Today Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) announced he is introducing an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act calling for an accelerated drawdown in Afghanistan. The bi-partisan amendment is currently supported by: Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) — Resolution on Afghanistan To be offered to…
Today’s New York Times print edition features an editorial concerning the findings of the most recent IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear program. The piece begins with a standard, preemptive condemnation of Iran for pursuing nuclear weapons, followed by a prescription for harsher sanctions. Yet, in the very next paragraph succeeding this prescription, the editorial board…
Just Foreign Policy has received confirmation that activist Kit Kittredge, the US delegate to the Freedom Waves flotilla, is presently on a plane back to New York after being detained for 72 hours in the Israeli jail of Givon. The other US citizen that was detained, Democracy Now! correspondent Jihan Hafiz, was deported last night…
Earlier this morning, it was learned that Jihan Hafiz, US citizen and Democracy Now! correspondent aboard the Tahrir, had been deported from Israel after being detained at Givon prison for 72 hours. Soon after arriving in New York, she sat down with Amy Goodman to talk about the flotilla interception and her subsequent detention in…
Earlier today, the two ships that compose the Freedom Waves flotilla to Gaza–the Saoirse and the Tahrir–were commandeered by the Israeli Defense Forces. The IDF has since released two videos. One video portrays the boarding of both vessels and is heavily edited. Still, we can clearly see the use of a water cannon on the…
UPDATE 11:30AM: The IDF is reporting that it has boarded the two ships that compose the Freedom Waves flotila–the Saoirse and the Tahrir— and are now towing to Ashdod. Once there, the peace activists on board will be handed over to the Israel police. The boats were seized in international waters. One American, Kit Kittredge,…
Contacts: Jane Hirschmann 917-679-8343, 212-222-6721 Felice Gelman 917-912-2597 Medea Benjamin (in Turkey with ground crew) 90 531 888 8927 BOATS EN ROUTE TO GAZA SURROUNDED BY ISRAELI WARSHIPS New York – November 4, 2011 At 7:43 am ground support crew lost contact with two ships, the Saoirse of Ireland and the Tahrir of Canada, carrying…
This map was made by Benjamin Doherty at the Electronic Intifada. Get the embed code at the link and post the map on your website or blog. You can also track the Tahrir here.
BREAKING NEWS For immediate release, November 2, 2011 Contact: In New York: Felice Gelman, 917-912-2597, 917 679 8343 At sea: phone numbers will be released when you call the above press contact TWO BOATS WITH PASSENGERS FROM 5 COUNTRIES (INCLUDING THE U.S.) HAVE SET SAIL TO GAZA Organizers say: “It is time to lift the…
Call Secretary Hillary Clinton at the State Department: 202-647-5291 Call the White House: 202-456-1414 Talking Points: – Gaza has been under siege since mid-2006, depriving 1.6 million people of their liberty and basic human rights. – Although the siege has been condemned by the United Nations, the Red Cross, and many national governments as in…