Article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/01/02/iran.execution/index.html

Official Site of People’s Mujahedeen of Iran:

http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/index.aspx

Additional Information: http://www.english.mojahedin.org/pagesEn/detailsNews.aspx?newsid=10922

darling, Absolutely.”

Chapman in front of the Statue of Liberty

In June of 2010, a Russian spy ring was uncovered in the U.S. The spy ring consisted of ten individuals living under fake names and identities with the purpose of infiltrating what they called the “circles of U.S. policy making.” Of these ten spies was a young, attractive redheaded woman named, “Anna Chapman.” Following U.S./Russia negotiations, Anna Chapman returned to Russia, where she was recently named “Woman of the Year.” Unlike her fellow spies, Chapman has basked in the attention, having received more so than her colleagues, due undoubtedly to her good looks.

Chapman in Maxim

Along with her recent spread in Russian Maxim Magazine, scandalous personal photos of the female spy have also been making the rounds in tabloid magazines and internet blogs. However, Chapman’s racy behavior doesn’t appear to sway Russian popular opinion in the least, with the former spy still being revered as a Russian heroine. Appearing on the popular Russian television show, “Let Them Speak,” Chapman makes her entrance with the James Bond theme song playing in the background. While being interviewed, Chapman plays up her role as a passionate spy with talk of her beloved homeland and her fondness for guns. The praise being poured upon Anna Chapman is not, however, confined to the Russian people, but is also being demonstrated by Russian President Dmitry Mendevev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Mendevev awarded Chapman and her colleagues with some of the government’s highest honors, a celebration that was attended by Vladimir Putin, who made his admiration known by singing a patriotic song. Shortly after this event, Chapman unsurprisingly was appointed to the youth wing of the Russian Government, which attempts to unite young people and engage them in the political process. However, while Chapman happily plays up her spy-persona, she refuses to divulge any information about what actually happened. Ever the entertainer, Anna Chapman promises that next year she will, “reveal all [her] secrets.”
For many, Russia’s warm reception of its spies seems both odd and discomforting. Just think if the same situation was to occur in the U.S., but this time with U.S. spies being uncovered in Russia.

Check out: Anna Chapman’s interview

The U.S. would be mortified, and government would do everything in its power to try to cover up the situation, knowing that it would elicit a strong response both home and abroad. However, it is necessary for one to consider how different Russia is than the U.S. and other more developed countries if they are to understand why Russia might respond to certain instances differently than other countries. Because state-control is becoming increasingly powerful and restrictive in Russia, it was essentially up to the central political figures to decide how the country was to receive the returning members of the spy ring. By deciding to praise the spy ring for their efforts, the state sent a message to both Russian citizens and citizens of the world. Russia is in desperate need of a national identity, something to spark nationalism within the people. So, why not a beautiful spy who’s love of Russia is so strong that she is willing to put herself in danger for the betterment of her homeland? Not only does Anna Chapman act as a unitary force for the Russian people, but she and her fellow spies are able to increase the legitimacy of the state in the eyes of people in Russia and around the world. Attempting to discredit Russia’s reputation as a dwindling world power, the state’s blatant display of their capacity to infiltrate U.S. Government informs all that Russia may in-fact be more capable and perhaps more dangerous than its perceived to be. However, the surge of nationalism and increased confidence in state abilities is fleeting and brief, because while Russia was able to appear strong momentarily, inwardly it is still terribly weak, a truth that will always put a crack in the front that the Russian state puts up.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/31/world/europe/31chapman.html?src=mv

Check out Anna's fan page on facebook! 

http://www.facebook.com/RussianSpyAnnaChapman?v=wall

Next week, on January 13^th, elections are being held in Oldham East and Saddleworth (two regions of the UK) to choose a minister to replace Labour Party minister Phil Woolas.  Woolas technically won the position of minister for this area in May, but a special elections court stripped him of the seat when it was discovered that he had publicly lied about another candidate, Watkins.  Watkins had come in second place, only 103 seats behind Woolas, something that could only happen in a first-past-the-post voting system.  Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband has been helping to campaign for Debbie Abrahams to win the spot.  During campaigning Milliband has been using the Conservative Party’s recent announcement of an upcoming increase in VAT as ammunition against them.   The VAT official rose yesterday (Tuesday January 4^th) by 2.5%.  Miliband has pointed out that this will add an extra 7.50 pounds of money spent by the average family a week and that it could cause inflation once stores begin to place discounts on their products to convince the people to buy.  Chancellor of the Exchequer, Osborne insists that this will help bring the country out of Labour’s “record debts,” but Miliband points out that it will just lessen the people’s ability to make purchases and support themselves.  He says that government is going “too far and too fast” and that Conservatives are “going back on promises.”

This election is important to politics for many reasons.  For one, it will be the first public opinion reached since Miliband was put in place as head of the Labour Party.  It will help to show the effects of his work so far and if the Labour Party is making any positive ground.  This election will also be indicative of the status of the coalition between the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives.  Recently, Senior MP Mark Pritchard has been expressing concern for the fate of the two parties.  It is unclear if the two will go on working in tandem or if they will separate and go their own ways.  The far left Liberal Democrats and far right Conservatives do not want to continue their work together because they feel their parties are losing their sense of identity.  The leaders of both parties have made it clear that they will each be fighting alone in the next elections, but it would prove to be very difficult to split apart, as the two parties share the same history.  Yet it has not been ruled out that the two could help each other win.  There have been claims that the Conservatives are going easy in these elections to help the Liberal Democrats to win.  Elections can reveal a lot about the politics of a country and the relationships between different parties and important players in government.  The results of this election will help to determine the Labour Party’s power as of now, the people’s response to the increase of VAT, and the relationship between the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.

Ethnic conflict has erupted in Russia, leading to violence, endangering the safety of Russian citizens and potentially weakening the power of the government. Several riots throughout Russia ended with the police detaining over 1,000 civilians, and confiscating weapons and knives. Following the demise of the Soviet Union and the Chechen wars, ideas such as neo-Nazism and xenophobia arose and quickly gained momentum. Xenophobia is the loathing of foreigners because of their beliefs and practices or just simply anything new. In the weekend riots, young men were detained in fear of starting ethnic conflict after they began yelling racist slogans and doing the Nazi or Hitler salute. Young men often take part in ethnic protests or rallies, and countless have been arrested in the protests throughout the past several years. The protest began when a member of the local soccer team’s fan club was shot after conflict with natives of the Caucasus region. Policemen allegedly released some suspects because of their connections, later apologizing, admitting they made a mistake, and arrested three more suspects. Although the police force has not said when the rioters will be release, it is predicted that they will be released soon because there is simply not enough room for them in police stations or in prisons. Natives of the Caucasus region, who are a majority Muslim, face harsh discrimination from Slavic Russians as more and more move into Moscow and large areas. People from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Central Asia also face discrimination and prejudice. Of the estimated 180 ethnic groups in Russia, Slavic Russians account for about 80% of the population. Russia was recently named as the host country for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, in addition to the host country for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. With such violent riots and protests recently taking place, some question Russia’s capability to hold such a massive event free of protests or violence.

Similar to the United States, Russia is a melting pot of countless different ethnic groups. The estimated 140 ethnic groups, along with the rise of neo-Nazism and xenophobia threaten the safety of the Russian people and could eventually pose as a serious threat to the legitimacy of the Russian government (like the drug cartels in Mexico). These two ideas, along with ethnic nationalism, can lead to violence, prejudice, and hate crimes. For example, similar to the protest mentioned in the article, Slavic Russians may stage a violent protest in which they attack a certain ethnic group, such as the Muslims. This might happen because the Slavic Russians think their ethnic group is better than that of the Muslims (ethnic nationalism), or the Slavs do not like the Muslims because they are foreigners and have a different culture (xenophobia). If these protests turn violent, the safety of the people is jeopardized. Constant ethnic clashes not only potentially leads to violence, but also to societal unrest, threatening the power of the government and its ability to get things done. Just as the ever-powerful drug cartels endanger the power and legitimacy of the Mexican government, ethnic clashes have the same potential to endanger the power of the Russian government. Ethnic conflict, societal unrest, and violence imperil the country’s path toward democracy.

This article highlights the fact that in Mexico a federal system is holding the state back to be more effective in containing the cartels. For the past four years, President Calderon has called a War on Drugs. Calderon’s failure is measured in the 30,000 deaths in the past four years. The success achieved is underwhelming, even comparable to much smaller countries. The arrest of the major drug lord has only brought more chaos within the state. Calderon argues that the military confrontation against the cartels was necessary because the rule of law cannot compete with organized crimes, especially when the violence is as widespread as this war on drugs.  Calderon’s military campaign is an example of how this strategy needs revamping. Mexico is struggling with the declining control over its territory. This definition of a state as “the organization that maintains a monopoly of forces over a given territory” reveals how Mexico is on the border of becoming a failed state. However, there is a large presence of the Mexican government, especially places with high amount of violence; the ratio between police officers and population is equivalent to the United States. The problem revolves around the lack of support in public institutions, in particularly the law enforcement. The solution is to rebuild the institution and intelligence agencies. Calderon needs to build public trust in the judiciary and police. The staggering fact that only 98.5 percent of crimes go unpunished in Mexico explains why the cartels are so powerful. Calderon attempted to implement a strong federal police force and a far-reaching reform of criminal procedures.  A delay in the reform is due to the lack of state and local government support. The federal system practiced in Mexico undermines the success. The federalizing the police force is key to make the force more accountable to reduce the impunity in Mexico. It is necessary to make felonies committed by organized crime a federal offence. The cartels have repeatedly undermined the authority of the state. Would a unitary state be more effective in Mexico than the federal system currently in place? This article proves that a unitary state may be more effective in fighting the cartels.

By Elisha Bala-Gbogobo

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-03/nigerian-presidential-candidate-ribadu-vows-to-end-corruption-if-elected.html

Nuhu Ribadu

The election for a new Nigerian president will still be held on April 9^th, however a new candidate is in the running. The ex-chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Nuhu Ribadu, announced his candidacy on December 15^th. Mr. Ribadu is a Muslim from northeast Adamawa. He promises to “end graft and improve government transparency” in a country that ranked 134 on a list, made by Berlin’s Transparency International, of the world’s 178 most corrupt nations. Nigeria, the country he seeks to disinfect, lost $380 billion to corruption from 1960-1999 (according to New York’s Human Rights Watch report in 2007). Nigeria is very important to the United States in that it is its’ fifth biggest oil source. The problem now is that there are armed forces, known as Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, are battling the federal government in the Niger River delta (where 28% of Nigeria’s oil comes from). Mr. Ribadu believes this is due to “failure of leadership and mismanagement”, and is another important problem to address. This new candidate is not new to Nigeria’s government. As stated above, Mr. Ribadu once was the chairman of the EFCC, an anti-fraud/corruption commission. As the first head of this organization he was successful in bringing charges against governors and ministers. However, during Umaru Yar’Adua’s presidency he was removed from that position as well as his position as a Nigerian police officer. After living in exile he has returned hoping to be the candidate for the opposition party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN).  Each party has until January 15^th to nominate their candidates for various posts. Mr. Ribadu two big challengers are current president Goodluck Jonathan, and former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari (if they both get the nominations from their parties).

Nigeria continues to make great steps, no leaps, towards a more free and fair, uncorrupt democracy; this is another example. Out of all the other candidate this new one seems promising, while all the others have degenerate pasts. Nuhu Ribadu wants to fight for a free and fair country for everyone, and that is exactly what Nigeria needs in leadership right now. Nigeria’s election is finally where it somewhat needs to be; it has opposition (with at least one lawful candidate) and a voters registration list that is not polluted! It will be exciting to see the continued progress in this election, and growth for Nigeria.

More links about the elections and corruption in Nigeria:

http://www.inecnigeria.org/

http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/nigeria’s-opposition-to-govt—is-anyone-in-charge-here?-2011010266050.html

Yunhui's body

government silence him. After hearing Yunhui’s story on blogs and seeing the pictures of his death, everywhere, Chinese citizens were enraged. There has been so much question of the government’s honesty that the police force went against their nature and held a press conference last Wednesday to try and silence dissenters. They stuck to their story, and the Chinese, already unsettled by the photo, did not buy it (Translated interview) .Although the Chinese government censors both the internet as well as the news, it’s system failed from blocking information about Yunhui. The internet perpetuated dissent as well as allowed angered Chinese men and women to organize themselves and protest. For example, this past Saturday, villagers came together to protest Yunhui’s murder. Other than a witnesses amateur video no news was published by the Chinese news. The video below shows hundreds gathered throwing rocks at police as well as being beaten by police. These protestors are sending a message to the Chinese government that they won’t stand being lying to. Yunhui’s death is just one more incident to add to the Chinese government’s long list of violent acts in order to keep sustain control. Although Yunhui may not be the final straw, the Chinese people now armed with the power of the internet are certainly approaching their breaking point.
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The uproar over Yunhui’s death demonstrates that flaws in a state run media in the 21^st century. The democratization of the internet now has allowed for images like life-less Yunhui crushed under the truck to go viral. What China is experiencing now is very similar to the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. Due to inventions such as the radio and television, civil rights activists were able to spread the word in a connected country. Technology was their outlet for showing northern Americans the realityof racism in the South. Yunhui’s photo is synonymous to the infamous photos of Emmett Till. Whether the photo of Yunhui will lead solely be responsible for the Chinese government to be held accountable to their people is doubtful. However on day force will fail to silence the Chinese people as it failed to silence African Americans. Though the Chinese people once stood weaponless disconnected, now they have the internet to share, criticize, and organize. It’s only a matter of time before a combination of the democratization of the economy and internet will lead to the end of the communist party’s reign over China.

Video taken at the scene of Yunhui’s death and has been deleted from Chinese websites: WARNING – GRAPHIC
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Follow the translated Tweet’s for updates on Qian Yunhui’s muder

Jos, the central region in Nigeria, went through major attacks on Friday, December 24^th. This picture shows a map of Nigeria and where Jos is located in comparison to the country’s capital, Abuja. Two recent attacks on Nigerian churches have killed thirty two people and injured more. The Nigerian army chief, Abubuike Ihejirika says that these attacks differ from random attacks between religious groups: northern Muslims and southern Christians. This sequence of attacks does not seem to be a sign of religious conflict throughout the country; however both attacks have been on churches instead of any on a mosque. Ihejirika considers these attacks to be terrorist attacks. These attacks are adding even more pressure to the already troubled president, Goodluck Jonathan . The People’s Democratic Party states that president leadership should rotate between the north and the south to balance power between the two dominating religions of Nigeria. Hundreds of people have died in previous attacks between the two strong religious, and these bombings give a foreshadowing to how the rest of the year will turn out. Yet another bombing is talked about in this article. Here, the bombing took place Wednesday, December 29th during a political rally. Fortunately, in this attack there were injuries but no deaths reported. In this article, it explains that there was also a bombing on New Year’s Eve that killed at least four people. The New Year’s Eve bombing took place in the country’s capital, Abuja. Arrested was an elderly man named Buni Wasili who is suspected to be a member of the group Boko Haram.

The situation in Nigeria is extremely important because it shows the level of terror in the state. Not only is the country dealing with ethnic conflicts with the strong differences between religions, the country is now going through strikes of terrorism. Besides the struggle between the Muslim north and the Christian south, now there are bombs attacking innocent Nigerian citizens Even though Nigeria’s army chief, Azubuike Ihejirika says that the bombing attacks do not seem to be connected with the religious between the Muslims and the Christians. However, the attacks have both been involved with churches, which show evidence to the contrary. The fact that there are ethnic, political and religious conflicts in Nigeria suggest the slow lean towards Nigeria possibly being considered a failed state. Finally when voting takes place after the struggle to create a correct voters’ registration succeeds, the President will be able to take control over the situation involving lives of innocent Nigerians being taken away. It will be interesting to see how Goodluck Jonathan responds to these attacks. Jonathan already is facing the country grappling with whether there was a legitimate vote for the faction between the north and south for president. Any bit of conflict in the country can be pushed towards Jonathan by his competition to further increase his struggle to gain the presidency. Also, the fact that the attacks have taken place on churches on a Christian holiday seems to lean towards the idea of Muslim attacks on the Christian. However, Ihejirika seems to believe that these attacks are much more precise and thought out than those that occur more erratically between religious groups. Besides these various attacks that have occurred recently, there was an incident back in Nigeria of car bombings on their 50th Independence Day. Here, it explains the three car bombings that rattled the city. People’s attitudes are becoming more and more tense as the situation in Nigeria gets worse.

The article this is based off of. This video gives different numbers on the attacks in Nigeria. Also, it explains that there were previous attacks that occurred last year by the Islamic extremist group named Boko Haram that fought against Nigerian security groups.