I ALMOST MISSED THIS: Happy palindrome day! 11/02/2011.

CHANGE: Russia Revives “Wet Work.” “During the Cold War, Russia (then the Soviet Union) was infamous for using assassins overseas to kill people, often exiled Russians, who were considered a threat. That sort of thing stopped, for a while, after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. But in the last decade, the Russian ‘wet work’ (assassination) teams are back.”

FULFILLING A CHILDHOOD FANTASY: The Chevrolet Camaro Hot Wheels Concept.

AT AMAZON, holiday entertainment supplies.

THESE AREN’T THE DRONES WE WERE LOOKING FOR: “It was a really thoughtful gesture, but officials with the Department of Homeland Security kinda wish Congress had held onto the gift receipt for those spy drones. In a gift-giving mix-up that outdoes any of your worst Christmas sweater stories, Congress this past August approved a very generous $32 million appropriation to the DHS for the acquisition of three new Predator drones, meant to bolster the Department’s border-monitoring efforts. Department officials were surprised, to say the least. See, new Predators weren’t exactly on their surveillance gear wish list.”

THE LADIES LOVE RICK PERRY.

FROM TRAGEDY TO FARCE: DSK Sexual Assault Case To Become “Dominique Sex King” Porn Film.

AT AMAZON, markdowns on computers and accessories.

WILL REDISTRICTING HURT THE DEMOCRATS? Enter the Justice Department’s “Secret Internal Redistricting Plans.”

NARRATIVE UPDATE: Gingrich’s Daughter: That Story About My Parents’ Divorce Is Hogwash, By the Way.

SCIENCE: Massive Fraud Uncovered in Work by Social Psychologist. “When colleagues called the work of Dutch psychologist Diederik Stapel too good to be true, they meant it as a compliment. But a preliminary investigative report (go.nature.com/tqmp5c) released on October 31 gives literal meaning to the phrase, detailing years of data manipulation and blatant fabrication by the prominent Tilburg University researcher.”

CHANGE: The Arab World’s Demographic Transition.

AT AMAZON, it’s the Holiday Toy List.

HIGHER EDUCATION BUBBLE UPDATE: Coloradans Vote Heavily Against a Tax Increase That Would Benefit Schools and Colleges. So Colorado voters don’t see enough value to support a tax increase. (And probably didn’t believe that it would be a “temporary” increase, as advertised). Question: Will the higher-ed establishment respond by (1) Trying to increase value to taxpayers; (2) Calling taxpayers a bunch of illiterate idiots? (3) Enacting cuts designed to be as painful to students as possible in order encourage their parents to support higher taxes?

THE ONE PERCENT IS LIVING IN YOUR HEAD, RENT-FREE. Highly Connected Upper Class Parts Of Brain Identified.

DANIEL HANNAN: Financial crisis: Eurocrats are terrified of democracy.

FROM THE BLACKBERRY FOLKS, a terrifying vision of the touchscreen future.

FROM ANN ALTHOUSE, another journolist reminder.

DANIEL FREEDMAN: What Will Burn And Explode On November 5? Anarchists enamored of Guy Fawkes should be reminded that he was not exactly a fighter for freedom.

UPDATE: Reader David Matthews writes: “Well, if a crime-fighter fights crime, and a firefighter fights fires, then yes, Guy Fawkes, like Che Guevara, was a freedom fighter.”

SMART DIPLOMACY? Sleepwalking Through The Arab Spring.

IS NISSAN ABOUT TO “pull a Hyundai?”

STUDY: Cooler-colored cars are up to 2 percent more fuel efficient than darker-colored ones.

NILE GARDINER: Greek Deal Exposes European Folly. “The huge difficulties facing the Euro are symbolic of the deep-seated problems enveloping the European Union today. Chief among them is a lack of economic freedom — thanks to over-regulation of businesses, high tax rates and massive welfare spending as well as heavily protectionist measures (such as the Common Agricultural Policy) that limit free trade outside the EU.”

Funny that the Obama folks wanted to make the United States follow the European model. Doesn’t speak well for their judgment.

HOPE AND CHANGE: The Sinking Dollar Is Sinking The Recovery. “The dollar’s slump versus the yen is a marker, one of many now, of how investors perceive U.S. prospects. Japan, with a public debt to GDP ratio of 230 percent, is second highest in the world, behind Zimbabwe. Moreover, the country has been stuck in economic limbo for years. This is not a comparison we should welcome.”