Dear CCI Friends,

There has never been a time when the need for critical thinking was more important.  Without it, without paying close attention to what is going on around us and searching diligently for the truth in the miasma of propaganda that surrounds us, we are at risk of being led to our destruction.

At the same time, the movement to stop the free flow of information, discussion, analysis, and opinion, the necessary ingredients for the exercise of critical thinking, from those who disagree with the accepted narrative of the West has also never been greater, with Europe and Great Britain leading the repression.

Please consider the following discussions with Mary Dejevsky, a respected establishment British journalist with decades of experience in Russia and the US who now finds herself no longer part of the ‘in crowd’ for daring to consider Russia’s position in Ukraine.

Interview with Tom Switzer:  Silencing of Dissent

With Ian Proud and Steve Jermyn:  “Boris Johnson Must Answer for Ukraine’s Destruction”

And another voice of reason on the same topic, the repression of dissent.

Shane Fitzgerald:  “War With Russia Is Not Inevitable”

“Let us remember it is never history’s good guys who bang the war drums the hardest.”

https://truthandbalance22.substack.com/p/war-with-russia-is-not-inevitable

Best wishes to all in the CCI community.  In these dark and dismal times it is a pleasure and a relief to know you are there.

The Directors
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends, 

Katrina vanden Heuvel has spent her life ‘waging peace’ and we congratulate her on the recognition of her work that she recently received from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation as the recipient of their 2026 Women Waging Peace Award.

We extend our heartiest congratulations and sincere gratitude to her.

On Women Waging Peace

“It has never been more urgent to revive the idea of peace, not as a slogan, but as the only serious, respectable, responsible, reasonable, humane position.”

https://nuclearinsanity.substack.com/p/on-being-awarded-the-women-waging

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

There is a glut of significant news on the deteriorating situation in Europe this week – all of it depressing.  What impresses us the most is the disconnect we see between the rhetoric coming from the EU-NATO leaders, what the Russian officials say, what our trusted analysts have to say and what we at CCI know from contact with friends.

One such friend, Fred Weir, Moscow correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor for decades, sat down for an interview with Glenn Diesen recently.  Please see his sober, sane take on the current situation from an historical perspective that begins with the lead-up to the end of the Soviet Union.

Fred Weir: Russia And NATO On A Collision Course

https://glenndiesen.substack.com/p/fred-weir-nato-and-russia-on-a-collision

Alastair Crooke offers, as always, invaluable insight on the current clamor for war within the EU.  One must be left speechless at the spectacle of EU ‘leaders’ dressed in military fatigues for a group photo signaling what, their readiness to pick up weapons and march on Russia?

Alastair Crooke:  “What exactly is this hysteria gripping European technocrats?”

https://conflictsforum.substack.com/p/the-faulty-premises-underlying-europeans

We know of the censorship issue in Europe and still find it hard to believe it happens so blatantly in the ‘liberal’ West.  Iuliia Mendel is a Ukrainian journalist and former press secretary for President Zelenskyy and she knows about censorship in Europe, too – up close and very personal.

Iuliia Mendel:  They Tried To Ban My Speech

“Why Zelenskyy is so afraid of Ukrainians talking about peace.”

https://iuliiamendel.substack.com/p/they-tried-to-ban-my-speech-i-gave

There is a lot to take in here, folks.  We look forward to hearing your views on it all.

Best regards,
The Directors
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

The news from Europe is not good and we can only watch in disbelief.  Here are the observations on the matter from two honest journalist observers.  

We are familiar with Scott Ritter’s work and take his views seriously:  “The situation today is eerily reminiscent of the months leading up to August 1914…”

“Give Peace A Chance”

“…are we serious about actually giving peace a chance, or are we simply going to give lip service to a cause while being frog-marched by the powers that be toward a destiny we all can see, but refuse to acknowledge?”

https://scottritter.substack.com/p/give-peace-a-chance-9dc

Ben Aris is a British journalist who began reporting from Russia in 1993.  He has developed an expertise in Eastern European geopolitics we believe deserves our attention.  Please consider:

Is Russia Really Planning to Attack Europe?

“More sober analysis warns that hyping the threat runs the danger of starting a war that no one intended to fight in the first place.”

https://bneeditor.substack.com/p/is-europe-talking-itself-into-war

For your consideration.

The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

Recently there has been another flurry of ‘official’ US delegations to Russia:  Kuchner, Witkoff and Ratcliffe.  We’ve not seen any resultant analysis or explanations of these visits nor has there been any visible official outcome.

There has also been a recent visit by a separate group of Americans, among them John Meirsheimer and Larry Johnson, who are speaking freely of what they saw, who they talked to and how they interpreted their encounters.  

Please consider their contribution to our understanding of the current situation:

Larry Johnson:  Dispatch from Moscow

https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/dispatch-from-moscow-the-collapse

Prof. John Meirsheimer:  The Russia I Saw

The Center for Citizen Initiatives