"locked in" in the european parliament : AOL Video feed

Re_Acciona

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:44:19 -0500

Experience Re_ in a way you’ve never seen before. Re_ is an attitude. A call to action to begin the thousand actions we need to do together. And to do it now. http://re.acciona.com

Havel’s democracy speech wins warm EP ovation

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:53:16 -0500

Czech former president and dissident Vaclav Havel has delivered an ode to solidarity and universal human dignity in the European Parliament. He was invited to speak at a special session commemorating the political changes which swept Europe 20 years ago. He examined the effects on his country of the decades under communism. He talked of the teething pains of democracy, appealed for indulgence and expounded on sovereignty and identity: “Just because I am a European does not mean I cease to be a Czech. On the contrary, as a Czech I am also a European. I say, somewhat poetically I admit, that Europe is the homeland of all our homelands.” Before Havel’s more than half-hour speech, touching on numerous themes, a short film was projected. It illustrated the wave of revolutions with which the year of the fall of the Berlin Wall climaxed. Barely three weeks after the Wall came down, in the playwright-rebel’s own Czechoslovakia, the communist regime ceded power bloodlessly, and Havel, once the political jailbird, was democratically elected to be the head of state. Copyright © 2009 euronews tags: Czech Republic, EU Parliament

Anti-fascist protesters target BBC

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:10:04 -0400

EDITOR’S NOTE: CONTAINS STRONG LANGUAGE

Vaclav Klaus Receives EU Parliament Chief on Lisbon Treaty

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 17:53:04 -0400

Czech President Vaclav Klaus held a brief meeting on Friday with Jerzy Buzek, President of the European Parliament, to discuss his reluctance to sign off on the Lisbon Treaty that is to shape the way the 27 member states of the European Union will cooperate.

Itailian MEP denounces influence of Bilderberg and Trilateral Commission in EU nominations

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:09:45 -0500

Mario Borghezio, an Italian member of European Parliament questioned the nominations of Bilderberg and Trilateral attendees and cohorts for the posts of EU President and EU foreign minister. Is it possible, Borghezio asked, that no one has noticed that all 3 frequently attended the Bilderberg or Trilateral meetings? I believe we need to apply the principles of transparency, so often mentioned here in our institutions. We need to establish clearly whether these are the candidates of their own ...

Buy American And Hire American Policies Will Backfire

Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:29:05 -0400

Experts on both sides share their thoughts of the issue to sway a live audience and they vote at the beginning and the end. (The Trade)

Take the European Route of Roma Culture and Heritage!

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:08:32 -0400

The story of Europe’s Roma people is a road movie, criss-crossing Europe since their arrival from India hundreds of years ago, but their story is also one of persecution and discrimination, exclusion and poverty, and that continues today. However in eastern Slovenia local people, Roma and non-Roma, have embarked on a project to break down the wall of ignorance that separates Roma from mainstream society. The Roma settlement of Kamenci in the region of Prekmurje is the launchpad for an innovative project supported by the Council of Europe, the continent’s human rights watchdog. It is called the European Route of Roma Culture and Heritage, an international network of tourist sites to encourage direct people-to-people contact between Roma and non-Roma. It was launched here during Slovenia’s chairmanship of the Council of Europe, but it has a specifically European dimension, as the head of the Slovenian government’s office of national minorities Stanko Baluh explains: “We are still facing certain stereotypes of Roma, and I would even state that the Slovenian way of thinking is very narrow. So this particular example here in Prekmurje shows that we have to broaden our way of thinking, we have to go over borders and we can get together with the friendly states around us. We can take certain steps forward, even towards the Roma community.” Music and dance are central to the Roma culture, and over the centuries it has inspired Europe’s classical and popular composers, becoming an important part of Europe’s cultural development. This project sees Roma culture not only as something to be celebrated in its own right, but a way of demystifying Roma people and challenging many of the misapprehensions about them. Among the guests at this event is a Roma journalist, Jake Bowers from the UK: “My hope is that this route literally diverts people to meet Europe’s largest ethnic minority. All Europeans know about gypsy people, they see them at the side of the road, they see them in camps, they hear about us in fiction and in films, yet they don’t know us. So if this road can literally bring them to people’s front doors, then they will start to understand us.” The European Route of Roma Culture and Heritage launch followed a conference in nearby Lendava. Roma people and representatives of organisations working with them gathered to discuss the project’s ideas, sharing their experiences of Roma cultural initiatives all across Europe. Irena Guidikova is the Council of Europe official responsible for the project’s development. She explains where the idea first came from: “There is a 20-year-old programme of the Council of Europe called ‘Council of Europe cultural routes’ and it has always been considered a very effective way of raising awareness about the unity of Europe, the fundamental cultural unity of Europe. So we thought that because there is a big issue with achieving, with managing, Roma inclusion through exclusively social or educational or political measures, it seemed appropriate to work on the deep-rooted attitudes of the majority about Roma people through establishing direct links between Roma and non-Roma.” The conference venue also hosted an exhibition of photographs depicting scenes from Roma communities. Photographer Nino Pušija discovered only recently that he has Roma roots. He has been chronicling the lives of Roma people for nearly 20 years. His interest developed when he suddenly found himself living alongside Roma people, at a moment when social barriers had temporarily broken down: “My inspiration was in the beginning of the 90s, when the war broke out in the former Yugoslavia. The Roma people were together with other refugees, on the run, getting away. And at that time I noticed that they were very different from other refugees. They have another view of life, they have another vision of communication, they have another culture. And at that time I was with them on their way because I was also a refugee at that time.” Slovenia is just one stop on the Roma route, which links various important Roma cultural locations around Europe. The hope is that tourists will visit them and come to learn more about Roma people. But the project also emphasises the importance of challenging prejudices by raising awareness among young people. Slovenian rap stars Murat and Jose are ambassadors for two high-profile anti-discrimination campaigns in their country, and they have lent their support to this campaign too: “I think that younger people are much more open to diversity. Even us with our music, we have had, I can say, some success in this area. People who listen to it became more aware of what’s going on, and I think things are starting to get better because of what we do.” The Council of Europe cannot go it alone in the battle against Roma exclusion. The European Parliament has long supported and helped to coordinate initiatives aimed at combating discrimination against Roma people and promoting their inclusion. One of the MEPs most active in this respect is Lívia Járóka from Hungary, of Roma extraction herself: “When knowledge is there, when real knowledge is shown about the Roma, when there is first-hand experience between groups and individuals – most importantly – then it’s so obvious that we belong together.” Back in Kamenci, the European route of Roma culture and heritage is officially launched with the help of the village chief, Ludvik Levaĉiĉ. Already this settlement has begun receiving regular visits from small groups of tourists, a development that is beginning to change the preconceptions not only of those tourists, but the Roma people’s neighbours as well: “Let me tell you this: before, people used to think about us in a very negative way. But what they see now makes Roma people all across Slovenia feel very proud. The local community is also very proud of what’s going on here. The most popular tourist site in the area in now our Roma settlement here in Kamenci.” The launch of the Roma Route has been a resounding success, but the Council of Europe and its partners can only do so much. The momentum for change must come from Roma communities themselves. This initiative suggests that using culture as a way of breaking down traditional barriers between Roma and non-Roma can be a compelling way to help Roma people help themselves. Copyright © 2009 euronews tags: Europe, Society

Giulietto Chiesa Ex Member of the EU Parliament at the Vers La Vérité ,Paris 2009.

Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:22:27 -0400

Giulietto Chiesa Ex Member of the EU Parliament at the Vers La Vérité ,Paris 2009. Giulietto Chiesa is a Ex Member of the European Parliament and is producer of ZERO: An Investigation Into 9/11 zero911movie.com We Are Change Holland was at the Vers La Vérité 2009 in Paris. Its was a great pleasure to meet all the other people of the Global movement for Truth. We had the a great time and made some good connection. We wood like to thank Annie Machon and Debora Blake for organizing the event ...