I’m in Minsk, Belarus.
A good friend, a leader of the opposition is being leaned on. He’s lucky at that, many of his partners in his party and colleagues in other opposition parties are in jail.
The fact he’s not in prison (although he’s had three interviews with the KGB so far) and public statements he made following a demonstration gone horribly wrong, had caused him to come under suspicion of cutting a deal with the Organs.
I know him better than that, while recognizing any man can be broken. And no he didn’t. He’s obviously shaken, but he’s not broken.
Soooo… the Objectivists at The Atlasphere website put out an appeal for donations, which brought in enough to send Yours Truly.
(Objectivists are funny people. They’ll go through the most elaborate rationalizations to justify – not bad behavior, but being good and decent. “Well I’m really being selfish you know!”)
There will be video interviews available. Also pictures of some cool statues around town. Unfortunately, if you’re familiar with Northern European weather… the sky turns grey in the fall and you don’t see the sun until spring. It’s hard to get good photos at high noon.
A pity, because the thought that keeps running through your head, in spite of all you can do as you walk around Minsk taking in the sights is, “Omigod she’s beautiful! Omigod she’s beautiful!”