Links to a report from the Associated Press and to two articles of commentary: from Peoples Dispatch and the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 2-14-26 and 9/11 TRUTH, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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U.S. military boards another oil tanker in Indian Ocean after tracking it from the Caribbean, by Ben Finley | AP  WASHINGTON — U.S. military forces boarded another sanctioned tanker in the Indian Ocean after tracking the vessel from the Caribbean Sea in an effort to target illicit oil connected to Venezuela, the Pentagon said today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 14  The war on drugs or the war on the poor? by Laura Capote | Peoples Dispatch  The so-called “War on Drugs” seeks to achieve a facade for the development of various mechanisms of imperialist intervention that since the 1970s have involved a combination of methods ranging from military financing to countries in the region, installation of military bases, and explicit support for certain candidates in electoral contests. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 12  This newsletter will make you angry. From the Tricontinental Institute for Social Research. Cauca, Colombia, is home to coca-growing campesino (peasant) communities, where families do not plant coca out of choice but because dispossession and state abandonment have closed off dignified livelihoods for them. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same article in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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A link to a report — a second news release — from Exposing 9/11; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for 9/11 TRUTH 2-9-26, and up or down for VENEZUELA, UKRAINE and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 11  A statement of principles, by Craig McKee | Exposing 9/11  Last week, I created this page for Exposing 9/11 and posted a first article to introduce the group and its core members. In this follow-up is our mission statement and a statement of 13 principles that guide our efforts. In the weeks ahead . . . READ MORE . . .

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A link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 2-12-26, and up or down for VENEZUELA, 9/11 TRUTH and MEDIA.) — MCM

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Ukrainian drone strike sparks fires at Russian Black Sea port ahead of U.S.-brokered peace talks. From AP. A Ukrainian drone strike ignited fires at one of Russia’s Black Sea ports, officials said today. Meanwhile, falling debris from Russian drones damaged civilian and transport infrastructure in Ukraine’s Odesa region, officials said. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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Links to commentary from the New York Times and to a performance by Leonard Cohen and company via YouTube; other published material or at least headlines are accessible by clicking below on the newspaper’s or the singer-songwriter’s name. (Scroll down for MEDIA 2-13-26.  Scroll up for VENEZUELA, 9/11 TRUTH and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM c. FEB. 7  What Trump is best at, hands down, by Nicholas Kristof | The New York Times   The Wall Street Journal broke the story, reporting that on the eve of Trump’s inauguration, the Emiratis purchased 49% of a Trump family cryptocurrency company for $500 million. READ MORE . . .

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FROM 2013  ‘Everybody knows,’ by Leonard Cohen and Sharon Robinson; performed in Dublin by Cohen, Robinson, Charley and Hattie Webb, and anonymous instrumentalists | YouTube. EVERYBODY KNOWS was printed on cardboard on one of the handmade signs that 20 or so anti-ICE demonstrators were holding on Saturday at the corners of West Housatonic, East Housatonic and South streets in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Whether any of the demonstrators knew about the song is not known. Click HERE for video of Dublin performance.

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Just one link: to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 2-12-26 and GAZA, UKRAINE and IRAN.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 13  Venezuela debates sweeping amnesty for political prisoners, by John Otis | NPR  BOGOTA — Legions of Venezuelans are in legal limbo. The country’s jails hold hundreds of political prisoners, while thousands of former detainees have criminal charges hanging over their heads. Click HERE to listen and read.

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A link to just one report: from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 2-13-26, and up or down for VENEZUELA, UKRAINE and IRAN.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 13  Diplomat overseeing Gaza ceasefire says violations threaten transitional governance, by Ibrahim Hazboun and Wafaa Shurafa | AP  DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip — The top diplomat overseeing the U.S.-brokered ceasefire deal in Gaza said Friday that continued violations of the agreement pose major obstacles to the Palestinian committee expected to oversee postwar governance and reconstruction. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

Links to TWO reports: from the Associated Press and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 2-12-26, and up or down for GAZA and IRAN.) — MCM

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Drone strikes in Ukraine and Russia kill 2 ahead of peace talks, by Samya Kullab and Elise Morton | AP  KYIV — Drone strikes killed one person in Ukraine and another in Russia, officials said today, ahead of fresh talks next week aimed at ending the war. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. 

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FROM FEB. 13  View from Ukraine. Reported by Karen Zamora, Mary Louise Kelly and Courtney Dorning | NPR  Kelly speaks with Chrystia Freeland, former Canadian deputy prime minister and current economic adviser to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy. Click HERE to listen and read.

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First, a link to an article of commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for IRAN 2-13-26.  Scroll up for VENEZUELA, GAZA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 10  Odds are 8-1 Trump won’t start a Gulf war, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The mutual hostility between the United States and Israel on one side and Iran on the other since the 1978 Islamic Revolution and the establishment of the unique political system known as Vilayat-e Faqih or guardianship of Faqīh (an Islamic jurist) is almost half a century old. READ MORE . . .

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Links to two reports: from West Bank Alerts and Peoples Dispatch; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 2-9-26 and IRAN, GAZA and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 11  ‘Dignity and desecration,’ by Cara MariAnna | West Bank Alerts  Texts arrived from a West Bank friend on Sunday afternoon. Adnan al–Abayat sent videos and photographs showing Jewish settlers vandalizing a small rural mosque in the governorate of Bethlehem. READ MORE . . .

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Israel approves new measures aimed at expanding its control over the West Bank, by Aseel Saleh | Peoples Dispatch  The Israeli security cabinet endorsed on Sunday a series of measures that would “dramatically” change procedures related to land registration and property acquisition in the West Bank. READ MORE . . .

First, a link to an article of commentary from Common Dreams; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for IRAN 2-12-26, and up or down for WEST BANK, GAZA and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 9  Iran’s comprehensive peace proposal to the United States, by Jeffrey D. Sachs and Sybil Fares | Common Dreams  History occasionally presents moments when the truth about a conflict is stated plainly enough that it becomes impossible to ignore. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s Feb. 7 address in Doha, Qatar (transcript here) should prove to be such a moment. READ MORE . . .

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