Via The Libertarian Institute

A letter from Washington to Pyongyang was rejected multiple times by North Korean diplomats. During President Donald Trump’s first presidency, he engaged in direct diplomacy with Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un through letters and meetings.

According to a “high-level” source speaking with NK News, the North Korean delegation to the UN in New York City has “bluntly” rejected the US outreach several times.

The American and North Korean leaders exchanged letters during Trump’s first term, leading to three face-to-face meetings. However, Trump was unable to ink a deal with Kim after he allowed his national security advisor – the notorious super-hawk, John Bolton – to threaten Pyongyang during the second summit in Hanoi.

Additionally, during Joe Biden’s presidency, Washington refused to engage with Pyongyang while engaging in a military buildup in East Asia. The policy prompted Kim to reach out to Russian President Valdimir Putin and sign a major cooperation agreement with Russia, including a defense pact. Under the deal, North Korean soldiers fought in Russia’s Kursk region after a Ukrainian incursion last year.

Following the report that Pyongyang had rejected the American letter, the White House said Trump remains open to dialogue with Kim. “The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong Un,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday. “As for specific correspondence, I will leave that to the president to answer.”

Notwithstanding the frozen relationship between Washington and Pyongyang, North and South Korea engaged in a “meaningful” deescalation this week. On Wednesday, new South Korean president, Lee Jae-myung, shut down loudspeakers that played propaganda messages into the North.

Pyongyang responded by shutting down its own loudspeakers on Thursday. South Korea’s unification ministry said the suspension “helped relieve the suffering of residents in (South Korea’s) border areas and has become a meaningful opportunity to ease inter-Korean military tensions and restore mutual trust.”

North Korea Announces Military Support to Iran pic.twitter.com/wshNi2SRKg

— Umprisoner✰⛓️ (@Umprisoner_69) June 13, 2025

Lee said one of the goals of his presidency would be to engage in talks with North Korea.

Authored by John Carpay via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A friend of mine is German Canadian. He was born in Germany, came to Canada at the age of 5, and speaks German fluently today. My own story is similar: I was born in the Netherlands, came to Canada at the age of 7, and speak Dutch fluently.

He and I are friends, but our grandparents were not.

My own grandfather fought against the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, and spent years in a prisoner-of-war camp in Germany. He returned home in 1945 with severe and permanent psychological damage. My grandmother, along with the entire Dutch population, suffered through five years of brutal German occupation. This included the Hunger Winter of 1944-45, when tens of thousands of people in the Netherlands starved to death.

Does my German Canadian friend owe me something (or anything) in 2025, based on the conduct of his grandparents or homeland?

If ethnic guilt can be transmitted from generation to generation, we face never-ending conflict and strife, to the exclusion of harmony, unity, and friendship. Hence Canada (and any other country, for that matter), would be wise to reject laws and policies that are based on race or ancestry. While the application of the principle “Equal rights for all, special privileges for none” will not by itself create a perfect society, following this principle will create more trust, more justice, and more social cohesion than basing laws on ethnicity or descent.

Another friend of mine has 1/32 aboriginal ancestry, or perhaps 1/64 or 1/128. On the basis of his ancestry, my friend’s son received a special $5,000 grant when attending university; my son did not. I’m truly happy for my friend and his son. Who would not want a friend (or his son) to get an extra $5,000? But it’s not fair. Based on his ethnicity, my friend also has better legal access to hunting and fishing opportunities than I do. I’m really happy for him. And it’s not fair.

Race-based government policies predictably and inevitably produce inter-ethnic animosity, resentment, friction, and conflict. When laws are based on ethnicity or descent, people develop an unhealthy obsession with skin colour, blood lines, and other ancestry-based features—their own and those of their neighbours. This obsession is alive and well in Canada today. Canada’s race-based laws and privileges have been implemented with the good intention of helping the disadvantaged, but this discrimination based on ancestry nonetheless damages harmony, unity, and friendship within society. Today in Canada, legislators, law enforcement, university admissions and awards departments, and school boards carve the people of this country into ethnic categories, and mete out different privileges to each, supposedly to advance “social justice.”

This divisive and destructive conception of “social justice” is fiercely protected, to the point of silencing alternative views in the public square.

On April 9, Ontario mother Catherine Kronas politely objected to an indigenous land acknowledgement that was proclaimed at a meeting of her Ancaster school’s parent council. She described land acknowledgements as political, controversial, divisive, and inappropriate. There was no drama or disruption at the meeting. Ms. Kronas simply requested that her viewpoint be noted.

On May 22, the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board informed Ms. Kronas that she was banned from attending any further meetings of the Ancaster High Secondary School Council, to which Ms. Kronas had been re-elected in October 2024. The school board claims to base its ban on the “behaviour” and “conduct” of Ms. Kronas, but it was obviously her words that triggered this censorship of an opinion that many Canadians agree with.

Land acknowledgements are hypocritical virtue-signalling. I have yet to hear of a non-indigenous Canadian transferring the title of his or her home to an aboriginal for free, as part of a serious effort to return “stolen” land. Proponents of land acknowledgements will sell their property at market value, or bequeath it to their children or perhaps to a charity. They won’t give it away to aboriginals (or anyone else) for free on the basis of it having been “stolen.”

Land acknowledgements often include inaccurate claims about “unceded” territory when, in fact, numerous treaties formalized the sovereignty of the British Crown over the lands that are today’s Canada. The treaties formalized British (and later Canadian) rule over the lands and over all of the people living on them. In areas where no treaties were signed, the British and French nevertheless imposed their agriculture, industry, technology, economies, roads, bridges, laws, courts, police, armies, politics, religion, language, and culture.

The fact that 500 years ago indigenous peoples were the sole inhabitants of what is now Canada “is of no real relevance to the present,” argues lawyer Peter Best. Before and during the arrival of the British and French in North America, aboriginals fought, killed, tortured and enslaved each other, as other peoples living on other continents have done throughout human history. Every culture has its dark side, and human nature is a complex mixture of good and evil. Aboriginals have the same human nature as other people, and their past need not be romanticized.

Land acknowledgements presuppose that the massive non-indigenous immigration into what is today Canada, starting in the 1500s and continuing to the present, is a bad thing. Land acknowledgements suggest that Canadians of Chinese, Polish, British, Punjabi, Nigerian, or French ancestry should feel guilty about living in Canada, even if their Canadian-born ancestry goes back multiple generations. And yet, supporters of land acknowledgements will not put their money where their mouth is, and give away their own homes or lands to aboriginals.

While promoting unfounded and unnecessary guilt, land acknowledgements do nothing to help aboriginals on reserves who face unemployment, poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, family violence, high suicide rates, and often the tyranny of corrupt local government.

If I am entirely or even partially wrong about what I’ve written above, it is nevertheless hard to dispute that land acknowledgements are political and controversial, which is why they should not be imposed on people at public meetings. Decades ago, Canada’s public schools ended the practice of reciting the Our Father (the Lord’s Prayer) in classrooms because it was deemed unfair to impose this practice on the children of atheists, Jews and other non-Christians. In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled that state neutrality meant that the Mayor of Saguenay could not open city council meetings by reciting a Catholic prayer. The same reasoning should apply to land acknowledgements, which are political and ideological statements, and perhaps quasi-religious statements as well.

While land acknowledgements are obviously political and divisive, the immediate battle which Ms. Kronas needs to win is for her right, as a citizen and as an elected member of her school council, to simply express her opinion—a right guaranteed to all Canadians by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms has provided for a lawyer who has sent a legal warning letter on behalf of Ms. Kronas to the school board, threatening court action if the board does not reverse its decision.

John Carpay, B.A., LL.B. is President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms (jccf.ca).

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times or ZeroHedge.

Bilderberg’s 71st meeting kicked off in Stockholm, Sweden Thursday, where global elites convened behind closed doors amid tensions across Europe and the Middle East, and against the backdrop of President Donald Trump’s assault on their favorite thing of all time; globalism. The shadowy group, which was founded in 1954, infamously bans media and enforces a code of silence, fueling concerns of hidden agendas and backroom deals shaping the world’s future.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson will address the EU’s “competitiveness” and his country’s support for Ukraine against Russia, his spokesperson told Reuters. Transatlantic relations lead the agenda, with Ukraine, critical raw materials, and AI also slated for discussion, according to documents viewed by Reuters.

Unlike similar events, such as the World Economic Forum’s annual get-together in Davos, Switzerland, no media are invited to cover what goes on during the meeting, and attendees themselves tend to remain tight-lipped about what has been said behind the conference’s closed doors. the Epoch Times notes. 

Among the topics scheduled for discussion are Trans-Atlantic relations, the Russia–Ukraine war, the U.S. economy, artificial intelligence, depopulation and migration, the “Authoritarian Axis,” and the geopolitics of energy and critical minerals.

There is limited other information about the event as the meetings are held under the “Chatham House Rule,“ named after the international affairs think tank in London, which states: ”When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.”

The organizers say that this privacy allows participants to take part as individuals rather than in their official capacities, meaning they are not bound by any office they may hold or previous publicly stated positions on the issues for discussion.

Notable American participants include Stacey Abrams, CEO of Sage Works Production; Anne Applebaum, staff writer at The Atlantic; Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer; Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup; Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft; and Peter Thiel, President of Thiel Capital. Other prominent Americans include Jack Clark of Anthropic, Alex Karp of Palantir, Eric Schmidt of Relativity Space, and Lawrence Summers of Harvard, alongside national security figures like Christopher Donahue, Commander of US Army Europe and Africa, and Samuel Paparo, Commander of US Indo-Pacific Command. Political and corporate media voices such as Jason Smith, Member of Congress, and Fareed Zakaria, host of Fareed Zakaria GPS, round out the roster.

Below is the complete list of participants:

• Abrams, Stacey (USA), CEO, Sage Works Production

• Albuquerque, Maria Luís (INT), European Commissioner Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union

• Alcázar Benjumea, Diego del (ESP), CEO, IE University

• Alverà, Marco (ITA), Co-Founder, zhero.net; CEO TES

• Andersson, Magdalena (SWE), Leader, Social Democratic Party

• Applebaum, Anne (USA), Staff Writer, The Atlantic

• Attal, Gabriel (FRA), Former Prime Minister

• Auchincloss, Murray (CAN), CEO, BP plc

• Baker, James H. (USA), Former Director, Office of Net Assessment, Department of Defense

• Barbizet, Patricia (FRA), Chair and CEO, Temaris & Associés SAS

• Barroso, José Manuel (PRT), Chair International Advisors, Goldman Sachs International

• Baudson, Valérie (FRA), CEO, Amundi SA

• Beleza, Leonor (PRT), President, Champalimaud Foundation

• Birol, Fatih (INT), Executive Director, International Energy Agency

• Botín, Ana (ESP), Group Executive Chair, Banco Santander SA

• Bourla, Albert (USA), Chair and CEO, Pfizer Inc.

• Brende, Børge (NOR), President, World Economic Forum

• Brunner, Magnus (INT), European Commissioner for Internal Affairs and Migration

• Brzoska, Rafal (POL), CEO, InPost SA

• Busch, Ebba (SWE), Minister for Energy, Business and Industry

• Caine, Patrice (FRA), Chair & CEO, Thales Group

• Calviño, Nadia (INT), President, European Investment Bank

• Castries, Henri de (FRA), President, Institut Montaigne

• Chambers, Jack (IRL), Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Reform and Digitalisation

• Champagne, François-Philippe (CAN), Minister of Finance and National Revenue

• Clark, Jack (USA), Co-Founder & Head of Policy, Anthropic PBC

• Crawford, Kate (USA), Professor and Senior Principal Researcher, USC and Microsoft Research

• Donahue, Christopher (USA), Commander, US Army Europe and Africa

• Donohoe, Paschal (INT), President, Eurogroup; Minister of Finance

• Döpfner, Mathias (DEU), Chair and CEO, Axel Springer SE

• Eberstadt, Nicholas N. (USA), Henry Wendt Scholar in Political Economy, AEI

• Ek, Daniel (SWE), CEO, Spotify SA

• Ekholm, Börje (SWE), CEO, Ericsson Group

• Eriksen, Øyvind (NOR), President and CEO, Aker ASA

• Feltri, Stefano (ITA), Journalist

• Fentener van Vlissingen, Annemiek (NLD), Chair, SHV Holdings NV

• Fraser, Jane (USA), CEO, Citigroup

• Freeland, Chrystia (CAN), Minister of Transport and Internal Trade

• Friedman, Thomas L. (USA), Foreign Affairs Columnist, The New York Times

• Gabuev, Alexander (INT), Director, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

• Hammer, Kristina (AUT), President, Salzburg Festival

• Harrington, Kevin (USA), Senior Director for Strategic Planning, NSC

• Hassabis, Demis (GBR), Co-Founder and CEO, Google DeepMind

• Hedegaard, Connie (DNK), Chair, KR Foundation

• Heinrichs, Rebeccah (USA), Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute

• Heraty, Anne (IRL), Chair, Sherry Fitzgerald ana IBEC

• Herlin, Jussi (FIN), Vice Chair, KONE Corporation

• Hernández de Cos, Pablo (ESP), General Manager Elect, Bank for International Settlements

• Hobson, Mellody (USA), Co-CEO and President, Ariel Investments LLC

• Hoekstra, Wopke (INT), European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth

• Hunt, Jeremy (GBR), Member of Parliament

• Isla, Pablo (ESP), Vice-Chair, Nestlé SA

• Johansson, Micael (SWE), President and CEO, Saab AB

• Jonsson, Conni (SWE), Founder and Chair, EQT Group

• Karp, Alex (USA), CEO, Palantir Technologies Inc.

• Klingbeil, Lars (DEU), Vice-Chancellor; Minister of Finance

• Klöckner, Julia (DEU), President Bundestag

• Kostrzewa, Wojciech (POL), President, Polish Business Roundtable

• Kotkin, Stephen (USA), Senior Fellow, Hoover Institution, Stanford University

• Kratsios, Michael (USA), Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy

• Kravis, Henry R. (USA), Co-Founder and Co-Executive Chair, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

• Kudelski, André (CHE), Chair and CEO, Kudelski Group SA

• Kuleba, Dmytro (UKR), Adjunct Professor, Sciences Po

• Leeuwen, Geoffrey van (INT), Director Private Office of the Secretary General, NATO

• Lemierre, Jean (FRA), Chair, BNP Paribas

• Letta, Enrico (ITA), Dean, IE School of Politics, Economics & Global Affairs

• Leysen, Thomas (BEL), Chair, dsm-firmenich AG

• Lighthizer, Robert (USA), Chair, Center for American Trade

• Liikanen, Erkki (FIN), Chair, IFRS Foundation Trustees

• Lundstedt, Martin (SWE), CEO, Volvo Group

• Marin, Sanna (FIN), Strategic Counsellor, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change

• McGrath, Michael (INT), European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice and the Rule of Law

• Mensch, Arthur (FRA), Co-Founder and CEO, Mistral AI

• Micklethwait, John (USA), Editor-in-Chief, Bloomberg LP

• Minton Beddoes, Zanny (GBR), Editor-in-Chief, The Economist

• Mitsotakis, Kyriakos (GRC), Prime Minister

• Monti, Mario (ITA), Senator for life

• Moore, Richard (GBR), Chief, Secret Intelligence Service

• Nadella, Satya (USA), CEO, Microsoft Corporation

• Netherlands, H.M. the King of the (NLD),

• O’Leary, Michael (IRL), Group CEO, Ryanair Group

• Ollongren, Kajsa (NLD), Fellow, Chatham House; Senior Fellow, GLOBSEC

• Özyeğin, Murat (TUR), Chair, Fiba Group

• Papalexopoulos, Dimitri (GRC), Chair, TITAN S.A.

• Paparo, Samuel (USA), Commander, US Indo-Pacific Command

• Philippe, Édouard (FRA), Mayor, Le Havre

• Pouyanné, Patrick (FRA), Chair and CEO, TotalEnergies SE

• Prokopenko, Alexandra (INT), Fellow, Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center

• Rachman, Gideon (GBR), Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times

• Rappard, Rolly van (NLD), Co-Founder and Chair, CVC Capital Partners

• Reiche, Katherina (DEU), Minister of Economic Affairs and Energy

• Ringstad Vartdal, Birgitte (NOR), CEO, Statkraft AS

• Roche, Nicolas (FRA), Secretary General, General Secretariat for Defence and National Security

• Rutte, Mark (INT), Secretary General, NATO

• Salvi, Diogo (PRT), Co-Founder and CEO, TIMWE

• Sawers, John (GBR), Executive Chair, Newbridge Advisory Ltd.

• Scherf, Gundbert (DEU), Co-Founder and Co-CEO, Helsing GmbH

• Schimpf, Brian (USA), Co-Founder & CEO, Anduril Industries

• Schmidt, Eric E. (USA), Executive Chair and CEO, Relativity Space Inc

• Schmidt, Wolfgang (DEU), Former Federal Minister for Special Tasks, Head of the Chancellery

• Šefčovič, Maroš (INT), European Commissioner Trade and Economic Security; Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency

• Sewing, Christian (DEU), CEO, Deutsche Bank AG

• Sikorski, Radoslaw (POL), Minister of Foreign Affairs

• Şimşek, Mehmet (TUR), Minister of Finance

• Smith, Jason (USA), Member of Congress

• Stoltenberg, Jens (NOR), Minister of Finance

• Streeting, Wes (GBR), Secretary of State for Health and Social Care

• Stubb, Alexander (FIN), President of the Republic

• Suleyman, Mustafa (USA), CEO, Microsoft AI

• Summers, Lawrence (USA), Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University

• Thiel, Peter (USA), President, Thiel Capital LLC

• Toulemon, Laurent (FRA), Senior Researcher, INED

• Uggla, Robert (DNK), Chair, A.P. Møller-Maersk A/S

• Valentini, Valentino (ITA), Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy

• Vassy, Luis (FRA), Director, Sciences Po

• Verhoeven, Karel (BEL), Editor-in-Chief, De Standaard

• Wallenberg, Jacob (SWE), Chair, Investor AB

• Wallenberg, Marcus (SWE), Chair, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB

• Weder di Mauro, Beatrice (CHE), President, Centre for Economic Policy Research

• Weel, David van (NLD), Minister of Justice and Security

• Wilmès, Sophie (INT), Vice-President, European Parliament

• Zakaria, Fareed (USA), Host, Fareed Zakaria GPS

• Zeiler, Gerhard (AUT), President, Warner Bros. Discovery International

In 2016, Thiel offered a rare comment to reporters outside of the Bilderberg conference, telling We Are Change reporter Luke Rudkowski that, “Engaging with diverse perspectives is crucial, regardless of differences.”

“Our society faces numerous challenges, and we must […] find ways to have open discussions, even if not everything is fully transparent,” the added.

Authored by Dave DeCamp via AntiWar.com,

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard released a video on her personal social media accounts lamenting the US nuclear bombing of the Japanese city of Hiroshima and warning that the world was closer to “nuclear annihilation” than ever before.

“I recently visited Hiroshima in Japan and stood at the epicenter of a city that remains scarred by the unimaginable horror caused by a single nuclear bomb dropped in 1945, 80 years ago,” she said in the video. “It’s hard for me to find the words to express what I saw, the stories that I heard, the haunting sadness that still remains. This is an experience that will stay with me forever.”

I recently visited Hiroshima, and stood at the epicenter of a city scarred by the unimaginable horror caused by a single nuclear bomb dropped in 1945. What I saw, the stories I heard, and the haunting sadness that remains, will stay with me forever. pic.twitter.com/TmxmxiGwnV

— Tulsi Gabbard 🌺 (@TulsiGabbard) June 10, 2025

Gabbard said that the bombing in Hiroshima killed “over 300,000 people, many dying instantly while others died from severe burns, injuries, radiation sickness, and cancer that set in in the following months and years.” The number is higher than most death toll estimates for the attack.

When asked if the 300,000 figure was based on US intelligence assessments or if the US had its own estimate, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence didn’t answer and instead provided Antiwar.com with a general statement on the video, which said President Trump was also concerned about the risk of nuclear war.

“Acknowledging the past is critical to inform the future. President Trump has repeatedly stated in the past that he recognizes the immeasurable suffering, and annihilation can be caused by nuclear war, which is why he has been unequivocal that we all need to do everything possible to work towards peace,” said Alexa Henning, Gabbard’s deputy chief of staff.

Gabbard noted in the video that the bomb dropped on Hiroshima was much smaller than what nuclear powers have in their arsenals today. “A single nuclear weapon today could kill millions in just minutes,” she said.

“As we stand here today, closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before, political elite warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers,” Gabbard said, adding that it was up to “us, the people, to speak up and demand an end to this madness.”

She concluded the video by saying that people should work toward a world where “no one has to live in fear of a nuclear holocaust.”

In her statement on the video, Henning said that Gabbard “supports President Trump’s clearly stated objectives of bringing about lasting peace and stability and preventing war.”

While both Gabbard and Trump say that they want peace, the Trump administration continues fueling the proxy war in Ukraine, supporting Israel’s extermination of Palestinians in Gaza, and is threatening to bomb Iran if diplomacy fails.

The US is also continuing to ratchet tensions with China. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth recently said that the US was ready to “fight and win” a war with China if it invades Taiwan, despite the risk of nuclear war.

As all eyes are on the emerging Israel-Iran aerial war, and as ballistic missiles fly over Middle East skies, Russian forces have made more gains in Eastern Ukraine.

“Russian forces took control of three new Ukrainian villages — Yablonovka in the northeastern Sumy region, and Koptevo and Komar in the eastern Donetsk region,” the Russian Defense Ministry indicated Friday.

“The state TASS news agency cited the ministry as saying that Russian troops had captured six Ukrainian villages over the past week,” Reuters also notes.

This also comes after earlier this month Russian forces expanded ground operations into a more central oblast, in an escalation and expanded offensive:

Russian forces have secured a small foothold in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region for the first time since the early weeks of the full-scale war in 2022, The New York Times reported Friday.

Small groups of Russian soldiers crossed into the Dnipropetrovsk region from the occupied Donetsk region over the past weekend, three Ukrainian officers stationed in the area told The New York Times.

A battlefield map compiled by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War also indicates that Russia has claimed a small strip of territory inside Dnipropetrovsk.

The officers told the NYT that Russian troops have not seized any settlements and have only advanced along a few tree lines.

But the Dnipropetrovsk operation is expected to continue, as the war drags on, Russian forces likely poised to take settlements.

As of last Sunday, a Russian tank unit had reached the western border of Donetsk, and is positioned on the eastern edge of Dnipropetrovsk.

Just like with US-Iran negotiations, efforts to end the Ukraine war appear completely stalled. The Kremlin is demanding that Zelensky agree to territorial concessions to end the war, among other conditions. But this has been a non-starter for the Zelensky government, which is backed by NATO powers.

Authored by Brandon Smith via Alt-Market.us

If you thought that the leftist delusions of grandeur had finally hit their peak you are about to be unpleasantly surprised. There are no limits to the insanity that progressives will embrace in their pursuit of power, and they continue to adhere to the fantasy that they are the “good guys” despite the fact that most of the world has been telling them for the past several years that their ideology is repugnant.

The events in Los Angeles are just the beginning and the path this situation will take is relatively predictable. There is a large enough percentage of the US population (around 25% to 30%) that is inexorably rooted in the ideologies of Marxism and multiculturalism. Many of them might not even understand what they’re supporting, but they’ll still do what they’re told by their gatekeepers.

For decades now the progressives have treated America like an experiment in social engineering; the US has been their personal multicultural playground. What has them enraged today is the fact that they are hitting a wall of opposition. They aren’t used to being told “No” and the only way they know how to respond is by lashing out.

The agenda is simple enough to understand – Open borders, third world replacement of the native population, a complete overhaul of our culture’s fundamental principles and ultimately the utilization of the foreign populace and leftist activists as a weapon to eliminate any resistance. 

Interference on a political level is met with mob violence, looting, rioting and eventually terrorist actions and assassinations. This is the classic model of leftist revolutions throughout modern history. They seem to be disjointed and reactionary, yet their efforts end up highly coordinated and conveniently timed. There is nothing “grassroots” about these movements.

Currently, there is a push to make the LA riots go national with something called the “No Kings” protests scheduled to take place in cities across the country this weekend at the same time as the US Army’s 250^th anniversary celebration (and Donald Trump’s birthday). The Democrats continue to spin the narrative that Trump is a dictator or “king” when he was duly elected by the majority of Americans and almost everything he has done so far is in line with what he promised during his campaign.  All the usual suspects are pushing the spread of the riots, from NGOs to Democrat politicians to the corporate media.

There are some hilarious hot takes floating around social media concerning this event. Some leftists are claiming that conservatives are “running scared” and going quiet in the face of the protests. This is simply a lie. Conservatives are actually laughing at activists because the crazies still don’t understand the level of FAFO they are playing with.

Others are arguing for the secession of the west coast to Canada, which isn’t going to happen because an army of rednecks could invade and conquer Canada in a week. Canada has no capacity to protect themselves, let alone retain California, Oregon and Washington.

Finally, numerous Mexican and Democrat representatives are demanding the “return” of California to Mexico, claiming the lands were stolen. Of course, the US handed the Mexicans their ass 200 years ago and California was ceded to the US through the Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo. To the victors go the spoils. Also, Also, Mexico belonged to Spain and was only a country for a couple decades before they were defeated in the Mexican-American conflict.

Apparently, the Mexican government needs a reminder of who their daddy is…

My point? There is a hailstorm of stupidity and naivety on the part of of the socialist mob and it’s getting worse by the week. They really think they have some kind of momentum. Progressive commentators including Bill Maher have been claiming that most of the country doesn’t want mass deportations, they just want violent criminals removed. They argue that getting rid of “Pedro the construction worker” or “Juanita the waitress” will be the end of conservative governance.

They still don’t get it.

The majority of Americans VOTED FOR THIS. They want mass deportations. All illegal migrants are criminals by definition and the public wants them gone. I’m even seeing most Libertarians (who often waffle on these kinds of issues) and black Americans call for illegals to be aggressively booted out.

Native born Americans want their country back and they certainly aren’t going to allow Democrats to flood the population with migrants so they can manipulate future elections. But the problem goes far beyond rigging the census or offering sweeping amnesty initiatives to create a voting block of third worlders. As we have recently seen in LA, there is an agitation plot afoot…

My primary theory on the engineered migrant invasion of the west has long been that these people are not just being used to score a voting majority in the near future, or as a tool for cultural replacement, but that they are a kind of mercenary army – An entitled mob purchased with welfare subsidies that will turn to violence to secure what they see as their piece of the shrinking American pie.

Progressive leaders and their NGO partners have deliberately positioned these migrant populations to be used as foot soldiers in an eventual soft coup. They believe that when the Trump Administration cracks down on the riots it will inspire even more unrest in other cities, creating a spiraling crisis. The foreign invasion tactic is part of what I call the “Monkey Wrenching” of America.

In my article ‘The “Monkey Wrench” Sabotage Of America Begs For An Authoritarian Response’, published in January, I outlined the history of far-left attacks on conservative or traditionalist societies including their attempts to overrun Germany in the 1920s (which ultimately led to misguided public support for socialist fascism).

I argued that the political left and the globalists have been reeling from a sharp reversal in political gains and that they are on the retreat. However, they still have a destructive play up their sleeve in the form of a civil war triggered by sabotage and migrant unrest. I noted in January:

“Leftists throughout modern history have a habit of engaging in destabilization efforts when they don’t get what they want. They view their motivations as sacrosanct and beyond criticism, be it “saving democracy” or “saving the planet” or “taking down capitalists and colonists”.

In every case where the political left had influence over social conditions and then lost that power, they revert to directed exponential disruption and violence from riots to assassination. They claim to care about the right of the majority to have their voices heard, but in reality they don’t care at all. When the majority goes against the leftist narrative, leftists go rogue…”

In my article ‘Why Mass Deportations Are Necessary And How To Keep Illegals From Coming Back’, published in February, I predicted the exact tactic the leftist gatekeepers were likely to exploit:

“As we’ve seen in the first weeks of Trump’s presidency, establishment Democrats are intent on interfering with deportations in any way they can (all the future power of leftists requires forced immigration to the US from socialist leaning countries). By extension, leftist activists will seek to disrupt deportation efforts using civil unrest (when the weather warms up these goblins will come out in droves, bank on it).

On top of the internal sabotage, there are many foreign governments that will desperately try to obstruct the return of so many unwanted citizens. Keep in mind that the US is seen by these governments as a dumping ground for their refuse. America is a steam valve to release the pressure so that these countries can get rid of their criminals, revolutionaries and those in poverty…”

There is a clear organized strategy in play to destabilize the US, and the limited unrest over deportations is being exploited as a snowball that leftists hope will create an avalanche. They co-opted the death of George Floyd (who died from Fentanyl overdose) to instigate the BLM riots. They used the war in Gaza to agitate for riots at American universities. They will try to hijack the migrant issue as yet another excuse for national violence.

My suspicion is that the “No Kings” protests will probably fall flat throughout most of the country except in usual suspect cities (LA, New York, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, etc). But, there’s no telling how much cash is behind this operation and how many useful idiots they will dredge up through social media propaganda. If not this week, then eventually, there will be a wider civil breakdown. The illegal migrant agenda is their last chance and they aren’t going to let it fade away easily.

So, here is what’s going to happen and I want to explain this reality to leftists directly:

You’re going to experience a defeat on a level you can’t yet fathom. It’s not going to be fair, it’s going to be ugly. You truly have no idea what is about to happen to you. And, it’s not going to be riot cops, or the National Guard or even the US Marines that serve up the smackdown, it’s going to be regular American conservatives.

Progressive commentators continue focusing on Trump as if he’s going to be wearing the boot that steps on their necks. That’s not how this will go down. You have NO CLUE how many millions of conservatives are fed up with the constant sabotage and cry-bullying of the political left. They are anxious to step in. Listen because I’m doing you a favor here – Just stop, because if you do what you claim you want to do (national riots and infrastructure disruption), we are going to end you.

The switch is about to be flipped. One day soon, without warning, every conservative man in the country is going find themselves reading a particularly egregious news report. They’re going to take off from their jobs which they have been working diligently for most of their lives, they’re going to hug their families, walk out the front door, get in a truck loaded with combat gear, they’re going to show up in droves at the nearest leftist riots, and steeped in an array of skills that they have been carefully practicing for years, they’re going to put those people down flat.

There will be skeptics who will say this is never going to happen. Those people are idiots. They don’t know conservatives, they don’t talk to conservatives. Mark my words, if the current trend continues it’s going to happen and leftists don’t stand a chance (the feds under Obama learned this at Bundy Ranch). So, quit, before it’s too late. Because once it starts it’s not going to stop until every leftist rioter and saboteur is run out of the US or fitted for a wooden box. If you’re on the political left, civil war is the last thing you should want.

Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ZeroHedge.

GDP per capita is a rough proxy for a country’s average living standards. A higher GDP per capita usually reflects more economic resources available per person, a signal for prosperity.

However, like all statistical measures there are caveats: it doesn’t account for income distribution, quality of life metrics, or how sustainable the economy is.

Nevertheless, it is a standard that can be applied to make useful comparisons, while keeping these caveats in mind.

So, what are the “richest” countries in the world?

Visual Capitalist’s Pallavi Rao ranks the top 50 countries by GDP per capita in 2025 using figures from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

All values are in current USD, which means: it is not adjusted for currency rates, cost of living metrics, or inflation.

Ranked: The Richest Countries in the World in 2025

Luxembourg is the richest country in the world by GDP per capita, $140,941 in 2025.

The U.S. is the richest country ($89,105) with a population of more than 10 million.

Note: Data is missing for: Afghanistan, Eritrea, Lebanon, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Syria, Palestine. Figures for several overseas territories are also not included.

Noticeably, many of the top spots are held by small countries with specialized financial services sectors, also known offshore financial centers.

Luxembourg (#1), Ireland (#2), Switzerland (#3), Singapore (#4), Netherlands (#11) and Hong Kong (#18) are all considered tax havens as their friendly tax laws, strict privacy rules, and strong financial sectors encourage multinational corporations to route earnings through them.

As a result, this improves their GDP a significant amount, but doesn’t reflect the resident populations productivity.

In Ireland’s case, these flows distorted GDP values so much that the government discontinued its use as a reliable statistic, preferring to measure and compare gross national income (GNI) instead.

Oil Wealth a Major Factor

Energy-rich countries also dominate the rankings. Qatar (#10), UAE (#23), and Saudi Arabia (#43) rank high due to oil exports fueling government spending and infrastructure.

Norway (#6), with a large sovereign wealth fund, is Europe’s prime example of oil wealth being reinvested.

Guyana, a newcomer at #41, has rapidly climbed the ranks following major offshore oil discoveries and production growth.

America’s Scale and Wealth

Finally, while the U.S. ranks #7 in GDP per capita, it stands out for its scale. It’s the richest country in the world by GDP per capita with a population over 10 million, highlighting its economic might.

Other populous countries, like Germany, Japan, the UK, and France all fall lower in per capita terms, despite large total economies.

High-tech industries, consumer spending, and capital markets contribute to America’s wealth profile.

Want a closer look at the American economy? Check out: America’s $19 Trillion Consumption Sector in one chart, to see where Americans spend their dollars.

Via The Cradle,

Israel’s parliament narrowly rejected a preliminary bill to dissolve itself early on 12 June, avoiding the possibility of snap elections and preserving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fragile governing coalition. The motion, backed by opposition lawmakers, was defeated by a vote of 61 to 53 – just meeting the 61-seat threshold needed for passage in the 120-member Knesset.

The failed vote followed a last-minute deal between coalition leaders and ultra-Orthodox parties regarding one of Israel’s most divisive issues, which is mandatory military service for the ultra-Orthodox, or Haredim. 

While military service is compulsory for most Jewish Israelis, the ultra-Orthodox community – roughly 13 percent of the population – has long been granted exemptions if men are enrolled in full-time religious study.

Ultra-orthodox parties have been pressuring the Netanyahu government to codify the exemptions by passing a new law.

In a key development, Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Chairman Yuli Edelstein announced that his committee and ultra-Orthodox parties had reached a preliminary understanding to draft new legislation addressing the conscription issue. This agreement persuaded most ultra-Orthodox lawmakers to vote against dissolving the Knesset.

However, the arrangement sparked backlash from both opposition leaders and within the coalition itself. 

Yair Golan, leader of the opposition Democrats party, condemned the agreement, saying, “Netanyahu entered a room with the heads of the Haredi factions and left with a disgraceful agreement … There is no love for the country here. Only cynicism. Only selfish survival.” Golan accused Netanyahu of betraying both military service members and ultra-Orthodox citizens who wished to contribute to the state.

Netanyahu narrowly averts government collapse over ultra-Orthodox conscription dispute
——
A motion to dissolve Israel’s parliament because of friction over the conscription of Haredi men failed to pass on 11 June. The opposition reached a compromise, and only 53 voted in favor of… pic.twitter.com/NxrhoDnWgr

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) June 12, 2025

Housing Minister Yitzhak Goldknopf, head of the ultra-Orthodox United Torah Judaism (UTJ) party, resigned from Netanyahu’s cabinet in protest over the compromise deal. Goldknopf, whose Hasidic Agudat Yisrael faction supported the Knesset’s dissolution, said the new understandings fell short of promises made in coalition agreements. “I can no longer take part as a member of this government,” he wrote in his resignation letter to Netanyahu.

Goldknopf’s resignation follows a previous symbolic resignation in March over the same issue. Despite his departure, UTJ remains part of the ruling coalition, which has been under pressure due to widespread discontent over the military burden placed on young Israelis tasked with executing the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza. With the war now lasting more than 18 months, the Israeli army is facing growing manpower shortages, intensifying the debate over draft exemptions.

Roughly 13,000 ultra-Orthodox men reach conscription age each year, but fewer than 10 percent enlist, according to the State Control Committee.

Summary/developments:

• Missile sirens sound across north as IDF says new barrage launched from Iran
• More than 60 Israelis wounded in barrages
• Israelis rush back into shelters in the north
• Senior Iranian official threatens that Iran will target countries that try to defend Israel
• Iran says Israel has killed 78 people, including senior military officials, and wounded more than 320 people in Iran,
• AJ: Trump stays out of ‘public eye’ as Israel-Iran conflict escalates
• Air-defenses seen active once again Friday late night over the Iranian capital of Tehran
• Israeli says it completely destroyed Tabriz military base in Iran
• Next Israeli attack: potential targets are likely economic, including oil and gas infrastructure which resources the IRGC, and political and leadership targets.
• FOX: The U.S. Army is assisting in shooting down incoming Iranian missiles with Patriot Pac-3 missiles and with Thaad
• Israel completely evacuates Ben Gurion International Airport — including civilian aircrafts
• US confirms: American equipment and assets used in defending Israel against Iran strikes
• International media widely confirms several major strikes on Israeli cities 
• At least seven Israelis injured, some in serious condition
• AJ: Israeli attacks could push Iran to pursue nuclear weapon
• Iran closes airspace until tomorrow afternoon
• Iran says the missiles are the ‘beginning’ of its ‘crushing response’
• Trump warns Iran to agree to a deal ‘before there is nothing left’
• Axios reports that the Trump admin briefed lawmakers before Israeli strikes began
• There is radiological and chemical contamination at Natanz: IAEA’s Grossi to UN Security Council
• “Israel destroyed the above-ground part of the Natanz nuclear facility. There are no indications of damage to the underground enrichment facilities at the site, but the power outage may have affected the centrifuges. There is radioactive and chemical contamination at the site,” Grossi said.

Al Jazeera LIVE FEED:

The Kirya in Tel Aviv is ‘Israel’s version of the Pentagon,’ Fox News reporter explains, in front of the damaged building:

Iran hit Israeli military HQ with PRECISION strike

The Kirya in Tel Aviv is ‘Israel’s version of the Pentagon’, Fox News reporter explains https://t.co/di6GLRZDIb pic.twitter.com/wYx6fhbCSq

— RT (@RT_com) June 13, 2025

* * *

Update(1425ET): A reported hundreds of Iranian missiles were launched on Israel. Some appear to have landed, though Israel’s robust air defense system is active, and likely busy intercepting. Times of Israel writes in an update:

Sirens are sounding across Israel amid a major Iranian ballistic missile attack.

An estimated 100 missiles were launched from Iran at Israel, according to an Israeli military source

Al Jazeera is reporting based on eyewitnesses that Israelis have been instructed to take shelter in safe rooms. At least 100 ballistic missiles are inbound. Israel has confirmed there are casualties. Major impacts observed:

IRANIAN HYPERSONIC STRIKING ISRAEL MINISTRY OF DEFENSE HEADQUARTERS ### pic.twitter.com/jGZ7ZoH1Ng

— iBankCoin, A Reliable Source (@iBankCoin4tw) June 13, 2025

Jordanian armed forces say they are intercepting over Jordanian airspace. At least one impact in Tel Aviv has been reported. There have been at least eight waves of Israeli strikes on Iran since last night. Times of Israel reports:

Netanyahu is set to convene security chiefs and key ministers at 10 tonight, Channel 12 reports.

The network quotes a senior Israeli official warning against any euphoria and saying: “Iranian missiles will get here, and it won’t take them long. The results will not be minor. That’s precisely why we need to use every moment to attack and not hold back. We won’t take our foot off the gas. We are preparing for a lengthy conflict. This is one of the most significant historic events since the establishment of the state.”

The TV station also says that perhaps the most likely scenario presented to ministers last night is that of Iran firing 600 ballistic missiles in phases at Israel.

Tehran vows sustained attacks:

🇮🇷 Tehran rejects calls to refrain from action against Israel after Israeli strikes on Iran — Iranian Foreign Minister pic.twitter.com/c5KkZAAiYb

— DD Geopolitics (@DD_Geopolitics) June 13, 2025

Evidence of many ground impacts:

Operation Severe Punishment in effect. pic.twitter.com/VI1pc0Saim

— Pepe Escobar (@RealPepeEscobar) June 13, 2025

All out war emerging, via Al Jazeera latest developments:

• Explosions in Tel Aviv as sirens sound across Israel amid reported Iranian missile attacks in response to Israeli strikes.
• The Israeli military continues to launch waves of strikes against Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as major cities.
• US President Donald Trump says it’s not too late for Tehran to halt the bombing campaign by reaching a deal on its nuclear programme.
• Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has warned Israel that it “must expect severe punishment” following the “crime” of attacking Iran and killing several top-level military commanders and six nuclear scientists.
• Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the military operation will continue as long as necessary.
• United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US is “not involved” in the strikes and warns Iran against attacking American bases in the region.

* * *

Update(1330ET): There are reports that Israeli strikes on Iran have continued through Friday, with the WSJ reporting that up to two weeks of attacks could be coming.

“Israel’s operation against Iran’s nuclear program, military leadership and arsenal of missiles is nowhere near over, with Israel having planned out 14 days of operations, a senior Israeli official said,” WSJ writes.

“The likely duration of the campaign fits with analysts’ expectations that a single wave of strikes wouldn’t be able to do enough damage to Iran’s nuclear program and Israel’s comprehensive approach of attacking Iran’s facilities, leadership and arsenal at the same time to limit the possibility of a retaliatory strike,” the report says.

Israel is bracing for potential big counterattack, and yet clearly Iran is struggling to even get its air defenses active in thwarting the Israeli airstrikes. Still, air defenses appear very active over the capital on Friday.

❗️ Skies over Tehran light up with RED streaks — FARS

Iranian defense firing at incoming threats https://t.co/XRgmxsIt0A pic.twitter.com/gZyabXlwNE

— RT (@RT_com) June 13, 2025

According to more:

• ISRAEL SAYS AIR FORCE CONTINUES TO ATTACK IRAN: REUTERS
• IRAN WILL NOT PARTICIPATE IN NUCLEAR NEGOTIATIONS WITH US SCHEDULED FOR SUNDAY: IRAN STATE TV
• TRUMP SAYS NOT SURE US-IRAN MEETING WILL TAKE PLACE: REUTERS

Some of the first footage I have seen of air-defenses actually attempting to do anything, from tonight over the Iranian capital of Tehran. pic.twitter.com/zfaD7GSSTW

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 13, 2025

The Israel Defense Force has released a graphic showing the uranium enrichment site located beneath the Natanz Nuclear Facility in Central Iran, which was heavily targeted during today’s strikes by the Israeli Air Force.

The Israel Defense Force has released a graphic showing the uranium enrichment site located beneath the Natanz Nuclear Facility in Central Iran, which was heavily targeted during today’s strikes by the Israeli Air Force. pic.twitter.com/DztB04got6

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) June 13, 2025

State media reports that over 100 Iranian have been killed, with the casualty toll likely to continue to rise amid rescue efforts and emergency crews responding to sites hit.

❗️ 104 KILLED, 376 injured in Israeli attacks on Iran

Strikes reportedly STILL ongoing pic.twitter.com/c7mN9kaYvL

— RT (@RT_com) June 13, 2025

* * *

Update0930ET: There are emerging reports of possibly more waves of Israeli attacks, with state media reporting new, loud blasts heard near an airbase in west Iran. Netanyahu has vowed to keep up the attacks ‘as long as necessary’ to degrade and destroy Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran has long defended as only for peaceful nuclear energy purposes.

Importantly, Iranian leaders have made clear their intent to continue enriching uranium, and even to potentially expand its nuclear activities. Israeli attacks “will not affect our determination” to continue nuclear activities in Iran, state TV reports, as cited in Bloomberg.

Iran’s spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization Behrouz Kamalvandi confirmed damage as a result of Israel’s attack on Natanz nuclear site. He claimed that most of the damage is limited to the surface, and that there were no casualties at the stie. There have been no signs of a radiation breach as of yet, the IAEA has said in follow-up. And Al Jazeera writes:

Fars news agency reports “unofficial statistics” saying that more than 70 people were killed and more than 320 were injured in Israel’s attacks.

Fars is managed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and considered semi-official state media of the Iranian government.

Trump to WSJ on the impact on markets:

“I think ultimately, it would be great for the market because Iran will not have a nuclear weapon. … Iran won’t have a nuclear weapon that was a great threat to humanity.”

Legacy defining moment for Trump.

He bragged about being the only President in a generation who didn’t start any new wars.

If he gets America involved in a new Middle East, regime change war… he failed.

— Geiger Capital (@Geiger_Capital) June 13, 2025

Trump was “pretending”…

Axios is reporting that Trump was publicly pretending to oppose an Israeli attack on Iran. pic.twitter.com/R7s9C1dgC5

— Kassy Akiva (@KassyAkiva) June 13, 2025

* * *

Up until yesterday the Trump White House had been publicly distancing itself from any potential Israeli attack on Iran. But that major attack did occur overnight, reportedly involving over 200 Israeli warplanes, as well as potential intelligence-assisted drone attacks on the ground conducted by Mossad assets.

And yet following days of contradictory messaging coming from the White House, President Trump has told ABC news early Friday that “there’s more to come” in terms of Israeli military action that the operation was “excellent”. ABC’s Jonathan Karl writes:

I just spoke to President Trump and asked him about the Israeli attack on Iran. Here’s what he told me: “I think it’s been excellent.  We gave them a chance and they didn’t take it. They got hit hard, very hard. They got hit about as hard as you’re going to get hit. And there’s more to come. a lot more.”

Washington and Tehran were literally days away from the next round of nuclear negotiations, and this certainly wasn’t the messaging Trump was sending just over 24 hours ago.

Either he could be trying to save face as Israel perhaps went rogue, or the more likely scenario is that Washington quietly approved what Israel is defending as a ‘preemptive attack’ to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons (a narrative Tel Aviv has been pushing going back to the 1990s).

And more from Trump on Friday morning, as the smoke still smolders over Tehran and Iranian nuclear energy sites in other parts of the country:

This certainly isn’t going to hasten negotiations, it is their death knell, and Iran has issued a statement saying it holds the United States responsible for last night’s attack and destruction.

Iran has said it is preparing a “harsh response” – with Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warning that Israel faces a “bitter and painful” fate. “By God’s will, the powerful hand of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic will not let it [Israel] go unpunished,” he said Friday.

Government and residential buildings in Iran were damaged, and as we reported earlier, top nuclear scientists and military officials were targeted and in some instances killed, most importantly the head of IRGC, General Major Gen. Hossein Salami.

⚡️Satellite images of the Natanz nuclear enrichment complex following Israeli strikes pic.twitter.com/Lb9ItZIrQD

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 13, 2025

Al Jazeera has listed that trikes have been confirmed in the following locations:

• The capital, Tehran, and military sites in the surrounding area.
• The city of Natanz, where explosions were reported at the main uranium enrichment facility.
• The city of Tabriz, where explosions have been reported near a nuclear research centre and two military bases.
• The city of Isfahan, south of Tehran.
• The city of Arak, southwest of Tehran.
• The city of Kermanshah, west of Tehran.

Iran has already appointed a new IRGC leader, per WSJ. Gen. Mohammad Pakpour has been placed in charge of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and Maj. Gen. Sayyed Abdolrahim Mousavi has made chief of staff of the armed forces, while Lt. Gen. Ali Shadmani was named to succeed Lt. Gen. Gholam Ali Rashid. How it allegedly unfolded, per Israeli sources cited in the WSJ:

The majority of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps air force leadership was killed by an Israeli military strike, according to defense minister Israel Katz.

The group were convening in an underground bunker, the minister said in a statement. Israeli intelligence determined that overnight, senior air force leaders were in an underground meeting preparing to attack Israel, the Israeli military said in a statement.

Fighter jets struck the location, killing Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the air force. Along with him, Israel killed the commander of Iran’s UAV force and the commander of aerial command, the military said.

Major fire near Tabriz Airport in Iran after attack…

⚡️ A major fire broke out near Tabriz Airport in Iran. pic.twitter.com/tmkKzl2sPL

— War Monitor (@WarMonitors) June 13, 2025

In a remarkable revelation (if true), the Wall Street Journal describes an operation that’s parallel to both Ukraine’s ‘Operation Spider’s Web’ and Israel’s covert pager bombings of Hezbollah:

Long before Israel launched its attacks against Iran on Friday, agents from Mossad smuggled explosive drones and other guided weapons into Iran. As the attack got under way, Mossad assets on the ground used the drones and other weapons to attack Iran’s air-defense system and ballistic-missile launchers: WSJ

Fox News’ Chief Foreign Correspondent Trey Yingst writes:

On the strikes against IRGC Air Force leadership: Israel tricked the top command of Iran’s air force into a meeting and then kept them there, I’m told by an Israeli security official.

“We did specific activities to help us understand things about them and then used that information to make them act in a specific way,” the official said. “We knew this would make them meet, but more importantly we knew how to keep them there.”

The Israeli army said it had damaged the Natanz uranium enrichment site’s underground structures. It says that “vital infrastructure at the site that allows for its continuous functioning and the continued advancement of the Iranian regime’s project to obtain nuclear weapons was attacked.”

A Chinese patent for a COVID-19 vaccine filed just weeks after the virus emerged in the United States is drawing fresh scrutiny from U.S. investigators examining the origins of the pandemic and potential efforts to conceal early information about the virus.

The February 24, 2020, patent application – submitted by three Chinese entities affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army – outlines a process for developing a “COVID-19 protein vaccine.” The document, which predates the World Health Organization’s declaration of a global pandemic, lists 11 inventors. Among them are two scientists affiliated with a neuroscience institute within the Chinese military – a detail that has puzzled U.S. officials, given that neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely known or studied at the time.

The participation of researchers from the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences – a division of the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing – has raised particular concern among federal investigators. The institute, which has drawn attention from U.S. defense analysts in recent years, plays a role in the Chinese military’s emerging focus on cognitive warfare – the strategic use of neuroscience in national defense, Just the News reports.

“Significantly, their published research provided limited, or no data of neuropathology observed in the experimental animals, or the neuroprotection afforded by the vaccine,” wrote Dr. Robert Kadlec, a former senior Health and Human Services official, in a 2023 report examining the origins of the pandemic. “Institute of Military Cognition researchers’ involvement in such studies suggest an interest in the vaccine’s protection against SARS-CoV-2 early in the outbreak before evidence of its neurological effects were widely known.”

Dr. Kadlec, who served in the Trump administration and played a central role in Operation Warp Speed, was among the first U.S. officials to question why neuroscientists were included in early Chinese vaccine development. His report, titled A Critical Review of COVID-19 Origins: Hidden in Plain Sight, was published last September.

Other figures on Capitol Hill have voiced similar concerns. Representative Darin LaHood, Republican of Illinois and a member of the House Intelligence Committee, recently stated that the cover-up of COVID-19’s early emergence in China should be understood in the context of Beijing’s broader strategic ambitions.

“China has a plan to replace the United States, and they’re working at it every single day,” Mr. LaHood said in a podcast interview this week. “They want to beat us technologically, militarily, economically and diplomatically. And the sooner we wake up to that, the better.”

“… And we’ve seen evidence of this through Huawei and what China… has done with Huawei, what they’ve done with TikTok, what they’ve done now with Deep Seek, what they did… in terms of lying and being deceitful with the Wuhan virus,” he continued.

Possibly part of that effort: Chinese military strategists are actively developing new methods for using neurology to gain advantages on the battlefield, according to Elsa Kania, Adjunct Senior Fellow at the Center for New American Security. 

“On the battlefield, attempts to undermine an adversary could include interfering with the adversary’s capacity for cognition, whether through manipulation or out-right destruction, from disrupting the flow of data to exploiting ideology or emotion,” she wrote in January 2020 for U.S. National Defense University magazine, Prism, which focuses on “emerging disruptive technologies.” -Just the News

At the center of the February 2020 vaccine patent is Zhou Yusen, a senior military scientist at the State Key Laboratory of Pathogen and Biosecurity. Zhou, who previously collaborated with the Wuhan Institute of Virology on SARS and MERS vaccines, is among the 11 listed inventors. According to Senate researchers, Zhou died under unclear circumstances in the months following the outbreak.

The presence of neuroscientists on the patent application – including Yan Li and Gencheng Han – has intensified questions about what Chinese scientists may have known about COVID-19’s broader physiological effects in the earliest days of the outbreak. A separate scientific paper identifies both researchers as members of the Institute of Military Cognition and Brain Sciences. At the time the patent was filed, neurological symptoms of COVID-19 were not widely reported or understood by Western scientists.

Subsequent studies have shown that COVID-19 can have long-lasting neurological effects. A 2022 study published in Nature found that survivors of COVID-19 faced elevated risks of conditions including strokes, memory disorders, migraines, and seizures in the months following infection. Researchers at Duke University reported neurocognitive impairments and sleep disturbances lasting up to three months in some patients.

The earliest Chinese study documenting COVID-19’s neurological symptoms was published in April 2020. According to the study, which was based on clinical data from Wuhan, patient monitoring was still underway five days before the vaccine patent was filed.

The new questions about the early vaccine patent follow revelations this week that a Defense Intelligence Agency unit concluded in mid-2020 that COVID-19 was likely genetically engineered and leaked from a laboratory. That internal study, which described the virus’s spike protein as a “chimera,” was not included in official U.S. intelligence assessments. It was only released following Freedom of Information Act requests and is now part of the ongoing congressional investigation.

The Defense Intelligence Agency analysis traced elements of the COVID-19 virus back to a decade-old scientific manuscript published by the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which has worked closely with the Chinese military on coronavirus research, according to the U.S. intelligence community.

Taken together, these findings are intensifying scrutiny of early Chinese responses to the virus, as well as raising new questions about what information may have been known – and withheld – in the earliest stages of the global pandemic.