Dear Friends and Colleagues,

In the few weeks that have passed since CCI last appeared in your inbox our world has radically changed, and we cannot anticipate how these changes will affect us.

Following a chaotic and deadly election season we have a new President due to be inaugurated on January 20, 2025. Perhaps a third of the US electorate considers his incoming administration to be a catastrophe beyond endurance, a continuing manifestation of ‘Trump Derangement Syndrome.’ Another third contemplates his presidency with the ecstatic belief that he will make good on his promises to clean up the labyrinth of a disorganized, dysfunctional and out-of-touch federal bureaucracy, perhaps an exercise in wishful thinking. The final third is waiting nervously – not just to see what President Trump will actually do once in office, but as importantly, to see what havoc may be wreaked upon us between now and 20 January; a more or less mildly depressed centrist position between the two extremes.

For our purposes at CCI, the Biden administration’s recent escalation of the war in Ukraine is enormously disturbing. With the greenlight given to the Zelensky government to use US-supplied long-range missiles against Russian territory, President Putin has announced that as far as Russia is concerned, the West, especially the United States, has declared war on Russia. Our friends in Russia tell us this new reality spread across the country immediately following Mr. Putin’s speeches of November 21 and 22. A good friend in Sergiev Posad tells us she and her colleagues at work discuss the strain of anticipating a missile strike on Moscow, a mere 70 kilometers away, constantly. She also tells us that church attendance is way up with parents now insisting their children attend – something quite unusual in recent years.

The fact that officials in our government insist we are not at war with Russia is irrelevant to the Russians when American made and American guided weapons fall on Russian cities. One must ask: how many Americans appreciate this situation – that ‘reality’ for Russian citizens is not whatever comes out of the mouths of American officials? ‘Reality’ for Russians is what is physically ‘real’, a matter of what happens on their soil.

Many of the most respected members of the independent media world we rely on have gone on record as stating the belief that we are in a far more dangerous position regarding the possibility of a nuclear war between Russia and the United States than has ever existed before in our history – Cuban missile crisis notwithstanding. Those of you who remember that episode will recall that it lasted for about three days and was resolved quickly, to everyone’s relief. Today, the teetering-on-the-brink posture is ongoing, day after day after day with no relief in sight and it’s not just independent voices raising the alarm now – mainstream media and western intelligence agencies are also spooked. Anyone in the US who is paying attention must empathize with our friend outside of Moscow. We would like our Russian friends to know that there are many people on this side of the ocean who are also praying for peace.

Still, we find ourselves in the holiday season and we must have the courage to acknowledge the reasons we celebrate. We are thankful for the fact that the worst has not happened and that we are here, alive, well and prepared to take whatever small steps we can to ensure that it never does. And above all we must have the hope for the future that this month’s celebrations demand.

At CCI we remain committed to our mission to promote peace and friendship between the citizens of the two countries whose official position is currently hostile. It has been a uniquely successful endeavor for over forty years and our hope, and our earnest intent, is that this undertaking will continue. My heartfelt thanks go out to the entire CCI community of citizen diplomats – in Russia and in the USA – for being here to share the hope and the good work with us.

Yours sincerely and with prayers for peace,

Paula Day
The Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

It appears that an historic event has taken place from October 22-24 in Kazan, Russia.  Although BRICS as a consortium has been in existence for 16 years, it has now reached a point at which it presents a serious alternative to the current Global Commerce structure. 

We share the following communications for your information,

*Dr. Gilbert Doctorow, American analyst of global affairs, presents his analysis of changing times,

[Continue to Armageddon Newsletter, October 25th, 2024]
*Andrew Napolitano interviews Jeffrey Sachs on how BRICS members and partners view the change in economic relations between the West and the rest of the world,

[Continue to Judging Freedom, Livestreamed October 25, 2024]
*Ben Norton shares his views of the perspective from the Global South in Geopolitical Economy Report,

[Continue to Geopolitical Economy Report, October 26th, 2024]
We look forward to your thoughts on this subject.

Sincerely,

The Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

Dear CCI Friends,

Ambassador Jack Matlock represented the United States in the final years of the USSR as the two countries negotiated an ‘end’ to the Cold War.  Would that that ‘end’ had endured.

On the occasion of his 95th birthday, Ambassador Matlock has compiled a collection of his writings on the subject of US-Russian relations since we, the US, inexplicably managed to bungle the opportunity for lasting peace that was within our grasp.  He has allowed CCI to distribute his work to our community and we are honored to do so – with appreciation and gratitude for his contribution to peace between our countries.

“I am often asked whether I am a pessimist or an optimist.  A frank answer would be that I am neither: I cannot foretell the future.  Experience has taught me that life and politics can take unexpected turns. What I do believe is that attempts by the United States and its allies to dominate the world by military and economic coercion will fail.  We and our allies must find a way to promote the peaceful settlement of disputes rather than encouraging and supporting violence.  Until we do this the future of humanity is in jeopardy.” Chicago, Illinois, September 28, 2024
Thank you, Ambassador Matlock!

Paula Day, Pamela Tetarenko, Krishen Mehta, Directors
Center for Citizen Initiatives

“Looking Back to Look Ahead”

Thoughts of a Nonagenarian
Halfway through His Tenth Decade

October 1, 2024

By Jack F. Matlock, Jr.

Ambassador Jack Matlock turned 95 on October 1, 2024 and shares his reflections from his first-hand experiences.

He has kindly posted his book as a PDF file that can be downloaded from his website via the following link,

[Continue to Ambassador Matlock’s website to Download Book]

Dear CCI Friends & Colleagues,

We all care deeply for human life.  We are all acutely aware of the devastation and death surrounding us everyday from human-created catastrophes as well as natural disasters.

As much as we would all like to “be the change we want to see in the world”, the march to war is accelerating and it is out of our control. What is in our control are our day-to-day actions towards each other. 

We realize that we have not sent out an email and/or article since the JFK speech.  While it is tempting to cite JFK’s words of peace again and again, until our current leaders listen – the news has not changed and the narratives remain the same so rather than repeat ourselves, 

We would like to take a moment of silence for every life lost.

Respectfully,

Pamela, Paula and Krishen

Dear CCI Friends,

We live in extraordinary times.  Or perhaps, we have not ever moved on from attitudes we hoped had been long buried?

John F. Kennedy contended with the fear of nuclear war with Russia and fought what that fear might lead to forcefully.  He also confronted the grave responsibility held by a free press in keeping Americans informed of what their government was doing to face that danger.  Do we not live in similar times?

The documentary below explains eloquently President Kennedy’s efforts to improve US Russia relations that led to the peaceful resolution of the Cuban Missile Crisis, and to the nuclear test ban treaty. It also explains the resistance that President Kennedy faced from those in his own administration who were opposed to such efforts.

JFK: A President Betrayed

And please consider the following words of President Kennedy as we confront current movements to stifle and even criminalize a free press today.

“No President should fear public scrutiny of his program. For from that scrutiny comes understanding; and from that understanding comes support or opposition. 

Without debate, without criticism, no Administration and no country can succeed—and no republic can survive. That is why the Athenian law-maker Solon decreed it a crime for any citizen to shrink from controversy. And that is why our press was protected by the First Amendment—the only business in America specifically protected by the Constitution—not primarily to amuse and entertain, not to emphasize the trivial and the sentimental, not to simply “give the public what it wants”—but to inform, to arouse, to reflect, to state our dangers and our opportunities, to indicate our crises and our choices, to lead, mold, educate and sometimes even anger public opinion.

This means greater coverage and analysis of international news—for it is no longer far away and foreign but close at hand and local. It means greater attention to improved understanding of the news as well as improved transmission. And it means, finally, that government at all levels, must meet its obligation to provide you with the fullest possible information outside the narrowest limits of national security–and we intend to do it.”

JOHN F. KENNEDY, “ADDRESS: THE PRESIDENT AND THE PRESS” (27 APRIL 1961)

As always, your thoughts and responses are welcome and appreciated.

Sincerely,
Paula, Pamela and Krishen
Center for Citizen Initiatives