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Links 6/17/2025

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How the Global Religious Landscape Changed From 2010 to 2020 Pew (Micael T)

Authorship for sale: Nature investigates how paper mills work Nature (Anthony L)

‘Ozempic Babies’: Here’s Why Oral Contraceptives Might Be Failing ScienceAlert (Chuck L)

EXCLUSIVE: Is the ‘tech bro-ification’ of abortion here? Prism

Covid/Pandemics

As Measles Spreads, Docs Stress It’s ‘Not a Rite of Passage’ Medspace

Climate/Environment

Nasa data reveals dramatic rise in intensity of weather events Guardian

Clean energy, dirty secrets: Inside the corruption plaguing california’s solar market Boston University (Paul R)

Britain’s enemies could dim the sun and weaponise weather Telegraph. This comes from watching too many James Bond

China?

G-7 Works to Secure Critical Minerals in Face of China Curbs Bloomberg

China’s automakers aim for cars with 100% domestic chips from 2026 Nikkei

China’s fast-growing high-speed railway network faces reality Asia Times (Kevin W)

US pushes Vietnam to decouple from Chinese tech, sources say Reuters

European Disunion

NATO allies ‘not prepared’ for war, top UK defense adviser warns Politico. Quelle surprise!

Sweden must be able to function with higher interest rates Aftonbladet via machine translation. Micael T: “Sweden has one of the lowest public debt levels in the world relative to the size of our economy, but one of the highest private debt levels.”

Works begin in Ireland to exhume remains of hundreds of babies found at unwed mothers’ home Associated Press

European Disunion

Russia Weaponizes UK Climate Project Moon of Alabama

Old Blighty

Trump signs order confirming parts of UK-US tariff deal BBC

Israel v. Iran

With Its Goals in Iran Out of Reach and Its Endgame Unclear, What’s Next for Israel? Haaretz

* * *

Donald Trump Doubles Down on Crazy Larry Johnson

* * *

Debris falls in Iranian TV studio during live broadcast as Israel strikes state media BBC

Note none of these claimed interceptions have been confirmed:

* * *

Iran asks Gulf states to mediate for ceasefire with Israel, sources say Reuters. resilc: “More like ‘We can fuck up your Gulfie indoor ski resort malls too ez.'”

Analysis – OPEC+ would struggle to cover major Iranian oil supply disruption Finance Yahoo!

Tankers Reportedly Ablaze Near Strait of Hormuz OilPrice (resilc). Supposedly an accident….

Since this is making the rounds, note that Mark Sleboda, in a fresh interview with Jamarl Thomas, takes issue with another claim Dugin made, that Dugin claimed that Russia offered a security agreement to Iran and was rebuffed. He says Dugin is not an insider and he has heard nothing of the kind from Russian officials. This is a separate claim, but the key point is that Dugin has already gone out over his skis, so take this with a fistful of salt:

From yesterday, but still an important overview:

* * *

From yesterday. KLG: “On the WWIII front, this is the equivalent of an attack on MIT and Caltech.” GM: “It indeed got hit hard. But that particular building seems to have been heavily involved in military research, so it is fair game after the assassinations of Iranian university professors.”

Israel v. the Rest of the Resistance

North African convoy for Gaza reports mistreatment in eastern Libya by Haftar forces Middle East Eye

Malaysia announces the “Fleet of a Thousand Ships” initiative to break the siege on Gaza Palestinian Information Center. From two days ago, still germane.

Palestinians in Jaffa denied access to bomb shelter by Israeli neighbours Middle East Eye (Kevin W)

New Not-So-Cold War

SITREP 6/16/25: Slowly Abandoned, Ukraine Gets Squeezed by Russian Pressure Simplicius

US cancels next round of bilateral talks with Russia, says Moscow EFE. John Helmer called this one early, that even these normalization talks were going nowhere. The US was making “the dog ate my homework” level excuses for not returning Russian diplomatic property the US had seized.

The definition of insanity: a neocon think tank’s recommendations for Russia Ian Proud

Universities and colleges ranking by employment: how to decide where to apply? Tass via machine translation. Micael T: “Looking at the list of prioritized economic sectors, Russia seems to have a plan.”

Big Brother is Watching You Watch

New Pope Declassifies Jesus Crucifixion Documents Onion (Paul R)

Minnesota Shooting Suspect Allegedly Used Data Broker Sites to Find Targets’ Addresses Wired

Imperial Collapse Watch

In 2025, US looks less like a dream to some and more like a country to avoid Associated Press

Local Malls Are Sitting Empty, and Becoming a Headache for Small Towns New York Times (resilc)

Majority of Australians think China will be world’s most powerful country by 2035, poll finds Guardian (resilc)

Maniac barges into NYC courthouse and slashes officers in the neck, face in chaotic scene New York Post

Trump 2.0

Trump Backed Israel’s Strike Is Fracturing His Coalition Mediate (Chuck L). Confirming our post yesterday.

Trump Organization Announces Mobile Plan, $499 Smartphone CNBC

Trumps Promote American Bitcoin, a New Crypto Mining Venture New York Times. resilc: “Endless until revolution.”

‘Golden Share’ in U.S. Steel Gives Trump Extraordinary Control New York Times

Why Are Tyrant Trump’s Institutional Critics Remaining Silent? CounterPunch (resilc)

Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: From Perpetual Peace to World War Glenn Diesen. Trust me, you must listen starting at 39:00.

Immigration

Trump gets back behind raids in immigration whiplash Axios

Inside Trump’s Extraordinary Turnaround on Immigration Raids New York Times (resilc)

Our No Longer Free Press

Trump Attacks Tucker Carlson Over Opposition to Iran War, Says He Decides What ‘America First’ Means Libertarian Institute (resilc)

The mainstream media has enabled Trump’s war on universities Guardian (resilc)

How Minnesota Police Fueled Insane Conspiracy Theory About Assassin Ken Klippenstein

Campaigners say Saudi Arabia executed prominent journalist for Twitter account Middle East Eye (resilc)

Mr. Market is Moody

Middle East conflict slows tanker bookings, lifts rates Reuters

Central Banks worldwide expected to keep interest rates frozen as nations eye Israel-Iran turmoil, Trump’s trade war LiveMint

Boeing

Southwest Airlines is adding cockpit alerts on all 700 of its Boeing 737s to help prevent runway incidents Yahoo! News (Kevin W)

AI

The launch of ChatGPT polluted the world forever, like the first atomic weapons tests The Register (Kevin W)

The Bezzle

There’s a Good Chance Crypto Is Spreading in Your Retirement Account New York Times

How the obsession with risky assets is putting global finance in peril South China Morning Post

Novo Nordisk Loses Canadian Patent Protection For Blockbuster Diabetes Drug Over Unpaid $450 Fee Science

Class Warfare

Walmart’s Drone Deliveries Expand, Now in Five Different US States CNBC

Now Svantesson thinks you should bargain at the grocery store Aftonbladet via machine translation. Micael T: “Svantesson = the Swedish Finance Minister”

Northland man’s restoration work connects him to famous football brothers Duluth News. Chuck L: “A bit off the beaten in NC path but there’s a human interest and accidental entrepreneurship aspect. I also empathized with the “Which rock do you live under dad?” moment with his daughter. Been there.”

Antidote du jour (via):

A bonus:

A second bonus:

And a third (Chuck L):

See yesterday’s Links and Antidote du Jour here.

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71 comments

  1. .Tom

    At first I thought the whole-cat mitosis might be an AI video but on second and third view I think not.

    Reply ↓
    1. mrsyk

      Cats don’t need no stinkin’ AI. They are already the undisputed king of internet videos.
      Bold commentary here today!

      Reply ↓
  2. The Rev Kev

    “Tankers Reportedly Ablaze Near Strait of Hormuz”

    Of course it might be a false flag event by Israel to drag in the US. Or it might be Iran telling the West that there will be a price to pay for their total support in Israel’s attack on Iran. Time will tell.

    Reply ↓
    1. Unironic Pangloss

      friend, we live in a world where it is a reasonable.claim that paleo-seamanship has atrophied due to GPS, radar, and computers.

      It is more plausible (and easy to infer from the damage pattern) that two ships collide by accident.

      The world is not full of false flagging, 4-D operators. There is plenty of bipartisan manufactured consent for Trump to do whatever he wants.

      Cracks me up for for “a dictatorship” under
      a King”, there is less of an anti-war movement now than 2002/3. the useful idiots haven’t received the orders to swap their anti-ICE placards for the peace sign

      Reply ↓
      1. mrsyk

        I see “electronic interference” being cited.
        With Iran and Israel firing missiles at each other since Friday, interference has disrupted navigation systems near the vital sea route between Iran and Oman which handles about a fifth of the world’s oil.
        Two Oil Tankers Collide and Catch Fire Near Strait of Hormuz, gCaptain.
        The oilprce article mentions “three” tankers ablaze. Everything else I’m seeing says two.

        Reply ↓
    2. ilsm

      Reports USAF air refuelers and F-16/F-35 at Saudi air bases near Iraq, those bases were denied by Saudis in 2003!

      Looks like the Wahabbi/al qaida side of the Persian Gulf is all in on attacking Iran!

      How many WW II era mines still in Iran!

      Reply ↓
  3. Mikerw0

    Where is Judith Miller when the MSM needs her? For a few minutes, here and there, as it was all I could take I turned on CNN to see how they were covering Israel’s attack on Iran. In summary, Israel has Iran on the precipice of collapse, it has been successful, and the experts they had on argue that now is the time for the US to help and finish the job.

    Oy.

    Reply ↓
    1. Steve H.

      I go to the website versions for silo zeitgeists. Two days ago MSNBC had zero/nothin involving Iran and Israel. Just checked again, only one headline, from 18 hours ago. And also this gem:

      > A Palestinian father’s letter of gratitude to Ms. Rachel

      Reply ↓
  4. Michaelmas

    Regarding: From yesterday. KLG: “On the WWIII front, this is the equivalent of an attack on MIT and Caltech.” GM: “It indeed got hit hard. But that particular building seems to have been heavily involved in military research, so it is fair game after the assassinations of Iranian university professors.”

    This carries a definite irony as close to two-thirds of MIT’s funding some years in fact comes covertly, from black projects — research paid for by the United States DOD. Certainly, that was the case in the 1998-2016 period when I had interactions with folks there.

    So by the logic cited above, MIT is indeed fair game for US enemies to attack

    Reply ↓
  5. Carla

    Pew Research article on religion cites the Jewish population of the world as 0.01% in the first table they show. Yet in the text, it states “In percentage terms, Jews were the smallest group in the study, representing about 0.2% of the world’s population.”

    Hhhm. Our local paper of record (The Plain Dealer) now appends to almost every story: “Artificial intelligence was used to help generate this story” and it’s a pretty crummy rag, replete with typos, nonsensical sentences that go nowhere, etc.

    Whether Pew Research avails itself of “the assistance” of AI or just doesn’t copy-edit its pieces seems to be an open question. Suppose it could be both.

    Reply ↓
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Carla: Pew is usually careful with statistics. As an editor at an educational publisher, I used their data and their graphics quite often, although their graphics tend to be overdone. But that is the trend these days, gussying up the histogram.

      This caught my eye: “The U.S. had roughly 101 million religious “nones” in 2020 (up 97% from a decade earlier), while Japan had 73 million (up 8%). However, the unaffiliated category continues to account for a much larger share of the total population in Japan – 57% of all Japanese are religiously unaffiliated – than in the U.S., where 30% identify as atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular.”

      Their count of Buddhists includes a major misunderstanding of how Buddhists “identify” themselves. In fact, almost all Japanese are nominally Buddhist / Shinto. There is a tradition of Shinto weddings and Buddhist funerals. This article explains:

      https://sugoii-japan.com/why-japanese-are-not-religious

      Likewise, China, which is a major center of Buddhism, but in a mixed form, with Taoism, much as in Japan. Likewise, Vietnam, which the report somehow manages to overlook — 80 or so million Buddhists, mixed with Confucian ethics.

      I tend to doubt that the glitch is artificial intelligence. In cases like these, I tend to blame the staff and editors for not gathering all of the needed data.

      Without dividing “Christians” into their major schools of thought, Roman Catholic, Orthodox plus the Churches of the East, and Protestants, it is hard to parse what is going on. At least Pew managed to include Russia and Ethiopia, both of which are in branches of Orthodoxy — usually, U.S. sources can’t even acknowledge the Eastern churches.

      The report likely shows “trends.” Not much else.

      Reply ↓
  6. Unironic Pangloss

    >>Note none of these claimed interceptions have been confirmed:

    🇮🇷🇮🇱| Iranian State TV announced the interception of a 4th F-35 above Tabriz

    These F-35 interception reports are not coming from the Iranian military, they are coming from the iranian media.

    Most likely someone (likely their social media desk) being uncritical of the AI-generated/photoshopped images generated by rando clickbaiters/engagement harvesters. You think English-speaking social media the Wild West, go down the rabbit hole of Arabic Telegram

    IMO, Israeli claims of air supremacy are a complete fictional farce. Along the same lines as their media blackout over Haifa

    Reply ↓
    2. mrsyk

      … Israeli claims of air supremacy are a complete fictional farce. Agreed, an opinion backed by nothing but priors and circumstantial bits and pieces. I imagine confirmation is on the way, for good or bad.
      Pretty relieved to not wake up to nuclear war this morning. Every day is gift in this stupid timeline.

      Reply ↓
      1. Unironic Pangloss

        The IDF are the ones claiming establishment of a clear air corridor to Tehran.

        That claim is easy to demonstrate… airplanes at 30,000 feet dropping cheap JDAMs from 30 miles away the city centre. video of IDF planes would be captured by random suburban Tehranians

        from the publicly available media, looks like IDF is using missiles and drones, and Mossad teams to bomb Iran

        Reply ↓
    1. Wukchumni

      Yep,

      A whole bunch of BLM land in Tiny Town will be for sale apparently, and none of it is near electricity or water, and not much in the way of roads for that matter.

      You’d be buying ‘nature acres’ largely without access~

      Reply ↓
    2. jefemt

      Outrageous.
      And somehow MT delegation talks Mike Lee into Montana being carved out of eligibility for sale?
      Eff That! All for one, one for all, no carveouts: no sale of public lands, ever!
      What makes the west? No water, plenty of nothing that won’t grow half a cow in two years, hence public domain.
      I am apoplectically outraged.

      Reply ↓
  8. The Rev Kev

    ‘A New Policy
    @anewpolicyorg
    🚨 Breaking: @anewpolicyorg
    ‘s sources tell us that a meeting yesterday between U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu devolved into a shouting match over Netanyahu’s objections to U.S. plans to evacuate our citizens from Israel and the wider region.
    U.S. officials believe that Netanyahu’s objection was predicated on his desire to hold U.S. citizens at risk in order to increase the likelihood of U.S. entry into Israel’s conflict with Iran.’

    This is amazing this story and would never have appeared on my bingo card. Mike Huckabee is, from his comments, a Zionist’s Zionist. He could be Netanyahu’s brother by another mother. And yet he is having a shouting match with Netanyahu because Netanyahu does not want to lose his human shields – his American human shields. Is Netanyahu hoping that a bunch of them will get killed so that it will make Americans support him? Netanyau is stopping anybody leaving the country so all those people with American passports are now stuck. Guess they chose the wrong country to live in.

    Reply ↓
    1. ChrisFromGA

      I wonder how many evangs will re-think their plans to travel to the Holy Land after this … nah.

      Reply ↓
      2. Steve H.

        Christian Expedition resumed in May 2024. For 2025, one listed for July, three for October, one for November. That’s not a lot.

        Our church had done ‘Footsteps of Paul’ in March, that’s Greece and Turkey. Nothing else planned.

        Reply ↓
    2. Anonted

      Here’s to equal rights and privileges, throughout the Levant! Not how we imagined it, but if you squint, Bibi looks progressive.

      Reply ↓
    3. DJG, Reality Czar

      Rev Kev: Ahhh, I paused over that TwiXt, too.

      Mike Huckabee, diplomat. I assure you that there is no one else I would rather be caught in a trench with than Mike Huckabee, divinely ordained diplomat.

      I’m sure you are aware that any evacuation of U.S. citizens is not an evacuation of Aunt Hepzibah and her fellow deaconesses taking the bus tour of Galilee to spread the joy of the Methodist Bible Society of Trenton, New Jersey, to the heathenish Arabs of Nazareth.

      Netanyahu is worried about the big slice of the Israeli population with dual citizenship.

      Another irony here is that if, somehow, disorder were to break out in orderly Italy (after our morning coffees, of course), there is no way that I could call the U.S. embassy in Roma and ask for help getting away from the chaos of grissini. You’re on your own.

      PS: Also, Huckabee is here demonstrating that strong streak of candy-assery so evident in America. Hell, if the Apocalypse is going to occur, why evacuate Brother Jedediah and the Utah Society of Mormons for Reverse-Baptizing Jews? Come on! Martyrdom approaches!

      Reply ↓
    4. Mikel

      I’m thinking the attacks in Russia and Israel that resembled one another are only the beginning of prodding towards a goal of regime change.
      Mainly, seeing reports like this, the attacks right now appear to be attempts to increase support for the war by goading Israel and Russia do something really big that rallies more people to war and, most importantly, keep the USA fighting in bigger ways.
      The USA has associates looking at it with Cheshire Cat grins and saying: “Let’s watch you and them fight.”
      And that’s a bit of what goes around comes around…

      Reply ↓
  9. Carolinian

    Re ‘Trump decides’ whether America First really means Israel First, whether Tehran should be leveled (after fair warning to the 15 million) etc.–we have our new interesting hypothetical: what if General Ripper actually became president? Or maybe it’s this guy

    https://responsiblestatecraft.org/kurilla-israel-iran/

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

    Or maybe it’s the very large portion of the ruling class that agrees with the above propostions. Trump gained the presidency by claiming to be against foreign adventurism. He lied.

    Reply ↓
    1. The Rev Kev

      I find it delusional for him to say what the America First movement is really all about as if he was their Great Decider instead of someone who rode the wave of America First supporters into office. Seems that he cannot differentiate American patriotism from Israeli patriotism. That is not what those MAGA voters voted for. Attacking Tucker Carlson is not a good look for him as whatever his other faults, I think that at heart he is patriotic towards America.

      Reply ↓
        1. Carolinian

          Indeed we have but back then huge crowds came out to protest Dubya’s Iraq adventure. Elsewhere today in the Counterpunch/Nader the man who once said “not a dime’s worth of difference” now hopes the undifferentiated will come out to protest what increasingly seems like a descent into madness. But the Dems, led by Pelosi, opposed impeachment for George W. and many still prominent web pundits shamefully supported his war of choice in Iraq. Much as we love Ralph his current notion that everything is about Trump is wrong. After all Biden has gotten over a million killed in another war of choice in Ukraine.

          Will the MAGA save America from the R2P-ers and all their many fake excuses? It’s not just Trump who has been lying to us all along.

          Reply ↓
  10. thoughtfulperson

    I think there is an open bold up in links at,
    “Israel v. the Rest of the Resistance”

    Thanks for various perspectives as always!

    Reply ↓
  11. Unironic Pangloss

    given how I woke up and Telegram isn’t full of craters in Tel Aviv, i presume that Iran (once again) held back its planned punches for last night and there must be one last round of frantic phone calls by the Qataris.

    Deterrence isn’t established by being sensible. I’ll never kick and scream on a random house door in Florida at 3am cuz I mjght get AR-ed, lol. just saying. Iran can’t re-establish deterrence until it has its “Dirty Harry” moment

    Reply ↓
    1. Carolinian

      Iran had said last night’s barrage would be aimed at the occupied territories. Seems to me every morning there’s almost no news about what is going on in Israel. If a tree falls or you are losing a war in the forest and there are no still alive reporters there to notice did it happen?

      Reply ↓
  13. AG

    re: Iran USA

    “Trump was asked on Tuesday about Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard testifying in March in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, where she said that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon.

    When pressed about Gabbard’s comments, Trump dismissed them.

    “I don’t care what she said, I think they were very close to having one,” Trump said.”

    interesting (this can mean anything, that he indeed doesn´t care or he just says so in public to maintain impression of “pressure” in public.)

    https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-denies-reaching-iran-threatens-hard-tehran-strikes/story?id=122920648

    Reply ↓
  14. The Rev Kev

    “New Pope Declassifies Jesus Crucifixion Documents”

    Trial records that have been translated indicate that he was crucified for the crime of preaching without a police permit. Some records, however, remain redacted by the Vatican due to ongoing security issues that effect Roman national security.

    Reply ↓
    1. DJG, Reality Czar

      Rev Kev: What I found especially interesting in the treasure trove of documents that The Onion got its hands on was the famous note from Claudia Procula (the Missus) to Pontius Pilate:

      Ponty, Darlinghissimus: I had a dream about that long-haired man in trouble with the religious fanatics. Seamless robe, loaves and fishes — give the guy back to the locals, and let them fight about it. Roma wasn’t built on every little squabble. Meanwhile, I made your favorite lasagne for lunch. Hugs.

      PS: Fascinating datum in the Italian and English wiki entries: ‘His praenomen (first name) is unknown;[19] his cognomen Pilatus might mean “skilled with the javelin (pilum)”, but it could also refer to the pileus or Phrygian cap, possibly indicating that one of Pilate’s ancestors was a freedman.[20]
      Hmmm.

      Reply ↓
    2. Wukchumni

      Apparently there was a stoning in the midst of the crucifixion, as there were ‘Karst For Kids’ donation appeals going on at the time.

      Reply ↓
  15. Nikkikat

    Enjoyable videos this morning, proving once again that any animal,
    Is smarter than a human. Certainly than the people running things.
    What chaos Trump is stirring up, just incredible. And we thought the dead guy was bad……..Trump just a disaster.

    Reply ↓
  16. mega

    In the last 72 hours, Israel launched a preemptive strike against Iran when negotiations between Washington and Tehran were still ongoing.
    …
    — Douglas Macgregor (@DougAMacgregor) June 15, 2025

    A preemptive strike, not to be confused with unprovoked war of aggresion.

    Reply ↓
  17. LawnDart

    Re; China’s fast-growing high-speed railway network faces reality

    Not profitable? Umm, Amtrak? Hello?

    Neoliberalism belief that every enterprise must generate monitary revenues again fails to acknowledge social value.

    How Thatcheresque.

    Reply ↓
  18. William Beyer

    Regarding, “How Minnesota Police Fueled Insane Conspiracy Theory About Assassin” by Ken Klippenstein, this Minnesotan (me) thinks the state police were correct to release the No Kings photo. A tough judgment call, but that is Job No. 1 for all professionals. Blaming the police for not anticipating insane speculation is a bridge too far.

    Reply ↓
    1. Unironic Pangloss

      given the factual circumstances of the case, the police could never make everyone happy. people on all sides see conspiracies everywhere. some are real conspiracies, most are egregores

      release everything (that is possible without clouding the prosecution), let the chips fall where they may

      Reply ↓
    2. t

      I literally laughed out loud. “Flyers”? A reem of blank paper and a few with “No Kings” neatly printed in Sharpy?

      Makes no sense. When and where would these be used? By whom? How?

      Why not printed paper flyers with times and locations and information for your fellow No Kings protesters? Or, hand made signs on cardboard or poster board.

      Just the laziest craziest sham. I’ve heard people interpret the papers as a cover to infiltrate protests. Maybe he thought that would work?

      State and local police may be incapable of understanding that right-wing is violent. And convinced “the left,” from Khive to commies, are always burning cities and kicking puppies.

      Reply ↓
  19. The Rev Kev

    “Donald Trump Doubles Down on Crazy”

    I think that Trump crossed a Rubicon today. He ordered the population of Tehran to evacuate the city – all ten million of them. He didn’t say that Israel will hit them or anything but that these were his orders. In other words, this is now Trump’s War. He owns it now and made it his own – in the same way that old Joe made the Ukraine his war. So, how did that work out for old Joe? When he left the G-7 a day early, Macron tried to cover for him by saying that Trump was off to make a peace deal between Iran and Israel – until Trump harshly slapped him down for even suggesting it. All his past supporters in the media I see like Tucker Carlson and the guys at The Duran are writing him off now and maybe Trump thinks that he no longer needs all those supporter and the MAGA movement anymore. But maybe the Pentagon will be able to talk some sense into him by saying that they do not have sufficient weaponry to take on Iran as most of it was burned in the Ukraine and Gaza. That stocks of anti-air missiles are reaching their Bingo status for not only Israel but for US forces as well. But Trump’s pride is on the line here as he always wants to be seen as the winner but all his scheming with Israel for this attack is going nowhere. After six months the Trump Presidency may be coming to an end.

    Reply ↓
    1. Carolinian

      But TACO can always change his mind? I’m not sure it’s true, as Alastair Crooke asserts, that Trump has been deceiving all along on this. The real problem is that the poorly informed reality star is in way over his head. It’s impossible to to know what he really wants or thinks and he may not know himself. I’d even go as far as to suggest that Trump himself, deep down, knows he’s in way over his head and that’s the source of his indecisiveness and the kneejerk reaction to any criticism.

      None of which means we aren’t in big trouble with such a person in charge.

      Reply ↓
      1. The Rev Kev

        I was just wondering today if he is trying to apply the same way that he acted in New York as a real estate hustler to the international scene right now. So he might have thought it fun to stiff his suppliers back in New York as he was the one that had all the leverage but trying to lie and cheat actual major countries like Russia, China and Iran is not working. Thing is, this is his second rodeo so you think that he would have learned those lessons in his first term but apparently not. This time around he seems to be much more treacherous.

        Reply ↓
    2. vao

      Just a thought: in older times (not so old actually), there was a practice of officially declaring a place to be an “open city”. This meant that the city was not militarily defended and thus was to be spared from military action.

      I wonder whether this is still recognized as a legally binding customary law — the most recent examples I could find date back to WWII.

      Of course, I am pretty sure that the usual suspects would just guffaw at “open city” proclamations from their enemies.

      Reply ↓
  21. Expat2uruguay

    In case you’re wondering why the 11th covid wave is *unprecedented* here’s the author’s reply to that very question:

    “It annoys the heck out of minimizers who wish to normalize every wave and believe endless covid waves should be tolerated.”

    I truly hate this news environment, but I figured the reason that the 11th wave was *unprecedented* it was because there had only been 10 before.

    Reply ↓
  22. Ernie

    The lyrics of David Crosby’s song What Are Their Names, stuck in my mind at the time they were first sung in 1971 and never out of date in this warring world, somehow seem worth sharing again this morning.

    I wonder who they are
    The men who really run this land
    And I wonder why they run it
    With such a thoughtless hand
    What are their names and on what streets do they live?
    I’d like to ride right over this afternoon and give
    Them a piece of my mind about peace for mankind
    Peace is not an awful lot to ask

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9a0rDLlSGSo

    Reply ↓
  23. ilsm

    Unreilable aircraft. 3 or 4 F-35’s may have failed to return to home station, the single (point of failure) engine, poor reliability could suggest engine failures, or other safety of flight failures causing loss of the aircraft.

    Reply ↓
  24. The Rev Kev

    “Northland man’s restoration work connects him to famous football brothers”

    An interesting story this. I’m picturing him dropping off a restored 1950s fridge to a client and being asked when it may need more work done on it. And the guy replying ‘Oh, I dunno. How about you give me a call in a decade’s time and see how it is still going.’

    Reply ↓
    1. Mikel

      It’s also possible that the deep state has funded so many terrorists in other countries that they’ve scared themselves.

      Reply ↓
  26. Safety First

    Re: Palestinians in Jaffa denied access to bomb shelter by Israeli neighbours Middle East Eye

    The Iranian state media Telegram channel in Russian (!!) has just recently reposted a TikTok by a Ukrainian (!) blonde in Israel, basically saying that their Israeli neighbors did not let them into their bomb shelter. The girl is speaking unaccented Russian, by the by, so who knows what her actual ethnicity-roots-whatever are.

    Link – https://t.me/parstodayrussian/184441

    Girl: “We’ve just received a notification that the air raid siren will sound soon, and we went to the bomb shelter in the neighboring house. They did not let us in, they shut the doors, when we knocked on the door they came out and said ‘we are not obligated to let you in’. That’s Israeli solidarity for you.”

    Then the camera cuts to the conversation with said neighbors in Hebrew. Which I do not speak, so whatever.

    Sharing.

    Also, too, while Pars Today is, err, PATRIOTIC in its coverage, they do post some interesting videos and tidbits, especially if you run the site through an auto-translator. They’ve just summarized an interview with Iran’s MoD press secretary, by the way, “the back of the Zionist regime will be broken”, and so on.

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  27. The Rev Kev

    “Faith, hope , and charity – religion as a public benefit in modern Australia”

    ‘In the Star Wars universe, the Jedi are a group of warriors trained in the mystic ways of “the Force”. Some of you are no doubt also aware that the fictional Jedi have spawned a purported religion, ‘Jediism’, with its ‘philosophy based on the beliefs of the Jedi … in the Star Wars films’. Although initially viewed as a humorous approach to a census question, ‘Jediism’ is said to have grown to encompass 177,000 self-identifying adherents in the United Kingdom. In Australia, 48,000 people identified as Jedis in the latest census.’

    Personally when it comes to the Census forms here in Oz, when they ask about religion I put down ‘Pagan.’ The Census is supposed to be private. But many years ago when my wife put down Catholic as a religion on that form, she was seriously not impressed when a Catholic sky-pilot came a knocking a coupla months later wanting to know why she was a lapsed one.

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  28. Mikel

    Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: From Perpetual Peace to World War – Glenn Diesen. “Trust me, you must listen starting at 39:00.”

    Yeah, time for people to stop doing what’s expected (marching up and down the street) and express their resistance in other ways.
    The USA is all about tech this and tech that and social media as a strength. Maybe start doing things like boycotts of certain sites and certain software?

    But also getting into a big war can result in lockdowns.

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  29. The Rev Kev

    “SITREP 6/16/25: Slowly Abandoned, Ukraine Gets Squeezed by Russian Pressure”

    ‘Russian aircraft shelters are reportedly finally being built all over, particularly in Khalino airfield in Kursk and several Crimean airfields’

    So no more having nuclear-capable bombers in the open where the other side can count them thus helping ease nuclear tensions. Those days are gone for good. Great job, Trump. Next on the chopping block is any hope of reviving the New START treaty. I’m not sure but I think that the Russians are not going to bother with it any more as negotiations being hopeless with any US regime. Something else going down the gurgler which will leave us less safe-

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

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