The picture above of Dr. Jiri Valenta and his wife, Leni, was taken at the borders of Syria and Turkey where they reported to the world last October on the much neglected story of the Russian and Syrian bombing of thousands of Syrian civilians, many of them women and children. These impoverished people were crowding towards Turkey, which has already taken in millions, Recently we read that children were digging graves to provide money for their families.
We are a senior couple, a writing team that publishes constantly, with new insights on foreign policy as well as domestic politics. We call attention to issues of human rights, and we support the need for the expansion and preservation of democracy. We are also not afraid to go to the source of a major event, even if it is dangerous.
Jiri is a non-resident, Senior Research Associate with the BESA Center for Strategic Studies at Bar Ilan University in Israel. You can view many of our posted articles at the BESA website. He holds an Ing. from the Prague School of Economics and a Ph'D from Johns Hopkins SAIS. He is also a long-standing member of the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations. In his youth he garnered most of the best Fellowships.
A former professor at the U.S. Post Graduate Naval School, he oversaw the studies program on the USSR and Eastern Europe for future intelligence officers . He is fluent in five languages including English, Czech, Slovak, Russian and German.
Leni is a graduate of Brandeis University and the Yale School of Drama where she earned her MFA with honors in play writing. She had some of her plays produced before she met Jiri and began working on three still unpublished books with him. These include our major study of Russia's failed democratic revolution -- based on interviews nobody else has of key playets,. and Jiri's memoir which is amazing.
Unfortunately, payment for our articles is insufficient to cover all our travel and other expenses,. We need immediate help on a flight or ship back to the U.S. where Jiri can get good medical care so that we can continue with our work.
Our website, presently called, "The Institute of Post-Communist Studies, is undergoing an upgrade but may be available at the url jvlv.net. Leni manages the website when she has time, which is not often. Currently, we mainly supply our own articles and research on various world areas, but we would like to expand our small institute, rename it "The Valenta Center for Strategic Issues Facing America" and have a more professional presentation. Most impressive is Dr. Valenta's long resume under "Bios," which includes photographs of himself with various luminaries.
Politically we have called attention to deficits in both parties. A good example is our recent publication, "Bolton's Purge; Trump's Obama Moments." . At least Trump has kept us safe with his policies on immigration, but he has fired some of his best people , and we honestly believe he has nobody of Jiri's caliber as an expert on Russia.
Please help us with a contribution to our a flight back to the U.S. from Turkey so that Jiri can get the medical care he needs. Then we can continue to do the intensive research that can help preserve America's national interests and freedom where it is either endangered or does not exist.
