First, a link to an essay from Behind the Curtain; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for today’s ALL OF IT and IRAN for now, and MEDIA 5-8-26.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 1   Everything we don’t need to know, and a few we do, by Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain  Censorship today is primarily accomplished by flooding people with pointless information. So it behooves us to know how to avoid this inconsequential data. The first step is to ignore social media as much as possible and never to ask AI any questions. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First in this new category*, a link to an essay from an essay from the Chris Hedges Report via ScheerPost; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll up or down for today’s MEDIA and IRAN so far.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 8  America’s suicide pact, by Chris Hedges / The Chris Hedges Report / ScheerPost  Civilizations, as the historian Arnold J. Toynbee famously argued, “die from suicide, not by murder.” They collapse from within. They fall prey to moral, social and spiritual decay. READ MORE . . .

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* In my mind, “All of it” borrows from the 20th century radio news show host Paul Harvey’s phrase “the rest of the story,” in which he expanded on an item he may have just included in his newscast. This new category will include news reports and commentary closely or somewhat related or completely unrelated to IRAN, GAZA, UKRAINE, 9/11 TRUTH, MEDIA, ENERGY, etc. posts.

ADVISORY  Watch: The World This Week — ‘Playing with fire,’ at 8 tonight EDT. Joe Lauria of Consortium News talks with former CIA analyst Ray McGovern and former U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer Scott Ritter about the Trump administration’s “playing with fire” in the Persian Gulf and in Ukraine. Click HERE at 8 p.m. EDT to livestream, and later for video.

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For now, link to reports from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to a commentary from Indian Punchline; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-7-26.  Scroll up for today’s MEDIA and ALL OF IT so far.) — MCM

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A fragile ceasefire holds as U.S. awaits Iran response, Bahrain detains dozens, by Adam Schreck and Samy Magdy | AP  DUBAI — A tenuous ceasefire appeared to be holding today after the United States struck two Iranian oil tankers, while the country that hosts the U.S. Navy’s regional headquarters said it arrested dozens of people it alleged were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 8  Why Trump’s efforts to force Iran to concede to U.S. demands aren’t working. Jackie Northam of NPR gets the assessments of  four observers focusing on the current U.S. approach to end war. Click HERE to listen and read.

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An expert on Iranian politics reviews the status of negotiations to end the war on Iran. Elissa Nadworny of NPR talks with Mehrzad Boroujerdi of the Missouri University of Science and Technology about the status of the Trump Administration’s negotiations to end the war on Iran. Click HERE later to listen and, still later, read; and HERE for links to both Iran war-related reports from NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday.”

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FROM MAY 5  Can China curb Trump’s gambit in Hormuz? by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  China’s shock warning to the U.S. President Donald Trump that his road to Beijing goes through the Strait of Hormuz has been an audacious move directly linking his planned visit to China on May 14-15 with the situation around Iran. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

A link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for ENERGY, GAZA, IRAN and MEDIA — and for LEBANON 5-7-26.) — MCM

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Hezbollah rockets target Haifa as Israel continues carpet bombing campaign of south Lebanon. From the Cradle. Several rockets were fired from Lebanon toward Haifa Bay and the western Galilee area today, marking the deepest strikes by the resistance since the so-called “ceasefire” was implemented last month.Tel Aviv claimed one was intercepted while the others fell in “open areas.” READ MORE . . .

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Links to two reports from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials below. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, GAZA, IRAN and MEDIA — and down for ENERGY 5-4-26.)

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With Spirit in liquidation, what happens next to its planes. Reported by Joel Rose | NPR  When Spirit Airlines stopped flying last weekend, it left more than 90 planes at dozens of airports around the country. Spirit also has engines, spare parts, real estate, and other valuable assets that it’s hoping to liquidate, and its lawyers were in court seeking permission to start an “orderly wind-down of operations.” Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM MAY 7  A new underground map of the U.S. could help the electric grid avoid catastrophe. Reported by Fiona Geiran, Tyler Bartlam, Christopher Intagliat and Ailsa Chang | NPRChang talks with Paul Bedrosian of the U.S. Geological Survey about a new map and model of the deep continental structure underneath the United States. Click HERE to listen and read.

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A link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll up or down for LEBANON, IRAN and MEDIA — and down for GAZA 5-7-26.) — MCM

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UAE provides $100m for U.S.-backed Gaza police force vetted by Shin Bet. From the Cradle. The UAE has sent $100 million to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace to fund the training of a new Palestinian police force for Gaza, the Times of Israel reported today. READ MORE . . .

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Links to NINE or TEN reports: from the Associated Press, the Cradle, Middle East Eye, CNN, Middle East Monitor, National Public Radio, and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up or down for today’s LEBANON, ENERGY, GAZA and MEDIA so far — and down for IRAN 5-7-26.) — MCM

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Iran still reviewing U.S. proposal while Israel continues strikes in Lebanon. From Middle East Monitor. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeman Esmaeil Baghaei announced today that Iran is still considering its response to the most recent US proposal for negotiations, Al Jazeera reported. READ MORE . . .

U.S. hopes for ‘serious offer’ from Iran today on latest proposal, exchange of strikes. From CNN. According to President Donald Trump, a ceasefire is still in effect after U.S. forces said they targeted Iranian military facilities responsible for attacking its warships in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran said civilian areas were hit, with its foreign minister calling the strikes a “reckless military adventure.” READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Middle East Monitor.

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Links to FOUR reports: from National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll up for LEBANON, ENERGY, GAZA and IRAN — and down for MEDIA 4-29-26. ) — MCM

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Wildlife and climate expert David Attenborough turns 100. Reported by Lauren Frayer and Fatima Al-Kassab | NPR  LONDON — Today, one of the world’s most famous wildlife experts and climate campaigners, David Attenborough, turns 100. His films have brought intimate scenes of nature to hundreds of millions of viewers. Click HERE to listen and read.  Click HERE for report from AP.

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 Trump’s Truth Social lays bare narrow obsessions of an extremely online president. Reported by Danielle Kurtzleben | NPR  Once Donald Trump was first elected, his online posts presented a new frontier in American politics: a real-time view into a president’s mind. Click HERE to listen and read report including a graph.

Links to reports from Middle East Monitor and the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-6-26 and GAZA and IRAN.) — MCM

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Israeli ‘double-tap’ strike hits paramedics in south Lebanon hours after renewed bombing of Beirut. From the Cradle. An Israeli “double tap” strike targeted paramedics in the southern Lebanese town of Toul today, coinciding with brutal attacks across southern Lebanon and just hours after Tel Aviv’s first attack on Beirut since the start of the so-called “ceasefire.” READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 6  Israeli strikes in Lebanon kill 16, wound 21, damage school despite ceasefire. From Middle East Monitor. Israeli drone and air strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon killed 16 people and wounded 21 others, including paramedics, and damaged a school, Lebanese officials said on Wednesday, in the latest apparent violation of a ceasefire, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from the Cradle and Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-6-26, and up or down for LEBANON and IRAN.) — MCM

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Israel-made famine pushes Palestinian women, children into severe malnutrition: MSF. From the Cradle. Doctors Without Borders today disclosed data indicating that Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza has led to severe malnutrition among pregnant women, newborns, and infants, with a significant increase in deaths and premature births during times of intensified siege. READ MORE . . .

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Hamas leader’s son dies of injuries from Israeli strike in Gaza. From Middle East Monitor. The son of Hamas chief Khalil al-Hayya died today of wounds sustained in an Israeli strike in the Gaza Strip, as Israel confirmed an attack on a top Hezbollah commander in the Lebanese capital, in the latest violations of ceasefire deals in both areas. READ MORE . . .

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