Source: Caitlin Johnstone, Rogue Journalist
by Caitlin Johnstone
“They’re not even trying anymore. US middle east envoy Steve Witkoff told Fox News on Saturday that Iran is ‘probably a week away’ from having the materials necessary to make a nuclear bomb — a line that Iran hawks have been falsely repeating for over three decades. It’s such a transparently bogus claim that even The Jerusalem Post dunked on Witkoff for making it, quipping that ‘The US envoy left out that Iran currently has no access to its material, no machines to enrich it, and no weapons program to use it for any operational purpose.’ This is the guy supposedly assigned by the White House to the task of establishing peace in the middle east, churning out the most fuzzbrained justifications for war with Iran you could possibly imagine.” (02/24/26)
“Some tales can cross cultures, continents, and even centuries to arrive in our own era … That’s particularly so for the immortal story of ‘an appointment in Samarra.’ It first appeared in the fifth century in the Babylonian Talmud, that ancient repository of Jewish rabbinical wisdom. Then it crossed over into Islamic literature … before popping up on the London stage in Act III of William Somerset Maugham’s 1933 play Sheppy. In Maugham’s retelling, the tale is rich in irony. Once long ago, he wrote, there was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to shop in the market. But the servant soon returned home in a panic and told his master about a woman in the crowd there who stared at him angrily. ‘It was Death that jostled me,’ the servant announced, pleading with his master for a horse to flee to the town of Samarra.” (02/23/26)
“After the Trump administration illegally kidnapped the legitimate president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on January 3, 2026, we saw two distinct and divergent responses from Venezuelans. On the one hand, the Venezuelan diaspora, especially in the United States, celebrated President Maduro’s kidnapping and bombing of their birth country. They congregated in small gatherings the weekend of the abduction, including in Miami. These celebrations, alongside videos online, were widely disseminated in corporate and social media for a US-based (and broader Western) audience, all broadcasting the same message: Venezuelans support President Maduro’s abduction. On the other hand, inside Venezuela, for weeks after the illegal abduction, citizens engaged in (almost) daily and massive demonstrations to condemn the attack that killed and wounded over 100 people.” (02/23/26)
“The mayor’s Winter Storm Response Commission, chaired by former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen, convened this morning for its first meeting. The commission is set to deliver its final report on the storm response in August. During the inaugural meeting, former TVA board member and Republican speaker of the House, Beth Harwell, indicated that members are still uncertain about their mission. ‘Are the recommendations going to the mayor, the Council, or the [NES] Board?’ asked Harwell. ‘And I’m a little confused as to really our overall objective, and so maybe the staff can answer that at some point.’ Throughout the proceedings, Chair Bredesen emphasized that he wants to avoid a ‘finger pointing’ exercise. Instead, members focused on procedure and constructive goals. During presentations, OEM Director Chief William Swann said that the department is independently implementing after-action changes.” (02/23/26)
“The United States women’s ice hockey team, fresh off a gold-medal victory over Canada in the 2026 Milan Cortina Games, declined an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday. ‘We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,’ USA Hockey told NBC News. ‘Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.’ The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.” (02/23/26)
“Authorities are investigating a shooting near the country’s northern border in New Hampshire in which a person is accused of firing a gun at a border patrol agent, who returned fire and struck the subject. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation said the incident occurred at about 1 a.m. Sunday morning in Pittsburg, a town of about 800 people at the border with Canada. The FBI did not provide a name of the accused shooter, but said the person was receiving medical attention at a hospital. The border patrol agent, who the FBI also did not name, was unharmed in the incident, an agency spokesperson said. The shooting happened in a rural community that is home to the state’s sole border crossing with the Canadian province of Quebec.” (02/23/26)
“Abigail Spanberger, the new governor of Virginia, who has been tapped to deliver the Democrats’ State of the Union reply Tuesday night, is the perfect avatar for her party’s deception. With her long blond bob, minimalist makeup, pinched face and brisk air, she looks like the sort of competent working mom you’d encounter at school drop-off in any affluent suburb. In other words, she seems like somebody you instinctively trust. But don’t be fooled by appearances. Spanberger is an expert at subterfuge, having spent eight years as an undercover CIA case officer, aka a spy, under Barack Obama and John Brennan, in the era when Democrats turned national security back on itself.” (02/22/26)
“The US government has ordered all non-essential staff to leave its embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after a security review, a senior State Department official has told the BBC. The decision comes as there are heightened tensions in the region, with US President Donald Trump threatening military action against Iran if it does not reach a deal over its nuclear programme. Iran has previously vowed to retaliate if attacked by the US, with American bases and facilities in the Middle East thought to be possible targets. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has delayed a planned trip to Israel without announcing a reason. A senior State Department official said: ‘We continuously assess the security environment, and based on our latest review, we determined it prudent to reduce our footprint to essential personnel.'” (02/23/26)
“President Donald Trump on Monday threatened countries around the world to abide by any tariff deals they agreed to despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down many of his far-reaching taxes on imports. And he said he wants a global tariff of 15%, up from 10% he had announced immediately after the ruling. The court’s Friday decision struck down tariffs Trump had imposed on nearly every country using an emergency powers law. But the Republican president won’t let go of his favorite tool for rewriting the rules of global commerce and applying international pressure. ‘Any Country that wants to ‘play games’ with the ridiculous supreme court decision, especially those that have ‘Ripped Off’ the U.S.A. for years, and even decades, will be met with a much higher Tariff, and worse, than that which they just recently agreed to,’ Trump posted Monday on Truth Social.” (02/23/26)
