Here begins an essay that appeared on the writer’s blog yesterday to commemorate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., born Jan. 15, 1929. See also a reprinted 2016 review by Edward Curtin of  The Plot to Kill King, HERE. — MCM

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Lucid summations when tomorrow is today and MLK Day

By Edward Curtin | Behind the Curtain

What they [regular people] need, and what they feel they need, is a quality of mind that will help them use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and what may be happening within themselves….what may be called the sociological imagination. – C. Wright Mills, The Sociological Imagination

In what follows, I offer some conclusions I have arrived at and am skipping all the steps taken to arrive there. Everyone needs to follow their own path to the end.

I know Mills was right when he penned those words long ago.  Arguments don’t go too far to convince others; only self-directed investigations do.  It is a question of the moral will-to-truth and the desire to be free, plus the imagination to connect the dots using reason that lead to conclusions that make sense.  There are many explanations for every public issue and personal problem under the sun that tell us why this or that is true or false.  But since we live in an age of non-stop lies and propaganda, determination and the willingness to do our homework is essential.  The following summations are the results of my study over many years, and this is a partial list.

There comes a time to state them outright and as clearly and concisely as possible, when silence is betrayal, as Martin Luther King, Jr. said so passionately in his speech, “Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break the Silence,” from the pulpit of Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967, a year to the day before he was murdered by U.S. government forces.  He said:

“This I believe to be the privilege and the burden of all of us who deem ourselves bound by allegiances and loyalties which are broader and deeper than nationalism and which go beyond our nation’s self-defined goals and positions. We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls “enemy,” for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers.”

I feel bound by that deeper loyalty and offer these summations in that spirit.

* The United States is now, and has long been, as the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, the greatest purveyor of violence in the world. It is led by leaders possessed by a demonic spirit leading the world toward nuclear conflagration by initiating and waging war against Russia via Ukraine.  It cares not a bit for all the dead and suffering victims of its policies there and around the world.

* Because he so passionately denounced the warmakers and fought for racial and economic justice, MLK, Jr. was murdered by the same government that later gave him a national holiday to hide its guilt.

* Most people in the U.S.A. do not care that this is true but wish to live their small-world lives, not thinking about it. Indifference reigns.  Another holiday means more shopping at the sale counters.

* Anyone who reminds them of this is considered a pain in the ass or worse.

* The violence of the U.S. state is directed not just against people in other countries but against those who live in the United States. This has long been true as the CIA and the FBI have conspired assiduously for decades to control the population while the Pentagon slaughters people all over the world.  Mind control is necessary to achieve this goal.

* To accept this reality is anathema to most people, for it means their own government is their enemy and that they are its targets, this being contrary to the myth of democracy.

* This targeting of Americans by their government is not new but has reached new heights in recent years as the national-security state and its organs of propaganda in the media have gone on steroids.

* The corporate mass media, and elements of the “alternative media,” are the key organs of this propaganda and are completely infiltrated by the CIA, National Security Agency, FBI, etc.

* Agents of these agencies, while enemies of regular people, are often seen as friends because their deviousness is profound. They smile a lot with their fake white teeth.  “One may smile and smile and still be a villain,” wrote the Bard.

* All the wars known and unknown waged by the U.S. warfare state are based on lies and propaganda that’s been developed over a century and more. Actually since the founding of the country and its extermination of native peoples.

* Not some foreign country or its secrets agents, but the U.S. National security state led by the CIA and FBI has assassinated all anti-war, racial and economic justice leaders who have tried to change things: JFK, Malcom X, MLK, Jr., Robert Kennedy, et al., and anyone who tries to distract from this fact by ambiguity and slick words is serving the national security state. Many of these people are assets or agents of the intelligence services and there are far more of them than one can imagine.

* The events of September 11, 2001 and the anthrax attacks were carried out by elements within the U.S. national-security state and not by foreign terrorists under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. That their own government would kill . . . READ MORE . . .

First, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Reuters, Tass, Agenzia Nazional Stampa Associata, and Agence France-Presse; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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Germany’s defense minister resigns after missteps during her short term. Reported by Rob Schmitz| NPR  The resignation of Germany’s defense minister is shining a spotlight on what many see as the country’s lackluster support of Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.  

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Europeans accuse Putin of weaponizing energy but a mild winter has helped. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  Predictions of rolling blackouts across Europe this month have not come to pass — so far. It’s not only because of the mild winter. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Foreign businesses in Ukraine, such as Uber, look ahead to a post-war. Reported by Tim Mak | NPR  Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi visited Ukraine to imagine how the company might eventually operate after peace is established, and the economic opportunities that might create. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Amid the rubble in Dnipro, Ukraine, a frantic search grows increasingly desperate. Reported by Elissa Nadworny | NPR  DNIPRO, Ukraine — For two days, rescue workers have been racing to find survivors of a Russian missile strike on an apartment complex in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro. But more than 48 hours after one of the worst attacks on civilians since the start of the war, officials were beginning to concede on Monday . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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German Chancellor Olaf Scholtz accepts his defense minister’s resignation. Reported by A Martínez and Rob Schmitz | NPR  The resignation of Germany’s defense minister has renewed the debate on the country’s lackluster support of Ukraine in the war with Russia. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Ukrainian civilians vanish and languish in Russian-run jails, by Hanna Arhirova and Dasha Litvinova | AP   Hundreds — perhaps thousands — of Ukrainian noncombatants are believed to be held by Russian forces for months following their invasion. Some are deemed to be prisoners of war, even though they never took part in the fighting. Others are in a sort of legal limbo — not facing any criminal charges or considered . . . READ MORE . . .

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Tanks for Ukraine in sight as holdout Germany says new minister to decide, by Herbert Villarraga and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  * New German defence minister announced as Boris Pistorius * Berlin holding up tanks from other European allies * Death toll in Dnipro rises to 44 | DNIPRO, Ukraine/KYIV — Ukraine came a step closer today to winning the fleet of modern battle tanks it hopes could turn the course of the war against Russia, after the West’s big holdout Germany said this would be the first item on its new defence minister’s agenda. In the central city of Dnipro, authorities called an end to the search for survivors . . . READ MORE . . .

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French Republicans party leader speaks out against supplies of heavy weapons to Kiev. From Tass. PARIS — Leader of France’s Republicans Party Eric Ciotti said today he doesn’t think that Paris should supply heavy weapons to Kiev. The French Ministry of the Armed Forces said Paris planned to supply Kiev with AMX-10 RC wheeled tanks within two . . . READ MORE . . .

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EU chief vows ‘no let-up in steadfast support’ to Ukraine. From ANSA and AFP. DAVOS — European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen promised Tuesday that there would be “no let-up in EU support” for Ukraine as she addressed delegates at the World Economic Forum in Davos. “There will be no let-up in our steadfast . . . READ MORE . . .

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UK to back ukraine ‘until victorious’ as Russia protests tanks. From AFP. WASHINGTON — UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said today that Britain will support Ukraine until they win the war, after Moscow was angered by London’s decision to send tanks. “The message we’re sending . . . READ MORE . . .

When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall one by one, an unpitied sacrifice in a contemptible struggle. — Edmund Burke (1729 – 1797)

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Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. — Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929 – 1968)

For now, links to reports from the Associated Press, Reuters, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and National Public Radio; others (including three AP stories out of Germany) are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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As 37 die in apartment strike, Russia seen readying long war. From AP. KYIV — The death toll from a weekend Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro has risen to 37, authorities said today, as western analysts identified signs the Kremlin was preparing for a drawn-out war in Ukraine after almost 11 months of fighting. The victims . . . READ MORE . . .

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Death toll in Russian missile strike in Ukraine rises to 40, by Herbert Villarraga and Tom Balmforth | Reuters  *  Analysis: Wagner Group boss courts Putin with Ukrainian battlefield success * The latest news on Russia’s war on Ukraine *.  Russia says Britain’s tanks ‘will burn’ in Ukraine | DNIPRO/KYIV, Ukraine — The death toll from a Russian missile strike in the Ukrainian city of Dnipro rose to 40 today with dozens more missing, making it the deadliest civilian incident of Moscow’s three-month campaign of hurling missiles at cities far from the front. Germany’s Defence Minister Christine Lambrecht resigned today after . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia’s strike in Dnipro constitutes a ‘war crime’, Swedish PM. From AFP. Russia’s weekend strike on a residential block in Dnipro, which killed at least 36 people, constitutes a “war crime”, EU presidency holder Sweden said today. “The Swedish government condemns in the strongest terms . . . READ MORE . . .

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Bloomberg unveils amount of equipment Kiev has received since onset of Russia’s operation. From Tass. NEW YORK — According to the media outlet Bloomberg, the United States and its allies have provided the Zelensky regime in Ukraine with more than 4,000 armored vehicles, artillery pieces, aircraft and other weapon systems to help Kiev fight Russia, and now, NATO members are sending more . . . READ MORE . . .

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The latest from Ukraine and Russia’s ground war — and war of words. Reported by Ayesha Rascoe, Charles Maynes and Elissa Nadworny | NPR  The latest (as of early Sunday) on the ground war — and the war of words and politics — from Ukraine and Russia. Click HERE to listen and read.

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What Russia’s claim on the capture of Soledar means for Ukraine. Leila Fadel of NPR talks with Sergey Radchenko of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies about Russia’s claim to have captured the eastern Ukrainian town of Soledar. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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MAY BE CONTINUED

NOTE: Several paragraphs have been added HERE to the article posted two days ago headed “An appeal to citizens.” — MCM

For now, links to reports from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM

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Deaths from strike on Ukraine apartment tower rise to 23, by Vasilisa Stepanenko and Andrew Meldrum | AP  DNIPRO, Ukraine (AP) — The death toll from a Russian missile strike on an apartment building in the southeastern city of Dnipro rose to 23 Sunday, the local government reported as rescue workers scrambled to pull survivors from the rubble. Emergency crews worked through . . . READ MORE . . .

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British decision to send hHeavy tanks to Ukraine prompts Russian warning. From AFP. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Saturday pledged to provide Challenger 2 tanks to Ukraine, making it the first Western country to supply the heavy tanks Kyiv has been calling for. The pledge saw a swift reaction . . . READ MORE . . .

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Dynamics of special op are positive, everything is going according to plan – Putin. From Tass. Russian President Vladimir Putin positively assessed the dynamics of the special military operation. In an interview, the head of state expressed the hope that Russian fighters would once again please everyone with the results of their work.”Everything is .  . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

First, links to two reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and National Public Radio, followed by an opinion piece from the Berkshire Eagle; other articles are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. — MCM.

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Russia fires new wave of missiles at Ukraine after hitting Kyiv infrastructure, by Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth | Reuters KYIV — Russia fired a second wave of missiles at Ukraine today, forcing people to take cover as sirens blared across the country just hours after morning air strikes that hit critical infrastructure in Kyiv and the eastern city of Kharkiv. Authorities in Mykolaiv, the western city of Lviv and the Black Sea port of Odesa said air defences were . . . READ MORE . . .

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U.K. to supply tanks to Ukraine as Russian missiles hit Kyiv, by Sylvia Hui and Hanna Arhirova | AP  LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak today promised to provide tanks and artillery systems to Ukraine, amid renewed missile attacks by Moscow targeting multiple Ukrainian cities for the first time in nearly two weeks. Ten people were wounded, including two children, in . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine’s leader wants to visit UN on invasion anniversary, by Edith M. Lederer | AP  UNITED NATIONS — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants to visit the United Nations to address a high-level meeting of the 193-member General Assembly on the eve of the first anniversary of Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of his country if the security situation permits, a senior Foreign Ministry official said Friday. First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzhaparova cautioned . . . READ MORE . . .

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Turkey ready to push for ‘local ceasefires’ in Ukraine. From AFP. Turkey said today it was ready to push for local cease-fires in Ukraine and warned that neither Moscow nor Kyiv had the military means to “win the war.” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s foreign policy adviser Ibrahim Kalin conceded . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russian forces wipe out three D-20 howitzers in Kharkov Region, DPR – top brass. From Tass. MOSCOW — “In counter-battery warfare” Russian forces destroyed “three D-20 howitzers near Scherbakovka in the Kharkov Region, as well as near Orlovka and Dyleevka in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Kanashenkov said today. He added . . . READ MORE . . .

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Russia names a new commander for its war in Ukraine. Mary Louise Kelly of NPR speaks with Dara Massicot, a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation, about what’s behind a significant change of command for Russian forces in the war in Ukraine. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Facing sanctions, Russia finds crude oil customers in ‘shadow fleets.’ Reported by Jackie Northam | NPR  Facing sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is looking further afield to find customers for its crude oil. It is having to rely on so-called “shadow fleets” to do so. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Could the Russian Federation go the way of the Soviet Union? by James Brooke | The Berkshire Eagle Burned by the unexpected collapse of the Soviet Union three decades ago, Western foreign policy analysts now are asking: Can the Russian Federation survive until 2034? Almost half of 167 “leading global strategists” polled by the Atlantic Council, answered: No. “Prepare for Russia’s coming crack-up,” said . . . READ MORE . . .

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MAY BE CONTINUED

An appeal to citizens

By Mark Channing Miller

Here is a brief description of the Grand Jury in the United States, by the Italian investigative journalist Stefania Maurizi.

“The Grand Jury is an institution enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, but it plays a controversial role in the American criminal justice system. It is not a jury that rules on the innocence or guilt of a defendant on trial, rather it is a jury called upon to decide whether or not there are sufficient grounds to charge an individual. Closed to the public, to the press and to the lawyers of the persons summoned to testify, the Grand Jury operates in secrecy.”

These lines immediately called to mind the years of litigation the Lawyers’ Committee for 9/11 Inquiry has undertaken in its mission to bring to light — and before a federal Grand Jury in New York City — impressive quantities of vital evidence concerning the demolition on Sept. 11, 2001, of the Twin Towers and a third skyscraper at the World Trade Center.

The U.S. Supreme Court this week declined to accept an appeal of a lower court’s decision on the matter, and the Lawyers’ Committee is exploring other legal avenues. Attorneys Mick Harrison and Charlotte Dennett of the LC bring anyone interested up to date on the whole process, HERE, in an interview on the Internet program Crowdsource the Truth. (It was recorded the day before the Court’s decision not to consider the appeal.)

Some visitors to this blog should find the interview fascinating, even if they’ve listened to Harrison or Dennett speak on the subject before. Its importance becomes obvious because the Constitutional issues involved concern all Americans.

The quoted description about the Grand Jury is from Maurizi’s book Secret Power: WikiLeaks and Its Enemies. I’ve been reading it in preparation for writing a review for publication. I’m guessing one has not appeared in any “mainstream” magazine or newspaper since the English-language edition came out last fall (I’ll look), but it deserves the kind of respectful treatment it might get in, say, The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, or The London Review of Books.

Here is my appeal: Please look at and listen to the interview, HERE. Please buy and read the book, which is not likely to be found on a shelf in your local public library. And please consider sending the LC a monetary contribution, however small, for its important work.  

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What follows is an update as of Jan. 15.

An Internet search indicates that, indeed, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker magazine, the New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books, and the Nation magazine are among the newspapers and magazines that to date have not published a review of Secret Power or acknowledged the book’s existence.

Below are three additional paragraphs from it on Grand Juries:

“Grand Juries are so controversial as an institution that their abolition has been advocated for years. They have a lengthy history of prosecuting political activists and systematically pardoning policemen responsible for violent deaths. . . .

“They work in secret; they are formed by a prosecutor who presents the evidence to the jury, questions the witnesses, issues subpoenas for documents and witnesses, and offers witnesses immunity from any criminal consequences of their testimony. At the end of this process the jury must decide if there is sufficient evidence to indict the individual under investigation. The task of a Grand Jury is not to establish innocence or guilt: it is to decide whether or not the suspect should be indicted, that is to say, if there is sufficient evidence to send them to trial. All of this takes place with no exchange between prosecution and defense, because the Grand Jury does not unfold in the presence of a judge, nor of the suspect’s lawyers or witnesses.

“What happens behind the closed doors of a Grand Jury remains a mystery. It is the prosecutor who decides what evidence to present to the members of the jury who, as ordinary people, do not necessarily have any legal expertise: they must base their decision on what the prosecutor tells them. In selecting which evidence to present and which to omit, which witnesses to question and which to leave out, the prosecutor enjoys great discretion in the introduction of evidence that may incriminate or exonerate the suspect.”

For now, links to reports from National Public Radio, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or  initials below. — MCM

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Condoleezza Rice calls for ‘urgency’ in sending weapons and money to Ukraine. Reported by Mallory Yu | NPR  Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice thinks the way forward for the war in Ukraine is: more, now. More weapons and more money to Ukraine’s forces trying to kick Russia out of their country. “My argument is simply . . . Click HERE to listen and read.

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Armored vehicle pledge to Ukraine marks a change in the war with Russia. Reported by Leila Fadel and Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  The U.S., France and Germany have recently announced plans to send armored fighting vehicles to Ukraine. The Western-designed weapons are an upgrade, but they’re not the tanks that Ukraine wants. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Russia says it took Soledar, Ukraine denies its capture, by Andrew Meldrum | AP  KYIV — Russia claimed today that its forces captured a fiercely contested salt mining town, in what would mark a rare victory for the Kremlin after . . . READ MORE . . .

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Rifts in Russian military command seen amid Ukraine fighting. From AP  As Russian troops wage a ferocious house-to-house fight for control of strongholds in eastern Ukraine, a parallel battle is unfolding in the top echelons of military power in Moscow, with President Vladimir Putin reshuffling his top generals while rival camps try to win his favor. The fighting . . . READ MORE . . . (Click HERE for earlier story.)

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Ukrainian soldiers will be trained in combined arms tactics in Germany. From NPR. The U.S. and allies are scaling up training of Ukrainian troops in Germany. NPR’s Dwane Brown talks to Raphael Cohen of the RAND Corporation about what this means for the war against Russia. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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Who is new chief of Russian forces in Ukraine Valery Gerasimov? From AFP.  Valery Gerasimov, who in a surprise move was named to lead Russian troops in Ukraine after months of setbacks, has been Moscow’s top general for the past decade as chief of the general staff. The decision . . . READ MORE . . .

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Lawmaker says liberation of Soledar is turning point of special operation. From Tass. LUGANSK — Viktor Vodolatsky, first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Ties with Compatriots, said today that the liberation of the town of Soledar in the Donetsk oblast is a turning point of the special military operation. “A . . . READ MORE . . .

 

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to reports from Reuters, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Tass; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. Then, via Popular Resistance, a link to an essay drawing from an interview last week and a Reuters report this week. Finally, via Consortium News, a link to a grim 2023 outlook by the same close observer of the conflict who appeared at the end of yesterday’s entry. — MCM

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Scale of alleged torture, detentions by Russian forces in Kherson emerges, by Anthony Deutsch, Anna Voitenko and Olena Harmash | Reuters The methods of the alleged physical torture administered by occupying Russian forces have included electric shocks to genitals and other parts of the body, beatings and various forms of suffocation, according to interviews with more than . . . READ MORE . . .

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In Ukraine, power plant workers fight to save their ‘child,’ by Hanna Arhirova | AP  A POWER PLANT, Ukraine — Around some of their precious transformers — the ones that still work, buzzing with electricity — the power plant workers have built protective shields using giant concrete blocks, so they have a better chance of surviving the next Russian missile bombardment. Blasted out windows in . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine says fighting to hold Soledar, but situation ‘difficult’. From AFP. Ukraine said today its forces were fighting to retain control of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region but cautioned it was coming up against “difficult” resistance from Russian troops. The Kremlin has made capturing the industrial region of Donetsk . . . READ MORE . . .

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DPR says taking of Soledar allows direct fire at Artyomovsk. From Tass. MOSCOW — Andrey Bayevsky, a lawmaker at the legislature of the Donetsk People’s Republic and a colonel of the People’s Militia, said today that the main benefit of capturing Soledar is the opportunity to open direct fire on Artyomovsk. “Seizing control of Soledar means . . . READ MORE . . .

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Ukraine and Russia agree — Russia is fighting NATO, by Moon of Alabama | Educate!  Russia and Ukraine have publicly agreed on a fundamental and important issue. The question is who Russia is fighting in Ukraine. During an interview available on YouTube Oleksii Reznikov, the defense minister of Ukraine, answered that the Ukraine has “already become a de facto member of the NATO alliance.” English language subtitles can be generated by autotranslate  READ MORE . . .

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2023 outlook for Ukraine, by Scott Ritter | Consortium News As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches, the fact that Ukraine has made it this far into the conflict represents both a moral and, to a lesser extent, a military victory. From the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff to the director of the C.I.A., most senior military and intelligence officials in the West assessed in early 2022 . . . READ MORE . . .