Free Republic

A small, but passionate group of Russian opposition activists is asking emigres in New York to deface their ballots in the Dec. 4 parliamentary elections in an act of symbolic resistance. The technique is called “Nacht-Nacht”: Voters mark their ballot with a large “X” or write an off-color word or phrase. In Russian, “Nacht-Nacht” is an obscene play on words intended to send a rude message to the ballot counters. “It is a way of saying, ‘Go to hell’ to those in power,” said Natalia Pelevine, a Russian activist based in New Jersey, “saying, ‘We are not voting for any...

The rally last December was one of nearly a dozen paid-for protests organized by Russian émigrés in the U.S. in the past two years. They spent $150,000 to $200,000 in some months, accounting records indicate, to rally thousands of demonstrators near spots such as United Nations headquarters and the World Trade Center site. State-controlled Russian television, whose content is closely guided by Kremlin handlers, covered some of the events, often as the only news organ present, showing video of them on the evening news back home. Boris Barshevsky at a pay-for-protest rally in Queens, N.Y., last year. Organizers said the...

Trade: CAFTA is often seen as a battle of big manufacturing corporations. But in reality it will benefit businesses across the board. Just ask Central American immigrants around Los Angeles, who say it's critical. We've been intrigued by the imminent passage of CAFTA, which sadly has been given short shrift by the media. So we did something different. We talked with some of the people and businesses most affected by CAFTA — those in Los Angeles' thriving Central American immigrant community. We found their comments enlightening. Take, for instance, Transportes Guzman in Los Angeles' Pico-Union district. There, boxes pile nearly...