1). “Democratic lawmaker killed and another wounded in Minnesota in ‘politically motivated’ attacks: Governor Tim Walz was briefed on ‘ongoing situation’ in which Minneapolis-area state senator and representative were shot”, Jun 14, 2025, Rachel Leingang, The Guardian, at < https://www.theguardian.com/
2). “Suspect in Minnesota Shooting Linked to Security Company, Evangelical Ministry: The alleged shooter is a 57-year-old white male; according to his ministry's website, he 'sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.' ”, Jun 14, 2025, Tess Owen, Tim Marchman & Leah Feiger, Wired, at < https://www.wired.com/story/
3). “Iran Retaliates Against US-Israeli Missile Strikes”, Jun 14, 2025, Brian Berletic delivers analysis, The New Atlas, duration of video 20:05, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
4). “Mohammed Marandi & Larry C. Johnson: Israel Strikes Iran — Iran to HIT BACK HARD!”, Jun 13, 2025, Nima Alkhorshid interviews Mohammed Marandi & Larry C. Johnson, Dialogue Works, duration of video 1:05:34 at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
5). “Mohammad Marandi EXPOSES US Role in Israel's Attack on Iran”, Jun 13, 2025, Mohammad Marandi interviewed by Jyotishman, India & Global Left, duration of video 30:48, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
6). “Ukraine Is Losing Everything – Total Collapse Looms | Jeffrey Sachs and Scott Ritter”, Jun 7, 2025, Nima Alkhorshid interviews Jeffrey Sachs and Scott Ritter, Dialogue Works, duration of video 28:44, at < https://www.youtube.com/live/
7). “Scott Ritter: Dangerous Endgame in Ukraine: Collapse or Escalation”, Jun 10, 2025, Glenn Diesen interviews Scott Ritter, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 49:38, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
~~ recommended by dmorista ~~
Introduction by dmorista: The severity, frequency, and variety of crises that are buffeting the U.S. Empire have grown exponentially in recent years. After 40 years of profiting off of the deindustrialization of the U.S. and moving their investments to low-wage / low-regulation locales; now the U.S. ruling class has to contend with a global situation in which the U.S. is no longer dominant and in which challenges are mounting from all directions.
Even the military parade that Trump so fervently desired to mount to showcase his emerging fascist regime was really a bust. Crowds were from extremely thin to non-existent all while hundreds of thousands of people gathered to protest his regime at over 2,000 demonstrations nationwide (See videos posted at < https://bsky.app/profile/
“ 'God is going to raise up apostles and prophets in America,' he added, 'to correct His church.' ”
The endless wars that Israel starts and involves the U.S. in continue unabated. The mere slaughter in Gaza has been supplanted by the battles between Israel and Iran that began in earnest a couple of days ago. Item 3)., “US-Israeli Missile Strikes ….”; Item 4)., “Mohammed Marandi & Larry ….”; and Item 5)., “Mohammad Marandi EXPOSES ….”, all discuss the recent intensification of the Israel / U.S. vs Iran struggle. Iran is a much stronger country now than it was in the past and they have had decades to tunnel very deep under the mountains building bunkers that are beyond the ability of the U.S. and/or Israel's weaponry with nuclear bunker buster bombs perhaps being an exception to this.
Even the Ukraine proxy war has spun out of the control of the U.S. ruling class. This is discussed at some length in Item 6)., “Ukraine Is Losing Everything ….”; and Item 7)., “Scott Ritter: Dangerous Endgame ….”, both discuss some of the ramifications of the messy end of the U.S. Proxy war in Ukraine.
There are many issues facing the Capitalist rulers of the U.S. Trump's simplistic and crazed tarriff policy cannot by itself lead to a massive reindustrialization of the U.S. The fertility rate of American Women continues to fall slowly, and there are no likely white women ready to function as brood mares for the U.S. Rulers. Trump stated he wanted Norwegians to move to the U.S., but of course no Norwegian in their right mind would trade life there for life here. So at this point the Afrikaners are the only white people who find conditions in the U.S. more congenial than where they currently live.
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Minnesota police search for suspect after Democratic lawmaker shot dead and another wounded
Governor Tim Walz condemns ‘politically motivated assassination’ as search continues for Vance Luther Boelter
A prominent Democratic state lawmaker in Minnesota and her husband were killed and another Democratic state lawmaker and his wife were shot in the early hours of Saturday.
State representative Melissa Hortman died, as has her husband, Mark, the state’s governor, Tim Walz, confirmed at a press conference on Saturday. Walz said the shooting “appears to be a politically motivated assassination”. Hortman was the top Democrat in the Minnesota house and the former speaker. The Democratic state senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, were both shot multiple times and are out of surgery, and Walz said he was “cautiously optimistic” both will survive.
The suspect was still at large, police said on Saturday, and the suburb of Brooklyn Park was under a shelter-in-place order as checkpoints were set up through the town. Police lifted a shelter-in-place order in the afternoon, saying they had reason to believe the suspect was no longer in the area. The shooter was impersonating a police officer, and was dressed in a uniform that would appear to be real to most people, police said.
The FBI named 57-year old man Vance Luther Boelter as the suspect, and offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to his arrest and conviction.
Later on Saturday, the FBI added Boelter to their most wanted list. One of the photos released by the FBI shows Boelter in a full-head mask – giving him the appearance of being bald – on a front porch, shining a flashlight and dressed as a police officer.
“No Kings” protests against the Trump administration were set for midday at the Minnesota state capitol and around the country, but the Minnesota state patrol and Walz asked the state’s public not to attend “out of an abundance of caution”. The state patrol said No Kings flyers had been found inside the suspect’s vehicle.
Organizers said they would cancel events across the state that had not already started, though the main protest at the state capitol continued, with many thousands of people pouring into the blocks surrounding the capitol and marching through St Paul.
Brooklyn Park’s police chief, Mark Bruley, said the suspect drove a vehicle that looked identical to an SUV police squad car. He said: “It was equipped with lights, emergency lights, that looked exactly like a police vehicle, and yes, they were wearing a vest with Taser, other equipment, a badge very similar to mine, that, no question, if they were in this room, you would assume that they are a police officer.”
The suspect had a manifesto and a list of other lawmakers and officials in the vehicle searched by police, Bruley said. The shooter’s list also included abortion rights supporters, the Minnesota Star Tribune reports.
“There was a list of individuals, and the individuals that were targeted in this situation were on that list,” said Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota bureau of criminal apprehension. He added that it was “far too early in the investigation” to provide a motive or assess whether the victims had been targeted for their political affiliation.
Boelter has an extensive résumé, as well as numerous ties to Minnesota politics. He was appointed twice to the state’s workforce development board, first in 2016 by former governor Mark Dayton and again in 2019 by the governor Tim Walz.
Boelter is listed as the director of security patrols for his wife’s security company, Praetorian Guard. His Praetorian bio touts involvement with “security situations in eastern Europe, Africa, North America and the Middle East, including the West Bank, southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip”.
Boelter is also listed as the chief executive of the DR Congo-based Red Lion Group, whose website has since been taken down. Archived pages show the Red Lion Group’s involvement in various industrial projects, including oil refining, glass production and logging.
Reporting by Wired detailed Boelter’s past involvement in founding Revoformation, an evangelical ministry. Boelter’s bio states that he “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel”.
In a video from the Star Tribune, Boelter’s roommate read aloud a text sent by him after the shootings.
“I made some choices, and you guys don’t know anything about this, but I’m going to be gone for a while. May be dead shortly,” part of the text reads.
“We’re here today because an unspeakable tragedy has unfolded in Minnesota,” Walz said. “My good friend and colleague, Speaker Melissa Hortman, and her husband, Mark, were shot and killed early this morning in what appears to be a politically motivated assassination. Our state lost a great leader, and I lost the dearest of friends.”
“This was an act of targeted political violence,” Walz said.
At about 2am local time, police received a call in Champlin, a suburb of Minneapolis, that Hoffman and his wife had been shot, Evans said. After seeing who the victims were, police sent officers to proactively check on Hortman’s home in Brooklyn Park about nine miles away.
Upon arrival at Hortman’s house about 3.30am, officers saw a supposed police vehicle in the driveway with emergency lights on and what appeared to be an officer coming out of the house, Bruley said. The gunman, impersonating an officer, immediately fired at them, and then was able to escape out the back of the house, Bruley said.
“This is somebody that clearly had been impersonating a police officer, again, using the trust of this badge and this uniform to manipulate their way into the home,” Bruley said.
Police found a man with gunshot wounds, Hortman’s husband, and administered first aid, but he was pronounced dead shortly after. Officers then used a drone to identify the woman, Hortman, in the home.
Multiple bullet holes could be seen in the front door of Hoffman’s home.
Bob Jacobson, the commissioner of the state’s department of public safety, said there was increased security in place for elected officials and others who may be at risk.
“This is a dark day today for Minnesota and for democracy,” Jacobson said.
Minnesota’s house of representatives was evenly split between Republicans and Democrats. Democrats have a one-vote majority in the state senate.
In an interview with NBC, the Minnesota senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat, stressed the importance of condemning “violence of all ideologies” and making sure “more people don’t get killed”. Klobuchar spoke about coming up in the political ranks alongside Hortman, and the closeness of Minnesota’s political community.
“It’s just a time of mourning for us. It’s a shock. Many of us were with her last night at a dinner in Minnesota,” Klobuchar said. “And then the other legislator was also loved. We hope he’s going to survive. He and his wife were shot several times.”
Donald Trump said in a statement that he had been briefed on the shootings, which appeared to be a “targeted attack against state lawmakers”. The US attorney general, Pam Bondi, would prosecute anyone involved “to the fullest extent of the law”, Trump said.
The shootings took place at a time when political violence has become more commonplace in the US, though the vast majority of Americans do not support it, according to a University of Chicago survey.
On the main stage at the No Kings rally on Saturday afternoon, organizers mentioned the tragedy, saying how it strengthened their resolve and underscored the importance of gathering together
Kristin Cheronis drew a quick sign that said “Thank you, Melissa”, a nod to Hortman. Normally, Cheronis said, when you attend a rally, you feel pumped up and recommitted to the cause. “It’s like some of that, plus mourning. It’s just horrifying, and it’s all so upsetting,” she said.
“It’s really sad, especially someone who was not even a divisive character, a complete and total public servant, who had no dreams of going to Washington or some bigger stage, really just kind of working hard for the people,” she said of Hortman.
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Suspect in Minnesota Shooting Linked to Security Company, Evangelical Ministry
A man named Vance Boelter allegedly shot and killed Melissa Hortman, a Democratic Minnesota state representative, and her husband Mark Hortman at their home at some point early Saturday morning while, according to law enforcement, impersonating a police officer. He also allegedly shot state senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette Hoffman at their home. They are alive, but remain in critical condition.
Law enforcement has said they found a manifesto and hit list in the alleged suspect’s car, which included politicians, abortion providers, and pro-abortion rights advocates. There were also allegedly fliers in his car for the “No Kings” protest against President Donald Trump, which took place in cities across the US on Saturday.
The 57-year-old, who has been identified as the suspected shooter by law enforcement, runs an armed security service with his wife, and has been affiliated with at least one evangelical organization, a ministry he has also run with his wife, according to a tax filing reviewed by WIRED. (His wife could not be immediately reached for comment.) According to public records and archived websites reviewed by WIRED, the suspect served for a time as the president of Revoformation Ministries. A version of the ministry’s website captured in 2011 carries a biography in which he is said to have been ordained in 1993.
According to an archived website for the ministry reviewed by WIRED, the suspected shooter’s missionary work took him to Gaza and the West Bank during the Second Intifada, where, the website states, he “sought out militant Islamists in order to share the gospel and tell them that violence wasn't the answer.”
A later version of the site was designed, according to an archived copy, by Israeli web design firm J-Town. Charlie Kalech, CEO of J-Town, tells WIRED that the alleged suspect was, in his recollection, “clearly religious and evangelistic. He had lots of ideas to make the world a better place.” The suspect, whom Kalech said was “nothing but nice to me,” commissioned J-Town, Kalech recalled, because they’re Jerusalem-based, and he said he wanted to support Israel.
Over the previous several years, according to LinkedIn posts, he was also the CEO of Red Lion Group, which according to an archived copy of its website had aspirations in the oil refining, logging, and glass production sectors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
In a 2023 sermon reviewed by WIRED and delivered by the alleged shooter in Matadi, a city in the Democratic Republic of Congo that is on the border with Angola, he preached against abortion and called for different Christian churches to become “one.”
“They don't know abortion is wrong, many churches,” he said. “They don't have the gifts flowing. God gives the body gifts. To keep balance. Because when the body starts moving in the wrong direction, when they're one, and accepting the gifts, God will raise an apostle or prophet to correct their course.”
”God is going to raise up apostles and prophets in America,” he added, “to correct His church.”
In another sermon in Matadi that year, Boelter railed against the LGBTQ community. “There's people, especially in America, they don't know what sex they are. They don't know their sexual orientation. They're confused,” he said. “The enemy has gotten so far into their mind and their soul.”
A Facebook profile under the suspected shooter’s name was briefly viewed by WIRED before it was taken down. His profile had shown him “liking” several evangelical missionary organizations, as well as pages honoring Reinhard Bonnke, a German pentecostal evangelist known for missions in several African countries, and Smith Wigglesworth, a British evangelist who was influential in the pentecostal movement. He also “liked” the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal advocacy organization known for its hardline stances against abortion and LGBTQ rights.
“I’m in shock,” Nathalie Nkashama, one of the alleged shooter’s friends, tells WIRED. “My body’s shaking … I’m worried about him. This cannot be the person I know. I’m wondering what happened.”
“It’s more of like, holiness all the time in conversations,” she added, describing her interactions with him. “I wish we could talk to him. I’m worried about his wife, his family. They’re all nice people, very nice.”
The suspected shooter also appears to be the director of security patrols at Praetorian Guard Security Services, a security company run servicing the Minneapolis and St. Paul metro areas that he founded with his wife Jenny. The company, which also lists Todd Boelter, a former police officer and the alleged shooter’s cousin, as a security training manager advertises residential security patrols and uniformed security patrols. “We only offer armed security. If you are looking for unarmed guards, please work with another service to meet your needs better,” states the “red lines” section of the company’s website. The website also states that their “guards” wear the “best personal protective equipment money can buy.”
Officials say that the suspect in the shootings had an SUV kitted out with emergency lights, a badge, and a taser. Though it is not yet clear where the suspect obtained materials to allegedly impersonate a police officer, the Praetorian Guard Security Services website states that their guards “drive the same make and model of vehicles that many police departments use in the US. Currently we drive Ford Explorer Utility Vehicles.” According to photographs from the scene, the car towed away by law enforcement was a Ford.
The suspected shooter, according to his LinkedIn profile, is a veteran of the food industry, having worked for Johnsonville Sausage, Del Monte, and the Irish convenience food manufacturer Greencore; recently, he posted that he was looking to return to that sector. (The companies for which his profile says he worked did not immediately reply to requests for comment.)
His involvement in the food industry has also seemingly helped him build inroads to local government. In 2019, Minnesota governor Tim Walz appointed him to a Workforce Development Board in the capacity of a “business and industry representative.” He also served as chair on the Dakota-Scott Workforce Development Board for over a decade, but resigned last year, according to a post on LinkedIn.
Police officers in the Minneapolis suburb of Champlin say they were called at around 2 am to the residence of state senator Hoffman.
At 3:35 am, police officers in nearby Brooklyn Park went to proactively check on Hortman’s home. Police chief Mark Bruley said at a press conference that officers discovered an SUV appearing to resemble a squad police car with emergency lights parked in Hortman’s driveway. Officers then encountered the alleged suspect, who they said was dressed like a police officer, wearing a police vest and a badge, and was armed with a taser. He immediately fired on them and then retreated back into Hortman’s home. Officials believe he fled out the back of the residence. “No question if they were in this room you would assume they are a police officer,” Bruley said.
Hours later, the shooting suspect is still believed to be at large.
Hortman was first elected to Minnesota’s house of representatives in 2004. She served as speaker of the house from 2019 to 2025, finishing her term this year after the state house successfully passed legislation on abortion rights, voting rights, criminal justice reform, marijuana legalization, and more.
“Our state lost a great leader and I lost the dearest of friends,” Walz said in a press conference on Saturday. “Speaker Hortman was someone who served the people of Minnesota with grace, compassion, humor, and a sense of service. She was a formidable public servant, a fixture, and a giant in Minnesota. She woke up every day determined to make this state a better place. She is irreplaceable and will be missed by so many.”
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3). “Iran Retaliates Against US-Israeli Missile Strikes”, Jun 14, 2025, Brian Berletic delivers analysis, The New Atlas, duration of video 20:05, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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4). “Mohammed Marandi & Larry C. Johnson: Israel Strikes Iran — Iran to HIT BACK HARD!”, Jun 13, 2025, Nima Alkhorshid interviews Mohammed Marandi & Larry C. Johnson, Dialogue Works, duration of video 1:05:34 at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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5). “Mohammad Marandi EXPOSES US Role in Israel's Attack on Iran”, Jun 13, 2025, Mohammad Marandi interviewed by Jyotishman, India & Global Left, duration of video 30:48, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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Please click on the link below as I was unable to open it here.
6). “Ukraine Is Losing Everything – Total Collapse Looms | Jeffrey Sachs and Scott Ritter”, Jun 7, 2025, Nima Alkhorshid interviews Jeffrey Sachs and Scott Ritter, Dialogue Works, duration of video 28:44, at < https://www.youtube.com/live/
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7). “Scott Ritter: Dangerous Endgame in Ukraine: Collapse or Escalation”, Jun 10, 2025, Glenn Diesen interviews Scott Ritter, Glenn Diesen, duration of video 49:38, at < https://www.youtube.com/watch?
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