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MEMBER BLOG TAG: congress

Friday, October 1, 2010 10:23AM
 
Full Moon Over Tokyo
Tags: PEN Congress, Writers in Prison Committee, freedom of expression, Japan, China environment, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
 

Flying west 15 hours I never saw the sun set, but in the evening, between the skyscrapers of Tokyo, I glimpsed the full moon I'd left the night before shimmering on the Potomac, the same full moon beaming down over China, Myanmar, and Vietnam. I found myself contemplating whether the writers in prison in those countries could also glimpse the luminous golden light from a corner of their prison cells. I was in Tokyo for PEN International’s 76th Congress.

Writers from 90 centers of PEN gathered to discuss “The Environment and Literature—What can words do?” and to commemorate the 50th Anniversary of PEN’s Writers in Prison Committee, that particular group...

 
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Thursday, September 16, 2010 2:58PM
 
Second Amendment - first 10 words
Tags: Second Amendment, Constitution, Second Continental Congress, militia, guns
 
“A well-regulated militia, being necessary for a free state...” What did the “founding fathers” mean by those words? Five politicians on the Supreme Court claimed that those words were meaningless, the founding fathers meant nothing by them. The National Rifle Association agreed that the words were idle chatter. Some white supremacists, politicians, and candidates for national office declare that the founding fathers intended the Second Amendment to enable citizens to rebel against the government. Those who make such claims must overlook the written intention of the founding fathers, the militia acts, and history. In 1777, “the Second Year of the Independence of America,” the founding fathers, sometimes referred to as the Second Continental Congress, adopted the Articles of Confederation. Article 6, paragraph 4: “every State shall...
 
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Thursday, October 1, 2009 1:09PM
 
China at 60--Fate of Liu Xiaobo?
Tags: China, Charter 08, Liu Xiaobo, Congress, Joanne Leedom-Ackerman
 

On its 60th Anniversary, China is Still Crushing Freedom

Congress should pass Resolution 151 to speak out on behalf of arrested dissident Liu Xiaobo.

From The Christian Science Monitor

WASHINGTON - The People's Republic of China celebrated its 60th anniversary today with massive military parades, fireworks, and concerts throughout the country. In mid-November, President Obama will make his first presidential visit to Beijing, marking the 30th anniversary of Chinese-US relations with an agenda likely to include the environment, security, and the global economy.

In the time between these milestones, the fate of an individual Chinese citizen hangs in the balance and may well foreshadow future relations with China. Liu Xiaobo, one of China's leading writers, intellectuals, and dissidents, is expected to come to trial...

 
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