The EU and Israel have put negotiations on upgrading bilateral ties on hold due to the Gaza war, officials from both sides said Wednesday as the German foreign minister travels to the region to help end the fighting. "There is a time-out in the furthering of the upgrading of bilateral relations," Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the head of the European Commission delegation to Israel told reporters. "Both sides decided it was appropriate to take a time out. Both sides realize it is a convenient time for a time-out." "We will have to see how long and how deep the time-out is -- how the conflict stabilizes and how Israel will emerge as a partner for the EU out of the conflict," he added. Bilateral relations have been strained by Israel's 19-day-old military offensive on Hamas targets in Gaza which medics report has so far killed more than 1,000 Palestinians. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rockets fired across the border have also died since Dec. 27.
"There is a time-out in the furthering of the upgrading of bilateral relations," Ramiro Cibrian-Uzal, the head of the European Commission delegation to Israel told reporters. "Both sides decided it was appropriate to take a time out. Both sides realize it is a convenient time for a time-out."
"We will have to see how long and how deep the time-out is -- how the conflict stabilizes and how Israel will emerge as a partner for the EU out of the conflict," he added.
Bilateral relations have been strained by Israel's 19-day-old military offensive on Hamas targets in Gaza which medics report has so far killed more than 1,000 Palestinians. Ten Israeli soldiers and three civilians hit by Hamas rockets fired across the border have also died since Dec. 27.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel on Wednesday over the Israeli incursion into Gaza, President Evo Morales announced. Bolivian President Evo Morales announces Wednesday that he is severing diplomatic ties with Israel. Morales also said his government will ask that Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be declared war criminals. "The Israeli government's crimes affect global stability and peace and have returned the world to the worst stage of crimes against humanity that we hadn't seen except in World War II and in the last years in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda," Morales said. There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli government. Bolivia is the second Latin American government to take action against Israel in response to the military operation that started December 27. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expelled the Israeli ambassador from Caracas on January 6. More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 5,000 wounded in the Gaza operation, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
LA PAZ, Bolivia (CNN) -- Bolivia broke diplomatic relations with Israel on Wednesday over the Israeli incursion into Gaza, President Evo Morales announced.
Bolivian President Evo Morales announces Wednesday that he is severing diplomatic ties with Israel.
Morales also said his government will ask that Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert be declared war criminals.
"The Israeli government's crimes affect global stability and peace and have returned the world to the worst stage of crimes against humanity that we hadn't seen except in World War II and in the last years in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda," Morales said.
There was no immediate reaction from the Israeli government.
Bolivia is the second Latin American government to take action against Israel in response to the military operation that started December 27.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez expelled the Israeli ambassador from Caracas on January 6.
More than 1,000 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 5,000 wounded in the Gaza operation, Palestinian officials said Wednesday.
Washington - The US military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a US warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday. "I think the Greek government had some issue with the offloading of some of that shipment in their country and so we are finding alternative means of getting that entire shipment to its proper destination in Israel," Geoff Morrell told a news conference. "I don't think we've come to a final resolution on how or when that will take place."
Washington - The US military has to had to cancel a planned shipment of munitions from a Greek port to a US warehouse in Israel due to objections from Athens, a Pentagon spokesperson said on Tuesday.
"I think the Greek government had some issue with the offloading of some of that shipment in their country and so we are finding alternative means of getting that entire shipment to its proper destination in Israel," Geoff Morrell told a news conference.
"I don't think we've come to a final resolution on how or when that will take place."
I'll paste in one because it is short - to the point - links to the Bolivia story below - and the list of signatories contains many many notable personalities, MPs (TDs in Ireland) of a number of opposition parties AND a number of Government MPs. That's before you get to the most famous folk singer in the country stuck on the end.
Madam, - We, the undersigned, are united in seeking the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland, Dr Zion Evrony. We believe the ambassador must leave Ireland until such time as there is a complete end to Israel's war on Gaza and its continued slaughter of the Palestinian people. - Your, etc, MAIREAD MAGUIRE, Nobel Peace Laureate; KATHY SINNOTT MEP; MARGARET CONLON TD; MAGGIE RONAYNE, NUIG; GERRY GREHAN, Chairman, Peace People; RAYMOND DEANE, BRENDAN BUTLER, NGO Peace Alliance; ROBERT BALLAGH, JACK O'CONNOR, general president, Siptu; Dr FINTAN LANE, RICHARD BOYD BARRETT, IAWM; KIERAN ALLEN, SWP; Dr STEVEN LOYAL, UCD; M.J. NOLAN TD; Dr THERESA URBAIN CZYK; UCD; JOE HIGGINS, SP; MARGARETTA D'ARCY; BRIAN O'CONNOR, Labour Youth; Prof MARY GALLAGHER, UCD; JOHN WADDELL, CHRIS ANDREWS TD; SHANE CULLEN; Dr SABER ELSAFTY, AILBHE SMYTH, UCD; TREASA NÍ CHEANNABHÉIN; PATRICIA McKENNA MEP; JOHN ARDEN; CHARLIE CULLEN, Senator IVANA BACIK; COLIN COULTER, NUIM; MICHAEL KILEMADE, TERENCE BROWNE, Dr FERGAL GAYNOR, UCC; NINA McGOWAN; TIM REDFERN, UCD; MAIRÉAD NI CHUIG, TG4; EAMON McCANN; MHAIRI SUTHERLAND; MICHAEL MOYNIHAN TD; BRIAN HAND; SEAMUS KEALY; Dr ANDY STOREY, UCD; PAUL MURNAGHAN; KATHARINA PFUETZNER, NCAD; ANNA MacLEOD, DIT; CHRISTY MOORE
MAIREAD MAGUIRE, Nobel Peace Laureate; KATHY SINNOTT MEP; MARGARET CONLON TD; MAGGIE RONAYNE, NUIG; GERRY GREHAN, Chairman, Peace People; RAYMOND DEANE, BRENDAN BUTLER, NGO Peace Alliance; ROBERT BALLAGH, JACK O'CONNOR, general president, Siptu; Dr FINTAN LANE, RICHARD BOYD BARRETT, IAWM; KIERAN ALLEN, SWP; Dr STEVEN LOYAL, UCD; M.J. NOLAN TD; Dr THERESA URBAIN CZYK; UCD; JOE HIGGINS, SP; MARGARETTA D'ARCY; BRIAN O'CONNOR, Labour Youth; Prof MARY GALLAGHER, UCD; JOHN WADDELL, CHRIS ANDREWS TD; SHANE CULLEN; Dr SABER ELSAFTY, AILBHE SMYTH, UCD; TREASA NÍ CHEANNABHÉIN; PATRICIA McKENNA MEP; JOHN ARDEN; CHARLIE CULLEN, Senator IVANA BACIK; COLIN COULTER, NUIM; MICHAEL KILEMADE, TERENCE BROWNE, Dr FERGAL GAYNOR, UCC; NINA McGOWAN; TIM REDFERN, UCD; MAIRÉAD NI CHUIG, TG4; EAMON McCANN; MHAIRI SUTHERLAND; MICHAEL MOYNIHAN TD; BRIAN HAND; SEAMUS KEALY; Dr ANDY STOREY, UCD; PAUL MURNAGHAN; KATHARINA PFUETZNER, NCAD; ANNA MacLEOD, DIT; CHRISTY MOORE
Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip have passed 1,000, medical sources in Gaza say, as diplomatic efforts continue to reach a ceasefire. Nearly a third of the dead are reported to be children and nearly 5,000 people have been injured. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he wanted to find a durable and sustainable ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian fighters. But clashes reportedly intensified as Mr Ban began a Middle East tour. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 1,013 people have died in the conflict which started 19 days ago.
Palestinian deaths in the Gaza Strip have passed 1,000, medical sources in Gaza say, as diplomatic efforts continue to reach a ceasefire.
Nearly a third of the dead are reported to be children and nearly 5,000 people have been injured.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he wanted to find a durable and sustainable ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian fighters.
But clashes reportedly intensified as Mr Ban began a Middle East tour.
The Ministry of Health in Gaza said 1,013 people have died in the conflict which started 19 days ago.
The Israelis have shut the world press out of the Gaza Strip, forcing journalists to rely on Arab media and informants on the ground. The situation is making objective reporting on the war close to impossible. Danny Seaman stands on a low hill in southern Israel. His legs are set wide, and his whole face is beaming. Whatever he is looking at is clearly filling him with satisfaction. While a crowd of journalists scurries around the hill, television cameras stand at the ready and the logos of major television channels glint from the satellite dishes mounted atop broadcast vans. The area is swarming with photographers who sit and wait like paparazzi camped outside a celebrity villa -- except that the situation here isn't quite so glamorous. With little to see, the general mood is one of annoyance. And that's exactly how Seaman likes it. After all, he doesn't like these foreign observers very much. Seaman is the director of Israel's Government Press Office. The Israeli government has barred all media coverage from the Gaza Strip, which has forced correspondents from around the world to take up position here, one kilometer (0.62 miles) back from the border. In the distance, they can make out the silhouette of Gaza City. And they can see the smoke that rises after each air strike, too. At the moment, this hill provides the best view of the war available -- and it's the Israeli view. The journalists are close enough to film the impact of Israeli bombs but too far away to see the Palestinian casualties.
The Israelis have shut the world press out of the Gaza Strip, forcing journalists to rely on Arab media and informants on the ground. The situation is making objective reporting on the war close to impossible.
Danny Seaman stands on a low hill in southern Israel. His legs are set wide, and his whole face is beaming. Whatever he is looking at is clearly filling him with satisfaction.
While a crowd of journalists scurries around the hill, television cameras stand at the ready and the logos of major television channels glint from the satellite dishes mounted atop broadcast vans. The area is swarming with photographers who sit and wait like paparazzi camped outside a celebrity villa -- except that the situation here isn't quite so glamorous. With little to see, the general mood is one of annoyance. And that's exactly how Seaman likes it. After all, he doesn't like these foreign observers very much.
Seaman is the director of Israel's Government Press Office. The Israeli government has barred all media coverage from the Gaza Strip, which has forced correspondents from around the world to take up position here, one kilometer (0.62 miles) back from the border. In the distance, they can make out the silhouette of Gaza City. And they can see the smoke that rises after each air strike, too.
At the moment, this hill provides the best view of the war available -- and it's the Israeli view. The journalists are close enough to film the impact of Israeli bombs but too far away to see the Palestinian casualties.
The Lebanese Shiite movement Hezbollah and the Lebanese Army went on full alert Sunday, Jan. 11, after unknown gunmen in Syria opened fire on a group of Israeli military engineers in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. According to an eyewitness in the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah militants were seen taking their positions in the mountainous Knessineh area overlooking the Israeli-Lebanese border shortly after the Golan incident took place. However, no one was hurt and it was not immediately clear who was responsible, an Israeli military spokesman said. Lebanese security sources said that all precautionary measures have been taken by the Lebanese Army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon to prevent any incident that would breach the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.
According to an eyewitness in the Bekaa Valley, Hezbollah militants were seen taking their positions in the mountainous Knessineh area overlooking the Israeli-Lebanese border shortly after the Golan incident took place.
However, no one was hurt and it was not immediately clear who was responsible, an Israeli military spokesman said.
Lebanese security sources said that all precautionary measures have been taken by the Lebanese Army and UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon to prevent any incident that would breach the ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel.
Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, is reported to have issued a video recording calling on Muslims to wage jihad against Israel over its offensive in Gaza. The recording, which was dated to the current month in the Islamic calendar and called "A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza", was posted on websites on Wednesday. "God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven years," the voice on the tape, purported to be that of bin Laden, said. "The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise." It was not possible to independently identify the voice on the tape.
Osama bin Laden, the leader of al-Qaeda, is reported to have issued a video recording calling on Muslims to wage jihad against Israel over its offensive in Gaza.
The recording, which was dated to the current month in the Islamic calendar and called "A Call for Jihad to Stop the Aggression against Gaza", was posted on websites on Wednesday.
"God has bestowed us with the patience to continue the path of jihad for another seven years, and seven and seven years," the voice on the tape, purported to be that of bin Laden, said.
"The question is, can America continue its war with us for several more decades to come? Reports and evidence would suggest otherwise."
It was not possible to independently identify the voice on the tape.
President Obama will end the 15-year-old "don't ask, don't tell" policy that has prevented homosexual and bisexual men and women from serving openly within the U.S. military, a spokesman for the president-elect said. Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said: "You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.'" The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including some from unexpected quarters.
Obama said during the campaign that he opposed the policy, but since his election in November he has made statements that have been interpreted as backpedaling. On Friday, however, Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs, responding on the transition team's Web site to a Michigan resident who asked if the new administration planned to get rid of the policy, said:
"You don't hear politicians give a one-word answer much. But it's 'Yes.'"
The little-noticed response, made in a video posted on change.gov, made barely a ripple outside blogs focused on the gay community, but that's not surprising, said those who have been pushing to overturn the ban. Not only was Obama's position expected, they said, but support for reviewing or repealing the policy has grown markedly in recent years, including some from unexpected quarters.
From the lips of Press Secretary Robert Gibbs himself.
Told ya. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
Pretty big process from the early days of the Clinton administration, when it was 44%. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
there are practical problems that the military will have to develop regulations about. E.g. who is allowed to shower with whom?
So the whole problem seems to be that heterosexual servicemen who might engage in homophobic humour in the locker rooms have "gay panic" about being naked in the presence of an openly gay colleague? Or that the said openly gay colleague being there will inhibit the said good old boys' homophobic fun?
Male showers, female showers, get over your homophobia, should be the policy. (But see It's always about the restrooms by Helen on July 22nd, 2008
The first openly transgendered servicemember will be the real nub of this. Most economists teach a theoretical framework that has been shown to be fundamentally useless. -- James K. Galbraith
Male showers, female showers, get over your homophobia, should be the policy.
What is it? Do people think they are going to be hit on by gay people just because they're nude? In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
I actually think that all that "pushing" and unnecessary show of guy's (not gay's) nudity in sport's locker rooms is actually bad taste...
So you're objecting to heterosexual behaviour in male locker rooms ? And youthful too, cos my memory was that it was really just schoolboy stuff. However, I don't think anybody is forcing you to take part in anything you find distasteful and it seems that communal changing facilities ring that bell for you. Okay, cool.
But I'm not sure it has anythig to do with guys, straight or gay, changing together generally. Most gay guys manage to get through their days without shagging the nearest male they can put their hands on, in fact given societies general distaste, gay guys are usually much more discreet (not always, cottagers are pathetic) and much much more in control of their desires than heteros. Gay guys rarely harrass f'rinstance.
So, what you're circling around without saying it is a variant of the gay panic defence, which is the hetero guys variant of the feminist attack on teh trans. It's kinda old and very very tired, not to say tiresome, but if that's where you are, then that's where you are.
Let's just say most of us are so over it and move on. keep to the Fen Causeway
So you're objecting to heterosexual behaviour in male locker rooms ? And youthful too, cos my memory was that it was really just schoolboy stuff.
You may be right.While I may excuse teenagers I find that when adults are involved in that kind of 'show' FOR ME it's distasteful.
However, I don't think anybody is forcing you to take part in anything you find distasteful and it seems that communal changing facilities ring that bell for you. Okay, cool.
This is not a point. As asdf said :
"The issue is that if there are mixed showers for gay and straight people, then what is the argument against female & male mixed showers?"
Most gay guys manage to get through their days without shagging the nearest male they can put their hands on, in fact given societies general distaste, gay guys are usually much more discreet (not always, cottagers are pathetic) and much much more in control of their desires than heteros. Gay guys rarely harrass f'rinstance.
I don't know but I'll take this as truthful.Still some people may feel diferent.
Let's just say most of us are so over it and move on.
Well NO, but I actually think that all that "pushing" and unnecessary show of guy's (not gay's) nudity in sport's locker rooms is actually bad taste...
WTF? All what pushing? All what unnecessary nudity? What sort of guys changing rooms have you been hanging around in?
All what unnecessary nudity? What sort of guys changing rooms have you been hanging around in?
Repealing DOMA is much more of a litmus test that DADT but I'm hearing that that too is pretty much expected to go through on the nod, even if Obama himself is against gay marriage. After his Prop H8 mess, he owes the LGBT community something like that.
But the big one is a fully inclusive ENDA; that's the one the LGBT crowd are really watching and waiting for. Everything else is just posturing, ENDA will significantly affect gay people's lives for the better. keep to the Fen Causeway
