On a news day dominated by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s resignation announcement, links to reports from Reuters, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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Ukraine raises flag on recaptured island, but loses key supporter in UK’s Johnson, by Max Hunder and Simon Lewis | Reuters * Ukraine hoists flag on recaptured Black Sea island * Russia carries out air strike on island * UK PM and staunch Ukraine supporter Johnson resigns * Russia shells and probes new territory it seeks | KYIV/BAKHMUT, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces raised their national flag on a recaptured Black Sea island today in a defiant act against Moscow, but Kyiv lost a main international supporter after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he would step down. Russian forces also shelled potential conquests in eastern Ukraine ahead of an expected new offensive. Moscow did not conceal its delight at the political demise of Johnson, a . . . READ MORE . . .

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G-20 foreign ministers, which includes Russia, China and the U.S., gather in Bali.  Reported by Leila Fadel and Michele Kelemen | National Public Radio Secretary of State Antony Blinken is leading the U.S. delegation at the G-20 ministerial meeting. It could be the scene of some awkward diplomatic encounters involving Russia’s war in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Ukrainians cling to life at front line: ‘We are patriots,’ by Cara Anna and Vasilisa Stepanenko | The Associated Press KHARKIV, Ukraine — Viktor Lazar shares his war-side balcony with a pair of opera glasses and a tiny orange snake, his only companion in an apartment that seems to sit at the edge of the world. . . . Lazar estimates the Russians are just 10 kilometers (6 miles) away. As the war grinds into its fifth month along deadly fault lines in Ukraine’s east and south, Lazar and his few neighbors in Kharkiv’s vast and shattered neighborhood of Saltivka represent a life . . . READ MORE . . .

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First, a National Public Radio report is linked, others are accessible by clicking on the organization’s name below. Then, from Brownstone Institute, a link to an examination of a British medical journal’s record in publishing articles related to Covid-19 illnesses and the use of various medicines to prevent or treat them. — MCM

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Answering listeners’ questions about COVID vaccines for young children. Reported by Ailsa Chang and Rob Stein | National Public Radio NPR health correspondent Rob Stein and pediatrician Dr. Nia Heard-Garris answer listener questions now that COVID vaccines are rolling out for younger children. Click HERE to listen and read.

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How To Model Fallacy, According to the Lancet, by David Bell | Brownstone Institute There is supposed to be a clear line between medical publishing and propaganda. No less so than in the pages of the Lancet, previously considered a relative bastion of integrity in publishing. Honesty in medical publishing, meaning publication on the basis of transparent rigorous review and impartiality, is of particular importance to medicine and public health. The outcomes of such publications contribute to saving or killing people. In 2020 the Lancet published an apparently fraudulent study discrediting the use of hydroxychloroquine in the management of COVID-19. While this was later withdrawn, it should not have passed first glance of a serious . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to National Public Radio, Associated Press, and Reuters reports; for more, click on the organizations’ names below. Then, via Popular Resistance, links to a critique of some news reports on military operations in Ukraine, and to an article on U.S. efforts that culminated in a Ukrainian president fleeing the country eight years ago. — MCM

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Kyiv hit by Russian airstrikes as information from Mariupol is throttled. Reported by Greg Myre | National Public Radio Russian missiles struck Kyiv over the weekend. The Kremlin is also tightening its grip on Ukrainian cities under Russian occupation, meaning relatively little information is getting out. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Breaking down the effectiveness of the latest sanctions on Russia.  NPR speaks with Ian Bremmer, founder of Eurasia Group, about another round of sanctions on Russia. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Lithuania urges the world to stand up against Russia. Reported by Rob Schmitz | NPR Lithuania has warned its neighbors for years about the dangers posed by Russia. The country is once again calling for the international community to do more to stop Russia. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Some Russians won’t halt war protests, despite arrest fears. From the Associated Press. Despite a massive government crackdown on such acts of protest, some Russians have persisted in speaking out against the invasion — even in the simplest of ways. Some have paid a heavy price. In the early, wintry days of the invasion in February, authorities moved quickly to quash demonstrations, arresting people who marched or even held blank signs or other oblique references to the conflict. Critical media outlets were shut down as . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian court orders halt to Caspian oil pipeline, but exports still flow. From Reuters. * This content was produced in Russia, where the law restricts coverage of Russian military operations in Ukraine *  Two sources say oil loadings from CPC terminal continue * CPC exports around 1.2 million barrels per day * Pipeline’s operations have been interrupted by storms * Kazakhstan considers measures to tackle CPC restrictions MOSCOW — Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC), which takes oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea via one of the world’s largest pipelines, has been told by a Russian court to suspend activity for 30 days, although sources said exports were still flowing. CPC, which handles about 1% of global oil, said the ruling to suspend operations related to paperwork on oil spills and said the consortium, which includes U.S. firms Chevron CXV.N and Exxon XOM.N, had to abide by Tuesday’s court ruling. Two trading sources familiar with the terminal operations told Reuters oil exports from the CPC terminal on the Black Sea were continuing this morning. READ MORE . . .

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‘Western’ media spread copium to prolong the war in Ukraine, by Moon of Alabama | Educate! The war In Ukraine is clearly progressing in Russia’s favor. That is why I am appalled by the incompetent descriptions in ‘western’ media of past and current operations in that war. Consider this . . . READ MORE . . .

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How CIA front laid foundations for Ukraine war, by Kit Klarenberg | Substack / Educate!  On Feb. 3, 2014, less than three weeks before police withdrew from Kiev, effectively handing the city to armed protesters and prompting President Viktor Yanukovych to flee the country, the National Endowment for Democracy convened an event in Washington titled “Ukraine’s lessons learned: from the Orange Revolution to the Euromaidan.” It was led by Ukrainian journalist Sergii Leshchenko, who at the time was finishing up an NED-sponsored Reagan–Fascell Democracy Fellowship in Washington . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to National Public Radio, Associated Press, and Reuters reports; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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How a nonprofit group has become the biggest repository for hacked Russian data. Reported by Jenna McLaughlin | National Public Radio The war in Ukraine inspired hackers to steal reams of sensitive data from inside Russia. A transparency group wants to publicize that information without actively participating in the conflict. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Ukraine’s shadow: Deadly crises like Somalia starved of aid, by Cara Anna and Omar Faruk | The Associated Press MOGADISHU, Somalia — More than two dozen children have died of hunger in the past two months in a single hospital in Somalia. Dr. Yahye Abdi Garun has watched their emaciated parents stumble in from rural areas gripped by the driest drought in decades. And yet no humanitarian aid arrives. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, a donor who was preparing to give a half-million dollars to a Somali aid group told its executive director Hussein Kulmiye it was redirecting the money to help Ukrainians instead. And now . . . READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskiy says Ukraine is in talks with Turkey, UN on grain exports. From Reuters. Ukraine is holding talks with Turkey and the United Nations to secure guarantees for grain exports from Ukrainian ports, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday. . . . “This is a very important thing that someone guarantees the security of ships for this or that country – apart from Russia, which we do not trust,” he said. “We therefore need security for those ships which will come here to load . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio reports; for more, click on the organizations’ name below. Then, via the Greanville Post, an essay on narratives and imperialism. — MCM

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Shredded trees, dead dolphins and wildfires — how Russia’s invasion is hurting nature. Reported by Nathan Rott, Claire Harbage and Hanna Palamarenko | National Public Radio The State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine has documented more than 300 cases of what it calls “environmental crimes,” carried out by Russia since its invasion began in late February. The actual number is believed to be closer to 1,500, it says, but many sites are still occupied by Russia or made inaccessible by the fighting. Fires at fuel depots. Blown-up reservoirs of dangerous chemicals. Damaged gas pipelines. Disruptions and wildfires at the Chernobyl nuclear exclusion zone. Destroyed vessels in the Black Sea area. These are the most immediate concerns . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Ukrainian forces have withdrawn from the city of Lysychansk. Reported by A Martínez and Jason Beaubien | NPR. Russia says it controls Ukraine’s Luhansk region, one of the two eastern regions that have been the focus of its invasion. The announcement comes after Ukrainian troops withdrew from Lysychansk. Click HERE to listen and, tomorrow, read.

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Imperial Narrative Control Has Five Distinct Elements, by Caitlin Johnstone | The Greanville Post Humans are storytelling creatures. If you can control the stories humans are telling themselves about the world, you control the humans, and you control the world. Mental narrative plays a hugely prominent role in human experience. . . . The powerful manipulate the dominant narratives of our society in approximately five major ways: . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on the organizations’ names below. Then, via Popular Resistance, a link to Moon of Alabama’s assessment of NATO countries’ likelihood to increase their combat readiness. — MCM

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Russia claims pivotal Ukraine city; Kyiv says fight ongoing, by Oleksandr Stashevskyi and Francesca Ebel | The Associated Press KYIV — Russia today claimed control over the last Ukrainian stronghold in an eastern province that is key to achieving a major goal of its invasion. But Ukraine’s president said the fight for the city of Lysychansk was ongoing. If confirmed, a Russian seizure of Luhansk province would provide its forces a stronger base to capture Donetsk, the other province that makes up the Donbas . . . READ MORE . . .

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Blasts Kill 3 In Russian Border City, Lawmaker Blames Ukraine, by Pavel Polityuk, Simon Lewis and Nick Starkov | Reuters * At least three people killed, buildings damaged in Belgorod * Regional governor says attack intentionally targeted civilians * Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for strikes in Russia | At least three people were killed and dozens of residential buildings damaged in the Russian city of Belgorod near the Ukraine border, the regional governor said, in what Moscow said was a Ukrainian missile attack. . . . At least 11 apartment buildings and 39 houses were damaged, including five that were destroyed, Belgorod Vyacheslave Gladkov said on . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s farmers face Russia’s blockade and ordnance in their farms this harvest. Reported by Peter Granitz | National Public Radio MYKOLAIV OBLAST, Ukraine — It only took Mykhailo Liubchenko homemade vodka to salvage some of his business. Liubchenko, 72, farms wheat and sunflowers on the front lines of the Ukraine war’s southern campaign. He says he paid off Russian soldiers with samogon — moonshine — so they wouldn’t torch his fields or steal his equipment in the early weeks of the war in February. “They were completely drunk,” he . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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As tech evolves, deepfakes will become even harder to spot. Shannon Bond of NPR speaks with UC Berkeley professor Hany Farid about the prevalence of fake images and information generated by artificial intelligence and other technologies. Click HERE to listen and, one day, read.

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The U.S. ambassador to NATO outlines the challenges ahead for the alliance. Michel Martin of NPR hears from Julianne Smith, United States Permanent Representative to NATO, some “key takeaways from this year’s summit — and the challenges that lie ahead for the alliance.” Click HERE to listen and read.

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What the U.S. enhancing its military presence in NATO nations could look like. Reported by Michel Martin | NPR The Commander of the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon, Spain, says more American bases on European soil will make it easier for NATO to activate troops. Click HERE to listen and read.

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No, NATO Will Not Get Ready for War, by Moon of Alabama | Educate! NATO does not have 300,000 troops to put on high alert. The troops are controlled by member states and I see no willingness by any of them to shoulder the costs that a real high alert status would have. Units on high alert means that they fully manned with no one on vacation and with enough supplies ready to sustain weeks of battle. All of that costs money. Member states will instead . . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to an Associated Press report. Then, via Global Research, a pair of analyses calling into question two years of accepted government and media reportage about Covid-19, cases and deaths, and vaccines rushed into production and use. — MCM

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For now, wary U.S. treads water with transformed COVID-19, by Carla K. Johnson | The Associated Press The fast-changing coronavirus has kicked off summer in the U.S. with lots of infections but relatively few deaths compared to its prior incarnations. COVID-19 is still killing hundreds of Americans each day, but is not nearly as dangerous as it was last fall and winter. . . .  With more Americans shielded from severe illness through vaccination and infection, COVID-19 has transformed — for now at least — into an unpleasant, inconvenient nuisance for many.“It feels cautiously good right now,” said Dr. Dan Kaul, an infectious diseases specialist at . . . READ MORE . . .

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Biggest Lie in World History: There Never Was A Pandemic. The Data Base is Flawed. The Covid Mandates including the Vaccine are Invalid, by Michel Chossudovsky | Global Research The PCR “Covid-19 confirmed cases” are meaningless. The multibillion-dollar antigen and home test project is fake. Destabilizing the social, political and economic structure of 190 sovereign countries cannot constitute a “solution” to combating the virus. But that was the imposed “solution” which was implemented in several stages from the very outset of the corona crisis in January 2020. . . . The lies were sustained by a massive media disinformation campaign. 24/7, incessant and repetitive “Covid alerts” in the course of the last two years. The  historic March 11, 2020 lockdown triggered . . . Click HERE to read more and access a video of Chossudovsky stating his case.

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Conflict of Interest: Reuters ‘Fact Checks’ COVID-Related Social Media Posts, But Fails to Disclose Ties to Pfizer, World Economic Forum, by Megan Redshaw | Children’s Health Defense / Global Research From the onset of the pandemic, social media giants, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, have flagged COVID-related posts the social media giants deem “false or misleading.” . . . Reuters, owned by the $40 billion international multimedia company, Thomson Reuters Corporation, is also in the business of “fact checking” social media posts. . . . Last week, Reuters announced a new collaboration with Twitter to “more quickly provide credible information on the social networking site as part of an effort to fight the spread of misinformation.” In February, Reuters announced a similar partnership with Facebook to “fact check” social media posts. However . . . Reuters [has] made no mention of this fact: The news organization has ties to Pfizer, World Economic Forum (WEF) and Trusted News Initiative (TNI), an industry collaboration of major news and global tech organizations . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to an analysis from the Associated Press, a Reuters news story, and three National Public Radio segments; more are accessible by clicking on the organizations’ names below. Then, links to two opinion pieces by Paul Craig Roberts, one of them via Global Research, and  the other by Jeffrey D. Sachs, via Consortium News. — MCM

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Russia’s messages with missiles tell West to back off, by Tamer Fakahany and Cara Anna | The Associated Press KYIV — The latest in a litany of horrors in Ukraine came this week as Russian firepower rained down on civilians in a busy shopping mall far from the front lines of a war in its fifth month. The timing was not likely a coincidence. . . . Were the attacks a message . . . ? READ MORE . . .

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Blasts rock Ukraine southern city as Russia grinds out gains in the east, by Pavel Polityuk and Simon Lewis | Reuters * ‘Stay in shelters!’ Mykolaiv mayor tells residents * Ukrainian troops say Russian artillery flattens buildings * Zelenskiy denounces ‘deliberately targeted Russian terror’ * Moscow says its forces ‘do not work with civilian targets’ | KYIV/KONSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine — Blasts shook Ukraine’s southern city of Mykolaiv today as Russia’s artillery helped grind out gains in the east, after a week when the civilian death toll from Russian missile strikes climbed in urban centres well behind the frontline. “There are powerful explosions in the city! Stay in shelters!” Oleksandr Senkevych, mayor of the Mykolaiv region which borders the vital Black Sea port of Odesa, wrote . . . READ MORE . . .

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Odesa maintains some normalcy despite Russian aerial assault on southern Ukraine. Reported by Peter Granitz | NPR Russia has increased its aerial assault on southern Ukraine, firing missiles at areas outside of the Donbas. But despite the threat, it’s almost as if the war hasn’t touched the port city Odesa. Click HERE to listen and read.

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NATO commits to focusing on Russia and China. Reported by Frank Langfitt | NPR NATO wrapped up its summit in Madrid with a clear, unified message, but there were unsettling reminders of the brutal road ahead in Ukraine and political turmoil back in the U.S. Click HERE to listen and, one day, read.

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Two Ukrainian fighters describe the current state of the frontlines against Russia. Reported by Frank Langfitt | NPR Two Ukrainian fighters — one a volunteer solider, the other, a commander — describe what they’re seeing on the frontlines of the war against Russia. Click HERE to listen and, one day, read.

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Russia’s Ukraine Miscalculation, by Paul Craig Roberts | IPE / Global Research Russia’s Ukraine miscalculation dates to 2014 when the Kremlin refused the request of the Donbass Russians in Eastern Ukraine to be reunited with Russia. Historically part of Russia, the Donbass region was attached to the Ukrainian province of the Soviet Union by Soviet leaders as was Crimea. These Russian populated territories . . . rejected the anti-Russian rule installed in Kiev when Washington overthrew the Ukrainian government and installed a puppet regime.  Had the Kremlin . . . READ MORE . . .

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More Evidence of Russia’s Lack of Political Realism: Russian toleration of U.S. neoconservative ambition is leading to war, by Paul Craig Roberts | PCR / IPE In her weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova asks the gentlemen of Brussels and Lithuania” if Russia’s understanding is correct that “you have unleashed a war?”  Why does she have to ask the question?  Why not make a declarative statement?  https://mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1819949/ Washington is brewing endless problems for Russia. Washington bribed the president of Kazakhstan, whose country Russia recently saved . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine Is the Latest Neocon Disaster, by Jeffrey D. Sachs | Common Dreams / CN The war in Ukraine is the culmination of a 30-year project of the American neoconservative movement. The Biden administration is packed with the same neocons who championed the U.S. wars of choice in Serbia (1999), Afghanistan (2001), Iraq (2003), Syria (2011), Libya (2011), and who did so much to provoke Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The neocon track record is one of unmitigated disaster, yet Biden has staffed his team with neocons. As a result . . . READ MORE . . .

First, a link to an Associated Press report on reinfections of Covid-19 among the vaccinated. Then, links to two looks at “Sesame Street” promoting Covid vaccines for young children. Next, from the America First Report, a link to a report of the plane crash last Sunday in which an “anti-vaxxer” Dr. Carrie Madej was injured, along with a recent interview with her, and another link to an article by immunologist Joseph Mercola and a CBS News report, both on booster shots and their reliability to prevent Covid-19 infections. — MCM

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A viral reprise: When COVID-19 strikes again and again, by Laura Ungar | The Associated Press For New York musician Erica Mancini, COVID-19 made repeat performances. March 2020. Last December. And again this May. “I’m bummed to know that I might forever just get infected,” said the 31-year-old singer, who is vaccinated and boosted. “I don’t want to be getting sick every month or every two months.” But medical experts warn that repeat infections are getting more likely as the pandemic drags on and the virus evolves — and some people are bound to get hit more than twice. Emerging research suggests . . . READ MORE . . .

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‘Sesame Street’ uses Elmo to hype COVID vaccines for 3 year-olds, by Jack Hobbs | New York Post “Sesame Street” just got a little safer thanks to Elmo. Well, depending on whom you ask. The beloved furry Muppet received his first jab of the COVID-19 vaccine Tuesday in an effort to get nonpuppet parents to get their young children vaccinated against the deadly virus. Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit organization behind the iconic kids show “Sesame Street,” shared a new public service announcement . . . . The now-viral campaign comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expanded the use of the coronavirus vaccine to children 5-years old and younger . . . READ MORE . . .

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Left Pushes Vaccines on Children: ‘Elmo Got the COVID Vaccine Today,’ by Hannah Bleau | Breitbart The famed Sesame Street character Elmo on Tuesday announced on social media that he, too, got vaccinated for the Chinese coronavirus, telling children “Elmo’s doctor said the vaccine would help keep Elmo healthy.” . . . Sesame Street’s most recent vaccine pitch follows the U.S approval of Pfizer’s and Moderna’s coronavirus vaccines for children under the age of five. The DeSantis administration is among those who has raised concerns over the vaccine for children as young as six months. As a result, the Florida does not recommend it, although parents can still obtain the vaccine through their doctor. “I would just caution people look at the actual data in the clinical trial,” DeSantis said . . . last week. READ MORE . . .

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Days After Exposing New World Order in Bombshell Interview, Anti-Vaxx Doctor Carrie Madej’s Plane Mysteriously Crashed, by JD Rucker | America First Report A plane carrying Dr. Carrie Madej and her boyfriend crashed on Sunday, leaving both in the ICU. It occurred less than a week after I interviewed her, during which she revealed connections between the Metaverse, Covid jabs, and the depopulation agenda of the New World Order. The video had over 150K views when her plane crashed. It was her last interview; within three days she canceled all future speaking events and interviews after finding out she was being investigated by various medical boards. Did something she said . . . Click HERE to read more and listen to a recent interview Madej had with JD Rucker.

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Why Three Covid Jabs Are Worse Than Two, by Dr. Joseph Mercola | America First Report Believe it or not, we’re now at the point where even mainstream media are reporting that COVID-19 is more prevalent among the boosted, compared to those who quit after the initial series. That doesn’t mean that sanity is returning; it’s just interesting that they’re not able to ignore it completely, even though their efforts to rationalize it teeter on the verge of lunacy. June 6, 2022, CBS News reported:¹ “As COVID-19 cases began to accelerate again this spring, federal data suggests the rate of breakthrough COVID infections in April was worse in boosted Americans compared to unboosted Americans . . . Meanwhile, federal officials are also preparing for key decisions on future COVID-19 vaccine . . . Click HERE to read more and watch the CBS News segment.

First, links to reports from the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. — MCM

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Russian missiles kill at least 19 in Ukraine’s Odesa region. From the Associated Press. KYIV — Russian missile attacks on residential areas in a coastal town near the Ukrainian port city of Odesa early today killed at least 19 people, authorities reported, a day after Russian forces withdrew from a strategic Black Sea island. . . .  The Ukrainian president’s office said three X-22 missiles fired by Russian bombers struck an apartment building and two campsites. READ MORE . . .

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Russia seizes control of Sakhalin gas project, raises stakes with West, by Yuka Obayashi, Emily Chow and Ron Bousso | Reuters * Putin signed decree to secure all rights on Thursday * Five-page decree follows tightening Western sanctions * Move raises risks for Western firms still in Russia * Shell was already in talks to sell up Sakhalin stake | TOKYO/LONDON — President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in an economic war with the West and its allies with a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia’s far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors. The decree, signed on Thursday, creates. . . READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED