Dear Secretary of State Clinton,
“No nation, no group, no individual should stay buried in the rubble of oppression” Hillary Clinton, January 21 2010
When the United States participates in the Bahraini government’s initiative, Manama Dialogues this week we would like you to use the opportunity to press for freedom of speech, the protection of human rights, greater freedom and democracy in Bahrain. In particular, we would like you to advice the authorities to end its routine practice of torture and ensure fair and independent trials for all detainees. Furthermore, in your historic speech of 21 January, you clearly affirmed your country’s support for online free speech and freedom of opinion, making it a cornerstone of US diplomacy. We now urge you to defend these principles in your...
Politics
Dear Madam Secretary,
We support the U.S. government’s role in promoting the rule of law in Colombia, but much work still needs to be done to protect human rights defenders from prosecutorial abuse and uncorroborated charges. We write you as human rights activists to urge you to continue to monitor Colombia’s human rights performance, and to use U.S. leverage to alleviate violations as they occur.
While there are many human rights defenders at risk, we would like to bring to your attention human rights defender Principe Gabriel González, who is imprisoned today under the codes of yesterday’s discredited criminal justice system. González was a prominent student activist and, as a Regional Coordinator for the Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee, he worked to expose ill-...
5,953
Dear Madam Secretary:
We write to urge that the current review of United States policy on the International Criminal Court [ICC] be completed quickly, and that it lead to three results: US participation in the Court’s meetings to complete its formation; extensive and thorough US cooperation with and support to the Court in its prosecutions and trials; and action to declare emphatically that US relations with the Court are in an entirely new era. The historic ICC arrest warrant for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir makes these steps especially urgent. The United States is now in the odd and unsustainable position of strongly endorsing the most important action that the ICC has ever taken while evading any commitment to support or participate in it as an institution.
Participation...
2,658
Dear Hillary,
Now that the Democratic Convention and Obama’s nomination are all wrapped up, it’s time to acknowledge the achievements of perhaps the strongest fighter in the Democratic primaries. Weeks of watching Super Tuesday coverage and shouting, “You go, girl!” at the TV were not enough to save your campaign, but I am not bitter nor rethinking my allegiance to the Democratic Party. The truth is, Hilldog (may I call you that?), that your candidacy has only strengthened the party and proven to America, and to the world, that a woman president is possible in the near future.
At the risk of sounding schmaltzy, I would like to thank you for your contributions to the Democratic Party and America as a U.S. Senator. Your relentless push for quality health care for all Americans, begun...
3,186
Dear Friends of Africa:
Let me first say thanks for all the great works that you have been doing for your brothers and sisters in Africa. Each of you in our own way has changed lots of lives in a very positive way be it debt relieve, AIDS programs, drought relieve, educational programs to peace programs.
Let me introduce ourselves, we are Nigerians for Super Energy. We are a grassroots campaign aimed at supporting the need for energy in Nigeria and the sub region. 35% of all black people in the world need energy to improve their daily lives. One of our goals is a Nigeria with 50,0000 Megawatts in a well planned grid system. Nigeria today on a good day is producing only 3,000+ megawatts. In January this year the power fell to 1,320 megawatts in a country of 140 million people. If you...
2,741
Dear Secretary Clinton:
In March of 1993, billionaire Laurance Rockefeller initiated an extraordinary approach to your husband’s administration via the Office of Science and Technology Policy headed by Dr. John Gibbons. A memorandum from Mr. Rockefeller’s attorney, Henry Diamond, dated March 29, 1993, conveyed a request to meet with Gibbons, “to discuss the potential availability of government information about unidentified flying objects and extraterrestrial life.” Rockefeller, a friend and supporter of [yourself] and your husband, wanted to meet with the President and inform him, “there is a belief in many quarters that the government has long held classified information regarding UFOs which has not been released — and that the failure to do so has brought about unnecessary suspicion...
3,911
Dear Ms. Clinton,
I was intrigued to read about the list of words your volunteers consider to be “coded sexism.” The words, as I’m sure you know, are “calculating,” “polarizing,” “disingenuous,” “insincere,” “ambitious,” “inevitable,” “entitled,” “over confident,” “secretive,” “will do anything to win,” “represents the past,” and “out of touch.”
Leaving aside that some of these are actually phrases, not words (though perhaps such nit-picking represents the past, something from our long-ago college days, back when proper English usage was still considered important; today, of course, what difference, at this point, does it make?) I find it both calculating and insincere of you and your volunteers to assume such words or phrases should inevitably apply exclusively to you. It is...
2,812
Dear Mr. President:
We write today to respectfully request that you thoroughly review and reconsider the administration’s policies and diplomatic practices involved in the Kyoto treaty.
We share your commitment to asserting American leadership in the world, and especially in searching for cooperative ways to address global environmental problems. However, we are deeply concerned over what has occurred to date in the negotiations of the global warming treaty in Kyoto.
For previous administrations, we have had the privilege of assisting the US Government in the negotiation of important international agreements. The lessons we have learned from these negotiations, in arms control, trade, and other areas, we believe have been ignored or forgotten in the Kyoto process.
Specifically...
2,551
Dear President Clinton,
We, the undersigned, write from Fudan University in Shanghai, China, where for the last three days we have taken part in the Third International Conference of International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation.
One year ago today, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), prohibiting "any nuclear weapon test explosion or any other nuclear explosion." Since then the United States and more than 150 other countries have signed the Treaty, and the U.S. has pledged, in accordance with Article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, to refrain from any action that would defeat its objects and purpose. As stated in the Preamble, the objective of the CTBT is "to contribute effectively to the...
3,097
Dear Theresa May,
I work for an organisation that supports teachers, engineers, writers, shop owners, university students and parents. These people are also known as asylum seekers and refugees and are the bravest people I know.
Over the last 7 months I have learnt more about humanity than across my 24 years of life and that is because I’ve been lucky to work for this project in Birmingham. I have spoken to men, women and children who have survived war, oppression, rape, sexual violence, family loss and poverty, but they are still determined to rebuild their lives because if they don’t, their oppressors have won.
The constant rhetoric I read and hear, words spoken by you and others in your cabinet that a search and rescue mission will only encourage people to travel and create...
7,634