Add markdown linting with rumdl across all documentation

Add .rumdl.toml config and lint-md CI job using rvben/rumdl-action.
Auto-fix 199 markdown issues across 62 .md files: blank lines around
lists/headings/fences, multiple blank lines, trailing whitespace.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.6 (1M context) <noreply@anthropic.com>

Author: Hooman Mehr

.github/workflows/validate.yml

@@ -3,6 +3,14 @@ name: Validate Data
 on: [push, pull_request]
 
 jobs:
+  lint-md:
+    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
+    steps:
+      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
+      - uses: rvben/rumdl-action@v0
+        with:
+          report-type: annotations
+
   validate:
     runs-on: ubuntu-latest
     steps:

.rumdl.toml

@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+exclude = [".venv", "node_modules", "_build"]
+disable = [
+    "MD013",  # line-length — docs use natural line breaks, not hard-wrapped at 80
+    "MD024",  # duplicate-heading — repeated section headers across briefs
+    "MD025",  # single-title — some output files have multiple H1s
+    "MD034",  # no-bare-urls — bare URLs in references
+    "MD036",  # no-emphasis-as-heading — bold text as pseudo-headings in briefs
+    "MD041",  # first-line-heading — some files don't start with H1
+    "MD042",  # no-empty-links — status badges use empty link targets
+    "MD057",  # table-pipe — some brief tables have formatting variations
+]
+
+[MD004]
+style = "dash"
+
+[MD029]
+style = "ordered"

CLAUDE_SESSION_LOG.md

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
 
 **Iran Transition Project**
 **Effective:** 2026
-**Contact:** admin@irantransitionproject.org
+**Contact:** <admin@irantransitionproject.org>
 
 ---
 
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ constitutes grounds for leadership review.
 
 | Role | Holder | Scope |
 |------|--------|-------|
-| Founder / Copyright Holder | Hooman (hooman@mac.com) | Full authority while active |
+| Founder / Copyright Holder | Hooman (<hooman@mac.com>) | Full authority while active |
 | GitHub Org Owner | IranTransitionProject org | Administrative control |
 | Co-owner (succession backup) | To be designated | Prevents single-point-of-failure |
 
@@ -58,6 +58,7 @@ If the Founder is unable to act and the project has been inactive for 90+ days:
 ### Succession Criteria
 
 A successor must:
+
 - Accept the mission constraint without reservation
 - Commit to maintaining factional neutrality
 - Maintain the CC BY-SA 4.0 public license (alternative licensing rights
@@ -73,6 +74,7 @@ See `LICENSE` for terms.
 **Alternative licensing:** The copyright holder may grant alternative licensing
 arrangements to specific parties (e.g., policy institutions with copyleft
 restrictions). Such arrangements:
+
 - Are granted in writing by the copyright holder only
 - Do not affect the CC BY-SA 4.0 terms available to all other parties
 - Require a signed Contributor License Agreement (CLA) from any contributor
@@ -101,6 +103,7 @@ copyright ownership — contributors retain copyright over their own work.
 This document may be amended by the current copyright holder or designated
 steward via a documented commit to the main branch. All amendments are logged
 in git history. No amendment may:
+
 - Remove the mission constraint
 - Eliminate the CC BY-SA 4.0 public license
 - Retroactively alter contributor rights under a previously signed CLA

GOVERNANCE.md

@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ Sessions that previously produced patch instructions now produce YAML edits.
 
 ## Pipeline Overview
 
-```
+```text
 data/*.yaml            (structured entity data)
 data/content/*.yaml    (ITB/ISA module prose)
 data/briefs/*.yaml     (convergence brief content)
@@ -47,7 +47,7 @@ via GitHub Releases as attached PDF assets.
 
 ## Data Directory Structure
 
-```
+```text
 data/
 ├── variables.yaml       # 86 analytical variables (SV, FV, TV, PO, NQ types)
 ├── gaps.yaml            # 57 research gaps by priority and status
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ at session start (with project knowledge auto-sync as fallback).
 
 ### Coordination Protocol
 
-```
+```text
 Chat (analytical session)
   │
   ├─── writes large content to staging/session_N/