THEY CAN SUE THEIR ENRICHMENT FACILITIES BACK INTO EXISTENCE? Iran’s atomic body condemns American assault on nuclear sites, vows legal action.

The agency said the three nuclear sites operate under the full supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the “brutal assault” on them violates international law.

The AEOI said the aggression was carried out “under the indifference–or rather the complicity–of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).”

“The international community is expected to condemn this lawlessness based on jungle rules and to stand with Iran in asserting its legitimate rights,” read the statement, adding that the organization assures the great Iranian nation that despite enemy’s sinister conspiracies, it will not allow the progress of this national industry to be halted.

“The organization has placed on its agenda all necessary actions to defend the rights of the noble Iranian people, including legal follow-up measures.”

I wonder if the noble Iranian people have had enough of this regime.

FOLLOWING A FOUR-YEAR HIATUS: Israel Tells UK: America Leads the Free World.

TYLER O’NEIL: SPLC Finally Clears Up ‘Major Misconception’ About Whether It Is ‘Anti-Christian.’

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which the FBI cited in its notorious memo on “radical traditional Catholics,” puts conservative Christian nonprofits on a “hate map” alongside chapters of the Ku Klux Klan, claiming they are part of the “infrastructure upholding white supremacy.”

For years, the SPLC claimed it was a “major misconception” that the SPLC is anti-Christian.

“A major misconception—one that is deliberately promoted by anti-LGBT hate groups in order to accuse the SPLC of being ‘anti-Christian’—is that the SPLC considers opposition to same-sex marriage or the belief that homosexuality is a sin as the sole basis for the hate group label,” the SPLC claimed. “This is false. There are many organizations, such as Focus on the Family, that oppose same-sex marriage or oppose homosexuality on strictly biblical grounds that the SPLC does not list as hate groups.”

Yet this year, the SPLC added Focus on the Family to the “hate map,” branding it—you guessed it—an “anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.” Meanwhile, the language about the “major misconception” no longer appears on the SPLC website. No matter, I have it archived here (the 2017 version) and here (the 2020 version).

Thanks, SPLC. I’m glad to have that “major misconception” cleared up.

To be fair, the SPLC puts out a lot of major misconceptions.

FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: Cleanup on Aisle 7, Seriously Big Cleanup. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news, and this week, we’ll learn the difference between the men’s room and the canned foods aisle, how to avoid your angry wife with style, and why a tractor is not the best choice for a getaway vehicle.”

BE PREPARED: Shell CEO: Contingency Plans Ready If Strait Of Hormuz Closure Triggers Energy Shock.

Shell Plc is preparing contingency plans in case the conflict between Israel and Iran broadens and disrupts oil and gas flows through the critical maritime chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz.

On Thursday, CEO Wael Sawan told Bloomberg’s Shery Ahn at the Japan Energy Summit & Exhibition in Tokyo, “If that artery is blocked, for whatever reason, it has a huge impact on global trade,” adding, “We have plans in the eventuality that things deteriorate.”

The situation would have been much more fraught not so long ago, before fracking turned the US back into a net energy exporter.

#METOO: I’m Sick and Tired of the ‘America Sucks’ Conservatives!

THE NEW SPACE RACE: Chinese sats appear to be attempting first-ever on-orbit refueling, sat tracking firms say.

A Chinese satellite designed for refueling missions has been dancing awfully close to another Chinese bird in orbit, raising the possibility Beijing is about to pull off — or already has pulled off — the first-ever on-orbit gas-up, according to satellite tracking firms.

Last week Slingshot Aerospace watched China’s experimental SJ-25, which Beijing launched in January and has said publicly said was meant for refueling missions, approach another satellite, SJ-21. But the view from terrestrial telescopes wasn’t able to confirm docking, much less refueling, so Slingshot concluded the data was “inconclusive” as to what exactly happened.

“If docking did occur, then the duration of that event would be no more than three hours,” a Slingshot spokesperson told Breaking Defense of the June 13 event.
…
A successful space refueling between satellites, known in US Space Force parlance as a space mobility operation, would be “definitely a big deal,” according to Victoria Samson, Secure World Foundation’s chief director of Space Security and Stability.

Indeed.

FINALLY: Vance, Kennedy to Investigate East Palestine Health Aftereffects.

BATTLESWARM: Don’t Fear Regime Change. “Could there be a civil war power struggle to rule post-theocratic Iran? Possibly. Still a better outcome for us than a theocratic, terrorist-supporting Islamic state with nuclear weapons. Ditto a military dictatorship, as long as they allowed an end to the nuclear weapons program. Ditto any number of other possible political outcomes, from a modern, secular democratic state to a (deeply unlikely) restoration of the Pahlavi monarchy. All are almost certainly improvements over the fanatical, institutional hostility to the west shown by the mullahs. (Not to mention the fanatical, institutional hostility to Israel. Historically, Persians and Jews have gotten along well, both being outsiders to the Turks and Arabs running the Ottoman Empire.)”

AND AS COLD-BLOODED AS IT GETS:

It was murder plain and simple https://t.co/bPeidlBDas

— DC_Draino (@DC_Draino) June 20, 2025

HE NEVER STOOD A CHANCE: Tucker Carlson Unconditionally Surrenders in the Civil War That Wasn’t.

BEEGE: ‘Sir, This Is a Wendy’s’: Activists In Egypt Dissolve in Tears When March to Gaza Denied.

There were the well-to-do parents of friends in North Carolina in the 90s who’d waited their whole lives for their dream trip to Brazil – two weeks or so exploring the Amazon and the delights of Rio, etc.

And were home after four days because of the frustration that ‘no one spoke English.’

Almost as if it were a foreign country.

The rocket scientist fiancée of a Marine 1stLt in our squadron bought a plane ticket, flew to Tokyo in the 80s to surprise him, and got stuck there. Never anticipating one needed visas or such things. She thought a ticket was enough to go where you wanted to go. She never thought to check.

There was the illuminating conversation I had with the black cab driver who took me from the train station in Virginia (after a long haul up from Savannah) to Naval Station Norfolk. He had a magical accent and, after we dropped a girl off I had split that part of the fare with, I asked him where he was originally from.

He asked me if I could guess. I took a stab at South Africa and turned out to be right.

One of these days I’ll tell you all his whole story – he was a wise, wonderful man to talk to. But the one line he left me with I’ve always remembered, because it’s true in so many cases.

You Americans never bother to look further than your front doorstep.

Read the whole thing.

UPDATE: Link was bad before — sorry! All fixed now.

THE ISRAELIS SEEM TO HAVE A HANDLE ON THIS, FOR STARTERS: Trump Says He Will Decide Whether to Bomb Iran ‘Within Two Weeks.’ Why the Hesitation?

COLORADO: DOJ request puts Jena Griswold’s elections record under scrutiny.

While Secretary of State Jena Griswold claims that a recent request for election data by the Department of Justice (DOJ) is nothing more than an attempt to “push their ridiculous disinformation and lies to the American public,” legacy media covering the request seem to have forgotten Griswold’s many missteps and questionable conduct during her tenure overseeing Colorado elections.

A recent National Public Radio (NPR) report, republished by Colorado Public Radio (CPR) and heavily biased in Griswold’s favor, called the request “an unprecedented amount of election data” driven by Justice Department review of “cases targeting the president’s political allies” and identified the DOJ as catering to Trump’s “desire to exert more power over state voting processes.”

The framing of the coverage is unsurprising given that both NPR and CPR have themselves been the subject of headlines as of late as they push back against Trump’s ongoing effort to end federal taxpayer subsidies for public radio.

However, ongoing problems under Griswold during her tenure appear to be at least as likely a reason for the request.

Colorado Republican Party Chairwoman Brita Horn said the investigation is warranted considering the issues Griswold has had over her two terms.

If Griswold isn’t the worst partisan hack of a secretary of state in the country, she must be a close second.

Please, DOJ, move as quickly as possible.

WINNING: Court Rules on Trump’s LA National Guard Deployment.

THIS ISN’T LEGAL: Trump extends deadline for US TikTok sale to September.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday extended to September 17 a deadline for China-based ByteDance to divest the U.S. assets of short-video app TikTok despite a law that mandated a sale or shutdown without significant progress.

Trump signed an executive order pushing back Thursday’s deadline for 90 days, a step he had previously signaled.

The Republican president had already twice granted a reprieve from federal enforcement of a law that mandated the sale or shutdown of TikTok that was supposed to take effect in January, absent significant progress toward a sale.

Trump has said he wants to keep the app, which helped him woo young voters in the 2024 presidential election, active in the U.S.

That’s nice, but it still isn’t legal:

Just days before Trump 47 resumed office, SCOTUS upheld the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. The law gave ByteDance until January 19 (270 days from enactment) to find a buyer, but granted POTUS the power to grant a single, 90-day extension. Trump granted it, giving ByteDance until April 19. Then — and this was illegal — Trump granted another extension, giving ByteDance until June 19.

“Essentially with TikTok I have the right to sell it or close it,” Trump claimed when he issued the extension. “That’s wrong,” the Free Press reminded readers this week. “Trump doesn’t have a right to sell or ban the app but an obligation.”

Why won’t Trump 47 enforce the law Trump 45 lobbied for?

I asked that question two weeks ago and there’s still no answer.

KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Jasmine Crockett Is Lucky We Don’t Do Witch Trials Anymore. “Crockett has the straitjacket soapbox for the moment, however. In some recent, barely coherent remarks, Crockett said that anyone who supports President Trump is ‘sick.’ Proving that she’s the one with a mental disorder, Crockett wrapped up her denigrating screed with a call for unity.”

THE ENEMY WITHIN (UK EDITION):

The “Lebanese grill” in London is using footage of Iranian missile strikes on Israeli civilians to promote its restaurant.

London is full of Jihadists. pic.twitter.com/OHXGsO9cfe

— Open Source Intel (@Osint613) June 20, 2025

EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN: Marines and sailors combat drone threats by digging trenches. “U.S. Marines and sailors worked alongside Latvian Army troops recently to clear woods and build a warren of trenches for countering potential drone threats — both as practice for real-world deployments and to test new battlefield tactics.”

HOW NOT TO BE A NATIONAL PASTIME: When Baseball Picks a Side and Shuts Out Half the Country.

DIGITAL THUGS:

The US government skyrocketed the USAID budget for Brazil while Bolsonaro was there. Not to help Brazilians economically, but to flood the political opposition in Brazil with money to try to take him out. https://t.co/rBUfEsryVv pic.twitter.com/44W7r7toKZ

— Mike Benz (@MikeBenzCyber) June 19, 2025

NOW THAT’S SOME CHANGE YOU CAN BELIEVE IN: Senate Confirms Border Patrol Veteran of 30 Years Who Was Fired by Mayorkas to Lead CBP.

Rodney Scott is a 30-year veteran of the Border Patrol, who previously served as the chief patrol agent in San Diego sector under the first Trump administration, before earning promotion to chief of the U.S. Border Patrol from 2020 to 2021. In June ’21, former CBP Commissioner Mark Morgan, who promoted Scott, expressed his anger at then-Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for firing Scott, a “man of integrity” and “courage,” explaining that Scott had been “very honest and open about his criticisms” of the Biden administration’s handling of the border “impact[ing] their ability to secure our borders.”

Morgan did not mince words about how Mayorkas seemed to gauge who should be retained and who should be fired:

“If [Sec. Mayorkas] cannot bully someone, a career official, if he can’t turn a career official into no more than a puppet to further his open border policies, he’s getting rid of him. And that’s what he’s done.”

Back in April, investigative journalist Catherine Herridge noted that Scott has promised to look into CBP whistleblowers Mark Jones, Fred Wynn, and Mike Taylor’s allegations that they were retaliated against “for showing homeland security was in violation of its own border law,” and hold those DHS officials accountable.

It also doesn’t hurt things that the Border Czar, Tom Homan is a long time fan.

Nifty.

ALLIES: Will This Blow Up NATO? “Erdogan appears to be calculating that he will not get any pushback within NATO for claiming the internationally recognized sovereign territory of another member state, and he is likely right about that. This isn’t the first time he has claimed Greek territory, and almost certainly will not be the last, yet Turkey doesn’t seem to be in any danger of losing its NATO membership.”

BE PREPARED:

U.S. officials have confirmed to CNN that non-sheltered USAF aircraft have been evacuated from Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, and U.S. Navy vessels previously forward-deployed at Naval Support Activity Bahrain have also repositioned.

Additionally, medical logistics have been… pic.twitter.com/zi54fIhXpg

— GMI (@Global_Mil_Info) June 19, 2025

IT’S MY THURSDAY ESSAY FOR VIP SUBSCRIBERS: Pity Poor China (Really!) “Most Thursdays, I take readers on a deep dive into a topic I hope you’ll find interesting, important, or at least amusing in its absurdity. These essays are made possible by — and are exclusive to — our VIP supporters. If you’d like to join us, take advantage of our 60% off promotion.”