whitebeard

Don't curse the darkness, light a candle.

Project Censored

Project Censored announces our daily independent news source on line! 
check it out:

http://mediafreedom.pnn.com/5174-independent-news-sources

posted by: Whitebeard at 10:27 | link | comments |
press, censored news, nineleven, resisters

'Visiting Iran: Ancient Cities and Natural Wonders'

Dear members of US Peace and Justice:
 
Here is an article on a recent trip to Iran by a bunch of travel agents,
including Max Hartshorne who maintains GoNomad.com.  Interesting for those who saw the last film in the film series, called 'Iran(Is Not the Problem)'.

http://www.gonomad.com/features/0811/iran-wonders.html
 
The article is called:  'Visiting Iran:  Ancient Cities and Natural Wonders'.
 
Gretchen Bloom

Via Madonna dei Monti, 91
00184 Rome ITALY (Oct-July)

posted by: Whitebeard at 21:01 | link | comments |
us, iran

Israel IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW

PRESS RELEASE
by
LUISA MORGANTINI
Vice President of the European Parliament

"Israel IS NOT ABOVE THE LAW"
The European Parliament suspends the vote on the upgrade of EU - Israel relations

Brussels, 4th December

The European Parliament  (EP) today postponed the  vote on the proposal by the EU Commission and Council for the draft recommendation to conclude a Protocol to the EU-Israel Association Agreement and on the general principles governing the State of Israel's participation in Community programmes . The vote was originally scheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, December 4, in the EP in Brussels.  
This vote would  have been an important step in the process of upgrading EU-Israel relations,  which was  requested by the Israeli Minister for Foreign Affairs, Tzipi Livni, during  her hearing in the EP Committee on Foreign Affairs,  within the framework of the Protocol for the Association Agreement between EU and Israel.   However, the European Parliament voted  differently :  the majority of  parliamentarians  called for  a  postponement of the vote to another date yet to be  determined, as requested by the GUE/NGL and Greens groups, with agreement  from  the Socialist Party,  some of the Liberals (ALDE) and some MEPs  from the Popular Party.   
"It's time  for the Israeli Government  to stop considering  itself above the law and start respecting  it,  beginning by freezing all settlement -building activities and ending its siege on the Gaza Strip. Until the Israeli Government  signals its willingness to abide by international law and especially human rights and humanitarian law, the European Parliament is not disposed to vote," declared Luisa Morgantini, Vice President of the European Parliament. 
"Today's vote  is an important political message, directed not against Israel, but at pushing the Israeli leadership to  respect their obligations in order to achieve tangible results from the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, so that they can  reach a peaceful solution  and  the security of the two peoples.  It is also a signal  to the EU Council and Commission,  that they must put pressure on Israel to stop its colonization of the 1967 Occupied Palestinian Territory.  
But this vote is also a  sign  of hope for the Palestinians, telling them that the European Parliament is not deaf to the suffering of people in Gaza and  the West Bank, and that the EP is not only determined to verbally criticize the situation but to take concrete action for the respect of human rights and international law. 
It is also an answer to PM Salam Fayyad, who launched an appeal to the EU  to not upgrade its relations with Israel since after Annapolis there have not been improvements, neither  in lifting the closures on Palestinian areas nor freezing settlements; it is also an answer to Palestinian civil society and to the NGOs that  have sent many letters to European Parliamentarians.
Finally this vote is  positive for us Europeans, who are showing to ourselves and to the entire world that respect for human rights and the achievement of justice are not  an abstract declaration of principles," concluded Luisa Morgantini.
INFO : Luisa Morgantini, 0039 348 39 21 465 or  0039 06 69 95 02 17; luisa.morgantini@europarl.europa.eu; www.luisamorgantini.net <https://webmail.europarl.europa.eu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://webmail.europarl.europa.eu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=https://webmail.europarl.europa.eu/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.luisamorgantini.net>

 

posted by: Whitebeard at 23:55 | link | comments |
europe, israel