Politics

Dear senators: Thank you for your letter of March 9 explaining your system of government. We were unfamiliar with the complexity of your laws. For three years we have been negotiating a nuclear energy agreement with your president. We now realize our mistake. As your letter makes clear, the authority to establish such agreements on behalf of your country rests with your Congress. We are in your debt for this clarification. Moreover, your letter has prompted us to undertake a broader study of the American political system. What we have learned has opened our eyes. For 35 years, we have treated you as an adversary. Our intelligence agencies told us that your culture and your political system were radically different from ours. We now understand that we were misled. Your country is...
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Dear Salman Khan and Jacqueline Fernandez, It was probably not your intention to be in the middle of this embarrassing political controversy. Clearly, all you wanted to do was visit your old friend Namal and distribute some spectacles in order to boost your charity. But, I must say, you two… the time you picked for this was just a little shortsighted. It’s understandable that as you come from Mumbai (Jacqueline has been there for all of six years now…) you were ‘not aware of what was happening here.’ But by now you must know your friend Namal’s dad has been terribly busy trying to convince the people of Sri Lanka to re-elect him as president. And, well… things have not been going too well for him. However, he must like you very, very much; because, just one week away from the...
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Dear senators: Thank you for your letter of March 9 explaining your system of government. We were unfamiliar with the complexity of your laws. For three years we have been negotiating a nuclear energy agreement with your president. We now realize our mistake. As your letter makes clear, the authority to establish such agreements on behalf of your country rests with your Congress. We are in your debt for this clarification. Moreover, your letter has prompted us to undertake a broader study of the American political system. What we have learned has opened our eyes. For 35 years, we have treated you as an adversary. Our intelligence agencies told us that your culture and your political system were radically different from ours. We now understand that we were misled. Your country is...
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Dear Mr. Tom Cotton, et al, We received your letter from March 5. Our English is not the best, but we believe we understand your main points. Thank you for your interest in joining the Revolutionary Guard. We know you appreciate the many exciting opportunities the Guard provides to fight the Zionist-Crusader alliance while awaiting the coming of the blessed Mahdi, while also earning you money for college. Unfortunately the Guard is not for everyone. We have stringent requirements that must be met. Per Reference 3563-3 Paragraph 5.9 and Surah 8 of the Noble Quran, you must be between the ages of 17 and 35, bearded, a Shia Muslim, a resident of Iran, and possess a diploma from your local madrasa or equivalent GED certificate. Our understanding is that you are citizens from the Great...
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Dear Mr. Obama, Congratulations on your recent victory, and for helping build such a strong mandate for change. In that spirit, please do not forget the other aisle you need to reach across. All the relief and publicity for the middle class won't do anything for the 40-100 million Americans who are starving, unemployed or just plain poor. You have gone out of your way to build a bridge to those of us fed up with war, pollution, inequality, corporate lawlessness and business as usual. You have energized a whole new generation who is far ahead of their elders in knowing what urgently needs to be done. I have never seen such an outpouring of heartfelt emotion, hope and support for an American politician in my life, and I remember Kennedy well. You are the first president in my lifetime...
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Dear President Obama: Congratulations! I’m sure this is a moment you want to savor, a time to take a deep breath, get some rest, hydrate, regain your balance, and take a long walk in the sunshine. It might be as well a good time to reflect, rethink, recharge, and perhaps reignite. I sincerely hope that it is, and I urge you to put education on your reflective agenda. The landscape of “educational reform” is currently littered with rubble and ruin and wreckage on all sides. Sadly, your administration has contributed significantly to the mounting catastrophe. You’re not alone: The toxic materials have been assembled as a bipartisan endeavor over many years, and the efforts of the last several administrations are now organized into a coherent push mobilized and led by a merry band...
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Dear Prime Minister, We are writing to you today to ask for your help. It’s been just over a year since some of us first wrote to you to ask you to offer resettlement places to refugees fleeing Syria. We were delighted when you responded and the Government’s Vulnerable Person’s Relocation (VPR) scheme was established. You promised to resettle some of the most vulnerable people fleeing conflict in the region, a promise the UK is well placed to deliver, given our decade-long programme of resettling 750 people in similar situations from around the world every year under our fantastic Gateway Protection Programme. Given your promise and the UK’s proud tradition of offering protection to those who desperately need it, we couldn’t have been more disappointed when we discovered the scale...
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To the people of St.Catharines, Being frugal is a way of life. I myself have cancelled my cable subscription over a year ago in order to save money. This was an easy choice as most of the shows on television were on when I could not watch and the On Demand feature hardly ever worked. It took the other members of the household a few weeks to notice the cable was disconnected, goes to show you how important this service was. At $75 per month, the service was not worth it, so we went with Netflix at $7 per month. Balancing a city budget is a bit more complicated. You must be able to prioritize services the city needs and wants for it’s residents. Everything costs money and money does not grow on trees, that much is certain. St.Catharines finds itself in an interesting situation. An...
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Dear Sirs, We write as leaders of AJC, the global Jewish organization long engaged in advocacy on behalf of Israel's well-being and the enduring partnership between the Jewish state and world Jewry. We are deeply concerned by the Chief Rabbinate’s explanation that Rabbi Avi Weiss’s affirmations concerning the Jewishness and marriageability of a couple he has known well has been challenged by the Chief Rabbinate because his status as an Orthodox rabbi is now in question. We are concerned about this action for three distinct reasons: Rabbi Weiss is a long-standing Orthodox rabbi who has built over many years a strong and vital congregation while indefatigably toiling on behalf of the Jewish people. At a time when Jewish leaders are understandably concerned about the extent of...
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Dear President Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma The media is reporting that you may appoint Jon Qwelane as South Africa’s ambassador to Uganda. I trust these reports are wrong and that the rumours about the imminent appointment of Qwelane were started by your enemies. Surely such damaging rumours have been spread by those who wish to re-enforce racist and Afro-pessimistic stereotypes about our leaders. Such rumours will obviously tarnish your name and will re-enforce widely held perceptions about your alleged lack of commitment to our Constitution and the values enshrined in it. In terms of section 84(2)(i) of the South African Constitution you are empowered to make ambassadorial appointments. In exercising this power, you have a wide discretion to appoint fit and proper individuals of any...
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