Khamenei cardboard cutout may have gotten caught in the rain: it's missing

"Supreme Leader, say hello to all your followers"

Who knew Amazon ships to Iran? The missing cut-and-pasted Ayatollah Junior, and Iran's Supreme Leader for Life, Mojtaba Khamenei has been out of sight recently. He hasn't been seen in public since getting his new gig after his dad, Ali, got to meet his virgins resulting from U.S.-Israeli strikes.

According to Israeli journalist Amit Segal, organizers hauled the life-size stand-in onto the stage, where the faithful hailed it and swore allegiance like it was the real deal. The thing looked crudely slapped together with strips of tape, because apparently that's the level of production value the mullahs are working with these days.

Mojtaba [aka Mo] has been AWOL from public view or any statements since Sunday, when he was tapped as Iran's new top dog. An Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday that the new supreme leader was "lightly injured" in the strikes, with reports specifying leg damage from day one of the action. Others say he is in a coma, while others, such as President Trump, say that he may be dead like his dad.

The regime has been stingy with details but keeps insisting he's running things from behind the scenes. In fact, the regime is currently working on engineering the face cut-out to make the mouth moveable when he allegedly speaks. They are close to solving the problem.

Segal nailed it when he wrote that the injuries "must be quite serious if a cardboard ayatollah cuts a more commanding figure than a wheelchair-bound Khamenei."

Ya think?

Over on this side of the world, President Trump wasn't thrilled about the regime's personnel choice. He told Fox News on Tuesday that he was "not happy" with the pick but stopped short of confirming whether the U.S. or Israel might take another swing at the guy. "I don’t believe he can live in peace," Trump said.

Trump also praised the results of Operation Epic Fury as "way beyond expectation." The U.S. military has sent more than 50 Iranian naval ships to the bottom and pounded over 5,000 targets inside the country, including dozens of those 2,000-pound GPS-guided bombs raining down across the Islamic Republic, according to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine on Tuesday.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth summed it up nicely on Tuesday: "We’re crushing the enemy in an overwhelming display of technical skill and military force. We will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated."

The whole cardboard supreme leader routine is the kind of farce that only a crumbling dictatorship could stage with a straight face. 

When your new boss is better represented by duct tape and corrugated board than by showing up himself, maybe it's time to admit the revolution has jumped the shark. Or at least limped offstage on injured legs and possibly worse things missing from that area below his equator.

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Jihadi gunman in Michigan synagogue attack ID'd as Lebanese-born immigrant

Authorities identified the suspect in Thursday's brazen attack on Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue in West Bloomfield, Michigan, as Ayman, wait for it . . .  Mohamad Ghazali, a 41-year-old Lebanese-born man who entered the United States in 2011 and became a naturalized citizen in 2016 after arriving in the US in 2011.

Ghazali, who worked in a restaurant in Dearborn Heights, is dead after a shootout with armed security on the temple grounds.

"We can't say what killed him at this point," Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard said at a news conference, "but security did engage the suspect with gunfire." It's possible this jihadi killed himself and hopes to get his 72 virgins, but it becomes null and void if he offed himself, or so they say.

The suspect drove his vehicle into the building and then shots were fired, the West Bloomfield police department confirmed.

Ghazali was armed with a rifle and killed in the exchange with synagogue security, according to reports.

His vehicle caught fire, burning inside the structure. Bouchard noted that the suspect's truck struck a security guard, knocking him unconscious, marking the only reported injury from the incident. Law enforcement also discovered what appeared to be explosives in the back of the vehicle.

Those inside the synagogue and in surrounding areas were told to shelter in place while police worked to determine if anyone else was involved. Several children were evacuated from the building and moved to a safer location.

"We just tell people [to] shelter in place for at least a mile area until we determine that there's no one else that maybe was on foot and fled the area, until we figure out exactly what's going on," Bouchard said.

Bouchard added that "Jewish facilities in the area are going to have a lot of extra presence around it until we figure this out."

Temple Israel released a statement on Facebook declaring that it "was the victim of a terrorist gunman who was confronted and neutralized by our security personnel." All 140 students attending classes at the time, along with teachers and staff, are "accounted for and safe," the synagogue thankfully confirmed. 

This incident comes amid heightened security at synagogues nationwide following the surge in anti-Semitic violence since Hamas's October 7, 2023 attacks. The Anti-Defamation League's 2024 audit highlighted a sharp rise in bomb threats and other harassment targeting synagogues, including messages like: "You Jews will pay for your crimes, we will end your lives," along with anti-Israel content. Sounds like the criminals are projecting a wee bit.

Other recent cases include, wait for it . . .  Mohamed . . .  Sabry Soliman, charged with hate crimes last June for throwing Molotov cocktails at pro-Israel demonstrators while yelling "Free Palestine," and Elias Rodriguez, who shot and killed two Israeli embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C. the prior month. When caught, Rodriguez declared, "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza."

FBI Director Kash Patel separately confirmed that federal authorities "are on the scene with partners in Michigan."

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Trump says Ayatollah Junior might be dead or he might not be dead

President Donald Trump said he heard on the grapevine that "Mojtaba Khamenei, [what kind of name is Mojtaba, right?] might be dead or might not be dead." He said he doesn't know, but he thinks he might be dead, but if he isn't dead, he wants the Ayatollah Junior to call him and tell him that he's surrendering.

"Surrendering is good," Trump said, "because when you surrender, you don't die."

The President said the regime must "surrender" to end this war and if Mo isn't dead then it's up to him if he isn't in a coma and do something "very smart for his country, and that's surrender."

He added once again that he's not sure Mo is still changing oxygen into carbon dioxide.

“I don’t know if he’s even alive. So far, nobody’s been able to show him,” the President said in different words, adding that Iran is seeking negotiations but they're not ready to make a deal.

“Iran wants to make a deal, and I don’t want to make it because the terms aren’t good enough yet,” Trump said.

Meanwhile, the war goes on and it's the most incredible war in the history of wars.

Unbelievable.

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IDF destroys top Iranian intelligence officials merely days after they replaced slain honcho

Israel's military just dropped another hammer on the Iranian regime, announcing Saturday that its forces took out two high-ranking intelligence officials who were cozy with the top brass of what the IDF calls the "Iranian terrorist regime." And get this: these guys had only been in their new gigs for a few days, stepping in to replace their boss who got eliminated at the start of the whole operation.

The Israeli Defense Forces laid it out plainly on Friday: "the Israeli Air Force, acting on precise IDF intelligence, carried out a targeted strike in Tehran and eliminated Abdollah Jalali-Nasab and Amir Shariat, senior officials in the Intelligence Directorate of the 'Khatam al-Anbiya' Emergency Command, which is directly subordinate to the leader of the Iranian terror regime."

Right after that, the IDF connected the dots back to the bigger picture: "Following the elimination of the head of the Intelligence Directorate, Saleh Asadi, during the opening blow of Operation Roaring Lion, Jalali and Shariat were appointed to replace them," describing the campaign that kicked off on February 28.

These weren't just random bureaucrats. "The two senior intelligence commanders were key figures in the Iranian intelligence community. In addition, both were close to the leadership of the Iranian terrorist regime," according to the IDF.

And why does that matter? Because this unit isn't sitting on the sidelines. "The intelligence branch of the 'Khatam al-Anbiya' Emergency Command is responsible for analyzing intelligence. The intelligence is presented to senior officials in Iran’s security system during frequent situational assessments, on the basis of which the war against the State of Israel is conducted," the IDF added.

In short, Israel isn't messing around. They're methodically dismantling the regime's intel apparatus piece by piece, making sure the mullahs' war planners don't get a breather. Operation Roaring Lion keeps rolling, and the body count among Iran's key players keeps climbing. Tehran must be feeling the heat big time.

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Anti-Government riot in Cuba over blackouts

Anti-government protesters stormed a Communist Party office in northern Cuba early Saturday, according to a state-run newspaper, marking a rare flash of open defiance fueled by brutal blackouts made even worse by the U.S. oil blockade.

What started as a peaceful rally against power outages and food shortages in the city of Moron [seriously] late Friday spiraled into violence by early Saturday morning, the Invasor newspaper reported. Social media videos captured a massive fire raging and crowds hurling rocks through building windows while chants of “liberty” echoed in the background.

Reuters could not independently verify the videos, which posters claimed depicted the chaos in Moron, a coastal city roughly 250 miles (400 km) east of Havana, close to the tourist spot Cayo Coco.

The United States has really tightened the screws on Cuba this year, especially after nabbing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January. Maduro has long been Cuba's top foreign sugar daddy.

President Trump shut down Venezuelan oil deliveries to the island and warned any nation selling oil to Cuba could face tariffs, hammering an economy already choking on shortages of food, fuel, electricity, and medicine.

In recent weeks, Trump has repeatedly declared that Cuba is teetering on the edge of collapse or desperate for a deal with Washington. On Friday, the Cuban government announced it had kicked off talks with the U.S. to ease the crisis.

Violent public protests remain extremely rare in Cuba. The 2019 constitution supposedly guarantees the right to demonstrate, but a detailed law spelling out how that works is stuck in legislative purgatory, leaving street protesters in a legal gray zone.

"What initially began peacefully, and after an exchange with local authorities, turned into acts of vandalism against the headquarters of the Municipal Party Committee," Invasor reported. "A smaller group of people stoned the entrance of the building and started a fire in the street with furniture from the reception area," it added.

The Moron vandals hit several other state-run spots in the area too, including a pharmacy and a government market, per the report.

One unverified social media clip includes the sound of a gunshot, followed by the camera panning to someone on the ground. State media outlet Vanguardia de Cuba pushed back hard against online claims that police had shot the person.

"The image circulating shows the scene of the protest, but it’s important for the public to know the truth: no one was injured by gunfire," Vanguardia de Cuba posted on X. "Media manipulation seeks to sow fear and confusion among our people. Let's not fall for provocations," it added.

Police rounded up five people, and one drunken protester took a tumble and ended up getting treated for injuries at a local hospital.

Over the past week, small groups in Havana have been banging pots and pans in the streets to protest the endless blackouts.

On Monday, students staged a sit-in on the steps of the University of Havana after the regime canceled in-person classes, blaming the U.S. oil blockade. Fuel shortages have crippled public transportation, turning commutes for teachers and students into a nightmare. Moron also saw major unrest during the huge anti-government riots on July 11, 2021, the biggest challenge to the regime since Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution.

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Dallas PD shot and killed member of Jasmine Crockett's security team

This is one of those Texas-sized tales that makes you wonder if the Lone Star State is secretly running a reality show called "How Many Red Flags Can One Guy Wave Before Someone Notices?"

Out of Dallas comes word that a man shot and killed by police after a standoff, tear gas, barricaded vehicle, the full SWAT drama, was none other than Rep. Jasmine Crockett's (D-TX) own bodyguard. The suspect, going by the name Mike King, was wanted for impersonating a police officer. He ran a business called Off Duty Police Services, hooking up North Texas cops with side gigs, all while apparently driving a fake undercover cop car and using stolen plates lifted from a military recruiting office.

Several photos show the guy, identified as Mike King, working congressional security (via CBS News):

"A man shot and killed by Dallas police earlier this week was a familiar figure in North Texas law enforcement – and part of the security detail for U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, sources told CBS News Texas.

Multiple law enforcement sources tell CBS News Texas the man, known publicly as Mike King, had been using aliases while running a business that placed officers in off-duty jobs.

King was killed Wednesday night after a standoff with Dallas police SWAT officers. Police say he fled into a hospital parking garage, barricaded himself inside a vehicle, and was forced out by tear gas before pulling a gun on officers. Big mistake.

Sources say he was wanted for impersonating a law enforcement officer and had claimed to be one while operating Off Duty Police Services, an online platform connecting North Texas officers with off-duty work. Authorities have not released his real name.

Law enforcement sources also say King drove a fake undercover police vehicle and used license plates stolen from cars outside a military recruiting office. His background, which sources say includes a criminal history, raises questions about how he managed extra-duty jobs for police officers and secured a high-level security role for a sitting member of Congress.

Documents obtained by CBS News Texas show a person named Mike King received payments for 'security services' from Crockett as recently as last year."

There's a whole boatload of questions screaming for answers here, but as the outlet noted, neither Crockett’s office nor the Dallas police are in the mood to chat right now.

For the record, Crockett recently tossed her hat in the ring for the Democratic primary for Texas' US Senate seat and came up short. Maybe next time she'll vet her security team a little more thoroughly than "he looks official in the replica cruiser." 

Stay classy, Lone Star politics.

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USA's first Antifa terrorism trial has a verdict

Nine North Texas Antifa cell fascists just got hit with major guilty verdicts in federal court on Friday for their roles in the violent July 4 attack last year on the Prairieland ICE Detention Center in Texas.

One of the fascists was convicted of attempted murder.

The jury convicted the nine fascists on a range of serious charges, including rioting, providing material support to terrorists, conspiracy to use and carry an explosive, and using and carrying an explosive during what prosecutors described as a coordinated North Texas Antifa Cell assault that left a local Alvarado police officer shot in the neck.

FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock called the incident a "coordinated attack" on the facility holding illegal immigrants ahead of deportation.

Two individuals were also convicted of conspiracy to conceal documents.

According to the Department of Justice, Benjamin Song was pegged as the attack's leader. He handed out firearms and recruited participants for the operation. Song was convicted of attempted murder of federal officers for the unlawful attempt to kill with malice aforethought the Alvarado Police Officer and for unlawful discharging of a firearm in the attempted murder of two correctional officers and an Alvarado Police Officer, since he was the shooter who hit the officer in the neck.

Song bolted from the scene like a roach when the lights come on, but he got nabbed on July 15, 2025, while most of the other suspects were arrested shortly after, per the DOJ.

Song now faces up to life in prison, with a mandatory minimum of 20 years, the Department of Justice press release noted. Seven others could see only 10 to 60 years, and Daniel Rolando Sanchez Estrada might get up to only 40 years.

"These guilty verdicts and convictions rightly reflect the vicious, armed attack that these Antifa cell members planned and executed against law enforcement and detention center officers on the night of July 4 last year," U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement.

"Their terrorist acts, attempted murder, vandalism, and explosives launched at a detention facility were a far cry from some peaceful protest or First Amendment expression. Because of the prompt action of first responders that night and tenacious work of our law enforcement partners in tandem with the prosecutors in my office, sixteen people have been brought to justice for these violent acts and their attempts to conceal them. We will continue in this mission to hold others accountable who perpetrate such violence and fund these ANTIFA groups in the Northern District of Texas."

Notably, the attackers used monikers in their group chats to plot the riot. They also set off fireworks and trashed the place, including spray-painting "F*ck You Pigs" on a building. How mature.

This was no spontaneous outburst. It was a calculated ambush on law enforcement, and the jury saw right through any claims otherwise. Justice served.

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Four arrested after Rotterdam synagogue explosion: Ashah Al Yamin claims responsibility

Four young men, aged seventeen to nineteen, were arrested in Rotterdam after an explosive device detonated at a synagogue in the heart of the city. No one was injured, thank God, though the blast at around 3:40 a.m. left its mark on the building and, one suspects, on the nerves of every Jew in the Netherlands.

The terrorism suspects, all from Tilburg, were apprehended when police stopped a car prowling suspiciously near another synagogue. The driver's description matched one of the perpetrators from the earlier attack. One can only imagine the scene: young men in a vehicle, perhaps flushed with the adrenaline of what they had just done, now suddenly confronted by officers who had pieced it together with commendable speed.

A group calling itself Ashab Al Yamim, a hitherto unknown Shi'ite terror outfit, has claimed responsibility. 

This is no idle boast; the same shadowy organization has recently launched a series of assaults on Jewish institutions, including a bombing at a synagogue in Liège, Belgium, and another attack in Greece. One is tempted to ask: where do these groups spring from, fully formed, with videos and statements ready to hand out? While the name translates roughly as "Companions of the Right,"  their actions suggest something altogether darker: proxies, perhaps, in a wider campaign of intimidation that has escalated since the joint US-Israeli operations against Iran commenced in late February.

It is difficult not to see a pattern here. Jewish communities across the West find themselves under siege. 

Earlier this week, a synagogue in Michigan was rammed by a vehicle in an incident involving an active shooter. In Canada, several synagogues have endured targeted shootings over the past month. And now this in Rotterdam, arson by explosion, claimed by a new Shi'ite entity whose emergence coincides precisely with heightened tensions in the Middle East.

The police, to their credit, have increased surveillance at other synagogues throughout the city and launched an extensive investigation. [What can their motive possibly be?] 

Whether the four suspects intended further targets remains unconfirmed, but the question hangs in the air: how many more such plots are being hatched, even as we speak?

One cannot help but reflect on the broader malaise. Europe, once so proud of its post-war tolerance, now watches as its Jewish citizens, citizens who have every right to worship in peace, are forced to live behind heightened security, metal detectors, and armed guards. The euphemisms of "heightened concerns" and "increased surveillance" mask a grim reality: Jews are once again being hunted in the streets of European cities, this time under the banner of a resurgent ideological war exported from the Middle East.

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As any great historian of totalitarianism might have observed, the first step toward barbarism is the normalization of targeting a particular group. 

We are well past the first step now. The question is whether the West still possesses the moral clarity, and the will, to confront it before the next explosion claims not just windows and doors, but lives.