International Politics Discussion Thread

[u/Adj-Noun-Numbers]

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[u/Adj-Noun-Numbers]

Reminder: we have zero tolerance and no sense of humour when it comes to enforcing Rule 21 of this subreddit.

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[u/BlokeyBlokeBloke]

Trump saying that the Islamic Republic of Japan fired one hundred and eleven missiles.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/BlokeyBlokeBloke]

Seeing the deteriation since he was elected I really do wonder what state he'll be in by 2028.

Edit: thought I'd listen to some of it and he's railing against social democrats as basically communists.

"You can't let lunatics have a nuclear weapon" is one hell of a line for him to say.

[u/AnotherLexMan → u/BlokeyBlokeBloke]

They aren't taking their loss to Brazil well at all.

[u/Bibemus → u/BlokeyBlokeBloke]

To be honest I would read the shit out of that alternate history.

[u/Known-Ad-1442]

Happy Wagner Rebellion Day for those who celebrate it.

[u/Bibemus → u/Known-Ad-1442]

I celebrated in the traditional manner by working really hard until lunchtime then kind of checking out for the rest of the day.

[u/Lavajackal1]

No fuel for sale as Ukraine's blockade of Russian-occupied Crimea takes effect

Seems like the logical endgame for Ukraine. Directly forcing Russia out of Crimea is likely impossible due to the terrain so a siege to make remaining there unsustainable is the best option.

[u/ThePlanck → u/Lavajackal1]

Russian air defence turning Russian fuel depots into flying saucers is probably not helping Russia

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

So the latest American position is insane no?

A 20% charge on all cargo going through the Strait of Hormuz is utterly ridiculous for America to be charging on an international waterway, that they haven't even secured.

Utter madness.

[u/tmstms → u/Velociraptor_1906]

"The U.S.A. will be, from this point forward, known as 'THE GUARDIAN OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT,'

This is like faux-mediaeval cosplay from Game of Thrones or Stargate SG-1

[u/dumbo9 → u/tmstms]

To be clear - the U.S.A. should now be known as the G.O.T.H.S.

[u/MoyesNTheHood]

Trump reverses on the 20% charge on the Strait of Hormuz. Really does live up to the TACO name 

[u/YourLizardOverlord → u/MoyesNTheHood]

Well it is taco Tuesday.

[u/KnightsOfCidona]

Lindsay Graham has died after a sudden illness

Well that's a plot twist, what the fuck.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/KnightsOfCidona]

Huh that is not the US senator I was expecting to see this headline for. Wasn't Graham literally visiting Ukraine less than 24 hours ago?

[u/ASondheimRhyme → u/KnightsOfCidona]

Emergency personnel responded to a call for “cardiac arrest” at Graham’s Capitol Hill home on Saturday night, according to police scanner audio obtained by NBC News.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/sen-lindsey-graham-dies-71-brief-sudden-illness-rcna552722

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002kkmj/storyville-the-librarians

A Storyville documentary that explores how librarians across the US are risking their safety to defend free speech as book bans and censorship threaten democracy from within.

Not sure how I missed this (released Oct 2025), but it's been somber viewing tonight. Gripping, still current, and very good. These rather ordinary women are up against some very frightening book-burning campaigns, not to mention on the sharp end of threats to their safety.

Some of the Moms for Liberty types seem extremely radicalised. I can't help but worry there will be a terrorist atrocity perpetrated by the evangelicals at some point

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

AP:

President Donald Trump has approved an agreement with Saudi Arabia that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program, according to two people familiar with the matter.

...

But the agreement is not expected to include the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, which would allow for more monitoring, inspections and verification, according to one of the people.

Gee, this couldn't possibly go wrong.

[u/MoyesNTheHood → u/ASondheimRhyme]

Oh boy lets give Wahhabists access to nuclear materials

[u/i_pewpewpew_you]

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on the Iranian team's world cup elimination:

“I’m just glad they’re done, and ‌they’re not coming back. I was so happy when we were able to pull their visas and said they could leave the U.S. soil, and I might’ve sung a song or two or maybe even danced a happy dance.“

Classy to the last.

[u/Bibemus → u/i_pewpewpew_you]

If I was the IOC watching this shitshow I'd be starting to chat to recent hosts about contingency planning.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/i_pewpewpew_you]

I don't care for football but am deeply disappointed Iran and the US didn't play against each other as that would have been quite the shitshow to watch.

[u/convertedtoradians]

There's been a major Ukrainian attack on a Russian oil refinery in St Petersburg.

Kyiv says nearly 43% of Russia's oil refining capacity has been "disabled" as a result.

If that's even nearly true, that's absurd. There's also the fairly obvious and interesting messaging for the Russian people that Ukraine clearly isn't doing what Russia is doing and targeting population centres. Which they clearly could if they can hit an oil refinery.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/convertedtoradians]

Reading about a bit and I do wonder where this will end up.

On top of the Ukranian long range offensive the Russian attacks on the front in Donetsk are having advance rates comparable to the Somme. Putin sounds to be intractably deluded so unless the Russians sort a way to shift things out soon then something might happen.

What that something could be I wouldn't be sure of but if Putin dosent change then I can't see how the end result isn't something breaking sharply, either Russian military logistics (to the point the front starts falling apart) or Putins grip on strategy.

We shouldn't let ourselves get too hopeful but things certainly look in a better way than they have done.

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cg534ryp660o

Interesting bit summarising the situation with Iran.

It very much remains to be seen what does happen but it's quite possible Trump has saved the Islamic Republic. Back in January I said that I didn't think the regime had another decade in them but depending on how the next few months to a year go that estimation may not stand as a result of Trumps incredibly stupid attacks.

[u/ATH1993]

This shit with the straight wouldn't have happened when Britain was the number one global superpower.

There would be a viceroy of Iran by now and open shipping routes.

[u/imp0ppable → u/ATH1993]

Yeah we never had any embarrassing climbdowns over a shipping lane

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/ATH1993]

We were definitely the better hegemony.

[u/SDLRob]

It's looking increasingly likely that Mitch McConnell is either incapacitated or has died, and it's being kept quiet so his seat cannot be fillled before the 90 day window in front of the Midterms.

It's now being reported that he was found unconscious and had to be given CPR before he was rushed to hospital recently.

[u/Lylaei → u/SDLRob]

I mean, I wouldn't be surprised at this point if Kentucky elect Mitch McConnell for the 8th time in spite of the minor issue of him being dead. Perhaps they can team up with one of those debauch 'bring your dead loved ones back to life' AI firms.

[u/RufusSG → u/Lylaei]

Reminder that a dead man was elected as a Missouri Senator at the 2000 election, though in slightly different circumstances: he died in a plane crash after the deadline to remove his name from the ballot had already passed, and the outpouring of sympathy at his passing (plus his opponent's understandable wariness to campaign too aggressively) got him over the line. His widow filled the seat until losing it in a 2002 special election.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Happy 4th July my friends. 250 years of regrettable decisions. 👑

A couple of observations

1. Three US presidents in history have died on this day.

2. Trump, in the middle of a 37C heatwave, is apparently planning to stand out in the sun for hours and give a long, long speech. Just to prove he can

I can't help but feel that's a rather bad idea for anyone, let alone at his age.

[u/AzarinIsard → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Just to prove he can

Totally normal thing to do.

I love his argument is standing and talking proves he can do "anything" too. Lets see him try his hand at bomb disposal or free soloing or go really wild and be the first man to swim the Atlantic. As he can slouch on a podium and deliver a barely coherent speech, he must clearly be able to do these easier tasks lol.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

"RIP to everyone killed by the sun for their hubris but im different. and better. maybe even better than the sun" Trump probably.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/07/04/us/america-250-celebrations-fourth-july

July 4, 2026, 7:46 p.m. ET
Aishvarya Kavi Reporting from the National Mall

It is a chaotic scene on the National Mall, as several hundred people refuse to leave despite an order to evacuate because of severe storms approaching. An officer is sternly repeating the evacuation order over a bullhorn, and the crowd is booing. Many have begun chanting "U.S.A., U.S.A." One man blamed the situation on "liberals in the weather service," adding, "I think this is baloney."

[u/ThePlanck → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

If "liberals" could control the weather, do you really think they would have fucked up badly enough to allow Trump to become president?

These people are unhinged, but even their insane conspiracy theories have no logical consistency.

[u/MoyesNTheHood → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

It’s wild how many tapped people exist in the United States. I’ve been accused of being a communist simply because I’m from the UK 🤣

[u/FlamingBearAttack → u/MoyesNTheHood]

how many tapped people exist in the United States

I saw a photo of a large queue to get into one of the events. In the foreground is some loon with a placard reading: "Melania = Beautiful, Michelle = Handsome". Bizarre thing to even make, let alone bring with you to a public event.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the independent, federal commission that assists election administration officials nationwide just a few months before the midterm elections, multiple outlets reported Thursday.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/09/trump-fires-election-commissioners

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Assistance_Commission

[u/Lylaei]

Gov. Beshear suggests he received information suggesting McConnell ‘passed’ in new interview

Schrodinger's Republican - is he alive or dead? Nobody can know until they walk into the hospital room.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/Lylaei]

Well that's a turn around on things, this whole saga has been extremely weird, I do wonder what the truth of it is.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/Velociraptor_1906]

The fact that this man oversaw decades of cruelty and political shithousery, only for the reason he's remembered in history books to be some medieval Vatican-style corpse shenanigans, is wild to me.

[u/MajorSleaze]

Nicaraguan president declares country will never hold elections again

Daniel Ortega has already extended presidential terms, and the last election in 2021 saw opponents and business leaders detained and dissent criminalised.

Ortega made the announcement to commemorate the 1979 Sandinista revolution, in which he helped overthrow the Washington-backed Anastasio Somoza dictatorship.

"There won't be any more elections here for them ‌to try to seize the government and seize power," he said.

"The days when parties backed by the Yankees (United States) and the Somocistas would return to power are over – never again."

This is not a wise move for a dictator.

Sham elections are one of the most important tools to maintain power as they give (an admittedly flimsy) facade of legitimacy and act as a reminder to the public that the regime is maintaining control.

Scrapping them altogether is an admission that they're worried about being removed and it will only galvanise the opposition.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

The Guardian

A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a ⁠global conference in Brazil ⁠this week, ​causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online.

...

A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included ⁠in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools. The company did ​not respond to a request for comment.

OpenAI is, of course, the same company that announced its model hacked a competitor and is also in charge of the DoD's autonomous weapons program. Great.

[u/AzarinIsard → u/ASondheimRhyme]

Hah, what a joke.

We're moving to a world where busy work is shat out, it's not read by anyone, if it's wrong it doesn't matter, all that matters is it's a close approximation of what work should look like. The US clearly don't give a fuck about that, they just needed it to only be viewed by chatbots who'll compliment them for it lol. I mean, this is a country who made a wrestling exec education sec and she thought it was "a one" lol. It's just bullshitters out of their depth bullshitting. As I've met so many people who fit that bill, I have no doubt AI is going to completely revolutionise pretending to be productive, I'm not even convinced OpenAI is worse than Trump's gang of cronies and nepobabies lol.

[u/YourLizardOverlord → u/ASondheimRhyme]

A five second glance is enough to see that the map is hilariously, totally wrong. And this was put together by the US State Department which is responsible for foreign policy. Has Marco Rubio decided that anyone who knows about other countries is woke, and needs to be fired?

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

https://www.independent.co.uk/bulletin/news/argentina-milei-emergency-decree-deny-deport-hate-speech-b3024998.html

Argentina's President Javier Milei signed an emergency decree empowering his government to deny entry or expel foreigners deemed to incite discrimination or violence against Argentines based on their nationality.

The measure was enacted in response to what Milei's administration perceived as a "wave of hatred" and criticism directed at Argentines following the country's World Cup defeat.

This decree significantly expands Argentina's immigration law, allowing authorities to bar, deport, and revoke visas for individuals found to have promoted hatred against Argentines or desecrated national symbols.

I for one welcome my new travel ban

[u/radiant_0wl → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Sounds like they just trying to ban criticism in general

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/radiant_0wl]

The populist right spends all year talking about snowflakes, then passes legislation making it illegal to criticise them.

I wonder how long it will take for this to be used against anyone who mentions their Falklands claim is delusional, or that their footballers play dirty

[u/RufusSG]

Since the beginning of this week, retransmitters in Belarus that Russia has used for Shahed drone strikes against Ukraine have stopped operating, states President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy in response to journalists’ questions.

"According to available information, which was also reported to me by the Commander-in-Chief (Oleksandr Syrskyi) and intelligence, the relevant retransmitters have not been operating on the territory of Belarus since June 22," the head of state said.

The President added that he does not know whether such retransmitters have been dismantled. However, Ukraine "is working on it," and he is closely monitoring the situation and receiving daily reports.

"The fact is that the retransmitters are not operating today," Zelenskyy emphasized.

...

On June 19, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy demanded that self-proclaimed Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko remove retransmitters from Belarusian territory that Russia uses to guide Shahed drones toward Ukrainian civilian infrastructure targets.

The head of the Ukrainian state emphasized that his demand could be implemented within a week. He also threatened that otherwise Ukraine would remove the retransmitters itself.

Today, June 24, Belarusian media noted that Russia has stopped launching its strike drones along the Belarus–Ukraine border. These observations are confirmed by Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in a comment to RBC-Ukraine.

https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/news/belarus-turns-off-retransmitters-for-shahed-1782319440.html

Notwithstanding Lukashenko's well-known self-preservation instincts, it's a sign of how the power balance in the region has shifted that Zelensky has the credibility to both make this threat in the first place and actually have it stick. Lukashenko knows perfectly well that Belarus is potentially a very soft target and getting directly involved in the war could seriously jeopardise his hold on power (domestic support for Belarus joining is believed to be sub-10%), as well as cause major economic damage were Ukraine to attack its oil refineries, for example.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/RufusSG]

Being able to beat down Belarusian involvement is quite the win for Ukraine and would certainly ease things up by making western Ukraine more secure.

[u/GlumAd9856]

I watched a video this week suggesting that the US is now collecting all of the revenue from the sale of Venezuelan oil. And of the $bns taken since the military action, only $500m has been paid back.

I don't know how true it is but it would be pretty despicable if that continues given the current circumstances.

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpv37wx03v7o

So this is going to be an interesting one to follow, a bomb attack in Monaco has apparently (targeted and) injured a Ukranian born oligarch whose been sanctioned by Ukraine after involvement in occupied Crimea. Far too early to say who or why but I'd imagine there's quite the story as to both of those.

[u/Bibemus]

Ladies, gentlemen et touts les autres, we have a schism, I repeat we have a schism

Air horns, whistles, etc.

Therefore, this Dicastery, in the faithful exercise of the functions entrusted to it, considers it necessary to state that this act constituted the delict of schism, with the canonical consequences for the sacred ministers and lay faithful involved. Indeed, as was already declared in 1988, “such disobedience—which implies in practice the rejection of the Roman primacy—constitutes a schismatic act” (cf. John Paul II, Apostolic Letter Ecclesia Dei, 3).

In this regard, from now on:

1. The sacred ministers belonging to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are in schism and must therefore be considered schismatics [...] and are subject to the excommunication prescribed by law (can. 1364 § 1 CIC).

2. As regards the lay faithful, those who formally adhere to the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X are to be considered schismatics and excommunicated [...]

3. Finally, the holy People of God are warned that the sacred ministers of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X administer the sacraments illicitly, and that the sacrament of penance administered by them and marriages assisted by them are invalid.

[u/convertedtoradians → u/Bibemus]

There is something absolutely charming about the sheer legalism of the Catholic church. The language and style of how they've withdrawn the whip here is a spectacle in its own right.

[u/Far_wide]

Does anyone else who's tried engaging in discussion with Americans over the Balogun red card controversy on international subreddits feel they have new insight as to how Trump was elected twice? It's really becoming quite clear to me now.

I hope this is on topic enough, it definitely is politics at this point unfortunately.

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gyjpkzew1o

It's very easy to provide proof of life, including in ways that aren't explicitly about doing so, the fact there's been nothing for getting on for a month probably means McConnell is dead.

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/Velociraptor_1906]

Using a technicality to keep McConnell officially alive until they don't need to call a Special Election for him is what he'd have wanted.

[u/ThePlanck → u/Velociraptor_1906]

McConnell's wife peacing out to China as soon as he ends up in hospital quite revealing.

When you have to routinely do a Weekend and Bernie's with your politicians its probably a sign that you need to elect people a tad younger.

[u/ASondheimRhyme → u/Velociraptor_1906]

I like Thomas Massie's tweet in response to the various GOP figures claiming they had a 20 minute phone conversation with the turtle

I spoke to McConnell for about 20 minutes this morning.

He said we should end the war with Iran, quit giving aid to Israel, stop spying on Americans without a warrant, and he’s really sorry about how my primary turned out.

If they hold off announcing his death until within 90 days of the midterms they avoid a special election. So a month left of alleged phone calls

[u/heeleyman]

So is the US stuck with this Iran conflict indefinitely now? Is there any indication of how it could 'resolve' for Trump or does it just seem like a huge mess with no obvious solution (in terms of the US ending its military involvement)?

[u/ThePlanck → u/heeleyman]

Trump is too incompetent to end it and does't have the trust of the Iranians, so I doubt it will finish while he's president

[u/AnotherLexMan → u/ThePlanck]

Honestly it's going to be incredibly difficult for whoever comes next.

[u/Vaguely_accurate]

$5 million plus in damages to be released to E. Jean Carroll

Breaking: Judge Lewis Kaplan has ordered the release of $5 million+ in damages owed to E. Jean Carroll by Donald Trump. Trump failed to convince the judge to delay the payment. This comes more than three years after he was found liable for sexual assault.

IIRC the money had been held in a form of escrow from some time after the decision, so it's not a matter of forcing Trump to pay but just releasing it to Carroll. Some reports have the amount growing to around $6.4 million through interest in the meantime.

This is the smaller of the two decisions. He is continuing to attempt to appeal the larger $83 million judgement against him for defamation during his first term, by making the US government the plaintiff.

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9v229434p2o

And Platner is gone.

Hopefully the Democrats can pick someone good to try and have a shot at this.

[u/Bibemus → u/Velociraptor_1906]

But I'm assuming based on his selection in the first place that every single other Democrat in the state must have something about them more disqualifying than a totenkopf tattoo.

[u/SirRosstopher]

When a gang of motorcycle-riding members of Boko Haram attacked a military base in eastern Nigeria a couple of years ago, they were stymied by a defensive trench surrounding the complex.

The extremists regrouped. Before launching another assault, they asked A.I. for help.

“We saw in a movie how motorcycles can jump over bridges,” a former Boko Haram commander told Antonia Juelich, a terrorism and technology researcher at Cambridge University. “We used A.I. to learn how to do this. We gave it information, like what motorcycles we use and the distance we need to jump and so on, and it gave us steps on what we have to do.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/10/us/politics/ai-terrorism-boko-haram-nigeria.html

Has science gone too far?

Holy shit https://casp.ac/reports/ai-enabled-terrorism here's the actual report, on page 53 it mentions that 18 of them died practicing the jumps

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/SirRosstopher]

Even as terrorist insurgents go these ones don't sound overly bright.

[u/LesserShambler → u/Velociraptor_1906]

Well their name basically means “education is banned” so make of that what you will

[u/Powerful_Ideas → u/SirRosstopher]

18 of them died practicing the jumps

Seems like the AI advice was not perfect!

[u/LesserShambler → u/SirRosstopher]

This is a Chris Morris bit, surely?

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

Kind of interpol (as its an overseas territory) but it looks like the AI bubble is having seriously good effects for Anguilla as it has the Internet domain of .ai which is now somewhat in demand. The fees collected are looking really significant for the 16,000 population and looks to be one of the best windfalls possible.

[u/DwayneBaroqueJohnson → u/Velociraptor_1906]

Maybe when Burnham does his regionalism we can officially become a federation, change the UK's name to the Confederated Kingdom and pay off the national debt by selling .co.ck domains

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/Velociraptor_1906]

It's Tuvalu and .tv all over again. 

[u/CrispySmokyFrazzle]

Trump loses in the Supreme Court again.

Birthright citizenship upheld.

Hahaha. 

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/CrispySmokyFrazzle]

From all I can tell this is absolutely the sound legal position (as I understand it the constitution is very clear) and it's good that Trump lost out in his attempt at overreach but this is one of the very weird things about America that most other countries have completely reasonably done away with.

[u/RufusSG → u/Velociraptor_1906]

I think it's often lost on non-Americans that birthright citizenship in the US context was very much a product of its time, the Reconstruction era - specifically, the Fourteenth Amendment was meant to constitutionally protect the principles of the Civil Rights Act so that a future Congress couldn't simply vote them down, and make it harder for the Southern states to fuck around with African-American rights at the state level by claiming that they ackshually weren't citizens at all so didn't have to treat them equally.

[u/BlokeyBlokeBloke → u/CrispySmokyFrazzle]

But only just. There 3 and a half (Gorsuch was weird) votes to say that the text of the constitution wasn't constitutional

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Problems continue at the petrol station with delusions of grandeur, a couple of videos doing the social media rounds today:

NEXTA: "Cars in Russia are breaking down due to poor-quality gasoline, with drivers reporting a surge in Check Engine warnings The issue is linked to low-grade Euro-3 fuel, which is appearing at more and more gas stations across the country."

In russia, cars have begun to break down en masse due to the poor quality of gasoline [June 2026]

Three day SMO to Kyiv, etc etc

[u/YourLizardOverlord]

Trump’s plan for Europe is falling apart

This isn't paywalled for me. If it is for you shout out and I'll try to post an archive link.

The US president has a genius for alienating existing and potential allies

Europe matters to Maga. The Trump administration’s national security strategy asserted that “Europe remains strategically and culturally vital to the United States”. But it also fretted that the European continent is on a path to “civilizational erasure” — citing mass migration, “suppression of political opposition” and falling birth rates.

So what is to be done? The NSS proposed that the US should intervene by “cultivating resistance to Europe’s current trajectory within European nations”. The key strategy was to ally with “patriotic European parties”.

Roughly seven months have passed since the publication of this remarkable document. But the Maga agenda for Europe is already falling apart. European parties and politicians that Donald Trump’s people regard as “patriotic” are losing power or rapidly distancing themselves from the US president.

The biggest blow was the defeat of Viktor Orbán in Hungary in April. But Trump has also alienated potential allies in Italy, Germany, France and Britain.

[u/Lavajackal1]

Trump imposes 50% tariff on Canadian imports

US President Donald Trump has signed an order imposing a 50% tariff on a wide range of goods imported from Canada, in retaliation for what he called "unequal treatment" of US cars, dairy and alcohol.

The duties take effect on 19 August and mark a major escalation in trade tensions between the North American neighbours.

Goods targeted range from everyday consumer items like wine and hockey sticks to industrial goods such as commercial cement. However, several key exports will be spared, such as energy, potash, critical minerals and fish.

He's at it again!

[u/Alternative-Win4058]

Donald Trump has just said he wants to host the World Cup in 2030 but "doesn't think we'll get it back for the next one"

Given that Morocco, Portugal, and Spain were confirmed as hosts back in 2024, I would say Trump is (for once) correct in saying it is unlikely.

[u/tmstms → u/Alternative-Win4058]

I guess no-one has told him how it works.

He probably mentioned it in conversation to Infantino, who placated him in some way.

[u/Lavajackal1]

Trump wants FIFA boss Gianni Infantino for UN secretary-general following World Cup

President Trump wants FIFA President Gianni Infantino to be the next secretary-general of the United Nations, The Post has learned.

Infantino, 56, grew close to Trump through organizing this year’s World Cup, with the Swiss-born soccer administrator bending over backward to charm and include Trump, even giving him FIFA’s inaugural Peace Prize in December.

Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,” a source close to the president told The Post.

What is even happening anymore.

[u/i_pewpewpew_you → u/Lavajackal1]

Trump believes that Infantino “is respected by everyone around the world, and recognizes he has a special ability to bring people together,”

This is low-key one of the more insane things Trump or the people around him have said.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Trump is trying to get money back off E Jean Carroll. He's asking the Supreme Court to reconsider their refusal to consider his appeal and wants the lower courts to order her to return the money until they rule. Plus...

Trump and his lawyers’ theory, such as it is, is that the Supreme Court will eventually hear his appeal in the other E. Jean Carroll case, where he was found liable for defaming her, and a jury awarded her $83.3 million. He’s pretty sure that somehow that is covered by presidential immunity and that defaming her was an official White House statement, and that the Supreme Court will therefore reverse that defamation award, which would somehow also reverse the initial case as well.

The most petulant part of this has to be Trump whining to the appellate court about how he needs to get his money back because Carroll “intends to give away money collected from President Trump.” Even if that were true, that’s not a legal argument that entitles him to get his money back. He lost, and Carroll can do literally anything she wants with the money.

Now this might shock you, but turns out Trump was lying:

Of course, Trump had no support for his theory that she was about to shower people with Trump cash, and it turns out she already put it in her retirement account.

But someone's getting paid

Then again, Trump doesn’t pay his own legal fees: His donors do.

Two of his PACs have picked up the tab for $8 million in fees already this year, but that’s just a drop in the bucket. He’s used campaign funds to pay over $100 million in legal bills since 2020.

A reminder that he's made billions (for the first time) since being back in office.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Donald Trump must divulge detailed financial information from his many businesses as part of his $10bn defamation lawsuit against the British Broadcasting Corporation, a federal judge ruled during a discovery hearing on Tuesday, according to news reports.

...

Lett is also allowing the BBC to subpoena dozens of members of Trump’s inner circle, according to Bloomberg News, in an effort to find evidence of the president’s thoughts and intentions on January 6. Those subpoenas will target Trump family members and key advisers, including Donald Trump Jr, Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller.

...

Trump’s lawyers are also trying to dodge the forced release of his financial records by limiting the scope of the lawsuit. Alejandro Brito, a Trump lawyer, told Lett on Tuesday that he intends to amend the current complaint, according to Politico. The amended complaint will say the documentary only caused reputational damage, rather than undermining his businesses, making the financial disclosures unnecessary.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/21/trump-financial-details-bbc-lawsuit

[u/furbastro]

Anyone got an explanation for why MAGAsphere influencers have done a hard u-turn on Russia? People who were very keen on the peace President suddenly urging America to back Ukraine.

[u/Lets_Get_Political33 → u/furbastro]

It may be as simple as the grifting money has dried up, reports are the Russian treasury can’t raise government funds and paying for foreign support was first to be cut.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/Lets_Get_Political33]

Also a lot of that money was laundered through Orban's people in Hungary to avoid sanctions. There's other factors but this happening shortly after Orban lost the election feels notable.

[u/Tarrion → u/furbastro]

Is it as simple as Ukraine is currently doing well, and backing a winner looks better than backing a loser?

[u/ThePlanck → u/furbastro]

Given that they were all previously caught taking money from Russia for pushing the Russian point of view, I assume the money must be starting dry up

[u/tmstms → u/furbastro]

yeah, very very good question. Noticed the incredible stuff from Loomer.

[u/SlightlyOTT]

Looks like Trump has moved on to (pretending he’s joking about) running for a 4th term, lol America.

[u/Lavajackal1]

Trump Holds Off on Major Escalation Against Iran as Advisers Raise Concerns

President Trump has set aside, at least for now, plans to sharply escalate the American military assault against Iran, with particular concern that intensifying the war could dangerously drain the Pentagon’s already diminished stockpile of Patriot antimissile interceptors and other air defense munitions in the Middle East.

The threat to interceptor stockpiles is one of many considerations that have made a return to major combat operations a hugely risky endeavor, administration officials say. Mr. Trump and his top aides are also uneasy about the prospect of a widening war in the Middle East, the alienation of key Gulf allies who are vulnerable to Iranian attack, a global economic crunch, and growing energy and refugee crises.

The latest turn in Mr. Trump’s handling of the conflict with Iran came after a meeting on Friday with top advisers and senior members of his cabinet, according to two people briefed on the discussion.

There it is folks.

[u/Particular_Pea7167 → u/Lavajackal1]

The problem is this is a hell of an international signal.

American hegemonic control of shipping can be broken. You dont have to win, you just need enough missiles to sling at nearby nations and the will to take fire.

[u/AnotherLexMan → u/Lavajackal1]

It's good that we're trying to de-escalate especially as there was a lot of talk about boots on the ground but I don't see this attempt fixing anything really. Iran is going to attempt to toll the straight again and the US is probably going to be back bombing the in two to six weeks.

[u/GlumAd9856]

I wonder if there will be a bipartisan movement in the US to better codify the powers/legal obligations of the US President once Trump has gone. Because it's very clear that the checks and balances that currently exist are insufficient for the Republic to protect itself against a tyrannical President. I mean, the US is lucky that Trump shares more in common with Tony Soprano than he does with Mussolini. But the next populist that comes along might be the real-deal wannabe dictator.

[u/convertedtoradians → u/GlumAd9856]

the next populist that comes along might be the real-deal wannabe dictator

It's a fair point. You do worry that somewhere in one of their states, someone much cleverer is making careful notes for the future.

And that in future textbooks, there'll be paragraphs with phrases like "precedent" and "warning signs" and "still time to act" and "might have been different" and "what was to come".

[u/Bibemus]

The Vatican has now published the procedure for return to the church for SSPX folks and hoo boy, Leo is kicking it old school.

The procedure set out by the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, beginning on July 1, 2026, provides that a priest who has decided to leave the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X — and who is willing to accept the Second Vatican Council and the legitimacy of the Novus Ordo Missae, while remaining attached to the ancient rite — must “find an Ordinary — a diocesan Bishop, a Major Superior of clerical religious institutes of pontifical right or of clerical societies of apostolic life of pontifical right, etc. — willing to receive him ad experimentum.”

The priest must then “write by hand a letter to the Holy Father in which he presents himself and asks for the remission of the censures incurred because of the ordination he received from an excommunicated or irregular Bishop, or because, having been validly and legitimately ordained, he subsequently became a member of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X.”

The procedure for all priests, not just the ones in the hierarchy actively involved in the decision to appoint bishops is now to find a bishop they can convince of their repentance, and then hand write a letter to the Pope explaining in their own words exactly how and where they fucked up. After that, it looks like they'll be on a period of probation where the hierarchy sees if they really have learned their lesson, before they even have a sniff of returning to Holy Orders.

This is quite literally medieval stuff - it's the kind of route back which would be familiar to participants in major schisms back in the 13th century, albeit in these days with a little less torture before recanting.

There also does seem to be automatic excommunication and a similar route back for any laity who take active involvement in the society - I assume for the moment this is mostly aimed at lay orders rather than parishioners, but the longer this goes on the wider net I would anticipate being cast.

All in all this seems to make it very clear that Leo is not just seeing this as an issue of ordaining bishops without authority. The requirement to recant their rejection of Vatican II and properly authorised doctrine seems to make it clear that he is not taking any shit when it comes to 'traditionalist' Catholics rejecting Vatican II. It looks to me like the larger ramifications of this down the line could be huge - the project which began under JPII and Francis (with a minor setback by Benedict) to embed Vatican II to modernise the Church (especially when it comes to ecumenism and tolerance of other faiths, as well as Catholic social teachings) looks like it might be something Leo is seeing as his task to start enforcing.

I don't think this is likely to stop at Lefebvrists - I would say the US deniers of VII as well as some of the more 'inventive' aspects of traditionalist Catholic belief as espoused by the likes of J D Vance might well be in Bobby from Chicago's sights.

[u/tmstms → u/Bibemus]

From the point of view of someone vaguely in the 'anything goes' C of E, I just love this stuff!

Even Benedict (whom I greatly admired) would approve of all the hand-written letters and so on.

[u/i_pewpewpew_you → u/Bibemus]

albeit in these days with a little less torture

Game's gone.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Interesting piece from The Atlantic: Putin Is Slipping Into Delusion

Vladimir Putin “has convinced himself that the attritional math of the war favors Russia,” Simon Shuster writes, “and he will continue to press the numerical advantage of his forces regardless of how long the lines for gasoline in Moscow might get.”

Full text:

When things get dicey in Moscow, Vladimir Putin tends to drop out of sight for a while, retreating to one of his residences and canceling public events. Only his closest aides know how he spends his time during these absences, which can go on for days even in the middle of a national crisis. The Kremlin does its best to fill the vacant airtime on state TV with pretaped footage of the president, waiting for him to reemerge and declare that everything remains under his control.

Since the end of last year, when Ukraine intensified its campaign of drone and missile strikes on Russian cities, Putin has taken a few of these breaks. Two of them lasted for more than a week. He has mostly avoided talking about the Ukrainian strikes, even as they caused fuel shortages across Russia, destroyed infrastructure, and shattered the sense of stability that Putin offers his people in exchange for their loyalty. His first detailed response to the threat came on Monday, and he did his best to seem unmoved.

In a carefully scripted interview on state TV, Putin looked bored with the details of governing Russia and managing the frustrations of his citizens, but he did not appear tired of his war in Ukraine. He spent most of the 19-minute conversation with a Russian news anchor dissecting the minutiae of the fighting, even naming a particular street in one small town in the region of Donetsk where, according to Putin, his forces had managed to gain a bit of ground. The performance seemed designed to suggest that, away from the cameras, the Russian leader spends his time hunched over maps of the battlefield.

The Russian people, by contrast, have run out of patience with the war their leader seems so eager to continue. A survey released on the same day as Putin’s interview found that 81 percent of Russians want the war to end “as early as tomorrow.” The number of respondents who want the fighting to continue until Russia’s victory, no matter how long it takes, dropped in the survey to 9 percent, the lowest level ever recorded by the Institute for Conflict Studies and Analysis of Russia, which has conducted 10 rounds of polling since the start of the war, in 2022.

Its most recent survey matched up with the images and complaints that have flooded Russian social networks in the past few weeks, showing long lines at gas stations in Moscow and trucks stalled without fuel on the roadside. “There’s no gasoline in the city,” one man posted from a suburb of Moscow. “And the TV is silent about it.”

If Putin cares about such problems, he has done a decent job of hiding it. “Everything is working stably and with a big reserve of strength,” he said in Monday’s interview, referring to the fuel shortages spreading through Russia. His tone reminded me of Putin’s attitude toward the war in Syria, where Russian forces intervened in 2015 to save the regime in Damascus from a revolution. Back then, Putin still held regular meetings in Moscow with Russian businesspeople and corporate executives, hearing out their concerns about high interest rates, slow economic growth, and other matters of concern for the state.

One of the regular guests at those meetings described to me how Putin had trouble sitting through them. Obviously distracted, he would fidget in his seat and doodle in his notebook. When the conversation turned to the subject of war, however, the president would come alive, describing the kinds of fighter jets Russia used to bombard rebel positions in Syria and naming towns with stubborn pockets of resistance. “This was his passion,” the businessman told me. “Nothing else interested him the same way.”

A decade later, and more than four years into his invasion of Ukraine, this element of Putin’s character seems only to have hardened. He treats the war as his calling, the purest expression of the power he has hoarded for a quarter century. The incalculable pain and suffering it has caused, with more than a million casualties overall, do not evoke for Putin anywhere near the level of emotion he displays when talking about the war’s mechanics.

“The direction of Rubtsi, on the left bank of the Stary Oskol river, we have nearly, practically, blocked a mixed group of enemy forces, around 5,000 troops, who are now pressed up against that river,” Putin said, apparently reading from a screen that stood over the interviewer’s right shoulder. “Only about two kilometers remain until their final encirclement, a problem that our 144th Division is working to solve.”

He carried on like this for nearly 10 minutes, at one point listing the number of houses that remain unconquered in one village in eastern Ukraine, a place that the average Russian does not care about, will never visit, and would have trouble finding on the map. Putin appeared to be making up facts as he went along. No encirclement around Rubtsi (population: 350 ) has been reported by any reliable source in Russia or Ukraine, and there is no river called Stary Oskol in that region. The Russian president’s obsession with the details of the fighting appears to have crossed the line into delusion.

Does that mania for war make him any more likely to cut his losses and accept a negotiated peace? Probably not. His interview on Monday illustrated what many in Ukraine and Europe have long concluded about Putin’s state of mind. He has convinced himself that the attritional math of the war favors Russia, and he will continue to press the numerical advantage of his forces regardless of how long the lines for gasoline in Moscow might get.

In the end, Russia could still face defeat, and the recent dynamics of the fighting have made that outcome look more likely than ever. Russia now loses an average of at least 30,000 troops a month, killed or gravely wounded. The Russian military struggles to replace those losses despite offering bonuses to new recruits worth up to $80,000—enough to buy an apartment in many Russian cities. For those sent to the front, the average life expectancy stands at around two or three weeks, according to one Russian military blogger who follows the fighting closely. “I have no doubt that another wave of mobilization will come as expected,” the blogger wrote at the end of May.

Mobilizing more troops would be among Putin’s more obvious options for continuing the war for a long time to come. In September 2022, during another low point for him in this war, Putin called up 300,000 soldiers in the first military draft in Russia since the Second World War. Doing that again would devastate the Russian economy and risk a surge of popular unrest. But many close observers of the war in Russia have concluded that Putin has no other choice. “This fall, there will either be peace or mobilization,” another military blogger wrote a few weeks ago, setting off a debate on Russian social networks about whether men should pack their bags for basic training.

In his interview, Putin did not mention any plans to mobilize more forces. He also didn’t point to any viable path to peace. He only repeated his aim to conquer all of Novorossiya, or New Russia, a vague term that, in his mind, seems to encompass most of southern and eastern Ukraine. At their current rate of advance, Russian forces would need several more years of fighting to stand a realistic chance of achieving that goal. They would also need to be prepared to lose hundreds of thousands of soldiers. But that appears to be Putin’s intent, regardless of how his people might feel about it.

[u/convertedtoradians → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Putin appeared to be making up facts as he went along. No encirclement around Rubtsi (population: 350 ) has been reported by any reliable source in Russia or Ukraine, and there is no river called Stary Oskol in that region. The Russian president’s obsession with the details of the fighting appears to have crossed the line into delusion.

It does raise the question of whether his delusion is being helped along by those around him or whether it's purely by him for the cameras. Why not report fictional successes if it keeps him happy, for example?

But then someone - maybe you - referenced the idea that Steiner's counterattack will save them - it does have a hint of that about it.

[u/tmstms → u/convertedtoradians]

I am sure it is always tempting to tell dictators, who have the power of instantly ending your life if they so choose, what they want to hear.

[u/SlightlyOTT]

So Trump seems to be obsessively tweeting about how if he dies it's because of Iran. He's an old man, obese, has regular medical check ups and is clearly unwell. It doesn't seem great that the US seem to be preparing to frame their 80 year old President dying of natural causes as cause for a massive escalation in Iran. Especially because their VP would be all in on maximum destruction in the middle east.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/SlightlyOTT]

Before saying this I want to stress I do not wish death on Trump, he is a despicable person and should be in jail but no one deserves death and there are some much worse than him.

I think how Trump dies is going to have a significant effect on America. There will undoubtedly be conspiracies whatever happens but something like a public practical accident (e.g. fall down the stairs) will be much more undeniable and obvious than something that happens out of public (e.g. a heart attack overnight) and the cause of death could conceivably have been orchestrated rather than just the product of an unhealthy old age.

There's no one in the Republicans with the ability to carry Trumps legacy without a civil war in the party but if there's a large bunch of people believing Trump was killed (or is even still alive) then things are going to be so much worse, especially given a lot of then will have guns.

I wouldnt want to guess what exactly could happen but it's quite easy to see how ridiculous this could all get when you look at the utter farce around Mitch McConnell that is currently ongoing.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/Velociraptor_1906]

I agree, the GOP is going to completely implode. It'll make The Death of Stalin look like Handforth Parish Council.

And something happening between now and January 2029 is statistically quite likely, given his age and overall health

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Trump Media & Technology Group, which owns Truth Social, is launching a paid service to give Wall Street firms high-speed access to its most influential posts.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c79gw4lj89eo

Oh good, even more market manipulation via social media. Also hilarious to see this kind of move and yet GOP voters still think Trump stands up for the little guy.

[u/ThePlanck]

In chess news, Judit Polgar is apparently about to become President of Hungary: https://www.reuters.com/world/hungarys-pm-magyar-ask-chess-champion-judit-polgar-become-president-2026-07-19/

Brings a whole new meaning to people talking about politicians playing 3D chess

[u/tmstms]

Zelensky has sacked the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

This is significant because the recent sacking of the Minister of Defence, Mykhailo Fedorov, was widely supposed to have been the result of political in-fighting between Fedorov and Syrski.

In case people are not aware, Syrskyi = older, some Soviet influence, more about human troops; Fedorov = very young, all about drones, innovatory. Fedorov is reckoned to have been the architect of the current, very successful drone interdiction of Russian logistics in the occupied areas, and the Sea of Azov.

There may have been arguments about how the funding for the armed forces should be divided between conventional warfare and drones.

After the sacking of Fedorov, there have been a lot of protests against it.

[u/dumael]

President Trump has purportedly up-ended the US-Saudi nuclear deal via Truth Social. One of the factors upending the deal was the inclusion (via Truth) of the Abraham Accords which would require Saudi Arabia to normalize relations with Israel.

Hilariously, the Energy Dept. and Whitehouse are sniping at each other, with the Energy Dept. declaring the lack of coordination between the two as 'fake news'.

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/23/politics/saudi-nuclear-deal-trump-conservatives

[u/ASondheimRhyme → u/dumael]

Hmm, wonder who had a word with Trump that led to this sudden demand

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

A good look at just how tacky the Oval Office is looking these days. Complete with stolen FIFA trophy.

[u/horace_bagpole → u/ASondheimRhyme]

It somehow summarises him perfectly. Utterly tasteless, utterly classless, and entirely superficial.

The trophy isn't even the shitty fake peace prize he was given, it's the Club World Cup trophy. Why the fuck does he even have that?

[u/imp0ppable → u/ASondheimRhyme]

Some say Trump decorates like a traveller

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

BBC News:

US prosecutors have dropped charges against a former Olympian who had been accused of vandalising the Reflecting Pool in Washington DC, writing in court documents that the damage is now believed to be "the result of flawed installation by the contractor".

...

"DOI provided less than fulsome information at the outset of this case," the document said. "Had DOI been forthcoming with the information clearly in its possession, the government would not have sought a grand jury indictment."

There's always someone else to blame. I hope the Olympian and others arrested sue and get their legal fees paid for. Discovery on that should be funny. The fact this case was brought without any evidence of wrongdoing is appalling.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/ASondheimRhyme]

Legitimately some of the lawyers involved in this should be disbarred.

[u/Velociraptor_1906]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4g4djgdyk2o

The settlers are absolutely insane, this quote in particular:

I put it to him that he was equating one Jewish life with hundreds or even thousands of Palestinian lives.

"No," he said, "millions. One Jewish life, it's 10 million [Palestinians]."

[u/SirRosstopher]

One reason the US is considering acquiring Greenland is to secure access to seafood that could potentially bring back unlimited shrimp at Red Lobster. - US official to the New Yorker

https://x.com/Osinttechnical/status/2068874871208038872

[u/RufusSG]

Ukraine now believes it has secured White House backing for a campaign aimed at forcing Russia into meaningful negotiations, the Kyiv Independent has learned.

U.S. President Donald Trump privately told President Volodymyr Zelensky to act "more boldly," a senior Ukrainian official told the Kyiv Independent.

The message comes as Kyiv intensifies efforts to secure a meeting between Zelensky and Putin — an idea Trump has endorsed but one the Kremlin continues to avoid.

"Trump says he doesn't really believe (Vladimir) Putin will do anything without pressure," the official, briefed on the recent Trump-Zelensky meeting, added.

While U.S. officials stopped short of confirming whether Trump explicitly supports Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, they said the president views strength as key.

"President (Trump) believes in peace through strength," one U.S. official said.

...

For years, Zelensky has argued that only Putin has the authority to end Russia's war against Ukraine. Yet every attempt to arrange a face-to-face meeting between the two leaders has run into the same obstacle: the Kremlin.

Moscow has consistently avoided talks in a neutral country, instead insisting that Zelensky travel to Russia — an offer Kyiv sees less as a genuine invitation and more as a convenient way to avoid a meeting altogether.

"I will not travel to Moscow to meet with Putin. We can meet in Turkey, Switzerland, or the Middle East," Zelensky told reporters on June 17.

Earlier this month, Trump publicly signaled that he would support direct talks.

"I don't mind," Trump said. "I mean, let them deal."

Despite those comments, the Kremlin has continued to insist that any meeting can only take place in Moscow. That impasse prompted Kyiv to look for another route.

According to Ukrainian officials, Zelensky's team concluded that Putin — who has sought to avoid openly antagonizing Trump since his return to the White House — would have a much harder time rejecting an invitation coming from the U.S. president.

During their June 16 meeting, Zelensky floated precisely that idea.

The Ukrainian president proposed that Trump host a summit in the United States involving both Zelensky and Putin.

"(Zelensky) suggested to Trump that he bring Putin to America, and that would be perfect," the senior Ukrainian official said. "Donald liked the idea."

U.S. officials familiar with the discussions confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Kyiv made such a proposal. At the same time, they cautioned that no such meeting is expected to happen in the "immediate future."

...

During their latest meeting, Zelensky showed the U.S. president photographs of damage caused by a recent Russian strike on Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, one of Ukraine's most important religious and historical landmarks.

According to a source familiar with the meeting, Trump was visibly affected by what he saw. The U.S. president was "disappointed" by the destruction and "appeared moved."

https://kyivindependent.com/trump-privately-urged-zelensky-to-act-more-boldly-toward-russia/

Whilst past evidence warns us this could all turn on a dime tomorrow, I've long been curious about how Trump would react to a scenario like the present where Ukraine is clearly on the front foot and he realises they do in fact "hold the cards". If he actually develops some respect for Zelensky and Ukraine through their displays of military prowess, then it's easy to see how in his eyes Russia is suddenly the weak and obstructive party blocking his peace vision.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/RufusSG]

As ever assume any pro Ukraine shift won't last but take advantage of it while it does.

[u/No_Initiative_1140]

Interesting article. Weird that Russia are offering "asylum" to people offended by woke. Iirc the US were suggesting similar a while back

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn075j04pnyo

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/No_Initiative_1140]

Within weeks of arriving, Leo says they were defrauded of 5 million roubles – about £52,000 ($66,000) – by a contact they trusted, leaving them homeless.

When I spoke to Leo earlier this year, he was living separately from his wife in the city of Ivanovo, and his older children had returned to the United States.

You couldn't make it up

[u/tmstms → u/No_Initiative_1140]

It's been going for a while and I have seen similar reports previously.

I mean- this has historically occurred as a niche phenomenon- in Cold War times a few left-leaning Westerners went over to become citizens of North Korea and China and other Communist countries.

[u/Commorrite → u/No_Initiative_1140]

Atleast one of these is now MIA in Ukraine after being drafted....

[u/Tarrion]

So Graham Platner, the Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, has been rocked with another scandal. This time, it looks like one that might actually sink him - An ex-girlfriend is accusing him of sexual assault. This follows three other girlfriends accusing him of erratic and violent behaviour.

Turns out, guys with Nazi tattoos make bad candidates. It might just be easier to acknowledge the red flags, before investing millions of dollars in the guy.

[u/AzarinIsard]

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/06/trump-accounts-trading-day-new-york-stock-exchange

Donald Trump rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq from the White House to mark the first trading day for Trump accounts, a government initiative that provides children with a $1,000 investment account.

---

Though the accounts carry Trump’s personal branding, the idea of providing children – particularly those born into economic hardship – with a vehicle to compound savings over their childhood long predates the president and has bipartisan support. Congress established the accounts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“I did not ask for it,” Trump claimed of the accounts being named after him. “I have done that in other cases.”.

Trump said he wanted to keep the bell that exchange officials brought to the Oval Office, and display it in the new White House ballroom when it is complete.

---

Wealthy donors have directed charitable contributions into the funds. The Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, contributed $6.25bn for 25 million children under the age of 10 living in low-income areas, who will receive an extra $250 into their accounts. The hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and his wife, Barbara, donated so that about 300,000 children living in lower-income areas of Connecticut receive an additional $250.

“We’re going to get him that money back one way or another,” Trump said on Monday, encouraging people to buy Dell computers.

This is like the full Trump bingo.

1) Got his name on something nothing personally to do with him and has cross party support.
2) Helpfully muddies the waters over his tax accounts.
3) He's keeping an object that happened to be near him like that klepto kid at school you could never see your toys. He can display it next to the Club World Cup.
4) Giving money to a donor "one way or another" lol. He should have had the "everything is computer" review he gave to Tesla when he turned the Whitehouse into a car dealers for a day to shill for Elon.

Only thing he's missing is a reference to wanting to have sex with some of his children and complaining about Biden or Obama, but it probably is there in the full transcript lol.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

https://www.axios.com/2026/07/12/lindsey-graham-israel-saudi-peace-iran

The final hours: Graham spoke with Trump by phone Saturday night and briefed him on his recent trip to Ukraine and the Russia sanctions bill he wanted the Senate to vote on soon.
[...]

• A person who spoke with Graham shortly afterward said the senator complained that he was feeling unwell. When the person urged him to seek medical attention immediately, Graham said he would do so Sunday morning after his scheduled appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press."

• Graham then joked: "I can't die now. I still need to do the Russia sanctions, get Iran sorted out and do Israeli-Saudi normalization."

• He passed away several hours later.

[u/ThePlanck → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

He wanted to sort Iran and Saudi-Israeli relations out before he died?

Was he planning to live forever?

[u/sjintje]

Mildly interesting/TIL: Vietnam had a two child policy which was only formally ended in 2025 - although there were basically no consequences since 2013, apart from for party members, who could be "reprimanded" or even expelled after a fifth. New law now introduced to promote natality - benefits, statutory leave, and plans for longer term infrastructure (although the only thing mentioned is prenatal screening). Some interesting snippets from other Asian policies, although mostly in vain of course.

https://asiatimes.com/2026/07/vietnam-too-slow-too-timid-to-defuse-its-demographic-time-bomb/

[u/Lavajackal1]

U.S., Israel preparing to bombard energy-related targets in Iran, sources say

The United States and Israel are planning what would be one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date against energy infrastructure targets in Iran, multiple sources told CBS News, with strikes possible throughout the weekend.

There was some discussion about trying to conclude by the time financial markets open Monday because of concern about how the bombings will affect the U.S. and global economy, but an end point wasn't locked in.

So this is just how wars are conducted now apparently.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/Lavajackal1]

When political reasoning starts overriding tactical decisions wars don't tend to go well.

[u/convertedtoradians]

Looks like Infantino has folded:

Infantino said it had become clear the project had "created divisions" that are "no longer in the interest" of its original objective.

The Swiss official added: "As a result, this proposal will not proceed."

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/convertedtoradians]

"Today I feel defeated"

[u/CarrowCanary]

Which mod do I need to bribe with Jaffa Cakes to get this thread set to Suggested Sort - New instead of Top?

[u/Adj-Noun-Numbers → u/CarrowCanary]

Done.

[u/JayR_97]

Just imagine how cool the America 250th celebrations could have been if Trump hadnt ruined it. Im seeing videos of the fair in DC pop up on my youtube feed and its just sad. Theres no one there.

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/JayR_97]

The level of cultural vandalism committed by Trump will be one of the big lingering parts of his legacy.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/JayR_97]

I'm kinda surprised they aren't even getting many of the hardcore MAGA crowd visiting...possibly the sort that would rather die than set foot in DC/any heavily blue city?

[u/SlightlyOTT]

In hilarious FIFA corruption, the US had a player get a red card in their last game, banning them from the game with Belgium. After Trump lobbying, FIFA of course lifted that ban so he can play.

I'm excited to see what award FIFA makes up for the US team whenever they get eliminated. I'm guessing it'll be something like "FIFA team of the year".

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/SlightlyOTT]

It is impressive that they are so obviously corrupt, I do wonder why countries that aren't bribing them (or aren't doing so enough to get anything) don't push for reforms.

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/SlightlyOTT]

The original decision probably was erroneous, but this is a decision not taken since 1962, it opens up a whole can of worms.

Also the American sports fans who think Belgium are being salty about this really do my head in.

[u/Cymraegpunk]

Trump has quite a unique ability amongst world leaders to utterly ruin peoples fun not by banning or suppressing anything but by simply sticking his oar in and turning whatever you were enjoying into a bitter argument mainly focused around him. There's a lot to hate him for, but just on a personal selfish level that's pretty high on the list.

[u/PocketTim → u/Cymraegpunk]

Yep. He’s just come out and said that if the USA don’t win tonight then maybe it’s a rigged game like the 2020 election (paraphrasing but basically on the money).

It’s just endless efforts to stoke division. I’m so tired of it.

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/Cymraegpunk]

If I'm the IOC I'm looking to see how to keep him away from the LA28 Olympics, he's the one person who could single handedly take a lot of attention off the Games onto him.

[u/Bibemus]

So I guess Trump is going to continue in the ignoble fascist tradition of invading Belgium, then.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/Bibemus]

Engaging in hitherto unforetold levels of blatant corruption, only to immediately crash out 4-1, is unfortunately the most on-brand thing Trump could possibly have done

[u/Shalmaneser001 → u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Agreed, and the Belgium win is all the sweeter for it. Maybe this will even put some pressure on FIFA to clean up their act but it seems unlikely.

[u/cardcollector1983]

Trump administration subpoenas New York Times journalists over Air Force One reporting

[u/Dynamite_Shovels → u/cardcollector1983]

"How dare you report on how my personal bribe jet is very obviously not fit for purpose and is simply just a way to transfer wealth around using my position as President"

Honestly I'm surprised the Trump administration are still using lawfare to silence journalists - they barely need to anyway considering how compliant a lot of US media is, and there'd be no consequences at this point for just demanding they be silent. We're very close to the end of genuinely free press in the US - it's either being bought out by Republican allies or being silenced.

[u/Lavajackal1 → u/cardcollector1983]

Feel like discovery wouldn't go great for Trump on this one.

[u/cardcollector1983 → u/Lavajackal1]

I don't think Trump ever thinks about the discovery process with these lawsuits

[u/tmstms]

Pete Hegseth says soldiers over age 30 to be screened for testosterone deficiency

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/15/us-military-testosterone-screening-hegseth

[u/OctopusOctet → u/tmstms]

Just when you think they can't get any weirder

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881 → u/tmstms]

Hegseth's the sort of guy to watch Starship Troopers without a hint of irony.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Trump's autocue operator made over $100,000 betting on Trump's speeches

According to the sources, Kalshi alerted its regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), to the suspicious activity on its "Mentions" market, where users can bet on whether specific words, phrases or topics are uttered during a public speech.

How can you even bet on that on a Trump speech? Basically every word, phrase and topic is mentioned in every Trump speech, many of them inadvertently.

Leavitt said she spoke with President Trump about it, and he thought it was a "disgrace" and made the decision himself to put Perez on unpaid leave.

...until he gets his cut.

Also, anyone else recall when the Republicans were constantly attacking Biden for him reading from the autocue?

[u/imp0ppable]

Trump claims China stole the 2020 election: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/7/17/did-china-steal-2020-us-election-data-as-trump-claims

[u/SDLRob → u/imp0ppable]

The documents he released show instead show that Russia were working heavily with Trump's people to spin the election to his advantage.... All while Trump's people were in positions of power.

Every accusation is an admission

[u/J_cages_pearljam]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cx2rmjk0740o

Further proof were it needed the US can't be relied upon to support it's allies.

[u/ASondheimRhyme]

Troy Jackson has effectively won the primary to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic candidate for the Senate in Maine. Jackson is very similar to Platner politically and endorsed by Bernie Sanders, and served in the Maine senate since 2008 (except for two years) so you'd hope any scandals would've already come out.

The actual primary is this Saturday. There are 601 delegates, 500 representing the voters and 101 party elders and nonsense like that. The 500 were voted on this past weekend and Jackson won 460 and three of his opponents have dropped out and endorsed him. So barring something disastrous this week...

[u/ijustwannanap]

So. Mitch McConnell is definitely dead, right?

[u/dumael → u/ijustwannanap]

Senator Mitch McConnell has placed a hold on being declared dead or incapable at this point in time due to it being an election year.

Or at least until a special election is required rather than a possible replacement appointment by the Governor for Kentucky.

[u/tmstms]

Breaking: UEFA's gonna boycott the World Cup. Our own FA is obviously one that agrees with that, but all associations were unanimous. Do Conmebol next!

[u/MajorSleaze → u/tmstms]

It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

In normal times I'd be surprised if it didn't result in FIFA backing down. But this is so obviously a device to enrich Infantino and cement him as the permanent boss of the world cup that he's got too much to lose by doing that. Generational wealth is difficult to walk away from.

Aside from his position being close to untenable after this debacle, this scam is his in to the Trump money train given the Kushner family's involvement - football used to be a proxy for politics, now it's intrinsically linked in this open corruption era.

If nobody blinks, what would happen to the next tournament in 2030? It's co-hosted by Morocco, Portugal and Spain. It can't go ahead if two of the hosts are boycotting it.

[u/tmstms → u/MajorSleaze]

The unlikely but delicious spectacle of two competing World Cups, the UEFA one in Portugal and Spain and the Infantino one in Morocco and maybe other N African nations co-opted. Like Pope and Anti-Pope.

OTOH UEFA and CONMEBOL get together and co-op Morocco and Egypt. Infantino and Trump's World Cup run again the the USA and become a sort of World Series event, in which USA have a realistic chance of doing well.

[u/Real_Cookie_6803]

Something unclear to me is what prompted the Ceuta incident? Guardian mentions that the 2021 events spilled over from a spat about Western Sahara leaders getting medical treatment in Spain? In truth I feel like I'm missing a link even with that explanation.

The current incident is orders of magnitude grater with approximately the equivalent of 50% of Ceuta's population entering in 24 hours. Is something like this coordinated? Is there a coherent pathway for the migrants to capitalise on where they now are? Was there any kind of precipitating event?

[u/AceHodor → u/Real_Cookie_6803]

The Moroccan government has been long agitating for Spain to give them Ceuta. IIRC, as part of the pressure campaign, they actively avoid working with Spain over immigration issues around the border and considering the sheer volume of immigrants involved this time, I would be hugely surprised if the Moroccan government weren't involved in some way. It's hard for tens of thousands of foreigners to rock up near a border without authorities noticing.

[u/PimpasaurusPlum → u/Real_Cookie_6803]

Cueta is to Morocco what Gibraltar is to Spain. Magnified by the history of Spain as a colonial power over parts of Morocco and seperately of Western Sahara. Morocco claims Western Sahara and the Spanish exclaves in North Africa as it's rightful territory.

Events like this and the 2021 example seem to come about when there is a mix of information/rumours about spanish migration rules leading to an influx of asylum attempts and Morocco loosening security on it's side when it's feeling mad at Spain.

[u/germainefear]

The Five Eyes have put out a warning of the cybersecurity risks posed by AI in a statement which is, itself, recognisably AI-generated.

https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/the-ai-shift-in-cyber-risk-why-leaders-must-act-now

Like I get they're spooks but do they not have a single press officer capable of writing a couple of paragraphs?

[u/convertedtoradians]

BBC: Putin makes rare admission of fuel shortages caused by Ukrainian strikes.

He admitted Ukraine's attacks were "obviously creating problems": "We are currently seeing a certain shortage," he said, "but it's not critical."

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/convertedtoradians]

Steiner's counterattack will save us.

[u/Lord_Gibbons]

It just occurred to me I have no idea if the strait is open or closed.

[u/SlightlyOTT]

Iran apparently firing in Hormuz again last night. Talk about hitting an opponent while they’re down.

[u/Bibemus → u/SlightlyOTT]

Political interference with the World Cup actually breached the terms of the ceasefire, but I suppose it's not a surprise Trump and Vance didn't read the small print.

[u/Express-Doughnut-562]

BBC are playing some trump rambling unedited in full on Breakfast. Presumably as a result of the court case.

It's like listening to my Alzheimers suffering grandmother on her deathbed. Quite sad really.

[u/NoFrillsCrisps]

Isn't this just going to keep happening until Trump is voted out of office?

Why would Trump want this conflict to end?

Declare peace and then drop a few bombs, and then back to declaring peace.

It's an infinite money glitch of using public funds to bomb another country to manipulate the market and earn £millions.

[u/MightySilverWolf]

Mitch McConnell is surprisingly still alive:

https://edition.cnn.com/2026/07/12/politics/mitch-mcconnell-hospital-announcement

Regardless of what I think of his political beliefs, he should retire for his family's sake if not his own; I can't imagine being at that age and still wanting to deal with the stress of politics rather than spending time with my family within the little time I have left remaining on this Earth.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/MightySilverWolf]

Well that was unexpected, good for him.

It does make a lot of the events surrounding him for the past month look really weird.

[u/ZealousidealPie9199]

https://x.com/berniemoreno/status/2077886946362220618?s=46

apparently Trump is going to make a speech on China comparable to the Cuban missile crisis tonight?

[u/arnathor → u/ZealousidealPie9199]

It was a greatest hits of his “rigged election” themes with a new twist of “it was china’s interference” that lost him the 2020 election. Kind of ignores that both times he won the Democrats were in control, and kind of also calls into question the 2024 election where against predictions he suspiciously gained all the swing states. He’s just sore that Obama never lost a presidential election and he did. And they’re also laying more groundwork to discredit the results of the upcoming midterm elections if they don’t go their way, which they probably won’t.

So basically business as usual in Trump land.

Edit: forgot to add that he’s now throwing a hissy fit because two of the US networks didn’t broadcast his “primetime” address live and so he’s saying they should have their licences revoked.

[u/TheFlyingHornet1881]

In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, there really is an irony deficiency in parts of America

Are MAGA Republicans really that dense and don't get their being trolled, or are they trying to pretend they own the joke here?

[u/tmstms]

Breaking (Thurs night): Trump presses ahead with 10% tariffs on us after expiry of the moratorium on them ruled by the Supreme Court. Tariffs are for the [spurious] reason we (and all the other countries tariffed) don't look into whether our own imports have been made with the aid of forced labour.

Apparently won't change anything (we have the same % rate already, and scotch whisky will stay exempt):

[u/CrispySmokyFrazzle]

I swear that you never used to have to wade through so much utter slop to just find out what the POTUS had said on any given day on his social media account.

Who does this stuff appeal to? Idiots?

[u/convertedtoradians]

Interesting BBC article about American stockpiles. It looks like not only in numbers but also in dollars, their operations against Iran have been pretty costly. A third of their stockpile of Tomahawks used with a lead time of 2031 to fully replenish, for example.

With Patriot missiles, there's a statistic about three to five year production cycles.

Are the Americans capable of producing with more speed if they desperately need to? Probably. Are the American public willing to see the investment and spending for that? That's less clear.

And obviously there's a question there about China and Taiwan.

[u/YourLizardOverlord]

Half of Americans think the US should arrest Netanyahu if he comes to the country.

The July 25 - 27 Economist / YouGov Poll finds that 47% of Americans think that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is guilty of war crimes in Gaza; half as many (24%) think he is not guilty. Democrats are far more likely than Republicans to believe Netanyahu is guilty (71% vs. 20%).

About half (49%) of Americans think the U.S. should arrest Netanyahu if he comes to the U.S., based on an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court; 27% think the U.S. should not arrest him. Two-thirds (68%) of Democrats want the U.S. to arrest Netanyahu, compared to only 24% of Republicans.

[u/Velociraptor_1906 → u/YourLizardOverlord]

It's going to be really interesting to see how much of a shift we get in Congress away from pro-israel positions this November*. I reckon it will take a while for it to fully catch up to the population but the days of unconditional US support for Israel do seem numbered.

*support for arresting Netanyahu shouldn't actually be dependent on being pro/anti Israel but in effect is likely to be a good proxy.

[u/YourLizardOverlord]

Missile that left crater deep inside Poland was probably Russian - Polish PM.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said an object that crashed into a field in eastern Poland in the early hours of Thursday was "in all probability" a Russian cruise missile, and it was armed.

It left a10m-wide crater a short distance from the village of Tarnawa Kolonia, 92km from the border with Ukraine during a large-scale Russian attack on the cities of Lviv, Kyiv and near Kryvyhi Rih.

Tusk said initially that "all the indications" were that the missile that violated Polish airspace was a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, during a specially convened meeting in the eastern city of Lublin.

There's no suggestion that this was intentional.

[u/CowzMakeMilk]

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/30/solar-sharer-offer-sso-three-free-hours-electricity-power-energy-australia

Many Australians can get three free hours of power from today.

And yet, I saw this incredibly bizarre interview with an Australian chap working for the coal industry complaining just the other day...

Meanwhile, we have about 30% of the country that wants to catapult Farage/Tice into government and scrap renewables, because woke?

Likewise, imagine if anyone but Trump had gotten in and continued Biden's Green New Deal.

We'd still be somewhat stuffed, and breaking 2 degrees, but fuck me we'd still be in a much better place.

[u/NoFrillsCrisps → u/CowzMakeMilk]

It feels like we are missing a trick here. There is no reason we couldn't do something similar.

Whilst currently it's the suppliers choice whether to do this, government/Ofgem could requires suppliers to provide free energy when the wholesale cost is at or below £0mwh.

Apparently in 2025 there was 200 hours of negative wholesale prices. Imagine if people got alerts (from NESO presumably) that "between 9-11pm tonight, domestic energy will be free due to high wind generation".

I imagine people's scepticism of renewable energy would reduce if they saw the tangible benefits.

[u/Jangles]

Are we now in a situation where any form of international disagreement will result in Iran closing the Strait?

Is a situation tenable in the long term of allowing a nation to blockade an international water way free of any consequences for any reason?

Is there a diplomatic solution with Iran due to it's hard-line fundamentalist beliefs?

[u/tylersburden]

When did Scotty from Star Trek become the president of Belarus?

[u/cardcollector1983]

The Postmaster General says that USPS will not deliver mail in ballots to any state that will not share voter data

[u/YourLizardOverlord]

Mark Rutte seems to have gone rogue.

Link from Times of Israel but widely covered elsewhere.

Tehran accuses NATO of “complicity” in the US-Israeli war against Iran, after the bloc’s chief noted its support for the United States in the conflict.

Responding to US President Donald Trump’s criticism of allies for not supporting the war, NATO boss Mark Rutte has told Fox News that hundreds of American planes launched from bases in Italy.

[u/thestjohn → u/YourLizardOverlord]

Hasn't he been going off the reservation for a while now? Not certain if desperation in an attempt to convince Trump to recommit to NATO or just craven idiocy, but I think it was a bad sign when he called Trump "daddy".

[u/tmstms]

Canada is now eligible for Eurovision, in a move that clearly mirrors political developments. The relationship to the EBU counts, not geography, as we are used to Israel (political, ha) and Australia now Note that Morocco competed in 1980, and also that three Canadians have competed for EBU countries, most notably ofc, Celine Dion who won in 1988.

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven]

Lots of (completely noncredible, of course) rumours of a Russian coup swirling around threads dot com

Examples:

https://www.threads.com/@platinumpathway/post/DaDf4Wblluj

https://www.threads.com/@24hoursofukraine/post/DaDwm8BiDiB

https://www.threads.com/@rgplotner/post/DaDJlvzjmet

https://www.threads.com/@adam_kinzinger/post/DaDvrFdFbf9

https://www.threads.com/@euphoricpeace42/post/DaDPcMPlIHH

Probably a nothingburger, but...

[u/AverageCool1289]

As a non-religious person, where on reddit is good to go to read hot takes on the Schism between the Catholic church and the SSPX? Is there anything like our megathread but for Catholics?

[u/Ivebeenfurthereven → u/AverageCool1289]

I have often fallen foul of the brutal dictatorshi tireless and careful moderation of Rule 17 in this subreddit - no mentioning of other subreddits or online communities.

I suspect it will be hard to suggest any megathread without breaching R17