Informed Comment

All of it, 11-2-26

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Links to two interviews: from Against the Stream via Consortium News, and from Yale Climate Connections via Informed Comment; other published material s accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for this date’s UKRAINE and IRAN, and for ALL OF IT 11-1-26.) — MCM

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FROM NOV. 1  Watch: Who rules America? Patrik Baab of the German program Against the Stream talks with Joe Lauria, editor-in-chief of Consortium News. From CN intro: “Who really governs the United States? The elected politicians — or the economic interests that fund their election campaigns? The U.S. midterm elections are on Tuesday.” Click HERE for 42-minute subtitled video and timed segment-by-segment table of contents. 

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FROM NOV. 1  Why whales are climate heroes — who need humans’ protection. Daisy Simmons of Yale Climate Connections talks with marine biologist Chris Johnson, who leads the World Wildlife Fund’s Protecting Whales & Dolphins Initiative. Click HERE for Simmons’ intro, transcript of their conversation, and photos.

Iran, 10-28-26

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Links to five reports and analyses: from Middle East Eye, the Cradle, Informed Comment, Middle East Monitor, and the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up or down this date’s YEMEN, UKRAINE, ALL OF IT and WEST BANK so far, and down for IRAN 10-27-26.) — MCM

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U.S. warns Gulf of intense strikes on Iran after midterms: WSJ. From Middle East Eye. The U.S. has warned several Gulf Arab countries to be prepared for a short, intense military offensive against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 3, the Wall Street Journal reported today. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Cradle.

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FROM OCT. 27  Officials of Mecca Pact nations gather for talks in Tehran, defying Trump, by Juan Cole | Informed Comment  ANN ARBOR — Al Jazeera reports that on Monday, the three members of the Mecca security pact visited Tehran. Field Marshal Asim Munir of Pakistan, Saudi Minister of Defense Khalid Bin Salman, and Turkish Director of the National Intelligence Organization Ibrahim Kalin met  with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and . . . READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for an analysis from Middle East Monitor.  

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FROM OCT. 27  Russian satellites help Iran’s allies strike Saudi Arabia, data and officials say, by Sarah El Deeb and Samy Magdy | AP  BEIRUT — Iranian-backed militias carried out a precision strike last month, hitting the pumping stations of Saudi Arabia’s most important oil pipeline. Days later, another attack hit a Saudi military air base, damaging an Italian fighter jet inside a hangar. Click HERE for report with photos. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

Ukraine, 9-28-26

Links to a report from the Associated Press and to a commentary via Informed Comment; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll down for today’s LEBANON, GAZA, WEST BANK, IRAN, YEMEN and ALL OF IT, and for UKRAINE 9-25-26.) — MCM

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Russian drones hammer apartments, offices and a cultural landmark in Ukraine, killing 7, by Hanna Arhirova and Barry Hatton | AP  KYIV — Russia’s round-the-clock bombardment of targets in Ukraine killed at least seven people and wounded more than 50 others, officials said today. Click HERE for report including photos Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM SEPT. 26  The rule of the sophists, the reign of untruth, by Hugh J. Curran | University of Maine / Special to Informed Comment   ORONO, Maine – In classical Greek “opinion” is referred to as “doxa” with a clear distinction between “doxa” and “truth” (alethia). We have a President in the U.S. who gives daily information by way of a news program called “Truth Social.” “Truth”, to him, seems . . . READ MORE . . .

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Gaza, 9-28-26

Links to two commentaries via Informed Comment and to a report from Middle East Monitor; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for today’s UKRAINE, LEBANON, WEST BANK, IRAN, YEMEN and ALL OF IT; click HERE for GAZA 9-9-26 or scroll down.) — MCM

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Why didn’t Netanyahu’s cabinet preempt Oct. 7 (since it knew about it in advance)? by Dan Steinbock | Special to Informed Comment  SINGAPORE — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s fiery speech to the UN General Assembly was an effort to shift attention away from a political storm brewing in Israel that won’t go away. It failed. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 27  Israeli army kills 2 Palestinians, wounds 7 others in new Gaza truce violations. From Middle East Monitor. Two Palestinians were killed and seven others injured Sunday in Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip, amid Tel Aviv’s daily violations of a ceasefire agreement in place since October 2025, medical sources said, Anadolu reports. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 26  The rule of the sophists, the reign of untruth, by Hugh J. Curran | University of Maine / Special to Informed Comment  ORONO, Maine – In classical Greek “opinion” is referred to as “doxa” with a clear distinction between “doxa” and “truth” (alethia). We have a President in the U.S. who gives daily information by way of a news program called “Truth Social.” “Truth”, to him, seems . . . READ MORE . . .

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Iran, 9-6-26

Links to reports from the Associated Press and National Public Radio, and to commentary from Informed Comment and Truthdig; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for today’s 9/11 TRUTH and UKRAINE, and down for IRAN 9-5-26.) — MCM

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Iran claims a strike on a U.S. ship in the Strait of Hormuz but the U.S. denies it, by Samy Magdy and Julia Frankel | AP  CAIRO — Iran said today it struck an unmanned U.S. vessel trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, a claim that the U.S. military dismissed as a “total lie.” The purported attack came . . . Click HERE for report including photos. Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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In war crime, Trump sinks civilian Iranian tanker, disables 2 others, by Juan Cole | Informed Comment  ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The Trump administration continues to fire on civilian Iranian targets in a campaign that has intensified in the first week of September after a relatively quiet August, returning the two countries to a dangerous active war footing. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for Aug. 5 report from NPR.

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FROM SEPT. 3  The war on Iran: Six months of epic failure, by Joe Cirincione | Truthdig / Informed Comment  We are in the seventh month of a war Donald Trump began on a whim, waged incoherently and lost decisively. But in the demented, steadily shrinking Trump World, he is a hero. Last week, he proudly declared “Mission Accomplished” on his own Truth Social site. READ MORE . . .

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