Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peace. Show all posts
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Earth Hour - 2009
Earth Hour 2009! - Kat and I played gin rummy by tealight candles that form a peace sign!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
U.S. Withdrawing 12,000 Troops From Iraq
YESSSSSSSSSSS, it's about time!!!!...
read more | digg story
NPR.org, March 8, 2009 · The U.S. military in Baghdad has announced it will be withdrawing 12,000 American troops in the next six months.
In a statement, the U.S. military said that two brigade combat teams who were scheduled to redeploy in the next six months along with enabling forces such as logistics, engineers and intelligence will not be replaced.
That would reduce the number of U.S. troops in Iraq — currently around 140,000 — by around 12,000. A U.S. combat brigade typically has 4,000 to 5,000 soldiers.
The announcement is an initial step in President Obama's plan to end combat operations in Iraq by August 2010. Beyond this drawdown, U.S. troop strength is not expected to be significantly reduced this year.
Iraq still has to conduct crucial national elections at the end of the year. And while violence is dramatically down, there are still daily attacks — a suicide bomber blew himself up Sunday outside Baghdad's main police academy, killing and wounding dozens.
read more | digg story
Friday, February 27, 2009
Updated*** Iraq plan: Most troops out by August 2010
By DAVID S. CLOUD - President Barack Obama campaigned on a pledge to end U.S. involvement in Iraq, but he always threw in the caveat that he wanted to consult with military commanders before making a final decision.
As he prepares to outline his withdrawal plan Friday in a speech to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he has slightly modified his campaign plan for removing U.S. forces to allay concerns among commanders that fragile security gains in Iraq could be jeopardized unless the drawdown plans are handled carefully.
But the plan Obama will outline does not back away in major ways from his pledge to withdraw U.S. combat forces. Instead of a 16-month withdrawal period, as he originally called for, most of the troops now in Iraq would be withdrawn over the next 19 months, leaving by August 2010, senior officials said.
Even under this slightly delayed timetable, the Pentagon would bring at least 92,000 troops home over the next year and a half, a massive exodus that is likely to satisfy most Americans that he is fulfilling his promise to bring the war to a close, even if some top Democrats say it's not enough.
The remaining U.S. forces— totaling between 35,000 and 50,000 —would have a scaled-down mission focused on advising Iraqi forces, protecting civilian reconstruction projects and carrying out counter-terrorism operations.
Senior administration officials emphasized that Obama is determined to remove all U.S. troops by the end of the 2011, as called for under an agreement signed by Iraqi and Bush administration officials. At least for now, Obama does not plan on asking Iraqi officials to allow any to remain in the country after that deadline.
If that is carried out, it would end the U.S. military presence in Iraq on a timetable that is far shorter than almost anyone anticipated.
read more digg story
Update****
It's official...
As he prepares to outline his withdrawal plan Friday in a speech to Marines at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina, he has slightly modified his campaign plan for removing U.S. forces to allay concerns among commanders that fragile security gains in Iraq could be jeopardized unless the drawdown plans are handled carefully.
But the plan Obama will outline does not back away in major ways from his pledge to withdraw U.S. combat forces. Instead of a 16-month withdrawal period, as he originally called for, most of the troops now in Iraq would be withdrawn over the next 19 months, leaving by August 2010, senior officials said.
Even under this slightly delayed timetable, the Pentagon would bring at least 92,000 troops home over the next year and a half, a massive exodus that is likely to satisfy most Americans that he is fulfilling his promise to bring the war to a close, even if some top Democrats say it's not enough.
The remaining U.S. forces— totaling between 35,000 and 50,000 —would have a scaled-down mission focused on advising Iraqi forces, protecting civilian reconstruction projects and carrying out counter-terrorism operations.
Senior administration officials emphasized that Obama is determined to remove all U.S. troops by the end of the 2011, as called for under an agreement signed by Iraqi and Bush administration officials. At least for now, Obama does not plan on asking Iraqi officials to allow any to remain in the country after that deadline.
If that is carried out, it would end the U.S. military presence in Iraq on a timetable that is far shorter than almost anyone anticipated.
read more digg story
Update****
It's official...
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
What the Vietnam anti-war movement stopped
What can you say?
This madman was President of the United States and Kissinger is still around peddling the world view he honed as a Rockefeller empire employee.
What the Vietnam anti-war
movement stopped
Technorati Tags: anti-war,anti-war movement,peace movement,nuclear weapons,video,BrasscheckTV,politics
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Why We're Marching on the Pentagon on Sat, March 21: Occupation Is A Crime!
Want information on the March 21st March on the Pentagon?
Go to http://www.PentagonMarch.org
Why We're Marching on the Pentagon
Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine ... Occupation is A Crime
Why are we still marching even after the war criminal George W. Bush has left office? Because the people must speak out for what is right. More than 1 million Iraqis have died and tens of thousands of U.S. troops have been wounded or killed.
The Iraq and Afghanistan war will drag on for years unless we act now.
The cost in lives and resources is criminal regardless of whether the Democrats or Republicans are in charge of the government.
We must also act to end U.S. support for Israel’s ongoing war against the Palestinian people. The Bush Administration gave the green light and provided the weapons and the money for Israel’s recent war against the Palestinian people in Gaza. More than 5,000 Palestinians were killed or wounded; the majority of casualties were civilians, including hundreds of children, in this high-tech massacre. “We the People” pay the bill as the U.S. provides $2.5 billion a year for Israel’s massive military machine.
Why We Say "Bring All the Troops Home Now Not Later!"
If Bush’s war and occupation of Iraq was an illegal action of aggression—and it was—how can the new government say that it can only gradually end the war over a number of years? The Iraqis don’t want foreign military forces running their country. No one would!
The Pentagon has employed 200,000 foreign contractors (mercenaries) and 150,000 U.S. troops to maintain the occupation of Iraq. They have no right to be there. A few thousand are being brought out of Iraq only to be redeployed to occupy Afghanistan, and the fools in the media proclaim “the war is winding down.” That is not true.
President Obama decided to keep the Pentagon just as it was under Bush. He even selected Bush appointee Robert Gates to keep his position as chief of the Pentagon. Gates announced that the new administration would double the number of troops sent to Afghanistan. That is certainly not the “change” most people thought was coming following the end of Bush’s tenure.
These are wars for domination in the Middle East and Central Asia.
The people of the United States want change. We are sick and tired of wars of aggression waged abroad under false slogans of “national security.” These are wars that reap massive profits for corporate weapons-makers with the promise of winning control over the vast oil and natural gas reserves in the Middle East and Central Asia.
Working people may have another definition for “national security.” What really makes the people “insecure?” Ask the 2.3 million families who are losing their homes because they are being foreclosed when they can’t pay their steep debts to the banks. Ironically, when these same parasitic bankers couldn’t pay their debts, the federal government rushed in with a $2.5 trillion bailout using our tax dollars.
Or ask working-class students who are being laid off from their jobs just as tuition costs soar out of reach. What defines “security” for millions of young people whose future is at stake? Do they want tax dollars spent to kill poor people abroad or to finance education?
We will march on Saturday, March 21, the sixth anniversary of the start of the Iraq invasion, to demand that taxpayer dollars be used to meet people’s needs—here and everywhere. This year’s real Pentagon war budget will top $1 trillion.
This amount could create 10 million jobs, provide healthcare and education for all, rebuild New Orleans, and repair much of the damage done in Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. We need money for jobs, housing, health care and education, not for wars of aggression.
The occupation of Iraq alone costs $12 billion each month. This amounts to $400 million each day, $16.7 million per hour and $278,000 per minute.
The Pentagon war machine does not act in our interests. Its wars benefit the biggest corporations and banks that seek to control the markets and riches of the Middle East. The people of Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine are not our enemies. They want to live free from colonial-type domination. Only a people’s movement demanding an end to U.S. wars and militarism can win justice for people here and abroad.
Get Involved
- Add a link
- Download flyers and posters
- Sign up if you are organizing transportation
- Endorse
- Sign up to volunteer
- Donate
Go to http://www.pentagonmarch.org for more information.
A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition
http://www.answercoalition.org/
info@internationalanswer.org
National Office in Washington DC: 202-544-3389
New York City: 212-694-8720
Los Angeles: 213-251-1025
San Francisco: 415-821-6545
Chicago: 773-463-0311
Technorati Tags: A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition,activism,actions,protests,anti-war,Iraq war,war,peace movement
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Middle East - Hamas: Truce with Israel Imminent
Officials from the Palestinian group that governs the Gaza Strip, Hamas, have said that a ceasefire with Israel will be announced within three days.
The officials, speaking in Egypt, said the agreement would ensure the end of violence in Gaza and the opening of the territory's border crossings.
The apparent breakthrough comes after weeks of negotiations in Cairo between Hamas and Egyptian officials.
Hamas also confirmed that reconciliation talks with rival Palestinian faction Fatah would take place on February 22.
read more digg story
The officials, speaking in Egypt, said the agreement would ensure the end of violence in Gaza and the opening of the territory's border crossings.
The apparent breakthrough comes after weeks of negotiations in Cairo between Hamas and Egyptian officials.
Hamas also confirmed that reconciliation talks with rival Palestinian faction Fatah would take place on February 22.
read more digg story
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Jewish Voice for Peace
Sign this open letter to President Obama asking him to 
lift the blockade of Gaza and more, and then ask your like-minded friends to do the same.
Ask Obama to make good on his promise of HOPE.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Peace Or Genocide?
By Chris Farrell - There are only three outcomes of the Palestinian - Israeli conflict:
1.) Two Separate States.
2.) One State that incorporates everyone.
3.) One State from the Jordan River to the sea that incorporates only Israelis and ethinc Jews.
It appears that Israel has no intention to allow #1 or #2 to happen, and that means ethnic leansing and genocide.
read more digg story
1.) Two Separate States.
2.) One State that incorporates everyone.
3.) One State from the Jordan River to the sea that incorporates only Israelis and ethinc Jews.
It appears that Israel has no intention to allow #1 or #2 to happen, and that means ethnic leansing and genocide.
read more digg story
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A rainbow over the northern Gaza Strip…
(AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Israeli troops invade Gaza - Yahoo! News Photos
Technorati Tags: Gaza,Gaza Strip,Palestine,Middle east news,Israel,ceasefire,peace,rainbow,photography
Dozens of bodies found in Gaza rubble as truce punctured
"This morning they again proved that the ceasefire is fragile and it has to be reassessed on a minute by minute basis," he said. "We hope that the fire ends. If it continues, the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) will respond."
By Adel Zaanoun
18 Jan 2009 10:14 PM
read more | digg story
By Adel Zaanoun
18 Jan 2009 10:14 PM
GAZA CITY, Jan 18 AFP - Israeli troops and Palestinian fighters exchanged their first shots on Sunday in Gaza, where dozens of bodies were pulled from the rubble after Israel ended a deadly war on Hamas.
As Israeli air strikes and militant rocket fire punctured the tenuous truce in the territory, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned the unilateral ceasefire Israel had begun hours earlier was fragile and was being constantly reassessed.
"The government's decision allows Israel to respond and renew the fire if our enemy in the Gaza Strip continues its strikes," he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
"This morning they again proved that the ceasefire is fragile and it has to be reassessed on a minute by minute basis," he said. "We hope that the fire ends. If it continues, the IDF (Israeli Defence Forces) will respond."
Palestinian medics took advantage of the halt in Israel's deadliest offensive on Gaza to rush to areas which had been inaccessible due to furious fighting.
At least 95 bodies, including those of several children, were pulled from the rubble, mostly in the northern towns of Jabaliya and Beit Lahiya, they said.
In south Gaza, a 20-year-old man became the first Palestinian killed since the truce went into effect when Israeli troops shot him in the chest while he travelled in a vehicle near the southern town of Khan Yunis, medics said.
The incidents come amid a major diplomatic push by Egypt to turn Israel's unilateral ceasefire into a lasting truce, with President Hosni Mubarak hosting leaders from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Spain and Turkey.
read more | digg story
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Reward Sanity! Netherlands For Nobel Peace Prize!
Dear NORML Supporters and Allies:
Netherlands For Nobel
The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) is beginning the New Year by coordinating the nomination of the Netherlands for a Nobel Prize for its achievements in minimizing drug use in its citizens, while at the same time restricting imprisonment.
With few peers at the international level and despite tremendous pressure from the United States, the Dutch government and its people have proven for more than 30 years that it is more cost effective, humane, and practical to be "smart on drugs" rather than "tough on drugs."
The following quotes from physician Stephen H. Frye’s book 'Twenty-five Reasons to Legalize Drugs - We Really Lost This War!' (http://25reasons.org/) document the validity and appropriateness of this nomination:
"The drug war, not the drugs, kills people. This is now a real war.
Although it started out as political rhetoric, it’s become a genuinely deadly conflict...It has caused hundreds of thousands of unnecessary deaths and untold misery, especially to our children, teens, women, and minorities. And like all wars, it’s been hugely expensive and wasteful; to date, it has cost more than a trillion dollars. And this is just in the United States; the international devastation is incomprehensible. Furthermore, like many wars, it’s based on lies.
"The few deaths that are caused by the drugs are due to impurities, dosages that are not standardized, and reluctance to call 911 when someone overdoses out of fear of being arrested. Replacing prohibition with sensible health-oriented alternatives, including legalizing currently illicit drugs, can eliminate these drug-related deaths.
"The Dutch should be recognized for their remarkable human rights achievement of regulating and decriminalizing drugs and equally important, offering comprehensive treatment to its affected citizens. The number of lives they have saved, as well as assaults, robberies, rapes, child abuse, and other prohibition-related criminal activities that they’ve prevented, is a major humanitarian and public health accomplishment. Their success in minimizing the catastrophic effects of the War on Drugs cannot be overstated. For example, the U.S. has six times as many people in prisons as the Netherlands per capita, and still we have four times their murder rate. Compared to ours, the Dutch prison population is negligible and they actually provide education and rehabilitation for their inmates. Furthermore, their incidence of AIDS and hepatitis is a fraction of ours.
"Taken together, these groundbreaking medical, human rights and humanitarian accomplishments are of unprecedented magnitude. They not only serve as an inspiration to the rest of the world, they also demand emulation. Because of this, it is recommended that Louk Hulsman, Professor Emeritus of Criminal Law at the University of Rotterdam, who was originally responsible for crafting the forward-thinking drug policy in the Netherlands and the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, who administer their very successful current drug policies, be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize."
The world owes a great debt of gratitude to them, along with many thousands of activists, academics, and religious and business leaders, for demonstrating that a scientifically-crafted harm reduction drug policy based on researched public health models, not an unyielding prohibition, prison oriented model, results in a healthier, safer, and less imprisoned population—that also uses fewer drugs.
The deadline for submission is February 1, 2009, and according to the Nobel Prize Web page, people from every country can nominate, but it is limited to members of national assemblies, governments, and international courts of law; university chancellors, professors of social science, history, philosophy, law and theology; leaders of peace research institutes and institutes of foreign affairs; Nobel Peace Prize Laureates of previous years; board members of organizations that have received the Nobel Peace Prize; present and past members of the Norwegian Nobel Committee; and former advisors of the Nobel Institute.
--Nobel Nomination Process Information--
All that is necessary is for a qualified nominator, as listed above, to send a letter to Geir Lundestad, Ph.D., Director, Norwegian Nobel Institute, Henrik Ibsens gate 51, NO-0255, Oslo, Norway, indicating the names of those nominated and the reason for the nomination, and it must be received by February 1, 2009.
Dr. Frye has also documented that not only is this very real War on Drugs far more devastating and deadly than the drugs themselves, but prison is also much more destructive, catastrophic and even more deadly than the drugs.
The Dutch have shown us the path to peace and now is the time to recognize their achievement.
While NORML is a cannabis-only reform organization, by nominating and educating the world about the success of the Netherlands’s drug policy, we are committed to using this public campaign as the first high impact project for worldwide drug policy reform in this New Year. This e-mail is being sent to U.S. and international drug policy organizations, seeking the names and contacts of qualified Nobel Prize nominators. The email is also being sent to organizations for children, teens, women, minorities, and the environment, as all these people and the environment are severely harmed and actually killed by the drug war.
It is time to stimulate this crucially important worldwide conversation, and this is a project all drug policy reform and civic-minded groups, regardless of their mission statements, can support. The webpage and other promotional campaigns in support of this nomination have been launched, but gathering qualified nominators needs to be the first step as there is a short deadline. Please ask nominators to send their letters directly to the Nobel Institute, and also notify NORML at nobel@norml.org as we are coordinating and tracking this campaign.
It is truly time to end the drug war and start the peace process. Thank you in advance and best wishes for an exciting 2009 pursuing the Nobel Peace Prize for this most noble cause.
Cannabem liberemus,
-Allen St. Pierre
Executive Director
NORML/NORML Foundation
Washington, DC
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Obama Must Get Tough With Israel to Achieve Peace
In Search of the High Ground: In July, Obama got a bird's-eye view of the Holy Land with Livni (right) and Defense Minister Ehud Barak
By Aaron David Miller NEWSWEEK
Published Jan 3, 2009
From the magazine issue dated Jan 12, 2009
Jews worry for a living; their tragic history compels them to do so. In the next few years, there will be plenty to worry about, particularly when it comes to Israel. The current operation in Gaza won't do much to ease these worries or to address Israel's longer-term security needs. The potential for a nuclear Iran, combined with the growing accuracy and lethality of Hamas and Hizbullah rockets, will create tremendous concern. Anxiety may also be provoked by something else: an Obama administration determined to repair America's image and credibility and to reach a deal in the Middle East.
Don't get me wrong. Barack Obama—as every other U.S. president before him—will protect the special relationship with Israel. But the days of America's exclusive ties to Israel may be coming to an end. Despite efforts to sound reassuring during the campaign, the new administration will have to be tough, much tougher than either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush were, if it's serious about Arab-Israeli peacemaking.
The departure point for a viable peace deal—either with Syria or the Palestinians—must not be based purely on what the political traffic in Israel will bear, but on the requirements of all sides. The new president seems tougher and more focused than his predecessors; he's unlikely to become enthralled by either of Israel's two leading candidates for prime minister—centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, or Likudnik Benjamin Netanyahu. Indeed, if it's the latter, he may well find himself (like Clinton) privately frustrated with Netanyahu's tough policies. Unlike Clinton, if Israeli behavior crosses the line, he should allow those frustrations to surface publicly in the service of American national interests.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Obama camp 'prepared to talk to Hamas'
The incoming Obama administration is prepared to abandon George Bush's doctrine of isolating Hamas by establishing a channel to the Islamist organisation, sources close to the transition team say.
The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracising of the group. The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006 Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.
The Guardian has spoken to three people with knowledge of the discussions in the Obama camp. There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracising Hamas is counter-productive. A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services, similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s. Israel did not become aware of the contacts until much later.
A UN resolution was agreed last night at the UN, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces in Gaza. The resolution was passed, though the US, represented by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, abstained.
Richard Haass, a diplomat under both Bush presidents who was named by a number of news organisations this week as Obama's choice for Middle East envoy, supports low-level contacts with Hamas provided there is a ceasefire in place and a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation emerges.
Another potential contender for a foreign policy role in the Obama administration suggested that the president-elect would not be bound by the Bush doctrine of isolating Hamas.
"This is going to be an administration that is committed to negotiating with critical parties on critical issues," the source said.
read more digg story
The move to open contacts with Hamas, which could be initiated through the US intelligence services, would represent a definitive break with the Bush presidency's ostracising of the group. The state department has designated Hamas a terrorist organisation, and in 2006 Congress passed a law banning US financial aid to the group.
The Guardian has spoken to three people with knowledge of the discussions in the Obama camp. There is no talk of Obama approving direct diplomatic negotiations with Hamas early on, but he is being urged by advisers to initiate low-level or clandestine approaches, and there is growing recognition in Washington that the policy of ostracising Hamas is counter-productive. A tested course would be to start contacts through Hamas and the US intelligence services, similar to the secret process through which the US engaged with the PLO in the 1970s. Israel did not become aware of the contacts until much later.
A UN resolution was agreed last night at the UN, calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces in Gaza. The resolution was passed, though the US, represented by secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, abstained.
Richard Haass, a diplomat under both Bush presidents who was named by a number of news organisations this week as Obama's choice for Middle East envoy, supports low-level contacts with Hamas provided there is a ceasefire in place and a Hamas-Fatah reconciliation emerges.
Another potential contender for a foreign policy role in the Obama administration suggested that the president-elect would not be bound by the Bush doctrine of isolating Hamas.
"This is going to be an administration that is committed to negotiating with critical parties on critical issues," the source said.
read more digg story
Livni, on Gaza truce: Israel will act in own interests
"Israel has acted, is acting and will act only according to its considerations, the security needs of its citizens and its right to self-defense," a statement said. It made no direct reference to how Israel would treat the call for a ceasefire.
By Barak Ravid and Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
The diplomatic-security cabinet rejected on Friday a United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution and ordered the Israel Defense Forces to continue its current ground operation against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. In a communique released immediately after the cabinet session on Friday, the government stated it would not accept the UN resolution, declaring that "the IDF will continue to act in order to attain the objectives of the operation - to bring about a change in the security situation in the south of the country - this in accordance with the plans that have been approved upon embarking on the operation."
"Efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip will continue," the cabinet statement added.
As such, the cabinet also said Israel would continue to provide humanitarian relief to the local population in Gaza. The army will maintain its policy of declaring a temporary cease-fire so as to allow the supply of food and medicine to reach Gazans in need, the cabinet said. The cabinet heard reports detailing the military advancement into Gaza as well as the latest on cease-fire talks with Egyptian officials. Amos Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic-security division, met with his Egyptian counterparts on Thursday.
read more digg story
By Barak Ravid and Shlomo Shamir, Haaretz Correspondents and News Agencies
The diplomatic-security cabinet rejected on Friday a United Nations Security Council cease-fire resolution and ordered the Israel Defense Forces to continue its current ground operation against Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip. In a communique released immediately after the cabinet session on Friday, the government stated it would not accept the UN resolution, declaring that "the IDF will continue to act in order to attain the objectives of the operation - to bring about a change in the security situation in the south of the country - this in accordance with the plans that have been approved upon embarking on the operation."
"Efforts to prevent the smuggling of weapons into the Gaza Strip will continue," the cabinet statement added.
As such, the cabinet also said Israel would continue to provide humanitarian relief to the local population in Gaza. The army will maintain its policy of declaring a temporary cease-fire so as to allow the supply of food and medicine to reach Gazans in need, the cabinet said. The cabinet heard reports detailing the military advancement into Gaza as well as the latest on cease-fire talks with Egyptian officials. Amos Gilad, the head of the Defense Ministry's diplomatic-security division, met with his Egyptian counterparts on Thursday.
read more digg story
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Gaza Crisis: Egypt & France Float Truce Plan
The killing of 42 yesterday at a UN school resulted in an increase of pressure on Israel from the international community to reach a ceasefire.Today,Israel granted access to emergency vehicles for 3 hours.The fighting has now resumed.Obama in his press conference today did not break his silence on the matter quoting "constitutional constrains".
Jan 7 - Israel's Ambassador to the UN says Egyptian proposals for an initial truce have not been ruled out.
The plan by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak suggests at least a limited ceasefire that would allow aid into Gaza and buy more time for Egypt to broker a longer-term truce.
Paul Chapman reports
read more digg story
Jan 7 - Israel's Ambassador to the UN says Egyptian proposals for an initial truce have not been ruled out.
The plan by Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak suggests at least a limited ceasefire that would allow aid into Gaza and buy more time for Egypt to broker a longer-term truce.
Paul Chapman reports
read more digg story
Israel Halts Attack Briefly to Allow Aid Into Gaza
By TAGHREED EL-KHODARY and ISABEL KERSHNER
GAZA — Israel pressed on with its 12-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday , but it allowed a brief suspension to permit humanitarian aid to reach the beleaguered population and agreed to future brief halts, while the Israeli security cabinet postponed a vote authorizing a further stage of the ground operation.
The day after Israeli mortar shells killed as many as 40 Palestinians, among them women and children, outside a United Nations school in Gaza, diplomatic efforts to bring the fighting to a halt intensified. France and Egypt and Turkey were working on a plan that would work to halt rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, open up crossings into Gaza from both Israel and Egypt, and end weapons smuggling from Egypt. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said the cease-fire plan had been agreed on, but Israel and Hamas both said that there were many details to be worked out. Israel was due to send officials to Cairo for further discussions.
The death toll in Gaza reached around 660 on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials. The United Nations has estimated that about one-fourth of those dying in Gaza are civilians, but there is little certainty about the current figures.
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not end the operation in Gaza until it is assured that Hamas will stop firing rockets into Israel and that arms smuggling will halt. The Israeli military reported on Wednesday that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in a yard in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and nine people were treated for shock. Three other rockets landed elsewhere.
The Israeli military contended that it fired on the school on Tuesday because Hamas fighters had fired mortars from the school compound. United Nations officials have called for an independent inquiry into the episode.
While the guns fell silent for several hours on Wednesday, news reports from the Israel-Gaza border area said a string of explosions was soon heard after the three-hour lull ended. Israel said the three-hour lull would be repeated every other day between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to allow Gaza’s population to seek medical help, buy food and receive humanitarian supplies.
In Paris, Mr. Sarkozy, who toured the region earlier this week in a diplomatic drive for a cease-fire, issued a statement welcoming what he called “the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority” of a cease-fire plan put forward Tuesday evening by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Mr. Sarkozy said he was urging the implementation of the plan “as soon as possible for the suffering of the population to stop.”
But the status of the proposal was far from clear and some Palestinians remained skeptical. Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator, told the BBC that the plan fell short of a cease-fire. “Israel is still buying time to create facts on the ground,” she said.
According to Reuters, Mark Regev, the spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said: “We welcome the French-Egyptian initiative. We want to see it succeed.
read more digg story
GAZA — Israel pressed on with its 12-day bombardment of the Gaza Strip on Wednesday , but it allowed a brief suspension to permit humanitarian aid to reach the beleaguered population and agreed to future brief halts, while the Israeli security cabinet postponed a vote authorizing a further stage of the ground operation.
The day after Israeli mortar shells killed as many as 40 Palestinians, among them women and children, outside a United Nations school in Gaza, diplomatic efforts to bring the fighting to a halt intensified. France and Egypt and Turkey were working on a plan that would work to halt rocket fire from Gaza into Israel, open up crossings into Gaza from both Israel and Egypt, and end weapons smuggling from Egypt. The French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, said the cease-fire plan had been agreed on, but Israel and Hamas both said that there were many details to be worked out. Israel was due to send officials to Cairo for further discussions.
The death toll in Gaza reached around 660 on Wednesday, according to Palestinian health officials. The United Nations has estimated that about one-fourth of those dying in Gaza are civilians, but there is little certainty about the current figures.
Israel has said repeatedly that it will not end the operation in Gaza until it is assured that Hamas will stop firing rockets into Israel and that arms smuggling will halt. The Israeli military reported on Wednesday that a rocket fired from Gaza landed in a yard in the southern Israeli city of Ashkelon and nine people were treated for shock. Three other rockets landed elsewhere.
The Israeli military contended that it fired on the school on Tuesday because Hamas fighters had fired mortars from the school compound. United Nations officials have called for an independent inquiry into the episode.
While the guns fell silent for several hours on Wednesday, news reports from the Israel-Gaza border area said a string of explosions was soon heard after the three-hour lull ended. Israel said the three-hour lull would be repeated every other day between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to allow Gaza’s population to seek medical help, buy food and receive humanitarian supplies.
In Paris, Mr. Sarkozy, who toured the region earlier this week in a diplomatic drive for a cease-fire, issued a statement welcoming what he called “the acceptance by Israel and the Palestinian Authority” of a cease-fire plan put forward Tuesday evening by President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt in the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Mr. Sarkozy said he was urging the implementation of the plan “as soon as possible for the suffering of the population to stop.”
But the status of the proposal was far from clear and some Palestinians remained skeptical. Hanan Ashrawi, a Palestinian legislator, told the BBC that the plan fell short of a cease-fire. “Israel is still buying time to create facts on the ground,” she said.
According to Reuters, Mark Regev, the spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said: “We welcome the French-Egyptian initiative. We want to see it succeed.
read more digg story
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Jewish Voices Against the Massacre in Gaza.
Warren Goldstein writes:
There are far too many reasons to feel distress, sadness, and anger about Israel's massive air bombardment and invasion of Gaza--its shortsightedness; its counterproductive lethality; the self-righteousness of the so-called "friends of Israel" who have leapt to its defense; tasting the final, spoiled fruits of the Bush Administration's reign of diplomatic incompetence--to focus on any single one.
Once again, American Jews--and Israel, I believe--are being ill-served by the bulk of the American Jewish community's organizational leadership which, just as it did during the failed 2006 Lebanon war, has lined up to support Israeli bombs and tanks. This time, it seems they've learned a lesson from their justification for every Lebanese civilian death. The website of the Union for Reform Judaism hasn't--yet--suggested that Jews display lawn signs supporting the invasion, as it did during the Lebanon debacle. This time, its main spokespeople lead with their own pain and discomfort while insisting on the "tragic necessity" of the offensive. It's astonishing, really, since they could have spent some of their considerable political capital pressuring the Israeli government to make real peace, and avoided some of that pain. But the war's far from done, and who knows what the official Jewish propaganda machine could still come up with. If you see lawn signs promoting the invasion popping up on lawns, you'll know why.
The only bright spot I can see in this depressing, infuriating, all-too predictable opera is the most significant change in the American Jewish community since the last war: the birth and rapid growth of JStreet, which bills itself as the "political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement." Mostly (though not entirely) Jewish, JStreet brings a combination of Middle East expertise, inside-the-beltway credentials, and real funding to bear in a savvy political and advocacy operation. (Full disclosure: My son Isaac Luria works for JStreet, and I'm terrifically proud of his work.)
Since the bombardment began, JStreet has provided outstanding updates, principled opposition to Hamas's rocket-launching and Israeli bombing, and a petition calling for a cease-fire that quickly garnered more than 14,000 signatures. To sign the petition, click here.
read more digg story
There are far too many reasons to feel distress, sadness, and anger about Israel's massive air bombardment and invasion of Gaza--its shortsightedness; its counterproductive lethality; the self-righteousness of the so-called "friends of Israel" who have leapt to its defense; tasting the final, spoiled fruits of the Bush Administration's reign of diplomatic incompetence--to focus on any single one.
Once again, American Jews--and Israel, I believe--are being ill-served by the bulk of the American Jewish community's organizational leadership which, just as it did during the failed 2006 Lebanon war, has lined up to support Israeli bombs and tanks. This time, it seems they've learned a lesson from their justification for every Lebanese civilian death. The website of the Union for Reform Judaism hasn't--yet--suggested that Jews display lawn signs supporting the invasion, as it did during the Lebanon debacle. This time, its main spokespeople lead with their own pain and discomfort while insisting on the "tragic necessity" of the offensive. It's astonishing, really, since they could have spent some of their considerable political capital pressuring the Israeli government to make real peace, and avoided some of that pain. But the war's far from done, and who knows what the official Jewish propaganda machine could still come up with. If you see lawn signs promoting the invasion popping up on lawns, you'll know why.
The only bright spot I can see in this depressing, infuriating, all-too predictable opera is the most significant change in the American Jewish community since the last war: the birth and rapid growth of JStreet, which bills itself as the "political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement." Mostly (though not entirely) Jewish, JStreet brings a combination of Middle East expertise, inside-the-beltway credentials, and real funding to bear in a savvy political and advocacy operation. (Full disclosure: My son Isaac Luria works for JStreet, and I'm terrifically proud of his work.)
Since the bombardment began, JStreet has provided outstanding updates, principled opposition to Hamas's rocket-launching and Israeli bombing, and a petition calling for a cease-fire that quickly garnered more than 14,000 signatures. To sign the petition, click here.
read more digg story
Saturday, December 6, 2008
CODEPINK: Is Obama forgetting something?
Barack Obama was elected in large part because of his promise to end the Iraq War and we want to hold him to that pledge.You can send Obama and his transition team a letter asking him to sit down with leaders of the peace and anti-war movement to talk about bringing home our troops. Read CODEPINK's “Let’s Talk” invitation to the President-elect below, add in your own words, sign your name and zip code, and send your letter. Your letter will be automatically sent to Obama via the www.change.gov website through a few clicks on our website--now there's action magic! Let’s model how we arrive at peace
by starting here at home and using our words, not weapons.
Dear President-Elect Obama,
Two years ago, the peace movement celebrated an election that changed the balance of power in the Congress and the Senate. We in the anti-war community fully expected that the new Democratically-controlled Congress would move swiftly to end the war in Iraq, but we were sadly disappointed. Today we are at a similar junction, and hope not to suffer a similar setback. You were elected in large part because of your promise to end the Iraq War and we want to hold you to that pledge. This letter is an invitation to you to sit down with leaders of the peace and anti-war communities to talk about bringing home our troops. Let's talk!
We'd like to bring together leaders from a broad spectrum of groups—among them Win Without War, ANSWER, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Tikkun, CODEPINK Women for Peace, WAND, and United for Peace & Justice—for an open dialogue with you about the future of our country and its role in the world. We have been watching with some trepidation as you assemble the members of your foreign policy team, many of whom were enablers if not architects of the invasion of Iraq. We hope that in this process you will take the time to listen to peace activists who have been working daily to end the occupation of Iraq and to prevent future wars.
It is amazing that the United States will soon have a President who has the breadth of lived experience and knowledge that you do—from the streets of Jakarta to the villages of Kenya to the projects of Chicago and the halls of America's elite institutions. It would be truly amazing if you would bring your wisdom and depth of knowledge onto the world stage as an agent for peace.
Please click on the link below to send your letter to Barack Obama
Saturday, November 22, 2008
The Debate about the Iraq-U.S. Security Pact.
Public Radio International reports on the deal. The agreement ( approved by the Iraqi Cabinet) makes the US invasion legal until 2011. It would put American troops and US contractors under Iraqi laws, and the US couldn't attack Syria or Iran from Iraq. Bush is secretive,with Congress, about the deal. More importantly,Al-Sadr do not want the pact.
read more digg story
read more digg story
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Next US leader should get to work on Mideast: Palestinian negotiator
TOKYO (AFP) – The next US president, be it Barack Obama or John McCain, should get to work immediately to jump-start Middle East peace talks, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said here Thursday."Whoever will be the next president of the United States, whether Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama, they must immediately engage and continue their engagement and no time should be wasted," Erakat told reporters.
read more | digg story
read more | digg story
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)