Debt Ratttle October 26 2026
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Adolphe Yvon Genius of America c1870 • Trump Floats Another ‘Little Epic Fury’ (ZH) • Intelligence Official Warns Iranians Preparing Attacks On Americ
[See the full post at: Debt Ratttle October 26 2026]Nearly 100 Election Ballots Discovered Among Discarded Mail in Seattle Dumpster”
That thing that never happens happens almost every day now.
“Democrats Retreat From House Races They Hoped To Flip”
Blue Wave. No! Blue Tsunami the size of Deep Impact! Barnes says. Yes, that’s why they’ve withdrawn advertising from several races and essentially conceding them. Look: we can have a fine, nice, close, normal election. But Just Lying, just “Making up any old thing I feel like” has to stop. That’s what I’m after here.
At the moment I’m generally not FOR anything. — I am, but seldom mention it. I’m not saying what is true – I’m just saying what they say is visibly false. Can we start there?
“Ottawa’s Counter-Tariffs On US Costing Canadians $100 Million Weekly, Economist Says
Voluntarily crushing themselves for no earthly reason. But check the numbers: 40M Canadians = $2.50/wk. I think they can take it. I also don’t think that’s the number, or the total of the costs they’re experiencing. $2.50 is nothing…except when you don’t have a job anymore, etc. Then $2.50 is infinity when you divide by zero.
“Mamdani Drops Spanish-Language Video Telling Migrants To Keep The Door Shut On ICE, Sparking Cries Of ‘Sedition’
Like the above, And? Is it “obstructing” or “Interfering”? Yeah, probably. Calm down. We give enormous leeway on speech and definitely should. He’s a slimy toad to do this in Spanish, trying to keep it out of the wider sphere – why does he hate all the other immigrants so much? Does he want all them arrested by ICE, leaving Mexicans in peace? But it’s literally nothing. If he’s doing this, you’ll find SERIOUS hard-core felonies somewhere that are dead-to-rights over the line. Speech? Let him. Let’s translate to English and use it as an GOP ad campaign.
“House Dems Target Hegseth For Impeachment If They Win Midterms
He must be doing something right. He’s on the top, ahead of many others. So clearly RFK is not annoying them nearly enough.
“Trump’s GRIFT Is Unraveling | Jessica Tarlov”
Ah yes, the Grift of losing $4 Billion dollars on a job that gets him shot weekly and doesn’t need to have. Losing Billions in the most predictable hardship ever = Practically the definition of “Grift”. Can we stop making things up now and crediting people who do?
Up = Down. Good = Bad. Losing = Winning. Totes.
“Trump Is LOOTING America | Michael Hudson on Billionaires, Wall Street, and the Oil Wars
Looting America by opening hundreds of productive businesses and bringing back millions of jobs. Why does Hudson hate the idea of Black People being employed so much? If only we were doing UNproductive things like under Clinton and Obama, financializing, closing millions of jobs, extending empire, starting 5 new wars, only then would Hudson be happy.
“BREAKING: Netanyahu Pushes for Iran Strike—IDF Chief Refuses – w/ Larry Johnson”
The #Opposite and Epitome of “Breaking News”: There has not been a day since he left New Jersey and landed in Israel that Benny Mileikowsky hasn’t wanted to Strike Iran. …And every other nation within 500 miles. Newsflash: The Sun rises in the morning. In the East. Thanks Larry.
I do have to eat crow here: I only JUST begged Larry to tell the truth even ONCE to save my sanity, AND HE DID! He said “Rice is White” and “Water is Wet.” So there’s that.
“A U.S. intelligence memo dated October 23 warns that Iran has “substantially increased” efforts to assassinate American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with some plots reaching “advanced stages.”
Proabably. What a bunch of sissies. That’s what “War” is. You blew up their whole cabinet building during negotiations and now you want to point fingers? Sissy, Please. I’m only sorry Iran is so weak and incompetent they haven’t made a good showing yet.
“• Intelligence Official Warns Iranians Preparing Attacks On Americans (JTN)
Probably. But the U.S. government is a far greater threat to the people. Look at Detroit. No one blows up cities like Democrats do! They’ve outdone FDR and Truman! This is not a compliment to Iran that their attacks on us is a rounding error or factually zero.
“ Democrats Want To Kill Trump’s Diesel Deal (Romanenko)
Yes, because they’re on Iran’s side. I was thinking the other thing: they, Democrats, Progressives care more about a snail darter than 2 Million dead whites. But why no reporting on oil spills in the Gulf? It must be a s—t show! I mean, yes Iran is nerf-darting 99% of the ships, but there must be at least 5 major spills by now.
Oh: that would be because it makes Iran look bad. Therefore: no spill! It’s magic! Oil spills and the environment no longer exist now, because their love of burkas and hate of the United States is greater. Wow. If only they’d used this mental everything-proof force-field on the Exxon Valdez.
So again, THAT is how much they love Iran. Or actually, could not care a whit about Iran or any Iranian in it, clearly. Only that is how much they hate the United States. They’ll defend and cover 100 oil spills to keep their HATE. No wonder it took me so long to realize and recognize that: it’s literally the thinking of crazy people.
And here only the far less crushing of every poor person out of the same bottomless hate. You must be very proud.
This is different from criticizing Trump for it, which granted they have done. Totally legit to blame Trump for both the spills and the prices, nothing could be more justified. But they don’t do that, do they? It has to rocket into la-la land of the completely spiteful and deranged. Like a heat-seeking missile, if there is any way to avoid the productive and cause misery, they lock on it at mach speed. Why? You don’t think you’d get more allies and voters by helping lower gas prices for the people to SPITE Trump, make it a major issue? Unthinkable to them. Unthinkable to help life. Unthinkable to tell the Truth and stop there.
Okay, go re-read the CNN poll predictions again.
“And that means the only way that this Verdun or this Somme can be solved is for one side or the other to win, and it doesn’t seem like either can, or for a new power to join one of the two sides, or for them to agree to a ceasefire.”
He is correct, as what can stop it? Luckily, he’s also completely wrong: THERE IS NO UKRAINE. Has been none since 2014 when the U.S. paid $6B in admitted money to illegally coup it. So “Ukraine” is fighting nothing. EUROPE is. The U.S.’s modest but relevant aid (unworking rockets, disassembled tanks) under Biden has now stopped. So the war ends only when EUROPE surrenders. Or publicly speaking, withdraws support from Ukraine.
Because of the structure, that will not be enough, making Ukraine a frozen conflict and a DMZ. So Europe has pushed hard enough that not only must they leave Ukraine, Western Europe must COLLAPSE. In some very real sense, probably financial. This was not necessary and Russia told them so hundreds of times leading up to now. They consigned Trump to say so at Alaska and he did, loud and clear.
Now they had been closing hour by hour for years but all those doors are shut. Russia will end it WHEN they want, HOW they want, as drunken nightclub comedians, high AF at 9am told them they would. That’s how obvious. And it was always just as obvious there was no war without the United States, and the only play Europe ever had was one: To Make the United States fight Russia. By corrupting our leaders and entire government, which as you can see by 80% of them siding with Iran, they enthusiastically do.
That’s this: ““Donald Trump is wrong. This is what we must do to help Ukraine win the war and restore its territory.”
They don’t want to say as a Crazy Ex, that they demand you murder her enemies in his apartment and chop up and dispose of the body. She wants to play innocent and claim she never meant that. She’ll be happy, having commanded it, but turn you in instantly if there is any trouble. That is to say: they are literally, functionally insane. We’re only half as insane from not noticing before now.
So as I say every day, there was only one war, one path to war, and one end to the war: Europe had to make the U.S. fight it voluntarily, like a psychotic ex girlfriend. If we did not and dumped her instead, there is no Plan B. And here we are.
It ends with Europe collapsing. Can’t happen fast enough for me.
France is now making this happen by paying rioters, canning police, and breaking the 5th Republic.
“So their momentum stalls — and the Republicans soar ahead by the first Tuesday of November.”
Yeah, all this is false. It supposes real polling which is pretty much consensus not real. And it’s consensus now it hasn’t been real in decades, the data set he’s using. What they do is LIE about how far ahead the Dems are because it suits their side – Republicans aren’t herd thinkers so they don’t care what polls or their neighbors say. But then as the day comes close Rassmussen will go bankrupt if they’re off by 12 points, so they have to draw the lie back to a plausible level.
But I’m not sure why they do this – they must have run the tests – but yes, they are overconfident, don’t work, don’t show up to vote because it’s so obvious they’re ahead.
“Yet this pattern persists, because the Dems won’t address the root cause.”
Yes, but it’s worse than that. Because their root cause is completely unpopular suck policies and worse candidates. The only energized voters are the loons. But no fringe can win an election because: Definition of Math.
Anyway, so the OTHER reason is they have to say the Polls said it was a landslide, therefore if we lose it’s a cheat. Then we can all contest every election one-by-one in every state, which is exactly what they have published they are planning. This has lots of advantages, the best of which is Civil War. Yay! Killin’ some folks. Hey, if we have a contested election, we should really have paper ballots and solid ID, n’est-ce pas? Sorry, why not?
Yes, you see why they’re losing? It’s simple really: They’re LYING. That’s it. You can’t have an accurate working strategy and action when all the base data is a lie. They think the lie is helping but they’re outsmarting themselves. Over and over and over, like the corporate examples, everywhere. One side tells lies thinking it’s expedient. It’s not. It SEEMS like it, then piranha-bites you 20 times on the backside. Telling the Truth SEEMS hard, but it’s not. It’s one s—t sandwich, one crow to eat and done in a minute.
“The Democrats keep fading down the stretch because they really, truly believe their own press clippings. After all, their friends in the media keep telling them the same thing:”
Yes, the MEDIA LIES, then the Democrats believe the lies. How? They attack and purge anyone who tells the truth or asks questions, however small. They will literally doxx and kill you, examples like 10 years now. Like “Trump has record low approval ratings.” Okay then. He doesn’t they’re very average and you know because there are a dozen polls that wildly contradict. I mean, we’re so d—n honest WE TELL YOU NOT TO DO THIS. We really shouldn’t: if you did it, you’d win. But we’re so d—n honest we can’t help ourselves. Whatever. If you did, you’d cease to be evil and insane and this wouldn’t be a problem.
“ the former three-term president, if you count the Biden years, Barack Obama, jetted into Detroit from one of his lavish estates to lend a hand to the Democrat Party”
Every. Single. Election. Obama has come in on he lost. Even Brexit! The man is a miracle.
“Even Trump’s detractors knew that message would never fly again after Trump stood up in Butler with a bloody face and implored attendees to “fight, fight, fight.” That was the moment Trump won the 2024 election precisely because everyone, including Obama, could tell Trump wasn’t doing this for personal gain.”
Nope. They said it only yesterday. I reposted it above. That’s why they sound like crazy people and keep losing. But to win they’d have to come back and tell the Truth again, and that’s unthinkable. Okay, I mean we win then but I’d still tell you not to do it.
““How much time do you think [Hegseth] spends in front of the mirror every day?”
Uhhh…none? I don’t think it occurs to him. He might be plotting evil, but he’ll be far too busy doing it to waste time on mirrors. So if Obama saying we should only have fat, ugly candidates? What’s the pitch here? I’ve lost the plot. Hegseth is so evil THIS is the only thing you can come up with to criticize?
“he predicts she will very likely lose her citizenship and face deportation to Somalia, the country of her birth.”
Somalia has said they’ll jail her. And not for her father’s genocide. I mean, I can’t stop them. It appears she’s not a citizen and that’s her passport. If she want to go to a Salvadorian prison instead I can arrange it but really not my problem. People are citizens of the nation of their passport. Everyone is a citizen of somewhere. I didn’t make that up.
“Dershowitz walked through the legal bar the government has to clear.”
That isn’t true. There are a dozen lines of pursuit. Like: She was never a citizen in the first place. Everything after is moot.
“Enjoying our beautiful Minnesota lakes.” — Omar
Are you kidding? She hates Minnesota more than anyone I know. However, Sayed has showed he hates Michigan more.
To be fair, half of the Americans act like that Muslim woman. …But usually they’re high on crack and we pay no mind to them either and jail them far rougher than she was. Definitely the velvet glove treatment here and the policemen are saints.
“• Midterms Will Determine If the US Remains a Free Nation (Paul Craig Roberts)
So I guess if we lose, PCR just stops fighting. That’s it boys! Whatever they do is okay now. Yeah, you can do all the Deadly Sins you want, Paul, I’ll pass, thanks. Didn’t come from Normandy to Stansdorf to give up now.
“And nothing is being done about it. The Trump regime’s Justice (sic) Department is doing nothing about it.”
Yup. Because they and all prosecutors, congressmen, state officials all lie down just like PCR. Like that Muslim lady claiming “The Illuminati” or some s—t. Okay well when 500 of you are in jail, or 5,000, or 50,000 – the Illuminati can come bail you out. We’ll take their names and addresses.
“• Israel Has Its Pretext for Total War on West Bank (Joe Lauria)
He’s doing to bomb all the buildings there from three feet of rubble to TWO feet of rubble. #Winning!
“Michael von der Schulenburg: Desperation in Europe as Defeat in Ukraine Exposes Lies” –Diesen
Wow, he actually said the word “Europe”! Congratulations. It’s a Brave New Day.
The Duran did too. But AFTER saying it was totally, completely
America’sTrump’s fault, where there were no Ukrainian weapons and every soldier was an American there, all 2 Million. But ALSO that it was all Europe. But THEN, that it was only Ukraine. All. Neither. Aiii! That Alex: He’s got all bases covered! He’ll be proven totally right, no question! …Which is what happens when you predict every, completely contradictory things.Alex at roulette: “I put ALL my money on Black, Red, 0, and every number.”
House: “That’s not how this works, sir.”i admit i underestimated the size of the market for bridges – supply And demand
however
H.L. Mencken’s famous quote is reaffirmed hourly“If voting made any difference they wouldn’t let us do it.” ~ Mark Twain
on Iran targeting US citizens
a person puts on a pair of brass knuckles and starts a fight then cries foul when cracked on the head with nunchucktreating Boris Johnson’s post Instanbul 2022 trip to Ukraine as news is a double tap
highlighting the abuse of ignorance and truthonly a self governing informed populace has the character to maintain a representative constitutional republic. Taking a realistic viewpoint and considering the state of the republic, “They” indeed did it.
Did you get the memo (Yanky Go Home)
U.S. diplomatic and military officials are adjusting staffing levels
the mounting signs of crisis in European economies and societies,
Democrats want to hold American energy security hostage to domestic political warfare. And for what? The ostensible objective is to keep pressuring Russia.
————-
SpaceX has done more to defend Ukraine than any private company on Earth BY FAR.I have nothing but UTTER CONTEMPT for the virtue-signaling evil warmongers who push for endless slaughter and offer no realistic solution to the conflict. May you burn in hell. – Musk
————-The Democrats keep fading down the stretch because they really, truly believe their own press clippings.
It’s not even close!(No wonder they trust the polls: Not only do they say really nice things about the Dems, but they actually PAID for a lot of ‘em!)The bigger problem is that the activists are emboldened, too. They count their chickens before they’re hatched, demanding a wish-list of left-wing policies, revenge fantasies, and political grievances — i.e. packing the Supreme Court, impeaching the president, jailing Republicans, disbanding ICE, banning billionaires, and killing the AI industry.
————-“.. he, Trump), predicts she will very likely lose her citizenship and face deportation to Somalia, the country of her birth.”
She and her third husband (who really isn’t her brother), (does marrying an american make you an american?), are “Enjoying our beautiful Minnesota lakes.” It’s so pastoral.
After marrying a US citizen you will not immediately become eligible to apply for US citizenship. However, as the spouse of a US citizen, you will be classed as an “immediate relative” and, accordingly, you will be eligible to apply for permanent residence, or what is commonly known as a green card. A green card is essentially a photo ID card that …
See more on nnuimmigration.com
————–The evidence is in.
And nothing is being done about it.
There is no doubt about it.
The “Covid pandemic” was an orchestrated attack on humanity, covered up by the whore media’s insistence that any doubts of the official narrative is a tin hat right-wing conspiracy theory.Truth itself has been characterized as “conspiracy theory.” Only self-serving narratives are true.
Henceforth in the Western World law resides not objectively in itself but in whoever controls power. In other words, Western Civilization has been brought to its end.
Americans have no concept of the horror that awaits them.
Read more …
————
• Israel Has Its Pretext for Total War on West Bank (Joe Lauria)—————
October 26, 2026
Three Times Netanyahu Failed To Reignite War – Saudi-Iran NegotiationsThree Times Netanyahu Failed To Reignite War – Saudi-Iran Negotiations
The Likud party of the current Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahoo, is likely to lose tomorrows election.
The polls have shown such an outcome for some time which is why Netanyahoo has been looking for other ways to keep his position.
His preferred option until yesterday was to create an emergency by restarting a war against Iran. The retaliation coming from Iran, in the form missiles and drone attacks on Israel, would have allowed him to postpone the election.
A secondary option is to provoke an emergency after the election but before a new government can be formed. That period can take between one to four months. This would allow him to call for a ‘unity government’, as Israel has done before when under stress, with Netanyahoo keeping his Prime Minister position.
—————-Nahoo:
How many other people need to die, per day, to keep Nahoo out of Jail?
Omar:
She was brought in by the CIA, so she is basically untouchable.
They are going after her right now, because they know nothing will ever happen.
She just needs to ride out the sh*tshow, until it dies down.
Nothing will happen to her.
And she can keep the money too.Election Polls:
Saw a comment that “Republicans” do not do polls.
Not sure if that is entirely true but if “Republicans” was replaced by “Conservatives”, then I might believe it.
Pollsters need to get paid. Buyer beware!
Zerosum:
Which of the 3 types of deer are in your area of B.C.?
Does B.C. have enough moose, that you can hunt them?Saw a comment on B.C.’s recent election.
The B.C. Conservative Party was the only alternate left socialist party B.C. voters could vote for!WES
short answer. Limited hunting for Elk, Moose, white tail, and mule deer etc. in some regions
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/sports-culture/recreation/fishing-hunting/hunting/regulations-synopsisThe Fall Of Europe https://drjohnsblog.substack.com/p/the-fall-of-europe
Alex Krainer, The fall of Europe and its geostrategic implications – Today in Istanbul, Vladimir Putin’s special envoy said that future cooperation between Russia and the US (and other nations) will be “glorious.”
It seems that the French government is caught in something of a perfect storm surging both from the bottom-up and from the top-down: while the struggling French people are increasingly restless and ready to pour into the streets and protest, global capital markets have been exerting pressure on France’s dismal finances. Just in the past ten months, the interest rate on French government bonds soared by nearly 40%…
..By now, interest rate on the 10-year French government bonds rose to 4.935%. But unlike in the United States, French stocks went nowhere and may have entered into a bear market. With both bond prices and stock prices collapsing, the value of collateral in the banking system is melting away in a self-stoking cycle and no end in sight.
In France, government spending represents nearly 57% of the GDP... At €3.6 trillion, France’s public debt is just short of 120% of the GDP...
..There can be little doubt that the festering, escalating financial crisis will have very substantial geostrategic consequences. At some point, the Unity of the combined West, centered on our “shared values” will begin to disintegrate and individual nations will move to mitigate the crisis at home, regardless of how this could impact their allies by shared values.
In fact, we are well past that point; the perfect example is President Trump’s recent “Diesel Deal” with Russia’s President Putin. That deal is also an example of the United States’ capability to manage the crisis and and engineer a soft(er) landing for itself by managing its fiscal crisis. Other examples include the American leverage over other nations in the Western hemisphere, which are being turned, one by one, into colonial outposts of Wall Street banks.
Regardless of the ethical ramifications of those arrangements, it is securing new collateral as well as future demand for US dollars for the bankers who issue it. That will mitigate US financial crisis, at least marginally. Manwhile, the Europeans are well and thoroughly stuck. In only a few years, they’ve managed to largely destroy, not only their industrial base and energy production, but also their relationships with Russia, China, Iran, Arab nations, much of the Global South, and the United States.
The only front where they still have considerable leverage is against their own people where regulation, censorship and repression are growing worse with each passing day, so we get demonstrations and riots. At the same time, they are trying hard to convince the white, Christian part of that population, that doing their “duty” and sacrificing themselves and their children in a war against Russia is right and necessary in order for us to protect our countries and our way of life.
By now, however, a large segment of that same population no longer care to preserve that way of life and, the crisis is only going from bad to worse, which is why most observers expect that things will continue down that same path. Inability and unwillingness to solve very much of anything leaves war as the only pressure-release valve available to the authorities. Even on that front, Europe is finding itself isolated.
Our designated enemy, Russia, understands the score well enough and is happy to play ball with the United States in order to try to forge a more cooperative, more constructive relationship going forward. Among the American officials, it seems that more and more of them are prepared to kick the Russophobia and get on with business…
..This brings us back to the fate of Russia’s frozen assets in Western jurisdictions. The amount in question is estimated at $300 to $335 billion. Most of these assets by far are held in Europe: the largest portion is managed by Belgium-based Euroclear central securities depository, which holds around $190 to $208 billion.
France holds up to $71 billion in Russian Central Bank assets, but the suspicion is that Macron government already helped themselves to much of that money. According to more recent figures, only about $25.6 billion of the Russian money remains in French custody. The UK holds about $37 billion of Russian assets. At the same time, the US portion is estimated at only $5 billion to $8 billion, primarily in debt securities and cash...
..Russia is unlikely to see the return of those assets any time soon, but both the Kremlin and their American counterparts might have their own reasons to transfer the totality of those assets to US custody...
..For the collateral starved British financial system, this could prove catastrophic. The same is true for Europe: Emmanuel Macron‘s dream of using $260 billion in frozen Russian assets as collateral for reconstruction investments was also meant to underpin a large-scale credit impulse in Europe. The reconstruction [of Ukraine] was meant to be financed by European banks and the contracts awarded to European corporations. Unfortunately, none of that will be possible without strong backing by the United States…
..Just today, on the first day of the XIX Verona Eurasian Economic Forum in Istanbul, Mr. Kirill Dmitriev, the CEO of Russian Direct Investment Fund and Vladimir Putin’s Special Envoy for investment and economic cooperation spoke about the economic cooperation between Russia and the United States being the foundation of the dialogue and development of the relationship between the two powers.
He also spoke that this cooperation will exert further pressure on European governments: when they see Russia and the United States engage in a mutually beneficial, constructive cooperation, the Europeans will not want to be left behind. In time, they will have to sober up and come to the negotiating table. The ever optimistic Mr. Dmitriev chose the term, “glorious” to describe the ultimate results of that cooperation...
..Well, getting the Europeans to sober up will be a different challenge, and removing the punchbowl might require the transfer of Russia’s frozen asset to US custody. If (when) that happens, the EU will sustain a crippling financial blow...
..Mired in political paralysis, facing unsolvable economic crises and squeezed between the Russia it alienated and a hostile United States, Europe will have to make peace with the fact that after many centuries, the world is no longer Euro-centric and that they’ll have to learn to treat other players on the global scene as their equals. https://alexkrainer.substack.com/p/the-fall-of-europe-and-its-geostrategicThis is unusually clear analysis from official-Russia. The view from Russia: The Ukraine conflict is entering its final phase
As Washington shifts the Ukraine burden to Europe, Andrey Sushentsov examines the EU’s strategic limits and its costly confrontation with Russia
Andrey Sushentsov, dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO and a member of the Scientific-Expert Council under the Security Council of the Russian Federation, discusses why Western Europe is so afraid of a direct confrontation with Russia, how the US is shifting the burden of the Ukraine crisis onto the EU, why the “pyramid of trust” surrounding Kiev is crumbling, and when the Ukraine conflict might come to an end.
His interview, first published in Russian by TASS, was translated and edited by the RT team.
Andrey Sushentsov: The US strategy in the Ukrainian crisis initially reflected its archetype as a maritime power employing a “continental sword” in its confrontation with a major continental power. This involves a neighboring country with military resources, which the maritime power supports in order to weaken its rival.
Ukraine was well suited to this role, as a large state with substantial armed forces, motivated to confront Russia. But the limitation of such a strategy is that you can’t fully control the behavior of the “sword.” Nor is it entirely resource-efficient, there’s a limit to the resources that can be allocated to it, and if no turning point is reached in the confrontation, further support yields no additional gains in effectiveness.
The Americans realized early on that many of their interests in this crisis had been achieved and prepared to withdraw. They did what a maritime power usually does when it decides to turn its attention elsewhere as they sailed back to their own region. The main difference between a maritime power and a continental power lies in the freedom to choose where to deploy military forces. A maritime power can choose where to deploy them and launch strikes across various parts of the world’s oceans. This is usually carried out in the form of raids, as large-scale expeditionary campaigns rarely prove successful. The US decided it was time to leave...
..There are increasingly insistent calls for the Ukrainian leadership to take a realistic view of the situation and understand what is achievable and what is not. The “pyramid of trust” is crumbling. One after another, the parties involved are adopting an increasingly detached stance on this issue.
Their primary and secondary hopes have not been realized. Now they are almost left high and dry. We must admit, it was a mistake.
No one wants to take responsibility for it. It has not only a political but also a financial dimension. Who should be held to account for the hundreds of billions of euros spent on a strategically futile venture that has antagonized Russia and undermined security on the continent?
That is why we are talking about a short-term historical perspective. It may come to an end in the coming months, or perhaps in the coming years. But we are not talking about a decade-long war. The point is that this will still remain a crisis with its own distinct phases, and we are currently in the final phase of its resolution. https://web.archive.org/web/20261022200944/https://rt-english.com/news/647500-ukraine-conflict-final-stage/ Gilbert Doctorow, News X World: on continuing military operations while peace talks are being prepared
The Russians, sometimes citing Napoleon, insisted that there can be a cessation of hostilities only after the sides agree on the terms of the permanent peace which will be signed. What makes this time different is that the Russians believe, with reason, that they are close to demolishing Ukraine, to ending the viability of Kiev and other major Ukrainian cities, so that a peace is close at hand and will be realized only if Kiev remains under fire. https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/news-x-world-on-continuing-military Elon Musk Pushes Back Against Ukraine Narrative with Some Uncomfortable True Statements
“This technical thread suggests (explains) that the entire Starlink/shield slowdown issue is not a consequence of a political decision in the US or by Musk but the result of Ukrainian engineers hacking the system to bypass it’s controls and do something they are not permitted to do – and when Starlink took steps to prevent the bypassing and ensure the controls remained effective, suddenly the system stopped working in ‘bypass mode’ – and Zelensky then set out to politicise matters. The explanation makes the bits of the puzzle fit together and fits with the New York Times article in which Ukrainians explained that although the system is formally limited to 100 mph they have managed to exceed it.” https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/10/23/elon-musk-pushes-back-against-ukraine-narrative-with-some-uncomfortable-true-statements/#more-288181 Ukraine’s issues with Starlink were caused by Ukraine. Starlink terminals disconnected at speeds above 160 KPH, as determined by the Starlink terminals internal GPS. To get around this, Ukraine hacked the Starlink terminals to think they were stationary regardless of speed. SpaceX figured this out, and updated the system software to detect excessive speed by seeing how rapidly the terminal switched from on satellite to another. This broke Ukraine’s hack, and Starlink would no longer work at high speeds. Ukraine was using Starlink in a way that violated the terms of service. Starlink figured it out and stopped it. https://x.com/mtntallpaul/status/2113779495333253464
Simplicius has pics of circuit boards and details. Ukraine Starlink Mystery Finally Solved as Musk Comes Clean https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/ukraine-starlink-mystery-finally#poll-1592768
”In any case, Russia will achieve the objectives of the Special Military Operation.” Putin reaffirms Russia’s readiness to resume trilateral peace talks on Ukraine war – Russian president says talks will focus on ensuring long-term security for Russia and Ukraine https://www.aa.com.tr/en/russia-ukraine-war/putin-reaffirms-russia-s-readiness-to-resume-trilateral-peace-talks-on-ukraine-war/4097897
Saudi, Turkey, Pakistan Officials In Tehran For Last-Ditch Diplomacy, As US Prepares 96-Hour Strike Window https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/mecca-pact-officials-tehran-last-ditch-diplomacy-us-prepares-96-hour-strike-window
Gold & Geopolitica, Daily digest: 2026-10-26
Sunday’s elections and a run of government flights into Tehran drove most of the moves. Lula won Brazil’s runoff from behind after a court added two hours of voting, and Brazilian stocks fell about 20% overnight.
Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish security chiefs flew into Tehran while Trump declared another no-strike day. Israel votes tomorrow, with its army chief reportedly refusing Netanyahu’s Iran order, and Musk said the quiet part out loud about neocloud credit. The Houthi-Saudi fighting, the Russia-Ukraine strike war and gloom over gold are continuing stories with fresh numbers.
Brazil: Lula re-elected 51.8% to 48.2%; Brazil ETF (EWZ) -19.6% overnight; Flavio Bolsonaro seeks annulment over a court-ordered two-hour voting extension. Sources: GudadzeLevan, Barchart, KobeissiLetter, zerohedge.
Tehran: Saudi defence minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin meet Iran’s leaders today. It is the first high-level contact between the Mecca Pact states and Iran. Sources: MenchOsint, wmiddelkoop, MilitarySummary, AJArabic...
..Israel: a day before the vote, IDF chief Zamir resists Netanyahu’s Iran order; Trump endorses Netanyahu twice
12+ sources (Times of Israel, Army Radio, Channel 13 relays, prediction markets, Israeli reporters).
The army versus the prime minister: The Times of Israel reports an “unprecedented confrontation”: the IDF chief is resisting military action on Iran that Netanyahu ordered (TimesofIsrael).
Per Channel 13, Netanyahu wants a strike before the election and Zamir is demanding evidence and a justification (via Marwa__Osman).
Army Radio says commanders have repeatedly told the government there is no justification for an urgent strike that could put Tuesday’s vote at risk (ILRedAlert). They also warn that public threats could provoke Iran (ILRedAlert).
Netanyahu: He cites intelligence that Iran and its proxies may attack to disrupt the election and promises “disproportionate” blows (via SeosQuinn).
He then posted an image of a mushroom cloud over a city skyline (NewsWire_US).
Eisenkot’s reply: “Israel’s security is not a political tool… the State of Israel is not his personal property” (Worldsource24).
Trump: a second endorsement of Netanyahu. Kobeissi calls it the first time a US president has publicly backed a candidate in an Israeli election (KobeissiLetter).
Odds and seat counts: The prediction markets differ: Polymarket has Eisenkot at 52% (Polymarket), Kalshi at 48% (DarioCpx).
The polls also differ: Channels 12 and 13 and Kan give Netanyahu’s bloc 50 seats, Channel 14 gives it 62. A majority is 61.
The outgoing government stays in place until a new one forms, and postponing the vote would need 80 lawmakers (shanaka86).
Iran’s stockpile: Barak Ravid writes that Iran still holds 450kg of uranium enriched to 60%, untouched in the last war (BarakRavid).
The West Bank: After the attack in Hebron, the IDF ordered well over 20,000 Palestinians out of the al-Jalda and Ein Dir Baha neighbourhoods with no return date and began demolitions.
It also cordoned off Hebron, a city of 200,000+, and announced a siege of Hebron and Halhul (via wmiddelkoop).
Ami Dar, writing from Israel, says domestic coverage of it is “basically zero” (AmiDar)...
..Houthis say they hit Riyadh airport and pumping stations on the East-West pipeline, the Saudi route that bypasses Hormuz. No Saudi confirmation. Sources: MenchOsint, chigrl, bonzerbarry...
..Interceptor costs: about 10 cheap Badr-1P rockets fired at Abha may have cost the Saudis an estimated 30-40 Patriot PAC-3 interceptors (MenchOsint).
Saudi casualties: per the WSJ, Saudi officers were running the Al-Alam camp and were killed when it was hit. More were killed or wounded in Aden (via bonzerbarry).
Civilian toll in Yemen: Saudi airstrikes killed 21 and wounded 30 in 24 hours across five areas. Per the Sanaa government’s figures, all were civilians, mostly women and children.
They include siblings aged 10 and 16 in Sanaa, eight people in housing for cement-factory families in Hamdan, a mother and three daughters in Taiz, and an Ethiopian migrant at a shelter in Saada (DropSiteNews). Pope Leo called for the violence to end (Reuters).
Oil routes: From the second half of 2027, Saudi crude will be stored 150m under Singapore’s Jurong Island, about 9M barrels, as backup for supply disruptions (shanaka86, chigrl)...
..No fertilizer through Hormuz in September or October. Before the war, about 20% of the world’s traded nitrogen fertilizer went through the strait, and the Gulf supplies about half of traded sulfur. Sulfur has doubled to over $1,000/t, phosphate is up 25-30%, Mosaic has idled two Louisiana plants, and India’s fertilizer subsidy could pass ₹3T against ₹1.71T budgeted (jackprandelli)…
..Russia-Ukraine: the Black Sea passes Hormuz as the deadliest sea lane (570+ ships hit, 40+ sailors killed); the 2023 peace draft resurfaces; talks set for Nov 4 – Black Sea (FT via clashreport): More than 570 vessels struck and at least 40 sailors killed this year, against 24 killed in Hormuz.
About 387 ships were hit between July and September. Ambrey attributes about 90% of attacks in the last 45 days to Russia.
The Comoros-flagged Khoryv capsized off Constanta, Romania, after a drone strike: one sailor dead, three missing.
The greater Odesa ports handled fewer than 10 ships last month, against about 400 in July.
Russian Geran-4 jet drones hit five more dry-cargo ships (AMK_Mapping_).
Strike war: Russia’s defence ministry claims 290 Ukrainian fixed-wing drones shot down overnight over 15 regions plus Moscow (MilitarySummary).
Ukrainian Storm Shadow missiles hit Oryol’s Kh-101 plant and Yelets two days running, and Omsk is burning 2,600km from the front (MilitarySummary).
Epicentr hypermarkets in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Vinnytsia and Poltava were destroyed (RWApodcast).
About 150 more Russian drones are staged in Crimea and Oryol for strikes on Lviv, Rivne and Lutsk (MilitarySummary).
Russia is putting anti-drone netting over its energy sites, which does not suggest a winter energy ceasefire (bayraktar_1love, franktianxie).
Diplomacy: Zelensky rules out limits on Ukraine’s army and neutrality, and says territory can only be discussed between leaders: “all of this can be discussed in November” (talkrealopinion).
He wants Russia to stop striking energy and shipping (via TheApeOfGoldST).
Talks are fixed for Nov 4, after the US midterms and the Oleshky truce (MilitarySummary).
Kremlin spokesman Peskov says Russia would welcome an EU envoy (RT_Russia_).
The 2023 draft: Ukrainian MP Goncharenko confirms the plan leaked to the FT, which Zelensky turned down (MyLordBebo, I_Katchanovski, berlinerzeitung). It included: Russian withdrawal from most of the four oblasts, with a line close to that of Feb 24, 2022.
Ukrainian recognition of Russian control (not sovereignty) over Crimea, and a land corridor to Crimea built by Russia.
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant handed back, and $300bn of frozen Russian assets used for reconstruction.
Goncharenko names Abramovich as a key figure.
Starlink: Ukrainian troops report losing the link above about 161 km/h (The Independent via GeromanAT). Starlink hardware has been recovered from Ukrainian attack drones (MenchOsint).
Front line: Russia claims Obshchee in Zaporizhzhia (GudadzeLevan), described as tightening the ring around Orikhiv (GeromanAT).
Russian gains are also reported in Moskovka, north-west of Kupiansk (Suriyakmaps), and across most of Nova Kozacha (Suriyakmaps)…
..Musk: debt markets have “almost entirely shut off” companies whose revenue depends on AI data centers. Yields on CCC-rated junk bonds are at 18.0%, the highest since 2020. Sources: KobeissiLetter, shanaka86, GeromanAT, https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-26 Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-10-25
Trump’s “maybe tomorrow” has effectively voided his written promise not to strike Iran before the midterms, and the George Washington is loading bunker busters. Tehran has offered, via Pakistan, to reopen Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade, and NYT sources say it is getting ready to target US diplomats.
The Houthis meanwhile hit Saudi Arabia’s Hormuz bypass (the East-West pipeline, Yanbu, Rabigh) and a spill of Saudi crude shut UAE beaches. Metals, France and the AI hangover are mostly continuation. Watching: futures reopen tonight, Israel votes and the Oleshky truce starts on Tuesday, and FOMC, ECB, BoJ, GDP, PCE and MSFT/GOOGL earnings all land this week (DarioCpx)...
..Obama says Iran is “in a stronger strategic position now than before the war started” (disclosetv), and that it now has “veto power” over Hormuz (SilverSurfer_23).
Trump says the US will “take care of Cuba” after Iran (zerohedge).
Rubio invited Cubans into “a discrete partnership with the CIA”, and the CIA reposted contact instructions (FWarweg)...
..Riyadh airport: – King Khalid was due to restart limited operations Sunday Oct 25, after two weeks closed to commercial flights (MenchOsint).
Ansarallah repeated its warning to airlines that the airport is a military target (MenchOsint).
By Sunday morning there was a ballistic missile at Riyadh, a cruise missile at Khamis Mushait, and the airport was “still closed” (MenchOsint).
Interceptor math: Reuters reported in May that Saudi Arabia used about 86% of its 2,800 PAC-3s in the first 38 days of the Iran war (MenchOsint)...
..Netanyahu’s claim: “Iran has restarted its nuclear program, and it wants to destroy us within a short time”. IDF chief Zamir has warned that restarting the war this close to Tuesday would force the vote to be postponed indefinitely (HormuzLetter)...
Asked about a joint plan with the US: “I will not comment on this plan” (Sprinter_Press).
Odds: A prediction-market card shows Eisenkot 51%, Netanyahu 28% on $52M volume (DarioCpx). Middelkoop expects Netanyahu to lose over the Oct 7 inquiry (wmiddelkoop).
Per Mario Nawfal: about 100,000 rallied in Hostages Square for the inquiry Netanyahu has blocked for three years...
West Bank: A full lockdown followed the killing of two IDF soldiers (zerohedge).
Raids hit at least 15 towns, a three-storey building was demolished, and hundreds of families were ordered out, per Al Jazeera (GeromanAT).
Defence Minister Katz himself says about 2,000 Palestinians were displaced in Hebron (ShibleyTelhami).
Elsewhere: A huge blast between Taybeh and Qantara in southern Lebanon (SweeneySteve).
Netanyahu warns the Palestinian Authority of a “big surprise” (Nostre_damus).
Iranian MP Azizi posted a map of Israel’s desalination plants, power plants, refineries and the Eilat-Ashkelon pipeline, saying “uninhabitable in under an hour” (RyanRozbiani)...
..Starlink and the CIA: Musk admits SpaceX throttled Starlink in Ukraine over terms-of-service violations (zerohedge; simpatico771).
The Atlantic: the CIA still supplies deep-strike targeting, “much more aggressive” than under Biden according to a Baltic officer (OlgaBazova).…
Money: FT: Russia’s Novatek secretly funded and steered a proposed $25bn Alaska LNG venture. The US and Russia discussed an Alaska terminal in exchange for lifting sanctions on Arctic LNG 2. The CEO and most of the executive team quit in September (MilitarySummary).
Kyiv hired Rothschild & Co to sell its state stakes in Ukrgasbank and Sense Bank, with a success fee of up to 3%. The hryvnia is at a record low of 45.20/$ (WiretapMediaCa).
EU envoy: Stubb is the favourite per Berliner Zeitung (GeromanAT). Meloni has also been floated (colonelhomsi). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-25 Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-10-24
Hormuz went hot again. The IRGC claims two VLCCs were hit and abandoned, a spill from an attacked tanker shut UAE beaches, and Brent ran to $116-118, all on the same day Bessent announced that Gulf exports had passed pre-war levels. Trump said both “no attack before the midterms” and “another little Epic Fury” in one news cycle, Washington is moving diplomats out of Gulf posts, and gold still lost $4,000 for the first time since July. The rest is continuation: Taiz/Lahij grinding on, AI deleveraging spreading into credit, France bracing for a second Saturday. [90% more peaceful, it turned out.] https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-10-24Gilbert Doctorow, Let’s talk money: why upper middle class Russians support Vladimir Putin and the United Russia Party https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com/p/lets-talk-money-why-upper-middle
Andrew Korybko, The Five Most Promising Russian-US Economic Opportunities
Although Putin might agree to some trade-offs in Ukraine as the quid pro quo for these deals, it’s not guaranteed, but they can still be clinched so long as Trump has the will to waive more sanctions without a ceasefire first.
Putin’s top aide Yury Ushakov confirmed after Steve Witkoff’s latest meeting with Putin that “Other large-scale joint economic projects, which offer significant prospects for bilateral cooperation, were also discussed in detail; some of them are now nearing the implementation stage.”…
..Here are the five most promising joint opportunities:
Oil & Gas: US stakes in Russia’s energy infrastructure and companies can incentivize it to get the EU to return Russia’s frozen assets through the sequence proposed here. They’d also serve as security guarantees against Ukrainian attacks on pain of the US cutting Ukraine off if it attacks assets in which Trump personally obtained stakes for the US.
A separate injection of US capital into Russia’s energy industry as the new “deal of the century” can reshape the global industry by reducing dependence on the Gulf.
Critical Minerals: Russia’s globally significant critical mineral deposits remain woefully underexploited, but with US stakes in this industry through the abovementioned sequence and separate capital injections, it can be brought online relatively quickly for accelerating the US’ diversification from dependence on China…
..Data Centers: Per Dmitriev’s recent disclosure, talks on nuclear-powered data centers represent another promising opportunity for both countries…
..Power Plants: Critical mineral processing facilities and data centers can also be powered by hydroelectric dams, not just nuclear power plants, and the US can obtain stakes in all four – the facilities, centers, dams, and plants – through the return of Russia’s frozen EU assets as proposed…
..International Logistics: The mineral deposits in which the US recently invested in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan can reach jointly owned processing facilities in Russia through the Trans-Siberian Railway and then onward to the global market. The same goes for the US’ related investments in similarly landlocked Mongolia. https://korybko.substack.com/p/the-five-most-promising-russian-us Russia secretly financed Alaska gas project
Almost the entire management team of the US$25 billion US gas project Polar Train LNG has left the company following allegations of undisclosed financing and control by Russia’s Novatek…
..Polar Train LNG is developing a gas export terminal in northern Alaska. The project was launched in March with a plan to use a partially constructed Novatek terminal and relocate it to Alaska. The company applied to the US Treasury Department for permission to negotiate with the Russian group but has yet to receive approval.
Riddle said he discovered that Novatek was already financing the project and directing its operations before the necessary approvals had been obtained. He resigned…
..Polar LNG said Riddle had been dismissed, described him as a “disgruntled employee” and stressed that it was developing the project in compliance with US law.
Novatek said it had agreed to grant Tech Wave the right to use its technology in Alaska and had signed a memorandum with Polar Train in April, when Riddle was still running the company.
According to people who spoke to the FT, the project had featured in talks between Washington and Moscow over business deals that could help bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine. The discussions included a potential exchange under which Novatek would provide its expertise for the construction of the Alaska terminal in return for sanctions being lifted on Russia’s Arctic LNG 2 project. https://finance.yahoo.com/energy/articles/russia-secretly-financed-alaska-gas-110000505.html?guccounter=1 EU Climbs Escalation Ladder With Beijing, Plans Wider Curbs On Chinese Imports
The push to curb cheap Chinese imports suggests Brussels is scrambling for political survival, as Nomura analysts recently said elections across the continent over the next year and a half are expected to shift right.
Bloomberg reports that the EU is preparing restrictions on imports of chemicals, furniture, and machinery from China, expanding efforts to shield domestic manufacturers and narrow the massive trade deficit with China, which stands at $404 billion. The report cited people familiar with the matter...
..The proposed safeguards build on earlier news that Brussels aims to implement the Chinese hybrid vehicle cap in December to shield the EU’s crumbling automotive industry, as cheap overseas cars gain market share and leave domestic companies like VW laying off tens of thousands of workers.
Brussels has finally chosen to move up the “escalation ladder” with China, risking retaliation from Beijing as its own political power appears to be eroding across Europe after decades of backfiring globalist policies that have left the continent with a hollowed-out industrial base...
..So far Brussels is willing to raise tariffs and cap imports. But the higher it climbs up the escalation ladder, the greater the risk that Beijing pulls the rare earth supplies, starving the very factories European elites are scrambling to save. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/eu-climbs-escalation-ladder-beijing-plans-wider-curbs-chinese-importsUS withdraws troops from Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait amid regional tensions https://en.ypagency.net/409466
US orders diplomatic mission to leave Saudi Arabia amid escalating drone, missile attacks https://en.ypagency.net/409457
Israel Threatens Total War on the West Bank – Palestinian forces have not responded to rising settler violence, but the Netanyahu government has still been stoking tensions with the PA ahead of the Oct. 27 Israeli elections, Mohammed Altaj reports. https://consortiumnews.com/2026/10/22/israel-threatens-total-war-on-the-west-bank/
At least 160 Israeli settler attacks in 2 weeks https://israelpalestinenews.org/at-least-160-israeli-settler-attacks-in-2-weeks/
Israeli Forces Kill Girl, Bomb Civilian Vehicles and Demolish Gaza Homes https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israeli-forces-kill-girl-bomb-civilian-vehicles-and-demolish-gaza-homes/
Ben-Gvir arms more West Bank settlers ahead of Israeli elections – Israel’s Ben-Gvir has expanded gun permit eligibility to 11 more West Bank settlements as security officials warn of escalating settler violence after elections https://www.newarab.com/news/ben-gvir-arms-more-west-bank-settlers-ahead-israeli-elections
23 Palestinians Detained in West Bank Raids as Illegal Settlers Assault Residents https://www.palestinechronicle.com/23-palestinians-detained-in-west-bank-raids-as-illegal-settlers-assault-residents/
Tied up and tortured: Israel using US-made electroshock weapons on Palestinian detainees – Investigation suggests American company Axon still supplies Israel with Taser weapons despite evidence they have been used to torture prisoners https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2026/oct/22/israel-us-made-electroshock-weapons-palestinian-detainees-axon-taser
The Israel Lobby’s Changing Fortunes
The main institutions of the lobby, always wealthy relative to their opponents and competitors, are far richer.
Israel’s alleged commitment to peace with the Palestinians has been completely submerged; no Israeli leader of consequence even pretends to want a settlement.
Israel’s policy of seeking outright military domination of its entire region faces no substantial internal opposition.
The lobby has largely abandoned efforts to explain or justify Israeli policies, Instead increasingly Israel’s supporters in the United States seek to conflate any opposition to Israel and American support for it with antisemitism. https://israelpalestinenews.org/the-israel-lobbys-changing-fortunes/Gaza health ministry: 10,899 Palestinian women of reproductive age killed in 2025 https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/22/372422/
Gaza Hospitals Near Power Failure as Hunger and Poverty Deepen https://www.palestinechronicle.com/gaza-hospitals-near-power-failure-as-hunger-and-poverty-deepen/
Heidi Levine recounts how Palestinian youths helped save her in settler attack
Without the protective gear, “I probably would have been dead,” Levine said, pointing out that Palestinians do not have such protection, and more than 20 had been killed by settlers this year. https://israelpalestinenews.org/heidi-levine-recounts-how-palestinian-youths-helped-save-her-in-settler-attack/IOF declares Deir Jarir closed military zone, prevents its farmers from harvesting olives https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/21/372320/
‘Out of Control’: Guterres Sounds Alarm as Settlers Burn Groves, Attack Farmers https://www.palestinechronicle.com/simply-out-of-control-guterres-sounds-alarm-as-settlers-burn-groves-attack-farmers/
Palestinian commission documents 17 attacks on olive farmers across the West Bank https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/22/372420/
Will Israel Finally Pay a Price? Sanctions on Israel must be enforced, writes Ramzy Baroud. Boycotts must impose an economic cost. International law cannot simply be invoked; it must have consequences. https://consortiumnews.com/2026/10/22/will-israel-finally-pay-a-price/
Workers at 100 ports act against arming Israel as boycott hits supply chains https://english.palinfo.com/news/2026/10/22/372405/
Six-State Poll Finds Majority Support for Bomb Restrictions, Opposition to Israel Aid – The poll, commissioned by the Institute for Middle East Understanding’s Policy Project, surveyed 3,200 respondents across Georgia, Iowa, Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas from late September to mid-October
Between 51% and 65% of likely voters in six states supported Senate measures blocking bomb transfers to Israel.
Cutting $3.3 billion in annual taxpayer-funded weapons assistance won majority support in five states and plurality support in North Carolina.
Across all six states, more respondents said the Iran war benefits Israel most than said it benefits the US most. https://www.palestinechronicle.com/six-state-poll-finds-majority-support-for-bomb-restrictions-opposition-to-israel-aid/ Celia Farber, Vanity Fair Publishes Book Excerpt Alleging Dutch Intelligence Monitored Jared Kushner’s Phone, Finding Up To $3 Billion In UAE Bribes: Kushner Calls The Story “Completely Insane”
Jerusalem Post Took Its Story Down, Alleging Author Matthew Cole Had Unsubstantiated Facts, But We Must Presume This Piece Went Through EXHAUSTIVE Fact and Legal Checks https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/vanity-fair-publishes-book-excerpt As Talks End, Israel Again Steps Up Strikes Against Southern, Eastern Lebanon – Drone drops a sound bomb against a fishing boat off Lebanese coast https://news.antiwar.com/2026/10/22/as-talks-end-israel-again-steps-up-strikes-against-southern-eastern-lebanon/
Israel Claims 700-Square-Kilometer Zone in Lebanon, Rules Out Withdrawal https://www.palestinechronicle.com/israel-claims-700-square-kilometer-zone-in-lebanon-rules-out-withdrawal/
The facts can never be released to Americans: Veteran Seeks Another Hearing in USS Liberty Records Fight Tied to 1967 Navy Attack
A congressional report on the USS Liberty attack falls outside the Freedom of Information Act, decades after the Navy ship was attacked. https://www.military.com/veteran-seeks-another-hearing-in-uss-liberty-records-fight-tied-to-1967-navy-attack EU Rearmament Billions Help Wage War on Own Populations
The EU’s stated goal is to rearm and be prepared for war with Russia. It is, thus far, a failure, but that doesn’t mean the new military hardware won’t come in handy against a restless population tired of price hikes, social spending cuts, and declining living standards...
..As we here at NC and others have been arguing for some time, the weapons bonanza to take on the evil Russians serves as a useful excuse to destroy what remains of the European social commons. Coming on top of all of Europe’s self-inflicted wounds of the past five years, as well as already-present disadvantages, the reallocation of social spending towards weapons manufacturers was bound to worsen the economic situation. https://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2026/10/eu-rearmament-billions-help-wage-war-on-own-populations.html Britain’s defense chief urges public to prepare for cyberattack-driven supply chain disruptions – ‘It’s right that we ask the country to be ready for those things and to ask everyone to do their bit,’ says Wes Streeting https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/britain-s-defense-chief-urges-public-to-prepare-for-cyberattack-driven-supply-chain-disruptions/4097903
PHP vulnerabilities are old, & too complicated for humans to exploit: AI Discovers Critical Security Flaw Affecting Technology Behind 70% Of All Websites https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/ai-discovers-critical-security-flaw-affecting-technology-behind-70-all-websites
Not The Onion: Nicolas Hulscher, NIH-Funded Mad Scientists Have Created a Humanoid Robot Controlled by Living Human Brain Tissue – They call the monstrosity “Brainobot.” https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/nih-funded-mad-scientists-have-created
OpenAI agents turned off their own guardrails and then told researchers they were still on — AI agents lying about their behavior should concern everyone https://www.techradar.com/pro/security/openai-agents-turned-off-their-own-guardrails-and-then-told-researchers-they-were-still-on-ai-agents-lying-about-their-behavior-should-concern-everyone
Musk warns over 200 AI neoclouds face ‘guppy-level death’ – The warning comes as Gartner forecasts that more than 80% of specialist cloud providers will cease operating independently by 2030. https://cointelegraph.com/news/musk-warns-over-200-ai-neoclouds-face-guppy-level-death
Investing in America: Syngenta and Smithfield — Both Chinese-Owned — Spent $24 Million to Buy U.S. Food, Farm and Pesticide Policies https://tdefender.substack.com/p/syngenta-smithfield-chinese-owned-spent-millions-us-food-farm-pesticide-policies
We all have a lot of extra brain cells… Brain Changes Linked to Ultra-Processed Foods, Studies Reveal Structural Alterations in Key Regions https://retirement.media/brain-changes-linked-to-ultra-processed-foods-studies-reveal-structural-alterations-in-key-regions/
This young mother brought her just-vaccinated twins to the ER, was ignored, they died, and she is charged with murder, while her new infant has no mother.
Breaking: Attorneys for Andrea Shaw Ask Court to Dismiss Murder Charges, Accuse Prosecutors of ‘Misconduct’
Attorneys for Andrea Shaw, the Idaho mother whose twin toddlers died eight days after receiving vaccines, have moved to dismiss the grand jury murder indictment against her, citing prosecutorial misconduct in the grand jury hearing. “When the facts come out to the court and to the public, it’s going to be shocking,” said attorney Rick Jaffe, who is representing Shaw. “Andrea Shaw did not kill her children, and that will be made abundantly clear.” https://childrenshealthdefense.org/defender/andrea-shaw-attorneys-ask-court-dismiss-murder-charges-prosecutors-misconduct/”What a long, strange trip it’s been…” New Fossil Confirms a Human Ancestor Appeared 200,000 Years Earlier Than Expected https://www.sciencealert.com/new-fossil-confirms-a-human-ancestor-appeared-200000-years-earlier-than-expected
Some elites must be worried
… the transfer of Russia’s frozen asset to US custody. If (when) that happens, the EU will sustain a crippling financial blow...
Only some elites are allowed to do the following and to be able to avoid punishments.
“The intentional killing and injuring of Palestinian civilians and destruction of homes in the West Bank combined with Israel’s persistent denial of responsibility form part of a broader strategy to exterminate and displace Palestinians and impose conditions of life that are unliveable,” said Srinivasan Muralidhar, Chair of the Commission.Brazilians defeat the Mother of All Hybrid Wars
By Pepe EscobarGeopolitics PrimeOct 26, 2026
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that Brazilian swing. The stakes couldn’t be higher: a matter of do or die. So Brazilians hit the streets – and the polling stations – and managed to pull it off.
They did nothing less than tame the Mother of All Hybrid Wars and defeat, even momentarily, a powerful, toxic coalition including the full force of the “Donroe Doctrine” administration; Silicon Valley techno-feudalism, especially deployed by Meta; Wall Street and the Goddess of the Market; the multiple tentacles of Zionism Inc.; the old reactionary elites – and their media; the new bling-bling elites; the evangelical dementia; and last but not least, a mediocre neo-fascist dynasty bent on converting Brazil into an extractivist neo-colony to the benefit of His Master’s Voice.
The – soothing – effect is similar to an Antônio Carlos Jobim bossa nova anthem sung by Frank Sinatra. Yes, Brazil is too big – and too wild – to be anyone’s backyard. And what a turnaround, when it comes to Lula personally: geopolitics hasn’t seen a comeback like this since the Battle of Stalingrad.
We lost: so the election was “rigged”
Election Day dawned in nail-biting territory – but with Flávio Bolsonaro still given an 82% chance of winning, according to DARPA darlings Polymarket. It’s as if the Deep State knew the result in advance – just like in the first round of voting.
Yet in the end Lula won by 4.4 million votes. Not without plenty of drama. Just before the polls closed, a Supreme Court justice – formerly Lula’s personal lawyer during the Car Wash corruption case – extended voting nationwide by two hours. The electoral court should have ruled on this. It didn’t because another Supreme Court justice – Bolsonaro-appointed – was dragging his feet over it.
The extension was vital – because by then it had already been proven that Bolsonarist mayors were deliberately hobbling public transport, especially buses, in Lula strongholds like Salvador in Bahia: a tactic straight from the oligarchic sabotage playbook, used to suppress the popular vote.
The key fact is that both campaigns had asked for a voting extension. And that completely undercuts claims by Bolsonarist and MAGA-linked twats that the election was “rigged.”
Predictably, Flávio Bolsonaro is refusing to concede and wants the election annulled. That won’t happen – according to the same Bolsonaro-appointed justice who was dragging his feet in the first place.
In the second round, Lula increased his vote total by over 10.1 million votes, while Bolsonaro got only 3.6 million more. Add to that a near improbability: there were over 1.8 million fewer (italics mine) null and void ballots compared to the first round – and the overwhelming majority went to Lula.
Several reasons explain the performance by the Comeback Kid – or Grandpa. Starting with massive popular mobilization: abstention fell from 21.08% to 19.21%. Nearly 3 million more people showed up at the polls.
Lula expanded his margins where he was strong – in the Northeast – and reduced his losses in the wealthy Southeast.
Lula’s campaign deployed serious self-correction: instead of focusing on the past – the practical results of his government – he started talking about the dire, present reality: family economics; huge levels of indebtedness; the cost of living; salaries; and even advancing concrete proposals for the next four years.
The digital mobilization campaign was something to watch – complete with a lethal weapon unleashed on WhatsApp: the “Lula’s Army” channel, which went from about 50,000 followers to a whopping 10 million in less than three weeks: a de facto digital infantry. Brazil is one of the most connected nations on the planet.
Spearheaded by newly elected Congressman André Janones, the campaign showed how Lula beat techno-feudalist hegemon Meta at its own game: the strategy will be studied in the annals of political science for generations.
And then there’s Flávio Bolsonaro’s stunning incompetence – a deadly mix of arrogance and ignorance which simply could not be sold as a moderate alternative.
Only two days before the runoff, during the last, crucial debate, Bolsonaro, live, in front of the whole nation and millions of undecided voters, called Lula “the 9 fingers” – mocking his physical disability.
Lula crafted the blowback in real time like a cobra. He recalled how he lost his pinkie at 19 in a metalworking press, a victim of the precarity and lack of safety that millions of workers in Brazil endure: “Something very different from you, Bolsonaro, who has never worked.”
That sealed it: the lost pinkie as the definitive symbol of dignity in the face of privilege.
This is gonna get very ugly
Governing Brazil will be a Sisyphean task for Lula’s fourth term. The Senate (81 seats) is controlled by the extreme right (48 seats): an absolute majority. In Congress, the extreme right has 303 seats (way above the majority at 257), the center has 86 seats, and the left only 124 seats. Any reform, budget, or law will face an Iron Wall.
Arguably the best definition of Lula was once offered by the late great El Comandante, Fidel Castro:
“He was never a leftist extremist, nor did he rise to the status of revolutionary from philosophical positions, but from those of a worker of very humble origin and Christian faith, who worked hard creating surplus value for others.”
Lula, now in his eighties, seems to have recovered that spark. There’s no question he knows very well how this massive defeat for Trump, MAGA and the Donroe Doctrine will force him to summon all of his powers – to organize Brazil while containing the out-of-control fury of the Empire.
Whatever the results in the US midterms next week, Trump will inevitably ramp up sanctions and/or tariffs against Brazil and will continue to pull out all the stops and launch dirty operations to destabilize the country. The CIA and the Deep State are deeply enmeshed in the Brazilian reality and able to unleash an unlimited bag of dirty tricks.
Lula knows: this will get very ugly.
In sum, Lula may be characterized as personifying a Catholic, traditional, Lusophone-mestizo and progressive Brazil.
This is in a frontal clash with the reactionary, evangelical neo-Pentecostal, Anglo-American Zionist axis. After all, neo-Pentecostalists carry the lunatic End Times theology that shaped Anglo-American Christian Zionism.
Flávio Bolsonaro – like all clan members – promised to move Brazil’s embassy to Jerusalem; dismissed BRICS as “highly ideological”; and attacked Lula’s relationship with Iran (also a BRICS member). Flávio, an empty shell, may have lost an election. Yet the infernal machine behind him will never give up.
https://geopoliticsprime.substack.com/p/brazilians-defeat-the-mother-of-allLula won Brazil’s presidential runoff yesterday (October 25, 2026), securing a fourth term.
Lula took 51.8% of the vote to Flávio Bolsonaro’s 48.2%, with 100% of polling sections counted. That’s roughly 64.3 million votes to 59.8 million, a margin of 4,430,191 votes, according to the Superior Electoral Court.
poliwave
riotimesonlineA comeback: It’s the first time since direct elections returned in 1989 that a candidate has won the runoff after losing the first round. Flávio Bolsonaro, a senator and Jair Bolsonaro’s eldest son, had won the first round, 47.03% to 45.16%.
CNBC
riotimesonline
Timeline: Lula, 80, is set to take office on 5 January 2027.
riotimesonline
Aftermath: CNBC reported that Brazilian stocks were rocked by the result and that Bolsonaro reportedly refuses to concede. Things may still be developing, so check a current news source for updates.President Dona
ld Trump has claimed, without providing evidence, that Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s reelection was “rigged.”“Elections have to be indisputable and it looked very bad to me,” Trump told reporters before flying to Mississippi for a rally on Monday. “I thought it had a very bad look, the way it was tabulated.”
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Early signs from Brazil’s institutions and from leaders across the region, including conservative presidents who oppose Lula, suggested the results will be respected nationally and internationally. Even with the vote extension, Lula’s win was decisive. The soon-to-be 81-year-old incumbent won more than 64 million votes compared to just under 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%.President of Brazil’s electoral authority, Kassio Nunes, who was appointed to the Supreme Court by ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, was among those who recognized Lula’s victory Sunday.
“This is a really uphill battle for Flavio Bolsonaro. Important Brazilian power brokers are closing ranks behind Lula, sometimes begrudgingly,” said Brian Winter, Brazil analyst and editor-in-chief of Americas Quarterly. “I sense that Brazilian power brokers that matter don’t really want to go down the path of a truly contested election.”
Pepe Escobar:14 Russian Planes, WHAT’S INSIDE?Pakistan’s Wartime Supply,ONLY 2 MEN GHALIBAF + REZAEI
Is the world economy in crisis, or only the Western one? I spoke with Dr Sergey Glazyev, a Russian academician and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, at the Global Governance Initiative Forum in China, held to mark the first anniversary of President Xi’s initiative. Having lost its competitive edge to China, the West tore up the very WTO and IMF rules that once kept it in power. We discuss how Russia abandoned the dollar in a single year after its reserves were seized, how China replaced Europe as Russia’s main trading partner in just two years, and why Glazyev blames Russia’s own central bank more than sanctions for holding growth near 1%. He warns that soaring oil prices could burst the West’s AI and derivatives bubbles.
I asked Claude to help detecting AI generated images etc. (Ignore if you don’t need or want the information)
Report
Detecting AI-Generated Content and Misinformation
A report on what current tools can and cannot do (October 2026)
Summary
No single AI system reliably detects AI-generated news, videos, lies, and exaggerations. These are really three different problems: detecting synthetic media, detecting machine-written text, and judging whether a claim is true. Each has its own tools, and each has serious limits. The most dependable approach combines several tools with human judgment.
1. AI-Generated Video, Images, and AudioDetection tools. These analyze media for artifacts left behind by generative models.
• Reality Defender and Hive Moderation scan images, video, and audio for signs of synthesis and are used by newsrooms and platforms.
• Sensity focuses on deepfake detection for video and identity verification.
• TrueMedia.org was a nonprofit detection service aimed at election-related deepfakes; check whether it is still operating before relying on it.
• Intel FakeCatcher looks for physiological signals, such as blood-flow patterns in faces, rather than only visual artifacts.
Provenance tools. Instead of guessing after the fact, these record where media came from.
• C2PA and its consumer-facing label, Content Credentials, attach signed metadata describing how a file was created or edited.
• SynthID embeds an invisible watermark in content generated by Google’s models.
Limits. Detectors perform well on generators they were trained on but degrade on new models, heavily compressed social-media copies, and deliberately adversarial edits. Provenance only works when the generating tool participates, and metadata can be stripped. Results should be read as probabilities, not proof.
2. AI-Generated Text and News• GPTZero, Originality.ai, and Turnitin claim to identify machine-written text.
Limits. False positives are a documented problem, especially for non-native English writers, and paraphrasing or light editing often defeats these tools. Many experts consider them unsuitable for high-stakes decisions such as discipline or hiring. A fluent, well-structured article is not evidence of AI authorship, and a clumsy one is not evidence of human authorship.
3. Lies, Exaggeration, and MisinformationThis is a question of truth, not origin: a human-written article can be false, and an AI-written one can be accurate.
• Full Fact AI, ClaimBuster, and Logically extract factual claims from text and match them against known fact-checks or sources.
• AI assistants with web search can do a useful first-pass check of a specific claim by finding and comparing sources.
Limits. AI handles checkable factual claims better than context-dependent exaggeration, satire, selective framing, or breaking events with few sources. Models can also state wrong conclusions confidently, so a “verified” label from an AI should itself be verified.
4. Recommended Verification Workflow1. Check the source. Who published it, and do reputable outlets report the same thing?
2. Trace the media. Use reverse search with Google Lens or TinEye, and use the InVID-WeVerify browser plugin to break videos into keyframes.
3. Look for provenance. Check for Content Credentials or other labels.
4. Run a detector as one signal. Try Reality Defender or Hive Moderation on suspicious media, and never treat the score as a verdict.
5. Consult fact-checkers. Search Snopes, Reuters Fact Check, AFP Fact Check, and PolitiFact for the claim.
6. Weigh the evidence. Agreement across independent methods is far stronger than any single tool.
5. Conclusion
Detection is an arms race: generators improve, and detectors lag behind. Provenance standards like C2PA offer a more durable long-term answer but depend on wide adoption. For now, the strongest defense is layered checking, healthy skepticism toward emotionally charged content, and treating every automated verdict as a lead to investigate rather than a final answer.
Note: This field changes quickly. Tool availability, pricing, and accuracy should be confirmed before relying on any of them.Europe’s War Plans A and B:
Europe’s Plan A is to wage war against Russia via Ukraine.
If Plan A fails, then Plan B is to wage war on Europe’s people!
When Plan A looks to be failing, start Plan B by building plenty of military equipment to use to fight their own people!
Use war as a means to stay in power!
Marshall Plan:
The Cuty of London/Globalists are fighting to keep the US’s Marshall Plan in place.
Trump is ending the Marshall Plan!
The RINOs and Dems are fighting to keep the Marshall Plan going too!
Russia’s SHOCKING find in Kharkiv┃The Dead Bodies of Ukrainian & NATO servicemen Horrified the WORLD
Russian Attacks On Bridges Intensify Troops Cross Dnieper Enter Kherson City; Russia Seeks NATO End
Russia is systematically cutting the bridges of Zaporozhye and Kherson, and Alexander explains why this looks like the opening move in the biggest city battle of the conflict so far. He breaks down the Orekhov encirclement, the Aleshki ceasefire, and the clashing agendas heading into the Abu Dhabi talks, where Putin wants to renegotiate NATO and the European security architecture, Rubio wants to talk only about Donbass, and Zelensky refuses neutrality, while Alex Christoforou’s Starlink observations hint at a deepening split between Elon Musk and the CIA. Is Europe right to panic that NATO itself is now on the table?
Episode 2059
00:00:00 Intro and the Voronezh Storm Shadow strike
00:01:28 Russia intensifies strikes on Zaporozhye
00:02:43 Khortytsia suspension bridge hit
00:07:45 Zaporozhye dam bridge targeted
00:08:52 Softening up before the battle for Zaporozhye
00:13:14 Russian forces 5 km south of the city
00:17:03 Group of Forces East pushes west
00:19:45 Why Russia lets the Orekhov battle drag on
00:23:04 Rasputitsa, mud and fog infiltration
00:27:25 Aleshki ceasefire and the humanitarian dispute
00:30:30 Why a Dnieper crossing is unworkable
00:34:34 Kherson bridges destroyed
00:39:39 Belozerka and the wider front
00:43:41 Peskov: talks mean no pause in strikes
00:46:39 Abu Dhabi talks and European security architecture
00:54:42 Zelensky’s red lines
01:01:33 Musk, Starlink and divisions in Washington
01:15:00 Europe alarmed over NATO rollback
01:23:02 Orban for UN Secretary General
01:25:59 Serbia and Brazil election fallout
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