Posts by Larisa Alexandrovna

Larisa Alexandrovna is a journalist, essayist and poet. She is currently managing news editor for Raw Story.

Help Free Paul Minor, Another GOP Political Prisoner
Posted by Larisa Alexandrovna, AlterNet on July 22, 2008 at 12:55 AM.

Editor's note: RawStory.com investigative reporter and editor Larisa Alexandrovna is urging readers rally behind releasing former attorney Paul Minor on bail to help care for his sick wife during appeals of a bribery conviction that he claims was politically motivated.

Minor, 62, built a national reputation and became wealthy by suing tobacco, asbestos and other companies. He was convicted in March 2007 of bribing two judges and sentenced to 11 years in prison.

Minor is asking the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans for a new trial. He accuses the federal government of selective prosecution, saying he was targeted by Republican prosecutors because of his large contributions to Democratic Party causes.

Minor's bond request says the conviction likely will be overturned, but it may be too late for him to be at his wife's side.

Alexandrovna writes:

"(Former Alabama Governor) Don Siegelman is out now, but others are not, including Paul Minor. His wife is dying of cancer and he cannot even get out on an appeal bond (just like Siegelman). I ask that you try to help Paul Minor the way you have so kindly been helping Don Siegelman. If you have the time, please write a letter of support to Mr. Minor, who is in prison because of his politics and whose life has been destroyed simply because Karl Rove targeted him. While Mr. Rove is refusing to testify, Mrs. Minor is in the last stages of her illness. So time is of the essence. Congress is dragging its feet, but they can put pressure on the court to release Minor on appeal bond while they investigate these political prosecutions. She should not have to die alone and he should not have to know his wife is dying alone, while he sits in prison for being a Democrat. I know you think this may not concern you, but it does. It might be you in jail one day and who then will speak for you? I have reported on this long enough and collected enough evidence to know that these political prisoners are just that and from all walks of life, including everyday citizens who happened to commit the crime of peacefully protesting the Iraq war.

Read the rest of the post on the flip side »

Parts of "60 Minutes" Don Siegelman Story Blocked in Alabama
Posted by Larisa Alexandrovna, Huffington Post on February 25, 2008 at 5:10 AM.

This blog was originally published on 2/24/08

If you do not yet know who Don Siegelman is or what has happened in this country, then let me ask you to please read the following articles and visit the following websites, before I tell you what the latest developments are:

Introduction

The Permanent Republican Majority Part I

The Permanent Republican Majority Part II

The Permanent Republican Majority Part III

Harper's Excellent Coverage via Scott Horton HERE

My blog, at-largely, HERE

And this evening's 60 Minutes broadcast HERE Also Don Siegelman support site

Soviet America

Now, let me tell you what has been going on. As 60 Minutes was putting its show together, the White House put pressure on CBS -- the parent company -- to kill the show. Over the last few days, as word got out that the 60 Minutes show would air tonight, Karl Rove's associates began planting defamatory stories about journalists working on this story (see example here) and attacking the whistle-blower who came forward, Dana Jill Simpson. If you recall, Ms. Simpson testified, under oath, to Congress about Karl Rove's involvement in politicizing the DOJ. What you may not know, however, is that her house mysteriously caught fire and she was run off the road in the weeks leading up to her testimony.

What you may also not know is that Governor Siegelman's house was broken into twice during his trial as was his attorney's office.

Yesterday, the attacks on Simpson and journalists increased with a series of emails from the Alabama GOP. See Here.

Tonight was something truly unseen in US history. During the 60 Minutes broadcast and ONLY during the Don Siegelman portion -- the screen went black for Huntsville residents and Mobile residents. There are other reports of other locations, but I have not yet confirmed those. In Florida, a series of strange ads were running about the FISA bill and how Democrats are not tough on terrorism, apparently during the 60 Minutes hour and also right before 60 Minutes, but not after (still trying to confirm when the ads stopped running).

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The FBI's Post-9/11 Helping Hand to Osama bin Laden
Posted by Larisa Alexandrovna on June 21, 2007 at 5:02 AM.

This post, written by Larisa Alexandrovna, originally appeared on The Huffington Post

According to newly obtained documents - through FOIA - by the Conservative watchdog, Judicial Watch, eight days after September 11, 2001, "A 727 PLANE LEFT LAX, RYAN FLT #441 TO ORLANDO, FL W/ETA (estimated time of arrival) OF 4-5PM. THE PLANE WAS CHARTERED EITHER BY THE SAUDI ARABIAN ROYAL FAMILY OR OSAMA BIN LADEN...THE LA FBI SEARCHED THE PLANE [REDACTED] LUGGAGE, OF WHICH NOTHING UNUSUAL WAS FOUND."

Furthermore, from the Judicial Watch Web site:

"According to the FBI documents, incredibly not a single Saudi national nor any of the bin Laden family members possessed any information of investigative value.

Moreover, the documents contain numerous errors and inconsistencies which call to question the thoroughness of the FBI's investigation of the Saudi flights. For example, on one document, the FBI claims to have interviewed 20 of 23 passengers on the Ryan International Airlines flight (commonly referred to as the "Bin Laden Family Flight"). On another document, the FBI claims to have interviewed 15 of 22 passengers on the same flight.

"Eight days after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history, Osama bin Laden possibly charters a flight to whisk his family out of the country, and it's not worth more than a luggage search and a few brief interviews?" asked Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton. "Clearly these documents prove the FBI conducted a slapdash investigation of these Saudi flights. We'll never know how many investigative leads were lost due to the FBI's lack of diligence."

But my favorite part of this whole FBI OBL farce is as follows:

"Incredibly, the FBI had previously redacted Osama bin Laden's name from the records in order "to protect privacy interests.""

Can you say fuck you very much?

At least this might finally explain a nagging problem I have had with the FBI's most wanted poster of OBL, which makes no mention of September 11, 2001 among the crimes OBL is wanted for:

"Usama Bin Laden is wanted in connection with the August 7, 1998, bombings of the United States Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya. These attacks killed over 200 people. In addition, Bin Laden is a suspect in other terrorist attacks throughout the world."

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US Sponsored Terrorism in Iran?
Posted by Larisa Alexandrovna on February 15, 2007 at 8:25 AM.

I think people should be very concerned about the following:

"A car loaded with explosives blew up near a bus carrying members of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards in southeastern Iran, killing 18 of them, the state-run news agency reported today.

The car stopped in front of the bus near Zahedan, the capital of Sistan-Baluchestan Province, the official Islamic Republic News Agency reported. It called the attack a terrorist operation and said the car's occupants fled on motorbikes seconds before the car exploded.

"This blind terrorist operation led to the martyrdom of 18 citizens of Zahedan," IRNA quoted a Guards commander, Qasem Rezaei, as saying.

State-run television said the bus had been taking them to work when the attack took place. There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Rezaei blamed "insurgents and elements of insecurity" for the attack. Hossein Ali Shahriyari, a deputy representing Zahedan, told an open session of the parliament today that "insurgents and drug traffickers" were behind the attack.

Shahriyari called lawless regions in southwestern Pakistan a safe haven for Iranian insurgents and drug traffickers, and called on the government to take up the issue with Islamabad."

Why should we be...

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