Enshrined in History: what comes to mind when I think of Carter

Jimmy Carter 

James Earl Carter Jr. was a Georgian and a Sunday School Teacher. That says something about the essence of the man. But that’s not all. When I think of Mr. Carter, I think of what I believe to be fundamental goodness.

Jimmy Carter was reliably and consistently a man of truth and honor; a man of fidelity, loyalty to what was truly worth being loyal to: his family (most visible to the public his wife, partner, love of a lifetime Rosalynn), his country, principles a shared humanity, peace, stewardship of the Earth.

World Affairs: West Asia, Red Sea, Mediterranean Regions

In world affairs, Jimmy Carter stood virtually alone in declaring (in writing and in public speeches) that the Israeli enterprise is “an apartheid” regime. While acknowledging “a ‘deep religious interest in the Holy Land,’” Mr. Carter visited the region during and after his presidency, and “never abandoned the cause of peace,” Yvonne Ridley reports. These singular acts and convictions, in her view, “will be the legacy” of America’s thirty-ninth president. (Ridley, Yvonne. OPINION Middle East Monitor February 20, 2023. “Jimmy Carter: the first (and only) US president to identify Israeli apartheid.” https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20230220-jimmy-carter-the-first-and-only-us-president-to-identify-israeli-apartheid/)

Forty-seven Years Ago
For the Homeland and the World
A Plea to Conserve 

Domestically, he was equally honest and true. Carter urged his fellow Americans to live their “patriotism”: to care and to conserve. No president or politician, at least in contemporary times, has consistently demonstrated fundamental principles of self-discipline (over self-service), honesty and humanity over popularity and public-office longevity or entrenchment.

President Carter saw US domestic affairs in the context of and connected with global conditions and world affairs. In an Address to the Nation on Energy (April 18, 1977), President Carter laid out ten conservation principles prefaced by this statement 

“We have always been proud of our leadership in the world. Now, we have a chance again to give the world a positive example.”

Excerpt from Carter’s nearly 50-year-old Ten Conservation Principles

“[A]n effective and comprehensive energy policy (will depend on) … the Government taking responsibility for (the policy) and … the people understanding the seriousness of the challenge and (being) willing to make sacrifices.”

“… Only by saving energy can we maintain our standard of living and keep our people at work. An effective conservation program will create hundreds of thousands of new jobs.”

“… [W]e must protect the environment. Our energy problems have the same cause as our environmental problems—wasteful use of resources. Conservation helps us solve both problems at once.”

“… [W]e must reduce our vulnerability to potentially devastating embargoes. We can protect ourselves from uncertain supplies by reducing our demand for oil, by making the most of our abundant resources such as coal, and by developing a strategic petroleum reserve.”

“… [W]e must be fair. Our solutions must ask equal sacrifices from every region, every class of people, and every interest group. Industry will have to do its part to conserve just as consumers will. The energy producers deserve fair treatment, but we will not let the (petroleum industries) profiteer.”

“… [T]he cornerstone of our policy is to reduce demand through conservation. … Conservation is the quickest, cheapest, most practical source of energy.…”

“… [P]rices should generally reflect the true replacement cost of energy. We are only cheating ourselves if we make energy artificially cheap and use more than we can really afford.”

“… Government policies must be predictable and certain. Both consumers and producers need policies they can count on so they can plan ahead. This is one reason that I'm working with the Congress to create a new Department of Energy to replace more than 50 different agencies that now have some control over energy.”

“… [W]e must conserve the fuels that are scarcest and make the most of those that are plentiful. We cannot continue to use oil and gas for 75 percent of our consumption, as we do now (in 1977), when they (oil and gas) make up only 7 percent of our domestic reserves. We need to shift to plentiful coal, while taking care to protect the environment; and to apply stricter safety standards to nuclear energy.”

“… [W]e must start now (1977) to develop the new, unconventional sources of energy that we will rely on in the next century.” (Carter, Jimmy 39th President of the United States 1977 ‐ 1981: “Address to the Nation on Energy.” The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-nation-energy)

By the Selfish and Self-serving, the Careless and Compromised, Carter's Call was Ridiculed or Ignored 

We Remember and are grateful for the life and work of our Fellow Americans: 
Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter
and
James Earl Carter Jr.

For me, it hard to think of one without thinking of the two of them together

Mrs. Carter: Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter

Author, activist, humanitarian, mental health and women’s rights advocate; First Lady of the United States of America (1977 – 1981). Native of Plains, Georgia; lifetime: August 18, 1927 – November 19, 2023

Mr. Carter: James Earl Carter Jr.

Farmer-businessman, author, public official, diplomat, humanitarian; Governor of the US State of Georgia (1971-1975); President of the United States of America (1977 – 1981); Native of Plains, Georgia; lifetime: October 1, 1924 – December 29, 2024.

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER Dr. Carolyn LaDelle Bennett focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

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Culture, Creation, Beauty Built to Endure Barbarism, Philistinism

Years Before Common Era and well over 20 Centuries

Syrian Arab Republic 

Ancient City of Damascus

Dates to 3rd millennium Before Common Era; place of “some 125 monuments from different periods of its history” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/20

Ancient City of Bosra

Within its great walls “a magnificent 2nd-century Roman theatre, early Christian ruins and several mosques” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/22

Palmyra (site of)

Dates from “the 1st to the 2nd century (its) art and architecture … standing at the crossroads of several civilizations…”; “oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/23

Ancient City of Aleppo

Dates from the 2nd millennium Before the Common Era: “ruled successively by the Hittites, Assyrians, Arabs, Mongols, Mamelukes and Ottomans;” site of “13th-century citadel, 12th-century Great Mosque, multiple 17th-century madrasas (Muslim schools, colleges, universities). United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/21

Crac des Chevaliers and Qal’at Salah El-Din

Two castles “illustrating exchange of influences and documenting evolution of fortified architecture in the Near East during the time of the Crusades (11th - 13th centuries)” The Crac des Chevaliers “ranks among the best-preserved examples of the Crusader castles.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1229

Ancient Villages of Northern Syria

Date from the 1st to 7th centuries (and) feature a remarkably well-preserved landscape and the architectural remains of dwellings, pagan temples, churches, cisterns, bathhouses etc. …” Grouped in “eight parks situated in north-western Syria…,” these forty villages are “testimony to rural life in late Antiquity and during the Byzantine period.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Convention https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1348

Under 300 years

Late-stage Collapse Piling up Worldwide Enemies 

Rabid Belligerence: Unfriendly Relations

Militarism USA in Asia (West) 1996-2021

Doha, Qatar, area Al Udeid Air Base

11,000 US & “Coalition” personnel (estimates

60 Acres accommodating circa “100 aircraft as well as drones”

Militarism USA in Afghanistan and Iraq 20-year period (2001-2021)

• US personnel deployed in Afghanistan 800,000 (peak period 100,000 Bagram to Kandahar)
• US personnel deployed in Iraq 1.5 million-plus

Militarism USA in Iraq 2007

Personnel on site: 170,000 (estimated)

Militarism USA 2020 occupying 159 countries

US military personnel (troops) deployed: 173,000

Militarism USA in Iraq 2021

Personnel on site 2,500 (estimated)

Militarism USA 2021 Reports

US Bases Worldwide: 750

Occupying 80 countries (estimates)

Militarism USA in Middle East 2024 reports 

(estimates)
45,000 military personnel (troops)
(in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, Djibouti, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, and more)

Militarism USA in SYRIA 2024

900 US soldiers together with 

“Undisclosed number of contractors”

Militarism USA in West - East

USA militarism in Europe: 60,000 personnel (estimated) 

• Germany: 119 bases, 33,900 personnel (from 2006 period 72,400)
• Italy 12,300
• UK 9,300

USA militarism in Japan 120 active bases (53,700 personnel)

USA militarism in Republic of Korea: 73 bases (26,400 personnel)

General Reference plus Al Jazeera 2021 Mohammed Hussein and Mohammed Haddad “Infographic: US military presence around the world: The US controls about 750 bases in at least 80 countries worldwide and spends more on its military than the next 10 countries combined,” September 10, 2021  https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/9/10/infographic-us-military-presence-around-the-world-interactive

There was a time.
Commemorated Today

EVERY YEAR ON THE TENTH DAY OF DECEMBER Human Rights are highlighted; the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights” (UDHR) — proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in Paris, France, on the Tenth Day of December in 1948 — is remembered.

RECOGNIZED and AFFIRMED in post WWII era 1948
Excerpt from the UDHR Preamble

The “INHERENT DIGNITY and … EQUAL AND INALIENABLE RIGHTS of all members of the human family is foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world….” (caps emphasis added)

The “disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind; and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND BELIEF AND FREEDOM FROM FEAR AND WANT has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people….” (caps emphasis added)

If human beings are “… not to be compelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression …, it is essential that human rights should be protected by the RULE OF LAW….” (caps emphasis added)

It “is essential to promote the development of FRIENDLY RELATIONS between (and among) NATIONS….” (caps emphasis added)

The “…peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the DIGNITY AND WORTH OF THE HUMAN PERSON and in the equal rights of men and women; and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom….” (caps emphasis added) https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights

The Charter of the United Nations: the founding document of the United Nations signed June 26, 1945, in San Francisco (USA), at the conclusion of the United Nations Conference on International Organization. This Charter went into effect on October 24, 1945.” https://www.un.org/en/about-us/un-charter; Human Rights Day 2024 https://www.ohchr.org/en/get-involved/campaign/hrd2024

Humanity, Beauty, Creation must be preserved

A decade ago, UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova raised the alarm of a rapidly deteriorating situation in Syria causing “incalculable” loss and suffering to human beings.

The obligation “is codified in the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict” and is “consistent with customary international humanitarian law.”

Upholding these commitments and adhering to these principles “must be part of wider efforts to end violence, to protect human life, and to move toward peace. “I appeal to all parties to the conflict … to abstain from using … cultural property or their immediate surroundings … for any military purposes.”

UNESCO February 20, 2014 “UNESCO Director-General condemns military presence and destruction at World Heritage Sites in Syria,” https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1108/

Sanctity of Life and Creation

Protection of Human Rights, Cultural Heritage

“Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict with Regulations for the Execution of the Convention” Date and place of adoption: May 14, 1954, The Hague, Netherlands; Entry into force: August 7, 1956, in accordance with Article 33; Signatories: 49; Number of States Parties 136; Depositary: UNESCO; Registration at the UN: 4 September 1956, No. 3511 https://www.unesco.org/en/legal-affairs/convention-protection-cultural-property-event-armed-conflict-regulations-execution-convention

RECOGNIZED, AFFIRMED Pre & Post-Wars 
Excerpt, minor edit

“Cultural property has suffered grave damage during … armed conflicts and … it is in increasing danger of destruction … (given) … the developments in the technique of warfare….”

“… Damage to cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the cultural heritage of all mankind, since each people makes its contribution to the culture of the world.”

“… The preservation of the cultural heritage is of great importance for all peoples of the world and … it is important that this heritage should receive international protection”

Under guidance of “principles concerning the protection of cultural property during armed conflict… established in the Conventions of The Hague of 1899 and of 1907 and in the Washington Pact of April 15, 1935…”; and while acknowledging that “such protection cannot be effective unless both national and international measures have been taken to organize it in time of peace…, yet “determined to take all possible steps to protect cultural property.”

Final Thoughts

The militarists, war profiteers, destroyers, sadists cannot endure. They are the real threats to the world: threat to whatever and wherever they call their homeland; threat to themselves.

The evidence is clear. The present tyrants or neocolonialists or imperialists can neither sustain nor survive. They are incapable of creation. They are incapable of matching or improving the endurance of the ancients.

Thoughts Worth Pondering

Perhaps 

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

Links: https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett

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Honest SHARING (Truth) does far more good than BLAMING.

Viruses know no boundaries. It is time for countries to reach out and help one another—cooperate in the sharing of information, medical practice, expertise, equipment [Malaysian Consulate General-Nanning Head of mission Consul General Azlimi Zakaria at China-ASEAN leaders meeting November 2020]

Rip-and-Reads

Echo-Chambered Headlines

Never based on shoe-leathered Ferreting out Truth

Truth From the Far East 

August 2020 PRC officials expressed their desire that United States officials open US bio-labs to media scrutiny. 

“We would really hope that the United States could 

• Open up its research base at Fort Detrick to the media 
• Release more information about its OVER 200 BIO-LABS OVERSEAS (caps emphasis added), and
• Invite WHO (World Health Organization) experts into (these labs) to conduct origin-tracing so it has a chance to tell the truth and offer an explanation to the American people and the international community.” (PRC spokesperson Zhao Lijian 2020) 

“…[I]n sharp contrast with U.S. political parties who put political gains first,” Zhao Lijian said, Chinese leadership “puts people and life front and center…; the Chinese government’s epidemic response can stand the test of time and history.” (Xinhua; China Diplomacy http://en.chinadiplomacy.org.cn/2020-08/13/content_76593790.shtml)

Truth from the Homeland

2007 US Congressional Subcommittee meeting on “Germs, Viruses, And Secrets: The Silent Proliferation of Bio-Laboratories in The United States” (excerpt from hearings): 

“No one in the Federal Government … knows for sure how many of these labs there are in the United States, much less what research they are doing or whether they are safe and secure”— Hon. Bart Stupak, US Representative from the state of Michigan.

 

“We know that the NIH said there were 277 in 2005 and today the number is estimated to be around 400.” There is a “lack of communication among agencies”: “… the FDA, the CDC, the NIH…; whether it is in health” …, a “sub,” “… inter-agency,” or an “intra-agency,” “communication and collaboration, the sharing of information seems (inadequate, unacceptable)” especially when considering … the type of research at issue— Hon. Marsha Blackburn, US Representative from the state of Tennessee.

Witnesses from the GAO (US Government Accountability Office) together with other knowledgeable agencies have given testimony that dramatic increases have occurred “in the number of high-level biosafety labs” in operation “over the last decade” (1997-2007). 

“… At the height of the Cold War…, this country had only two Level-4 laboratories (laboratories that handle deadly diseases that have no cure): one was at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; and another belonging to the Army at Ft. Detrick, Maryland.” —Hon. John D. Dingell, US Representative from the state of Michigan 

[Under an hour’s drive from Washington, DC, Fort Detrick sits on a 1,200-acre (490 ha) campus whose inmates “conduct biomedical research and development, medical materiel management, global medical communications; and study foreign plant pathogens as well as Ebola and smallpox pathogens (gen reference]

“The problem is… as the number of labs increases, the risk increases; and as that risk increases, oversight becomes more difficult. As oversight becomes more difficult, the transparency of what is going on in the laboratories vanishes; and that is the major concern”—Hon. John D. Dingell, US Representative from the state of Michigan. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-110hhrg44948/html/CHRG-110hhrg44948.htm

In January of 2023, according to a Time Magazine article later that year 

“a group of scientists recommended ‘enhanced oversight’ of (an interesting exception) non-federally funded research.”

They pointed to the obvious: that “oversight” means “awareness.” These federal government advisors, the article reported, were affiliated with “the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity.” Time Magazine, August 31, 2023, “The Danger of ‘Invisible’ Biolabs Across the U.S.” by Dan Greene, Jassi Pannu and Allison Berke. https://time.com/6309643/invisible-biolabs/

Today's Headlines 

SEVENTEEN YEARS after Congress’s the “Germs, Viruses, and Secrets: The Silent Proliferation of Bio-Laboratories in The United States” hearings, politicians restated their COVID19 pandemic-era statements. 

As reported in Medical Press December 3, 2024

“US lawmakers concluded a two-year investigation Monday into the COVID-19 outbreak that killed 1.1 million Americans—BACKING THE THEORY that THE VIRUS LIKELY LEAKED FROM A CHINESE LABORATORY.” (caps emphasis added) Editors noted “US lawmakers back COVID Chinese lab leak theory after two-year probe” also in the “520-page” House Select Subcommittee “report on the Coronavirus Pandemic” was information on “the federal and state-level response and vaccination efforts.” https://medicalxpress.com/news/2024-12-lawmakers-covid-chinese-lab-leak.html

Flashback 20 2020

This week’s laboratory-leak restatement of blame report brings to mind Zhao Lijian’s words seven years ago

The conclusion comes “as no surprise because we know certain individuals in the United States have their own ‘definition’ of truth: as long as (the fable) serves to attack and smear China—it is a fact.”

PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

Latest book: Are There No Champions? Yes and No

Links: https://www.facebook.com/carolynladelle.bennett 

https://insightbeyondtodaysnews.blogspot.com/

 (live limited) https://www.bennettsareherenochampions.com/

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https://www.xlibris.com 

Email: Nolandanisland@hotmail.com or Authorswork@gmail.com 

Exceptionalism Cradled between Oceans: Reach of Belligerence Approaches Eightieth Year

US elements and entities, puppet and puppeteers, plunge their fangs into the peoples of Korea spreading venomous disease throughout Southeast Asia (and beyond)

A President Betrays his Countrymen (his countrywomen, compatriots, fellow citizens)

Lawyer-Prosecutor Yoon Suk Yeol (Republic of Korea aka South Korea), political independent-2021 People Power Party (aka PPP, ‘Power of Nationals’ formerly United Future Party or UFP) convert

Career from 1994 employed in the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Daegu

• 2006 credited with apprehending Chung Mong-koo for complicity in slush fund case at Hyundai Motor Company
• 2013 leading special investigation team looking into the National Intelligence Service (NIS)’s involvement in the 2012 NIS public opinion manipulation scandal (demoted from Seoul to Daegu’s prosecutor’s office, and later headed investigations into 2016 allegations pertaining to principals at Samsung)
• 2017 (May 19) becomes (appointed) chief of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office and led investigation into accounting fraud at Samsung
• 2020 (April) under attack by lawmakers surrounding his office’s investigations into election law violation related to both “ruling and opposition politicians” and “suspected election rigging” of a mayoral race” involving (2018) “senior secretaries” in top government office; 2020 (November 24) suspended from office by Minister of Justice “citing alleged ethical violations, abuse of power, and interference into investigations of his associates and family members (suspension later overturned)
• 2021: (March 4) resigned position as prosecutor-general, (July 30) joins People Power Party (instead of being “independent”), is nominated by the PPP on November 5 as candidate to stand in the coming presidential election and on (November 12) indicates his openness to deployment of “more US THAAD missile deployments in South Korea”

Yoon Suk Yeol Presidency

2022 (March 9) wins election to ROK’s presidency, and in his inaugural speech, he continues a US inspired practice attack (making “strong statements,” taking “hard-line” positions) against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). [It should be noted that the US-led war on the Korean Peninsula was never concluded in a peace treaty so that technically the East and West in this region of the world is still at war. This means that President Yoon has taken a stand against his countrymen, his culture, his neighbors.]

2022-2024

• Yoon vetoes “a special prosecutorial bill on investigating allegations of corruption related to himself and his wife Kim Keon-hee”

• Reported in an April 19, 2023, Reuters interview “hinting” at his openness to “supplying lethal aid to Ukraine” (in contrast with ROK precedent of providing only “humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine”)

• 2023 (April 25) arrives with entourage in Washington, DC and speaks before US Congress declaring to the assembled that … “… no matter where you sit, you stand with Korea… (in an ROK-USA relationship) that is “stronger than ever.” 

• Three months later (following orders?), he attends the NATO summit followed by visits to Ukraine and announces that his country “would provide $394 million in financial aid to Ukraine for 2024, an eightfold increase from 2023”; four months later, his government suspends ROK’s participation “in the Comprehensive Agreement Pact… aimed at lowering tensions” between the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).

• 2024 (December 3) former ROK prosecutor turned President Yoon Suk Yeol takes up a mantra, accusing his country and countrymen of being “communist” then declaring “martial law” against his country and countrymen.

The Korean Times Captures the Yoon vs. the People Moment

December 3, 2024

Republic of Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol in a televised speech declares “emergency martial law … aimed at ‘eradicating pro-North Korean forces’ and ‘protecting constitutional order of freedom.’”

“BREAKING South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol declares emergency martial law, accusing opposition of ‘anti-state activities’” https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387615.html

Following Orders

More than 200 armed troops entered the buildings of the National Assembly.

ROK Army Chief of Staff Gen. Park An-su (“martial law commander” designate) — “soon after” President Yoon Suk Yeol’s late-night announcement — “issued measures” under the martial law decree, which included

Bans on “all political activities” 

Restrictions on freedom of the press

December 4, 2024

“According to Article 77 of the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, martial law can only be declared under circumstances of war, armed conflict or a national emergency equivalent thereto, necessitating military action or the preservation of public safety and order.

“However, President Yoon Suk Yeol failed to provide a proper justification for invoking martial law and violated procedural legitimacy.”

Korean Bar Association and Law Professor Respond 

“President Yoon’s declaration of martial law was the violation of the Constitution, jeopardizing the country’s democracy and constitutional order.” (KBA press release)

“Martial law cannot be declared at current state.” “Those who disable the National Assembly from functioning could be considered accomplices to treason.” (Seoul National University Law School Professor Han In-seop)


Members of the Faculty of Seoul National University Respond

“The National Assembly and government should respect the will of the people while following the country’s constitutional procedure to settle the current political crisis.” 

“We strongly reject any measures to jeopardize the management of our academic affairs.” The Korean Times December 4, 2024, Politics “Foreign, domestic academics criticize Yoon’s declaration of martial law” by Jhoo Dong-chan “Academics both in Korea and overseas are criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol who triggered the country’s largest political crisis in decades Tuesday night when he declared martial law.” https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387708.html?utm_source=taboola

Vox populi (Voice of the People) 

“A coalition of nine organizations, united under the banner of the ‘Committee for the Expulsion of Yoon Suk Yeol,’ issued a statement following the repeal resolution, declaring, ‘He is no longer the president of South Korea. We urge the military and police not to obey the unjust orders of dictator Yoon Suk Yeol.’” Korea Times “Citizens outraged by martial law, support repeal motion, demand Yoon’s impeachment” https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387638.html?utm_source=taboola

“Can you believe the reality in which the president mobilizes troops … to point guns at the very people they serve?”

“The president is a servant of the people.” (Rep. Lee Jae-myung)

“It has been confirmed that Yoon is in such an abnormal state of mind that he should not be allowed to perform the duties of his office for even a single minute or second. His judgment and awareness of the situation are far from normal” (DPK floor leader Park Chan-dae)

“The declaration of martial law violates both the procedural and substantive aspects of the Constitution and the law, providing full grounds for impeachment.

“Yoon is the leader of a rebellion, as defined by our Constitution.” And “As the leader of a rebellion, Yoon must immediately step down from the presidency.”

Main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) “will punish the unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law of the Yoon administration”

“We urge law enforcement agencies to immediately launch an investigation into the treason case that the entire nation is now aware of and bring the perpetrators to justice.” (DPK chief spokesperson Jo Seoung-lae) Korean Times Law & Crime “Defense minister faces treason charges for proposing declaration of martial law” December 4, 2024 by Jung Min-ho “Kim Yong-hyun could be put in jail for life after pushing for ‘unconstitutional’ military rule President Yoon Suk Yeol’s declaration of martial law immediately incited political chaos.” https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/251_387712.html

“‘All power in the Republic of Korea comes from the people!’”

ROK “citizens” “united in anger” over the declaration of martial law “… gathered at the heart of the city” carrying their own declaration “‘President Yoon must step down.’”

“Participants marched around the Assembly complex, from the main building to the lawmakers’ offices and the main gate, chanting … ‘Impeach Yoon Suk Yeol’ and ‘Arrest Yoon Suk Yeol.’”

The student council of the National University of Seoul declared that the martial law decree “‘trampled on the democratic ideals of the April 19 Revolution,’ referring to the mass protests on the presidential residence in Korea that led to the 1960 resignation (and escape) of President Syngman Rhee in 1960.” Korea Times “‘Yoon must step down’: Candlelight protests return to Gwanghwamun, Yeouido” KT Staff, December 4, 2024, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387739.html

NOTE: Syngman Rhee was USA Ivey League (George Washington, Harvard, Princeton universities’ baccalaureate through doctorate) and an American Methodist Christian convert who assumed the Korean presidency in 1948 and, under domestic protests in 1960, absconded under darkness on a United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) plane piloted a US Air Force officer; and ended up in exile in the heavily US military-occupied, newly inked (August 21, 1959) 50th US State of Hawaii (city of Honolulu)

Wednesday morning Resignations 

“All senior presidential aides, including Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk, Policy Chief Sung Tae-yoon, National Security Advisor Shin Won-shik, and senior secretaries” reportedly “submitted their resignations to Yoon,” though the resignations were unlikely to be accepted.

However, “the fallout from the martial law declaration has completely undermined Yoon’s political momentum, making it unlikely that (in the short term) the presidential office will make any further personnel changes.” “President faces impeachment after bungled martial law declaration December 4-5, 2024, https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2024/12/356_387713.html

Multinational News Reporting 

Press TV News reporting Wednesday December 4, 2024

Thousands of South Korean protestors call for president to resign over martial law order

“Thousands of protesters have staged a rally in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to demand the resignation of President Yoon Suk Yeol, following his decision to declare nationwide martial law in the country. … More than 280 troops, backed by 24 helicopters, arrived at parliament to lock down the site after the announcement. However, the MPs defied the soldiers to force their way into parliament and unanimously voted against the order.”

The ROK President in a later statement “said he would reverse his decision and confirmed that the troops sent to carry out the order would be withdrawn.” https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2024/12/04/738457/South-Korea-protest-demand-resignation-President-Yoon-Suk-Yeo-martial-law-decision-MPs-impeachment-motion

RT News Reporting December 4, 2024

South Korean Minister of National Defense Kim Yong-hyun, in a message shared with the media, “said he felt ‘responsible for all the turmoil caused by the emergency martial law.’” He “apologized” and offered his resignation.

Several hours after the Defense Minister’s statement and after the parliament voted unanimously against the decision, the president announced the lifting of the “state of emergency.” RT “South Korean defense minister resigns: Kim Yong-hyun has apologized for causing ‘confusion and concern’ by advising President Yoon Suk Yeol to declare martial law” https://www.rt.com/news/608701-south-korea-minister-resigns/

Exceptionalism USA Cradled Obliviously Between Two Oceans

Sadly, within the United States of America (my country, among my fellow Americans), there will be no hard news reporting of the happenings and historical context of happenings on the Peninsula because the American press, the podsters and silo dwellers, sundry loose talkers are variously

Censored

Self-censuring

Deliberately sanctimoniously arrogantly ignorant

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PROLIFIC SOUTHERN-BORN AMERICAN WRITER DR. CAROLYN LADELLE BENNETT focuses on People, Press, Politics USA; Domestic and Foreign Affairs (no copyright claimed in direct quotes and individual image)

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