Well boys and girls, NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, is meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania as of right now. With that many poncing ne’er do wells in one place what could go wrong. Just the fact that Joe Biden and Volodymyr Zelensky will be there together should terrify the entire world including Putin. Zelensky will try to grift but since the U.S. and Ukraine are almost out of munitions, the cupboard may be bare. It’s all too nerve-wracking. Here what else to look for.

Joe ALMOST LOOKED SPRY arriving in Lithuania and being greeted by Lithuanian President Nauseda:

Some people are kvetching that Joe told a secret about being out of ammo, but I am willing to bet that Russia, China and all of our Allies already knew about the lack of bullets and javelins, so it was not such a secret. The bigger question is will Joe look lucid during his NATO meetings. Biden will give a speech to the NATO crowd on Wednesday so he has two days to rest up after his big trip to Windsor to visit King Charles III. Joe is expected to request continued support for Ukraine:

Biden, his aides previewed, will use a major address Wednesday before NATO to forcefully urge for a redoubling of Western support for Ukraine. He will declare it imperative that Kyiv be sufficiently armed to make real progress before the fighting season slows for mud and then snow. He also will point to NATO’s response over the past 16 months, and the alliance’s expansion, to argue that he’s delivered on a promise to repair America’s alliances — and use the recent tumult in Russia as further evidence that efforts by allies have been working.

“Repair America’s alliances”? Are you kidding? Whatever. Lithuania is doing everything she can to support Ukraine by decorating buses around town:

An absolutely incredible public advocacy campaign for Ukraine's NATO membership in Vilnius is happening these days. Here is a shuttle bus that brings participants to the Summit venue. Kudos to our big friends in Lithuania, we are lucky to have you!
Photo: Serhiy Sydorenko pic.twitter.com/QT0kNHzrkh

— Olena Halushka (@OlenaHalushka) July 10, 2023

That leads to next issue the NATO crowd will confront. Will the rockstar Volodymyr Zelenskyy show up. He hasn’t sent in his RSVP.

The big question hanging over the high-profile NATO summit this week is whether Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will show up.
The answer could either prove a galvanizing moment for the West in its support of Kyiv against Russia, or a humiliation. Though invited, Zelenskyy has yet to confirm his attendance, with his officials saying he is not yet clear about what was being promised at the summit.
Zelenskyy’s last-minute decision shines a spotlight on the divisions between Kyiv and its foreign backers as the war passes its 500th day.
The central disagreement: whether to invite Ukraine to join NATO, and, if so, when and how.
The two-day summit opens Tuesday in Lithuania, a former Soviet republic that today is one of the most outspoken critics of Russia’s war in Ukraine.

There is still time to offer Zelenskyy more photo ops and money. He’ll show.

Next up is Canada. Yes, she is already in NATO, but Canada has issues. Trudeau is trying to looks statesman like and all world leadery here:

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced in Vilnius, Lithuania, on Monday that Canada is officially establishing an embassy in the capital cities of Lithuania and Estonia. “We will stand up to any aggressor who tries to impose their own belief that ‘might makes right.’ We are united in our mission to protect freedom, democracy and the rule of law,” Trudeau said in his remarks.

Justin will talk a good game, but he won’t pay his paltry fair share of the cost for NATO. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, a real leader unlike Joe and Justin will tell member countries to pony up their 2%:

Rishi Sunak will head to the Nato summit in Lithuania with a renewed call for all members of the alliance to commit to spending 2% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on defence.
The Prime Minister will tell allies in Vilnius that plans to make Nato’s armed forces “more lethal and more deployable” start with “meeting the 2% commitment”.
Downing Street said that last year, fewer than half of those in the alliance were meeting the expenditure target in relation to their national GDP — a measure of the health of an economy — with nine out of 30 members spending at least 2%.
While this is projected to rise to two-thirds of allies by 2024 — the 10th anniversary of the goal being set at the Wales summit — Government sources said Mr Sunak hoped to leave eastern Europe on Wednesday with a plan in place for all members to start meeting the target.

One of Canada’s own Members of Parliament actually called Trudeau out last night for only spending 1.29% of GDP:

PM Trudeau has a chance at the NATO summit to address the fact that the government is only spending 1.29% on defence.

It’s also a chance for the PM to walk back his private comments to NATO officials that Canada will never meet our commitment to our NATO allies.#cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/pRZDrLSymG

— Michael Chong (@MichaelChongMP) July 10, 2023

That leads us finally to the biggish news that Turkey has lifted its objection to Sweden joining NATO. See Sweden want to join NATO and Turkey, already in NATO, wants to join the European Union. So Turkey was holding up Sweden until Turkey gets assurances about the EU. Lord, these people.

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has agreed to send Sweden’s accession protocol for joining NATO to the Turkish Parliament “as soon as possible” and to help ensure that the assembly approves it.
Stoltenberg made the announcement after talks with Erdogan and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson on the eve of a NATO summit in Lithuania. Sweden’s NATO accession has been held up by objections from Turkey since last year.

“This is an historic day because we have a clear commitment by Turkey to submit the ratification documents to the Grand National Assembly, and to work also with the assembly to ensure ratification,” Stoltenberg told reporters.
Earlier Monday, with NATO hoping to put on a public display of unity in its support for Ukraine more than 500 days into the war, Erdogan said that he would block Sweden’s path unless European members of the military organization “pave the way” for Turkey to join the world’s biggest trading bloc.
His surprise announcement added new uncertainty to Sweden’s bid to become the alliance’s 32nd member. Turkey was already blocking its entry because Erdogan believes that Sweden has been too soft on Kurdish militants and other groups that he considers to be security threats.

My word, all of these people are poncing grifters. Between them, I do believe, they could start World War Nuke. Time to pay attention.

Featured Image: NATO/flickr.com/cropped/Creative Commons