For today, links to two articles of commentary: from the Floutist via Consortium News, and from MintPress News; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names below. (Scroll down for VENEZUELA 1-10-26, and up or down for IRAN, MEDIA, WEST BANK, GAZA and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM JAN. 8  An abyss of lawlessness, by Patrick Lawrence | The Floutist / Consortium News  Now the Trump regime, with its invasion of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela on Jan. 3, its abduction of President Nicolás Maduro, and its plans to occupy the nation and appropriate its petroleum reserves, has cast aside all thought of law, American and international alike. READ MORE . . .

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FROM JAN. 9  A brief history of U.S. kidnappings of foreign leaders, by Alan MacLeod | MintPress News  The Trump administration’s abduction of President Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 follows the kidnappings of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez (2002); of Venezuelan diplomat Alex Saab (2020); of Panamanian President Manuel Antonio Noriega (1990); and of Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide (2004) — and the almost-kidnapping of Bolivian President Evo Morales (2013). READ MORE . . .

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