Two developments today may not equal justice, but they are good reminders of the fragility of liberty and human rights. First, the rounding up of suspects in last year's contract murder of 48-year old Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya; second, the resignation of US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.
Politkovskaya had investigated the conduct of Russian government policies in Chechnya and elsewhere, and she was often critical of Russian President Vladimir Putin's abuse of power. Today it appears that the Putin administration is perpetuating an internal coverup, trying to pass blame on to "outsiders."
In the USA, Gonzales served as a hatchet man for the Bush-Cheney administration, undermining American civil rights under the guise of fighting international terrorists. If "patriotism is the last refuge of scoundrels," the Patriot Acts are about as heinous as the Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798. It seems that many "security measures" are skewed for political ends and -- as with much airport and border security -- largely theatrical.
The resignation of Gonzales is a minor victory for democracy; the latest in the Politkovskaya case is more a charade and a red herring.
Barbara Bach as "Bond Girl." "That's Detente, comrades . . ."
Tuesday Weld, from Peyton Place to I Walk the Line (1970), a twisted little tale set to Johnny Cash.
Today's Rune: Fertility.
Birthdays: Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Hannibal Hamlin, Theodore Dreiser, Katharine Dexter McCormick, Charles Rolls, Faina Ranevskaya, Lyndon Baines Johnson, Lester Young, Ira Levin, Antonia Fraser, Alice Coltrane (b. Alice McLeod, Detroit), Tuesday Weld, Barbara Bach, Paul Pee-wee Herman Reubens (b. Rubenfeld), Diana Scarwid, Sarah Chalke.
2 comments:
Misplaced loyalties come back to bite.
Anna Politkovskaya had said that if her life was prematurely ended it would be at the hands of her own government. She courageously did what she needed to do to expose the truth and try and save her country from evil. God Bless her and I pray the conspiracy behind her death is made public and the "people" behind it severely punished.
I think I need to write about this in my blog - it is so sad and making me more and more angry.
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