Odds and Ends — 3 November 2026

preparedwombat(78)

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Cryptocurrency, Investing, Money, Economy, Business, AI, and Debt:

Kraken restricts accounts amid suspected $133M EU crypto theft

Ethereum Privacy Network Aztec Rolls Out Major Security and Speed Upgrade

Coronavirus and Public Health:

Long Covid Recovery Varies Sharply by Symptoms, Study Finds

Iran/Yemen:

U.S. carries out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island

How the Houthis built their war machine

Politics:

https://x.com/rossgarber/status/2117280278695518449

Republicans Are Privately Blaming Trump

Republicans are already privately blaming President Donald Trump as they brace for losses on Tuesday.
Even as they race to distance themselves from his actions on tariffs, the unpopular Iran war and his mass deportation agenda, few have been willing to criticize him publicly — a clear sign of just how powerful Trump’s grip remains on the GOP. But interviews with roughly a dozen candidates, campaign officials and lawmakers reveal they’re acutely aware of who, exactly, put them on the back foot this entire cycle.
Said one House Republican: “There was a point earlier this year where we really felt like we could defy history. And then Trump bombed Iran. And it was just one thing after another.”

https://x.com/CraigMurrayOrg/status/2117225852857684434

The U.S. Is Bullying Europe Like Never Before

At a dinner in Athens in March, Kimberly Guilfoyle, then the U.S. ambassador to Greece, made a statement that elegantly combined arrogance with menace. According to The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times, Guilfoyle referred to the troubles of Romania’s governing coalition and, with Greek politicians in the room, took credit for its impending collapse: ‘We can do that to any country we want,’ she said. ‘We can do that here.’
Guilfoyle was subsequently disgraced for a different reason: The Journal also obtained screenshots of messages she had sent to a Republican donor, asking him to deposit $100,000 in her American Express account. She and her lawyer denied everything, including the dinner conversation, but the screenshots were too much even for the Trump administration. She resigned.
If Americans were more exercised by her apparent greed, Europeans were appalled by her political boasts. Guilfoyle did seem to think she could influence the coalition politics of democratically elected European governments, all of them U.S. allies and members of NATO. More to the point, she isn’t the only Trump-administration official who has tried to do exactly that.

https://x.com/RadioFreeTom/status/2116934475309621345

Trump Unravels as Brutal Early-Vote Data Rattles Even MAGA

Well, Donald Trump sure looks like he’s woken a sleeping giant here in our politics.

https://x.com/SundaeDivine/status/2116988105274360235

https://x.com/bookkeepPLUS/status/2117222576162554139

———— Stark. Raving. Mad. ————

https://x.com/HQNewsNow/status/2117334458235793717

https://x.com/RadioFreeTom/status/2117333278596231413

Trump Erupts as GOP Leaks About His Sunsetting Get Worse

We’re one day out, and the Republican leaks have become a flood. There’s a lot of the usual panic, but something else jumped out at us. Republicans are privately coming to terms with Donald Trump’s sunsetting, and beginning to contemplate a world where his influence has dramatically waned.
This comes as Trump grew angrier with a reporter than we’ve ever seen him, and tellingly, it involved his slipping power. Meanwhile, Republicans are sharing humiliating details about his rallies too, which is striking given that the rallies are so central to his power and movement.

https://x.com/middleageriot/status/2117428746202517538

———— Stevens/Rogers————

Haley Stevens Is No Longer a Michigan Democrat

The Michigan Democratic Party kicked Rep. Haley Stevens out of its ranks Sunday, after she endorsed Michigan’s GOP Senate nominee, Mike Rogers — over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, who defeated her in the primary.
Said Michigan Democratic Party chair Curtis Hertel: “Congresswoman Stevens is not a current member of the Michigan Democratic Party, nor will she be in the future.”

Abdul El-Sayed Raised $1.2 Million in Four Hours

Senate Democrat Abdul El-Sayed’s campaign says it has raised $1.2 million in the four hours and counting after former primary rival Rep. Haley Stevens backed Republican Mike Rogers in the final messy days of the Michigan Senate race.
That marks his second-best fundraising day since winning the nomination in August.
It’s a sign of Democratic donors’ frustration following Stevens’ shock decision to withdraw her endorsement of El-Sayed and back Rogers, which drew strong condemnation from across the Democratic Party.

Haley Stevens Pulls Plug On Presser

Haley Stevens, former Democratic hopeful for Senate in Michigan, pulled the plug on a Detroit press conference alongside Mike Rogers on Sunday after a heckler accused her of being a ‘traitor’ for endorsing the Republican over Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed.
The media fiasco came just after Stevens’ Chief of Staff Justin German and much of the rest of Stevens’ team resigned and endorsed El-Sayed for Senate, saying in a statement that they feel ‘shocked and heartbroken by Congresswoman Stevens’ decision to support Mike Rogers.’

Fox News Focus Group Stacked with Mike Rogers Voters

Fox News host Lara Trump presented a voter panel on Saturday night in which numerous participants had undisclosed ties to the campaign of Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers.
The panel, which was featured in Saturday’s edition of My View, was billed as ‘bipartisan’ and all five members were identified merely as ‘Michigan voters.’ Yet all five had vociferously spoken out in favor of Rogers, four actually appeared with him on the stump, and one is even the treasurer of a pro-Rogers super PAC.

https://x.com/lacho_ai_/status/2117060033666007538

———— Autocracy R Us ————

https://x.com/RadioFreeTom/status/2116932586245406819

Judge Dismisses Charges Against FBI Agents

A federal magistrate judge on Monday dismissed a criminal case against two former FBI officials who were accused of lying to Congress in 2023 about Hunter Biden’s laptop.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said the Justice Department had failed to show probable cause that the two former FBI officials, Nikki Floris and Bradley Benavides, made false statements to the House Judiciary Committee as it investigated President Joe Biden’s son in the lead-up to the 2024 presidential election.
Said Faruqui: “What has transpired here cannot be described as anything other than weaponization.”

https://x.com/HQNewsNow/status/2117273561366765824