UN Transitional Justice Resolution Bodes Well for Arab Spring

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Freedom House welcomes the strong signal sent by the United Nations (UN) that impunity for serious human rights violations will not be tolerated with its adoption of a resolution creating a new special mandate on transitional justice. The mandate establishes a special rapporteur on the promotion of truth, justice, reparation and guarantees of non-recurrence of serious violations, and comes at an important time, particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.

Freedom House Applauds Nobel Peace Prize to Three Female Leaders

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Freedom House applauds the decision by the Nobel committee to award the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize to three female leaders from the Middle East and North Africa: Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberian activist Leymah Gbowee and Yemeni activist Tawakkul Karman. All three women played a vital role in promoting women's rights and democratic change in challenging environments that have been historically hostile to the advancement of women.

Freedom House Blasts Tymoshenko Ruling

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Freedom House denounces the ruling of a Ukrainian court on Tuesday convicting former prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko of abuse of power and sentencing her to seven years' imprisonment. This conviction will have serious consequences for Ukraine's international standing as well as for its democratic aspirations to greater integration with Europe. In light of the court's decision, Freedom House urges the European Union to suspend its bilateral negotiations on free trade and association agreements with Ukraine until the Yanukovych government exhibits greater respect for the rule of law.

Survey Finds that Cubans Welcome Reforms

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Recent reforms have brought about visible changes in Cuba's economy and public attitudes, according to a survey released by Freedom House today. A majority of Cubans (63 percent) view the reforms favorably, and more Cubans say that it is better to be self-employed than to work for the government.

Top Hotel in Nashville, TN cancels Pro-Liberty/Anti-Islamist conference

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Release...

Tennessee Freedom Coalition (tnfreedomcoalition.org) Oct. 24

Action cancels "Preserving Freedom Conference" & denies U.S. Christians, Jews and citizens their rights under the U.S. Constitution

Speakers to include Ayn Rand Individualist Pamela Geller, former libertarian Republican Congressman Fred Grandy (IA) and Anti-Islamist Tea Party Republican Lou Ann Zelenick

Today, the Hutton Hotel in Nashville, TN slammed the door on the United States Constitution and the right to free speech due to threats which we perceive came from the Islamic community. The location was the planned host for the Preserving Freedom Conference to be held on November 11, 2011. With less than three weeks prior to the event and after accepting payments from many attendees and sponsors, Nashville's Hutton Hotel backed out of the contract as location host of the event, citing threatening letters and phone calls demanding the conference be cancelled.

Steve Eckley, Senior Vice President of Hutton Hotel, contacted Lou Ann Zelenik, Executive Director of Tennessee Freedom Coalition (TFC) on October 24, 2011, and told her they would not honor the contract signed in August 2011 for the Preserving Freedom Conference and therefore, would not allow the conference to take place at the hotel. Eckley advised they had received many threatening telephone calls and letters. When questioned by others if the hotel had contacted local law enforcement agencies, FBI or Homeland Security to advise them of these threats, Eckley advised they had not and that he simply cancelled the conference instead. Eckley also cited threats from callers advising they would show up and protest against the event, however, refused to cite who these calls were from or what groups/protesters would be present.

The Board of Directors of the Tennessee Freedom Coalition and the Sharia Awareness Action Network (SAAN) are committed to securing another site and holding the November 11, 2011 Preserving Freedom Conference event as planned.

There will be more information available soon, but we must do what we can to hold this hotel accountable for this decision to limit the free speech of law-abiding citizens. You may contact the hotel by calling 615.340.9333 or contact the Hutton Hotel Manager via email to Steven Andre and tell them you support the United States Constitution and NOT Islamic Sharia law.

Some of the guest speakers committed to this conference are from the United Kingdom, Australia and Nigeria, including Wafa Sultan, Mathew Staver, Father Keith Roderick, Frank Gaffney, William Murray, Rabbi Jonathan Hausman, Kenneth Timmerman, Pamela Geller, Steve Gill, former Congressman Fred Grandy. (Emphasis added for libertarian speakers).

The Hutton Hotel has succumbed to perceived political correctness in order to avoid offending Islamists across the country. Our beloved America would not exist today had our Founders allowed restrictions on the right to free speech and equal protection for citizens. Support our efforts and pass this information along to everyone you know concerned about the future of our nation.

Editor's note - I had the great pleasure of meeting Lou Ann at the Geert Wilders event in Nashville earlier this year. I was planning to attend this event, and hope they are able to get a new venue soon. Hope to see you there!

Muslim Terrorists attack Bar goers in Kenya

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Westerners warned stay away from malls, night clubs

From AFP, "Grenade attack on Nairobi bar injures 14" Oct. 24:

A grenade thrown into on a bar in the Kenyan capital Nairobi has wounded 14 people, all Kenyans, in an attack police linked to recent threats made by Somali Al-Shebab insurgents.

"We are linking the grenade attack to the threats that have been issued by Shebab, and that is why I am appealing to city residents to be vigilant and cooperate with our officers," said Nairobi police chief Antony Kibuchi.

The US embassy in Nairobi had warned on Saturday of an "imminent threat" of attacks...

The embassy cited "credible information of an imminent threat of terrorist attacks directed at prominent Kenyan facilities and areas where foreigners are known to congregate, such as malls and night clubs".

Editor's note - There is no reporting on other so-called "libertarian" sites of Muslim attacks on alcohol establishments. We libertarians proclaim to be against prohibition. But in instances of Muslim prohibitionist acts, outside of this website, the rest of the libertarian movement is strangely silent.

Islamists now targeting Western Tourists in Thailand’s Red Light district

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Bombing kills 5

From Eric Dondero:

Thailand's civil war in its southernmost provinces continues, with Islamic rebels now resorting to bombings of civilians. The latest in late September, according to the Global Post "Thailand: Terror in the red-light district" Sept. 23:

Shortly after sunset on Sept. 18, in the gritty Thai border town of Su-Ngai Golok a series of explosions erupted on a busy lane lined with hotels, food stalls and karaoke joints... a bloody Sunday night bombing spree in their favored brothel town...

Though Malaysian tourists have been targeted before, such strikes are rare and have never caused so many foreign deaths in one night.

Five were killed in the bombings, four of them Malaysian. Roughly 110 were wounded, some severely.

An observer of the Thai civil war was quoted:

“They feel an ideological justification to target vice: brothels, karaoke joints, nightclubs," Sunai [Phasuk, a senior researcher for Human Rights Watch] said. “They want to send a message that, as a Muslim, you shouldn’t get involved in dirty activities.”

Editor's note - We libertarians favor legalized prostitution. But for some reason, there doesn't seem to be any outrage from many so-called "libertarians" when it comes to Muslim violence against those engaging in the sex business. If it was a Christian Right group doing this? Photo credit - girlservesworld

Merkel rolls the dice on Greece

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“It would be irresponsible not to assume the risk.”

by Clifford F. Thies

Remember Bawny Fwank, the fellow who rolled the dice on mortgages and set us up for the worst economic catastrophe since the Great Depression?

Well, Chancellor Angela Merkel may now be rolling the dice on Greece.

Saying "It would be irresponsible not to assume the risk," Merkel has apparently succeeded in cobbling together a bail out of the irresponsible little corrupt and socialist state of Greece. As to why Spain or Italy should join Portugal in actually reducing their deficits is now an open question. If Greece can, year after year, cook the books, lie to its fellow Europeans, offering cradle to grave benefits, including early retirement to its uncivil workers, and then be bailed out, why can't others? All the honest businessmen have already left the country, so who is left to pay the bills other than the taxpayers of Germany?

At some point, the Euroskeptics will gain the upper hand in the polls, and the countries that actually are financially responsible will slip out of the Euro and perhaps also the EU.

Such is the cost of expansive federal governments. They eventually bankrupt even the wealthiest and most powerful nations. How long will Ontario subsidize Quebec and the Maritime Provinces so as to color so much of the map its color? How many wars will the U.S. become involved in, outside of defending American interests, before we go down the tubes? How much of the debts of the European periphery will the Germans have to absorb before the German people say out - vit der Christian Democrats?

Let Greece become the Detroit of Europe. Then, we can have virtual tours of the place so as to remind ourselves of what democracy results in when it is unrestrained by a Constitution.

Photo credit - Bundestrieg.de