My weekly preamble is in spoiler tags below.
preamble
We remain at a precipice in the Middle East, with the return of US strikes expected just after the midterm elections finish on November 3rd - perhaps even as soon as November 4th. With American military might substantially diminished from earlier in the year, there’s been a ton of speculation in various corners of the internet about what they could possibly be planning that would produce results worth the sacrifice of Iran’s massive retaliation expected in response. These theories, once limited to MOABs and another attempt at a broad assassination campaign against IRGC officials, now include the possibility of outright nuclear strikes on Iran, in order to try and penetrate Iranian underground facilities which have proved impervious to conventional weaponry (and are also very probably impervious to nuclear weaponry from what I’ve read, though I am far from an expert), and also to try and degrade the up-to-this-point steadfast resistance that the Iranians have put up since the war began.
Efforts by some in the Trump administration to engage in diplomacy are embarrassingly transparent; both the US and Iran know (and know that the other knows) that it’s just meaningless theater in preparation for further conflict. If a nuclear strike on Iran is indeed carried out - which I currently think is quite unlikely, but still the likeliest it’s been since February - then the reactions of other nuclear-armed countries around the world to the breaking of the nuclear taboo are difficult to predict; as is whether the US would receive meaningful economic/political/diplomatic consequences from countries with the power to deliver those consequences, most notably China and Russia.
My personal expectation is that the US will start hitting some Iranian refineries and power stations and conduct impressive-but-ineffectual strikes on Pickaxe Mountain. Iran, meanwhile, has planned to strike US and Zionist economic interests across the whole region, military bases outside of the region (namely, those in eastern Europe), and even suggested that they’ll cut the undersea cables feeding into the Persian Gulf. A preemptive strike by Iran now also seems to be a strong possibility, as they have hopefully gotten over their anxiety of being seen as an aggressor in the court of international opinion. The West’s ability to repel these potential strikes is now a shadow of even its limited ability in February, with many radars destroyed and interceptor stockpiles unable to be restored quickly due to American industrial bottlenecks. Iran’s leverage is now the highest it’s ever been as global oil and LNG buffers are very much drained. Pakistan, Turkiye, and Saudi Arabia recently sent various officials to Iran to discuss regional security (image above), a telling indication of the growing recognition that the future of West Asia relies on a security arrangement outside of the West’s dictum, but it seems unlikely to be a significant event in the short-term.
The protests continue throughout Europe, with every major country seeing a share of riot police facing down people angry at the economic hardship and the lack of even a gesture towards conditions changing; the neoliberal rot has set in far, far too deep for even the most tepid of reforms at this stage. Poland has been the latest political battleground - I won’t pretend to fully understand the situation after just some cursory reading, but it’s essentially an battle between pro-EU liberals and not-so-pro-EU conservatives calling each other totalitarian dictators after the former started off a constitutional crisis by remaking the Constitutional Tribunal.
Over in the US, tech stocks (most notably Intel’s) faced carnage mostly due to the ongoing lack of profitability of AI and the enormous amounts of debt that is accumulating to support the ever-increasing lack of revenue. This market plunge follows the one earlier in October in Asian (especially South Korean) markets; Michael Roberts has had great coverage of these dynamics over the last year, so I won’t go too far into it here. There’s also been a variety of interesting contingencies and warnings, such as that the electrical grid may be critically vulnerable and that US military bases should be able to last for at least 90 days off the grid in the event of war. The combination of the fact that NATO ran a nuclear exercise period in mid-October and all the myriad internet PHP vulnerabilities that are being discovered and hurriedly patched explains a great deal of the ominous warnings and preparations that we’ve been seeing, but there’s been some intriguing speculation whether Iran has figured out some major vulnerabilities in the US and might exploit them if the US strikes their own power grid.
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The Zionist Entity's Genocide of Palestine
Sources on the fighting in Palestine against the temporary Zionist entity. In general, CW for footage of battles, explosions, dead people, and so on:
UNRWA reports on the Zionists’ destruction and siege of Gaza and the West Bank.
English-language Palestinian Marxist-Leninist twitter account. Alt here.
English-language twitter account that collates news.
Arab-language twitter account with videos and images of fighting.
English-language (with some Arab retweets) Twitter account based in Lebanon. - Telegram is @IbnRiad.
English-language Palestinian Twitter account which reports on news from the Resistance Axis. - Telegram is @EyesOnSouth.
English-language Twitter account in the same group as the previous two. - Telegram here.
Mirrors of Telegram channels that have been erased by Zionist censorship.
Russia-Ukraine Conflict
Examples of Ukrainian Nazis and fascists
Examples of racism/euro-centrism during the Russia-Ukraine conflict
Sources:
Moon of Alabama, which tends to have interesting analysis. Avoid the comment section.
Understanding War and the Saker: reactionary sources that have occasional insights on the war.
Alexander Mercouris, who does daily videos on the conflict. While he is a reactionary and surrounds himself with likeminded people, his daily update videos are relatively brainworm-free and good if you don’t want to follow Russian telegram channels to get news. He also co-hosts The Duran, which is more explicitly conservative, racist, sexist, transphobic, anti-communist, etc when guests are invited on, but is just about tolerable when it’s just the two of them if you want a little more analysis.
Simplicius, who publishes on Substack. Like others, his political analysis should be soundly ignored, but his knowledge of weaponry and military strategy is generally quite good.
On the ground: Patrick Lancaster, an independent and very good journalist reporting in the warzone on the separatists’ side.
Unedited videos of Russian/Ukrainian press conferences and speeches.
Pro-Russian Telegram Channels:
Again, CW for anti-LGBT and racist, sexist, etc speech, as well as combat footage.
https://t.me/aleksandr_skif ~ DPR’s former Defense Minister and Colonel in the DPR’s forces. Russian language.
https://t.me/Slavyangrad ~ A few different pro-Russian people gather frequent content for this channel (~100 posts per day), some socialist, but all socially reactionary. If you can only tolerate using one Russian telegram channel, I would recommend this one.
https://t.me/s/levigodman ~ Does daily update posts.
https://t.me/patricklancasternewstoday ~ Patrick Lancaster’s telegram channel.
https://t.me/gonzowarr ~ A big Russian commentator.
https://t.me/rybar ~ One of, if not the, biggest Russian telegram channels focussing on the war out there. Actually quite balanced, maybe even pessimistic about Russia. Produces interesting and useful maps.
https://t.me/epoddubny ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/boris_rozhin ~ Russian language.
https://t.me/mod_russia_en ~ Russian Ministry of Defense. Does daily, if rather bland updates on the number of Ukrainians killed, etc. The figures appear to be approximately accurate; if you want, reduce all numbers by 25% as a ‘propaganda tax’, if you don’t believe them. Does not cover everything, for obvious reasons, and virtually never details Russian losses.
https://t.me/UkraineHumanRightsAbuses ~ Pro-Russian, documents abuses that Ukraine commits.
Pro-Ukraine Telegram Channels:
Almost every Western media outlet.
https://discord.gg/projectowl ~ Pro-Ukrainian OSINT Discord.
https://t.me/ice_inii ~ Alleged Ukrainian account with a rather cynical take on the entire thing.
According to Article 34 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China, all citizens of the People’s Republic of China who have reached the age of 18 have the right to vote and stand for election, regardless of their ethnic status, race, sex, occupation, family background, religious belief, education, property status, or length of residence.
The order was issued by the Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption prosecutors Elena Fiore, Christian Benítez and Silvia González Véster, along with the agent of the Specialized Unit for Computer Crimes and Money Laundering, Ruth Karina Benítez
Article
The Paraguayan Public Prosecutor’s Office ordered the immediate arrest of ousted president Santiago Peña Palacios , as part of the investigation into alleged breach of trust and other criminal acts linked to the Ueno Bank financial scandal .
The measure was formalized in Case No. 92/2026, entitled “Santiago Peña s/ breach of trust and others.” The order was sent directly to the National Police Command, with mandatory compliance, to proceed with the arrest of the former president.
The order was issued by the Economic Crimes and Anti-Corruption prosecutors Elena Fiore , Christian Benítez and Silvia González Véster , along with the agent of the Specialized Unit in Computer Crimes and Money Laundering, Ruth Karina Benítez .
The prosecution team is working on the case investigating irregularities at Ueno Bank, the financial institution at the center of the scandal that led to the opening of the case against Peña. The arrest of the former president in the Ueno Bank case was ordered after evidence of breach of trust and other offenses was found, according to the order issued by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, which instructed the National Police to carry out its immediate execution and arrest the former president.
The prosecution team sent the order directly to the police force to ensure its execution, in a procedure that includes the person who served as head of the Executive Branch.
In 2023, Peña declared being a shareholder of Ueno Holding for a value of G. 6.144 billion , shares that were later sold in April 2025. He also declared a certificate of deposit (CDA) of G. 2.4 billion in Ueno and a bond from the company Itti.
The investigation also points to the former president’s family ties to Ueno’s corporate structure. His brother is listed as a partner in U Holding SARL , the company through which this business group allegedly controls Ueno, according to the tax file.
Iranian air defenses shot down another US MQ-1 drone:
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says its advanced air defense system has intercepted and destroyed the 16th US MQ-1 reconnaissance-combat drone over Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz.
The IRGC public relations office said in a statement on Friday that the drone belonging to the US military was brought down by an advanced air defense system operated by the IRGC Aerospace Force, under the control of Iran’s integrated air defense network.
Iranian lawmaker Hossein-Ali Haji-Deligani warned that the price of a barrel of oil could reach over $150 if Washington attacks again:
“In the event of any kind of destructive actions or attacks by the United States and the Zionist regime, the response of the Islamic Republic of Iran will be that the missiles will reach Europe, and this will lead to the price of oil exceeding $150,” Haji-Deligani was quoted as saying by the Tasnim news agency.
The Paraguayan Senate unanimously approved the impeachment of Santiago Peña as president - Infobae
Article
Lawmakers bypassed debate and proceeded directly to a vote, confirming the political sentence against the now former president. A bicameral congressional committee will swear in Pedro Alliana as the new president of Paraguay.
The Paraguayan Senate approved the impeachment of President Santiago Peña , amid a political and financial crisis exacerbated by the collapse of a digital bank.
Peña had submitted his resignation on Thursday following the collapse of the entity, called ueno, with which he had previously maintained business ties. His resignation was not accepted by Congress, which decided to proceed with impeachment proceedings .
In minutes, a bicameral commission of Congress will swear in Pedro Alliana as the new president of Paraguay.
https://t.me/thecradlemedia/70530
Maybe we could get asylum in Israel’: Trump aides joked ahead of election losses
Senior aides to US President Donald Trump joked about seeking asylum in Israel during a private meeting held days before Republicans suffered a major defeat in the midterm elections, The New York Times reported on Wednesday.
According to the newspaper, more than two dozen of Trump’s senior political strategists took part in a private video conference six days before the 3 November vote, with participants voicing increasing concern over the party’s chances at the polls. The report cited four people familiar with the discussion.
The meeting reportedly featured dark humor about funeral arrangements, prison meals, presidential pardons and the possibility of leaving the US.
“At least Bibi won. He’ll protect us,” James Blair, who left the White House to lead Trump’s midterm campaign strategy, said sarcastically, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.“Maybe we could get asylum in Israel,” Trump’s chief pollster Tony Fabrizio replied.
Trump announces Stephen Miller will become his new chief of staff.
Photo circulating on social media shows a mass arrest operation carried out by Israeli occupation forces during a predawn raid on Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem, occupied West Bank.
The image was reportedly published by an Israeli intelligence offic
I’m hearing from my labor sources from across the u.s and Asia that UPS may be slowly maneuvering to break the teamsters union in either this upcoming contract or possibly the next depending on how the acquisitions and internal facility reorganizing shakes out they may be planning to execute play out.
So I’ve heard that there’s a new near or fully automated sorting facility in the Philippines, near Manila, that’s being built up to become a new gateway sorting hub for all their Asian facilities before it goes to the U.S. So the facility is supposed to cut down on labor costs severely by making it so there doesn’t need to be as much manpower spent stateside sorting shit out to send to different destinations in the u.s meaning less union work done and more savings there.
I’ve also heard rumors that ups corporate is trying to aquire gig delivery companies and try to use they to undercut their delivery drivers slowly and possibly make it as a relief valve then a main switch-to for deliveries if a strike happens letting the company continue its work even if the teamsters go on strike at a partial rate greater than what they had before those acquisitions.
I’ve also heard newer rumors that’s bubbling around in their corporate management structure that they want ro aquire Atlas Air. Supposedly they’re telling their lower management they want to buy them out to add their planes, contracts, networks, etc. To the ups network and expand more, but I have a sneaking suspicion that instead of acquiring to merge atlas into UPS, they may make them a subsidiary instead to use them as an alternative flight and warehouse network if teamsters strike. Their pilots are teamsters but I’m fairly positive they can’t also do a solidarity strike with ups like how the ups pilots and mechanics can with the drivers and warehouse workers.
Its possible that if I’m not being paranoid as fuck we may see a major strike-back by the capitalist class against organized labor coming up if shit don’t change.
Following the Paraguayan president’s resignation amid a banking scandal, rumors began circulating about his possible arrival in the country. Paraguayan Senator Esperanza Martínez (Citizen Participation) advocated for the arrest of President Santiago Peña (Colorado Party); “He will end up in prison, which is where he belongs. If the resignation is accepted, he will leave here as a senator for life and no one will be able to touch him,” the senator warned. “He could hop on the first plane and do what Flávio Bolsonaro did!”
Article
Argentina (Voces Críticas Newsroom) The national government has denied that Santiago Peña , who resigned as president of Paraguay, has entered Argentina following the political and financial crisis shaking the neighboring country. The clarification came after reports circulated about a possible move of the Paraguayan leader to Argentine territory, amidst uncertainty surrounding his situation.
The Argentine presidential palace, Casa Rosada, denied that the Paraguayan president had arrived in the country and stated that Argentine authorities were closely monitoring the situation. Security Minister Alejandra Monteoliva also reported that border crossings with Paraguay and Brazil were being monitored regularly, but initial checks did not detect his entry.
Speculation about Santiago Peña 's whereabouts began after he announced his resignation on Thursday, November 5. The decision came amid a major crisis related to the intervention of Ueno Bank, a financial institution previously linked to the president, whose situation sparked protests from depositors and political questions.
Pressure on the leader intensified when opposition and dissident factions within the Colorado Party initiated impeachment proceedings for alleged misconduct. Faced with this situation, Peña announced his decision to resign, stating that he sought to preserve Paraguay’s institutional stability. However, the political process remained open, and his fate was left to the discretion of Congress.
Meanwhile, Argentine President Javier Milei avoided making public statements about the resignation of Santiago Peña , with whom he had a close political relationship. On his social media accounts, he continued to share posts related to national affairs and other matters, without making any direct reference to the events in Paraguay.
Finally, the Paraguayan Presidency also confirmed that Peña remained in Asunción while discussions about his political future continued. Although Argentine authorities dismissed reports of his arrival in the country, the institutional crisis continues to have regional repercussions. At present, no formal asylum request from Santiago Peña to the Argentine government has been reported.
I have begun to learn recently that Iranian diasporoids really hate Mark Carney. Both from personal discussions and now online sentiments.
CW: Zionist disinformation channel YouTube - Rebel News - Why Toronto’s Iranians Are Furious With Carney
There was an Iranian-Canadian draped in an Israeli flag calling him “Marxist Carney”.
