Thursday 3 September 2026

LIFE NOTES

It is horribly muggy outside, muggy and hot. There’s a mist over the marsh but you can still see the travelers (that’s what I’ve taken to calling them) across the marsh, headlights passing by.

Errol Flynn is hunkered down on top of the piano looking out over the back yard, the birds, the live oaks and the squirrels. Cool Mustard, our largest orangey, is hunkered down on the daybed with me in the library. That’s the morning array. Other cats are here and there, snoozing after breakfast, waiting for Mike to come downstairs so they can go outside for their morning walk.

We don’t like to let them out before Mike comes downstair. That way, they don’t pace and pace and work themselves into a frenzy of anticipation. We hope that’s going to keep them from frothing at the mouth waiting to go outside when John is here keeping them while we go to Spain and Portugal.

Besides, they don’t much like being outside when Mike’s not there. Sometimes, when he comes back inside for some coffee, they will follow him in and wait. They know they are safer when the big dog is outside watching over them.

SHORT NEWS NOTES

The dreadful Ken Paxton has been traveling with his girlfriend rather than campaigning in Texas, so the Republicans (some of them) have been essentially telling Trump that he broke this race (by refusing to back Coryn) and so now needs to use his massive war chest to fix it. It is doubtful, however, that Trump will do so. He hates to part with money, especially to benefit somebody else. He’s trying to get the Republicans to pay for it by charging them $25,000 a head to attend this ridiculous mid-term Republican convention which is essentially a little love-in for Trump.

The B…..d Bassent is on television blaming the Ukrainians for high gas prices. This is likely the new strategy of the Trump administration to try to deflect the blame from themselves for this idiotic war against Iran.

Hegseth is expanding deployment for servicemen which means that the war will be going on for a while longer, and they will need a way of explaining high gas prices. They have no morals or ethics and will lie in a second. As an example, Trump is claiming that the U.S. is “controlling” the Strait of Hormuz. There has evidently been discussion that Trump could declare “control,” and declare victory and end the war. This may give him some kind of short term gain, but little else.

The guests on Morning Joe do their normal baffled discussion of why Trump is always backing Putin, such as blaming high gasoline prices on Ukraine. There is no mystery here. Trump is a Russian asset. He has been a Russian asset since the mid-eighties, it’s just that nobody wants to admit it. They somehow feel that it is better to allow Trump, Putin and Russia to destroy the U.S. than to admit that they were so incompetent that they allowed a Russian asset to become president.

ICE has been operating in Connecticut, back to their old tricks, arresting parents waiting at school bus stops waiting for their children. And, Republicans use the fact that the DSA wants to defund ICE as some crazy plan.

Gloria Steinham has died. I did not know this, but her first big article was an undercover piece where she pretended to be a Playboy Bunny. She wrote about the long hours and little pay, essentially how these women were being exploited to make money for Hugh Hefner. Barbara Walters wrote a feature on Playboy Bunnies at the same time. She presented the entire affair as charming and funny. Jesus.

The White House is evidently already preparing for an onslaught of instigations should he Democrats take over the House and Senate. I am not at all sure that this will come about. I cannot see that the Democrats will be any different than they were when Obama was in office (moving forward) and when Biden was in office (not moving at all). The Democrats want to get back to “normal.” They do not want to impeach, investigate, charge. They are afraid, too afraid to uphold justice. This is why the DSA is being so successful.

Books:

Stealing Elections, American Style by David Walbert. Never has the federal government been so involved in controlling elections with measures such as gerrymandering, eliminating mail in voting, checking voters’ lists for non-citizens (or people whose names sound like they may not be citizens).

What is Life Worth? By Kenneth Feinberg. The fund to compensate 9/11 victims.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

Saturday, Sunday 29-30 August 2026

ARTICLE: Hastings, Rob (3/27/26) “My life inside Putin’s war machine – and why I defected.” The I Paper.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ELDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Igor Salikov’s life is in danger because he defected to the West. But, after witnessing the depravity of Vladimir Putin’s military, including the Wagner mercenary group, he feels compelled to reveal his experiences.

· In 2022 Salikov was given notice that Russia would be invading Ukraine and he was to fly right into Kyiv to capture the headquarters of the SBU, the Security Services of Ukraine. He was reassured that they would be met with friendly Ukrainians.

· According to the I Paper, he witnessed war crimes against women and children and felt himself lied to about the need for the war. In 2023, he found a way of escaping Russia completely and gave evidence to the International Criminal Court (ICC). He now hopes Ukraine will win.

· In 1991 when the Soviet Union dissolved, he, like many other former military men, found himself without a job. Many of these men joined criminal gangs. Igor was offered a security job to protect a sheikh in the Middle East. He then worked as a mercenary for several firms. These firms became Putin’s dirty work forces, able to do jobs for which Putin didn’t have to take responsibility.

· Putin, according to Igor, never liked the military understanding it was the only force that could depose him. Igor maintains that discord within the military was the reason Putin invaded Crimea in 2014 – to make the military unite behind him.

· He believed at the time that the people in Donbas wanted to rebel against Kyiv. He found out when he went there, this wasn’t true.

· Note: Igor’s book: “Rusia’s Wagner Group.” Forthcoming book: “Putin’s ‘Viper’ Detachment.”

· Igor was wounded in Crimea then found out that the Wagner group had a job for him. When he arrived at the “tent city” everyone was talking about Nazi Germany. It’s streets were named after Hitler’s lieutenants and concentration camps.

· Wagner had been founded by Prigozhin, a convicted thief who became a millionaire businessman. According to the I news, “Salikov realized this was a man without any morals.” Wagner was accused of massacres in Mali and the Central African Republic while protecting the Kremlin’s allies and business interests.

· “No part of this plan worked,” Igor says of the plan to overtake the security forces in Kyiv. “Salikov was horrified by the “senseless fighting”” He managed to get his unit withdrawn early from Ukraine, but was then ordered back.

· He was on a watchlist that prevented him from going over the border. He bribed his way off the list for 24 hours and flew to Turkey and then onto North Cyprus. He then flew to Mexico.

· Igor wishes Prigozhin had gone through with his attempted coup in 2023, when he got so angry with the Kremlin he led tanks towards Moscow.

Sunday 30 Augut 2026

ARTICLE: Walt, Stephen M. (8/17/26) “The top 10 ways Trump has made America weaker. Foreign Policy.

· “As Trump’s. Second term nears the midway point. There can be little doubt that he is one of the most consequential presidents in U.S. history. Unfortunately, almost all the consequences of his actions have been harmful, not just for most of the people in the United States, but also for America’s relative power and standing in the world. His cronies and family members may be reaping the benefits, but the cumulative impact of his actions will not. Will be not a return to greatness, but a weaker and more divided America.”

Here are ten ways Trump is making the U.S. weaker.

· 1) Destroying confidence in U.S. promises. “As he did throughout his litigious and bankruptcy prone business career, Trump has repeatedly demonstrated that his threats are mostly empty bluster and his pledges mean nothing.”

· This is one of he reasons he is having problems ending the war in Iran. They can’t believe a word he says. Other countries are looking for more reliable partners.

· 2) Reducing U.S. military capability. “… I do not doubt that if Trump could turn the armed forces into a loyal instrument of his own power, he would.”

· 3) Dismantling diplomatic capacity. This could take decades to rebuild. The U.S. has withdrawn from more than 60 international organizations. The diplomats he chooses to select are a small group of amateur diplomats like Steve Witkoff, Jared Kushner and Vance.

· 4) Undermining U.S. scientific preeminence. One of the foundations of the United State’s global power now rests on “ignorant and unqualified science skeptics”…and actively encouraged the belief that ignorance is preferable to knowledge and expertise.”

· 5) Missing the green transition.

· 6) Eroding the rule of law. Trump has insulated himself from legal constraints and used the legal system to conduct vendettas.

· 7) Threatening electoral integrity. “Nothing could be more corrosive to a sense of patriotism and civic unity than a belief that elections are constantly being rigged. And that’s exactly what Trump and his minions have been doing.”

· 8) Abandoning checks and balances. “When presidents can do anything they want without having to gain public support or even make the case to Congress, you are more likely to get I’ll conceived debacles such as the current Iran war.”

· 9) Abandoning civil discourse. “More than anyone else, Trump is responsible for the coarsening and the vulgarity of US political discourse. It’s partly his willingness and ability to lie shamelessly, a trait that has infected most of the Republican Party. But it is also his reliance on vulgar insults, violent rhetoric, rambling rants portraying opponents as criminals, traitors or worse, and his all too evident contempt for half of the citizens of the country.”

· 10) Torching U.S. soft power.

· Trump’s “The main accomplishment during his second term has been to enrich himself and his cronies.”

· “His family will be a lot richer when his term ends, but the country will be weaker, sicker and angrier…. Make America Great Again was always just a scam.

ARTICLE: Munayyer, Yousef (3/10/26) “Why Netanyahu chose to strike Iran now. Foreign Policy.

· Netanyahu admitted that war with Iran was something he has “longed to do for 40 years.”

· As Sen. Chris Van Hollen put it, Netanyahu “finally found a president stupid enough to attack Iran.”

ARTICLE WORTH READING

ARTICLE: I News (8/29/26) “Paranoid Putin is shutting down the internet to block bad news.” I News

Friday 28 August 2026

UKRAINE: Former Defense Minister Fedorov

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· The Kremlin is using remarks made by ousted Ukrainian Defence Minister Mykhailo Fedorov to allege that Kyiv is consumed by intensifying political infighting.

· Fedorov told Reuters that Ukraine appeared to be losing the war against Russia. He complained about engrained corruption and patronage networks.

· Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “the Kyiv regime is collapsing from within.”

ARTICLE: Strupczewski, Jan (8/27/26) “Four EU countries seek to reopen debate on Russian frozen assets for Ukraine.” Reuters.

· “The Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden called on Thursday for the European Union to reopen discussion on using Russia’s frozen assets for Ukraine as Moscow shows no signs of wanting to end its war there.”

ARTICLE: France 24 () “Khersonresidents urged to leave as Russian attacks threaten power and heating.” France 24.

· People of Kherson were urged to leave as Russians attacked risking cutting electricity and heating supplies for an extended period.

ARTICLE: Stonor, Joe (8/28/26) “Wheat soars to highest level in three years as Black Sea crisis deepens.” The Wall Street Journal.

· In one of the globe’s most important grain-growing regions wheat prices hit a three-year high. Together, Russia and Ukraine account for approximately a quarter of global wheat production. Prices increased as Russia refused a truce that would halt attacks against ships carrying gains through the Black Sea.

ARTICLE: Jovanovic, Dada (8/26/26) “Explosive drone at German airport linked to Russian military intelligence.” ABC News.

· The explosive drone found near a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig airport in Germany earlier this month bore the hallmarks of devices typically employed by Russia’s military intelligence directorate. The Discovery. Of the small drone. Fitted with explosives and a detonator on August the 4th led to the temporary shutdown of Leipzig airport. The device failed. To explode because it’s triggering mechanism with disconnected.

· Leipzig Airport is a major cargo hub and is used by the US military and NATO allies to transport armaments to Ukraine. Investigators believe the explosive drone was designed to disable aircraft parked on the airfield in order to delay shipments to Ukraine and to send a warning to Germany about its continued support for the Ukrainian war effort.

ARTICLE: o’Connor, Tom () “The day Putin peaked. Newsweek.

· When Vladimir Putin left Alaska a little over a year ago, John Bolton who served in Trump’s first term, declared that “Putin clearly won,” having “achieved most of what he wanted” from the meeting without any concrete commitments.

· Moscos got what is often referred to in the Russian media as the “Spirit of Anchorage.” This means an agreement that Trump will retreat from global presence and focus o the Western Hemisphere. This is entirely in line with what Putin wants – i.e., a world divided into spheres of influence, where the U.S. sticks to its own back yard and gives Russia a free hand in what it considers to be its own backyard, specifically Europe and its central and eastern parts.

· The 28-point plan put forth by the White House inspired little confidence among Ukraine’s supporters.

· “It would see frontlines frozen, Ukraine effectively concede currently Russian held lands. Roughly 1/5 of Ukraine’s pre war territory, as well as Kyiv’s commitment to cap its armed forces and forgo long sought entry into NATO.”

· “Today, Ukraine’s disadvantages remain dire, but Russia’s failure to translate its upper hand into resolute success has weakened its hand as Ukraine and its European supporters campaigned ferociously to push back against a feared total US U-turn.”

· According to Olexiy Haran, professor at the National University of Kyiv: “There’s a lot of criticism regarding Trump…. But intelligence data continues to be supplied to Ukraine. That’s really, really important. And the Europeans are buying American weapons for Ukraine, so it’s not for free, but still it continues.’

· Ukraine secured a new $81 billion package in military and financial assistance from European nations and Canada.

· Next winter will be a lack of air defense munitions, the arrival of Norkth Korean ballistic missiles, the damage to the heating and power infrastructure…”

· Putin may be mobilizing up to half-million additional soldiers after the parliamentary elections next month.

· Bolton characterizes Ukraine as the “loser.”

Friday 27 August 2026

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

ARTICLE: Altman, Howard and Tyler Rogoway (8/26/26) “Claims swirl around CIA director’s reason for secret Moscow visit, nearly all of them are terrifying. TWZ Newsletter.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ENDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED (ACCORDING TO J. F…ING D. VANCE) CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Most of the reports indicate that CIA Director Radcliff was delivering a warning to Putin. The exact nature of the warning, however, is unclear.

· One line of reasoning is that Radcliff was delivering a warning not to attack a NATO country. This is based on all the actions which seemed to be testing NATO’S resolve.

· Some reports indicate that he is mulling the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

· Other reports indicate an increase in offensive operations in Ukraine as a pay back for the damage is country is currently suffering.

ISRAEL

ARTICLE: Haaretz Editorial (8/27/26) “Israel must choose between itself and its West Bank settlements.” Haaretz.

· The argument being made is that settlements protect Israel. The opposing argument is that Israel doesn’t have enough troops to protect these settlements or deal with the friction they create.

· “Israel doesn’t need the settlements, but it wants them…”

ARTICLE: Khoury, Jack (8/26/26) “Analysis: By smashing a Palestinian monument, an Israeli far-right law-maker brought West Bank reality to light.” Haaretz.

· “Tzvi Succot took a hammer to a Palestinian monument in the West Bank, and thus exposed…the IDF doesn’t stop settlers’ violence, it often enables it.”

· Succot is a far-right lawmaker. He is a Knesset member, “who operated under the protection of the Israeli military…this is ot an isolated incient, but pat of a dangerous and continuous escalation.”

· “For many Palestinians, the distinction between a soldier and a settler has become increasingly blurred.”

· “Another soldier added, “Three battalions had to be deployed so that a Knesset member could enter for 20 minutes, takr a picture with a flag, and leave. Not a single person in that entire force didn’t feel humiliated.”

· Security resources were exploited to stage a political event.

· “It was madness.” Another soldier said.

ARTICLE: Shpigel, Noa (6/4/26) “Far-right MK Tzvi Succot attempts to break into Arab Isreali school with disc saw. Haaretz.

· According to a spokesperson, Succot arrived for a tour of a local council but was blocked from entering classrooms. Succot vowed to cut funding for schools which he said “educate for crime.” He was filmed trying to break into a school using a disc saw to cut through the school fence.

· Succot is of the Religious Zionism party.

· “Succot Has also previously sought to ban Harit’s articles from high school final exams and called for shooting Palestinians who set fire to waste and caused widespread air pollution.”

CUBA

ARTICLE: Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters (8/20/26) “U.S. pummels Cuban economy with new sanctions on mining, construction.” Aljazeera

· Another round of sanctions has been announced against Cuba. This time the sanctions are targeting nine state-owned mining, etal and construction companies.

· Cuba holds significant deposits of cobalt and nickel.

· Also sanctioned were three leaders at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) a state organization “designed to foster international relations.”

· Earlier this year, Trump said that once attention had left the Iran situation, “Cuba is next.”

· Measures already taken have led to energy blackouts and shortages of crucial goods, including medicine. The measures also brought about accelerating infant mortality rates, a decline in survival among children with cancer, according to the UN.

Well, cleaning day is over. We have spent another day just trying to straighten out the bedroom. We got the printer up and working, but it seemed to take forever.

Friday 27 August 2026

RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

ARTICLE: Altman, Howard and Tyler Rogoway (8/26/26) “Claims swirl around CIA director’s reason for secret Moscow visit, nearly all of them are terrifying. TWZ Newsletter.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN ENDERLY, CHILDLESS, OVER-EDUCATED (ACCORDING TO J. F…ING D. VANCE) CAT LADY BEAVERING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

· Most of the reports indicate that CIA Director Radcliff was delivering a warning to Putin. The exact nature of the warning, however, is unclear.

· One line of reasoning is that Radcliff was delivering a warning not to attack a NATO country. This is based on all the actions which seemed to be testing NATO’S resolve.

· Some reports indicate that he is mulling the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

· Other reports indicate an increase in offensive operations in Ukraine as a pay back for the damage is country is currently suffering.

ISRAEL

ARTICLE: Haaretz Editorial (8/27/26) “Israel must choose between itself and its West Bank settlements.” Haaretz.

· The argument being made is that settlements protect Israel. The opposing argument is that Israel doesn’t have enough troops to protect these settlements or deal with the friction they create.

· “Israel doesn’t need the settlements, but it wants them…”

ARTICLE: Khoury, Jack (8/26/26) “Analysis: By smashing a Palestinian monument, an Israeli far-right law-maker brought West Bank reality to light.” Haaretz.

· “Tzvi Succot took a hammer to a Palestinian monument in the West Bank, and thus exposed…the IDF doesn’t stop settlers’ violence, it often enables it.”

· Succot is a far-right lawmaker. He is a Knesset member, “who operated under the protection of the Israeli military…this is ot an isolated incient, but pat of a dangerous and continuous escalation.”

· “For many Palestinians, the distinction between a soldier and a settler has become increasingly blurred.”

· “Another soldier added, “Three battalions had to be deployed so that a Knesset member could enter for 20 minutes, takr a picture with a flag, and leave. Not a single person in that entire force didn’t feel humiliated.”

· Security resources were exploited to stage a political event.

· “It was madness.” Another soldier said.

ARTICLE: Shpigel, Noa (6/4/26) “Far-right MK Tzvi Succot attempts to break into Arab Isreali school with disc saw. Haaretz.

· According to a spokesperson, Succot arrived for a tour of a local council but was blocked from entering classrooms. Succot vowed to cut funding for schools which he said “educate for crime.” He was filmed trying to break into a school using a disc saw to cut through the school fence.

· Succot is of the Religious Zionism party.

· “Succot Has also previously sought to ban Harit’s articles from high school final exams and called for shooting Palestinians who set fire to waste and caused widespread air pollution.”

CUBA

ARTICLE: Al Jazeera Staff and Reuters (8/20/26) “U.S. pummels Cuban economy with new sanctions on mining, construction.” Aljazeera

· Another round of sanctions has been announced against Cuba. This time the sanctions are targeting nine state-owned mining, etal and construction companies.

· Cuba holds significant deposits of cobalt and nickel.

· Also sanctioned were three leaders at the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) a state organization “designed to foster international relations.”

· Earlier this year, Trump said that once attention had left the Iran situation, “Cuba is next.”

· Measures already taken have led to energy blackouts and shortages of crucial goods, including medicine. The measures also brought about accelerating infant mortality rates, a decline in survival among children with cancer, according to the UN.

Well, cleaning day is over. We have spent another day just trying to straighten out the bedroom. We got the printer up and working, but it seemed to take forever.

Wednesday 19 August 2026

NEWS SHORTS

· Angie Nixon (D) has won the Democratic Senate primary in Florida. She advocates Medicare for all. She has a nice, friendly manner, she smiles while she’s talking about policy. Scarborough, of course, tries to take her on about “abolishing the police” and opening the border. She supports abolishing for-profit prisons. (Note: Good for her. She’s good.) She advocates a “clear pathway to citizenship.”

BOOKS YOU WILL LOVE

Unger, Craig (2024) Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House. Boston and New York: Mariner Books.

When the reign of the Shah came to an end and the Shah found it necessary to leave Iran, he and his family came to the United States. Jimmy Carter knew that the Shah was a liability and repeatedly old the Shah’s wealthy Eastern elite supporters that kidnapping the Americans still in Iran was a distinct possibility if the Shah and his family were allowed to remain. Kissinger, Chase Bank, the Rockefellers, Gerald Ford, Howard Baker and even in the end Brzezinski pressured Carter to take the Shah in.

As Craig Unger points out, Carter was a peanut farmer from Georgia, but he stood up to the Eastern elites (EES) until they cooked up a story and lied t him. The Shah had been secretly battling lymphoma for years and he became seriously ill. The EES mobilized a doctor who was not an oncologist to examine the Shah and assure Carter that he was on death’s door and the only hospital that could treat him was in the U.S.

If Carter had an Achilles heel it was his kindness. Leave it to the EES to find it and use it to their advantage. It was the worse decision of Carter’s presidency.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVEREDUCATED, CHILDLESS, ELDERLY, CAT LADY (ACCODING TO J. F…ING D. VANCE) WORKING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

9:30 AM 18 August 2026

BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ

Unger, Craig (2024) Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House. Boston and New York: Mariner Books.

“I’ve undertaken the task of telling what happened, how and why a spy story from real life that played an enormous role in a contemporary American history. It’s the story of how master spy William Casey and his associates put together a secret network of arms dealers, corrupt bankers, and rogue intelligence operatives for a covert. Patient that sabotaged the presidential election. How it was kept a secret for so long, even when the facts were staring us in the face. How journalists at Newsweek, The New Republic and other publications, unwittingly or otherwise, in effect, disseminated disinformation to cover up the October Surprise. And finally, how like a master illusionist employing a vast arsenal. Full of trickery and deception, Casey was able to execute a magnificently successful sleight of hand that fooled the entire country.” (6) “

NEWS NOTES

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Florida is running a primary on a new map pushed through by the Republican-controlled legislature which could leave the state with a House delegation of 24 Republicans and only four Democrats.

· Russia is providing Iran with valuable drone and intelligence support to Iran (Washington Post)

· Russians are withdrawing billions from banks in fear that the Kremlin could start seizing deposits to finance its war (Wasington Post).

· Israeli elections October 27. 120 Member Knesset. Netanyahu’s main rival is Gadi Eisenkot. Among the top vote getters in the primary is Yariv Levin, the current justice minister and champion of a judicial overhaul that sparked mass protest in early 2023 (Le Monde).

· Ukraine staged one of teir biggest drone attacks onRussia since Moscow’s invasion more than four years ago (AP News).

· The Justice Department finalized a rule that will pave the way for people who’ve been barred from owning firearms because of criminal convictions to apply to have their gun rights reinstated (AP News).

· Israel’s national debt is soaring, over $100 billion has been spent on wars between 2023 and 2026, and an extra $12 billion on the war against Iran. Top earners are leaving the country, the ultra-Orthodox households receive money from the state, about half of the Haredi men are employed. Private defense contactors are owed (Aljazeera).

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Monday 17 August 2026

BOOKS YOU NEED TO READ

Unger, Craig (2024) Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House. Boston and New York: Mariner Books.

Reagan “had No authority. To negotiate with Iran before he took the oath of office. And Iran would not have released the hostages without some communication with Team Reagan. But they did release the hostages. And yet, despite the self-evident nature of that anomaly Americans still responded, like an audience of young children who had been bewitched and bewildered by a magician’s sleight of hand and reflexively rejected. That took place in full view of the general public, in plain sight.”

ART: GAUGUIN

During the four years Paul Gauguin and his mother lived in Peru everything was big and beautiful. Everything about the city was dramatic. He slept with a little Negress and his sister. Just before they left Lima, he tried to rape one of his cousins, at the ripe old age of seven. Years later, he bragged about it to Mette.

NEWS NOTES:

ISRAEL

ARTICLE: Sharir Aug, Moran (8/15/26) “Naama Lazimi is the superstar of the Israeli left, and she wants power.” Haaretz.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES

· Naama Lazimi is identified by Haaretz as the “No. 1 female target of the right’s poison machine.”

· Member of the Democrats party. Some in the Democrats party advocate extending a hand to the Arab parties.

· The Right win has branded her as a radical and an anarchist.

· Lazimi says, “Decades of Netanyahu have wreaked havoc on Israeli society.” He “went to hide in a bunker on the day of our worst national disaster and who looks out only for himself…” “The younger generation on the left doesn’t know what it’s like to be in power.”

· Lazimi: “The Zionism they’ve brought here is a Distorted Zionism. Zionism… means equal rights for everyone who lives in the country. As far as I’m concerned, the mistreatment of Arab society, not only Bedouin society, is something that runs counter to Zionism.”

· Civil servants deny that there is data “regarding (Haredi) educational institutions that don’t teach the core curriculum.” She says.

· She describes the final week of the Knesset as a week of plunder and disgrace. “members of the Finance Committee are asked to approve changes to the budget: Dozens and even hundreds of millions of shekels for purposes such as an additional allocation for the prime minister’s residence. An additional funding for security for Netanyahu’s family. Additional funding for the prime minister’s plane wing of Zion. Additional funding for Ron Dermer’s ministry, even though the ministry was shut down long ago.” (quote from article)

· She has called Likud a “criminal organization.”

· “Netanyahu has already decided that he’s a dictator, and he behaves according to the codes of a dictator…..He is the state, and the state is Netanyahu. That’s the worldview.”

NAMES

ARTICLE: “Eight ministers, lawmakers wanted to leave Netsnuahu’s Likud for Otzma Yehudit, Ben-Gvir reveals. The Jerusalem Post.

Names and Parties:

· Itamar Ben-Gvir, National Security Minister

· Otzma Yehudit, political party

· Likud, political party of Netanyahu

· Benzalel Smotrich, politician of Religious Zionist Party.

SETTLER VIOLENCE

ARTICLE: Krauss, Joseph (8/15/26) “There’s a reason why Israel has done little to rein in settler violence. It’s not just Netanyahu. AP News

· The Israeli military is refusing to remove settlers threatening Palestinians in their homes in the West Bank. This time, one of the homeowners is a Palestinian American living in Ohio.

· U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee referred to the settlers as “terrorists.”

· AP News referred to them as “the tip of the spear” of a movement” supported by successive Israeli governments and “supercharged” by Netanyahu aimed at “cementing Israeli rule over the territory and preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.”

· The Israeli government has built 150 settlements and some over 500,000 Jewish settlers live in the West Bank which was captured in the 1967 Mideast war.

· Netanyahu has boasted of establishing over 100 new settlements.

· Most of the international community views the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace.

· “The roughly 3,000,000 Palestinians in the West Bank live under Israeli military rule, with the Palestinian Authority exercising limited autonomy in population centers. Israel’s military operates in all parts of the territory, and Palestinians suspected of militancy can be held without charge for months or years under. It’s known as administrative detention.”

· Israel’s Defense Minister, Israel Katz, said in 2024 that Israelis would no longer be subject to Administrative detention and recently announced that he would be transferring law enforcement among settlers to the Israeli police. The military’s role, he said, was to fight “Palestinian terrorism,” not “chase after boys on the hills.”

· “That would cement the status quo of what are already largely separate legal systems For Jews and Palestinians in the West Bank, which major human rights groups say amounts to apartheid. Something Israel denies.”

· “The Israeli police. Are overseen by National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir. Himself a hard line settler who has been convicted 8 times for offenses that include supporting a terrorist organization. He was a defense attorney for Jewish extremists before entering politics.”

· “Settler violence intensified after…Oct 7, 2023..The following year, the Biden administration imposed sanctions on settlers and Israeli organizations accused of violence.” Western nations have announced sanctions against Ben Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, accusing them of “inciting extremist violence” toward Palestinians.

· Trump rescinded the U.S. sanctions at the start of his second term. He also appointed Huckabee as ambassador. Huckabee is a “staunch supporter of Israeli settlements.”

· Netanyahu needs the support of Ben Gvir and Smotrich in the coming elections. Netanyahu’s main opponent, Gadi Eisenkot is against plans to annex the West Bank. Another leading rival of Netanyahu, Naftali Bennett, had condemned the violence saying “it amounts to terrorism by a minority.” But when he was in office his administration approved thousands of additional settler homes.

· _______________________________________

LIFE NOTES

Short Change is helping me work this morning. Mike’s brother came over and several of the cats migrated upstairs to get out of the way of the strange person who had arrived. Short Change seized the bed and leaned up against me.

I love working with a cat beside me and since Hiram Bernard died, I have felt very lonely and deprived. It is a treat to have a cat editor up here lending support, warmth, and affection.

Short Change even let me clean out his ears (he has lots of wax) and cut a few of his nails. He is now stretched out on Mike’s side of the bed. What a sweetie he is.

Short Change, in case you wondered, is named after a lyric in a Tom Waits song – “Short Change got rained on with his own .38.”

He is one of four kittens we adopted some seven years ago. His mother brought them to us as soon as they were old enough to eat solid food and beautiful as they were, we could not find homes for them. We did everything – we advertised on Facebook and Craig’s list, we put up leaflets, we even left leaflets in bars and restaurants. But the “no Kill Shelter” in town had over 60 kittens up for adoption at the same time and we had tough competition.

So, we kept them all, which left us with their mother, Myra, their faither, Errol Flynn, their uncle Jake da Mouth and the four kittens – Short Change, Nicki D., Alva Edison, and Cool Mustard.

It’s interesting, though, having an entire family of cats. Cats don’t usually get to grow up with their entire nuclear family. They play together, sleep together in one big pile, and still obey their mother. One of them (usually Nicki D.) almost always is sleeping with her. It’s still a family.

Have a good day, or as good as you can with Trump in office.

Christina

Sunday 16 August 2026

MORNING SUMMER SHORTS

· On Sunday, Ukraine launched hundreds of drones across Russia. It was one of the largest aerial attacks of the war (AP News).

· A Spanish fighter jet shot down a drone that had entered Romanian airspace (AP News)

· The Wall Street Journal blames the problems of low morale in the U.S. Navy on the Democrats (note: Of course). (Wall Street Journal)

· “Gulf leaders worry the president is unable to manage the diplomacy necessary to secure peace with Iran…(The Washington Post)

· Putin threatens to retaliate if the West targets its “shadow fleet” (AP News)

· A large-scale Ukrainian attack struck industrial infrastructure in Russia’s southwestern Samara region (AP News, see map)

· “Ukraine’s military command said its forces liberated 26 settlements in a push around. Oleksandrvka in southeastern Ukraine, in an operation that ran for more than six months. The Institute for the Study of War Analysts framed the operation as evidence Ukraine can still mount coordinated, mechanized counterattacks after more than four years of largely static fighting.” (EruoNews)

NEWS NOTES

UKRAINE: MILITARY SHUFFLE

ARTICLE: d’Istria, Thomas (8/15/26) “Zelensky regains control after a month of political crisis.” Le Monde

· Protests of Zelensky’s firing of Federov are losing momentum, but Zelensky’s move to replace him is still seen as a serious political mistake.

· Zelensky dismissed the young defense minister, 35-year-0ld Mykhailo Fedorov on July 15. “Appointed only six months earlier, Fedorov had already been credited with notable successes in Ukraine’s drone warfare and with reforming a ministry long seen as disorganized and plagued by corruption.

· Protestors filled the streets changing “Federov. Federov. Federov. “A month later. The authorities seem to have brought the crisis under control. Zelensky notably managed to ease tension by firing Oleksandr Syrsky, The former commander in chief of the armed forces and replacing him…. Fedorov, meanwhile, remains without a post.”

· “The first challenge? was to explain why he had decided to dismiss a minister who was just beginning to prove himself. The stated reason of mounting tensions between Federov and Syrsky convinced few.”

· “Sources interviewed pointed instead to a combination of factors.” (1) The reforms implemented by Federov for arms procurement upset some defense industry leaders and generals. Tensions also arose with military command over control of resources. This created an “influential coalition of Federov’s adversaries in President Zelensky’s inner circle,” said political scientist Volodymyr Frsenko. (2) FEderov’s growing media profile, clashed with a political system tightly centered around the president.

· Federov was outraged by his removal and held a press conference that “resembled a mutiny” according to Le Monde. He gave his first interview with a periodical which has strained relationships with Zelensky, Ukrainska Pravda.

· Le Monde calls it all a “crisis of his own making.”

· (Note: Verkhovna Rada is Ukraine’s Parliament).

· “Fedorov’s popularity has risen sharply since the start of the crisis, while Zelinsky’s has dropped, according to several polls conducted in recent weeks.” Minimum. Minimum.

ARTICLE: Chemin, Ariane (7/22/26) “Zelensky forced to dismiss Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s armed forces chief. (Le Monde)

· Instead of “Federov” being repeatedly chanted by protesters in Ukraine, in July 2026 signs all over Ukraine were saying “Syrsky resign,” “Had enough of the old guard,” “Syrsky you’re the devil, “Syrsky out.”

· Zeleneky triggered the political crisis himself by unexpectedly appointing a new prime minister, Serji Lpretslu in mid-July.

· Fedorov was appointed six months earlier to modernize the military. Normally discreet, Fedorov took to the political arena “testing his popularity and firming up his ambitions.”

· Drapaty, the new commander in chief was born in Ukraine and “in some ways represents a synthesis of the two visions of the army…he favors more modern military command methods yet also commands respect among the more traditional senior officers. A

ARTICLE: Chemin, Ariane (8/17/26) “Zelensky sparks Ukraine political crisis with cabinet reshuffle.” Le Monde

· Serhiy Koretsky, 48, is the country’s new prime minister. He will have to prepare Ukraine for its fifth winter of war.

· Fedorov made way for Yevhenii Khmara

· “Fedorov had built a network of new military technology firms vital for holding the front, and his term coincided with the launch of drone programs enabling medium and long range missiles strikes inside Russia and military operations to isolate occupied Crimea.”

· Some of Zelensky’s observers attributed the president’s decision to An obsession “with not letting anyone stand out and his constat drive to ‘consolidate his power.” Others attribute the change to Zelensky and others’ drive to “break with the remnants of Soviet-era culture still deeply rooted in many administrative layers and the army.”

· “This is not just a conflict between two people, but more broadly between two approaches, even 2 generations, said Oleskander Marisko, chair of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee. Fedorov has become a kind of symbolic figure of the possible Ukrainian victory thanks to drone warfare, added the MP from the presidential party, explaining the groundswell of support. Many believe he paid the price for pushing reforms in a ministry known for its opacity and for targeting corruption networks.”

· “The New York Times. Merezko suggested Fedorov may have threatened the. Trust of certain people who had benefited from the Defense Ministry for years. For months, he had observed the campaign against Fedorov by various groups, including old guard generals and military contractors, on influential Telegram channels and in parliament.

BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ

Unger, Craig (2024) Den of Spies: Reagan, Carter, and the Secret History of the Treason That Stole the White House. Boston and New York: Mariner Books.

Then, suddenly after the story appears, it was discredited. First, Newsweek ran three major stories saying that the October Surprise never happened. The New Republic and the Washington Post piled on. Anyone who believed the story was a “conspiratorialist.” Two Congressional investigations fizzled. Craig Unger, who continued covering the story was ostracized. He was then sued for $10 million dollars. Friends and editors refused to return telephone calls. The story was reported, then unreported. Just like that.

Unger spent decades on the story. “I could not unsee the hidden mechanisms of power that were really orchestrating these events. A vitally important chapter in contemporary Americans history was been erased and discredited…” Almost entirely Americans believed the cover-up.

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LIFE NOTES

The cats are all back inside from their morning walk and curled up in one bed or the other taking their mid-day nap. Jake da Mouth (big black and white) is getting more and more bossy as he gets older. All he has to do it to dip his head a little bit while staring at someone, and they back off. He’s definitely the top cat and knows it. He almost never jumps anybody. He doesn’t have to. All he has to do it lower his head an inch and they retreat. This happened with Eddie twice this morning.

The male dominance hierarchy is an interesting thing to behold.

LIFE AND NEWS NOTES FROM AN OVEREDUCATED, CHILDLESS ELDERLY LADY (ACCORDING TO j. F…ING D. VANCE) WORKING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK

Wednesday 12 August 2026

The DSA candidate lost the primary for nomination for governor in Wisconsin. Joe Scarborough is gloating. Crowley (the winner) issued a statement that is the same old Democrat shit. He will be running against a Republican who voted against certifying the 2020 election.

One race and the DSA candidate lost by a small margin and Morning Joe is going to go on about it all morning long. They are terrified by the DSA.

Ousted dictator Bashar al-Assad had been sentenced to death in absentia in Syria.

Tensions in the West Bank increased and resulted in a rare settler-army confrontation near Qusra. The army tried to dispurse settlers from a West Bank outpost set up directly in front of Palestinian homes. The army later withdrew without clearing the settlers. This comes amid a sharp increase in settler land seizures ad attacks on Palestinians.

Netanyahu’s government has spearheaded a rapid expansion of settlements in the territory. The West Bank, territory Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war, is home to some three million Palestinians and 500,000 settlers.

NEWS NOTES

UKRAINE

ARTICLE: Novikov, Illia (8/12/26) “An overnight Ukrainian blitz damages Russia’s Black Sea naval stronghold…” AP News.

· Ukrainian anti-ship missiles and drones blitzed a major Russian naval base on the Black Sea coast overnight. It was the last major stronghold of the Russian fleet in the Black Sea.

· Ukraine has limited the once-dominant Black Sea navy.

· Zelensky says that Putin is planning “an additional rapid mobilization of several hundred thousand Russians by the end of the year.

Thursday 13 August 2026

ARTICLE: Cole, Brendan (AUGUST) “How 500,000 new Russian soldiers could shape Ukraine war.” Newsweek.

· Zelensky maintains that these men will be called up after Russians have voted September 18 to 20.

· By Kyiv’s counting Russia has lost 131,000 killed and 93,000 wounded this year alone. Those losses fall heavily on the professionals like drone operators. Cole writes that a “conscript pulled from a provincial town and handed a gun” is not a professional, but a body.

· It may prolong the war but not alter its outcome.

· (Note: Front line charity, Hope for Ukraine.)

· “Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, says Russia is now paying more than 1,000 casualties for every square mile of territory it seizes in Donetsk.”

Friday 14 August 2026

News Shorts:

NEWS AND LIFE NOTES FROM AN OVER-EDUCATED, CHILDLESS ELDERLY LADY (ACCORDING TO JD VANCE) WRITING AWAY IN ONE OF THE SUB-BASEMENTS OF THE MINISTRY OF SNARK.

· Immigration agencies are detaining more than 50 military spouses and parents.

· In a military exercise in Germany earlier this year, U.S. Army troops faced off against Ukrainian drone operators. It didn’t go well for the Americans.

ARTICLE: de Cordoba, Jose (8/14/26) “Cuba throws a birthday bash for Fidel as his legacy lies in ruins.” Wall Street Journal.

· The story line here is this: The Communist Cuban government tries to celebrate Fidel when he has ruined the country.”

· The collapse of the energy grid is blamed on Castro and his policies, when the United States is responsible for the island not having any power. The United States has waged a protracted war against Cuba since 1959.

· A quote from a day laborer: “They are honoring the man who killed the country.”

· Another analyst interviewed was quoted as saying it was an example of “political necrophilia.”

· A retired Cuban ambassador said: “You will hear people say this would not be happening if Fidel were alive.”

· There are no statues of Castro in Cuba, no streets named after him, or government buildings. This is due to a prohibition he imposed shortly after the overthrow of Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

ARTICLE: Moinian, Nazee (8/14/26) “Washington’s four wrong assumptions about the Iran war.” The Wall Street Journal.

· Four false assumptions about Iran:

· (1) The regime is a rational actor weighing costs and benefits. Iran is sustained by ideological conviction as much as calculation and “ordinary compromise feel(s) like apostasy, not prudence.”

· (2) There is a fixed pain threshold at which the regime will break. Perhaps so, but Washington is impatient. There may be a fixed pain threshold at which the government will break, but Washington can’t wait for it.

· (3) Battlefield losses become negotiating losses. But, America’s history of success with battlefield wins involves ground-won victories, not air campaigns alone. Even in Kosovo, where NATO prevailed through air power alone, this came about only when ground invasion looked imminent.

· (4) Domestic unrest weakens a government’s hand abroad. “Iran’s Islamic penal code treats domestic unrest as moharebeh, or “waging war against God” an offense that can be punished by death. In January, this standard was expanded to vandalizing public property. “A regime willing to kill its citizens by the thousand has demonstrated that it an absorb and inflict a great deal of pain…”

· “Tehran is wounded, not exhausted.”