Sitting on a Powder Keg

Things are very tenuous around the world, and there are two major hot spots. Western Asia remains volatile with with back and forth firing between Iran and the US...both claiming the other is breaking the ceasefire. Israel continues to occupy Lebanon and attack Hezbollah. The US and Israeli puppets that run the Lebanese government signed away their sovereignty. I don't think Hezbollah will comply, Israel sure isn't. The Ukraine proxy war accelerates with drone strikes targeting Russia with a focus on Crimea. Russian troops are steadily advancing toward the Dnieper. The question remains, will Russia target the drone manufacturing facilities in Europe? Meanwhile the entire world faces an economic disaster with the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

I would like to start with Alex Christoforou summary of events yesterday.
Lavrov hardline vs Peskov's soft diplomacy. Volgograd hit. Trump's three-part plan to checkmate Iran

(39 min) The Alaska talks are dead, Russia is furious, and the Iran ceasefire memorandum of understanding is crumbling as the United States launches fresh strikes near the Strait of Hormuz. Alex Christoforou breaks down the Lavrov vs Peskov split inside the Kremlin, the Collective West regime change push against Putin, Ukraine's flamingo missile strike on the Volgograd Titan facility, and Trump's three part plan to checkmate Iran while brokering a Lebanon Israel framework agreement.

Lots of moving parts in this last ditch attempt at maintaining US hegemony.

Let's continue with the mess in Western Asia and the collapsing MoU. Seems there are tit for tat escalating attacks between Iran and the US
Prof. Marandi is in Tehran and offers insights on recent actions.

(63 min) Hezbollah Rejects Israel Deal; Beirut Erupts - Iran Strikes Bahrain in Retaliation

Tehran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait after US bombs Iranian coast
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the Strait of Hormuz remains under total Iranian control for the next 30 days and any US attacks will only exasperate the precarious situation.
The US bombed Iran for a second day hitting Qeshm Island and the cities of Sirik and Bandar-e Lengeh after a drone attack on a commercial vessel near the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran says it has launched retaliatory attacks on US forces in Bahrain and Kuwait and warns of a “crushing response” to further strikes.
US President Donald Trump has accused Iran of violating the memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran and threatened to “militarily complete the job”.

See what I mean about a powder keg?

Larry and Pepe emphasize the role Pakistan is playing in the current situation.
Did Pakistan’s Tech disrupt Kill X/Twitter in Iran?

(37 min) Pepe Escobar (veteran geopolitical correspondent) and Larry Johnson (former CIA/State counterterrorism). Pakistan — with China behind the scenes — has emerged as the broker that ended the US–Israel war on Iran. Pepe Escobar and Larry Johnson join Zulfiqar Ali to explain what it means for the Strait of Hormuz, the petrodollar, and the new security order taking shape from Islamabad to Riyadh. The guests lay out how Iranian oil is now moving to China settled in yuan through CIPS, why Iran's president made Islamabad his first stop abroad, and what to watch when Pakistan's leadership meets MBS in Riyadh this week.
The conversation also covers the guests' most sensitive claim: that a Pakistani-Chinese technological breakthrough helped Iran halt the assassination campaign against its leadership after the March 17 killing of Ali Larijani. We flag clearly where claims are sourcebased or developing versus publicly confirmed.
Larry's articles this week:
The Shooting in the Strait Ain’t over, But…
Iran and Oman agreed on a new framework (joint working group) for the future administration of the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, June 24, 2026. The two countries agreed to establish a joint working group between their foreign ministries to discuss:
Future navigation rules and administration of the strait.
Services provided (e.g., safety, pilotage).
Associated costs (in accordance with international standards).
Both emphasized their sovereignty over their territorial waters in the strait.

13-18 DAYS: THE PRACTICAL DIESEL BUFFER… Does It Preclude Bombing Iran?
Think of the diesel buffer as the gap between when supply stops flowing and when the economy starts breaking. Thirteen days is not a comfortable cushion — it’s essentially no cushion at all, because the economy runs on diesel in ways that cannot be deferred.
Diesel is not a lifestyle fuel. It moves every truck on every highway, powers every locomotive, runs every tractor during planting and harvest, and drives every piece of heavy construction equipment.

Pepe's article:
Why Neo-Crassus Desperately Needs to Cling to HIS Deal
“what we have now is a rebellion at the Strait of Hormuz. 20% of global oil goes through there, and Iran wants that power to protect itself. When it is cut off the price of oil according to Goldman Sachs will go to $700 a barrel. It does not today as the U.S. and allies are dumping their storage on the market to hold the price down. They have about 2.5 months supply to do this. Then everything explodes. You have here the rebellion of the slaves.”

Chas Freeman: The Collapse Of Israel’s Agenda

(57 min)

The US brokered/forced agreement between Lebanon and Israel is an attempt to say the US is abiding by the first point in the MoU, a cease fire in Lebanon. It really is a recipe to create a civil war and further destabilize the country.

Iran is having none of it.
‘Leave Lebanon now or flee in defeat’: IRGC Quds Force chief issues new warning to Israel
Hezbollah inflicted heavy losses on occupation forces in the days leading up to the new ceasefire, killing at least five soldiers in two days.
“You must leave all of Lebanon, for this land is a field of steadfastness and resistance, not a playground for occupiers,” Qaani said.
He added that if “you do not withdraw of your own accord, tomorrow you will be forced to flee in humiliation and defeat.”
“Do not forget the year 2000 and the historic testament of the martyred [former Hezbollah secretary-general] Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in Bint Jbeil. That promise is still alive, and there is no doubt that the same scene will be repeated once again,” Qaani concluded.
Israeli troops withdrew from Lebanon in 2000 after being expelled by the resistance following an 18-year occupation.

War On Iran: – New Clash Over Strait Passage – Lebanon’s Capitulation Ignites New Civil War
Oman is, unlike Iran, a member of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and has as such a different view of the international law with regards to the Strait situation. Oman is also a (former) UK/U.S. dependent. Iran’s attempts to pull the traditionally neutral Oman onto its side of the conflict have failed.
...
No one got hurt in the drone attack. There was only minor damage to the ship.
The U.S. however used the incident, in which it was formerly not involved, to escalate the situation. Several U.S. airplanes launched stand-off missile attacks on Iranian radar installations near Sirik, a port city in southern Iran, near Hormuz.
...
A abbreviated bit of background: After the Nakba and the loss of the 1968 Arab war against Israel many Palestinians had fled to Lebanon. This changed the demography of the previously majority Christian country. Lebanon slipped into a civil war between the various factions of the Christian, Druse, Sunni and Shia Muslim population.
...
The civil war died down. Political power was split which each domination getting a part. The Christian faction, which had shrunk significantly due to emigration, kept its dominant positions while the Shia, which are now the majority, were left under-represented.
In recent years a minor quarrel between the Shia Amal faction and the Iran allied Shia Hizbullah had allowed for the formation of an unrepresentative government under the former General Joseph Aoun, a Maronite Christian.
In conjunction with the war on Iran Israel re-invaded south Lebanon. While Iran, through the MoU, set the retreat of Israel from Lebanon as a condition for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, the Lebanese government, under the pressure of U.S. sanctions, insisted on finding its own solution by selling out to the U.S. and Israel.
...
Israel’s clear intention here is to reignite a Lebanese civil war and may well succeed.
...
While restarting the civil war in Lebanon and re-intensifying, via the U.S., the war on Iran, Israel is already setting its sight onto the next target:
Israel’s Minister of Science and Technology Gila Gamliel:
“Once we move beyond the Iranian regime, there is the Ottoman Empire’s ambition, which will seek to expand and spread its influence.
There is no doubt that Türkiye, with its ambitions to expand beyond its borders and to lead the region according to its own vision, poses a real future threat to the citizens of the State of Israel.
Israel always prepares for every threat, and there is no doubt that Türkiye is becoming a front that could indeed become a threat in the future.”
...
Don’t be surprised when future news items report of Hizbullah logistics running through Turkey …

Ukraine Proxy War
Rubicon crossed, permanent conflict on Russia. Zelensky targets Belarus next

(49 min) Russia's forces are closing in on Konstantinovka and Lyman as the Donbass front nears total collapse, while the UK fires storm shadow missiles into Voronezh in a pointed signal that British policy toward Russia will not soften regardless of who leads in London. Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris break down how the collective west is expanding the conflict beyond Ukraine's borders, with Zelensky issuing repeated ultimatums against Belarus and European hardliners pushing for deeper escalation as Russian military gains accelerate.
00:00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:02:00 Storm Shadow Strike on Voronezh Explained
00:04:00 UK Missile Messaging to Russia
00:07:00 Britain's New Cheap Missile Program
00:10:00 UK Deep State Declares Permanent Stance
00:13:00 British Political Crisis and Policy Lock-In
00:16:00 Two Wars Framework Introduced
00:18:00 Russian Society's View of the Conflict
00:21:00 European Hardliners and the Danger of Irrationality
00:25:00 Zelensky's Threats Against Belarus
00:28:00 Donbas Collapse and BBC Reporting Shift
00:31:00 What Happens After Donbass Falls
00:37:00 Could Belarus Become the New Front
00:42:00 Russia's Conditions for Negotiations
00:46:00 European Elite Delusions About Russia
00:48:00 Closing Analysis

Larry Johnson: Putin Warns the West - Russia is Ready for War

(46 min) Larry Johnson discusses NATO's increasingly direct involvement in attacks against Russia, and Putin's warnings to the West about war.
Putin Warns the West: Russia is Ready
Vladimir Putin’s speech on Tuesday (23 June) to graduates of Russia’s higher military academies and security institutions (military cadets/officers) at the Kremlin merits attention because it carries an indirect but profound warning to the West. ...
The speech followed a consistent four-part structure: the West manufactures the threat; it then accuses Russia of creating it; this is a historically repeated pattern going back to 1941; and Russia’s response is both military preparedness and a principled alternative vision of world order. What made this speech most salient was the explicit statement that NATO has moved from proxy support to open preparation for direct war — an escalatory claim calibrated to remind the graduates, and the broader audience, of the stakes of their service.

Here's more from The Duran
Russia Frontline Advance. Putin's Messaging Woes as Lavrov's WW3 Warning Ignored

(45 min) Ukraine's front lines are crumbling as Russian forces close in on Konstantinovka, Lyman, and Sumy while the collective West media refuses to report any of it. Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris on The Duran break down how Putin is surrendering the information war to Zelensky by default, why the drone narrative is a smokescreen for catastrophic Ukrainian battlefield losses, and what Lavrov's chilling WWII comparison at the Russian Security Council really means.
00:00:00 Project Ukraine front line overview
00:00:33 Lyman situation and Ukrainian retreat
00:01:19 Kamatorsk and Slavansk the last big cities
00:02:23 Konstantinovka fighting assessment
00:05:31 Orel South and Sumy under pressure
00:06:26 Western media blackout on front lines
00:07:03 Drone attacks on Russia reality check
00:08:51 Crimea summer drone campaign explained
00:13:25 Putin messaging failures and Crimea air defense
00:16:32 Why Russia loses the information war
00:21:53 Iran vs Russia handling the info war
00:25:13 Putin and Trump diplomatic strategy
00:29:10 Putin loses clarity that existed with Biden
00:35:44 Lavrov on Anchorage and failed diplomacy
00:38:29 Kremlin hardens views on collective West preparing for conflict

Andrei is a bit difficult to understand. I use the caption option to help.
Andrei Martyanov |"West NEEDS to PRESENT the whole idea of UKRAINE SOMEHOW WINNING"

(44 min) In this explosive interview, ex-CIA analyst Larry Johnson and military expert Andrei Martyanov break down why Western media continues to portray Ukraine as "winning" despite dramatic changes on the battlefield. From information warfare and propaganda to the future of Kiev, Odessa, and NATO strategy, this conversation challenges mainstream narratives and examines what could happen next.

Venezuela
Anya Parampil : Death in Venezuela; Trickery in Colombia

(24 min)

Venezuela earthquakes: How will sanctions impact aid operations?
“On the one hand, that aid will not be able to reach those in need,” said Sarah Schiffling, deputy director of Finland’s HUMLOG Institute, which researches humanitarian logistics and supply chain management at the Hanken School of Economics in Helsinki.
“On the other, that this disaster will be used by the US to gain more influence in Venezuela.”

What about China?
Interesting comparison of western and Chinese approaches to economics.
Einar Tangen: Can China Resist the Temptation of Empire?

Einar Tangen is a Senior Fellow at Teihe Institute and a Senior Fellow at CIGI. Tangen discusses the temptation of empire that has become a curse for the US. Can China resist the temptation of empire?
Chinanomics 3.0

And finally a good interview on the state of America with G. Edward Griffin

(32 min) Celebrated opponent of the Fed, G. Edward Griffin, joins the Liberty Report for the first time to take a look at the new Fed Chairman, the war on sound money, and the tightening grip of the swamp monsters on our freedom.

There's an old Corbett report explaining the nature of the Fed with a focus on Griffin's book. If you don't know about the Federal Reserves creation it is well worth your time
A Century of Enslavement: The History of The Federal Reserve

From Brain Capture To Intellectual Sovereignty
Since the 1990s, an invisible intellectual architecture has shaped what counts as legitimate economic thought. ...
The debt crisis of the 1980s and the disintegration of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s transformed the global intellectual landscape. The result was not merely the expansion of neoliberal economic policies, known collectively as the Washington Consensus, but something deeper: the capture of intellectual life itself. We might call this phenomenon brain capture. ...
Colonialism has always sought to shape consciousness. Colonial administrators frequently claimed that colonised peoples lacked the capacity for self-governance and required external guidance. The colonial education system trained local elites to administer colonial rule while accepting its underlying assumptions. Yet the anti-colonial movements challenged this inheritance.
However, everything changed by the 1990s, when neoliberal capitalism was presented as the final destination of history. The language of development changed to focus on competitiveness, market efficiency, investment climates, fiscal discipline, inflation targeting, and deregulation. This intellectual shift was reinforced by a powerful international ecosystem that included the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, major US and European universities, consulting firms (led by McKinsey & Company), credit-rating agencies, and private foundations. Financial resources, scholarships, research grants, fellowships, professional opportunities, and policy influence increasingly flowed toward those who adopted the dominant paradigm. ...
Brain capture does not imply that all ideas originating in the North are invalid, nor does it suggest that intellectual exchange should be rejected. Human knowledge advances through dialogue across societies and cultures. The issue is not exchange but hierarchy. The problem arises when one set of institutions acquires such overwhelming authority that alternative viewpoints are marginalised before they can develop. The task today is not to retreat to a cognitive autarky but to reclaim intellectual sovereignty, a slogan that was popular among progressive university students in India in the mid-2000s.

As we near the fourth of July this is an interesting perspective.
An American Anthem: Beware The Impostures of Pretended Patriotism
This is America, brutal and cruel, vicious and unfeeling and I cannot help but sense this nightmare is just beginning. I think of Anne Frank and her family hiding in the Secret Annex, afraid of being rounded up by the Gestapo. I think of what that must have felt like and what these poor souls in our country must be going through right now, with the INS not just arresting criminals but grabbing decent human beings, many innocent, the hard-working immigrant families of our California economy.

The Statue of Liberty weeps tonight. The cruel masked men must make their sickening quota. My country ‘tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I cry, of thee I rage.

In the document, there's quite a damning list of Trump's actions in office.

So here we are folks. Sitting on multiple powder kegs waiting to see which one blows first. If the Iran war continues to heat up, the economy is doomed around the world. If you were in Russia being attacked by NATO supplied and guided, missiles and drones would you retaliate, and if so how? The world is volatile in many ways including geologically. Plate movement and the ensuing earthquakes and volcanoes are on the rise, as is solar activity in our star. So there's plenty of changes to watch, adapt to, and learn from.

As the events happen quickly, please keep us posted in the comments below. Have a great Sunday!