Short stories from Birmingham readers in 162 countries so far
HEAR ME READ ALOUD
207 stories written & read by me
https://profile.typepad.com/michaelgcasey
https://michaelgcasey.typepad.com/blog/
Putin USED Chemical Weapons to POISON the Opposition
Now as 200,000 DEAD Russian boys rot in the mud of Ukraine
and it would have been cheaper to give every Russia family a MILLION
What is PUtin doing, he’s trying to keep an INNOCENT man in jail
So that Putin can stay as CZAR
Russians you need to Change, or are you just stupid
CHANGE PUTIN and STOP his INSANE war in Ukraine
Or do Russians want to destroy the PLANET just for PUTINs Vanity
Alexei Navalny: Putin critic defiant as new trial begins
Published1 hour ago
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Image caption,Navalny has lost a lot of weight in jail, but is engaged and as vocal a critic as ever
By Steve Rosenberg
BBC Russia Editor, Melekhovo
At Penal Colony No 6, they’ve made an effort.
Outside the maximum-security prison, a giant Russian tricolour has been stretched across the ground. Planted on top in three strict lines are red, blue and white blooms to mirror the national flag. A patriotic flowerbed for a Russian prison.
But I’m not here for the gardening.
Behind these walls, Alexei Navalny – Russia’s most famous prisoner and the Kremlin’s most vocal critic – is about to go on trial. Again.
Prison guards conduct a thorough search of our bags. Cue the sniffer dogs.
Finally, we’re let through. We’re under strict instructions not to turn on our video camera until permitted to do so.
Along with the other journalists who’ve made the journey here to Melekhovo, we’re led into a building.
We’re not allowed into the hall which has been turned into a temporary courtroom. Neither are Mr Navalny’s parents who are here, too. Instead, for now, we can follow proceedings on a video screen in a separate room.
The signal’s switched on and the picture appears. It’s a wide shot of the makeshift courtroom. No close-ups.
But Alexei Navalny is visible, sitting at a table with his defence lawyers. He’s clearly lost a lot of weight in prison.
But Mr Navalny is engaged and defiant as he rails against the judge and condemns the decision to try him here.
On paper, it’s a Moscow court that is hearing the case. But the trial is taking place 150 miles (240km) from the Russian capital.
That suggests the Russian authorities want to avoid the publicity that transporting Mr Navalny to Moscow would inevitably bring.
Image caption,Navalny’s parents were not allowed in the courtroom
The picture on the screen doesn’t last long. An hour and a half after the start of the trial, the prosecutor demands that proceedings are held behind closed doors.
The judge rules in favour. The video feed is cut.
It will now be even harder to follow what’s happening to Russia’s most prominent opposition leader in his trial behind bars.
Jailed in 2021, Alexei Navalny is currently serving a nine-year prison term here for parole violations, fraud and contempt of court – charges widely seen as politically motivated.
But that nine-year term is set to increase dramatically.
In this new trial, he faces multiple charges that could add decades to his time behind bars. They include creating an extremist organisation and financing extremist activities.
The authorities have already declared Mr Navalny’s network of campaign offices and his Anti-Corruption Foundation “extremist” and shut them down.
There may be worse to come. Mr Navalny says investigators told him to expect another case, another trial, this time related to terrorism charges.
Why do the charges and trials keep coming? Why do the Russian authorities seem determined to pile on the pressure and keep Alexei Navalny behind bars?
A threat even behind bars
Over the years, Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin has been busy removing all potential rivals to the president – clearing the Russian political landscape of any potential challengers. It will want to make sure that its loudest critic stays well away from Russia’s political stage.
For more than a decade, Alexei Navalny has exposed corruption at the heart of Russian power. His video investigations have received tens of millions of views online.
Image caption,It is Navalny’s ability to galvanise crowds that authorities fear
But even more than this, perhaps, it is his ability to mobilise the public, especially young Russians, to take to the streets in anti-government protests which makes the authorities nervous.
In recent years, he has been the only Russian opposition leader capable of organising anti-Putin street protests on a national scale.
He had set up a network of regional campaign offices, having planned to run for president in 2018. He was barred from the vote.
In 2020, Mr Navalny was poisoned in Siberia by what Western laboratories later confirmed to be a nerve agent.
He accused the Kremlin of trying to kill him. The Russian authorities deny that.
After receiving urgent medical care in Germany, his decision to return to Russia in 2021 will have been viewed by those in power here as a direct challenge to the Kremlin. He was arrested on arrival.
I've updated this 18th March 2022 I'm Michael Casey from Birmingham England, the fat silver haired writer in shades. Beware of Others with the EXACT SAME NAME, they are not me, and would not want to be me ... use Google UK to find me, otherwise Posh Americans pop up I've done loads of writing, about 2,000,000 Words worth over 34years now But before I started to write, I LISTENED to BBC Radio 4 for 20 years, from the age of 10 or younger Frank Brown our lodger, went back to County Tyrone and he gifted us his Bush Radio. He'd be nearly 100 now if he is still alive, so say a prayer for him 54 years in love with words, and I still look so dashing. I have a picture in the attic, just like Dorian Gray I've also had an interest in Politics for 54 years with my dad heckling the tv and Politicians. I almost immediately had a hit, a play called Shoplife was accepted but not finally produced by a Theatre. The Kenneth More Theatre, so thank them for sparing you all. This was back in 1989 yes, 30 years plus ago, the play was written in 1988. So since then I'm more than good enough, as a writer. Anything else..... I also ignore those who just cannot write, pick your own candidate I tend to write Comedy as I'd rather make you laugh than cry I have written over 2000 short pieces of writing, yes 2000 " (c) by Michael Casey" If you include "chats" 3700 samples, all told, the chats do NOT go into my books when I compile them. My first book ,a full length comedy/drama is The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker You can read translations of it here on this site Up to 20 different languages/translations have been read on the same day via this site, here on Wordpress look fo Translations Galore page, and more And in over 90 Countries world wide too so you have no excuse, find your own language and read The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker or Quick Stories or any other of the books in Translation on my Wordpress This proves to me that the humour does travel I have readers in over 100 countries now, just to repeat myself From Nepal to American Samoa and all places North South East and West Or its just a hit man on the run, or whatever Unknown Region Means It may also mean that only non English Speakers like my stuff Coverage but lacking penetration as marketing folks might say I did get 21,000 readers in 3 weeks for the Polish version of In Search of an Indian Princess. which is basically the final 3 chapters of The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker all by word of mouth. And 50,000 plus in Christmas week 2021 If you add up all the downloads from my Wordpress + 13,000 when somebody stole the file. I have had more copies than Boris Johnson's Churchill book distributed. Maybe 40,000 copies . Not made a penny from it, free downloads in multiple languages. Reverse Logic, if the world knows me, eventually somebody will pay me But in reality I'll be dead first, and then just 2 pennies to pay the ferryman is enough I've cut the Plaudits, you can read/decide for yourself As for my life, I was born in the shadow of a Brewery, I was a computer operator for a market research company into alcohol sales, 21 years altogether, StatsMR Call centre guy, like everybody once in their life I was also a Trainee Betting Shop Manager I was a concierge and 10 other roles at Crowne Plaza NEC Birmingham for 3 years. Spent 3 years at Pinsent Masons Law firm in Birmingham I even hid a copy of my comic novel "BBU" in the Law Library at Pinsent Masons, well just for a day.. I did a few other jobs too, working life in reverse so to speak and I was an Esol English teacher in an Islamic school, for a year, I knew I could teach. I got Excellent, Excellent and Exemplary on the external assessment, yes really And I asked them to pray for me at least once a day beside which I've had a Shanghai connection for 20 years now, including 2 bilingual daughters and being a hausfrau a long time too, I'm a great dad, as I've had lots of time with my daughters I can always make somebody talk or laugh I believe my short stories could be used to teach English, just package them up correctly or App them Or a Tale a Day from Michael, a story telling App What else, I was brawn and brains, I used to be as strong as an Ox, now I just smell like one We have a cat called Totoro, my daughters wanted a pet I said they could have a dog if I died , or a cat if I had a heart attack. A few weeks after that in Jan 2015 I had an Unplanned Quadruple Heart Bypass , it was supposed to be a triple but it ended up a Quadruple, 33% extra free so to speak. Now with an add on Hernia, the size of your fist, pushing through my bypass scar, it hurts when I laugh, so don't make me laugh I also have arthritis and other hindrances that hobble my body and give me pain galore. But my mind is free, though having read my stories you may wish I didn't bother But I'll ignore you, and carry on regardless. I do get heckled by my own Tinnitus these past 3 years+, so I have music on all night long to drown it out. I sleep with Miley, Taylor, Eric Clapton and Will Young, maybe I should buy a bigger bed, or just get a better mattress. Tinnitus is a curse, just trust me I know, each day I wake up, Tinnitus SCREAMS at me for a full hour till it calms down That's the end of the tidy version of my life To finish here's the list of my 20 books, so far:- 1.The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker 2.Shoplife 3.Essays and Plays 4.Blogs 2011 5.300 and Not OUT 6.Shorts 2013 7.More Shorts 2014 8.Quick Stories 9.Still Alive 2015 10.Undiscovered Words 2016 11.Still Smiling 2017 12.Altogether Now 13.New Horizons 14.14 Up 15.15 Down 16.Sweet Sixteen 17. 17 Again 18. 18 New Views 19. The Final Cut of the 19th Hole 20. 2020 Words 21. 21 Door Keys, key to the door 21 on Bingo, hence title, 53,000 words so far I write bullet point stuff mainly now as Tinnitus stops me from getting in the zone to write, story stories. (c) by Michael Casey stuff though my bullet points are better than some "writers" discuss, miaow. That's why I dream of a speed typist, so I could dictate from the sofa https://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC to buy ebooks Loads of Korean and Arabic translations downloaded from my Wordpress, 1000s of them Quick Stories in Korean is a big hit. Maybe Kim in North Korea should read my books, instead of wasting his countries resources on what? Just keeping one person in power, him? Instead of joining the real world and opening a string on golf courses. That way we could get rid of Trump too. Into the sunset, as they play golf. Tears for a Butcher will be the sequel to BBU, and it too will be 600pages, however I really need a speed typist to put it down, while I sit and dictate like Barbara Cartland, and hopefully my speed typist would be impressed. we'd marry have half Korean kids, and form a Kpop band with our 4 new kids, with me as manager. And yes this is more for my bucket list, as Tinnitus keeps me awake too much, 6 months of not sleeping till dawn is really killing me Michael Casey aka the fat silver haired writer in shades from Birmingham England https://2.gravatar.com/avatar/efda2dca0de5b9269191b7c8b0102473?s=400&d=mm View more posts
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