RUSSIA - Raging Vladimir Putin could retaliate against Finland for announcing its intention to join NATO by turning off their gas supplies as soon as tomorrow, politicians fear. Finnish MPs have been warned that Russian exports could be halted tomorrow in response to today's announcement, according to Iltalehti. This morning, president Sauli Niinisto and prime minister Sanna Marin said they want to join the security alliance 'without delay', with Sweden set to follow suit within days, drastically ramping up tensions between Russia and the West.

EUROPE - The prospect of an imminent suspension of EU gas imports from Russia has significantly grown prior to today's EU energy ministers’ meeting, because of Brussels' announcement that it will not accept the latest payment proposal. It stipulates that payment of supplied gas will only be considered as concluded, once the euros paid for the price of the purchase have been exchanged into rubles. This should ensure that Russia is not left holding euro or US dollar deposits that it cannot use due to the sanctions. The EU refuses to accept this because the Russian Central Bank – itself under EU sanctions – would be involved in the exchange process. According to a new study, Germany would have to reduce gas consumption by one-fifth, if Russian supplies were suspended – even under favorable conditions. In addition, Germany's gas traders are obliged to pay billions for years even if they do not accept the gas. Industry representatives demand that reductions not first be made by the industry but by private consumers.

USA - Will the US soon be involved in two major wars at the same time? The US House of Representatives just escalated the proxy war in Europe by approving a 40 billion dollar “aid package” for Ukraine... But first I want to talk about a major development in Asia. For a long time I have been warning that the Chinese will invade Taiwan, and now that day appears to be closer than ever. From Friday through Sunday, China conducted very alarming military exercises off the coast of Taiwan that one Chinese military analyst is referring to as a “rehearsal of possible real action”… With the US distracted by the conflict in Ukraine, this could be an ideal time for the Chinese to forcibly “reunite” with Taiwan. And I am entirely convinced that Chinese leaders want to take advantage of the “window of opportunity” that they have while Joe Biden is still in office. But if China does invade, our two nations will immediately be in a state of war no matter who is residing in the White House.

USA - Communism depends on the atomization of society. Nothing must stand between the state and the individual. The family unit must be destroyed. The individual must owe his or her only allegiance to the all-powerful state and the party which controls it. But, perhaps, most of all, Communists must destroy religion. The idea that individuals might place their fate in anything other than the all-powerful, omnipresent government is anathema. It cannot be tolerated. You must stand powerless and alone in the face of your oppressor who owns you body and soul.

USA - Power-grid operators across the US warn that power-generating capacity struggles to keep up with demand, a worrying sign ahead of summer where heatwaves could lead to rolling blackouts. The Midcontinent Independent System Operator, or MISO, operating in 15 states across the US Central region, said last month that capacity shortages this summer due to soaring summer demand might result in outages. Last Friday, California Independent System Operator, or California ISO, outlined energy shortfalls this summer because of heat and wildfires. Texas over the weekend saw triple-digit temperatures in some portions of the state, though grid stability was maintained despite several power plants being offline for maintenance.

UKRAINE - Food planting in Ukraine is down between 25-30 per cent as the country struggles to export already harvested produce. Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to cause havoc for the country’s vital agricultural sector, with crop sowing falling by 25-30 per cent thanks to the ongoing conflict. The war-torn country is also struggling to export crops that have already been harvested, an issue that has already prompted fears of famine across the world due to the nation traditionally being responsible for a major share of the world’s wheat trade. According to a report by Reuters, the country only managed to export around one million tons of grain in April, a small figure compared to the 4-5 million tons per month the country usually ships out. By contrast, 12 million tons of surplus grain remain in the country, with it now being feared that the stuck produce will leave no room in storage for when the next harvest comes.

USA - The Satanic Temple (TST) said its adherents should be permitted religious exceptions to perform religious abortion rituals in states that have put up barriers to the controversial procedure. Responding to a leaked Supreme Court opinion draft that would overturn Roe v Wade, TST said it was committed to protecting "religious abortion access" for its members. "In states that outlaw abortion but grant exceptions for instances of incest and rape," TST said in a statement, "members should be permitted a religious exception to perform TST’s religious abortion ritual." The religious organization introduced the "Satanic Abortion Ritual" to argue for a religious exception under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), a 1993 federal law which made it illegal for states to interfere in anyone’s religion without demonstrating a compelling interest.

USA - It seems that 2020 marks the year the United States supposedly hit its lowest marriage rate in more than 100 years. Still, the popularity of reality television shows such as “Married at First Sight” and new research show that it’s not a lack of desire among adults to get married that is causing the slump, but a struggle among many to find the perfect partner. Furthermore, this struggle could put the nation at risk in the long run. New data show that a decline in the marriage rate goes hand in hand with a decrease in the fertility rate. Researchers are now warning that without appropriate interventions, a continuous slide in the nation’s fertility rate will lead to the aging and shrinking of the US population, a downfall in productivity, and instability in financing old-age programs such as Social Security and Medicare.

USA - Whenever there is some sort of a major crisis, our politicians normally attempt to solve it by spending money. But in this case, that isn’t going to work. Our leaders can try to throw billions or even trillions of dollars at the global food crisis, and they may even convince themselves that they are making a difference. However, the truth is that they simply cannot create food out of thin air. As I discussed last week, we are facing a worldwide nightmare of epic proportions. Fertilizer prices have spiked to absurd levels, extremely bizarre weather patterns are playing havoc with crop production all over the planet, and the war in Ukraine has caused a growing supply crunch that will not be resolved any time soon. There simply is no “magic wand” that our politicians can wave that will make this problem go away. Just a few years ago, a worldwide famine would have been unthinkable, but now we are on the precipice of a true global nightmare.

USA - Canola is a coined word. It appeared out of nowhere and is not listed in any but the most recent reference sources. The flip side of the canola coin reads: "rape"! You must admit that canola sounds better than rape. The name canola disguised the introduction of rape oil to America. Canola oil comes from the rape seed, which is part of the mustard family of plants. Rape is the most toxic of all food-oil plants. Like soy, rape is a weed. Insects will not eat it; it is deadly poisonous! The oil from the rape seed is a hundred times more toxic than soy oil. Canola is a semi-drying oil that is used as lubricant, fuel, soap and synthetic rubber base, and as an illuminant for the slick color pages you see in magazines. It is an industrial oil and does not belong in the body!

USA - Get woke, go broke. That is a painful lesson the Walt Disney Co is experiencing as its stock has dropped over 40% in the past year with a 26.2% drop over the past three months. That coincides with Disney’s decision to embrace transitioning children between five and nine-years-old in their fight with Florida lawmakers. Now we’re finding out that to make matters much worse, Disney has donated to a group that pollutes public and private schools with radical LGBT ideology, the Daily Caller reports. Time was when parents didn’t mind getting shaken down by absurd prices for tickets to “The Happiest Place on Earth,” paying $250 a night for postage stamp-sized hotel rooms at Disney resorts, and dropping $150 for a family of four to eat at one of their themed restaurants. After all, it was the whole “magical Disney experience.” Not anymore. Now parents have found out exactly what Disney does with the money parents scrimp and save to spend at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

USA - Major technology firms have lost more than $1 trillion in combined market value over the past three trading sessions, as investors flee risky growth stocks in favor of safer consumer staples. Since the closing bell on Wednesday, following the Federal Reserve's rate hike announcement, tech stocks have been hardest hit, with Apple alone losing more than $220 billion in market value, according to a CNBC analysis. Though markets rebounded somewhat on Tuesday morning, the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite has dropped 26 percent so far this year, and is trading at its lowest level since November 2020. Amid the selling, investors have been flocking to classic consumer staples companies such as Campbell Soup, General Mills and JM Smucker. Between Wednesday's closing bell and the end of trading on Monday, Tesla lost $199 billion in market cap, continuing its slide months after seeing its valuation fall below $1 trillion. Microsoft has lost around $189 billion in value, and Amazon's market capitalization has declined by $173 billion. Google-parent Alphabet has lost about $123 billion in market value over the three days, while Facebook parent Meta Platforms has lost $70 billion in value.

UK - The Bank of England (BoE) has warned shoppers that there are only a few months to go before paper bank notes will no longer be accepted in stores, including supermarkets. Anyone attempting to use paper £20 and £50 notes in stores after the September 30 deadline will have their transaction rejected. Polymer notes have now been introduced as they are more durable than paper and harder to counterfeit. The BoE has slowly been phasing out the paper notes, with the final round of notes being withdrawn from circulation in five months. Those still in possession of paper notes after September 30 will be able to exchange them for the polymer version at banks and post offices nationwide, reports The Daily Star.

UK - At Parliament yesterday, [the Queen's] officials, her parliamentarians and her judiciary were merrily tying themselves up in knots as they attempted to reproduce that greatest of constitutional rituals, the State Opening of Parliament, minus that crucial ingredient – the head of state. However, she had been very clear about one thing. In her absence, due to 'episodic mobility' issues, she had wanted the Prince of Wales to read her speech. And no one was minded to quibble with our longest-reigning monarch in her Jubilee year.

UK - [The Queen's] absence yesterday at the State Opening of Parliament — just a small and woefully inadequate side table bearing the crown in her place — was the graphic, painful realisation of a sad but inevitable truth: she is nearing the end of her great reign.

It is a moment we all knew would eventually come, yet somehow hoped it never would.This is irrational, of course. Her Majesty is 96 — how can she possibly be expected to continue with her official duties? The fact that she has only very recently scaled back is astonishing. Such has been her resilience, her determination — even after the death of her beloved husband — that at times it has seemed she might go on for ever. But no one can cheat time, not even a Queen.