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It is worth noting that reports from the Associated Press and Reuters today (scroll down for them) have the Iran war as beginning on Feb. 28 of this year — or six months ago — rather than on June 13, 2025, when what is called the “Twelve-Day War” began with extensive Israeli bombing of Iran. U.S. bombing on June 22, 2025, was followed by a ceasefire beginning on June 24, 2025. This is also true of reports and commentary from Al Jazeera. A Wikipedia account of what is called the Twelve-Day War is HERE.

It is worth noting that the Reuters report on the wounding of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei on Feb. 28 of this year and his staying out of public view since then, did not mention that his father, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was assassinated on that day and several other members of his family also died from Israeli bombing in a joint U.S.-Israeli operation. A Wikipedia account is HERE.

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NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to four reports: from the Associated Press and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for this date’s MEDIA. IRAN, GAZA and WEST BANK, and down for UKRAINE 8-26-26.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 27  Russia bombards 9 Ukrainian cities overnight, calls the strikes ‘massive,’ by Hanna Arhivova | AP  KYIV — Russia bombarded cities across Ukraine with missiles and drones in an overnight onslaught that ran into the daylight hours of Thursday, when explosions echoed around Kyiv through the morning. Click HERE for report including video and photos. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM AUG. 27  Russia warns British military sites could become targets over Ukrainian strikes. From the Cradle. Russia may begin striking British military facilities and equipment in Ukraine and beyond if Kiev continues to use UK-supplied weapons to attack Russian territory, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned on Thursday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 27  CIA chief ‘warned’ Russia against striking NATO, supporting Iran: report. From the Cradle. CIA Director John Ratcliffe used his recent visit to Moscow to “warn” Russia against attacking NATO members and to “press” it to reduce backing for Iran, sources told Politico in a report released on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

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Here are links to four reports: from Al-Monitor, the Associated Press and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for this date’s MEDIA, UKRAINE,  GAZA and WEST BANK, and down for IRAN 8-26-26.) — MCM

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Oil prices fall after Iran steps up truce efforts, U.S. says Hormuz mines cleared, by Jack Dutton | Al-Monitor  Oil prices fell today after the U.S. military said it had cleared all the mines in the Strait of Hormuz and Iran said it would draw up a list of demands for the waterway’s full reopening. READ MORE . . .

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The Iran war has changed the Middle East, but not in the way its architects had hoped, by Joseph Krauss | AP  It’s been six months since the United States and Israel attacked Iran with the perennial goal of transforming the Middle East through military force. When they attacked Iran on Feb. 28, the U.S. and Israel . . . READ MORE . . .

FROM AUG. 27  Regional powers seek off-ramp from Iran war, and other Middle East developments. From AP. Qatar and other regional powers sought an off-ramp from the war with Iran on Thursday as another tanker attack was reported in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian government dismissed the Trump administration’s latest sanctions. Click HERE for report including photos. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to reports from Middle East Monitor and the Cradle, and to a commentary from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for this date’s MEDIA, UKRAINE, IRAN and WEST BANK, and down for GAZA 8-25-26.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 27  Israeli settlement leaders tour Gaza, call for starvation of Palestinians. From Middle East Monitor. Heads of local and settlement councils in the so-called Gaza border area toured the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, meeting Israeli military officers and soldiers and making inflammatory statements calling for tighter restrictions on the enclave and continued military operations. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 27  Israel continues to arm, train ISIS-linked gangs to serve as ‘operational arm’ in Gaza. From the Cradle. Israel is expanding its use of criminal gangs, drug dealers, and other mercenaries recruited from within Gaza to commit war crimes in the enclave, creating the conditions for local massacres “reminiscent of Sabra and Shatila,” Haaretz reported on Wednesday. READ MORE . . .

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Hamas must not concede in talks what Israel failed to win on the battlefield, by Sami Al-Arian | Middle East Eye  Responsibility for the devastation of Gaza, the killing of its civilians and the ruin of its homes, hospitals, universities and schools belongs to those who carried it out. READ MORE . . .

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Here are links to reports from Reuters, Middle East Eye, and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up for this date’s MEDIA, UKRAINE, IRAN and GAZA, and down for WEST BANK 8-21-26.) — MCM

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Israeli strike kills three in West Bank; Israel says it targeted Hamas operative. From Reuters. JENIN, West Bank — Israel’s military said it carried out an airstrike in the West Bank today that killed a Palestinian it described as a Hamas militant operative as well as two of his accomplices, in a rare use of deadly Israeli air power in the occupied territory. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for earlier report from Middle East Eye.

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Israeli forces and settlers storm villages across occupied West Bank. From Middle East Eye. Israeli forces and settlers stormed villages and attacked Palestinians across the West Bank, occupied Palestine, today, Wafa news agency reported. READ MORE . . .

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FROM AUG. 27  West Bank has become ‘a lawless land,’ says top Catholic in Jerusalem. From Middle East Monitor. The Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, the top Catholic in the holy city, said Thursday that the West Bank has turned into “a lawless land” as the Israeli settlers’ aggression in the region continues, Vatican News quoted the cleric as saying, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Links to an article from Project Censored via ScheerPost, a report from Gulf States Newsroom via National Public Radio, and a report from Forbes; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for today’s ALL OF IT, and for MEDIA 8-23-26.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 20  The next dark pattern, by Lily Minh Wass | Project Censored / ScheerPost  Part of the early-2000s techno-optimism was that the internet would be a great equalizer, dislodging corporate behemoths by giving anyone a seat at the digital table. READ MORE . . .

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NDAs are hiding data center deals, drawing ire from locals — and attention from lawmakers, by Drew Hawkins | Gulf States Newsroom / NPR  In Boyce, a small town in Rapides Parish in central Louisiana, construction is starting on a 300-acre data center site. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM AUG. 6  What is a data center and why are they suddenly everywhere? by Robert J. Szczerba | Forbes  If you’ve driven past a big windowless building, you’ve probably seen a data center. Chances are you’re relying on one right now, without giving it a thought. READ MORE . . .

A link to a commentary from the Floutist; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up for today’s MEDIA, and down for ALL OF IT 8-24-26.) — MCM

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FROM AUG. 23  Seeing others as they are, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist  How costly it is to live in a pervasive darkness.* READ MORE . . .

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*  The last sentence in this relatively short essay.

Visitors who are at a loss about what to do now are encouraged to go to the usual suspects — sources — and some I don’t know about. — MCM

NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to four reports: from the Moscow Times, Reuters, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for today’s IRAN, MEDIA, GAZA, SYRIA and YEMEN, and for UKRAINE 8-23-26.) — MCM

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CIA director arrives in Moscow for ‘meetings,’ reports say. From the Moscow Times. CIA Director John Ratcliffe arrived in Moscow today aboard a U.S. military transport plane, Axios and CBS News reported, with sources saying . . . READ MORE . . .

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Senior Vatican official calls for peace in Ukraine after meeting with Lavrov in Moscow. From Reuters. Archbishop Paul Gallagher, whose position at the Vatican is analogous to a foreign minister, said today that as the war between Russia and Ukraine continues, it “creates new victims . . . and renders future reconciliation ever more difficult.” READ MORE . . .

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Deadly Ukrainian strikes in southern Russia force oil refinery to shut down. From the Moscow Times. At least two people were killed in a wave of Ukrainian drone attacks in southern Russia that targeted two oil refineries, forcing at least one facility to halt operations, regional officials said. READ MORE . . .

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Putin decree allows Russia to take control of key sites hit by Ukrainian drones. From AP. Russian President Vladimir Putin has decreed that the state can temporarily seize control of critical infrastructure facilities if private owners fail to protect them from Ukrainian drone attacks or rebuild them after the strikes. Click HERE for report including video and photos. Click HERE for most of same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to six reports: from the Cradle, Middle East Eye, Reuters, and the Associated Press; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down for today’s UKRAINE, MEDIA, GAZA, SYRIA and YEMEN, and down for IRAN 8-24-26.) — MCM

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Tehran announces discovery of massive new gas field. From the Cradle. Iran said on Sunday that it discovered a new gas field in the country’s waters worth over 200 billion cubic meters, coinciding with U.S.-Israeli threats to attack Iranian energy infrastructure and following the announcement of Washington’s plans for an economic war against Tehran. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. promises ‘asphyxiation’ of Islamic Republic as it imposes new sanctions, by Alex MacDonald | Middle East Eye  The U.S. has promised the “asphyxiation” of the Islamic Republic as it imposed harsh new sanctions on Iran and threatened those who traded with it. READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE for reports from Reuters and AP.

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FROM AUG. 24  Iran blacklists 45 vessels for ‘violating’ Hormuz regulations. From the Cradle. Iran announced on Sunday that it has blacklisted nearly two dozen tankers it said violated its new regulations in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that it will continue to take action against ships failing to adhere to the demands of its naval forces. READ MORE . . . 

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