The blue wave was bigger than forecast, and Charlie and Peter think it changes almost nothing. Seventy percent of voters said the Iran war shaped their vote, yet Peter puts the odds at better than even that Trump strikes Iran this month, before the new Congress is seated. Netanyahu knows the window closes in January, and as Charlie puts it, lame ducks start wars, they don’t end them. Add Section 219 of the NDAA, which would fuse the US and Israeli militaries beyond congressional oversight, and the purse strings may already be out of reach.Then the conversation turns to the scenario nobody wants to say out loud. Senator Murphy’s “insane plan,” Tucker Carlson’s hundred million view post, and John Kiriakou’s CIA sources all point the same direction: a B61-11 penetrating nuclear weapon dropped on Pickaxe Mountain. Charlie argues Trump is trapped by the American fantasy of the decisive blow and the single data point of 1945. Peter walks through what the strike would require, why the B-2 is vulnerable, and why Ted Postol says Iran could build a Hiroshima class bomb in about a week once it decides to.Finally, Ukraine. A torture pit in a Kiev suburb run by an Azov unit, a 14 year old boy beaten with a shovel, and a kill list that now includes the boy, his parents and the woman who got the prisoners out. Budanov admits there are many more. Reuters calls it a psyop. The episode ends on whether the Democrats’ Russia hawkishness and Iran’s promise of “no geographical limitations” could merge two wars into one.00:00 The blue wave: bigger than forecast, and Trump says he wasn’t on the ballot04:18 Will Democrats actually defund the Iran war?08:33 Merging the US and Israeli militaries10:51 Democrats will be worse on Russia, and nobody dissents16:56 Netanyahu’s window: lame ducks start wars, they don’t end them19:01 Is a strike imminent? Qeshm Island and the quiet strikes21:11 The nuclear option: Murphy, Tucker Carlson and Kiriakou22:55 The B61-11, the B-2 and the moon problem25:10 The World War Two trap: one data point for ending wars29:45 Why decisive blows fail against civilizational states33:55 The day after: Gulf infrastructure, Dimona, data cables, global depression39:05 Iran’s breakout: 60 to 90 percent, and a week to a Hiroshima bomb49:46 Kiev’s torture pits: the 14 year old boy and the kill list1:02:38 Ukraine can’t win and everyone knows it1:09:27 The path to World War Three: no geographical limitationsGo Deeper: https://ruinsreport.com/Substack: https://conversationsamongtheruins.substack.com/Support the Conversation:Join as a Member: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCW9CSfmP6gEjqtOdGTD_JKw/joinBuy Me a Coffee: https://buymeacoffee.com/amongtheruinsFollow us:X: https://x.com/RuinsReportInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/conversationsamongtheruins/TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amongtheruins