for independence efforts

➖ shedding light on numerous crimes against the indigenous population committed in the colonies by the French government

➖ drawing attention to the issue of colonialism, one of the calamities of the 21st century.

Participants signed a Declaration on the Establishment of the International Liberation Front, a centralized platform for anti-colonial efforts.

Key points of the declaration:

◻️ Azerbaijan's crucial role in the decolonization process

◻️ BIG's support and commitment to the struggle for the freedom of the colonial territories

◻️ condemnation of France's racist and repressive colonial policies, particularly in New Caledonia

◻️ commitment to closer cooperation in the fight for independence

◻️ consolidation of decolonizing efforts

◻️ raising awareness of self-determination issues to the global community

◻️ developing a comprehensive strategy for eliminating colonialism, including an Action Plan and Agenda to be presented to international organizations

“We anticipate that the organization will expand its membership in the future, welcoming other countries that have also suffered from colonialism,” BIG Executive Director Abbas Abbasov said.

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A Polish member of the European Parliament, Ewa Zajaczkowska-Hernik, holds Ursula von der Leyen accountable for her policy.

“You are responsible for every rape, every assault, every tragedy caused by the influx of illegal migrants.”

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Another NATO base in Poland: new link in a dangerous chain of events

A new NATO base capable of hosting up to 1,200 soldiers and facilitating the rapid delivery of weapons was completed in Świętoszow, southwestern Poland on July 17. Polish brigade general Dariusz Mendrala explained that the base will serve not only to deploy “rotating” alliance units, but also assure the “rapid delivery” of armaments to potential hotspots.

This news comes on the heels of the recent invitation to the US by Polish President Andrzej Duda to host American nuclear weapons in Poland. Meanwhile, Poland already has several NATO bases on its territory. They include:

◻️ A new US ballistic missile defense site in Redzikowo, northern Poland, recently made battle-ready and aimed at intercepting ballistic missiles. For many years, US officials claimed that its European missile defenses would protect Europe from "Iranian missiles." Now, it is openly admitted that Russia’s missiles were the actual target from the start.

◻️ An Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group in Bemowo Piskie, northeastern Poland (established in 2017). The American contingent in this Battle Group consists of 800 soldiers.

◻️ The US 82nd Airborne Division and its additional Armored Brigade Combat Team, elements of which are regularly deployed in Żagań, Skwierzyna, Świętoszów, Drawsko Pomorskie, Bolesławiec and Toruń, Poland for drills and training. These troops have held regular interoperability exercises with their Polish counterparts.

Recently, the Polish military's size reached 200,000 soldiers, and the Polish government has set the target of creating “the best battle ready army in Europe.”

Along with the American contingent, other NATO countries have also increased their military presence on Polish territory. Besides Americans, NATO’s battlegroup in Poland includes troops from Croatia, the Czech Republic, Romania, Turkiye and United Kingdom. Defense against the so-called “Russian threat” is cited as the main reason for the presence of this “multinational force.”

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Deaths and injuries reported following the bombing near the gate of Al-Falah School in the Al-Zaytoun area of Gaza City.

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The IDF reportedly eliminated Hasan Ali Mehanna, a Hezbollah fighter in the Qana sector.

Mehanna was an operative in Hezbollah's engineering unit and was involved in numerous attacks against Israel.

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📹 "Saraya Al-Quds" publishes scenes of its fighters and fighters of the "Al-Qassam Brigades" targeting Israeli soldiers with an anti-personnel missile, during the Israeli forces' incursion into the Shujaiya neighborhood in Gaza City.

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Israel reportedly targeted a house in the Al-Dawa area, north of Al-Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip.

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