Riders On Tha Storm,
We are on the cusp of financial crisis, while political tensions seem to be choosing the sides of lesser-evil, for the moment, without assurances, and without considering how the crisis will be dealt with, or where blame will be cast...
I have been saying this for a long time: the house of cards desperately seeks another emergency-justified round of (inflationary) QE. It now looks like the time for serious rehearsals has arrived. The financial, political, and infrastructural foundations of the current accumulation model are visibly beginning to fray.
Let’s start with Paraguay. Ueno Bank, a major digital lender, collapsed after the country’s central bank found it had breached minimum solvency requirements. Nearly 3 million people – around 60% of the adult population – suddenly found their accounts frozen, apps and cards useless, pensions blocked. Mass protests and riots erupted. This is what financial “normality” looks like when the plumbing actually fails. No, it’s not a Hollywood movie; it’s ordinary people being unable to access the money that organises their lives.
In the political aftermath, President Santiago Peña - a right-wing economist and close Trump ally whose past business links to Ueno Bank were central to the crisis - resigned, and then was impeached. In a matter of hours, a national banking failure turned into a constitutional crisis. The lesson is that in a financially addicted society, a bank’s collapse is never just a bank’s collapse: it destabilises the foundations of social life, from payments and pensions to trust and state legitimacy itself... Let’s start with Paraguay. Ueno Bank, a major digital lender, collapsed after the country’s central bank found it had breached minimum solvency requirements. Nearly 3 million people – around 60% of the adult population – suddenly found their accounts frozen, apps and cards useless, pensions blocked. Mass protests and riots erupted. This is what financial “normality” looks like when the plumbing actually fails. No, it’s not a Hollywood movie; it’s ordinary people being unable to access the money that organises their lives.
..In a system that has optimised everything for speed, efficiency, and financial gain, a few keystrokes can generate very useful chaos. It would seem that the AI bubble is where these vulnerabilities increasingly converge...
..These are contractual claims on future cash flow - claims that must be financed, refinanced, or, eventually, paid. The madness is that they rest on the delusional assumption that AI will generate returns vast enough to justify the most expensive infrastructure boom in history. But the market may finally have started doing the maths. A coordinated repricing? Too soon to say with certainty. For now, it is enough to note that, today, the Nasdaq Composite closed down 5.52%.....This is how financial pressure becomes a systemic problem. AI infrastructure runs on continuous access to debt and investor confidence. If credit conditions tighten, the cost of the buildout climbs just as doubts about AI profitability deepen: the perfect shitstorm.
The wider implications are fairly obvious. The next monetary rescue will not be sold as a bailout for speculative capital. Instead, it will be framed as a necessary means to protect pensions, savings, access to money and food, national security, or even “AI leadership.” The crisis will go by some other name, while the liquidity will flow to the same institutions that created the critical exposure. So yes: the system desperately needs another rescue. The only question, I think, is which emergency will be used to justify it - and how effectively those emergency powers will slow money velocity, clearing the way for fresh monetary expansion to reach the usual suspects. https://fabiovighi.substack.com/p/rehearsals-in-vulnerability
Politics UK: NEW: The Government's "Black Sky" contingency plans for a national water or power blackout
- Around 100 BBC staff would be deployed to run an emergency FM radio studio stocked with enough food, water and fuel to keep it running for 3 days
- Around 100 BBC staff would be deployed to run an emergency FM radio studio stocked with enough food, water and fuel to keep it running for 3 days
- The BBC would broadcast pre-written Government scripts through the studio, including how to ration water, what to do if toilets stop working and which food to eat first (see scripts below)
- Radio masts would switch to diesel generators to keep broadcasts going for up to 72 hours without electricity
- BBC teams would use satellite phones to stay in contact, with agreed meeting points and backup arrangements if those phones stop working
- They would also report from emergency centres across the UK using satellite-equipped BBC vehicles to help keep information flowing to the public
- Emergency services would have alternative ways to communicate if mobile phone networks stopped working
- The Government is putting £70m towards aircraft that could restore mobile phone and internet coverage across the UK for over a week https://x.com/PolitlcsUK/status/2119109412593758437
Ellen Brown, Heads or Tails, Wall Street Wins: Saving Our Pensions From The Casino
According to Reason Foundation data, in 2001 public pension funds held 57.7% of their assets in publicly-traded stocks, 31.4% in bonds, and 9% in “alternatives” — private equity, hedge funds, real estate and commodities. By fiscal year 2024, 34% of pension fund investments were in the alternatives, which carry significantly more costs and risks even than the stock market.
Private equity (PE) is particularly risky and controversial. It relies heavily on borrowed money, and investors must commit their money for ten years or more. The management fees are also far higher – typically 2% of asset values plus 20% of profits – and according to the AFT report, “PE managers frequently manipulate reported asset values.” Correcting for these factors, the report concludes, private equity’s “yield advantage is little more than a mirage, facilitated by leverage used for buyouts.” Yet public pension funds are the biggest backers of the private equity industry. According to the AFT report, public pensions “make up almost a third of all investors to private equity funds and contribute an astonishing 67 percent of their capital.”
PE firms are notorious for the leveraged buyout, described by the AFR housing report as “using a company’s own assets to finance its takeover by private investors and then looting them after: selling off real estate, closing pension plans, abruptly shuttering less-profitable divisions and major layoffs.” Employment at companies bought by private equity shrinks significantly, and a leveraged buyout can result in bankruptcy. https://scheerpost.com/2026/11/05/heads-or-tails-wall-street-wins-saving-our-pensions-from-the-casino/
Gold & Geopolitics, Your funds are safe (probably) - Terms and conditions may apply
So (respect!) he put his money where his mouth was and shorted the German mark at ten to one on margin (yes, they already had that financial innovation!). By early 1920 the mark had lost 95% against the dollar, and everyone knew where this was going.
As markets set out to humble its biggest detractor, the mark more than doubled between February and June 1920.
By May, he was on the brink of personal bankruptcy. Only a £5,000 loan from one of the richest men in London kept him in the trade. (for those interested: he closed his trade with a profit.)
On Tuesday, because everything always happens on Tuesdays, about three million Paraguayans were locked out of their bank while they slept.
Roughly six in ten Paraguayan adults banked at Ueno, making it the biggest (and the first) digital bank in the country. Salaries and pensions landed in it, and even the state pension fund had about $380 million parked in it.
On Monday the central bank’s board voted unanimously to take it over, and overnight the app, the cards and the transfers all went the way of the dodo.
By Tuesday, massive protests ensued from ordinary people outside shuttered branches in Asunción, demanding their cash. And businesses were warning that commerce was half paralysed...
..The central bank calls it an isolated case... isolated as in: affecting 60% of the country’s adults. isolated. yep, that kind.Roughly six in ten Paraguayan adults banked at Ueno, making it the biggest (and the first) digital bank in the country. Salaries and pensions landed in it, and even the state pension fund had about $380 million parked in it.
On Monday the central bank’s board voted unanimously to take it over, and overnight the app, the cards and the transfers all went the way of the dodo.
By Tuesday, massive protests ensued from ordinary people outside shuttered branches in Asunción, demanding their cash. And businesses were warning that commerce was half paralysed...
Now luckily (like most of the developed world), Paraguay has a deposit guarantee. It covers up to about $38,000 per person, and for most ordinary customers that should cover everything. Above that, you’re a creditor of a failed bank.
Like... I don’t know? Some national pension fund with $380 million of other people’s retirements, maybe? I’m sure it’ll be fine. https://no01.substack.com/p/your-funds-are-safe-probably
In Japanese, they have something called shin’yō kinko. Which is short for shinkin. Which stands for “trust vault”. Or, by its more common name: “banks”.
Yesterday, I asked you what your card would be worth when the bank gets switched off. Three million Paraguayans felt it live.
As if they’d read my previous article and wanted to see what would happen, 128 trust vaults in the west of Japan did EXACTLY what a vault is supposed to do. They locked.Yesterday, I asked you what your card would be worth when the bank gets switched off. Three million Paraguayans felt it live.
And no, it’s a Friday. Not a Tuesday after all…
ATMs, teller windows, apps, online banking and transfers all went dark at once, and even PayPay had to stop top-ups from them.
Two weeks ago, when the PHP holes landed, 85 of Japan’s 95 regional banks switched bits of themselves off on purpose.
A service, as it turns out, is deemed extremely secure when it is no longer accessible.
The shinkin didn’t have to try this time around. For five and a half hours, 128 banks held the safest money in the country. https://no01.substack.com/p/your-funds-are-temporarily-unavailable
The shinkin didn’t have to try this time around. For five and a half hours, 128 banks held the safest money in the country. https://no01.substack.com/p/your-funds-are-temporarily-unavailable
A budget deficit of 5.1% and public debt exceeding 115% of GDP raise concerns about France's fiscal sustainability and the eurozone's resilience.
Industrial decline, energy disruptions, political instability and growing nationalist movements are putting pressure on EU cohesion.
France's presidential election, Poland's political crisis and the rise of Central European nationalism could accelerate divisions within the bloc. https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Europe/Frances-Debt-Crisis-Could-Trigger-a-Much-Bigger-European-Meltdown.html
Industrial decline, energy disruptions, political instability and growing nationalist movements are putting pressure on EU cohesion.
France's presidential election, Poland's political crisis and the rise of Central European nationalism could accelerate divisions within the bloc. https://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Europe/Frances-Debt-Crisis-Could-Trigger-a-Much-Bigger-European-Meltdown.html
Nate Hagens, Who Won the Election?: The Blue Tsunami and the Superorganism
The election itself may be revealing a signal that the political system has yet to recognize – rising energy costs, shrinking household surplus, and growing affordability pressures have contributed to electoral losses for both parties. I see this as evidence of a problem upstream of conventional politics, rooted in the diminishing surplus that once made cheap food, cheap credit, and cheap energy possible. Overall, the essential work remains unchanged: bending instead of breaking, avoiding nuclear war, protecting the remaining biosphere, and cultivating a new cultural sense of the sacred. For me, this election is a reprieve and not a resolution. It serves as a reminder that those who disagree politically will still be neighbors through the Great Simplification.
What happens when the economic promises politicians make collide with the biophysical limits of the systems that sustain them? How can people move beyond political divisions to build the trust and shared purpose needed for the difficult work ahead? And does the electorate’s ability to respond to economic contraction offer evidence that democratic institutions can still recognize systemic signals, even when political leadership cannot? https://natehagens.substack.com/p/who-won-the-election-the-blue-tsunami“One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was “composition”—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.
So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we’re going to shock the world? “No,” he told me. “We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us.”...
..Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we’re going to shock the world? “No,” he told me. “We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us.”...
The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:
1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel
Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. https://theconservativetreehouse.com/blog/2026/11/04/a-midterm-election-message-from-vice-president-jd-vance/
"Too Big To Rig", Too Divided To Agree: Democrats' Post-Landslide Agenda Fight Begins https://www.zerohedge.com/political/too-big-rig-too-divided-agree-democrats-post-landslide-agenda-fight-begins
Celia Farber, Who Is The New Progressive Dreamboat Abdul El-Sayed? Rhodes Scholar, Soros Ties, Defends All Things LGBTQ, Vaccine Bolshevik, Rothschild Ties…New Drapes On Same System
HOW CAN PEOPLE BE SO STUPID AND GULLIBLE? The Agenda 2030 System Changes Drapes, Puts In A Figurehead Who Relieves Anger and Pressure In An Identity Group, And People Go Ape Every Time https://celiafarber.substack.com/p/who-is-the-new-progressive-dreamboatDid Israel lose the US midterms? - President Trump has paid a heavy price for joining Benjamin Netanyahu’s war on Iran https://web.archive.org/web/20261105120849/https://rt-english.com/news/648435-us-midterms-israel-iran/
Trump was brought to complete ruin in the midterm elections by the sixth column within his own entourage. The sixth column is the most terrible thing that can happen to a country and a political regime. It exists in every society, although its orientation, structure, and subordination to external centers of decision-making differ from one country to another. In Trump’s case, that center was Netanyahu’s Israel. In other cases, the United States itself, NATO, or the EU plays this role. But the underlying mechanism remains the same. Within the elites, there are always those who serve not the interests of their own people and state, but some external power. And the greatest danger of the sixth column is that its members conceal themselves behind a facade of complete loyalty and devotion to the ruler. The fifth column operates openly, making it easier to identify and, if the political will exists, suppress. Exposing the sixth column requires particular ideological expertise. Simply following orders and obeying the law is not enough. These are precisely the loopholes through which the sixth column infiltrates the system. https://www.multipolarpress.com/p/how-zionism-brought-trump-to-ruin
Pulling the Funding: Trump, Israel and US Military Assistance https://www.globalresearch.ca/pulling-the-funding-trump-israel-and-us-military-assistance/5945220
Clear description of Israeli politics 11/5/2026, Israel’s Election: A Majority Against Netanyahu, but No Coalition to Replace Him
Bibi's minimally-veiled threat: Netanyahu rival tasked with forming next Israeli government. But the path remains complicated
Alexander Dugin, How Zionism Brought Trump to Ruin - Betrayal at the heart of power
Trump Says He May Have To ‘Destroy the Rest of the Country’ of Iran in Latest Threat https://news.antiwar.com/2026/11/05/trump-says-he-may-have-to-destroy-the-entire-country-of-iran-in-latest-threat/
Iran Reportedly Hands Out Iodine Tablets As Trump Locks Crosshairs On Pickaxe Mountain https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/trump-says-us-locked-and-loaded-renewed-strikes-against-iran
Moon of Alabama, 11/6/26, Will He? Or Will He Not?… bomb Iran.
I don’t know. But Sunday night, November 8/9, will be a new moon. The military is ready. It likes darkness for its attacks. If Trump decides to again bomb or invade parts of Iran, it will be then. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/11/will-he-or-will-he-not.html
I don’t know. But Sunday night, November 8/9, will be a new moon. The military is ready. It likes darkness for its attacks. If Trump decides to again bomb or invade parts of Iran, it will be then. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/11/will-he-or-will-he-not.html
Pepe Escobar, Exclusive Friday midnight update from Shanghai. - What Putin and Rezaee discussed for nearly 3 and a half hours in Moscow after Putin sent a private plane to fetch Rezaee's delegation in Tehran. Leader Mojtaba was on the table - via encrypted phone. https://x.com/RealPepeEscobar/status/2119081198370832417
This will take some time, not right away: Musk's Starlink Is Building An Orbital Bypass As Undersea Cable Sabotage Threats Mount https://www.zerohedge.com/technology/musks-starlink-building-orbital-bypass-undersea-cable-sabotage-threats-mount
The weeks ahead will test whether opposition to Netanyahu can become a basis for government. Whether the leaders follow, or wait for a second contest in the hope of a cleaner mandate, will determine whether this election ends an era or merely postpones its end.
The result also marks a structural change. Since 2009, almost every Netanyahu government has rested on an alliance between the nationalist right and the ultra-Orthodox parties. That alliance now holds 53 seats, and its two halves disagree on the issue that dominated the campaign.
The result also marks a structural change. Since 2009, almost every Netanyahu government has rested on an alliance between the nationalist right and the ultra-Orthodox parties. That alliance now holds 53 seats, and its two halves disagree on the issue that dominated the campaign.
The nationalist right’s voters fill the combat units and the reserves; the ultra-Orthodox parties exist in large part to keep their own community out of both. Netanyahu, now 77, has held the alliance together through repeated crises, but its arithmetic has changed. Any future government, whoever leads it, will have to settle the terms of military service in a way the last one could not. https://manaramagazine.org/2026/11/israels-election-netanyahu-coalition/
'Unconventional steps required': Eisenkot vows to form emergency gov’t as Herzog bestows mandate
Eisenkot received the backing of both Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, although their recommendations do not commit them to ultimately joining his coalition. https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-914236
Eisenkot received the backing of both Arab parties, Ra’am and the Joint List, although their recommendations do not commit them to ultimately joining his coalition. https://www.jpost.com/israel-election-2026/article-914236
Bibi's minimally-veiled threat: Netanyahu rival tasked with forming next Israeli government. But the path remains complicated
In a video statement Saturday, Netanyahu warned that if a minority government is formed with the Arab parties’ support, Israel will “simply not survive.” Instead, he called for a national unity government with his entire bloc, which includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties. Netanyahu called for “all Zionist parties that want to preserve our one and only state of the Jewish people.”...
..Eisenkot’s first test comes Tuesday with the swearing in of the new Knesset. The opposition intends to replace Netanyahu’s Knesset speaker, weakening his grip on power and allowing the opposition parties to begin taking some actions, such as forming a state commission of inquiry into the security failures that led to the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas. Starting Sunday, Eisenkot will have 28 days to negotiate with other parties over Cabinet posts, budgets and policies, with a possible 14-day extension. If he fails, the mandate passes to Netanyahu for another four weeks.
Eisenkot said on Friday he intends to form a government as quickly as possible, framing the moment as a national emergency. “A situation in which a caretaker prime minister in the minority, who has lost the trust of the people in such an extreme way, continues to operate the security system and law enforcement authorities, is a dangerous situation that must not continue even for one more day,” he wrote on X. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/07/middleeast/eisenkot-israel-government-latam-intl
Eisenkot said on Friday he intends to form a government as quickly as possible, framing the moment as a national emergency. “A situation in which a caretaker prime minister in the minority, who has lost the trust of the people in such an extreme way, continues to operate the security system and law enforcement authorities, is a dangerous situation that must not continue even for one more day,” he wrote on X. https://edition.cnn.com/2026/11/07/middleeast/eisenkot-israel-government-latam-intl
As second-fiddle... Eisenkot open to Netanyahu joining Israel’s next government - Israel’s president officially tasks the opposition leader with forming a new government. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/israels-president-tasks-eisenkot-to-form-new-coalition-government
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-11-08
The Houthis escalated hard against Saudi Arabia. They claim six operations; Reuters reports a projectile damaged a tower in Riyadh's financial district, and satellite images show burned barracks in Najran. Meanwhile CENTCOM extended the Iran blockade to land routes with a 20-person task force in Tampa, and Trump's "minor strikes" hit Qeshm. In Israel, Herzog handed the mandate to Eisenkot and Netanyahu answered with a "by any means necessary" video; in Krakow, a gunman killed at least five. Continuing stories: hedge funds cutting AI exposure, the PBoC's 24th month of gold buying, Kyiv's grid in the dark...
..Israel: Herzog gives Eisenkot the mandate (67 vs 46); Netanyahu's "by any means" video; Tuesday's Knesset session seen as a flashpoint
A former police commissioner warns that Tuesday's Knesset convening, which Likud vows to stop, could be "a possible January 6 in Jerusalem" (wmiddelkoop).
The mandate: Herzog tasked Eisenkot (BarakRavid). CNN says the path "remains complicated" (cnnbrk).
The count: Eisenkot has 67 Knesset recommendations, Netanyahu 46.
Netanyahu's counter-offer was a "national unity government", which he says would permanently remove Iran's nuclear threat (Lord Bebo).
Washington's role: per N12's Ben Caspit, Trump allies told Eisenkot's camp: "Swear in a government now, replace Bibi now" (HormuzLetter).
The video: as described in a post shared by Willem Middelkoop, Netanyahu urged supporters to stop any new government "by any means necessary". He had not been seen in public for 11 days (wmiddelkoop).
Security services: Haaretz's Amos Harel says Netanyahu's handpicked Shin Bet director is actively helping the attempt to cancel the election result (wmiddelkoop). The Mossad chief continues his purge, replacing a top official with a close associate (haaretzcom).
A leak reportedly exposed a Netanyahu-Mossad plan to attack Iran before the election (zerohedge).
Caretaker problem: Netanyahu remains PM until a new government is sworn in, and that does not stop him joining strikes (DarioCpx)...
A former police commissioner warns that Tuesday's Knesset convening, which Likud vows to stop, could be "a possible January 6 in Jerusalem" (wmiddelkoop).
The mandate: Herzog tasked Eisenkot (BarakRavid). CNN says the path "remains complicated" (cnnbrk).
The count: Eisenkot has 67 Knesset recommendations, Netanyahu 46.
Netanyahu's counter-offer was a "national unity government", which he says would permanently remove Iran's nuclear threat (Lord Bebo).
Washington's role: per N12's Ben Caspit, Trump allies told Eisenkot's camp: "Swear in a government now, replace Bibi now" (HormuzLetter).
The video: as described in a post shared by Willem Middelkoop, Netanyahu urged supporters to stop any new government "by any means necessary". He had not been seen in public for 11 days (wmiddelkoop).
Security services: Haaretz's Amos Harel says Netanyahu's handpicked Shin Bet director is actively helping the attempt to cancel the election result (wmiddelkoop). The Mossad chief continues his purge, replacing a top official with a close associate (haaretzcom).
A leak reportedly exposed a Netanyahu-Mossad plan to attack Iran before the election (zerohedge).
Caretaker problem: Netanyahu remains PM until a new government is sworn in, and that does not stop him joining strikes (DarioCpx)...
..Official version vs footage: The Saudi Energy Ministry calls it an "attempted" attack on an Aramco administrative building, with limited damage, no casualties, and falling shrapnel blamed (MenchOsint).
Circulating footage shows damage and smoke near the top of the Aramco tower (MenchOsint). Falling debris rarely aims for the upper floors...
Circulating footage shows damage and smoke near the top of the Aramco tower (MenchOsint). Falling debris rarely aims for the upper floors...
..Strike signalling: Washington reportedly told Baghdad that a large-scale strike on Iran's interior is possible, and warned Iraqi armed groups against reacting (Megatron_ron).
Unconfirmed: the USS Gerald R. Ford has dropped off public tracking, and US troop levels in the region are near 75,000 (Mark4XX).
Split in Washington: Joe Kent calls Iron Gate "policy by CONOP": CENTCOM inviting escalation while the VP negotiates (joekent16jan19).
He calls the choice between the blockade and a proposed "Mini Epic Fury" air campaign an illusion (joekent16jan19)...
Unconfirmed: the USS Gerald R. Ford has dropped off public tracking, and US troop levels in the region are near 75,000 (Mark4XX).
Split in Washington: Joe Kent calls Iron Gate "policy by CONOP": CENTCOM inviting escalation while the VP negotiates (joekent16jan19).
He calls the choice between the blockade and a proposed "Mini Epic Fury" air campaign an illusion (joekent16jan19)...
..Blackout planning goes official: UK "Black Sky" plan: ~100 BBC staff in an emergency studio stocked for 3 days, pre-written rationing scripts, and £70M for aircraft to restore mobile coverage (PolitlcsUK).
The EU Commission updated its advice to be self-sufficient for 72 hours (MForgeng)...
The EU Commission updated its advice to be self-sufficient for 72 hours (MForgeng)...
..Cuba in the dark: eastern cities without power, others on two hours a day, dengue spreading (pati_marins64). https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-11-08
Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-11-07
The Qatari window closed without a comprehensive US-Iran deal. By nightfall the two sides were trading fire over Qeshm Island: Iranian SAMs fired at a US jet, US missiles hit the launcher, Iran reportedly went to Code 100, and the State Department offered $20M for directions to a nuclear program the White House said was obliterated last year. Days before Tuesday's Abu Dhabi talks, Russia fired ~30 missiles at Kyiv's grid and the Northern Bridge. Stephen Miller becomes chief of staff on Monday, a 5-sigma payrolls beat lifted December hike odds to ~80%, and Microsoft walked away from renting Oracle's AI capacity. Mostly continuation: central banks still buying gold, London's silver float still draining, Ukraine still hitting Russian refineries. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-11-07
The post-midterm relief rally was erased in one session. The Nasdaq 100 had its worst day since March 2020, Korea and Japan followed overnight with a trading halt and a bear market, and AI credit (CoreWeave, data-center loans) started trading on recovery value. The Iran restart moved from rhetoric to logistics: Iraq restricted its airspace for "expected combat operations" from Nov 7 to 11, and Moscow told its citizens to avoid Iran for the first time since the war began. The rest is continuation: Hormuz tanker strikes, Paraguay's bank collapse (now without a president) and Ukraine peace-talk scheduling while Kyiv sits in the dark. https://no1sdailydigest.substack.com/p/daily-digest-2026-11-06 Gold & Geopolitics, Daily digest: 2026-11-06
Hundreds of thousands join Amsterdam’s ‘Red Line’ protest against Israel - Protesters seek tighter trade restrictions on Israel and a halt to all arms sales. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/hundreds-of-thousands-protesters-storm-amsterdam
They refuse to die for EU bureocracy, also: The Economic Crunch Fueling Youth Protests From France To Much Of Europe https://www.zerohedge.com/political/economic-crunch-fueling-youth-protests-france-much-europe
A new Yalta? Why the EU fears a Putin-Trump-Xi summit - A possible Putin-Trump-Xi summit has revived fears of a new Yalta. But Europe’s anxiety says more about its own influence than any secret deal https://web.archive.org/web/20261105120851/https://rt-english.com/news/648424-new-yalta-why-putin-xi-trump/
Western governing elites were increasingly abandoning the assumptions of the nation-state in favor of an imperial conception of political authority. A nation-state presumes a people sufficiently conscious of belonging together to accept common institutions and obligations. An empire governs different peoples, often possessing competing interests and loyalties, through a combination of accommodation, patronage, arbitration and coercion. Nations require citizens; empires administer subjects...
..Successive governments, having encouraged mass immigration and multiculturalism, increasingly employ methods familiar from imperial administration to manage the communal divisions arising from those policies.
More significantly, these arrangements threaten to transform the relationship between the governing establishment and the historic British population, whose national attachments and political preferences increasingly conflict with the assumptions of those exercising power...
..British imperial administration depended upon an intimate knowledge of the populations it governed. Officials classified communities by ethnicity, religion and customary authority, cultivated influential intermediaries and distributed recognition, privileges and patronage to secure cooperation.
Such arrangements reduced the costs of government while giving selected local leaders a stake in the preservation of imperial authority. The British also secured the allegiance of particular populations whose interests became closely associated with the existing political order. https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/british-state-now-behaves-imperial-regime-ruling-over-competing-peoples..Successive governments, having encouraged mass immigration and multiculturalism, increasingly employ methods familiar from imperial administration to manage the communal divisions arising from those policies.
More significantly, these arrangements threaten to transform the relationship between the governing establishment and the historic British population, whose national attachments and political preferences increasingly conflict with the assumptions of those exercising power...
..British imperial administration depended upon an intimate knowledge of the populations it governed. Officials classified communities by ethnicity, religion and customary authority, cultivated influential intermediaries and distributed recognition, privileges and patronage to secure cooperation.
Poland: Nearly half of Poles want PM Tusk to resign after his dramatic takeover of constitutional court with riot police
The president of Poland has slammed Tusk's court takeover as an illegal power grab https://rmx.news/article/poland-nearly-half-of-poles-want-pm-tusk-to-resign-after-his-dramatic-takeover-of-constitutional-court-with-riot-police/
Several Polish officials connected to the opposition have noted a distinct German flavor behind the events. We’ve seen the video of MEP Dominik Tarczynski revealing that Germany, as the main economic driver of the EU, seeks to offload some of its financial burden onto Poland, which is viewed as a kind of EU freeloader, given its pesky “sovereign” status. As such, it is in the German state’s interests to subjugate Poland and use it not only as a migrant dumping ground, but a financial boost to the struggling EU.
During the coup attempt, there were various rumors of German involvement, which included observation of German convoys on Polish highways, as well as far-right Polish figure Grzegorz Braun’s claims that the “police” surrounding the Sejm during the coup were “impostors”, with some even claiming they did not speak Polish and may have been Germans in disguise...
..As the German soldier explains, Germany is attending a “coalition of the willing” exercise, along with other NATO allies, that just happens to be set in Poland.
This exercise, called Coalition 2026 and to take place between November 9th to the 22nd, is the inaugural one of its kind and is set to feature the “first [ever] military maneuver of the “Coalition of the Willing” in support of Ukraine in Poland”. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/german-specter-hangs-over-warsaw
HOLY SMOKES! GERMANY's “AfD”ALICE WEIDEL ANNOUNCES THE ABOLITION OF THE EU ONCE THEY WIN THE UPCOMING ELECTION:
..This year the campaign by the Russians to paralyze Ukraine by destroying its electricity network seems to work...
Ukraine jails woman who exposed Azov “torture house” while the unit faces no charges https://www.naturalnews.com/2026-11-05-ukraine-jails-azov-torture-house-whistleblower.html
Ukraine’s Azov Brigade Admits Holding AWOL Soldiers At Residential House Amid Torture Allegations - Protesters clashed with authorities outside the house in a suburb of Kyiv https://news.antiwar.com/2026/11/04/ukraines-azov-brigade-admits-holding-awol-soldiers-at-residential-house-amid-torture-allegations/
Trump says Russia-Ukraine deal is near after meeting Putin’s envoy - Though the US president said a deal was ‘very close’, he gave no specifics and did not meet a visiting Ukrainian delegation. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/6/trump-met-russian-envoy-after-he-appeared-with-melania-trump-and-ukrainians
Dmitriev: Diesel tankers haven't changed course; they're still heading to US ports. https://en.topwar.ru/292991-dmitriev-tankery-s-dizelem-kurs-ne-menjali-oni-po-prezhnemu-idut-v-porty-ssha.html
..If the House of Representatives initiates an impeachment inquiry against Trump, it can compel Kushner to testify or produce documents through its subpoena power, provided that the subpoena is issued within the scope of the House’s authorized investigation. However, Kushner is not limited to the Fifth Amendment as a defense—he can also raise executive privilege (particularly with respect to communications with Trump), or challenge the validity of the subpoena itself.
A “constitutional crisis” depends on the definition. If defined as “one branch openly defying the core prerogatives of another branch“: This does have crisis characteristics, because Congress’s oversight power is being effectively neutralized, and it may retaliate through other means (such as blocking appropriations or refusing to confirm nominees)...
..This is an institutional confrontation (political question), not a legal “constitutional crisis” in the narrow sense. The real consequence is usually a deadlock in congressional oversight, with the final resolution depending on the political will of Congress to pursue civil litigation or the outcome of elections. https://www.armstrongeconomics.com/international-news/politics/interesting-times-ahead/The president of Poland has slammed Tusk's court takeover as an illegal power grab https://rmx.news/article/poland-nearly-half-of-poles-want-pm-tusk-to-resign-after-his-dramatic-takeover-of-constitutional-court-with-riot-police/
Simplicius, German Specter Hangs Over Warsaw: Odd Happenings in Polish Capital Following Tusk’s Coup Attempt
In the aftermath of the Donald Tusk administration’s judicial coup attempt in Poland, the country has seen a spate of strange happenings. Several Polish officials connected to the opposition have noted a distinct German flavor behind the events. We’ve seen the video of MEP Dominik Tarczynski revealing that Germany, as the main economic driver of the EU, seeks to offload some of its financial burden onto Poland, which is viewed as a kind of EU freeloader, given its pesky “sovereign” status. As such, it is in the German state’s interests to subjugate Poland and use it not only as a migrant dumping ground, but a financial boost to the struggling EU.
During the coup attempt, there were various rumors of German involvement, which included observation of German convoys on Polish highways, as well as far-right Polish figure Grzegorz Braun’s claims that the “police” surrounding the Sejm during the coup were “impostors”, with some even claiming they did not speak Polish and may have been Germans in disguise...
..Following the coup fiasco, over the past week German soldiers have been seen wandering around Warsaw, with various conspiratorial rumors suggesting they were being positioned as the backstop in case Tusk’s power grab turned ugly...
A video ... capturing a member of the Polish parliament confronting these German troops on the street just outside the Polish parliament in Warsaw.....As the German soldier explains, Germany is attending a “coalition of the willing” exercise, along with other NATO allies, that just happens to be set in Poland.
This exercise, called Coalition 2026 and to take place between November 9th to the 22nd, is the inaugural one of its kind and is set to feature the “first [ever] military maneuver of the “Coalition of the Willing” in support of Ukraine in Poland”. https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/german-specter-hangs-over-warsaw
The "future" of the EU hinges on Poland accepting the Euro, or "Polexiting". News blackout: Poland’s PM says president has backed away from talks over constitutional court
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk has said President Karol Nawrocki has "for some reason" backed away from a planned one-on-one meeting aimed at easing tensions over the country’s Constitutional Tribunal. https://www.polskieradio.pl/395/7784/Artykul/3750386,poland%E2%80%99s-pm-says-president-has-backed-away-from-talks-over-constitutional-court HOLY SMOKES! GERMANY's “AfD”ALICE WEIDEL ANNOUNCES THE ABOLITION OF THE EU ONCE THEY WIN THE UPCOMING ELECTION:
"We will LEAVE the European Union. We don’t need the EU. We will send back ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS, and increase BORDER SECURITY." https://x.com/MAGAStorm47/status/2118060980185813068
How convenient... Poland mourns six killed in attack as authorities launch ‘terrorism’ probe - ‘Terrorism’ investigation launched after government officials say suspect likely influenced by far-right ideology. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/11/8/poland-mourns-six-killed-in-attack-as-authorities-launch-terrorism-probe
Andrew Korybko on unlikely alignment of Poland and Russia: Lavrov Echoed Kaczyński’s Famous Warning About The Rise Of Germany’s “Fourth Reich” https://korybko.substack.com/p/lavrov-echoed-kaczynskis-famous-warning
Moon of Alabama, No Electricity But Lots Of Scandals – Ukraine Is Coming Apart
There seems to be little notice in the media that Ukraine is on the verge of a catastrophe. Its electricity network is on the border of systemic failure. The moral standing of its government within the Ukrainian population is breaking down.
While there has been lots of trouble with energy during the last winter the amount of the current disorder is on a different level.
For months now the Russian military has systematically dismantled critical points in the Ukrainian network. Kiev, which once had several combined heat and power plants, can no longer generate any of its needed electricity. Its sole supplies are now coming from far away nuclear power stations and are reaching the capitol through a few major switching station. There are now no days left without severe power failures...
There seems to be little notice in the media that Ukraine is on the verge of a catastrophe. Its electricity network is on the border of systemic failure. The moral standing of its government within the Ukrainian population is breaking down.
While there has been lots of trouble with energy during the last winter the amount of the current disorder is on a different level.
For months now the Russian military has systematically dismantled critical points in the Ukrainian network. Kiev, which once had several combined heat and power plants, can no longer generate any of its needed electricity. Its sole supplies are now coming from far away nuclear power stations and are reaching the capitol through a few major switching station. There are now no days left without severe power failures...
..Amidst the coming cold critical infrastructure depending on electricity – transport, water and sewage – is likely to fail. Kiev is a central point in Ukraine’s electricity network. Several provinces depend on its network. When Kiev shuts down they fail too...
..Meanwhile the public and media are kept busy with several scandals.
Each Ukrainian military unit has a “pit” in which it illegally imprisons, tortures (and sometimes kills) renitent soldiers. Two days ago a protest against one these secret prisons near Kiev led to a scandal. While some prisoners were sent to a hospital the protesters were arrested and will likely themselves end up in jail. Another diversion erupted yesterday when the anti-corruption forces NABU arrested a high ranking officer of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/11/no-electricity-but-lots-of-scandals-ukraine-is-coming-apart.html
Each Ukrainian military unit has a “pit” in which it illegally imprisons, tortures (and sometimes kills) renitent soldiers. Two days ago a protest against one these secret prisons near Kiev led to a scandal. While some prisoners were sent to a hospital the protesters were arrested and will likely themselves end up in jail. Another diversion erupted yesterday when the anti-corruption forces NABU arrested a high ranking officer of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/11/no-electricity-but-lots-of-scandals-ukraine-is-coming-apart.html
"There are hundreds like this in Ukraine" - A map of torture sites in Ukraine has been published. A map has been published online showing the locations of four more places in Ukraine where forcibly mobilized men are subjected to torture: Sumy region, Zapadinskaya Street, building 65; Kyiv region, Fastiv, Kyiv Street, building 67; Nikolaev, Otradny Lane, building 4; Chernihiv region, Bogushevicha Street, building 15. These are the same illegal places of abuse as the torture site recently uncovered in Petropavlovka-Borshchagovka, near Kyiv.
When the head of Zelensky's office, Kirill Budanov (declared a terrorist in Russia), arrived there, trying to quell the unrest, he himself let slip that "there are many such places." Thus, he admitted that this is not "excesses at the local level," not "a single bad commander," but a state apparatus of torture. https://x.com/East_Calling/status/2118856818126463174
Thanks Lucy. Martin Armstrong looks at Kushner crimes as a chink in Trump's armor: Interesting Times Ahead
Kushner thinks he has skirted the law by claiming he is a “volunteer” not a government employee. He has a problem... ..The Justice Department says the president’s “immediate advisers,” which it defines as his “alter ego,” are immune from congressional testimony. To claim that protection, Trump would have to argue that Kushner is one of the most important officials in government after insisting for two years that he isn’t part of it at all.
Even if a court accepted that argument, the immunity doesn’t cover “inquiry related to their own private affairs,” and Kushner’s work at Affinity is private by definition. And because Kushner says he isn’t an executive-branch employee, the Senate could sue to enforce a subpoena on its own, without relying on Trump’s Justice Department.
Democrats could also go around him. They could subpoena Affinity, its auditor Ernst & Young, its custodian banks, including Bank of America, and partners in deals like the firm’s acquisition of Electronic Arts with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Investigators could demand records of Kushner. If Kushner refuses, there could be a contempt charge...
..This could become a “Constitutional Crisis” should Trump try to issue a Pardon for Kushner. The Constitution’s Pardon Clause grants the President the power to “grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offenses against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.” ... Democrats could also go around him. They could subpoena Affinity, its auditor Ernst & Young, its custodian banks, including Bank of America, and partners in deals like the firm’s acquisition of Electronic Arts with Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Investigators could demand records of Kushner. If Kushner refuses, there could be a contempt charge...
..If the House of Representatives initiates an impeachment inquiry against Trump, it can compel Kushner to testify or produce documents through its subpoena power, provided that the subpoena is issued within the scope of the House’s authorized investigation. However, Kushner is not limited to the Fifth Amendment as a defense—he can also raise executive privilege (particularly with respect to communications with Trump), or challenge the validity of the subpoena itself.
A “constitutional crisis” depends on the definition. If defined as “one branch openly defying the core prerogatives of another branch“: This does have crisis characteristics, because Congress’s oversight power is being effectively neutralized, and it may retaliate through other means (such as blocking appropriations or refusing to confirm nominees)...
In my preview of the midterm election I had predicted that Trump would fire Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth:
"The first pawn to go will be Secretary of Defense Hegseth. Nobody will lose a tear for him."
I had also said that Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, would be let go:
"The two people behind the war in Iran are Trump’s chief of staff (and Netanyahoo confident) Susie Wiles, as well as Trump’s Mossad handler and son in law Jared Kushner. There are plenty of reasons, including corruption, to fire both."
That turned out to be wrong. Wiles was fired immediately. But Hegseth is safe – for now.
I seem to have missed some connections. The wannabe Nazi Stephen Miller, Wiles’ deputy, is getting her job as chief of staff... One of the first to congratulate Miller was Pete Hegseth... I have now learned that Miller and Hegseth are intimate buddies...
..He has also become a central focus of socializing in Trump’s orbit. His wife, Katie Miller, a former Trump White House staffer, regularly throws parties and dinners at their residence on a military base, attracting cabinet and White House officials. They live near Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and they socialize with him and his wife, Jennifer Hegseth, a former Fox News producer, according to people familiar with the matter. He has forged tight relationships with leading administration figures, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Less is known about his relations with Vice President JD Vance...
..Anyway – Miller, Hegseth and Rubio together are a formidable power constellation that may well overwhelm Trump. https://www.moonofalabama.org/2026/11/trumps-promotion-of-stephen-miller-saves-hegseths-ass.html
Wiles' departure would also mean the exit of one of the White House's most powerful behind-the-scenes power brokers. During an appearance on Joe Rogan's podcast this week, Calley Means, a former adviser to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., described Wiles as the "most powerful chief of staff in modern American history," alleging that she exercised extraordinary control over virtually every major policy decision inside the Trump administration. https://www.zerohedge.com/political/trump-names-miller-new-chief-staff-most-powerful-wiles-out
..Wiles, he said, was one of the country's top lobbyists before the White House, and "her career has been taking money from the industries and foreign governments who would pay her the most money" - including, in his account, as a top consultant to Benjamin Netanyahu and to the pharmaceutical and pesticide industries. James Blair, the head of political operations and "her friend from Florida," he said "has taken a lot of money from industries like the sugar industry." https://www.zerohedge.com/political/ex-maha-insider-tells-rogan-what-trump-didnt-know-about-his-own-white-house
“I am pleased to announce that Mr. Stephen Miller, the current Deputy Chief of Staff of the Trump Administration, and one of my most trusted advisors, will become the Chief of Staff starting Monday, November 9, 2026,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump had kind words for Wiles in the same post. “Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” he wrote. Greene had her own theory, which she shared in a video posted to X.
“So, I am very proficient in the dialect of MAGA, and I’m going to explain to you what that really means,” Greene said. “Susie Wiles is going to join Trump’s political team, so she’s going to move back into the same, operation that she was, before he was elected president in 2024, and there’s a very important reason for that, and that is because, she wants to be in charge, and President Trump wants to be in charge, of who the next president of the United States will be. And they want to continue to control the Republican Party.”
She then turned to Miller, claiming he already ran much of the White House. “So you can expect more of the same from the White House that you were probably already p****d off and frustrated about, only this time he’s going to go into a hyper mode because they’re about to get investigated in every way possible by the Democrats who are going to control the all-powerful House and Senate committees starting in January of 2027,” she said.
Greene went on to insist that the coalition that elected Trump in 2024 would reject whoever Trump and Wiles back in 2028. “They’re not conservative, so they don’t represent your conservative values, and they proved it,” she said. “They’re not truly Christian, they don’t represent your Christian values, and they are the ones completely responsible for this massive Democrat (win)." https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/11/06/mtg-has-a-theory-about-trumps-big-white-house-shake-up-n4959119#google_vignette
Trump had kind words for Wiles in the same post. “Susie Wiles, who has done an outstanding job, will be moving over to the Trump Political Operation. I want to thank her for her service as Chief of Staff — She has done a great job!” he wrote. Greene had her own theory, which she shared in a video posted to X.
“So, I am very proficient in the dialect of MAGA, and I’m going to explain to you what that really means,” Greene said. “Susie Wiles is going to join Trump’s political team, so she’s going to move back into the same, operation that she was, before he was elected president in 2024, and there’s a very important reason for that, and that is because, she wants to be in charge, and President Trump wants to be in charge, of who the next president of the United States will be. And they want to continue to control the Republican Party.”
She then turned to Miller, claiming he already ran much of the White House. “So you can expect more of the same from the White House that you were probably already p****d off and frustrated about, only this time he’s going to go into a hyper mode because they’re about to get investigated in every way possible by the Democrats who are going to control the all-powerful House and Senate committees starting in January of 2027,” she said.
Greene went on to insist that the coalition that elected Trump in 2024 would reject whoever Trump and Wiles back in 2028. “They’re not conservative, so they don’t represent your conservative values, and they proved it,” she said. “They’re not truly Christian, they don’t represent your Christian values, and they are the ones completely responsible for this massive Democrat (win)." https://pjmedia.com/matt-margolis/2026/11/06/mtg-has-a-theory-about-trumps-big-white-house-shake-up-n4959119#google_vignette
“This was presented to Health Canada. Joseph Ladapo, the Surgeon General for Florida, wrote this up and presented it to our CDC and FDA, regulatory authorities all over the world.
No, we don’t have any concerns about this. No investigations? No inspections? Think about this.”
“We’re concerned that SV40 is one of these multi-hit mechanisms... I’m concerned. Listen, I’ve got family members who have taken this.”
Independent scientists Kevin McKernan and David Speicher found an SV40 promoter-enhancer sequence in Pfizer’s vaccine.
Health Canada then confirmed it. It also admitted Pfizer handed over the full plasmid sequence but never flagged the SV40 element, which regulators expect companies to do.
In 2023, Florida’s Surgeon General asked the FDA to halt the sh”ots. The FDA’s response focused on “misinformation.” https://x.com/KanekoaTheGreat/status/2118061343593070871
BREAKING: FDA CONFIRMS GENE THERAPY DNA INTEGRATED INTO HUMAN GENOMES, INDUCING CANCER
The FDA has confirmed insertional oncogenesis involving a viral-vector gene therapy that uses the same category of DNA-delivery technology as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID shots. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-fda-confirms-gene-therapy
England Records Highest Number of Cancer Diagnoses in History With Over 1,000 New Cases Per Day - There are consequences to administering cancer-promoting mRNA gene therapies to entire populations. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-england-records-highest
Investigation Exposes America's Growing Cancer Crisis And Reveals Where It's Worst
Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) is the most common kidney cancer in adults, accounting for about 85–90% of primary malignant renal tumors (1). It arises from the epithelium of the renal tubules and comprises several biologically distinct cancers that differ in their molecular drivers, clinical behavior and response to treatment (2). https://paulmarik.substack.com/p/renal-cell-carcinoma-epidemiology
The FDA has confirmed insertional oncogenesis involving a viral-vector gene therapy that uses the same category of DNA-delivery technology as Johnson & Johnson and AstraZeneca COVID shots. https://www.thefocalpoints.com/p/breaking-fda-confirms-gene-therapy
A growing cancer crisis is gripping younger generations across the United States as increasing numbers of Americans in their 20s, 30s and 40s are being diagnosed with diseases once overwhelmingly associated with older adults. https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/investigation-exposes-americas-growing-cancer-crisis-and-reveals-where-its-worst
Paul Marik MD, Renal Cell Carcinoma: Epidemiology, Clinical Features, Prognosis and Modern Treatment
Avoiding Carcinogens (pictured having cleared out summer garden for fall-winter)
