Tehran is 7.5 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Time. 

As was widely expected, overnight in Tehran, Israel has begun a series of what it calls “preemptive strikes” against Iran. Iranian state media outlet IRNA reported repeated explosions could be heard in Tehran.

VIA CNN – Israel has launched what it is calling a “preemptive strike” against Iran and declared a state of emergency, according to Defense Minister Israel Katz.

“Following the State of Israel’s preemptive strike against Iran, a missile and drone attack against the State of Israel and its civilian population is expected in the immediate future,” Katz said in a statement.

Air raid sirens sounded in Tel Aviv following the announcement.

The U.S. did not provide any assistance or have any involvement in the Israeli strike, a U.S. official told ABC News. (read more)

Sirens were sounded in Israel as the nation prepares for long-planned counter attacks from Iran to begin.  Three hours before the Israeli strikes began, President Trump released a statement saying, “We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran. They could be a Great Country, but they first must completely give up hopes of obtaining a Nuclear Weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”

Iran had previously vowed to strike at both Israeli and USA targets if they were attacked.  The attack is taking place around 3:00-4:00am local time on Friday the 13th in Tehran.   The National Day of Rage in the USA is scheduled for Saturday, June 14th.  The anti-Israel protesters will now likely align with the anti-deportation protesters and things could get dramatic in the USA.

There are reports of approximately a dozen sites inside Iran being targeted.  Everything is very fluid at the moment.

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Jeffrey David Sachs is an American economist and public policy analyst who is a professor at Columbia University. Mr Sachs has been against the Ukraine-Russia conflict from the outset and provides a voice to those who are tired of the constant global conflict.

Chapters:

0:00 Introduction
0:47 Why Is Ukraine So Central to the Deep State’s Plan?
4:51 The West’s Obsession With Weakening Russia
9:11 The Origins of the West’s Hatred of Russia
23:49 How the Deep State Used Bill Clinton to Usher in NATO Expansion
31:37 What’s Stopping Trump From Making Peace Between Ukraine and Russia?

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U.S. Secretary of State / National Security Advisor, Marco Rubio, and Director of National Intelligence ODNI Tulsi Gabbard continue making background moves well worth noticing.

♦ Secretary Marco Rubio has moved forward with instructions to fire all overseas USAID staff.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio ordered U.S. embassies around the world Tuesday to move ahead with a directive to fire all remaining staffers with the U.S. Agency for International Development. He said the State Department will take over USAID’s foreign assistance programs by Monday.

A federal judge had temporarily blocked an executive order by President Donald Trump for mass firings at multiple federal agencies, including the State Department, and plaintiffs say Rubio’s reorganization plan appears to violate that court injunction.

The Trump administration says the plan was already underway when the president issued the order, so there’s no possible violation. U.S. District Judge Susan Illston has yet to make a determination. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said Tuesday that Rubio’s directive “wasn’t a surprise.”

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President Trump announces that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer have successfully concluded three-days of topline trade negotiations with their Chinese counterparts.

President Trump and Chairman Xi will now evaluate the successfully negotiated details and institute the topline strategy as part of the overall future trade agreement. According to the Truth Social post, there will be a 55% tariff on Chinese imports and a 10% tariff on U.S. goods to China.

[SOURCE]

At a 55% tariff rate against Chinese finished-goods imports, there will be ZERO inflationary pressure to the U.S. consumer.

None. Zero. Zippo. Zilch.

I will explain why below.

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This is actually a very surprising development.  The World Bank (WB) is a heavily controlled multinational exploit of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and World Economic Forum assembly (WEF).  This could be looked upon as the WTO/WEF taking a knee as they finally accept Godzilla Trump is not going to relent.  Remember, the Build Back Better agenda was a construct from the WEF/WTO.

Looking a little more deeply at the people behind the latest shift in tone and paying close attention to the wording they are using, there’s an inference the World Bank is telling Europe to stop being intransigent or they will lose U.S. military support.  A very unusual shift in WB tone.

In my first review opinion, as the legal arbitration system for trade complaints, the WB are trying to mitigate President Trump’s full-frontal assault on the global trade imbalance that brings the global trade wealth back to the USA.

NEW YORK POST […] – Top economists at the international institution, which helps finance low and middle-income countries, acknowledged that many nations do not provide reciprocal trade access to the US.

“This [situation] could not be sustained indefinitely,” the World Bank’s chief economist, Indermit Gill, said during a news briefing, the Washington Post reported.

[Gill] contended that Trump’s actions were merely a response to uneven trade access between other countries and the US.

Other experts at the World Bank concurred with that assessment and indicated that Europe, Japan and China should all take steps to reduce trade barriers on the US, while calling for an across-the-board rollback on tariffs on all sides. (more)

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Tucker Carlson traveled to France in order to interview Telegram Founder and CEO Pavel Durov who remains in French detention as he awaits the judicial system to release him.  Telegram is used as a messaging ap by over a billion users worldwide.  Pavel Durov was accused of noncompliance with EU judicial demands and arrested during a holiday last year.  He remains under quasi-detention confinement.

Many people have increasingly expressed annoyance at the change in Tucker Carlson’s interview style.  The increased interruptions, wandering rambling that takes the point off subject, inappropriate -borderline annoying- laughter at the wrong moments, and increasing Hannityesque behavior has been a sidebar topic of conversation. However, this is the first interview in which I can say these distracting interview traits have become unbearable.

I really wanted to hear from Durov, but I could not survive the inappropriate timing of the interruptions, and increasingly odd mannerisms from Mr Carlson.  From a mental strength, stability and intellectual perspective, Carlson is way over his head trying to interview Durov. Perhaps that explains the performative and seemingly odd behavior of Tucker in this interview.  It gets worse as it progresses.  See for yourself.  WATCH:

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Pavel Durov is a very deliberate man with an exceptionally stable disposition.  He is one of the most important people in the world of information, communication and the free exchange of ideas.  Yeah, I’m a little frustrated with this missed opportunity to go into important considerations in the world of information sharing.

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At sporadic times of inconsequential normalcy, on the streets of Russia you will see two distinct types of people asked for identification, Asians and middle eastern males. When asked why, the average, ordinary grey-person in Russia going about their business, ambivalently has no idea.

Russia is a massive country.

To the southeast they are bordered by China, Mongolia and Asia, they even have a small border with North Korea. To the southwest they have the “stans,” most notably Kazakhstan; this region is the source of most domestic terrorists who attack inside Russia. To the West they have Ukraine and the EU nations.

From the standpoint of Russia, they have Asians on their East, Arabs on their South and EU supported Nazis on their Western flank. Keep in mind, despite the breakup of the Soviet Union the muscle memory from World War II is still very much a part of their social compact.

Consider Arlington Cemetary for scale. If you were to build a cemetery just from the battle of Leningrad (now St Petersburg) it would be bigger than Washington DC. If you were to build an Arlington type cemetery for all the Russians killed in World War II, the 27 million gravesites would envelop a landmass bigger than Washington DC and the state of Virginia combined.  These realities underpin Russian perspectives.

CTH shared previously that Russia is drawn into an alignment with China not by desire, but rather by necessity.  Most ordinary Russians do not like China, and they would prefer not to purchase Chinese industrial or manufactured goods.  Russian President Vladimir Putin is well aware of this, and I believe U.S. President Donald Trump is aware also.

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I know no one likes to watch the Republican warmongers advocate for expanded intervention, conflict and escalated global violence as a means for them to retain power.  However, this is one of those sickening points of advocacy that need to be watched and listened to very carefully.

Mike McCaul is Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and he has never experienced a war he didn’t enjoy.  McCaul notes he is happy for the House to receive a sanction package against Russia from Lindsey Graham that will likely be voted on in the Senate tomorrow.  Last week the Senate met with Ukraine officials in a closed-door session, where the after-activity review was never outlined by media.  DC is pretending the meeting never took place.

After discussing his advocacy for enhanced U.S. conflict against Russia, the Texas republican notes he has just spent 3-days in a strategy session with the leadership of Israel, specifically Benjamin Netanyahu regarding the topic of Iran.  As McCaul notes, “there is no question in my mind coming out of that meeting, what Mr Netanyahu’s intentions are and that is to strike Iran when the negotiations go bad.”  WATCH:

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McCaul asked Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu, “at least coordinate with us if you go alone to respond to the retaliation coming out of Iran.”  In essence, it will be easier for us to convince the American people to defend you, if you at least tell us after you attack Iran.  This is nuts.

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The implication of the remark, as President Trump says, “a better security” venue, is that something of much greater significance than traditional White House operations is in need of attention. To such a degree, that prior strategic discussion arrangements are not considered “secure enough.”

President Trump does not like Camp David.

Before taking office, President Trump once told a German journalist in an interview, “Camp David is very rustic, it’s nice, you’d like it. You know how long you’d like it? For about 30 minutes.”

So, the big picture questions become:

What issue would be of such importance, that changing the venue would be needed in order to address it?

What issue(s) has DC interests so aligned, that Rubio and Trump are two of a very small group on the other side of it?

I suspect this is about Iran.

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President Trump and Secretary of State/National Security Advisor Marco Rubio depart New Jersey en route to Camp David for a principals group meeting, discussion and strategy session.  As President Trump notes, there will be “generals, and ¹others” in attendance at Camp David, using the additional term “better security.”

On the subject of whether he would trigger the Insurrection Act to quell violence in Los Angeles, President Trump replied, “that depends on if there’s an insurrection.”  lol  President Trump said he and his team are watching the events closely, but they will not permit law enforcement to be harmed in any way.  Violence will not be tolerated.

President Trump then asked the assembled pool if they had any questions for Marco Rubio, they did not – so the duo left.  WATCH:

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