Dear National Coalition, Syrian National Council and main political opposition groups: This is a simple letter from a Syrian, without political terms and complicated language.
Two years have passed and we have exhausted all our hopes, and you have taken part in many meetings, statements and pledges. Now it is only timely to reassess the situation and ask some questions that you are bound to face later, if not now.
When you were given legitimacy by the international community, did you believe that that made you the "legitimate" representative of the Syrian people?
Have you ever thought how we, mainstream Syrians, view your statements and your inaction? That it is embarrassing and humiliating for us when you keep praising certain donors, then turn us into beggars as you plead for...
Politics
Dear Mr Secretary of State Hagel
Congratulations on your new position as Pentagon Chief, replacing Leon Panetta. It was a close run thing wasn’t it? 58-41!
I am sure you have many things on your desk crying out for attention, but I implore you to watch the BBC Panorama Programme that was screened in the last few days. BBC Panorama reporter Ben Anderson spent five weeks with US Marines working to advise Afghan security forces in Helmand province. British and American soldiers have fought and died to make that province, dubbed “Hell Land” by those who served there, safe and secure. Secure from Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, militant Islamists and impose the rule of law to protect the weak and the vulnerable. However as you will see in the programme Ben Anderson witnessed rampant corruption...
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A Citizen Proposition: Calling for Immediate Ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by the NPC
To the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress:
On the eve of the opening of the 12th National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China, as China’s new government prepares to take the stage, we solemnly and openly propose the following as citizens of China: that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights be ratified, in order to further promote and establish the principles of human rights and constitutionalism in China. Our concrete reasons are as follows:
1. The International Bill of Human Rights, as the basic declaration, establishment and standardization of basic human rights principles, accords with the tenets...
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Dear Prof. Thomas
I read with astonishment your arrogant and condescending references to the jury in the Vicky Pryce trial in the last day or two. As Britain’s alleged leading expert on juries, you staunchly defended the country’s trial system following the “fundamental deficits of understanding” that saw the jurors in the Vicky Pryce trial discharged by the judge. You also said “We need to be extremely careful about drawing any conclusions about the jury system as a whole from one very exceptional jury. We have a system that is incredibly fair. Almost everyone is eligible for jury service and must serve. Our research showed that juries chosen from such a representative group of people are systematically fair.”
So you defend the system that provides you and other old middle and...
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Background to those who’ve been living under a rock: A scholar named Dr. Rejith Kumar as part of a series of “moral consciousness” lectures made quite a few patronizing comments against women. Only one girl walked out. The media blew it up. People blew up. There was outrage against this guy, but more so against the media. Below are screenshots of some amazing comments on one video of his speech. Just look around Facebook for more. Or Twitter. Or other videos on Youtube. These activists are everywhere. Hey human beings with uteruses, hold on tight.
Disclaimer: I’m not witty, and wasn’t trying to be. Any accidental sarcasm is purely a shield for anger.
Dear lovely brothers of mine,
I was about to start with “I hope I meet you soon” but then I remembered I most likely have. You’re...
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Dear Mr Ban Ki-moon
While you may be directing your organisation’s efforts and resources towards effecting as much global peace as possible and saving the planet by exhorting all countries to reduce their carbon footprints and save the ice caps, it may have escaped your notice that there is an extra-terrestrial threat to our planet and to the continued existence of mankind.
This is not the threat of little green men from Mars but a real and present danger from bombardment from space caused by rogue asteroids and meteors. As you know, a few days ago a meteor crashed in Russia's Ural mountains has injured at least 950 people, as the shockwave blew out windows and rocked buildings. The area not only contained factories, but also a nuclear power plant and the Mayak atomic waste storage...
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I am just a modest citizen, a nobody, but this time I believe it is important for all the nobodies that feel concerned to react on what is happening in Belgium, on what took place in Aalst last weekend.
This complain from the Unesco bothers me. It really does.
Why ?
Not because I find that one may joke about the death of Millions of people. Of course not.
Not because I accept that the Shoa and the whole context of the Nazi movement is treated "lightly". No.
Not because I have forgotten that my Gran Father has been fighting among the resistance to keep this continent a free place where I could grow up and raise my own kids free. Certainly not.
What happens in Belgium today has much more in common than one might think with what took place in Germany 80 years ago.
What happens...
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Dear Ms Brown
Mmmm… as the packet says- Britain’s No 1 lasagne. Giddy up!
Let’s have a look at the title of the Agency that you are boss of: Foods Standards Agency.
Food. That’s what we all need to survive. We no longer have to go out with bows and arrows to drive woolly mammoths over cliffs to survive. We go to shops and supermarkets to get our food. We have no idea who the farmer or who the butcher is. Ms Brown, we rely on you.
Standards. That’s a word that means quality. We look to you and the outfit you lead to provide us with the reassurance that what we eat is wholesome, nutritional and is what it says on the packet or the box. Who checks on your standard Ms Brown? Me? Parliament? A higher authority? God?
Agency. That means, that I pay your wages. Me and millions of...
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Dear Mr Huhne
At a time when the UK public are still recovering from realising that large swathes of their politicians were wilfully and deliberately fiddling their expenses and swindling the taxpayer, your actions in lying and attempting to defy the law and pervert the course of justice, are despicable. And you have continued to lie since the incident took place over nine years ago.
You were caught speeding on a speed camera and instead of doing what ordinary common decent people would have done, accept the penalty points, pay the fine, and accept the consequences, you decided that you would be above the law. You asked Vicky Pryce, your then wife, to take speeding points for you by making out she was driving the vehicle. Your son, in June 2010, knew the truth. He texted you and...
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Dear Patrick McLoughlin
You have now unveiled the routes of the high-speed rail links to be built in the North of England. You claim that these will boost jobs, and that the 250mph trains will slash journey times and boost regional businesses, closing the North-South divide. I understand that because this is so essential for the recovery of an economy that you have called “stagnant”, the public consultation will be fast-tracked.
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin is bringing forward public consultation on the plans to later this year in a bid to fast-track the controversial project.
I am not in favour of the plans, not because they will upset Nimbys (Not In My Back Yard) in constituencies where the lines will run, but because they are so incredibly expensive and the detail of...
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