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Israelis Are Livid Over Trump Ending War, Overwhelmingly Believe Iran Won: Poll

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Israelis Are Livid Over Trump Ending War, Overwhelmingly Believe Iran Won: Poll

After roping President Trump into breaking a core campaign promise, watching the United States expend resources and risk American lives to attack Iran, and then watching Trump take steps to end the war via MOU – Israelis are livid because the US didn’t commit to full-on decimation to celebrate America’s 250th, and say Iran came out ahead. 

According to a survey conducted by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in partnership with the Agam Institute, 92.1% of Israelis believe Iran came out ahead in the conflict and the US-brokered deal that followed.

Even among voters loyal to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s conservative bloc, 93.1% said Iran won. 82.9% of respondents said the six-week military campaign against Iran left Israel’s long-term security weaker, not stronger. Another 86% hold a negative view of both the way the fighting ended and the way Washington negotiated the subsequent deal without meaningful Israeli input. Nearly 88% of Israelis believe their country either fell short of its war aims entirely or achieved only partial success, despite the stated objectives being nothing less than dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, neutering its missile arsenal, and toppling the regime in Tehran. Those were the goals. None of them, by the public’s own assessment, were fully met.

Netanyahu has tried to project confidence in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding anyway. At a press conference Monday, he insisted Iran will never possess nuclear weapons “as long as I am prime minister of Israel.” As we noted on Tuesday, hardline Israeli politicians are livid over the Iran deal, and want Netanyahu out so they can do ‘real regime change.’

(Abir Sultan/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

“With an agreement or without an agreement, Iran will not have nuclear weapons – not today and not tomorrow,” he said, calling the mission his “life’s mission.” He has also maintained that the nuclear threat from Iran was an “immediate danger” that Israel removed “together with our American friends.”

Either way, Israelis aren’t buying it. 72.5% of respondents reject Netanyahu’s claim that Israel secured major gains and eliminated an existential threat. Only 26.5% rate his handling of the war as “good” or “excellent,” while 56.4% call it “failed” or “poor.” His personal approval as prime minister has collapsed from 40.5% in early March to 29.4% in June, a fifteen-point swing in roughly three months.

And of course, there’s Trump… with 69.1% of respondents rated his handling of the war and the resulting deal as “failed” or “poor,” against just 10.8% who called it “good” or “excellent.” Quite the change in sentiment from his 2024 election win…

A billboard showing U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is projected a day after the U.S. election in Tel Aviv, Israel, Nov. 6, 2024. (Oded Balilty/AP)

Despite the widespread belief that the Iran campaign backfired, 48.2% of Israelis say their country should renew major military action against Hezbollah, including strikes in Beirut, even if that means clashing with Trump, who has made clear he wants the fighting in Lebanon to stop. Only 20.9% oppose that course, with the remaining 30.9% undecided. Israelis appear simultaneously convinced the last war was mishandled and eager for the next one. 

Just 12.2% of respondents believe Israel achieved most of the stated goals against Hamas and Hezbollah following the October 7, 2023 attacks while 61.3% say Israel achieved none of them, and 26.5% say only some were met.

Across the Atlantic, the reception looks entirely different. A Quantus national poll of 1,000 likely US voters found 43% strongly approve and another 13% somewhat approve of the preliminary US-Iran Memorandum of Understanding. Combined disapproval sits at just 13%.

The Trump administration has been trying to respond to criticism of the deal, while Israeli cabinet members are talking mad shit about Trump – to the point where VP JD Vance came very close to asking if they’ve even said ‘pwease’ or ‘thank you.’ 

Vance defended the MOU during Thursday’s White House briefing, pushing back on what he said was misleading media coverage. “The simple fact is that the only way the Iranians get any of those resources – not a single penny, by the way, from the United States of America under any circumstances – but the only way that they would ever get any benefit of the bargain is if they comply fully, and change their behavior,” Vance said of Iran, adding that Tehran’s military and nuclear program “is still destroyed” if Iran refuses to change course. He also said that compliance would bring “a transformative relationship with the Middle East.”

The Hebrew University-Agam Institute survey was conducted June 17–20, using a weighted sample of 3,644 Israelis aged 17 and over, designed to reflect the broader population, and has a maximum sampling error of just 2.2% at a 99% confidence level. 

Maybe they’ll just keep attacking Lebanon to scuttle the peace deal? 

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/22/2026 – 04:15

Massive 2,000-Year-Old Luxurious Roman Bathhouse Uncovered In The Netherlands

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Massive 2,000-Year-Old Luxurious Roman Bathhouse Uncovered In The Netherlands

Authored by Maria Mocerino via Interesting Engineering,

The largest Roman bathhouse complex ever discovered in the Netherlands has surfaced, shedding new light on the wealth and importance of the ancient Roman city of Ulpia Noviomagus.

Roman bathhouse complex.Nijmegen

Researchers from the archaeological firms RAAP and BAAC were conducting routine investigations in Nijmegen’s Waalfront district, a site slated for new residential development. The excavation, which began in September of last year and will conclude in July, uncovered a public bathhouse, residential blocks, luxury townhouses, streets, and a tower dating back nearly 2,000 years.

“For years, the traces of the Roman past at this location were invisible, hidden deep underground. Now that we are realizing a new living environment here, the past has become visible,” said Joost Mulder, BPD’s Regional Director for the North-East & Central region, in a press release.

The bathhouse complex, or thermae, covered at least 4,900 square meters, making it the second-largest excavated Roman public bath complex in the Netherlands. Despite centuries of stone removal and reuse following the Roman period, parts of the structure remain exceptionally well-preserved.

Roman history unearthed

The size of the complex reflects the importance of Ulpia Noviomagus – the Roman city that once stood here – which is believed to have received its official status from Emperor Trajan around 100 AD. The discoveries suggest that this area of the city remained active well into the third century AD.

The bathhouse was richly decorated. Its interior walls were clad in marble. The floors were laid with black-and-white limestone tiles. Other rooms featured colorful, painted plaster. Decorative limestone and sandstone moldings adorned the building’s facades, while columns made from the same materials enhanced its splendor.

Archaeologists also uncovered extensive drainage systems, flooring, and a hypocaust – a sophisticated Roman underfloor heating system supported by brick pillars. This technology circulated hot air beneath a raised floor, as per Archaeology News. Two stone foundations survive to a height of nearly two meters, making them some of the best-preserved examples of Roman masonry in Nijmegen.

Tens of thousands of artifacts recovered from the site point to the affluent lifestyle that residents enjoyed during the second and third centuries AD.

Among the discoveries are bronze statue fragments, signet rings, a necklace with a gold clasp, coins, and hundreds of bone hairpins used in elaborate Roman hairstyles. Notably, two of the hairpins featured remarkable carvings of cats – one seated and one standing.

However, a bronze bust depicting Bacchus, the Roman god of wine, stood out the most to archaeologists. They believe the object originally formed part of a pitcher or a piece of furniture before later being adapted for use on a weighing scale.

Archaeologists also recovered numerous coins from the reign of Emperor Postumus, who ruled between 260 and 269 AD, providing rare evidence of continued occupation during a relatively poorly documented period.

Integrating the past into the future

Developers and city officials plan to integrate the site’s Roman heritage into the future neighborhood, added Archaeology News.

“The link to the past will remain visible in the future as well. For instance, a number of residential buildings will feature a covered walking area with rows of columns. A colonnade just like in Roman times. And developers plan to call the green square in the heart of the area, inspired by the floor plan of the bathhouse complex, Thermenplein. A direct reference to the Roman meeting place that was here some 2,000 years ago,” concludes the press release.

Roman bone hairpins found in Nijmegen. Credit: Municipality of Nijmegen / BAAC / RAAP

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/22/2026 – 03:30

Fuel Sales Abruptly Halted For Crimean Population As Ukrainian Drones Wreak Havoc

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Fuel Sales Abruptly Halted For Crimean Population As Ukrainian Drones Wreak Havoc

A wave of relentless Sunday drone attacks out of Ukraine on Crimea has resulted in a regional cut off to civilian access to fuel, in another sign that UAV attacks on Russian territory are having serious effect.

Four people were killed in the series of drone strikes on energy and transport infrastructure in the Russian-controlled peninsula, including attacks near Kerch, a key eastern Crimean port city which is a major energy logistics hub.

Reuters/BBC: “Cars queue at a petrol station on the peninsula in early June amid already restricted fuel sales.”

“As a result of the enemy’s drone attack on the Kerch Peninsula, unfortunately, there are casualties among the civilian population,” Crimean Governor Sergey Aksyonov announced.

“According to the latest information, four people were killed, 28 were wounded,” he added.

And he also confirmed the fuel crisis for the whole region, saying, “Today, June 21, starting from 09:00 am, fuel sales at Crimean petrol stations have been suspended” – though he added that fuel would only be sold to state enterprises.

He made clear in a Telegram post that starting Sunday morning local time gas stations across the peninsula would stop selling fuel to individuals and businesses. All cash, card and fuel coupons were immediately halted.

Ukraine’s President Zelensky boasted of the attacks, stating on social media that “Facilities on both sides of the Crimean Bridge were hit: maritime logistics used to transport oil in the Krasnodar region and an oil depot in temporarily occupied Kerch.”

“In addition, military logistics facilities were successfully struck, along with four radar stations belonging to S-400 systems and two Pantsir systems,” he wrote.

Crimean governor Aksyonov had also announced that “Further decisions regarding the current situation in the republic’s fuel market will be announced at a later date.”

BBC has separately reported that Kiev “hit a logistics facility for oil transportation in Russia’s Krasnodar region, which lies adjacent to Crimea across the Kerch Strait. Local authorities said one person had been killed on a passenger ferry.”

Saturday saw a long-range Ukrainian drone attack on an oil refinery in Russia’s Tyumen region, which lies over 1,200 miles from the front lines of fighting – a significant reach and first of the war. It demonstrates that Russian anti-air defenses have struggled to intercept small, low-flying UAVs. Hundreds were sent against Crimea on Sunday.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/22/2026 – 02:45

This Is The Funniest Thing Ever…

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This Is The Funniest Thing Ever…

Authored by Steve Watson via Modernity News,

Leftists in the EU who spent years blocking real border enforcement are now whining about a victory party after conservatives pushed through a motion to create powerful tools to remove illegal migrants.

The chamber could not stop laughing. A ‘Renew Europe’ MEP aligned with French President Emmanuel Macron stood up and demanded punishment for conservative MEPs who gathered on the European Parliament roof, drank heavily, and celebrated the passage of the bloc’s toughest-ever deportation reforms.

The presiding officer brushed it off and The room roared with amusement.

This outburst came days after the European Parliament voted 418 to 218, with 30 abstentions, to approve the new Return Regulation.

Conservative and sovereignist MEPs from the EPP, ECR, Patriots for Europe, and Europe of Sovereign Nations groups supplied the decisive majority.

The measure updates the hopelessly outdated 2008 rules and gives member states real power to enforce removals.

In our earlier video we highlighted the immediate leftist reaction inside the chamber: chants of ‘Shame on you’ from leftists with chants of ‘Send them back’ in response from conservatives.

Now they are complaining about a rooftop toast. The contrast could not be clearer. One side delivers results for citizens who have endured years of unchecked arrivals, crime, and welfare strain. The other side throws procedural tantrums and pretends a private celebration violates parliamentary decorum.

The regulation makes deportation orders issued in one member state valid across the entire EU.

It extends maximum detention periods for those who refuse to leave, removes automatic suspensive effect on appeals in many cases, doubles entry bans to ten years (lifetime for security threats), and allows member states to conclude agreements with third countries for ‘return hubs’ where rejected migrants can be processed and removed without remaining inside EU territory.

Non-cooperating origin countries face visa restrictions, aid cuts, and trade measures – the same leverage the Trump administration successfully deployed.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed the outcome as validation of the model she pioneered with Albania.

‘We promised Italians we would change Europe, and we did it, with courage, patience, and determination,’ she said.

Meloni added, ‘This innovative solution has been resisted at every turn by the Italian and European left, but thanks to this government, it has now become a tool available to the whole of Europe.’

MEP Marieke Ehlers of the Patriots for Europe group stated ‘This regulation puts the obligation exactly where it belongs: on the illegal migrant… The days of pampering are over. You have no right to stay, which means you have one simple obligation: pack your bags and leave our territory.’

She added that the text hands real power back to national capitals: ‘We are taking back control… Almost all provisions give Member States the freedom to go further.’

French EPP negotiator François-Xavier Bellamy called it the end of decades of failure. ‘After decades of failure and years of deadlock, Europe is ending its powerlessness in the face of illegal immigration. No one can claim any longer that Europe has no tools to act. The rules are now in place. The responsibility lies with governments to use them.’

French President Emmanuel Macron quickly distanced himself at the EU summit in Brussels. He declared that France would neither participate in nor fund third-country return hubs, calling the approach ineffective and contrary to French principles.

The same Macron who lectures others on European values now refuses to use the very instruments his own parliament helped create. The gap between rhetoric and reality on migration has never been wider.

Globalist pushback has already been initiated as the United Nations voiced concerns that the new return hubs could violate human rights standards.

Critics on the left and in international organisations frame any effective removal policy as inherently cruel, even as European cities continue to absorb the costs of failed integration and repeated criminal acts by rejected or illegal migrants.

For years globalist voices insisted that mass low-skilled migration was inevitable, economically necessary, and morally superior.

They dismantled internal borders, expanded asylum loopholes, and attacked any leader who tried to enforce existing law. Return rates stayed dismal. Criminal networks thrived. Public trust collapsed.

Conservative MEPs simply used their growing numbers to force an update that reflects what citizens have demanded for a decade.

The left’s response – procedural complaints, accusations of misconduct over a private celebration, and renewed warnings from the UN – reveals the same refusal to accept democratic outcomes that has defined the migration debate from the start.

The laughter in the chamber was not just amusement at a thin-skinned complaint. It was recognition that the excuses have run out.

Europe now possesses the legal tools to remove those with no right to remain. Whether national governments use them remains to be seen, but the parliamentary majority has shifted decisively toward enforcement.

The same forces that once sneered at ‘Send them back’ as fringe bigotry are watching their own colleagues chant it on the floor. The Overton window did not shift incidentally. It moved because voters across the continent grew tired of policies that prioritised arrivals over safety and sovereignty.

Europe’s conservative MEPs just proved that when they coordinate, they can deliver. The left can keep filing ethics complaints about rooftop drinks. The rest of the continent is focused on results.

Your support is crucial in helping us defeat mass censorship. Please consider donating via Locals or check out our unique merch. Follow us on X @ModernityNews.

Tyler Durden
Mon, 06/22/2026 – 02:00

Peter Thiel’s Secret Society Leak Creates A Perfect Target List For Espionage, Influence Operations, And Blackmail

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Peter Thiel’s Secret Society Leak Creates A Perfect Target List For Espionage, Influence Operations, And Blackmail

Authored by Pierluigi Paganini via Security Affairs,

Dialog, a private invitation-only organization cofounded in 2006 by billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel, has spent two decades refusing to disclose its membership.

That position became harder to maintain last week when Swiss hacktivist maia arson crimew, known for exposing the US government’s No Fly List, found an open directory embedded in the source code of dialog.org that was visible to anyone who viewed the page. WIRED independently verified the contents and obtained the registration list for Dialog’s 2026 retreat, scheduled for August 12-16 near Dublin, Ireland.

“A trove of internal records from a secret society for powerful figures in US politics, finance, and tech was left exposed online, WIRED has confirmed, naming participants in its events and revealing sensitive personal details they were assured would stay private,” reported Wired. “The group, called Dialog, is a private, invitation-only organization cofounded in 2006 by the billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel. It convenes US officials, foreign government figures, and Silicon Valley executives at off-the-record annual retreats.”

The 2026 list names 222 registrants, 87 of them first-time attendees. Others have histories stretching back more than a decade, a handful to the founding itself. None used a government email address, placing their attendance outside public records laws.

The roster is not a list of adjacent power. It’s power in direct regulatory relationship with itself. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent appears alongside Auren Hoffman, Dialog’s chairman, who founded location-data broker SafeGraph and identity-resolution firm LiveRamp. Senator Ted Cruz, who chairs the committee overseeing the FTC and its data-privacy authority, is listed in the same directory. Palantir cofounder Joe Lonsdale, whose software runs case management for ICE and data fusion for the Pentagon, appears alongside Army Secretary Dan Driscoll and Representative Jim Himes, ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, which oversees agencies Palantir contracts with.

Forbes confirmed additional members including investor Marc Andreessen and investor and former Facebook board member Jim Breyer.

General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s supreme allied commander Europe and head of US European Command, is recorded as having attended Dialog gatherings since 2021.

The session agenda for the 2026 retreat includes “Navigating WWIII,” “Battlefield Technologies,” “Bring Back Nuclear,” and “Build-a-Cult,” the last moderated by the founder of the Christian networking site Pray.com. There’s also “How’s Your Sex Life?” which presumably has a different moderator.

“The website directory names sitting Trump administration officials, two US senators, six members of the Paypal Mafia, a former Middle East chief of intelligence, and a sitting ambassador to the United States, along with the founders and directors of many of the country’s largest surveillance, data-broker, and advertising-data companies.” Wired continues.

The leaked registration list adds names not in the public directory of 113: Randy Kroszner, former Federal Reserve governor now on the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee; Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League; Ryan Stowers, executive director of the Charles Koch Foundation; Roger Myerson, Nobel laureate economist; and a cluster of Google and Google DeepMind executives including Tom Lue, who leads global affairs for the frontier AI division.

The data breach is structurally embarrassing because it was entirely avoidable. The directory was served to any visitor who viewed the page’s source code. A separate Dialog page at app.dialog.org presents a sign-in screen with no terms of service, no indication the application is restricted, and no invitation requirement. The records sat in Airtable, a commercial database, and included for each participant their membership status, every retreat attended, biography, home city, and a private access token functioning as a login credential.

Dialog also runs a matchmaking service. Its registration form asks whether participants are “looking for love” and offers to include single respondents in “future matchmaking.” A separate site at dating.dialog.org hosts an app pitched as “meaningful connections for exceptional people.” The form also collects each registrant’s political leaning, which Dialog promised would never be shared.

“That data, and the matchmaking responses, were exposed in the leak.” concludes Wired.

The data collected by Dialog could be valuable for criminals or intelligence agencies because it reveals personal vulnerabilities, relationship status, political views, and access to influential networks. Such information can support targeted phishing, social engineering, honey-trap operations, blackmail, or influence campaigns. The risk is amplified because participants are often members of the global elite, making them attractive intelligence targets. Many may be highly accomplished in their fields but still willing to share sensitive personal details in trusted environments, creating opportunities for manipulation and exploitation.

An internal guide for event moderators, also found in the exposed directory, instructs them to remind participants that everything is off the record, keep comments concise and “nonobvious,” and model brief introductions to “avoid status signaling” in a room full of senators, dignitaries, and tycoons. The discipline imposed on members apparently didn’t extend to basic website security.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 23:20

USAF Seeks ‘Dronebuster’ Anti-Jammer Gun To Protect Nuclear-Strike Base

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USAF Seeks ‘Dronebuster’ Anti-Jammer Gun To Protect Nuclear-Strike Base

Whether it’s data centers, critical infrastructure, stadiums, corporate headquarters, or even military bases, the U.S. remains largely unprepared to combat one-way attack drones, including Category 1 through 3 drones, because a critical layer of cheap, scalable counter-UAS technology is missing.

The proliferation of low-cost drones across Eurasian war zones, from the Ukraine-Russia war to the US-Iran conflict in the Middle East, has permanently changed the course of modern warfare. 

One-way attack drones and FPVs have exposed a missing layer of affordable air defense around high-value assets, including military bases, energy infrastructure, data centers, ports, stadiums, and corporate headquarters. This startling development has been a major wake-up call for Western leaders and suggests only one conclusion: a massive procurement wave for counter-UAS technology is likely just ahead.

Last week, Piper Sandler analyst Clarke Jeffries arrived at the same conclusion we have been highlighting:

We anticipate one of the biggest lessons of the 2020s will be how affordable drone technology fundamentally reshaped the modern combat environment and set the stage for a reevaluation of the procurement, organization and strategy of ~$3T in annual global military expenditures.

While drones have existed in the modern military apparatus for decades at this point, it was the Ukraine war (as one of the first near-peer conflicts in recent memory) which provided demonstrable evidence of how specifically lightweight and affordable systems could change the paradigm of combat.

The race to secure high-value assets against drones was seen last week when the U.S. Air Force moved to expand counter-drone defenses at one of America’s most sensitive nuclear missile bases by issuing a solicitation to purchase a batch of handheld counter-drone electronic warfare guns.

According to Defense Blog, the 5th Contracting Squadron at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota issued a June 18 solicitation to purchase DZYNE Technologies’ Dronebuster Block 4 for the 91st Security Forces Group.

The Dronebuster is a rifle-shaped anti-drone jammer that an operator points at an unauthorized drone to disrupt it, rather than shooting it down with a projectile.

“Quotes from vendors are due no later than June 26, 2026, giving the defense industry less than two weeks to respond to a requirement the Air Force has formally described as an operational necessity,” Defense Blog wrote in the report.

Why Minot Air Force Base seeks Dronebusters likely hinges on the need for security forces to protect B-52H Stratofortress bombers, nuclear missile infrastructure, and other high-value assets from small drones. Lessons from the US-Iran conflict show how low-cost drones can threaten +$100 million jets, or a multi-million-dollar radar or communications system.

We suspect the procurement cycle for drones and counter-UAS technology is only in its early stages. We detailed how readers can profit from “The Asymmetric Warfare Boom” in a note on Saturday, found here.

Related:

Dronebuster can be useful against standard FPVs, GPS-dependent drones, and drones with radio links. But against an emerging fiber-optic FPV drone with no RF command link and no GPS dependency, a handheld jammer is useless, suggesting the need for kinetic interceptors. 

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 22:45

Syria ‘Unwilling, Unprepared’ To Attack Lebanon & Deal With Hezbollah Despite US Pressure

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Syria ‘Unwilling, Unprepared’ To Attack Lebanon & Deal With Hezbollah Despite US Pressure

Via The Cradle

Syrian President and former Al-Qaeda chief Ahmad al-Sharaa is “unprepared and unwilling” to launch a military offensive against Lebanon despite growing US pressure, Israel’s Broadcasting Corporation (KAN) reported days ago. 

KAN cited an informed Syrian source who said that Sharaa is “concerned” that an attack by Damascus against Hezbollah will be seen across the region as “serving” Israel’s interests.

This could negatively impact Damascus’s “legitimacy.” For now, the self-appointed Syrian president is ruling out an attack against Lebanon and its resistance forces unless Israel decides to pull its forces out of Syria, the report states. 

Israel has rejected withdrawal from both Syria and Lebanon. KAN also said that Turkey – a longtime backer of Sharaa since his days as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, founder and leader of Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front – has urged Damascus against such an incursion. 

Ankara is reportedly concerned that a Syrian assault on Lebanon would “embolden” Tel Aviv and “strengthen” its position. 

“Trump proposed a framework in which the Syrian military would play a central role in a future effort to disarm Hezbollah,” i24 reported on Wednesday.

Lebanese authorities reportedly felt uneasy about the idea during recent US-backed direct talks with Israeli officials, which have taken place despite Lebanon’s legal restrictions.

Additionally, Israeli authorities are reportedly concerned about the effectiveness of a Syrian attack on Hezbollah. 

“Some of the arrangements currently under discussion could ultimately strengthen Hezbollah politically and militarily rather than diminish its influence,” i24 reported.

Sharaa said earlier this week that talk of a Syrian incursion into Lebanon was a “rumor.” “Syria’s approach aims to end the war in Lebanon, not to expand it or get involved,” he stressed. 

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly called on Syria to attack Hezbollah.

Iraqi resistance groups allied with Hezbollah have cautioned the Syrian government and its forces that they will act if Damascus initiates an attack on Lebanon. 

Syria experienced a significant geopolitical change following the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, as Sharaa’s government aligned with Washington and engaged in discussions with Israel. 

The US has largely lifted sanctions on Syria and called Damascus a “partner” in the global fight against ISIS — overlooking Sharaa’s past as an Al-Qaeda leader and earlier as deputy to ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Hezbollah fought in Syria for years with the former government, helping recapture areas from extremist groups like Al-Qaeda’s Nusra Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and others considered by the west as the “Syrian opposition.”

The Nusra Front, led by Sharaa, was rebranded into Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and ended up toppling Assad’s government in 2024. HTS and other extremist factions with links to ISIS currently dominate what has become the new Syrian Defense Ministry and military.

ISIS vs. Hezbollah sectarian war 2.0?…

Tom Barrack, US special envoy to Syria and Iraq, threatened Lebanon last year with a Syrian incursion, and said Damascus would “actively assist us in confronting and dismantling … Hezbollah.”

He also said Syria viewed Lebanon as its “beach resort” and would carry out an assault against the country unless Hezbollah is disarmed.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 22:10

Trump-Backed “El Tigre” Wins Colombia Presidency As Socialist Era Ends

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Trump-Backed “El Tigre” Wins Colombia Presidency As Socialist Era Ends

South America is undergoing a once-in-a-generation political realignment as voters turn against left-wing and unhinged socialist governments and embrace common-sense right-wing leaders who promise law and order, economic reform, and national renewal.

The political shift across the Americas gained further momentum on Sunday evening after Abelardo de la Espriella, backed by President Trump, won Colombia’s presidential runoff in a narrow victory over left-wing senator Iván Cepeda. This is a major blow to the socialists, coming after four years under the left-wing administration of Gustavo Petro.

With 99.65% of ballots counted in the preliminary tally, de la Espriella had 12.91 million votes, or 49.65%, compared with Cepeda’s 12.67 million, or 48.7%. The margin was about 248,000 votes, narrower than de la Espriella’s first-round advantage three weeks earlier.

Polymarket 

De la Espriella, who has referred to himself as El Tigre (the Tiger), has now put Colombia back on track to shift right after four years of disastrous socialism. This follows recent right-wing victories in Honduras and Chile, with Peru also leaning right. The 2024 re-election of right-wing Nayib Bukele, who fundamentally transformed El Salvador into one of the region’s safest countries, is another example.

In 2023, Javier Milei was sworn in as president of Argentina, aiming to reverse years of far-left control that had devastated the nation with inflation and debt. Earlier this year, U.S. Delta Force operators removed socialist Nicolás Maduro from power in Venezuela.

The shift across the Americas is part of a broader backlash against progressive policies that have sparked surging violent crime, economic stagnation, debt traps, currency declines, and collapsing public confidence.

Americas Political Map: Presidential Shift From Left To Right

Country-by-country presidential shift tracker

Back to De La Espriella, who ran on a simple platform popular among right-wing leaders in the Americas: restore law and order and rescue the country from the economic ruin progressives had created. He has also vowed to “disembowel” the left in Colombia.

Meanwhile, Petro, who was constitutionally barred from seeking re-election and backed Cepeda, alleged irregularities in the preliminary vote count and blamed Israel…

“This means that the software was compromised and others wrote data for polling stations and voting posts. The only entity in the world capable of doing that is the state of Israel,” Petro wrote on X.

The pattern is clear: the Western Hemisphere experimented with nation-killing progressive policies that have largely failed and have entered a rejection phase. This gives rise to right-wing governments that support Trump, coinciding with his mission to clean up the West, whether by dismantling narco-terrorist command-and-control structures, pushing Chinese influence out of the region, or simply stopping the rise of socialism and communism.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 21:35

Let’s Hear It For The Dads

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Let’s Hear It For The Dads

Authored by Silvio Canto via American Thinker,

It’s another Fathers’ Day, and let me say a cheer for our fathers.

I was blessed with a wonderful father, who led by example and taught me all the right values.  He passed away back in late 2015, but I still remember having a little Cuban coffee and enjoying a game on TV.  I would love to have another of those Sunday afternoons back, because I miss them dearly.  We spoke about so much in those moments.

I remember the time that we were watching a news story about people breaking into stores and stealing things.  He looked at me with a very serious face and said, ”Where are their fathers?  No fathers means young men who don’t respect order.”

There is more to fathers than remembering what my father thought of young men acting wild.  

We do have a “father crisis” in many communities in the U.S.

Years ago, Juan Williams, author and Fox News contributor, wrote “The Tragedy of America’s Disappearing Fathers”:

The extent of the problem is clear.

The nation’s out-of-wedlock birth rate is 38%.

Among white children, 28% are now born to a single mother; among Hispanic children it is 50% and reaches a chilling, disorienting peak of 71% for black children.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, nearly a quarter of America’s white children (22%) do not have any male in their homes; nearly a third (31%) of Hispanic children and over half of black children (56%) are fatherless.

This represents a dramatic shift in American life.

In the early 1960s, only 2.3% of white children and 24% of black children were born to a single mom.

Having a dad, in short, is now a privilege, a ticket to middle-class status on par with getting into a good college.

Fathers’ Day is here. 

 Let’s remember a simple truth: We need men to be responsible fathers now more than ever.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 21:00

Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report

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Downtown Seattle Lost 30,000 Jobs Since 2020 Payroll Tax: Report

Authored by Dylan Morgan via The Epoch Times,

A new report from the Downtown Seattle Association published June 15 stated that downtown Seattle has lost around 30,000 jobs since 2020, when city leaders passed the “JumpStart” business tax, while neighboring Bellevue has become more attractive for businesses.

“What we have seen in downtown Seattle is not a ‘jump start,’ but instead, a slowdown,” the report stated.

“Seattle has become a tax outlier in the region, and it’s costing the city jobs and tax revenue, while shifting the property tax burden to residents and small businesses, worsening overall affordability in the city.”

The nonprofit membership organization said it conducted an audit comparing the city’s tax environment and business climate with that of Bellevue.

In 2020, the City Council said the “JumpStart Tax,” which currently taxes Seattle businesses that pay more than $9,074,409 on payroll expenses with at least one employee making over $194,452, was to address COVID-19 economic impacts as well as to support existing city services and new affordable housing.

“We are in the midst of a health and economic crisis that even a strong economy like Seattle may not be able to recover from quickly,” Councilmember Teresa Mosqueda said in 2020.

“JumpStart Seattle will … jump start our recovery with a relief plan that centers workers, small businesses and our most vulnerable community members.”

The report found the tax costs Seattle businesses between $1,450 and $9,390 per employee.

In 2026, the JumpStart tax is projected to bring in $410 million.

Bellevue has no such tax.

The report also showed that Seattle property tax compared to property value had increased nearly 48 percent from $3.79 per $1,000 in 2019, to $5.60 in 2026.

In that same time, Bellevue property tax decreased from $3.72 per $1,000 to $3.12, an approximately 19 percent drop.

It said that downtown Seattle’s office properties have fallen 48 percent in value between 2020 and 2025, while downtown Bellevue’s had increased 7 percent during that same period.

It added that Seattle’s Central Business District had an office vacancy rate of 6.7 percent in 2019, which climbed to 32 percent in 2025, while Bellevue’s rose from 2.5 percent to 24 percent in that period.

“When comparing business tax burdens and broader tax trends in Seattle and Bellevue, the contrast is clear: Bellevue’s more favorable tax climate has made it increasingly attractive to employers and investment relative to Seattle,” the report said.

The Epoch Times reached out to the Seattle City Council but did not receive a response by publication.

Amazon, which is headquartered in Seattle, has been gradually increasing its footprint in Bellevue, as the company said it became the city’s largest employer, growing from 450 employees in 2017 to more than 15,000 this year.

The company’s footprint expansion in Bellevue has also come with significant investment outside of office space. It committed $100 million to fund affordable housing initiatives in Bellevue and $22.6 million for local transportation projects.

Tyler Durden
Sun, 06/21/2026 – 19:50

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