WendyMcElroy.com

I am hard at work on a new book and the first few months are always the most time consuming because I have to sketch out the entire contents, etc. This means I have been unable to divert time to constructing the blog each day...but I find myself missing it. For one thing, I used to make notes of news items (some which I do not include on the blog) in order to discuss with Brad over breakfast. Brad told me that misses those engaging conversations, as well. So...I intend to find time. Thanks for your patience. BTW, the blog will probably be a bit more modest than before tho' the dog pics will return because that's Brad's favorite part. Cheers.

From Reuters: Zelensky Says Starlink Is Back, Musk Says Ukraine Broke Rules. CEO concedes he was behind the slowdown. [Ed: thanks to Trump's intervention.] AND Ukraine – CIA More Aggressive – Starlink And Refinery Strikes – Higher Casualties On Ukr’s Side

From Doog Lovers: Brave Little Boy Sparks Hope and Rescue for Stray Dog and Her Puppies in Distress

EU Protests. From the Guardian: Macron bans ‘illegitimate’ protests in France as he tries to get a grip on unrest. [Ed: never works but Macron wants to appear as a strongman. Opposite of what he is.] From Jonathan Turley: French Police Identify Antifa as the “Ideologically Distinct Group” Behind the Riots Despite Democratic Denials. From the Independent: Europe’s riots spread to Spain as protests spiral out of control. [Ed: in Germany, Belgium...] From Politico: Trucker blockades in southern Italy ramp up pressure on Meloni.

From Reason: Worst Nathan for You–Style Scheme Ever? A Polling Company Claimed Its Fake Polls Were a Social Experiment. [Ed: Nathan for You is an American satirical docu-reality comedy television series.]

From the Japan Times: Africa faces ‘complex’ Ebola outbreak after spread to Nigeria, WHO warns.

Rough Weather Ahead. From CNBC: Giant ‘heat storms’ are scorching the Earth. This is the story of the biggest one on record. [Ed: Canada's winter is predicted to be unusually mild.] From DeSmog: In Pictures: ‘Armageddon’ at Europe’s Swim Spots Linked to Climate Change and Factory Farm Pollution. [Ed: some of the photos are disappointing.]

From People: Scent-Tracking Dog Recovers a Missing 70-Year-Old Man Near a Volcano, And Now the Hiker Wants to Adopt Her

From Arab News: Pakistan says water is ‘red line’ as India keeps Indus treaty in abeyance. [Ed: the world should be paying a great deal more attention to this undeclared war, which is what it is.]

Upcoming U.S. Election. From the Western Journal: SCOTUS Rulings Hands GOP Voter ID Win in New Hampshire Just in Time for Midterms. [Ed: I will pleased when this damned election is over.] From Mish Talk: Department of Justice Moves to Block Alaska Certification if Republican Loses. [Ed: over the two Dan Sullivans on the ballot. How corrupt can this election get? Never mind. I don't want to know.] From the Daily Wire: Pay To Not Play? Wisconsin’s David Crowley Cut A Lucrative Deal To Drop Out Of Gov Race, Insider Alleges

From Cato: Trump Equity Portfolio Hits 40—Democrats Have Plans for It. [Ed: gov. ownership in private companies is a terrible and accelerating trend.]

From the Good News Network: Minnesota Youth Jumps Onto Runaway School Bus and Saves 18 Kids After Driver has Seizure

From the Organic Prepper: How to Read the Streets: A Survival Skill That’s More Important Than Ever

Big Picture Economics. From Mises Wire: How to Create the Most Destructive Financial Bubble in History: Unleash the Finance Quants. The infamous Housing Bubble collapsed 18 years ago, and our economy has never truly recovered from it. Instead, the government became even more financially irresponsible. From the International Man: Riots in the Streets, Repression in the Markets: Europe’s Collapse Enters Its Next Phase.

From Paws So Cute: Yorkie Dog Found Protecting Missing 3 Year Old Girl In Cornfield

From Of Two Minds Blog: The Homogenization of Decay.

All Things Food. From the Daily Economy: The Food Revolution Nobody Planned. From food trucks to farmers’ markets and beyond, entrepreneurs — not policymakers — are finding new ways to feed people, create value, and deliver much more than just cheaper food. From Global News: Food bank visits rise to 2.3M a month as grocery costs go up, report says. From Restaurant News: Disappearing Restaurant Experiences, Discontinued Fast Food Burgers, Grandma-Core, and More!

From ABC News: Trump’s signature will be added to US currency, Treasury says.

From CBS: Kim Opens a Bridge to China Reflecting 'New Cold War'. North Korean ruler deepens alliance while advocating unity against US

From Scheer Post: Press Freedom, Civil Liberties Groups Demand Congress Stop Targeting Of BreakThrough News. From U.S. News: The Latest Ways Trump’s White House Has Targeted the Press

Brazil Elections. From CBC: Trump critic Lula narrowly wins re-election in Brazil's presidential vote. Result keeps some distance between Latin America's biggest economy and Washington. [Ed: narrow, narrow win.] From BBC: Lula wins fourth term in Brazil but faces hostile Congress and divided country. President Lula has pulled of a surprise win, but he will face a hostile Congress and a polarised country.

Serbian Elections. From BBC: How a movement of students brought down Serbia's Vu?i?. In just under two years the students have succeeded in tearing up 14 years of political dominance under Aleksandar Vu?i?.

From Sunny Skyz: Photographer Captures Dogs “Flying” Through the Air, and the Photos Are Pure Joy

From the Daily Sceptic: Britain is Heading Towards Blackouts. [Ed: hat tip to Brad who comments, This is a good explainer for how power fluctuations affect the power grid -- and how a small fluctuation can bring a grid down.]

From Happy Whisker: Dog Found Wandering Alone In Florida Field Gets A Foster Kitten Who Refuses To Leave His Side

From antiwar: By Netanyahu’s Own Math, Gaza Is 3,900 September 11ths. From Andy Worthington: Three Years of Gaza as a Ghetto of Genocidal Extermination. [Ed: Israel is lost.]

From the Associated Press: Thousands From India's 'Cockroach' Movement Detained. Anger grows during youth protests in New Delhi streets against Modi, election chief

Big Picture Economics. From Quoth the Raven: $200 Oil, $155,000 Gold And Other Not-So-Impossible Scenarios

Ukraine-Russia. From Politico: Trump says Zelenskyy ‘better damn well stop' attacks on Russian oil refineries, calls for new Ukrainian leader. The U.S. president lashed out at Zelenskyy over Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil infrastructure. [Ed: good, good.] From AFP: U.K. PM reiterates ‘complete solidarity’ for Zelensky after Trump clash. [Ed: ohhh. Collision course with Trump. Not a pretty sight.] From Moon of Alabama: Ukraine – Trump Breaks Energy Deadlock – Zelenski In Open Defiance. From Sky News: Ukraine war latest: Zelenskyy sets out terms for ending strikes on Russian oil - after Trump calls for him to go. Kyiv will halt strikes on Russian oil refineries if Russia stops attacking "our energy infrastructure", Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said. It follows Donald Trump doubling down on his diesel deal with Vladimir Putin - then calling for the Ukrainian president to be replaced.

From Future of Freedom Foundation: They Thought They Were Free: Are We? [Ed: by Richard Ebeling who is a terrific writer.]

From Newser: 12 Dead, 300 Injured in Attack on Saudi Airport. Trump says US might join Saudi strikes against Houthis. [Ed: God, no.] From the Guardian: Middle East crisis live: Houthis warn passengers against using Saudi airport after deadly attack on Riyadh.

France. From Hot Air: French Street Protests: It's Not Many Students, and Lots of Leftists and Islamists. From the Daily News: France braces for mass October 17 protests amid growing outcry over severe police violence against students. [Ed: The planned protests, scheduled to coincide with the first day of the school holidays...] From Le Monde: Timetables top list of French high schoolers' grievances to government. Class schedules top the list of concerns, far ahead of the university application platform and the phone ban, according to a summary of the first contributions to a national consultation platform launched in response to the protest movement.

From Doog Lovers: Incredible Rescue as Loyal Dog Guides Officer to Owner in Distress After Hours of Waiting for Help

Tariffs. From Reason: Republicans Are Getting Grilled Over Trump's Tariffs. From Maine to Michigan, voters are fed up with tariffs and trade wars. From CNBC: Inflation on many everyday items was entirely due to tariffs, NY Fed says.

From Zero Hedge: This Won't End Well... Seattle Becomes First City To Price-Fix Your Groceries. Seattle's plan to intervene at the register...

From Of Two Minds: What's the Point of AI, Anyway?

Hurricane Isaias. From Just the News: More than 900,000 without power as Hurricane Isaias slams Southeast From CNN: At least 4 dead as Isaias pushes farther inland across Southeast

From Pupvine: Texas Family Took In A Senior Dog With An Uncertain Fate, Then Discovered His Hilarious Obsession

From Ford Forum: The Misleading Labels Used for Political and Economic Movements Distort Our Thinking and Our Actions

From Sunny Skyz: “I Got Him!” Police K9 Finds Missing Boy in Woods After Hours of Searching in the Dark

From the International Man: America Looks Richer Than Ever. What Happens When the Fed’s Asset Bubble Bursts?

From the Waggington Post: Woman Survives A 180-Foot Waterfall Fall — Then Her Missing Dog Is Found Waiting In The Same Spot A Week Later

From Zero Hedge: Questions Raised About Talarico's Disappearance. Talarico reportedly traveled to New York on Sept. 29 for a private fundraiser featuring Robert De Niro... From FOX News: James Talarico resurfaces after extended absence as his campaign pushes back. The Texas Democratic Senate nominee blamed severe flu as Trump and Ken Paxton questioned his whereabouts

From Quoth the Raven: Judy Shelton...And The Coming Gold Revaluation? AND Gold At $155,000 An Ounce. The wild idea that could turn America’s gold into a $40 trillion asset. From Zero Hedge: China Buys Record Amount Of Gold As India Panics, Scraps Key Tax Relief On Precious Imports. "The scale and persistence of Chinese buying is now a core driver of global gold prices and we expect it to hold as long as uncertainty over growth and geopolitics remains..."

From the Associated Press: Isaias Makes Landfall in Florida. Dangerous Category 2 storm is first to hit eastern US since Milton in 2024.

Ukraine-Russia. From NBC News: Trump Eases Sanctions in Russian Diesel Deal. Putin's release is intended to counter rising prices. [Ed: and just before the midterms.] From Zero Hedge: Payback: Trump Cut Putin Diesel Deal After Zelensky Ignored Six Pleas To Stop Refinery Strikes. Six ignored requests, one 90-minute call with Putin and less than nine days of fuel: the diesel deal was never really about diesel. [Ed: I hope Trump dumps Zelensky altogether. The man is bad news on stilts.] AND US Envoys Meet With Ukrainian Officials Over 'Unified Proposal'; Zelensky Decries Trump's 'Unfair, Dishonest' Deal With Putin. The meeting comes a month after the U.S. envoys visited Moscow and Kyiv to push for a peace deal to end the ongoing war... [Ed: a must read.] From Politico: Zelenskyy accuses Trump of ‘smokescreen’ oil deal amid talks to end Ukraine war. The White House announced the agreement as negotiations with Ukraine were being held in Miami.

From Dogster: Dogs on the Screen and in the Audience for Brad Pitt’s New Film

Iran War & Houthis. From Zero Hedge: Iran Strikes LPG Tanker In Strait Of Hormuz, As Houthis Reportedly Mine Bab al-Mandab....suffered a massive fire... From Naked Capitalism: Iran War: IRGC and Ansar Allah Fire Away At Tankers, Oil Facilities, Airports. From Politico: Voters have ‘had enough’ of Mideast turmoil. But the Houthi conflict is just getting started. One U.S. senator is calling the Yemen and Iran conflicts a “full blown regional war.”

From Politico.EU: Spanish election threatens to blow up Brussels’ political balance. Socialists warn a Sánchez defeat will alienate them in the Council and strain the coalition behind Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

All Things Musk. From the Gateway Pundit: Elon Musk’s Starlink Set to Become a ‘Major Mobile Carrier’ After Unlocking ‘The Last Critical Piece of the Spectrum Puzzle’.

U.S. Elections. From Zero Hedge: Guilfoyle Donor Scandal Explodes As Vance Balks, Rubio Dodges And The Donor Calls It Quid Pro Quo. Democrats are sinking their teeth into this... From Breitbart: Obama Warns Democrats Not to Get Complacent: ‘We Could End Up Losing’ Races We’re Leading. [Ed: this is a close one but I think the GOP will do well.] From Blaze: Iowa poll SHOCK: Pollster admits how it skewed key race results toward Democrats when GOP really leads

From NBC News: The secret to a good night’s rest? Let sleeping dogs lie — next to you.

From the Bored Panda: 29 Borderline Crazy Things People Were Down To Do For Their Dogs

From ABC7: Meet Joey, the LA County search-and-rescue K-9 who helped find 3 survivors in Venezuela quake rubble

From Wamiz: Researchers Pretend to Cry in Front of 18 Dogs, and their Reaction is Incredible.

From I Love My Dog so Much: Hiking Husky Rescued After Becoming Trapped Behind Hollywood Sign

From the Dogster: The Helicopter Tail, Vibrate & Growl, and Smack: How My Dogs Get My Attention

HELLO ALL. I WILL BE AWAY FROM MY COMPUTER UNTIL MONDAY. I HOPE YOU ENJOY FRIDAY AND YOUR WEEKEND!

From Reason: How To Get Your Government File. The Freedom of Information Act gives Americans the right to see what records the government has on any subject—including you.

From Kitty Cat Breeder: Meet the Golden Puppy with a Rare Coat that Will Steal Your Heart

Cost of Living. From Big Issue: People could face an ‘impossible winter’ with energy bills forecast to rise by 25% in January. [Ed: article about UK but rising costs will be everywhere.] From Consumer Affairs: 10-year Treasury yield tops 5%, threatening higher mortgage rates. From the Daily Economy: The Fed's Mortgage Policy Made Homeownership Cost More. The Fed's mortgage-market policy rewarded existing homeowners, but raised the price of entry for first-time and future buyers...

From Jonathan Turley: Gandhi is Out, Mangione is In: Political Violence is in Vogue in America. "For an increasing number of young people, nothing signals your values like a willingness to kill others for them."

Iran. From Zero Hedge: US Troops Leak New Iran War Photos Of Gulf Bases: 'Major Damage Hidden From American Public'. Never-before-seen severe damage demonstrating Iran's 'debasification' campaign... From Naked Capitalism: Iran War: Saudi Transits Out of Strait of Hormuz Up Markedly But Diesel Crunch Acute as US Weighs Export Ban

From Oil Price: Saudi Aramco Cancels European Crude Cargoes as Key Pipeline Stays Shut. "...East-West pipeline has been offline since a September 10 attack." From Daily Sabah:Libya halts operations at 3 oil sites after pipeline shutdown Libya halts operations at 3 oil sites after pipeline shutdown Daily Sabah

Ukraine. From the Spectator: Zelensky’s strategy is national suicide. [Ed: a must read.] From Andrew Korybko: The Lithuanian Drone Incident Was Likely A Ukrainian False Flag. [Ed: it is so difficult to know what/who to believe...but Korybko seems much better than most commentators.]

AI. From Reason: AI Executives Want International Regulation. They Could Just Slow Down Themselves. Dario Amodei is calling for coordinated international limits on AI development while Anthropic prepares to go public. [Ed: I think this is the correct take.] From Start Up Fortune: Stealth Startup Kepler Computing Says It Cracked the AI Memory Shortage. From Issues & Insights: Who’s Orchestrating The AI-Hysteria Campaign? Here are some clues.

From Dog Beast: 2 Giant Dogs Smell Familiar Scent When They Get Home, Go On Mission To Find Grandma

From Le Monde: Houthi control of Bab al-Mandab Strait poses new threat to global economy

From Just the News: Trump’s war on fraud links DOGE, Justice and Capitol oversight. Trump’s second-term agenda is explicit: freeze the money, name the fugitives, and prosecute across health care, pandemic loans, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), contracts, and student aid at the same time.

From Moon of Alabama: CentCom Lost “Hundreds” … – Space Weapons – West Causing Its Own Downfall

From Pupvine: Scared California Bird Hid At The Back Of His Cage Until A Gentle Dog Showed Him How To Trust

From Zero Hedge: Beyond Oil And Gold: Venezuela Readies First US Aluminum Shipment In Years As Resource Race Heats Up. $50 million order. [Ed: the looting of Venezuela continues.]

From Jonathan Turley: Sen. Paul Introduces Birthright Citizenship Amendment.

From Deadline: Paramount Sets California Exit Plans Over Antitrust Battle With Blue States & Stymied $111B WBD Merger

From the New York Post: Worst guard dog in the world exposed by Ring camera in San Diego — and the breed won’t surprise you [Ed: brought toys to the intruder.]