You Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine!

The prime minister of Armenia has vowed to prove his 'member'-ship in the Christian faith by dropping his trousers to the head of the church.  Why?  Well, it seems that Nikol Pashinyan was challenged to "prove" his penis is uncircumcised in a bitter feud played out over social media.

An Armenian priest accused Pashinyan of being snipped, implying he was not Christian in the deeply religious west Asian country.  The curious priest, Father Zareh Ashuryan, said: "I believe that our Apostolic Holy Church must immediately cleanse itself of those false “believers” who are traitors to the nation, have dishonored the memory of their ancestors, broken the vow of baptism, and replaced the seal of the Holy Cross with the sign of circumcision."

This "pissed off" the country’s leader, who shot back with a fiery Facebook post, saying he’d be willing to whip it out in front of the Church’s supreme leader Karekin II.  He addressed Karekin II by his birth name Ktrij Nersisyan, saying he was "ready to accept Ktrij Nersisyan and his spokesperson [father Ashuryan] and prove the opposite" about being circumcised.

Pashinyan also stood firm, shooting back at the church’s leader, asking:  ‘And let him finally answer the question of whether he has broken his vow of celibacy or not. Does he have a child or not?’

The extraordinary war of words comes as tensions rocket between Armenia’s PM and the powerful clergy. In late May, Pashinyan claimed that churches had become ‘storerooms’ and that priests were breaking their celibacy vows, according to OC Media.

The Armenian Church responded, saying Pashinyan’s language was "unbecoming of a statesman."  They added: "Political motives drive this anti-Church and represent an attempt to erode the standing of the Armenian Church and its clergy."  Pashinyan responded by saying law enforcement had prevented a large and sinister plan by the "criminal oligarchic clergy" to "destabilize the Republic."  

 

Don't Ya Know It

Iran Strikes Appear to Be Less Damaging Than Promised

An initial classified U.S. intelligence report suggested the American strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities set back the program by only several months, not completely destroying it as Trump claimed. The assessment indicated much of the enriched uranium was moved before the attacks and that underground facilities were not collapsed. The CIA also stated the program was "severely damaged"

The assessment, which has not been previously reported, was produced by the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Pentagon’s intelligence arm. It is based on a battle damage assessment conducted by US Central Command in the aftermath of the US strikes, one of the sources said.

The analysis of the damage to the sites and the impact of the strikes on Iran’s nuclear ambitions is ongoing, and could change as more intelligence becomes available. But the early findings are at odds with President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that the strikes “completely and totally obliterated” Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.

In addition, a 400kg stockpile of uranium (enough to make up to 10 nuclear weapons) is unaccounted for after Washington dropped six 'bunker busters' on three Iranian nuclear facilities. The missing uranium is enriched to 60 per cent. It needs to be enriched to about 90 per cent to be used as a nuclear weapon.  There are reports Iran may have moved the stockpile, as well as some equipment, days before the attack to a secret location, a claim repeated by Israeli officials to The New York Times.  Satellite images from before the US' strike showed a line of 16 trucks outside the Fordow nuclear plant, which is built inside a mountain and is considered impervious to most missile attacks.

To put icing on Trump's rapidly-deflating cake, a top commander of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) stunned observers by appearing publicly in Tehran, quashing media reports that he had been killed by Israel in the days leading up to the Trump attack.  Videos rapidly circulated on social media showing General Esmail Qaani celebrating with jubilant crowds at a rally in Tehran to celebrate what Iranian authorities are calling a victory.

Another Iranian official previously reported dead has reemerged. Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and a key nuclear negotiator, was initially reported by outlets  to have been killed in an Israeli strike on his Tehran residence. However, Iranian state media later confirmed that he is "alive and ready to sacrifice." 

With Qaani visibly back in the public eye, Iranian officials are likely to continue leveraging his survival as proof of resilience following the unprecedented Israeli strikes and recent U.S. attacks on Iranian nuclear sites that have proved to be less than what was touted by Trump. 

 

Cardi B - Outside

Iran, Juneteenth and Stephen King

 

We've All Been There

DOJ's "Blondie" Bondi Up to Her Usual Tricks

Looks like Attorney General Pam "Blondie" Bondi is in the hot seat—again.  Yesterday, Bondi was questioned by Democratic Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania for allegedly clearing the way for President Donald Trump’s crypto schemes to flourish.  “The president has dabbled in meme coin, he had you—the DOJ—disband the national cryptocurrency enforcement team, his son recently launched the executive branch club, a private club with $500,000 memberships here in D.C.,” Dean began. “Any of this seem like it might be a problem?”

Dodging the question, Bondi viciously tried to tear down Dean’s work in her home state. “What I would be concerned about in Pennsylvania are all the child sex cases that we’ve prosecuted, all the CSAM [Child Sexual Abuse Material] cases that we’ve prosecuted in Pennsylvania,” Bondi responded.

But Dean ignored the sophomoric attempt at deflection.  “Did you hear my question?” she asked sternly.   Naturally, the question went unanswered, but it served as another reminder of the Trump administration’s ongoing corruption.

Not only did Trump fill his Cabinet with loyal supporters, but it also seems like his meme coin, crypto trading platform, MAGA-themed cell phone, and other obvious grifts are going unchecked by White House watchdogs. And Blondie Bondi has already gotten heat for using her position at the DOJ to benefit Trump.   Earlier this month, an ethics complaint was filed in Florida accusing Bondi of “serious professional misconduct that threatens the rule of law and the administration of justice” and of pressuring DOJ lawmakers to “violate their ethical obligations under the guise of ‘zealous advocacy.’” And if they didn’t, the complaint claims, Bondi threatened to fire them.  

But given Trump and Bondi’s longtime friendship—with the president shelling out thousands to Bondi’s past political campaigns after she dropped lawsuits against him in Florida—none of this is shocking. 

 

Democrats and Single People Now Face Discrimination at VA Hospitals

The Department of Veterans Affairs has imposed new guidelines on VA hospitals nationwide that remove language that explicitly prohibited doctors from discriminating against patients based on their political beliefs or marital status.  The new rules also apply to psychologists, dentists and a host of other occupations. They have already gone into effect in at least some VA medical centers.

Under federal law, eligible veterans must be given hospital care and services, and the revised VA hospital rules still instruct medical staff that they cannot discriminate against veterans on the basis of race, color, religion and sex. But language within VA hospital bylaws requiring healthcare professionals to care for veterans regardless of their politics and marital status has been explicitly eliminated from these bylaws, raising questions about whether individual workers could now be free to decline to care for patients based on personal characteristics not expressly protected by federal law.

Explicit protections for VA doctors and other medical staff based on their marital status, political party affiliation or union activity have also been removed.  The changes also affect chiropractors, certified nurse practitioners, optometrists, podiatrists, licensed clinical social workers and speech therapists.

In making the changes, VA officials cite Donald Trump’s 30 January executive order titled “Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism and Restoring Biological Truth to the Federal Government”. The primary purpose of the executive order was to strip most government protections from transgender people. The VA has since ceased providing most gender-affirming care and forbidden a long list of words, including “gender affirming” and “transgender”, from clinical settings.

So Long, Amber Waves of Grain

Farmers from Texas to Montana are cutting their losses on wheat crops, abandoning plans to harvest the grain for sale because prices had sunk to five-year lows.  They were choosing to bale the wheat into hay, plow their fields under or turn them over to animals to graze. In Nebraska, wheat acreage is less than half of what it was in 2005. For farmers with crop insurance, damaged or unprofitable wheat fields can still earn revenue. But many agree that chasing insurance payouts is not the best business model.

The Great Plains have long been celebrated for the "amber waves of grain" in the popular hymn "America the Beautiful." The region's states produce most of the U.S.-grown crop of hard red winter wheat, favored by bakers for bread. But with prices hovering around $5 per bushel, U.S. wheat farmers have reached an inflection point, with many forced to either lose money, feed wheat to cattle or kill off the crop. Interviews with more than a dozen farmers and analysts across Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma, along with a review of U.S. Department of Agriculture data, revealed a vast disparity in profit for wheat compared to other crops. This has led farmers to abandon more fields before harvest.

 

In parts of the region, prolonged drought has lowered yields in recent years. Farm revenue has also suffered in years with healthy rainfall, as abundant global supplies have weighed on prices. Many have pivoted to corn, soy or livestock, often after generations of their family growing wheat exclusively.

"They can’t sustain that," said 68-year-old Danny Schoenhals, who raises crops and cattle near Kremlin, Oklahoma, and is president of the state's wheat growers association. "Eventually you either change to other crops if you’re able to, or you go out of business," he said.

 

Two years ago, severe drought drove farmers to abandon about a third of the U.S. crop. This year, healthy green stalks shot through the cracked soil, and farmers had expected to harvest the most bushels per acre since 2016. But wheat prices hit a five-year low in May. Plentiful global supplies have kept benchmark U.S. prices stuck at lows that discourage farmers from growing wheat, producers and analysts told Reuters. Supplies are so ample that droughts in important grain-growing regions of China and Russia this year have barely budged prices.

 

Enjoy Your Summer!

 

Haim - All Over Me

Public Service Message for the MAGA Crowd

Imagine This

 

Manufacturing Jobs Take a Hit Amid Uncertainty Over Trump Tariffs

Convicted felon Donald Trump's tariff policies are posing a threat to the revival of U.S. manufacturing. A push for a 'Made in America' renaissance has been a key priority for the White House, with particular focus on the American Rust Belt.  But companies are warning how turmoil and confusion around Trump's trade wars is slowing the progress made in reinvigorating American factories. 

The latest jobs report revealed that manufacturing jobs declined by 8,000 last month — the most this year so far.  Anxiety is high in the Midwest, which remains home to the largest concentration of US manufacturing jobs — despite losing tens of thousands of workers to offshoring in the early 2000's. "Overall, it is going to be a drag on the US economy," Gus Faucher, chief economist for PNC Financial Services Group in Pittsburgh, told Bloomberg.  "In particular, it's going to be a drag on the Midwestern economy."

US factory activity also contracted in May for the third month in a row. The Midwestern states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin lost almost 2 million manufacturing jobs between 1998 and 2010, Bloomberg reported.  

In recent years, a cautious optimism had returned, as supply chain shocks from the pandemic pushed some companies to bring production back to the U.S.   But frequent changes and uncertainty around where Trump's tariff policy is headed has 'got people spooked,' Andrew Anagnost, CEO of Autodesk, told the outlet.

 

Christian Music Star and MAGA Favorite Accused of Sexual Assault by Three Men

Christian music legend Michael Tait, whose hit song "God’s Not Dead" became an anthem for Donald Trump’s Maga movement, has been accused of sexually assaulting three men, two who believed they were drugged by the rock star in the early 2000's, according to a months-long Guardian investigation. Four other men have alleged that Tait, a founding member of DC Talk and later a front-man for Newsboys, engaged in inappropriate behavior such as unwanted touching and sexual advances.  Sources who spoke to the Guardian claimed Tait’s alleged drug use and alleged abusive behavior were the “biggest open secret in Christian music.”

The allegations were revealed days after Tait posted an extraordinary confession on his Instagram account, admitting that for 20 years he had been “leading a double life”, abusing alcohol and cocaine, “and, at times, touched men in an unwanted sensual way”, according to his statement.  The statement appears to be a response to a separate report published earlier this month by the Christian media outlet the Roys Report, which also investigated Tait and revealed similar allegations of drug use and sexual assault against young, male musicians.

In the Instagram statement, Tait wrote: “I am ashamed of my life choices and actions and make no excuses for them. I will simply call it what God calls it – sin.” He added: “While I might dispute certain details in the accusations against me, I do not dispute the substance of them.  Even before this recent news became public, I had started on a path to health, healing, and wholeness … I accept the consequences of my sin and am committed to continuing the hard work of repentance and healing – work [which] I will do quietly and privately, away from the stage and the spotlight.”

Young and sometimes naive male musicians say they believe they were targeted by the star, with Tait allegedly dangling the possibility of career or artistic opportunities before them and then cutting off all contact once it became clear that sex was off the table. According to four people who were interviewed, some of them on the condition of anonymity, Tait would allegedly invite them to parties at his house in Nashville, encouraging them to drink alcohol and use drugs before making sexual advances.

Two of the men who spoke to the Guardian claim they believe they were secretly drugged, which left them floating in and out of consciousness, unable to consent to sexual acts. They claim Tait assaulted them by touching them sexually without their permission. Three others claim they awkwardly rebuffed his advances and left.  There are many more details outlined in the Guardian investigation here.

 

Happy Father's Day

 

The Real Parade

 

Sabrina Carpenter - Manchild

College Students Now Weaponizing "No Contact" Orders

The “Notice of No Contact” order landed in May’s inbox on Feb. 15, 2022. It was stern and lawyerly and contained a bulleted list of prohibited behaviors between May, then a Tulane freshman, and her former roommate: No approaching each other at any time. No communicating through third parties. No social media interactions whatsoever. The directive, which came from Tulane’s division of student affairs, was “based on the right of every Tulane community member to avoid contact with another community member if such contact may be harmful or detrimental.” Though the measure was purportedly “nondisciplinary,” it ended on an ominous note: “A violation of this Order could result in an immediate interim suspension and conduct charges against you."

May, who agreed to be identified only by her middle name, was alarmed. She thought a no contact order, the campus version of a restraining order, was for cases of sexual misconduct. Could she be in serious trouble? 

From the Mouths of Idiots

 

Hegseth Under Investigation for Texts Containing Classified Military Information

Pentagon investigators are looking into whether Department of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth personally wrote the text messages detailing the military’s plans to strike Houthi targets in Yemen or whether other staffers typed out those details, according to two people familiar with the ongoing probe.

The Defense Department’s Office of Inspector General has spent several weeks interviewing Hegseth’s current and former staff members to figure out how United States strike details taken from a classified system wound up in a commercial messaging app known as Signal.

"Because this is one of the DOD IG’s ongoing projects, in accordance with our policy we do not provide the scope or details to protect the integrity of the process and avoid compromising the evaluation," DOD IG spokesperson Mollie Halperin told ABC News.

The details were relayed in two chat groups that included Hegseth - one with Vice President JD Vance and other high-ranking officials, and a second one that included Hegseth's wife, who is not employed by the government.

The sharing of the details reportedly occurred around the same time in mid-March when key members of President Donald Trump's National Security Council, including Hegseth, inadvertently shared details about the March 15 missile strike in Yemen with the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic.

Much of the same content was shared in the second encrypted chat with family members and others -- a chat group that Hegseth had created on his personal phone during his confirmation process that included his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, the two officials told ABC News.

In addition to looking at whether the information was classified and who wrote it, investigators are also asking whether any staff members were asked by Hegseth or others to delete messages, according to one person familiar with the IG probe.

 

California Model Killed, Castrated, Cooked and Then Ate Her Husband

A model from California met her future husband, Bill Nelson, and three days later the couple were married.  But according to Omaiama Nelson, a model and a nanny who had moved from Egypt to the US, their marriage was far from a happy one. he claimed her husband showed his violent side almost as soon as they were married and says he would regularly physically and sexually abuse her.

Omaiama Nelson, claiming she had been pushed to a state of traumatic distress because of her husband's actions, carried out the most gruesome murder. She castrated Bill, bludgeoned him to death with a clothes iron, put his hands in a deep fryer and ate his finger saying "I'm glad I lived".

Just Sayin'

Florida Mom Kills 6-Year-Old Son, Saying God Told Her to Force Demons Out of Him

A sick mom accused of murdering her 6-year-old son said God was ordering her to "exorcise" his demons after she was arrested.  Little Ra'myl Pierre was found dead and wrapped in cloth inside his mom's house after he disappeared from school for two weeks.

Deputies visited the home last Friday and were greeted by his mom, 31-year-old Rhonda Paulynice. She took cops to her little boy's bedroom, and they discovered his body wrapped in cloth with only his face exposed.  Investigators believe he died on May 18 and that only his mother had been inside the room.

Paulynice told investigators she put her hand over her little boy's mouth and started suffocating him as he kicked and screamed in bed, according to an affidavit seen by Treasure Coast News.  She thought if she kept restraining him, the "demons" would go away and he would come back to life, police said.  The mom repeatedly went into her son's room and blew warm air on his face, looking for signs of life.  She was aware Ra’Myl Pierre had died but believed she “freed him of a spirit he had in him," her arrest records showed.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office in Florida said on social media that deputies visited her home in Fort Pierce on May 30 to conduct a welfare check.  This was due to a request by a school resource deputy after the child was absent from school since May 14.   Body camera footage revealed the moments before cops found Ra’myl’s body.  Paulynice was filmed using lip gloss while answering deputies' questions about her son’s lengthy absence from school, ABC affiliate WPTV reported.  In the clip, she told a deputy, “He’s going to go back to school. I’ll give them a call"

Paulynice later told investigators she was not in control of her “vessel” - referring to her body. She claimed that “God/Father” had told her what to do.  “Paulynice stated she would be kept awake at night by dreams from God/Father detailing events which were going to occur,” added the affidavit.  She reported noticing changes in her boy's behavior “and believed him to be controlled by a ‘spirit’ and by an ‘enemy.’”

"The mother believed she was being told by God to basically exorcise demons out of the child's body," said St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro.  "When the child had stopped moving and basically passed away, at that point, she felt the child had been released of those demons and was waiting for him to basically come back at that time."

Del Toro said, "From what I understand, this kid just lit the room up, and was loved by everybody."  A spokesperson for the St. Lucie County school district said students and staff will be offered grief counseling and support services.  "Our hearts are with the student's family, friends, classmates, and all who loved and cared for him during this incredibly difficult time," St. Lucie Public Schools said in a statement.

 

Tate McRae - Just Keep Watching

Musk Bites the Dust

 

Musk's Memphis Supercomputer Facility Poisoning the Air of Black Communities

Local regulators should immediately stop Elon Musk’s supercomputer project from operating in South Memphis because it's out of compliance with environmental rules, the NAACP wrote in a letter sent Thursday to Shelby County officials.

The civil rights group addressed the request to Dr. Michelle Taylor, director of the Shelby County Health Department, and to the commissioners of Memphis Light Gas and Water. The health department is responsible for implementing federal air regulations in Shelby County, which encompasses Memphis.

“Being the world’s richest man doesn’t give you the right to pollute Black communities and jeopardize the health of its residents,” NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement to NBC News. “We urge the health department to step in immediately.”

xAI has come under scrutiny in recent months for operating methane gas turbines at its Memphis facility to meet the electricity needs of the supercomputer Colossus. The turbines emit pollutants, including nitrogen oxides and formaldehyde, according to their manufacturer. 

Environmental groups and the NAACP believe the turbines required permits under the Clean Air Act; the city’s health department, the mayor and the Chamber of Commerce have said permits were not required for the turbines’ first year of use. xAI, which is now seeking a permit for 15 permanent turbines, said those would be equipped with pollution controls and only be used as backup once other energy options are available.

Earlier this month, NBC News reported on a South Memphis neighborhood called Boxtown, about two miles from xAI’s facility, where residents are concerned that Musk’s project will harm the area’s already poor air quality. 

“They got money. And they can do what they want to do, you know, without consulting us,” said Easter Knox, who has lived in the area since 1977. Knox told NBC News she and her husband both struggle with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which can be exacerbated by pollution. 

Colossus, which xAI calls the world’s largest supercomputer, came online in September 2024 to train Grok, the company’s chatbot. But critics say the project’s potential economic benefit to the community is outweighed by environmental concerns.  “While we applaud research and innovation,” the NAACP letter states, “there must be limits that ensure that communities are healthy and alive to enjoy the benefits of any potential innovation.”  Shelby County health officials are expected to make a decision on xAI’s application in the coming weeks.  Memphis Mayor Paul Young previously told NBC's "Nightly News" that the city plans to work with a researcher to implement air monitoring in the months ahead.

Tracking the Obvious

Inside Saudi Arabia's Secret Prisons for Disobedient Women

Women are being banged up, starved and flogged in "hellish" Saudi prisons for being "disobedient" to their husbands.  Several female inmates have said they were sent to the grim punishment facilities for objecting to sexual abuse at home. Women are reportedly locked away in isolation cells until they "reconcile" with their cruel abusers.

A campaigner fighting to abolish the brutal facilities, Sarah Al-Yahia, told the Guardian that her dad threatened to send her to one as a child "if I didn't obey his sexual abuse."  She bravely explained: "If you are sexually abused or get pregnant by your brother or father you are the one sent to Dar al-Re'aya to protect the family's reputation." She added that often women are given the impossible choice of enduring horrific abuse at home or being locked up. 

Documented cases show evidence of abuse and neglect at the notorious Dar al-Re'aya jails, according to rights group ALQST.  Prisoners are left malnourished and banged up in solitary confinement, the organization claims.  Several cases of suicide attempts in recent years have also been reported. The name of the jails, Dar al-Re'aya, literally translates to "care homes."

Happy Pride Month