NOTE: Nobody reads this blog. But . . .

Here are links to 10 reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and Middle East Monitor; others or at least headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll up for today’s 9/11 TRUTH and UKRAINE, and down for IRAN 7-12-26.) — MCM

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Oil prices spike as Hormuz traffic slows to multi-week low. From Middle East Eye. Oil prices have jumped more than 4 percent today following renewed strikes between the U.S. and Iran threatening their fragile peace agreement. READ MORE . . .

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Iran says U.S. pressure on Oman ‘obstructing’ joint Hormuz management. From the Cradle. U.S. “pressure” on Oman is “hindering” Tehran’s efforts to establish a joint mechanism to manage the Strait of Hormuz with Muscat, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said today, after the Islamic Republic responded to a major overnight escalation by Washington. READ MORE . . .

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Iran says it will not comply with deal if U.S. does not uphold MoU commitments. From Middle East Eye. Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson said today that the country would no longer abide by the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the U.S. in June if Washington continued to violate its commitments to end the war. READ MORE . . .

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Rezaei describes Strait of Hormuz as a strategic deterrent, says Iran will protect it. From Middle East Monitor. Mohsen Rezaei, a member of Iran’s Expediency Discernment Council, said the Strait of Hormuz is one of Iran’s most important strategic assets, describing it as “more important than dozens of nuclear bombs.” READ MORE . . .

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What’s next for the U.S. and Iran? An expert weighs in on the current situation. A Martínez of NPR speaks with Ray Takeyh of the Council on Foreign Relations about the U.S. bombarding Iranian military targets and Iran thrashing Gulf and Arab neighbors. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Former Iranian commander says Tehran could target Trump inside the White House. From Middle East Monitor. A former senior commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has issued an unusual direct threat against U.S. President Donald Trump, saying the Islamic Republic is capable of harming him even inside the White House. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JULY 12  Iran strikes American military assets in Gulf and Jordan, after U.S. hits Iranian cities. From Middle East Eye. Iran carried out missile and drone attacks on a string of Gulf states and announced the re-closure of the Strait of Hormuz, after the U.S. launched a third round of strikes across Iranian cities in a matter of days. READ MORE . . .

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The 25th anniversary of the mass murders of Sept. 11, 2001, will arrive in a little more than two months. Any number of things could distract attention from a proper examination of that historic occurrence. So I begin a daily 9/11 TRUTH post in this space — in addition to the others linking to selected news and commentary. (For the most recent two such posts, from Feb. 15 and Feb. 9, click HERE and HERE. Scroll up for today’s UKRAINE post so far.) — MCM

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Theories and their problems

“Theories,” wrote Michael Albert* decades ago in a treatise he revisited this year for Z Network, “are collections of ideas that people use to understand the realities they encounter.

“Theories,” he continued, “have one part which describes the elements of reality and another part which talks about how those elements interact, where the latter allows predictions concerning what the elements will do in varying situations. Leave out or get an important element wrong, and you will miss its effects which might be crucial.”

(In that respect, theorizing has something in common with basic accounting, in which getting a piece of data wrong or a calculation wrong — among other mistakes — results in a solution that is way off.)

“Social theories,” Albert went on, “refer to realities of people and institutions, but are necessarily abstract: they do not focus on everything in their reference systems but only on those parts considered important. Thus ‘what is important’ and included in discussion, and ‘what is unimportant’ and abstracted out, become crucial questions in social theorizing.” . . .

Albert gives this example: “A factory owner runs his enterprise according to a certain social economic theory of business. The business produces well, profits continually rise, his business life goes according to plan, and he is reasonably content with the whole situation. He barely notices his factory’s effects on his employees’ lives, or on their families, or on the ecology, or on its consumers. His theory obscures all that, effectively removing it all from his awareness [except to the extent any of it threatens his profits]. As a result, others bear the costs of his profit-taking while he goes unaware of all that occurs outside the abstractions of his business-school theories of life. 

“Then,” Albert continues, “his workers strike and he alters his views somewhat by including references to salaries in his calculations. Not the effect on his workers but only on his profits and his ability to keep collecting them. Then consumers protest and ecologists clamor and again he adapts his theories precisely to the extent to which effects on his profit and power gain his attention.

“The lesson of our capitalist’s behavior is relatively clear,” Albert avers. “Social theories are often rooted in self-interested desires. Beyond that they are often blind but nonetheless their users typically convince themselves their theories are not narrow but complete. They get away with this self-interested self-deception precisely because their theory’s narrowness obligingly hides from view, in a sense behind its own absent elements.

“Narrow theories,” Albert goes on, “often nonetheless seem complete because they are logically sound regarding the elements they include, and force their practitioners to overlook what they don’t include by steering their attentions away from the ensuing flawed results. Narrow theories appear good to their believers because they are perceived through self-created blinders especially adapted to block out all that is flawed.

“All of this,” Albert reasons, “can apply to leftists as well as to capitalists. When revolutionists use a narrow theory they too can be expected to create partially counter-productive programs that ignore certain relevant aspects of the total spectrum of effects of their implementation. Narrow-minded revolutionists function [in that respect] very similarly to narrow-minded capitalists. They too blunder on in their mistakes, blind to the realities around them, precisely because their theories so constrain their perceptions.”

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TO BE CONTINUED

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* Wikipedia calls Albert “an American economist, speaker, writer, and political critic.” With Lydia Sargent he co-founded South End Press in 1977 and Z Magazine in 1987. The excerpts above were taken from something he published on July 2, “Ideology: What is it, why have it?”

For today, links to eleven reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Kyiv Post, National Public Radio, the Cradle, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass; others or just headlines are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (Scroll down for UKRAINE 12-2-25 and all previous entries, and up or down for today’s WEST BANK, GAZA and LEBANON entries.) — MCM

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Europeans accuse Putin of feigning interest in peace after talks with U.S. envoys, by Lorne Cook and Illia Novikov | AP  KYIV — Ukraine and its European allies today accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of feigning interest in peace efforts after five hours of talks with U.S. envoys at the Kremlin produced no breakthrough. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish, and HERE for others.

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FROM NOV. 2  If Europe wants war With Russia, ‘we are ready,’ Putin says. From AFP. Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia was “ready” for war if Europe seeks one, accusing the continent’s leaders of trying to sabotage a deal on the Ukraine war before he met with U.S. envoys. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AFP report in French, and HERE for headlines of others.

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Russian drones damage Naftogaz gas production, storage facilities in Ukraine, by Kateryna Mykhailova | Kyiv Post  Russian drones struck civilian gas extraction and storage facilities between Monday night and Tuesday morning, according to Ukraine’s state-owned gas company Naftogaz. READ MORE . . .

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U.S.-Russia hourslong peace talks on a deal to end Ukraine war. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley and Steve Inskeep | NPR  The U.S. and Russia met for hours Tuesday to discuss the peace deal to end the war in Ukraine. Both sides called the talks “constructive,” but no concrete steps were agreed upon. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM DEC. 2  Kremlin says no closer to peace in Ukraine after Putin meets with Witkoff, Kushner, by Guy Faulconbridge and Anton Kolodnyanzhnyy | Reuters  MOSCOW — Russia and the United States did not clinch a compromise over peace in Ukraine, and peace is no closer to but also no further away, according to Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov. READ MORE . . .   Click HERE and HERE for reports from NPR and the Cradle.

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FROM DEC. 2  Turkiye reports third attack on Russian tanker in Black Sea within one week. From the Cradle. A third Russian tanker has been reported struck in the Black Sea,this one on Tuesday, extending a pattern of drone strikes targeting vessels linked to Moscow’s wider shipping network. READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s shadow war behind enemy lines is picking up, by Luca Léry Moffat | The Kyiv Independent  Sabotage activity in Russian-occupied territories is picking up after a two-year lull, according to a new report by ACLED, an organization that tracks conflicts around the world. READ MORE . . .

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Former U.S. ambassador to NATO discusses Europe’s views on Ukraine peace talks. Steve Inskeep of NPR speaks with Julianne Smith, former U.S. ambassador to NATO, about the latest Ukraine peace talks and Europe’s role. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Russian troops liberate Chervonoye community in Zaporozhye Region over past day. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops liberated the community of Chervonoye in the Zaporozhye Region over the past 24 hours in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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For today, links to reports from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye, and to commentary from Indian Punchline; other articles are accessible by clicking on its name below. (GAZA, WEST BANK, UKRAINE and MEDIA entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. SYRIA 2-1-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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Syria’s new president visits Saudi Arabia in first overseas trip. From Middle East Monitor. Syria’s recently appointed interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, has arrived in Saudi Arabia today for his first international visit since rebel forces ousted Bashar Al-Assad last month. READ MORE . . .

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Massacres and resilience in Hama, Syria’s insubordinate city, by Omar al-Aswad, Daniel Hilton and Harun al-Aswad | Middle East Eye  HAMA, Syria — Cities across Syria have been pulverised by a decade and a half of civil war. Syrians are quite literally picking up the pieces now that Bashar al-Assad and his government have been removed. Hama’s levelling came much earlier, in 1982, during a massacre that began on Feb. 2 of that year. READ MORE . . .

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FROM FEB. 1  Syria enters new era amidst uncertainties, by M.K. Bhadrakumar | Indian Punchline  The appointment of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham as Interim President on Wednesday marks the advent of a new era in Syria’s history. The New York Times in a feature article on al-Sharaa called the HTS an “Islamist rebel group once linked to Al Qaeda.” [Emphasis added.] READ MORE . . .

For today, a link to a report from the Associated Press; others are accessible by clicking on its initials below. (GAZA, WEST BANK, LEBANON, SYRIA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. COVID ETC. 1-26-25 entry is HERE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 27  Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s famous name and controversial views collide in his bid for top health job, by Amanda Seitz | AP  WASHINGTON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has said vaccines are not safe. His support for abortion access has made conservatives uncomfortable. And farmers across the Midwest are . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to nine reports: from the Associated Press, Middle East Eye, Middle East Monitor, National Public Radio, and Reuters, and to commentary from MintPress News and Middle East Eye; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA and UKRAINE entries for this date are HERE and HERE. SYRIA, 12-9-24, entry, so far, is HERE. ) — MCM

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Syrian government falls in stunning end to 50-year rule of Assad family, by Bassem Mroue and Zeine Karam | AP  BEIRUT — The Syrian government fell early Sunday in a stunning end to the 50-year rule of the Assad family after a sudden rebel offensive sprinted across government-held territory and entered the capital in 10 days. READ MORE . . . Click HERE, HERE and HERE for reports from Middle East News, Middle East Monitor, and NPR.

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After the fall of Assad, what comes next for Syria? Ayesha Rascoe of NPR speaks with Qutaiba Idlbi of the Atlantic Council about the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, considered one of the fiercest dictatorships in the world. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM DEC. 7  Insurgents reach gates of Syria’s capital, threatening to upend decades of Assad rule, by Bassem Mroue and Zeina Karam | AP  BEIRUT — Insurgents’ stunning march across Syria accelerated Saturday with news that they had reached the gates of the capital and that government forces had abandoned the central city of Homs. The government was forced to deny rumors . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 7  Syrian army quits Homs, cutting Assad off from coast, by Suleiman Al-Khalidi and Timour Azhari | Reuters  AMMAN / BEIRUT —Syrian government forces abandoned the key city of Homs on Saturday after less than a day of fightinG, leaving President Bashar al-Assad’s 24-year rule dangling by a thread with insurgents also advancing towards the capital Damascus. READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 7  What does the Syrian rebel takeover mean for the Assad regime? Reported by Michael Levitt, Ruth Sherlock and Ari Shapiro | NPR  Syrian rebels have taken two major cities and are closing in on a third. What does all this mean for the Assad regime. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 6  Amid Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire, Lebanon is now worried about Syria too. Reported by Lauren Frayer | NPR   Under a shaky ceasefire with Israel, Lebanon has another worry: Syria. Border residents are doing armed patrols with Hezbollah. They fear Syrian rebels could invade them next. They’ve done it before.. Click HERE to listen and read.

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FROM DEC. 4  The U.S. and Israel quietly revived Al-Qaeda allies in Syria, by Robert Inlakesh | MintPress News  As Syrian opposition forces, spearheaded by the Al-Qaeda affiliate Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, intensify their offensive to seize more territory after capturing Aleppo, Washington has distanced itself from the attack — a remarkable reversal, considering its longstanding support for weaponizing . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM DEC. 6  Syrians cannot afford another decade of violence and despair, by Sansom Milton | Middle East Eye  Syria stands on the brink of another devastating chapter, as renewed conflict threatens to unfreeze years of stalemate. The resurgence of opposition forces in the north, coupled with evolving geopolitical dynamics. . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to eight reports: from the Associated Press, Reuters, the Kyiv Independent, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Another arms depot in northwestern Russia on fire after Ukrainian drone strikes. From AP. KYIV — A blaze tore through a Russian arms depot deep inside the country, triggering explosions and the closure of a major highway, after Ukraine overnight launched over 100 drones at Russia and occupied Crimea, Russian news reports and the Defense Ministry said. READ MORE . . .

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Zelenskyy hopes for quick U.S. action as another arms depot is hit in Russia, by Tony Hicks | AP  KYIV — A massive Ukrainian drone attack set a Russian arms depot ablaze deep inside the country, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said ahead of his visit to the White House that Kyiv’s multi-point “victory plan” demands quick action from the United States. Ukraine launched . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 20  Russian forces make three strikes on Kharkiv, 15 injured, officials say. From Reuters. Russian forces launched three strikes on Friday on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, injuring 15 people, including three children, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Kharkiv police reportedly said the strikes hit three . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia says 101 drones downed overnight, explosions reported at ammunition depots, by Abbey Fenbert and Dinara Khalilova | The Kyiv Independent  The Russian Defense Ministry claimed today that its forces shot down and intercepted 101 Ukrainian drones overnight, while explosions were reported at ammunition depots in Krasnodar Krai and Tver Oblast. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Tass.

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Ukrainians sustain over 300 casualties in Kursk area in past day, Russia says. From Tass. MOSCOW — Ukrainian forces have lost more than 300 troops and nine units of armored hardware in the Kursk area in the past 24 hours, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 19  Russia is ramping up drone production to 1.4 million, Putin says. From Reuters. MOSCOW — President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was ramping up drone production by around ten times to nearly 1.4 million this year to ensure the Russian armed forces grab victory in Ukraine. “In total,” he . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM SEPT. 19  Biden, Harris to meet Ukraine’s Zelenskiy on Sept. 26, White House says. From Reuters. WASHINGTON — U.S. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will hold separate meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Sept. 26, the White House said in a statement on Thursday. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from Reuters and the Moscow Times; others are accessible by clicking on their names below. (GAZA entry for this date and an ASSANGE entry are HERE and HERE.) — MCM

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Trump is handed plan to halt U.S. military aid to Kyiv unless it talks peace with Moscow, by Gram Slattery and Simon Lewis | Reuters   WASHINGTON — Two key advisers to Donald Trump have presented him with a plan to end Russia’s war in Ukraine — if he wins the presidential election — that involves telling Ukraine it will only get more U.S. weapons if it enters into peace talks. The United States would at the same time warn Moscow that any refusal to negotiate . . . READ MORE . . .

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Kremlin says unable to confirm reports of U.S. drone downed over Black Sea. From the Moscow Times. Authorities in Moscow said today they could not confirm reports that a Russian fighter jet downed an American surveillance drone over the Black Sea after Ukraine launched a deadly strike against annexed Crimea said to have been carried out with U.S.-supplied missiles. READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, and Tass; to a program from Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine, via Consortium News; and to reports from National Public Radio and, via ScheerPost, Inside Climate News; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM 

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NEWER  Russia and China veto U.S. resolution calling for immediate cease-fire in Gaza, by Edith M. Lederer  | AP  UNITED NATIONS  — Russia and China today vetoed a U.S.-sponsored U.N. resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians. The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 11 members in favor, three against and one abstention. Before . . . READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  UN Security Council fails to pass U.S. resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, by Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom | Reuters  WASHINGTON — The United Nations Security Council today failed to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal after Russia and China vetoed the measure proposed by the United States. The resolution called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery . . . READ MORE . . .

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NEWER  Russia, China veto U.S.-initiated UNSC draft resolution on Gaza. From Tass. UNITED NATIONS — Russia and China have vetoed a U.S.-initiated UN Security Council draft resolution on the Middle East conflict, which notes the need for an immediate ceasefire but doesn’t explicitly call for it. Eleven out of the 15 members of the Security Council, namely the United Kingdom, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Slovenia, the United States, Sierra Leone, France, Switzerland, Ecuador, and Japan, supported the resolution. Along with Russia and China, the draft was voted down by Algeria. Guyana abstained. READ MORE . . .

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Israeli military says troops captured hundreds of fighters in Gaza hospital. From Reuters. JERUSALEM — Israeli forces have detained hundreds of Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters including a number of security officials and military commanders during its extended raid into Gaza’s main hospital, the military’s main spokesperson said. Israeli troops entered the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City early this morning and . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 21  Conversation on the Gaza genocide with Norman Finkelstein and Chris Hedges. From Princeton Students for Justice in Palestine / Consortium News.  In the program on Thursday afternoon author Finkelstein speaks for about a half-hour or so, then he and journalist Hedges talk for a bit, and then students ask questions. Click HERE for intro and video.

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Blinken is in Israel aiming to negotiate a temporary cease-fire. Reported by Michel Martin and Aya Batrawy | NPR  Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel after stops in Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The war in Gaza is in its sixth month, and this is his sixth stop in the region since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 21  Aid is only trickling into north Gaza despite imminent famine. Reported by Fatma Tanis | NPR  The U.N. says famine is imminent in north Gaza, as hundreds of thousands of people are facing the highest levels of starvations. And despite urgent calls for help – aid is still only trickling in. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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FROM MARCH 15  As conflict rages on, Israel and Gaza’s environmental fates may be intertwined, by Kiley Price | Inside Climate News / ScheerPost  The Israel-Hamas war has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people. Like all armed conflicts, it has also come with an environmental toll. From shell casings to Israeli bomb fragments, millions of tons of debris now litter the streets of Gaza, while a blanket of dust and toxic ash . . . READ MORE . . .

For today, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (UKRAINE entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM   

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FROM MARCH 18  Half the population of Gaza is facing catastrophic food insecurity, WFP says. Reported by Fatma Tanis | NPR  More than half of Gaza’s population is experiencing catastrophic food insecurity, according to a new report. Despite international pressure on Israel to allow more aid in, it hasn’t been enough. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Famine is said to be imminent in northern Gaza as Israel raids the main hospital again, by Wafaa Shurafa, Samy Magdy and Tia Goldenberg | AP  RAFAH, Gaza Strip — Famine is imminent in northern Gaza, where 70% of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger, according to a report Monday that warned escalation of the war could push half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation. The report, by . . . READ MORE . . .

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FROM MARCH 18  Gaza’s catastrophic food shortage means mass death is imminent, monitor says, by Nidal Al-Mughrabi, Dan Williams and Aidan Lewis | Reuters  CAIRO / JERUSALEM / LONDON — Extreme food shortages in parts of the Gaza Strip have already exceeded famine levels, and mass death is now imminent without an immediate ceasefire and surge of food to areas cut off by fighting, the global hunger monitor said on Monday. READ MORE . . .