day two hundred thirty (13. 919)

Lula da Silva wins an unprecedented fourth term in Brazil’s presidential run-off against Bolsonaro’s son, his opponent refuses to concede. Serbia leader Aleksandar Vučić ousted by student movement, ending his twelve year reign. Israeli shells Gaza and southern Lebanon. Netanyahu warns that Iran may try to interfere with Tuesday’s elections. Trump calls off the attack on Iran as all non-essential staff are evacuated from Saudi Arabia. Tehran calls America’s quagmire the consequence of grave miscalculations from which the country must reverse to extricate itself. Republican representatives panic as they prepare for heavy losses in the mid terms.  Trump attempts to negate Alaskan ballots, saying voters do not know the meaning of incumbent.  Russian attacks on Kramatorsk intensify as Russia lobs super sonic drones.

day two hundred twenty nine (13. 914)

Former US presidents and contenders offered counter-messaging to Trump’s late appeals for GOP campaigns including the Bushes tossing their support to the Democratic candidates in races in Texas and Hilary Clinton describing the American president’s renovations to the White House “looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.” Meanwhile, Trump hints at either a massive attack to “finish the job” or reaching a deal with Tehran, presumably to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, by Sunday. Hundreds of thousands of protesters rally in France amid heightened security and police presence. IDF conducts raids of West Bank towns, subjecting dozens of Palestinian residents to field interrogation and unwarranted detention with demolition of buildings in Hebron. The battle for control of Taiz intensifies as the Muslim world strongly condemns the Houthis for targeting the holy sites of Mecca and Medina in their assault against Saudi Arabia for backing the Yemeni government forces. As many outposts in the region have been abandoned already, the US issues more warnings regarding the safety of personnel assigned overseas and Russia denies reports of having evacuated nuclear scientists from the facilities at Bushehr. Moscow and Kyiv agree to a one-city ceasefire in Oleshky at the bidding of the Pope though Melania “Be Best” Trump tries to take credit, whilst the capital continues to sustain heavy bombardment.

day two hundred twenty eight (13. 910)

Amid unrelenting attacks from the Houthis, Saudi Arabia postpones hosting UN World Data Forum, days after cancelling its “Davos in the Desert”—the annual flagship Future Investment Initiative conference aimed to diversify its portfolio away from being a petrostate. The headquarters of Saudi-Aramco is evacuated over safety concerns for remaining staff. Though the White House defers with a GLOMAR response, sources familiar with the planning confirm to the press that Washington and Tel Aviv are in the process of finalising a renewed series of strikes on Pickaxe Mountain and Iranian petrochemical facilities, not wanting to further exacerbate markets (though they are reacting) in the last days to the run-up to the respective countries’ elections. Even if the ultra-conservative government of Netanyahu is ousted, Palestinians hold out little hope for reform or improvement as the opposition refuses to entertain a two-state solution. US troops withdraw from bases in Kuwait, Qatar and Jordan, as the Revolutionary Guard announces a total ban of American service members and vessels from entering the gulf region and threatens to attack personnel and US assets.

day two hundred twenty five (13. 903)

Alberta overwhelmingly rejects separatist agenda in a special referendum. France and Italy plan for a massive police surge to quell protests. Israel conducts airstrikes over Gaza City. Despite continuing indirect peace talks, Iran’s Supreme Leader announces that the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed through the end of Trump’s term—Gulf oil exports have surpassed pre-war levels in aggregate in spite of the conflict. US Vice president Vance declines to echo Trump’s endorsement for the re-election of Netanyahu.  UK re-arrests suspects linked to the alleged terror plot on RAK Fairford as fighter jets are deployed to Saudi Arabia to counter Houthi attacks. Yemeni refugees fleeing fighting cross the Red Sea en masse for Djibouti.

day two hundred twenty five (13. 900)

US strikes Iran’s Konarak naval base on the southeastern coast, in the first attack in nearly two months, possibly breaking Trump’s pledge not to attack until after the midterms. Houthi rebels kill over fifty Yemeni government soldiers shooting ballastics at a training centre. Pakistan suspends trade with Iran as violence escalates on both sides of the border. Egyptian parliament delays a planned vote on military assistance for Saudi Arabia. Israel bombards Nabatieh in southern Lebanon. Funding shortages force UN World Food Programme to end support for a half a million Palestinians in Gaza as deadly drone strikes kill in Khan Younis, a daily occurrence.

day two hundred twenty two (13. 889)

Fresh out of lung surgery, Pope Leo calls Vladimir Putin to appeal for the people trapped in the Russian occupied city of Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid and evacuation. EU leaders meet in Brussels to come up with a workable budget and pledge more support for Ukraine. Zelenskyy confirms that the Starshield defensive arm of Starlink services are partially restored but not fully up to speed, demurring on reporters’ questions whether the Ukrainian leader is being ill-used as a scapegoat by Trump over the upcoming election. The Revolutionary Guard has re-mined the Strait of Hormuz with a super tanker exploding. More US senators demand action over illegal West Bank settlements as a UN reports cites the death of over three hundred fifty children and the continued suffering of eight hundred thousand Gazan residents since last year’s ceasefire. White House press secretary Katie Zachariah fired after five days on the job after inflating her credentials.  Trump signs an EO exempting Russia from sanction legislation, the package passed in honour of Lindsey Graham over the summer.  Saudi-led forces hold off Houthis from taking Taiz, claiming to have destroyed two of their missile launchers whilst the rebel group continues to shell the Yanbu in the Red Sea region of the kingdom.

day two hundred twenty one (13. 886)

Having ruled out further military attacks on Iran until after the 03 November elections, Trump tells a press gaggle that he has ruled out using a nuclear bomb on the Islamic Republic or committing ground troops—though deployments to the region increase. The president also tells reporters that the joint Israeli-US coalition may have gone too far in killing Iran’s leaders. Saudis and Houthis clash, each side intercepting the other’s drones with heavy shelling in the government capital of Aden. Chinese foreign ministry tells Israeli to open up Gaza immediately and reverse settlement policy in the West Bank. US secretary of state pressures Lebanon to confiscate weapons from Hezbollah. After ending sanctions on Russian diesel, the American president suggests he will unfreeze assets. Ukraine declares that the US is no longer an ally, vowing to destroy Moscow’s oil infrastructure, as Musk blames Trump for the slow-down of telemetry.

day two hundred twenty (13. 884)

Following more dementia-laced claims, Trump posts that drilling will soon begin in our Greenland. Increasing surveillance and sinking more ships, Tehran vows to keep fighting until the US concedes to their conditions. The UN issues more warnings of a food crisis as as plans to allow shipments of fertiliser through the Strait of Hormuz stall. Houthi rebels are positioned to take the city of Taiz as residents caught in the crossfire of the civil war experience deteriorating conditions. After raids on her home, the Trump administration seeks to strip congressional representative Ilhan Omar of her citizenship and deport her. Russian attacks leave hundreds of thousands without power in Kyiv and Ukrainian forces find their military response hampered over throttling Starlink access. Israel blocks the construction of key base to house one hundred fifty international troops for Trump’s Board of Peace in Gaza.

day two hundred sixteen (13. 875)

Predictably Trump and Israel denounce the Nobel Committee’s selection of a civil rights lawyer for the Peace Prize, the American president imposing more sanctions on the International Criminal Court—hoping to blunt the justices’ ability to go after US and Israeli war criminals as it is revealed that the American ambassador in Jerusalem has been actively covering up the extent of death and violence in the West Bank. Meanwhile, unconscionably, Trump announces the lifting of all sanctions on Russian diesel, authorising the sale, delivery, offloading and importation through April 2027. Arranging the deal with Putin (allied with Iran), Trump is desperate to bring prices down just before the mid-term elections and betrays Ukraine by opening up this revenue stream for Moscow to allow them to keep prosecuting the war. Europe condemns normalising trade with the pariah nation and Kyiv responds to this development with continued bombings on Russian refineries, bringing into doubt whether Russian can deliver on the tonnage of oil that Trump speaks off—having earlier blamed Zelenskyy for the supply shortage and now hoping to make his lie ring true. Flooding the market may well backfire, after convincing European allies to dip into their statutory reserves that went no where, NATO members may use this opportunity to replenish their emergency supplies, as well as China, whose largess prevented a worse energy shock. It may also cause an imbalance with jet fuel and the lower profit margins in a global market may dissuade oil producers from ramping up production. At a campaign rally in Syracuse, the American president claims that resolutions are “moving along at a rapid speed” and pledges to “win or settle” the conflicts in Iran and in Ukraine soon. A Saudi-led coalition engages in a major offensive against Houthi forces in Yemen. Iran continues to fire on tankers and the US naval blockade has rerouted ships from the Persian Gulf.

synchronoptica

one year ago:  Nobel Peace Prize goes to Venezuelan opposition candidate (with synchronoptica) plus assorted links worth the revisit

two years ago: a visit to Himmelpfort and Fürstenberg

three years ago: an episode in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war 

four years ago: AI movie posters plus conjuring Swedish nonsense words

five years ago:  more links to enjoy plus Upstairs, Downstairs (1971)

six years ago: revolutionary China, happy birthday to the Candy Bomber, the moon Triton, the role of sharks in vaccines plus coin-op convenience

seven years ago: Dunbar Number, guerilla advertising plus more on noise pollution

eight years ago: more on Osaka’s Expo’70 plus a shopping cart that gauges one’s mood

 

day two hundred sixteen (13. 870)

South African jurist who fought apartheid and called out Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Navi Pillay, is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Saudi Arabia suspends commercial air traffic following deadly attacks on the capital’s airport by Houthi rebels as forces vie for control of the Yemen. The Revolutionary Guard strike more tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Hurricane Isaias intensifies en route to US gulf coast. Former German Chancellor Gerhardt Schröder attends Putin’s birthday party as the scope of the treachery at the BND is still unfolding.  Secretary of war Hegseth announces that the execution by firing squad of the former US army major who killed thirteen fellow soldiers in 2019 will be live-streamed for the public. Trump reverses his earlier calls to bomb Iran before the midterms, the American president now saying he will wait until after the elections.

day two hundred fifteen (13. 866)

Israel forces the closure of the UK consulate in occupied East Jerusalem over sanction threats directed at illegal settlements in the West Bank. Hurricane Isaiah takes a quarter of oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico off-line. Tankers, including those cleaving to the route off the coasts of Oman and Qatar, come under fire, slowing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a trickle again. Fighting rages between Yemeni regulars and rebels as Houthis launch deadly strikes at Saudi airports. Newly obtained footage reveals the extent of damage sustained to US bases across the Middle East as troops posture towards abandonment and retreat. Despite issuing new demands, including the possibility of compromise of nuclear enrichment, the American president declares he has no interest in making a deal with Tehran and orders the military to prepare to resume hostilities imminently.

synchronoptica

one year ago: assorted links worth the revisit (with synchronoptica) plus cartoonist Rein Raamat

two years ago: boating on the Röblinsee 

three years ago: spiralling landscapes, vintage text book cover art plus LEGO art

four years ago: the cast of Star Trek in an energy company advert plus Saint Reparata

five years ago:  your daily demon: Raum, Baghdad’s House of Wisdom plus a bi-directional typeface

six years ago: more links to enjoy, Les Misérables (1985), poorly drawn animals plus Trump requires wildlife conservationist organisations to celebrate America’s hunting heritage

seven years ago: visualising Wikipedia updates in real time, Trump abruptly withdraws from the Syria-Turkish border, Call Me By Your Monet, The Million Eyes of Sumuru plus discouraging frivolous lawsuits in the Middle Ages

eight years ago: the degrading web plus calling attention to the problem of space junk

 

day two hundred thirteen (13. 860)

Canadien separatist party wins provincial elections in Quebec—promising another referendum on leaving the nation, but not whilst Trump remains in office. The internationally recognised government of Yemen claims gains in counteroffensive with the Houthis, retaking the port city of Mocha. Washington issues further warnings to foreign financial institutions doing business with Tehran, saying they may be subject to sanctions without notice. Garnering strong denouncement from the state’s governor, Trump intimates that Iran could “take out Los Angeles or San Diego,” maintaining that the pain at the pump is a small price to pay to ensure that the Islamic Republic never obtains a nuclear warhead. At the same rally in Nebraska, the American president brings auto-pen Natalie Harp on stage to sign an impromptu executive order rescinding the federal excise tax on so called red-dyed diesel and allowing any one to purchase it, whereas beforehand, it was the reserve for agriculture. Whilst this manoeuvre may temporarily lower prices by the 24¢ per gallon that government taxes, it does nothing to increase supply or address delivery shortfalls, and perhaps worse than doing nothing, it could create shortages for farmers who use the off-road formulation (it is normal fuel, just coloured to differentiate it from non-tax exempt sales and not at all related to that bizarre hoax a decade ago involving “red mercury” in hopes to extract the mythical substance from antique Singer sewing machines in hopes of miniaturising atomic weapons) during harvest season, stripping the Department of Transportation of revenue for highway maintenance and perhaps increasing prices overall with new demand pressure. Despite the weak US dollar, the euro looses value as contagion fears spread over the French bond market. IDF storms Bethlehem and demolishes homes in East Jerusalem.

synchronoptica

one year ago: US television networks decline request to pre-empt programming to carry a presidential speech from Ford (with synchronoptica) plus aura farming

two years ago: more adventures on the Mecklinburgischer Seeplate 

three years ago: touring the Mainschliefe plus island universes

four years ago: more research in the paranormal plus a 1975 McDonaldland mascot specification manual

five years ago: more streamlined designs,  a unique underpass plus a beloved Soviet cartoon character

 

six years ago: Trump emerges recovered from COVID, fascist nihilism, assorted links to revisit plus the first exoplanet confirmed (1995)

seven years ago: German-American Day

 

eight years ago: more fascist nihilism plus Carter debates Ford (1976)

 

day two hundred twelve (13. 858)

The Revolutionary Guard command claims that US forces in the Persian Gulf have retreated to a distance of a thousand kilometres from Iran’s borders and that the amount of oil transiting the Strait of Hormuz under American naval escort is negligible, pledging that the water will remain closed until Washington satisfies the pre-conditions it agreed to. Israeli developers have diverted water from Palestinian farmers in the West Bank for a tourist attraction called “Herod’s Pools.” The head of the Yemeni government in Aden announces major escalation in fighting Houthi rebels to wrest back control of Bab al-Mandeb. US pulls out B-2 bombers stationed RAF Fairford following arrests in foiled terror plot. The US is closely monitoring a suspected case of the pneumonic plague after the death of a technician in a Siberian research laboratory, fearing a genetically modified strain of the bacteria has escaped containment and prompting travel restrictions. Brazil heads to a presidential run off with polling between challenger Flávio Bolsonaro and incumbent Lula too close to call. A Kelvin Wave caused by El Niño conditions creeps towards southern California and Alaska, expected to raise coastal sea-levels by half-a-metre with a single crest and trough.

synchronoptica

one year ago: graphic designer Mikro Ilić (with synchronotpica) plus assorted links worth the revisit

two years ago: circumambulation plus a houseboat on the Havel

three years ago: a hike through the vineyards of Escherndorf 

four years ago: the tarot of Austin Osman Spare, the world’s mass transit systems plus Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1996)

five years ago: more links to enjoy plus Tubular Bells

 

six years ago: Civilisation comes to American audiences (1970), Athens’ underground, the blessed Rosario Longo, a glass model of the coronavirus, IKEA’s back catalogue plus apologies in good standing

seven years ago: late Thursdays in Germany, more links to check out plus more poetic graffiti

 

eight years ago: an outstanding collection of vintage travel posters, legislating Scotland on maps plus more memorable fonts

 

 

day two hundred ten (13. 852)

Hegseth announces that US troops will get a day off to call their in the upcoming midterms—federal workers are granted up to three hours of administrative leave (down from four hours) whilst the rest of the voting public do not receive any allowance to exercise their democratic right. Pressure mounts for another referendum in the UK to annul Brexit and rejoin the EU as polls reveal over half of voters of all political persuasion support reentry into the single market. Russian airstrikes on bridges in Kyiv causes traffic chaos, whilst Putin attempts to convince the world that NATO is about to impose a blockade on Kaliningrad. Students in Paris riot over planned cuts to the education budget. Pope Leo puts out a missive in Latin as a withering takedown of AI. El Niño causes massive flooding in Thailand, the waters not receding and turning the streets of Bangkok into stagnant lakes, with speculation that the weather formation may mean there is no hurricane season in the Atlantic this year. More tankers are attached in the Strait of Hormuz. Revolutionary Guards spokesperson says that Tehran’s weapons-building capacities are fully restored and have reached maturity, in accordance with operational requirements, whilst the South Pars gasfield achieves peak production. Market analyst recognise Trump’s pressuring of G7 members to release strategic diesel reserves as a mere delay tactic which may provide temporary, nominal relief (if at all) and fails to address underlying structural problems and further erodes consumer confidence. IDF continues to terrorise Gaza, the West Bank and neighbours in southern Lebanon.

day two hundred nine (13. 850)

According to Trump, European countries, at his bidding, agree to release a “massive amount” of diesel reserves as fuel prices continue to soar worldwide, the American president blaming Ukraine for the supply shortage. EU stockpiles dwarf those of the US (as do China’s) because the bloc requires members maintain a ninety-day emergency contingency, and the energy shock was blunted by Beijing’s decision to tap its reserves rather than buying on the open market and further tightening the stocks and driving up prices even further. The reasons behind this magnanimity remain unclear but EU should at minimum leverage their decision with a demand for ending tariffs or be consulted before casting the world into chaos—or perhaps it’s just like the potash from Belarus deal.  Houthi rebels clash with Yemeni forces in Sanaa as the struggle for control of the country escalates. Iraq is granted an exemption to US sanctions on Iranian air carriers and allowed to administer a limited number of flights between Najaf and Tehran. The supreme court of Israel unanimously overturns the earlier decision by the country’s central elections commission to exclude Arabic parties from the upcoming parliamentary vote.

day two hundred eight (13. 847)

The USS Roosevelt and the Makin Island force with two thousand Marines leaves port in San Diego and heads to the Middle East. Attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, a super-tanker is in flames after being struck by an unknown projectile. Israeli settlers in the West Bank steal the olive harvest under the protection of IDF troops. Houthis destroy a power distribution station in Medina and another refinery facility—drawing criticism from the region for bringing the fight to Islam’s holy sites. On the eve of enacting the ban on diesel exports, Trump demands that Europe draw more emergency reserves, adding Iran must act “proper and smart” or they won’t be around very long. Moscow adds that its offer to hold the Islamic Republic’s stockpiles of enriched uranium still stands.

day two hundred six (13. 840)

US troops completes its withdrawal of troops from Iraq after two decades. Frustrated that the White House press pool isn’t covering his daily activities non-stop, the American president has launched Trump TV, whilst tax-payer funded propaganda spots are aired on commercial networks, justified as public service announcements. Hegseth announces a further twenty percent reduction in generals and admirals. US tariffs on Canadian exports go into effect. Settlers attack villagers, burn homes in the occupied West Bank and IDF planes continue the bombardment of souther Lebanon. US fuel economy standards are considerably relaxed, in hopes of making new automobiles cheaper, more expensive to operate.

synchronoptica

one year ago: the Chicago Tribute switches to standard spellings (with synchronoptica) plus more adventures in the Alsace

two years ago: sea birds in a hurricane plus a Schoolhouse Rock!-style explainer for Project 2025  

three years ago: another fiscal cliff edge for the US 

four years ago: the Mayak disaster (1957) 

five years ago: assorted links to revisit

six years ago: Star Trek tarot,  the Feast of the Archangels, the cartoons of R Cobb plus more links to revisit

seven years ago: more Theremin maestros plus more Middle English vulgarities

eight years ago: the Munich Agreement (1938) plus the Suprematism movement

 

day two hundred five (13. 839)

Iran denies a role in the apparent plot to bomb an airbase in England. Indirect talks between Washington and Tehran continue in New York via Qatari mediators with both sides rejecting reports of compromise—Iran not pausing its nuclear programme and the US not offering sanction relief. The Supreme Leader issues a statement reasserting that Iran is the sole custodian of the Strait of Hormuz. A comprehensive framework for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon stalls at the American department of state, whilst US senator Bernie Sanders calls for an end of military aid to Israel following the state banned Arab parties from elections, disenfranchising Palestinians and leaving them not representation in the Knesset. Netanyahu holds secret meetings with the United Arab Emirates. Russia strikes Ukraine Academy of Sciences as ten-thousand North Korean troops prepare to mobilise. Ebola cases surpass eight thousand in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Europe braces for the next energy shock as fuel prices continue to climb and the US diesel export ban looms. OpenAI scraps the release of its latest frontier model over safety concerns.

day two hundred four (13. 837)

Israeli attacks on Gaza intensify as settlers again storm the Al-Aqsa mosque complex in occupied East Jerusalem. Trump’s Board of Peace excludes UNRWA from participation in any future rebuilding plans for Palestine, fulfilling a long-standing demand from Tel Aviv as the country’s far-right finance minister calls for all out war in the West Bank. Following Trump’s rejection of Tehran’s roadmap to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in seven days if Washington honours their promises and continues negotiations in good faith and awaiting reports from intermediaries rather than the American president’s verdict for an official response, Iran is securing alternative overland trade routes with Türkiye and through the Caspian Sea on its northern border. Renewed military action seems a distinct possibility, an inevitably as the US naval blockade of Iranian ports continue and the Islamic Republic claim the seizure of an American autonomous submarine. Five individuals are apprehended plotting a suspected terror attack on RAF Fairford, which hosts US airforce bombers engaged with attacking Iran—Tehran already citing third-country cooperatives as legitimate targets.

day two hundred (13. 823)

Whilst acknowledging that Iranian leadership did meet with Washington through Qatari and Pakistani intermediaries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Tehran maintains it did not compromise on any of its demands. Pezeshkian delivers a defiant message—calling his country a “victim of terrorism” from the US and Israel, the American delegation storming out during the Iranian president’s address after holding up pictures of students killed in the Minab school attack. Argentina’s Milei slams the United Nations’ critical stance against Israel over Palestine, calling it a useless organisation filled with “useless parasites” and claiming their condemnation condones the genocide of Christians in Africa and reiterates that the Falklands are Argentine, stating that self-determination does not apply for a population implanted by an occupying power. Trump’s Board of Peace tries to signal progress and update the international community its recovery plans for Gaza. Syrian president al-Sharaa, taking the podium, lashes out at Tel Aviv over the expansion of the Golan Heights occupied territory and continuing attacks along the buffer zone, administered by the UN, prompting Israel to reassert its claim to the annexed land seized in the 1967 war. Meanwhile, Trump is hosting Xi in Washington and talking AI and trade, according to US secretary of state, Ukraine and Russia are interested in a limited ceasefire with respect to grain and petrol, whilst Trump imposes a ban on diesel fuel in hope of lowering sky-rocketing prices, the move unlikely to bring about relief at home and more pain for those downstream. Trump also formally invites Putin to the G20 in December to be held at his golf course outside of Miami. Greenland has already said its peace.  Zelenskyy has yet to enter the conversation.