For today, a link to a wish via the Floutist; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 12-29-25 and UKRAINE, GAZA, MEDIA and POEM.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 31  For 2026 from the West Bank, by Cara MariAnna | The Floutist  A New Year’s greeting arrived this morning from a friend in New Askar refugee camp, in the West Bank governorate of Nablus. It’s a powerful message of hope. I publish it below with permission and of necessity anonymously. Click HERE for brief message including photos.

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First, a link to commentary from Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-31-25, and up or down for WEST BANK, GAZA, MEDIA and POEM.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 28 ‘Free speech and its enemies,’ by Patrick Lawrence | Special to Consortium News  Europe is convulsing as the “centrist” authoritarians who purport to lead it impose what looks to me like an historically unprecedented regime of censorship and the suppression of speech, but none of the mainstream dailies or broadcasters in America have had a word to say about it. Click HERE to read, and HERE for a 1957 painting by Cy Twombly.

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For today, a link to commentary from Consortium News; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for GAZA 1-1-26, and up or down for WEST BANK, UKRAINE, MEDIA and POEM.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 28 ‘Free speech and its enemies,’ by Patrick Lawrence | Special to Consortium News  Europe is convulsing as the “centrist” authoritarians who purport to lead it impose what looks to me like an historically unprecedented regime of censorship and the suppression of speech, but none of the mainstream dailies or broadcasters in America have had a word to say about it. Click HERE to read, and HERE for a 1957 painting by Cy Twombly

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For today, a link to commentary from the Floutist; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 1-1-26, and up or down for today’s UKRAINE, GAZA, WEST BANK and POEM.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 28  ‘Free speech and its enemies,’ by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist  Europe is convulsing as the “centrist” authoritarians who purport to lead it impose what looks to me like an historically unprecedented regime of censorship and the suppression of speech, but none of the mainstream dailies or broadcasters in America have had a word to say about it. Click HERE to read and for a 1957 painting by Cy Twombly.

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A link to a poem from Ireland via Canada. (Scroll up for today’s UKRAINE, GAZA, MEDIA and WEST BANK.) — MCM

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May you always, by author unknown.

May your joys be as bright as the morning,
And your sorrows merely be shadows
That fade in the sunlight of love.

May you have…
Enough happiness to keep you sweet,
Enough trials to keep you strong,
Enough sorrow to keep you human,
Enough hope to keep you happy,
Enough failure to keep you humble,
Enough success to keep you eager,
Enough friends to give you comfort,
Enough faith and courage in yourself to banish sadness,
Enough wealth to meet your needs,

And one thing more…
Enough determination to make each day
A more wonderful day than the one before.

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Links to two appreciations: from National Public Radio and the Colin McEnroe Show via Connecticut Public; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-31-25.) — MCM

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FROM DEC. 31  Remembering 25 of the musicians we lost in 2025. Reported by A Martínez and Michel Martin | NPR  Sam Moore, Steve Cropper, Sly Stone, Angie Stone, D’Angelo, Garth Hudson, Marianne Faithful, Peter Yarrow, Tom Lehrer, Alf Clauson, Lalo Schifrin, Charles Strause, Connie Francis, Jimmie Cliff, Clem Burke, David Johansen, Ace Frehley, Ozzy Osbourne, Roy Thomas Baker, Al Foster, Jack DeJohnette, Chuck Mangione, Roberta Flack, Richard Smallwood, Brian Wilson. Click HERE for some of their music and talk about them.

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FROM DEC. 12  A wood thrush, Paul Winter, J.S. Bach. Reported by Lily Tyson, Jonathan McNicol and Colin McEnroe | The Colin McEnroe Show / Connecticut Public.  Winter’s “earth music” features music from around the world as well as the sounds of animals like wolves, whales and wood thrushes. He talks with McEnroe about his creative approach. Click HERE for five minutes of them talking and listening, and HERE for 50 minutes of it.

For now, links to four reports: from Agence France-Presse, National Public Radio and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their initials below. (Scroll down for IRAN 12-29-25 and today’s GAZA, UKRAINE and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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NEWER  Iran authorities say government building attacked in south. From AFP. Several people attacked and damaged a provincial governor’s office in southern Iran on Wednesday, according to authorities quoted by the justice ministry’s Mizan agency, after days of protests over the economy. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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Protesters take to the streets of Iran as the country’s economy collapses. Reported by Jackie Northam and Michel Martin | NPR  Protests over the economy are sweeping through Iran. The country’s currency is plummeting amid concerns Israel will restart its war with Iran, a move President Trump signaled he would approve. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE and HERE for AP / AP Dec. 29 report in English and Spanish.

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Iranian-American journalist offers an inside look at the protests sweeping Iran. A Martínez of NPR speaks with Iranian-American author and journalist Hooman Majd about the current wave of protests facing Iran and what they mean for its future. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 12-30-25 and up or down for today’s IRAN, UKRAINE and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Israel bans dozens of aid groups from Gaza, despite immense needs. Reported by Aya Batrawy | NPR  Dozens of international aid groups, like Doctors Without Borders, are now banned from entering Gaza under new rules set by Israel. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, a link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-30-25, and up or down for today’s IRAN, GAZA and MEDIA so far.) — MCM

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Russian drone attack on Ukraine’s Odesa injures 6, including children, by Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday. Click HERE for report including photos, HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, a link to a report from National Public Radio, followed by a link for the second time to a report from Middle East Monitor (the same report was linked yesterday in GAZA under a different headline and intro); others are accessible by clicking on the organizations’ names or initials below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 12-30-25, and scroll up for today’s IRAN, UKRAINE and GAZA so far.)  — MCM

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New York Times reporter talks about exclusive interviews with Marjorie Taylor Greene. Michel Martin of NPR speaks with the New York Times’ Robert Draper about his exclusive interviews with Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Drop Site News, the Atlantic, and LRB, by Binoy Kampmark | Middle East Monitor  In November, Ryan Grim and Murtaza Hussain of Drop Site News exposed a dedicated effort to discredit the work of scholars John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt. The Atlantic in 2002 had commissioned their article, entitled “The Israeli Lobby.”  When the piece was ready for publication, they were offered a $10,000 “kill fee” for their consent to pull it. The article eventually found a home at the London Review of Books. READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED