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 Feb. 8 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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A link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (Scroll down for GAZA 2-11-26 and WEST BANK, GAZA and MEDIA.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 12  Palestinians look to salvage Gaza’s history from the ruins of Israel’s military offensive, by Mariam Fam and Wafaa Surafa | AP  GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The U.N. cultural agency says it has verified damage to at least 150 sites since the start of the war. They are fragments of Gaza’s soul. READ MORE . . .

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A link to an article of commentary via Common Dreams; others are accessible by clicking on its name below. (Scroll down for MEDIA 2-10-26.  Scroll up for WEST BANK, IRAN and GAZA.) — MCM

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FROM FEB. 10  The empire crumbles: The big picture, by Richard Heinberg* | Common Dreams  Democracies typically value science and unfettered fact-based journalism. Autocracies usually spew propaganda. READ MORE . . .

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* Heinberg is a senior fellow at the Post Carbon Institute and author of 14 books, including the latest, Power: Limits and Prospects for Human Survival (2021). His Museletters and other writings are available for free at PCI or at richardheinberg.com.

Links to SEVEN reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, National Public Radio, the Cradle, Common Dreams, and Drop Site News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (This is the first CUBA entry. Scroll down for UKRAINE, IRAN and VENEZUELA.) — MCM

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2 Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid dock in Cuba as U.S. blockade sparks energy crisis, by Andrea Rodríguez | AP  HAVANA — Two Mexican Navy ships laden with humanitarian aid docked in Cuba today — two weeks after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened tariffs on any country selling or providing oil to Cuba. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others. Click HERE and HERE for report from AFP / AFP in English and French. Click HERE for report from Reuters.

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FROM FEB. 10  Cuban fuel shortage: U.S. blockade of oil grounds flights in Cuba. Reported by Eyder Peralta | NPR  Cuba’s fuel shortage hits during peak tourist season, grounding flights as the Trump administration’s pressure tightens the island’s oil supplies.  Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM FEB. 10  Rubio ‘deliberately’ lies about Cuba talks in push for regime change: report. From the Cradle. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has falsely informed President Donald Trump that “high-level” negotiations are taking place between Washington and Havana – despite no such talks existing, Drop Site News reported on Monday. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 11  What the U.S. blockade is doing to Cubans, by Medea Benjamin | Common Dreams  The only way Cubans are surviving this siege is because they help one another. They trade rice for coffee with neighbors. They improvise—no hay, pero se resuelve (we don’t have much, but we make it work). READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 9  Cuba grapples with hardened U.S. blockade, by José Luis Granados Ceja | Drop Site News  MEXICO CITY — Washington’s effort to forcibly compel other countries to join its internationally condemned blockade threatens to further squeeze a population that is already experiencing enormous strain due to U.S. sanctions. READ MORE . . .

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