Open Letter to President Obama on Russian Human Rights Abuses

Russia's Retiring Jihadi
health. Umarov rose from low-level Jihadi to become head the Chechen Insurgency in 2006. He shifted the movement’s focus from a struggle for independence from Russian rule to participating in the Al-Qaeda-inspired global Jihad, with the goal of creating a pure fundamentalist Islamic State along Russia’s southern flank. He also claimed responsibility for the highest profile Terrorist Attacks in Russia in the past five years: the twin Suicide bombings of the Moscow Subway System in...

Give Me My Rynda Back!
On Friday we wrote about the current wave of Wildfires sweeping across a broad swath of western Russia; within that post was the story about a Russian blogger’s back-and-forth with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin over the disappearance of his village’s emergency warning bell (or rynda ). His complaint was picked up by the independent radio station “Ecko Moskvy” (Moscow Echo) and quickly turned into a national sensation. The website Global Voices Online published this ...

Russian spy courts new scandal with racy photo shoot
Flame-haired and squeezed into a body-hugging cocktail dress, Russian Spy Anna Chapman Friday emerged from the shadows in a racy Photo Shoot and walked straight into a new Scandal. The glamorous Chapman, 28, was at the centre of the biggest Spy crisis between the United States and Russia since the Cold War as one of the US-based "sleeper" agents who last month were exchanged in a dramatic Spy Swap. Aside from some enigmatic messages on Facebook, she disappeared from sight after her return to...

Human Rights Travesties in Russia Continue
A source reports from Moscow that Mikhail Schneider, a leader of the Solidarity opposition movement, has been jailed for three days in connection with a demonstration on Russias Flag Day, which was held on August 22. He follows to jail Lev Ponomarev, a well known Human Rights Activist, who also received a three day sentence. Previously, a judge effectively ended the case against a third defendant, Boris Nemtsov, sending the file back to the authorities for further...

An Open Letter for a Media Request to the White House
As a local blogger that has operated in DC since April 2002, I think that I deserve a major break. I want to set major goals and make great breakthroughs on this blog. I want history to define Francwa Sims and his Anacostia Diaries as more than just another blog on the Internet. So I chose to aim my sights high. I have formally sent an media interview request to the White House via the "Contact the White House" page at Whitehouse.gov . I asked for an interview with President Obama. There are...

Tariq Aziz On Iraq
On Friday, the Guardian published a two-part interview with Tariq Aziz , the former Deputy Prime Minister under Saddam Hussein, who, with his bushy moustache and thick, black-framed glasses, was one of the regime’s most recognizable figures. Aziz is currently sitting in jail in Baghdad, halfway through a 15-year sentence for Crimes Against Humanity for his role in the Hussein regime. While the entire two-part interview is well worth reading - Aziz maintains that Iraq was...

Iran: revolution and repression
I’m shocked, and for this reason I write lesser than in the past. But today, I’m outraged. Iranians actually are involved in a revolution against the terror, against the ignorance, against the Slavery. And this video, https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=0db_1245519048 , shows what police was able to do to a citizen, a woman. Chineses, russians and americans teach us that behind apparent Protests there are geopolitic interests (see the pretext chineses used to attack Tibet or russian used...

An Open Letter for You, in your Inauguration Day! Mr. President!
First and foremost, we extend our deepest and sincerest congratulations on your ascendancy to the highest-elected office of our beloved country through a democratic process that every Filipino can take pride in for many generations to come. The first step inherent in the process of transformation is recognizing the need for change and our capacity to change for the better! Thus, from this point onward, we are hopeful that inspired by your convincing victory and leadership, every Filipino...

Jon Voight ~ New Letter Slams Obama on Huckabee 8.21.2010
Previous Letters via Jon Voight here: Jon Voight Open Letter Read to the American Patriots On Gov. Mike Huckabee Show on Fox Network Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) « Michael Berry Reveals the Truth About “The Third World President” of the USA What Agenda 21 Reveals About the Federal Government Taking Over the Gulf Coast »

Open Letter to Tom Tancredo from Colorado Liberty Groups
Many Coloradans and liberty movement individuals respect you for your courage and honorable service to this state. But, we ask what really has changed, and how your High Noon ultimatum issued July 22nd reflects the principles and values you have long stood for? This ultimatum seems out of character and completely contradicts the sage advice you offered us in an Open Letter on December 21, 2009 and reiterated again passionately at a joint 9-12 Project/Tea Party event on January 16, 2010 . We...

VoteVets Launches Open Letter in Support of Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan
(When I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitition back in the Vietnam era, nobody told me the Constitition's guarantee of "free exercise of religion" didn't include Muslims.  I'd proud that today's vets also understand that they are risking their lives not just for the flag but, even more important, for "The Republic for Which it Stands."   - promoted by Voyageur ) Generally speaking, most of my fellow CoPolsters support the Constitutionality of the building of the Cordoba...

The Politics of School Bullying (An Open Letter to the School Head/Parents)
It has come to my attention that my son is being bullied at school by a certain classmate of his, going by the name of “XX”. I do not know his last name. As early as the first few weeks of this school year, I have been consistently nagged by my son that this boy I have mentioned has been causing him too much “bother” — which, at first I did not take as anything harmful. I am a parent and have been a kid myself so I perfectly understand that such...

Rick Warren: An Open Letter to Progressives
I understand the anger over Rick Warren’s selection to give the invocation at the inaugural. But what you aren’t getting is that Warren represents a large chunk of our country — Evangelical Christians who believe that The Bible prohibits Gay Marriage. I disagree with them. You disagree with them. I wrote extensively about how hurt I was to see the hateful Speech coming from them during the Proposition 8 campaign. That hurt hasn’t gone anywhere, but it seems unproductive...

An Open Letter to Paul Krugman
Wealthy people are unlikely to spend every penny of their income immediately, so it is important for the Political Classes to get their hands on those funds, as governments will spend freely in the short run. Thus, from what I can tell, you believe that it is the Very Duty of Everyone to spend everything quickly, and since you are advocating such beliefs publicly, I would like to challenge you to practice what you preach. Here are some suggestions: I realize that you might be objecting by now....

An open letter about illegal immigration
After listening to these two peoplea genuine sadness enveloped me. It was this minority woman — after declaring her love for this country -whokeenly stood before us and said, you have to make it your business. I had to agree with her that if I wanted Third World behavior — like selling food from their push-carts or outof a car trunk in my area — I’d move to a Third World country.No one talks about the Identity Theft occurring. No one talks about instant...

Tom Tancredo's open letter to Colorado's 912 activists and Tea Party patriots
I ask you to ponder the meaning of that headline. Not a single Republican voted for this federal takeover, a deceptive, pork-laden proposal that has been mislabeled, Health Care reform. And not a single Democrat voted against it. Some like Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Ben Nelson of Nebraska were bought off by $100 million or $300 million bribes buried deep in the bill, while others simply bought into the despicable lies about the nations Health Insurance Industry. I need not belabor...

An Open Letter to Paul Krugman
I don't know if it's just fun for you to do this or if you're actually convinced by it or what, but your blog might benefit from working harder to connect 1. to 2.. As someone that reads Krugman, doesn't always agree with him (I actually disagree with him on this point - on the Bush Tax Cuts), but does think he regularly has very good insights, I often don't even have the inclination to comment on your posts (although I do read them whenever you link to Mises) because they...

VoteVets Launches Open Letter in Support of Islamic Community Center in Lower Manhattan
Today, VoteVets is launching an Open Letter to the organizers of the Park51 Community Center in Lower Manhattan in support of their project. Here is the text of the Letter: As Veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, we are writing to support your right to build a Community Center on the property you purchased in Lower Manhattan, and urge you to continue on with your project. We encourage you to distribute this Letter to all those who may be interested, so they know that Veterans like us...

China: Secret Black Jails Hide Severe Rights Abuses
Since 2003, large numbers of Chinese citizens have been held incommunicado for days or months in secret, unlawful detention facilities known as “black jails” by state agents who violate Detainees’ Rights with impunity. The Human Rights Watch report, “ An Alleyway in Hell ,” documents how government officials, security forces, and their agents routinely abduct people off the streets of Beijing and other Chinese cities, strip them of their possessions, and imprison...

Global: Human Rights Day, Embrace Diversity, End discrimination
The concept of non-discrimination lies at the heart of Human Rights. For this reason, it has been designated the official theme of this Human Rights Day, which occurs every year on the anniversary of the Adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. And for this and many other reasons it should be an unofficial theme every day, every year, for everyone. Twenty-six of the Universal Declarations 30 Articles begin with the words E veryone or No one Everyone...

The evolution of human rights
Samuel Moyn has penned a fascinating brief history of Human right s for The Nation. He argues that the concept of Human Rights emerged in the context of state Citizenship, but it has only matured through the belated evolution of international governance. In the 1940s, Human Rights presented an alternative to bloody collectivist ideologies: Human Rights came to the world in a sort of gestalt switch: a cause that had once lacked partisans suddenly attracted them in droves. While accident played...

Morocco/Western Sahara: Human Rights Defender Expelled and Others Arrested.
Last week Aminatou Haidar, the 42-year old Sahrawi Human Rights campaigner, was arrested and expelled by Morocco. She visited the US last month to receive the Civil Courage Award from the Train Foundation and was also awarded the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. On her return to El Ayoun airport in Western Sahara she was arrested after refusing to declare her nationality as Moroccan on an airport customs clearance form, then had her passport confiscated and was subsequently deported to...

Russia poised to intervene as ethnic violence rages in Kyrgyzstan
The Kremlin edged closer last night to Military intervention in Kyrgyzstan as the number of people killed in ethnic violence spiralled and as many as 100,000 Refugees flooded neighbouring Uzbekistan. An emergency meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) — the Russian-dominated group of former Soviet states — said that it was sending helicopters and lorries to help the Kyrgyz Government to quell fighting between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks that has raged for...

Fires cost Russia '300 billion dollars' in deforestation
Moscow (AFP) – Wildfires have cost Russia 300 Billion dollars in forest loss, Environmentalists said on Thursday, explaining the scale of the disaster by Vladimir Putin's "absurd" changes to forestry law. The economic damage amounts to 25,000 dollars per hectare (2.4 acres), or at least 300 Billion dollars, according to estimates based on the market value of timber and the cost of reforestation, said Alexei Zimenko, general director of the Biodiversity Conservation...

Damage In Russia Fires Exacerbated by Putin's Policies, Advocates Say
Environmentalists say rampant Wildfires during this summers Heat Wave cost Russia more than $300 Billion in forest loss, and that government cutbacks in recent years exacerbated the disaster. During a news Conference, Russian environmental groups said 24 million to 29 million acres (10 to 12 million hectares) of forest were destroyed by fire, citing Global Fire Monitoring Centre data that far exceeds government estimates. They based the total financial loss on the market value of timber...