🚨 Bear Bender – June 25 2025

*Stock data as of market close, cryptocurrency data as of 5:00 AM ET.

Lead: The Ceasefire Illusion

Photo Credit: AI-generated image (ChatGPT/OpenAI) 

A ceasefire between Israel and Iran is holding for now but Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warns that his country “will strike again” if Iran “thinks of rebuilding” its nuclear program.

President Trump was furious that Israel violated the terms of the ceasefire he put in place on Monday, saying “We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the f*** they’re doing.”

But why would he trust Israel to honor a ceasefire to begin with? Israel has violated over 3,000 cease-fire terms since October 7—across Gaza and Lebanon. In Lebanon alone, Israel violated the ceasefire over 2,700 times after President Biden expressly forbid Netanyahu not to invade southern Lebanon.

Wouldn’t it be foolish to keep trusting Israel to honor its ceasefires? At what point does this stop being naivety—and start looking like complicity?

The Trump administration is now defending the destruction of the nuclear sites in Iran that were bombed on Saturday. The Washington Post reports that the nuclear sites were “not obliterated” but instead “set back by months.”

So what’s the truth? Was this a strategic victory—or a flimsy excuse for Israel to bomb again?

America First, NATO Last

Photo Credit: Associated Press

President Trump didn’t come to play diplomat. He came to collect.

The President arrived at the NATO summit on Tuesday and is reportedly skipping the panels and the pleasantries and ready to demand NATO countries commit to spending 5% of their GDP on defense. That’s a big leap from the 2% most of them still don’t hit. And instead of pledging real money, our so-called allies are offering accounting tricks and excuses.

Spain flat-out refused. They said they’ll only pay 2.1%, claiming “country-level flexibility” under NATO’s pledge. Why? Because paying more would mean cutting into their generous social programs. So instead, they let American taxpayers cover their military tab while Spain enjoys things Americans don’t have like free healthcare and five-week vacations.

The U.K. tried a different kind of con. They say they’ll boost spending—but it turns out it’s not new money. According to The Telegraph, they’re relabeling old infrastructure projects as “defense spending.” It’s not a budget increase. It’s a spreadsheet shuffle.

Now NATO leaders are scrambling to justify their free ride. Mark Rutte is shouting vague warnings that “the Russians are coming.” Ursula von der Leyen says they expect a full blown war with Russia in the next five years.

But here’s the truth: Russia isn’t trying to take over Europe. Even Russian state media keeps the war’s scope confined to the Donbas and Ukraine.

You’d almost think these people need the war to keep their sweet welfare system going. So what happens if President Trump tells them no? Gosh I hope he does!

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As-If Alliances

Ukraine has been welcomed into the European Union like a squatter—they can keep coming around but you’re not really one of us.

At the NATO Summit meeting, European Commissioner Ursula von der Leyen said this about Ukraine: “We are integrating our defence (sic) industries as if Ukraine was in the EU.”

As if is not a real thing. This is political theater at its dumbest. They hand Ukraine the illusion of membership—flags, dinners, hashtags—but none of the actual guarantees.

President Zelensky didn’t flinch. Either he missed the insult, or breadcrumbs are all he expects from this crowd.

News By The Numbers

Photo Credit: Wildwood Trust

Two. That is how many bears it took to eat an entire week’s worth of honey from a rescue sanctuary—after breaking out and going on a sugar-fueled rampage.

3 days. That is how long Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez’s wedding celebration will last this weekend in Italy. Celebrity guests have already started arriving. Brace yourself.

5.8% That is how much the economy in Argentina grew in the first quarter of this year. That is faster than China, which grew its economy just 5.4%

What’s Trending?

Photo Credit: Boca Magazine

Morrissey is trending because he abruptly canceled upcoming tour dates, blaming “zero support” from the music industry, no label backing, and no radio play—despite claiming his ticket sales were “sensational.” And Heaven Knows He’s Miserable Now.

Bobby Sherman is trending because the teen idol died on Tuesday at the age of 81 from cancer.

Brandy and Monica are trending because they announced a joint The Boy Is Mine Tour starting this fall.

Gaza’s Vanished: A Death Toll No One Counts

Photo Credit:  AA

An Israeli professor claims that at least 377,000 Palestinians have been “disappeared” since Israel began its genocidal campaign against the Gaza Strip in 2023. Half of these are believed to be children.

The study was done by Dr. Yaakov Garb of Ben-Gurion University in Beersheba. He found that the pre-war population of Gaza was approximately 2.22 million. Today, it is approximately 1.85 million, leaving 377,000 unaccounted for. The official death toll is approximately 56,000 Palestinians and counting. Nearly 50 more people were killed on Monday by the IDF while attempting to get aid.

With Israel pivoting from its stalled Iran gambit back to Gaza, the question grows more urgent:

Where—exactly—did the other 377,000 people go?

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