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Petition: Don't Pander to AIPAC at the Expense of Peace The initiative Jewish Voice for Peace has provided a petition to express to US Presidential candidates Senators Obama and McCain our deep concern over statements that both Senators made at the recent AIPAC Conference. You can sign the petition calling on Senators Obama and McCain to moderate their stances in the interests of a peaceful future. The letter states:
“Dear Senators Obama and McCain,
We were disturbed by your remarks at the AIPAC conference. We implore you to respect internationally recognized Palestinian claims to East Jerusalem, to hold not just Hamas but also Israel accountable for its use of weapons against civilian populations, and to supporting including Hamas in negotiations. We believe that both Palestinians and Israelis deserve to live in safe and secure societies. Please commit to working for justice and peace for both Israelis and Palestinians”.
For more information on the specific remarks made at the AIPAC Conference and to sign the petition, please click here. To learn more about Jewish Voice for Peace, visit their website here. |
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International Justice and Impunity: The Case of the United States A new book by Clarity Press, this collection of essays from top international scholars and legal professionals reflects a primary response by international civil society to US disregard for international law. It is a damning indictment of the Hiroshimas of our time. It provides a cogent elaboration of the international legal values to be defended, for humanity to triumph over the new wave of global barbarism brought about by the efforts of the United States to consolidate and extend the dimensions of its empire. To view additional Clarity Press, Inc. publications, CURRENT TITLES
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Although we will recommend you to look at the websites mentioned above we can not take any responsibility for external sites. |
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Tannouri Photography Lebanese photographer Clément Tannouri captures the magnetism of Lebanon in this stunning collection of photographs. He states his two great passions in life are travel and photography. He believes that travel broadens one's view of the world. Experiencing other cultures, meeting people from other communities and countries and seeing the beauty, and sometimes ugliness, of the world has helped him understand that all of our lives are at once interconnected and individual. It has made him better appreciate his own home and culture as well as that of the people he has met and the lands he has seen and he has become a much more tolerant person as a result. Through his photography he seeks to document his own personal experiences, to capture scenes and events as he sees them and to share with others the beauty and diversity of the world he has seen.
His website demonstrates a wide-ranging portfolio and offers prints, poster, and book collections for sale. Or just click and enjoy the beauty of Lebanon. www.clementtannouri.com |
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Lady Fatemah Trust Formed in 1997, the Lady Fatemah Trust adopts a philosophy of empowerment to alleviate poverty across geographic and cultural borders. Whilst the scope of its projects is extensive, the guiding principle of project selection is based on the objective of enabling target communities to develop self-sufficiency. Borrowing from an ancient maxim, the Trust does not seek to simply distribute ‘fish’, but rather endeavours to provide ‘fishing rods’ and the knowledge to use them effectively. The global projects of the Trust include many in Lebanon, specifically designed to return pride and self-sufficiency to those in need—visit Middle East Projects. Please note that the Lady Fatemah Trust operates on the basis of zero% administration costs, so every penny you give goes directly to those in need. Consider a donation to maintain this invaluable work You may phone +44 (0) 1494 762 063, or email info@ladyfatemahtrust.org for more information.
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Petition: Suspend the EU-Israel Trade Agreement
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Aie Serve Aie Serve is a community service youth group aiming to spread cultural awareness, love, and tolerance, help and return to the poor and underprivileged, and promote open-mindedness, through action and experience, all for the sake of an improved future for human kind.
The Aie Serve team invites each and every one of you, from wherever you are, to take an active role in society to diffuse any tension that is arising in your surrounding. This campaign needs no meetings and no preparation and can be done at any time and every time.
We would like to really stress on the fact that we (as educated, well civilized, active and engaged citizens) should be the agents for positive change in our Lebanese societal mosaic. If we are to expect our politicians, leaders, and decision-makers, to find solutions for our country, to act in a way that yields positive results to our country and to avoid us further conflicts we should start with ourselves. Irrespective if we have certain biases, irrespective if we feel some grudges…we should avoid causing conflicts or even permitting them to happen around us.
The strategy is very simple and is as follows: --Put political grudges and biases aside (if any) --Be a positive agent for defusing tension in your surrounding (friends’ discussions, working environment, family talks…) --Stay neutral and provide all the points of views to both sides --Do not lose hope in making a change, every word counts and every positive person makes an impact --If each one of us focuses on his/her close surrounding and tries to positively change it…we will be micro-campaigning and macro-diffusing simultaneously --Below are some suggested discussion points to help you diffuse tension: --Do not avoid discussing what happened, but rather take the discussion into a more objective/neutral perspective --Always have an open mind, put yourself in BOTH sides’ shoes --Put in mind the wide political picture (local. regional and global), and the underlying secret deals and lies --Avoid blaming the people as in “YOU did this and that…” but rather target the blame to the politicians in saying “El Seyeseyye 3amlo hek w hek w hek…” --Emphasize that politicians from BOTH sides did wrong decisions and took the country into that state of conflict, not just one of them. --Focus on the fact that we always used to hear blames on the arms of the opposition, yet the actual conflict showed that both sides owned a lot arms, and the questions is why do they all have that much of weapons? --Do not go in details about all the incidents where people got killed from this side or that (whether innocent people or armed ones), since it just produces more tension and would cause both sides to feel angry.
For more information please contact the Aie Serve Team. |
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Every Human Has Rights campaign On December 10th, 1948, the newly formed United Nations adopted a universal declaration that transcended cultural and national boundaries. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights established a common standard for human achievement for all peoples and all nations; rooted in the values of freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect and shared responsibility.
Our commitment to sentiments contained in the Universal Declaration is as important today as it was 60 years ago. Our world remains marked by divisions and gripped by fear. Genocide is happening again. Poverty is trapping billions in lives of despair. Challenges like climate change, lack of access to health and shortage of decent employment opportunities confront us all. To learn more about the campaign and sign your support for the implementation of the Declaration, click here.
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Petition: Release 11.000 Palestinians in Israeli jails Sponsored by Iqbal Tamimi, Creator of Palestinian Mothers Network, this petition underscores this Disgrace for Democracy: 51 Palestinian MPs and Ministers are detained in Israeli prisons along with 11.870 Palestinian citizens. Israel arrested 20% of the total number of citizens living in Palestine over the last decades, the largest percentage in the world. They are held under inhumane conditions with no legal rights or recourse. The petition will be used to work with humanitarian rights organisations to pressure the due process of law and potential release of these prisoners. The petition creator notes “It is about time we show solidarity for each other on human level”. Sign your support here. |
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Out of Country Voting There is a new initiative for Palestinian refugees/diaspora to voice their opinions through the ballot box, using Out of Country Voting (OCV). The initiative also asks refugees/diaspora: 'Would you like your voter registration to show your ancestral home town or village?' With 2 million+ Palestinian refugees/diaspora, they could vote, showing how many 'missing voters' there are from electoral districts in the pre-1967 Israel. The OCV process has been used before by 850,000 Afghan refugees, and organised over 80 days - voter registration and voting - and results fully accepted internationally. There are approximately 4 to 5 million refugees/diaspora, and also 1.3 million Palestinians living in pre-1967 Israel borders - so 5.3 to 6.3 million Palestinians. The language in the West includes democracy/voting. This is a positive, pro-democracy, initiative: www.phl-ocv.net.
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European Humanist Forum Milan, October 08: In the European Humanist Forum that will take place in October 2008 in Milan, the peoples of Europe will meet to work in the construction of a Europe that is; open, different, welcoming, nonviolent and with solidarity, capable of opening new horizons and new paths that the human being needs to travel and to give its support to the birth of the Universal Human Nation.
European governments say that they want to “promote peace, their values and the wellbeing of their peoples”, but then they participate in vicious wars instigated by the United States and do not oppose the new, crazy nuclear arms race; a clash of cultures is promoted while dialogue and cooperation deteriorate, and while fanaticism and racism grow stronger; greed and blind selfishness of the strong are destroying the natural resources and the future of the younger generation. The dreams of progress, equality and security have become a business for few leaving the majority in debt. Authoritarianism, manipulation of public opinion and exclusion of citizens from decisions are the daily norm in the execution of power. For more information on the programme and participants of the forum—as well as how to register to attend—visit http://www.humanistforum.eu/ .
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Havha and the Black Stone
This first edition book, individually signed by the author, will be sent to you FREE in return for a recommended donation of: £11.00 (or US $23.00) to cover costs. All profits from this first edition will go to the Birds’ Nest Orphanage. Order this remarkable book now and you could be the fortunate one to receive a gift of £500.00 cash money. To order your copy click here |
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The New 7 Wonders of Nature: Jeita Grotto Lebanon’s very own Jeita Grotto is climbing to the top of the vote for the 7 Wonders of Nature. The Jeita Grotto is a compound of caves in Lebanon located 20 km north of Beirut in the Valley of Nahr al-Kalb (Dog River). This grotto is made up of two limestone caves, upper galleries and a lower cave through which a 623m long river runs. Geologically, the caves provides a tunnel or escape route for the underground river, which is the principal source of the Dog River. In these caves and galleries, known to man since Paleolithic times, the action of water in the limestone has created cathedral-like vaults of stalactites and stalagmites, stone curtains and fantastic rock formations. Live Ranking: see the Top 77 of today--Vote now for Jeita Grotto.
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Cluster Bomb Victims Remembered The Cluster Munition Coalition reports on worldwide events commemorating the cluster bombing of Lebanon two years ago. Campaigners all over the world remembered the victims of cluster bombs in Lebanon and called on their governments to take action. To view reports and learn more about what actions are being taken both to repair the damage of such attacks and to prevent further such atrocities, please visit 13 August 2008 - Commemoration of the cluster bombing of southern Lebanon
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