Bad Democracy of the Year Award

OpenDemocracy.net has its “Bad Democracy of the Year Award” available on its site for readers to weight in on who is the biggest abuser of democracy. See Tom Burgis’ introduction on the purpose of the award. The candidates include: Silvio BerlusconiJohn HowardGeorge W BushMeles ZenawiAbu LabanAlexander LukashenkoLee Hsien LoongKim Jong-ilThe Israeli Defence ForcesThe G8Rupert MurdochVladimir […]

Neil Clark on Litvinenko, Russophobia, and American Neo-Conservatives

I promised myself to put commenting on the Litvinenko Affair to bed, but a friend alerted me to this interesting comment by Neil Clark. His words sum up my position on much of the rhetoric and baseless accusations against the Kremlin in regard to Litvinenko’s death. Clark writes, From a socialist perspective there are certainly […]

Death, Detention, and Immigration

The Moscow Times and Kommersant are reporting that Manana Dzhabelia, 50, a Georgian woman who was being held in a Moscow detention center for living illegally in Russia, died from a heart attack, and according to friends, was refused medical care. Dzhabelia is now the second victim of Moscow’s anti-Georgian and immigrant campaign. As Kommersant […]