Caption: Trump and Netanyahu are playing Chess. The Ayatolla is playing Russian Roulette. But I’m cool with that.
Israel seems to have Air Supremacy over the skies of Iran. Hour by hour, that becomes more true; hour by hour, more and more of Iran’s capacity to enrich uranium, fire missiles into Tel Aviv, or, most importantly, to suppress its people grows weaker.
The genie is out of the bottle, the toothpaste out of the tube, and the cat out of the bag. Having opened the book, I can see no motivation for Bibi to stop. Like Putin, war is working in his favor. Iran is getting it’s ass kicked – OF COURSE they want a ceasefire. Hamas and Hezbollah wanted one too; the former didn’t get it, and the latter did, I think, to give the “government” in Lebanon a chance to reassert control of its south.
I don’t see Israel stopping. If the Theocracy is overthrown, then Gaza will be that much easier to pacify. What a monumental blunder 10/7 was… It has reshaped the Middle East, and not in the way its perpetrators had hoped.
Where is the Ayatollah?
In Iran, they claim that Khamenei and his family are refugees in an underground bunker, something he learned from Saddam Hussein in Lavizan. Diplomatic sources said he was evacuated along with his relatives following the attacks on Mashhad, interpreted as a direct warning about the regime’s vulnerability to the Israeli military threat. Israel’s decision to attack the city of Mashhad, located 2,300 kilometers (1,429 miles) from the Israeli border, was interpreted by diplomatic sources as a direct message to Ali Khamenei: his safety is not guaranteed anywhere in Iran.
As reported by Iran International, an independent Iranian news outlet based in London, the Iranian supreme leader was moved along with his entire family to an underground bunker in Lavizan, northeast of Tehran, hours after Israeli bombardment began on the Iranian capital Friday night.
According to information obtained by Iran International through two sources within the country, the relocation of Khamenei and his relatives occurred in immediate response to the Israeli air offensive. Among the family members who accompany him is Mojtaba Khamenei, one of his children, who is often noted as a possible successor to the Supreme Leader, as well as the rest of the family’s closest members.
The media detailed that on previous occasions, during the operations called “Odeh Sadeq” one and two, Khamenei’s family was also evacuated to shelters. However, at that time, only Mojtaba remained by his side, while his other children, Masoud and Mustafa, were not present.
The Israelis have the command bunker pinned. President Trump knows what the Ayatollah had for dinner.
NEST
I mentioned in a previous comment that the airborne NEST assets were deployed in the US yesterday. As I understand it, the UK version (a watered-down approach) has also been deployed. You don’t need a nuclear device to go critical to have a “radioactive weapon.” We’ve discussed this on the blog recently as well. Concerns are floating that Iran deployed something of that order and intends to use it. I have no information beyond that, but it’s been a long-standing rumor going back at least thirty years. The impact would be local, not even regional, but in a large city, if used, deaths (mostly long-term cancers) would likely result. The actual impact has a significant contribution from dispersion by wind. If that happened, the US would likely FLATTEN Tehran and Qom (the Shiite holy city). It would look like Gaza.
Russian Mercenaries
This commentary was originally published by The Moscow Times on June 11, 2025. The June 6 announcement by the notorious Wagner Group, a private military company, that it will end its three-and-a-half-year deployment in Mali is a significant development in Russia’s evolving mercenary landscape. Even as one Russian mercenary group is leaving, the country’s presence in Africa is not going anywhere.
The Kremlin seized control of Wagner’s operations, most notably in Africa, following the dramatic events of 2023. After its short-lived rebellion against Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose Kremlin was probably responsible for Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death in a private plane crash, something had to be done about the organization that remained.
Wagner was essentially restructured into a new entity called the Africa Corps. So, despite Wagner’s announced departure from Mali, it is unclear whether any Russian mercenaries will leave the country. There is a chance they will sign new contracts with the Africa Corps instead.
The Africa Corps sits under the direct control of the Russian Defense Ministry. This reduces the risk that the mercenaries might buck Moscow’s interests, but it also creates new vulnerabilities. Moscow is now directly and publicly responsible for the Africa Corps’ actions, including its human rights abuses, failures, and destabilizing client countries. By bringing its functions inside the house, Russia has lost the plausible deniability that the Wagner Group gave it.
Russian mercenaries currently have a clear presence in six African countries, though not all client states have been transitioned to the Africa Corps. Most notably, the Wagner Group name continued to be used in Mali after 2023, despite some mercenaries having signed contracts with the Africa Corps. This enabled Russia to capitalize on the close ties Wagner established in the country while shielding Moscow’s reputation in the event of a crisis or the need to withdraw forces.
In the Central African Republic, Wagner forces have continued to operate in the country, though Moscow has replaced some of the leadership to gain greater control.
By contrast, Libya has transitioned wholly from Wagner to the Africa Corps. Niger and Burkina Faso signed their first contracts in 2024, following the end of the Wagner period. In Sudan, the situation is more ambiguous. While there is reporting on Wagner and Africa Corps activity, their formal structure is unclear.
A map showing northern Africa with Russian mercenary presence and military activities. The map legend includes icons and text for the following purposes: presence, presence spillover, supporting host forces in kinetic operations, guarding political elites, information operations conducted by PMC, and training and advising host forces. Icons are placed in each country to which they apply.
SOURCES: Features information from Bryjka and Czerep, 2024; “Mali, Wagner Incursions into Mauritania Spark Tension,” Africa Defense Forum, May 21, 2024; “Sudanese Armed Forces Agrees to Russian Red Sea Base in Exchange for Weapons,” Africa Defense Forum, June 25, 2024; Lechner and Eledinov, 2024; Samer al-Atrush and Jane Flanagan, “Chad Rebels Trained by Russia March on Heart of Africa,” The Times, April 23, 2021.
These military activities are primarily intended to keep current regimes in power in the face of insurgent or terrorist groups. They also train and advise local armed forces and, in some countries, accompany them on operations.
The results of these efforts are mixed. The brutality of the mercenaries’ tactics and their failures to improve security seem to undermine the stability of these countries. Not only has the number of deadly attacks conducted by Islamist groups increased, but Russian mercenaries have also contributed to the violence. Excessive force and human rights abuses are a deliberate part of their strategy. Like Wagner before them, the Africa Corps personnel target and torture civilians in the name of quelling insurgencies.
But these counterterrorism operations produce escalating and indiscriminate violence instead. In the second half of 2024, Malian armed forces working alongside Russian mercenaries deliberately killed at least 32 civilians and burned over 100 homes in central and northern Mali. They also arbitrarily executed at least 10 people in January 2025, including women and a two-year-old child.
With Moscow now in direct control over these personnel, it becomes more challenging for the Kremlin to deny responsibility for their atrocities. An analysis I conducted for RAND found that disquiet over human rights abuses was one of the most prominent themes affecting public sentiment toward Russian mercenaries. It was an especially significant driver of negative sentiment in areas where these forces were present.
Direct ownership of the Africa Corps also reflects poorly on Moscow when its mercenaries are completely ineffectual. In contrast to Africa Corps’ claims, the security situation in its client countries has deteriorated since it replaced U.N. and West African forces. Fatalities linked to Islamist groups were at record highs across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso in the first half of 2024. For the first time in nearly a decade, attacks reached Bamako, the capital of Mali.
Even worse, some experts estimated that Malian forces and Russian mercenaries would be responsible for a greater number of civilian deaths than Islamist groups in 2024. Increasingly, civilians are more afraid of being killed by Russian mercenaries than by jihadist groups.
This has not gone unnoticed among Russia’s clients. Failed security operations like the July 2024 Tinzawaten attack led to the deaths of both Malian soldiers and Russian mercenaries. It is little surprise that Malian military officers want more disciplined partners than Russian mercenaries who cannot deliver on their promises.
Moscow’s continued prioritization of personnel for the war against Ukraine highlights the unreliability of Russian mercenaries for African countries.
The stability of the broader region is also at risk. At times, the mercenaries’ operations spill into neighboring countries such as Mauritania and Chad, violating their sovereignty and risking destabilization. Their business model is cyclical: rather than building the defense capacity of countries they operate in, Russian mercenaries create an insecure climate and then position themselves as indispensable.
Furthermore, Moscow’s continued prioritization of personnel for the war against Ukraine highlights the unreliability of Russian mercenaries for African countries. Just a few months after Africa Corps arrived in Burkina Faso, a portion of the forces were called back to Russia, leaving a gap in the security services they were contracted to provide.
African government officials often cite the presence of terrorist groups or violent insurgent threats as justification for bringing mercenaries from the Africa Corps or Wagner Group into their countries. But the violence, human rights abuses, instability, and negative public sentiment associated with these mercenaries’ tactics demonstrate that their presence makes security problems worse, not better.
Bullet Points:
** A leaked version of Mike Lee’s section of the “big beautiful” budget bill has revealed that 18 million acres of public lands in Utah could be eligible for sale over the next five years
** Do people care about biological women who look trans?
** Within 48 hours of starting its war on Iran, Israel said it gained air superiority over the western part of the country, including Tehran. Israeli warplanes began dropping bombs from within Iranian skies instead of relying on expensive long-range missiles. That is a feat that the giant Russian air force has been unable to achieve in Ukraine in 3½ years of war.
The New Family Honda
2026 Honda Passport (Trailsport Elite) in Orange – my version of a Queen Family Truckster.
It replaced a 2021 Honda Passport Elite.
Identify the Iranian Drone Aircraft
1
2
3
Parting Shot
End
1- Don’t know what it is or who made it , but it looks bad ass and I’m pretty sure I’m looking at the ass end of it .
There sure are many many varieties of drones out there .
A lot of the newer models are General Atomics knock-offs.
There’s a sticker on the bottom, says “Made in China”.
Yep. It’s right next to the USB port….
Heh…and the failsafe satellite shutoff from a remote location.
IDTD-
1. Shahed 149 Gaza
2. Shahed 191, an Iranian unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV).
3. Qods Mohajer-6 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)
Nailed it!
Identify the Iranian Drone Aircraft:
1. Shahed 149 Gaza
2. Shahed Saegheh
3. Qods Mohajer
Yes, but Hogsbreath got his nose under the tent first.
Growing up in Nebraska, I’ve seen that meat packing plant story repeated at different places and different times. Strange, the long line of citizens waiting to fill out job applications hardly ever made the news. You only heard about it by word-of-mouth from family/friends who lived in the area.
It’s discussed in the news today. True/untrue – I wasn’t there, and can’t say. There have been more thoroughly vetted stories in other locations which indicates there is some validity to it.
But I’ve been told, over and over again, that US citizens just refuse to work at places like that.
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And, of course, obligatory comment on how the eneMedia has been lying to us, the US citizens, for a very long long long time, since at least before WWII. Which, coincidentally, coincides with the US eneMedia being in the pocket of the communists and socialists since at least the 1920s…
I wonder Israel will remove the nuclear materials from Iran? Tom
Likely entomb them. But who knows? Enterprising rag heads could just dig them up if they did that.
ID the Iranian drones: Targets.
“How a City in Nebraska is Recovering”
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Less than a hundred workers in a city the size of Omaha/Council Bluffs and NBC reports the Apocalypse. What a buncha maroons. I have an alternative headline for their consideration: “NPR listeners hardest hit.”
No kidding…acting like this was the employment event of the century.
NEST – I had mentioned the plane searching for radioactive materials. The site I got the info from listed the make, model, name, and previous flight history of said plane. I thought “That’s oddly specific”.
“It would look like Gaza.”
Gaza doesn’t flow in the dark.
Have only been listening/reading the news highlights…this isn’t news, it’s narrative pushing trying to keep the false flag of “jobs Americans won’t do” BS. Who gives a rip if there is a long line of folks in an Omaha packing plant applying for the various jobs? Only the media. What really matters, and what should be looked into further, is how it is this plant owner used E-Verify and STILL had illegals working for him. Yeah, that…because the government creates these things based on assumptions and that others will know the eight gozillion rules written in fine print, then be able to navigate a badly done website created by a bunch of amateurs. Had to deal with the Dept Treasury yesterday on some notice we got (benign)…this is even more stupid than the Medicare nebula I mentioned the other day. The levels of protocol – starts with ones SSN – are insane, and worse, repeat for every call. Tells me that shop is also bloated beyond ridiculous. Guessing one person in WTP’s employ likely handles one tiny aspect…and there are thousands.
– WTP need to see our government cut by 80, there are clearly too many cooks in the soup using our money to maintain their bloated budgets.
***
Utah Lands for Sale: Good. Do it. My first impression driving north through Wyoming, from Rawlins – Muddy Gal/Jeffrey City area – after reading for years in Outside magazine the fight over public lands vs. cattle ranchers and how the ranchers were a scourge on the landscape…said to the windshield, “The cows can have it!”. Just like a bad (or good for that matter) Yelp review, one needs to see for themselves, not believe what another person – often with an agenda – says about something. Common sense really.
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To that end I trust 47 with this Israel thing…he did tell those in Tehran “to leave”. Forewarned….up to them to heed or not.
Ps. Most aspects of government – at ll levels – is “design by committee”, which is never a good approach. (johnny Cash’s “One Piece at a Time” is playing my head…a visual mess with bad reliability).
The FedGov should not be the biggest landlord in the US, it’s criminal.
By the time Homesteading got to the mountain West, it had been turned
into a racket that was used to fuck people over, and is being used that way to
this day. Almost nobody East of the Mississippi has any idea about the
FedGov land ownership, and what’s being done with it.
– Kle.
Agreed. They should not but are because government agencies are made up of too many lawyers who have determined they can justify making up their own rules for everything within their purvey and for WTP so as to expand their holdings.
The thing that chaps me most is when BLM (in their Imperial Wisdom) decides that too many of the riff-raff are driving down their roads and they drop large, immovable boulders on the road to block it. My strategy is to bypass their sacred riparian area and use the road anyway. I’ve been stopped by them before and threatened. BLM- “How did you get on the road?” LL- “It was like the Road to Damascus – a blinding white light hit me when I was tooling down the Interstate and I ended up here.” BLM- “I should give you a ticket.” LL- “Do it and we’ll go to court and you can explain to the judge how you blocked the PUBLIC ACCESS intentionally.” BLM- “I knew it.” LL- “Scratch your cite or let me be on my way. I’m not afraid of you or the court.” They haven’t cited my arrogant self (yet).
What those…achem…tin badge-wearers conveniently forget is that is WTP’s land, in fact ALL non-private land is ours in one manner or another, and within reason we have a right to use it, especially established roads. I’ve run into newly added boulders blocking a well used 2-track…just go in the back way if I know of one. But your scenario is exactly the point; they have usurped our lands as theirs simply because they have been paid by us to maintain and manage them…and in that they are doing a lousy job of it with modern “ideology” born out of NCAR type modeling. Case in point: Horse Fire west of Merna, WY, in the national forest…called in by a rancher at 10 acres…it is now a 1000 acres after 5 days. ‘Let it burn’ is the motto (not flinging aspersions on the wildland ground crews, who are amazing)…because letting it burn with a “containment” approach takes care of all the standing dead and dead fall created by forest mismanagement.
And the adaptor kit is also made by a govt committee…
Exactly, only the adapter kit is 400 parts when 3 would do, yet includes a 100 page instruction book that is mostly a legal statement.
I bought the Pilot Trailsport last October, replacing a Lexus GX460. Both the Pilot and Passport have 6 cylinder engines, not the crappy turbo 4’s that every other manufacturer is throwing into vehicles. I spoke with a lot of people and mechanics and decided to avoid the turbo 4’s.
I’m not a big fan of turbochargers or superchargers for gasoline engines. On diesels, it’s another thing entirely. Oh, don’t get me wrong, they work until they don’t, but it’s usually the point of failure in engines. My Ford Raptor is a big V-8, and I resisted putting a supercharger on my Toyota FJ when my buddies were doing that aftermarket. I never regretted it. I had a Honda Passport and loved it, but it was time to trade it as I approached 100K miles. The 100K maintenance bullet and my interest in this newer model clinched it for me. I bought the elite model because I like gizmos and gadgets, and on Honda, they don’t tend to break. Living in the mountains on a dirt road as I do, with weather issues, the All Wheel Drive is something I don’t want to do without, and it worked great on the last Passport.
Iran International, is that like the London based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, also completely unconnected to British intelligence?
Meatpacking jobs used to be unionized with good pay and benefits. Glad to see Trump getting rid of the scabs. Now they need to prosecute some corporate executives.
I talked to a guy bragging about his Ford turbo six. ‘You only have to replace the turbos and the cats every 150k miles.’ I never replace anything on my old 2012 V8 Tundra. Our Gas F-250 gets 15.3 when I drive it. 14 when my wife drives it. Gas is the cheap. More gas if you want to go fast.
When I traded in my 2021 Passport (V-6 OHC) yesterday, it showed an aggregated 26.4 MPG over nearly 100,000 miles. My Raptor V-8 runs at about 16.5 MPG. The new 2026 Passport (larger V-6 DOHC) is a different body style for this year, and the stated mileage may be a little less, but I can live with 25 MPG.
If I keep my foot out of it the 2010 Ram 2500 diesel will get 21-22mpg on the highway. Was setup by the original Wyoming owner…has a 5″ exhaust and MiniMax controller, and has been ‘deleted’…which helps the motor quite a bit by not pushing the exhaust ‘stuff’ back thru the motor. Despite exhausting less particulate with this setup, Commie Colorado emissions won’t allow it to pass because ‘visually’ it is missing factory EPA parts and pieces and a lot of plastic. Since I’m ‘county’ doesn’t matter, just can’t sell it in state…yup, freedoms robbed at all levels. The 2010 ‘no DEF’ is a plus as well. Front end work is a regular occurance (Dodge pickups eat ball joints…the crappy roads don’t help). Yesterday had the steering intermediate shaft and coupler replaced, at 265K miles it drives like new. Until the bed falls off the pickup I’m not buying anything.
Back in the day as a used car manager, any Dodge 4×4 cost between $1,500 and $2,000 in our shop to be “front line ready”. Ford, $800, Chev/GMC $1,200 and Toyota $400. That was reflected in the ACV (actual cash value) appraisal of trade ins.
RE your Wyoming mods. While not likely, you can be fined in Colorado for altering and/or having a Colorado registration on a modified emissions system and your truck impounded.
Of course they would, despite me being a legal owner and emissions are less than a factory EPA one. Guess in Colorado one is disallowed to modify their vehicle so it operates better. Typical.
I did purchase it as was, didn’t realize it was deleted until later…the amount of government junk bolted onto the upper part of the motor was incredible… once a diesel mechanic showed me his engine bay. He’s the one who told me it was better for the motor.
Along those lines, I owned a 1979 Saab 900 I purchased when stationed in West Germany in the late 1970s. The one I bought was U.S. legal including emission levels and did not have a catalytic converter. At the time it could not be licensed in California because of their stupid requirement for a catalytic converter. Most Liberals/Leftist politicians have no concept of science or engineering; they are just fucking loud mouthed idiots.
Heh. “Coal Roller”.
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https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/incident-with-truck-spewing-diesel-exhaust-into-crowd-mars-enfield-no-kings-day-rally/ar-AA1GPBLh
🤣
“Don’t get mad, get even.”
Public Lands
No, just no, to selling public lands.
I’m surprised he’s not moved into a free multi- occupancy house in Kent with a free PlayStation, an NHS free dental and wellman examination, and a few hundred quid a week to spend at Marks and Spencer’s, courtesy of the hardworking taxpayer. Who knows? Maybe he’s driving around in a fancy burnt orange Honda.
You know – it would be good to live the life of an illegal alien in England.
You might just be on the ‘banned in Britain’ list because of your extreme right wing VM blog, so you’d have to go there under an assumed…like Jason Bourne, swing by the airport locker and select an appropriate passport/ID while grabbing a packet of that weird English money to look legit. Gotta be careful tho, if you order ice in your Coke they’ll know you’re American.
If I named myself MOHAMMED in the UK, I’d be granted “special status.”
See, there are excellent solutions as a way around oppressive regimes built upon feelings over substance while their empire burns to the ground…like Iran is currently doing and the supreme leader is hiding in a bunker like the bully coward he is.
I agree with Jules.
A new car to replace a 5 year old car? I will keep a car for at least 8 years if not longer. My wife gets the new car and I will buy gently used trucks. The wife’s car is a last year model Audi that is 7 years old and it just turned over 90k miles and has had nothing done to it but scheduled maintenance. Barring no major issues we will put another 90k on it. As for as turbo’s and superchargers go stay away from them on gas engines unless they are German or Japanese built.
Dripping with white privilege as I am, I thought it was my patriarchal right to acquire a new Honda.
Live boldly, no one else will for you…and…you can’t take it with you and doubtful God doesn’t approve of rewarding oneself for hard work (assuming he cares about such things).
I am of the opinion that Israel & USA would prefer that the A. Khamenei not be killed as that would Martyr him – Preferably have him escape and let the believers see pictures of their leader fleeing, confirming that the fight is over and allowing the opposition greater room and chances of establishing their new government
There have been flights to Russia and Red China that the IDF didn’t shoot down. Maybe the Ayatollah was on one of them?
I’ve got Blue Angels flying over my roof and I’m at the point that I don’t care.
You’ve become desensitized. Me, if I hear a low flying aircraft at 3AM I’m up and out there inside of 3 seconds making sure they aren’t landing in the riding arena which will screw up the footing.
I just noticed this little tidbit re Iran/the Pahlavi family (h/t Aynaz Anni Cyrus @ Frontpage):
“Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi’s daughter, Iman Pahlavi, married Bradley A. Sherman, a Jewish American businessman.” (in Paris on 9 June 2025)
Maybe she (and her husband) could ascend to the Peacock Throne!!
Snerk… The Mohajer reminds me of the RQ-2 Pioneer we were ‘test flying’ off an RV in the Indian Ocean in 1993… It worked and we sent the Indian Navy info on a drug smuggler they later caught. Re vehicles, yes, stay away from turbos on gas engines! That is a no win situation…
Nice Honda! I’ve always been very fond of Honda engines. You’ll have to give us a Road Test report.
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I’m not a huge fan of highly-boosted gasoline engines, either. Sure, they have their use, but how many boosted-to-pain gas engines have made it to 300~400k? Even the lowliest Hi-Lux can do that with minimal maintenance.
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We need a Colorado version of “Leno’s Law” which exempts motor vehicles over 30 years old from required smog testing.
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Agree with NFO. It looks like the ones launched from the fan tail of the Iowa back in the 80’s.
DRJIM, AZ doesn’t require smog testing in my zip code…
Wouldn’t want to K, right about now.