NEWS NOTES FROM 27 OCTOBER 2026

MS NOW

Voting is high in Israel. 31% of people eligible to vote have already voted this morning. A great many people came in from other countries to cast their ballots. Israel requires in-person voting.

Netanyahu has still refused to allow an investigation into Nov. 7. There are dozens of parties vying for position. The president decides who is most likely to be able to form a coalition with the other parties. Usually, no one party is able to win enough votes to not have to form a coalition with the other parties. Voting closes at 4 PM EST.

NEWS NOTES

ARTICLE: “Prediction Markets were comically wrong about the Brazilian election. Futurism.

· “Platforms like Polymarket…were horrendously off the mark when it came to Brazil’s…election.”

· Extremely high odds for the Bolsonaro son, Flavio held at around 80% until the day of the second round of voting began. That day, it was 81%.

· This was a “huge rebuff to a mounting right-wing wave in Latin America.”

· Actual on-the-gound-polling showed an extremely tight race. Polymarket got it wrong.

Article: “Brazil is a Tragic case study”: Maga is throwing a total toddler tantrum over Lula’s election win. Buzz Feed (10/26/26)

· In this article Jair’s confinement is called “house arrest” for planning a coup after losing the 2022 election.

· Buzz Feed is quoting various MAGA posts about the election.

· Lula is referred to as a Communist, there are calls for an international investigation. Flavio is said to have had the election “stolen from him” as did his father.

· Also causing problems is the fact that the justice of the Supreme Court who extended voting hours for two hours was appointed by Lula and said to have been Lula’s former personal lawyer.

· One poster claimed that the Bolsonaro lead held until the two additional voting hours were granted. But analysts say that the two hours did not make much difference in the vote and Bolsonaro requested an extension in the voting hours as well.

· One poster calls it “tragic” “Once you let communism in, it’s though to vote it out.”

· American George Santos, former U.S. Congressman and con artist wrote: “Flavio Bolsonaro should take a page out of his brother’s book and fly to the U.S. tomorrow morning. I wouldn’t be surprised if Alexandre de Moraes is already writing up his indictment. The world’s 5^th largest economy is now officially communist.”

· “Fuck Lula. Brazil is fucked and will continue to be so for the next four years.”

· (Lula’s) “victory” came courtesy of blatant corruption.”

· “Notice how there are zero Brazilians partying in the streets after lyla’s “victory.” (insert photo)

· But not everybody agreed. This is a sampling of some other responses.

· “Brazil has just delivered something the world desperately needed: proof that the authoritarian wave is neither unstoppable nor irreversible….despite the political pressure coming from Trump’s America…the Amazon, once again, has a fighting chance.”

· “may brazil’s victory be the beginning of the fall of fascism.”

· “To understand. How Lula’s supporters are feeling right now. Imagine Trump went to jail for his January 6th insurrection and then Biden/ Harris defeated Don Junior in 2024.”

· From Alexandria Ocasio Cortez: “Brazil showed the world. That the will of the people is stronger than authoritarians who try to suppress it. Congratulations, President Lula, and congratulations Brazil.”

· Bernie Sanders: “Congratulations to Lula on his extraordinary re-election victory in the Brazilian presidential election. Lula has stood up for Brazilian workers and democracy and will continue to do so in the next four years.”

· Zohran Mamdani: “The people united will never be defeated.”

Thursday 22 October 2026

Americans just can’t stay away from psychological explanations for everything. A few days ago Joe Scarborough was yelling about the fact that Russia, Russia, Russia wasn’t a hoax, that it didn’t matter what Putin had on Trump or with Trump, what mattered was it was there and had been there from at least 2015. Today, he is relating a story in which he asked Maggie Haberman why Trump did something like trying to destroy Nato, and Haberman said that he (Trump) just wanted to see what he could get away with.

This tells you just how ideologically confused Joe Scarborough is. You might ask why I watch him every morning and I ask myself the same question, but it’s a habit, like smoking, or drinking – a bad habit that it hard to break.

For years Scarborough was yelling that the “institutions are holding.” Now he’s yelling “justice is coming.” Schichhhh. The institutions didn’t hold and I seriously doubt that any justice is coming.

It’s cleaning day and everybody has this residual tension, inwardly preparing for the stress of confronting the nightmare that is our house and having someone else here for four hours. My mother used to say that every house I lived in looked like teenagers ran it. She would be truly gratified if she saw this one, the worst of all.

Ah, well. Back to politics. I listened to Joy Gray interview Isabella Webber this morning before I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs to drink coffee with the kitties. It was a good interview. (Insert).

KT McFarlane was over on Fox claiming that the protesters in France were “Muslim military age men.” Scarborough took the same position just less explicitly about Muslims, but he claimed that the protests were over immigration rather than education and cost of living.

Democracy Now

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Kyivv and eleven other regions were struck in Ukraine last night. This is after Steve Whitkoff called Putin a “humanitarian.”

· Nigeria is reporting an ebola case. This is a spread of ebola over Africa.

· Trump is cheering a man who threw a punch at a protester at one of his rallies.

· In Michigan El-Sayed is running against Mike Rogers who is backed by Trump. AIPAC is planning to give 9 million to support Rogers at the very end of the race.

· Mehdi Hasan: Interview

· Hasan: AIPAC spent over 30 million to defeat El-Sayed in Michigan primary. A victory for El-Sayed Will show that progressives can win in state not part of New York circuit.

· Hasan; AIPAC has a superpac to funnel money into campaigns (UDP). When they give money in primaries, that’s Republican money going into a Democratic primary. Sanders says that they should ban this.

· Ilhan Omar. Trump calls her “sick” “hates our country” “real shithole” Somalia. “not a country”

· He’s great at accusing other people of what he is.

· Night Flower: documentary. The night flower thrives in the dark, shrivels in the day.

Thursday 22 October 2026

Americans just can’t stay away from psychological explanations for everything. A few days ago Joe Scarborough was yelling about the fact that Russia, Russia, Russia wasn’t a hoax, that it didn’t matter what Putin had on Trump or with Trump, what mattered was it was there and had been there from at least 2015. Today, he is relating a story in which he asked Maggie Haberman why Trump did something like trying to destroy Nato, and Haberman said that he (Trump) just wanted to see what he could get away with.

This tells you just how ideologically confused Joe Scarborough is. You might ask why I watch him every morning and I ask myself the same question, but it’s a habit, like smoking, or drinking – a bad habit that it hard to break.

For years Scarborough was yelling that the “institutions are holding.” Now he’s yelling “justice is coming.” Schichhhh. The institutions didn’t hold and I seriously doubt that any justice is coming.

It’s cleaning day and everybody has this residual tension, inwardly preparing for the stress of confronting the nightmare that is our house and having someone else here for four hours. My mother used to say that every house I lived in looked like teenagers ran it. She would be truly gratified if she saw this one, the worst of all.

Ah, well. Back to politics. I listened to Joy Gray interview Isabella Webber this morning before I dragged myself out of bed and went downstairs to drink coffee with the kitties. It was a good interview. (Insert).

KT McFarlane was over on Fox claiming that the protesters in France were “Muslim military age men.” Scarborough took the same position just less explicitly about Muslims, but he claimed that the protests were over immigration rather than education and cost of living.

Democracy Now

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Kyivv and eleven other regions were struck in Ukraine last night. This is after Steve Whitkoff called Putin a “humanitarian.”

· Nigeria is reporting an ebola case. This is a spread of ebola over Africa.

· Trump is cheering a man who threw a punch at a protester at one of his rallies.

· In Michigan El-Sayed is running against Mike Rogers who is backed by Trump. AIPAC is planning to give 9 million to support Rogers at the very end of the race.

· Mehdi Hasan: Interview

· Hasan: AIPAC spent over 30 million to defeat El-Sayed in Michigan primary. A victory for El-Sayed Will show that progressives can win in state not part of New York circuit.

· Hasan; AIPAC has a superpac to funnel money into campaigns (UDP). When they give money in primaries, that’s Republican money going into a Democratic primary. Sanders says that they should ban this.

· Ilhan Omar. Trump calls her “sick” “hates our country” “real shithole” Somalia. “not a country”

· He’s great at accusing other people of what he is.

· Night Flower: documentary. The night flower thrives in the dark, shrivels in the day.

FROM THE CHILDLESS CAT LADY WORKING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK.

Article: “Zelensky says US intelligence sharing works now after talks with Trump envoy in Oslo.” BBC News.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FOR 21 OCTOBER 2026

· Witkoff is due to met Putin on Wednesday.

· Trump blamed Zelensky for increased oil prices in the US.

· “speaking after Zelensky’s news conference in Oslo, Trump again told reporters at the White House he wanted Kyiv to “make a deal.” He said it was “time for Ukraine to end this war.”

· Moscow currently controls about 20% of Ukraine.

· Drone attacks continued on Tuesday killing 10 people.

· “intelligence sharing” is evidently different from SpaceX’s Starlink satellite access. “after Ukraine’s military had reported in recent days speed restrictions on the US platform used by Kyiv to carry out drone strikes against Russia.”

· “Unconfirmed Reports earlier on Tuesday said the transfer of more US-made Patriot Interceptor missiles, the only effective weapon in shooting down Russian ballistic missiles, had not yet been approved.

· Vance said that he didn’t’ think Ukraine should be in Nato.

Documentary: BBC News. ‘Inside the shadowy world of anti-Putin sabotage from within Russia.” BBC World Service documentary about Russian saboteurs. Outside the U.K look at YouTube: Shadowmen: Russians working with Ukraine.

Article: The Washington Post. “Riots leave France divided as Macron enters his final stretch.”

· Right wing press blames riots on immigration (Steve Bannon’s AMVO)

· Morning Joe does the same thing. There is no mention of complaints about school funding inequality.

Article: The Guardian. “Nato increases Black Sea deployment amid escalating deadly Russian attacks. (10/20/26).

Article: The Guardian: “Italy to deploy 500 troops to Milan after days of protests and looting.

Article: Reuters “US envoy Witkoff to meet Putin, Trump presses Kyiv to settle.”

Article: “The secret terms of Trump’s Venezuelan oil deal.” Propublica (10/21/26)

· In August, Trump signed what he called “the biggest oil deal in world history.” The deal grants the U.S. “sweeping access to Venezuela’s oil reserves,” but “…the potential benefits to its people are largely absent from the text.”

· Trump’s partner in the deal is Alejandro Betancourt, a “…Venezuelan oligarch who has faced money-laundering investigations in three countries.”

Article: “Federal agents knock on doors to track down possible noncitizen voters ahead of midterms. CBS News (10/21/26)

· Agents, armed and in uniform, from the Department of Homeland Security have been knocking on doors in several states and checking the voter registration and immigration status of residents.

· This can discourage people from voting, just as the administration wants.

Article: “Russia frees retired American teacher as Trump envoy meets with Putin.” NBC News (10/21/26)

· Steve Witkoff hailed Putin as a “humanitarian.” (Note: Jesus).

· A retired American teacher was released. Hubbard, the teacher, was detained in Ukraine in 2022. He was being held on charges of fighting as a mercenary.

SATURDAY 17 OCTOBER 2026

PODCAST: BBC NEWSHOUR

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM A CHILDLESS CAT LADY

· Three weeks ago, Trump signed a set of tough sanctions against Russia, named after Lindsey Graham. Yesterday he waived those sanctions. Zelensky called it betrayal. It is.

· “It’s a tragic day.” A member of the Ukrainian parliament said. “It undermines the credibility” of the U.S. “All Ukraine is doing is defend ourselves.” These actions will only “encourage Putin.” It is expected to be a terrible winter in Ukraine.

· The Russia Editor for the BBC: Donald Trump’s diesel deal. Trump blames Zelensky for any attack on diesel. Russia continues to lose large numbers of soldiers on the battlefield.

Brazilian Rain Forest

· Under Bolsonaro deforestation increased. Lula was much better for the rainforest. The Bolsonaro son is a continuation of his father’s lack of concern for the rainforest.

· Bolsonaro thinks industrialization is a better option than conversation of the rainforest.

Spanish Civil War: La Bola Negra

· A movie about Spanish history. La Bola Negra. Lorca play. Won an award at Cannes film festival. The story is by Federico Garcia Lorca. 1930s. Thought to have been Lorca’s lover. The history of the civil war. Lorca was murdered in his mid-30s. It is thought that his gender status was pat of his targeting. The film is thought to be bringing younger people in touch with their history (See Wikipedia, IMDB, New York Times Review, Netflix,BBC ).

UKRAINE

· Dan Johnson from front line. Ukraine is saying that they are making gains.

PODCAST: ISRAEL

Podcast: The Daily Briefing: The Times of Israel 10/17/2

· There is a Haredi woman running for office.

She is a professor.

17 OCTOBER 2026

DEEP STATE RADIO PODCAST

WORDS MATTER

16 OCTOBER 2026

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· The press secretary lasted about 4.5 days. After an outrageously embarrassing performance, she’s gone.

· Suzy Wiles, after grifting with her family, is now prepared to leave the administration (Note: See Financial Times 10/8/26)

· Stephen Miller is being talked about to replace Wiles.

· There are questions about whether Miller ordered the shutdown of the Starlink system which made it impossible for Ukraine to shoot down Russia’s millies and drones?

· And then there’s “soulless little Marco” Rubio. He evidently spends hours on the phone every day getting orders from Stephen Miller. The “club” that is the Senate confirmed him unanimously. Rubio greenlit ending of programs that cost the lives of millions of people. He has gutted the State Department. He has shut down the departments that deal with climate change. In a recent speech, he recharacterized himself as descended from Spain (instead of Cuba) and legitimated war crimes in the Pacific and in the Caribbean and threats against Cuba. The administration is essentially starving Cuba. (Note: Ending up as what is Viceroy of Cuba and Venezuela is Rubio’s life dream.)

· And then there’s Donald Trump, funding an enemy (Russia) that is helping a country (Iran) actively at war with us.

· As a symbol of just how selfish the administration is, the State Department was surrounded by flags of every notion. Rubio took all the flags down and replaced them with all American flags. Message: Nothing matters but us. Rubio cares about nobody but himself.

· The Administration cut out the mental health aspects of the VA.

· Book “American Resistance.”

· Book “Treasure.” We knew this was going to happen.

· Note the election in Israel is on the 7th and Netanyahu has a chance to form another coalition. The price they pay to have the haredi in government is giving tons of money to the schools.

· France is looking like they are going to make Le Pen the new leader. If the ADF comes to power, Ukraine is going to have much more difficulty.

· Europe has failed to send frozen Russian assets to Ukraine.

· Ilhan Omaher’s integration papers are being examined in order to strip her of her citizenship and deport her. Judge in Georgia gave them a search warrant.

· Trump is likely to go on a crisis after the mid-terms.

·

THURSDAY 8 OCTOBER 2026

News and Life Notes:

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Steve Bannon is complaining that the Justice Department is still full of “deep state” personnel and that people should be fired.

· Trump is making “Melania, Sir jokes. Why?

· There is discussion about strikes on Iran before the mid-terms.

· The tit mice are already here this morning, along with the cardinals and the chickadees.

· I have to go to the doctor and have my stapes taken out this afternoon. I got into a fight with an area rug and wound up hitting the corner of the door frame. Eight stapes. The worst part was the sound of the staple gun. I just hope having them out is not worse than having them put in.

· Surprise, surprise Kimberly Gilfoyle pressured a Trump donor to pay off her credit card bill before becoming an ambassador. What sleaze, what incredible sleaze this woman is.

· ICE shoots another man in New York (NYT).

· Explosions in Saudi Arabia’s capital (NYT).

· Pentagon officials are threatening to live stream the execution by firing squad of the Fort Hood shooter. Public executions are carried out commonly in countries like Iran, North Korea and the Taliban-led Afghanistan (NYT).

· Article: “In Trump’s Russian Oil Deal, Middle East funds are the biggest owners.” (NYT).

TUESDAY 6 OCTOBER 2026

LIFE NOTES:

It’s one of those barometric pressure mornings. There is pressure behind my eyes and my joints hurt everywhere. Great. It has just started sprinkling and we still can’t get Sam (the youngest of the rescue cats) inside. I never saw a cat so unbothered by rain.

We’ve got our fruit/yogurt smoothies for breakfast. Wonderful, strawberries, blueberries, frozen bananas, vanilla and vanilla Greek yogurt from Sams. Delicious.

Trump is suggesting at a rally last night that we allow the Iranians to bomb San Diego and another California city and telling his audience that gas prices aren’t that bad. They are laughing. None of them look to have an IQ over 70 and none of them appear to be even listening to him. They are taking selfies or trying to get a look at themselves on the television.

News Notes:

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· (10/6/26) “Ebola Patient boarde commercial flight, died shortly after arrival.” Wall Street Journal. A man who contracted ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo transited three countries and boarded a commercial flight to Nairobi where he died. Ebola’s Bundibugyo strain has killed more than 4,000 people in eastern Congo in the past five months. This epidemic has been advancing faster than any other Ebola outbreak on record.

· (10/6/26) “Trump approves firing-squad execution of Fort Hood shooter…” The Guardian.

· (10/5/26) “Pennsylvania has logged 1,000 measles cases, among the biggest outbreaks in decades.” The Philadelphia Inquirer.

· (10/5/26) “Spain’s prime minister calls snap election aiming to seize momentum over housing crisis.” AP News.

1, 2 OCTOBER 2026

BOOKS of Interest: Ancient Rome

Powell, Lindsay (2023) Marcus Agrippa: Right-Hand Man of Caesar Augustus.

Harris, Robert (2026) Agrippa: a Novel of Ancient Rome’s Descent into Dictatorship. (Harris is the very best).

Reinhold, Mayer (1933) Marcus Agrippa: A Biography.

2 October 2026

News Shorts

· Failed execution in Tennessee. Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs. This is the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. “What happened to Christa Pike Can be attributed to the extreme secrecy Tennessee officials have maintained about their execution procedures, their refusal to answer reasonable questions, and their unwillingness to accept responsibility for their mistakes.” Death Penalty Information Center executive director. (NPR).

· Wilber Garces Perez, the man who was shot in the back by ICE finally gets surgery to remove bullet. He was shot on September 20. “The officer shot Garces Perez, who is a Venezuelan national, was not wearing a body camera…the other officer…had turned off his body camera prior to arriving at the scene.” (Velasquez Neira, Gabriel, “Wilber Garces Perez…” Kut. Org.

· The Department of Homeland Security task force program…enlists local police as paid partners in the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.” The program has become a “cash cow for state and local law enforcement…After turning over a single deportable immigrant, departments quality to receive $60,000 a year for each deputized officer, regardless of additional arrests.” (Wall Street Journal).

· “For nearly 50 years, the federal government has said people with disabilities should live, work, and learn in the most integrated setting possible rather than be segregated in institutions like nursing homes.” Now, the Trump administration has changed that position. Texas v. Kennedy originally had the federal government as a defendant with states suing to have “integration” removed from a federal regulation. Now, the Trump administration has switched sides and is now agreeing with the states (NPR, 10/1/26).

· “Lawyers for the family of Renee Good…invoked an 1871 law meant to fight the terror of the KKK as they filed two civil lawsuits seeking accountability for Good’s killing…” (10/1/26, MPR News).

· Confirmed measles cases in Pennsylvania have reached 943 this year, the largest outbreak in three decades. A fifth person has died although health officials will not release details. The person was unvaccinated. Two counties have released measles-associated deaths involving an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old. Two deaths in Lancaster county have been confirmed of infants in the Amish community (9/30/26, The Philadelphia Inquirer).

· Ohhhhhhh, I can’t take any more of this. What a dismal news day.

Excerpt from Craig Unger’s “Den of Spies.”

Right before the Iran hostage crisis, the CIA was going through a time in which its secrets were being exposed – assassination attempts, illegal wiretaps, human experimentation, spying for Richard Nixon and more. There had been coup d’etats in Syria, in Iran in Guatemala and in the Congo, the Dominican Republic and in South Vietnam, Brazil and Chile. Congress began to rein in the power of the intelligence community. Carter appointed Stansfield Turner as CIA director. Turner purged 820 CIA operatives, in 1979 another 250 people put in for retirement. When the hostage crisis began, the “intelligence community, much of which had already been deeply alienated, was appalled by Carter’s fumbling efforts in Iran.” (17-19)

(Note: For more information, see Joe Trento’s “Prelude to Terror: The Rogue CIA and the Legacy of America’s Private Intelligence Network.”)

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

SUNDAY 27 SEPTEMER 2026

Well, it’s a mercifully cool morning. The measles death count is increasing. Pennsylvania is asking for assistance from the CDC and largely getting obstruction.

The cats are already outside. Aside from napping, their absolute favorite thing to do is to explore their yard. We’ve never really had a problem with one of them straying off the property before Sam. Everything is before Sam. We don’t even know where Sam goes. He’s like another cat when he’s outside, in another world. He’s a wild cat out there. Yesterday he ate, or at least caught a blue tail skenk, which scared his mother to death.

Blue tails can make them very sick. Eddie ate one once. When the vet, the wonderful Dr. Brooks walked in the door he stopped dead in his tracks: “He feels horrible doesn’t he?” Very few people notice what cats feel like if they don’t live with them. Cats are specialists at hiding pain – they are afraid somebody will try to get one up on them if they perceive any weakness.

So, I suppose the wonderful, ingenious skink, dropped the blue tail and escaped because Sam is not sick this morning. Yesterday, I had to pick him up and drag him into the house.

NEWS NOTES

QUOTE: Russian saying: “There is no rock bottom, there is knocking from below the bottom.” Things can and will get worse (Kuznetsova and Storyev)

ARTICLE: Pisani, Joseph (9/25/26) “Trump angers lawmakers with $810 million in cuts.” The Wall Street Journal.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Trump is clawing back $810 already approved by Congress, again trying to challenge Congress’ authority over government spending.

· The cuts are known as “pocket rescissions” were for programs that “provide health and education services and support for immigrants, refugees and minority-owned businesses.”

· This move tests the Impoundment Control Act under which the White House can pause spending for 45 days while it asks Congress to pass a measure rescinding the money. If Congress doesn’t act, the money must be released.

· (Collins is trying to behave as if she gives a shit by calling it an “unlawful cancellation of appropriations…approved on a bipartisan basis…”)

ARTICLE: Kuznetsova, Maria and Dan Storyev (9/25/26) “6 Russian words…” Foreign Policy.

· Book: “How to Survive Authoritarianism: A Russian Phrasebook for Everyday Life in America.”

· The authors grew up in Russia and watched as Putin centralized power. “Russians…have generations of experience with the sense of unreality that characterizes life under an oppressive state.”

· (Note: Andrei Tarkovsky 1979 film Stalker)

ARTICLE: Grossman, Nicolas (9/24/26) “Saudi Arabia bribed the wrong people.” Foreign Policy.

· “Saudi Arabia is in serious trouble. Its global influence primarily comes from its leading position as an oil producer and the money resulting from that role…. Today, Saudi tankers are blocked in the Persian Gulf and under threat in the Red Sea, and the country’s biggest oil pipeline has shut down after a drone attacked. Yet Saudi Arabia’s biggest long term problem may be that it’s long time security guarantor the United States is unable to put out the fire and doesn’t seem especially interested in trying.”

BOOKS:

DEN OF SPIES BY CRAIG UNGER.

The Iran Hostage crisis did not come at a good time for the CIA. In 1974. The New York Times exposed that the CIA had been conducting massive illegal domestic intelligence operations against the anti-war movement and other activists during the Vietnam War. Soon after that investigations by the Church Committee exposed the full range of the CIA’s dirty little secrets for all to see. “Among them were 1/4 century of overseas assassination attempts, illegal wiretaps, human experimentation, spying for Richard Nixon and Watergate, and more. They had staged coup d’etats in Syria in 1949, in Iran in 1953, in Guatemala in 1954, in the Congo in 1960, in the Dominican Republic in 1963, in South Vietnam in 1963, in Brazil in 1964 and in Chile in 1973. There were CIA plots to assassinate foreign leaders in the Dominican Republic, Cuba, Chile, Vietnam and more” (17)