Britons captured in Iran: Luke Porter (click here)
Age1, Luke Porter has been sailing since the age of eight. His parents, Charles and Beverly, run the Beachland Hotel near Weston Super Mare and live in a nearby village....
British sailors released: Luke Porter's family speaks of relief (click here)
With wide grins and relief etched on their faces, Charles and Beverly Porter got the call they had been waiting for shortly after 8am on Tuesday morning.
...Mr. Porter said hew did not think they would see their son until December 17: “I think he is going straight back to work, he has got a great work ethic.
“He is fit and ok and I am sure they will be put back to work.”
Both parents paid tribute to the Foreign Office Mrs Porter said: “We owe so many thanks to the Foreign Office for their hard work. We do appreciate that so much must have gone on behind the scenes.
“We are grateful to Iran for seeing it for what it was.”
Mr Porter said: “All the people involved could see it for what it was – a pure mistake.
“It appears now there was a problem with the boat – they never meant to be there.”
He joked: “I think Luke’s mother may give him a bit of a telling off…”
His wife joined in: “It may not be the first thing I say, but a close second. And maybe there won’t be so much washing to bring home as he normally does.
“We might have to have a few words about his navigational skills, maybe get him an early Christmas present and send him on a course.”
The imprisoning of any Iranian citizens due to demonstrations regarding the illegitmate vote count in the last Presidential election is a human rights violation. We have witnessed people being beaten and killed as well, as they demonstrated peacefully for a redress of the vote counting. Iran claims it had no control over the violence that occurred which caused citizens their lives. That in and of itself is of grave concern indicating Iran does not have control over its sovereignty if there are militias at work on the streets.
There is absolutely no reason for jailing any demonstrator as that is an act of oppression, especially considering there was indeed an inconsistency in the vote count. The citizens were acting peacefully within their rights of freedom of speech and it is inexcusable any harm came to them. They acted lawfully in casting votes in the first place in belief of their Constitution.
Iranian pro-reform economist jailed for nine years (click here)
Page last updated at 10:14 GMT, Wednesday, 2 December 2009
A prominent Iranian economist has been jailed for nine years for protesting over the disputed election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June, his lawyer says.
Saeed Laylaz was convicted of attending illegal gatherings and possessing classified documents by a court, Iranian media reported.
Mr Laylaz, a prominent reformist, had been critical of President Ahmadinejad's policies.
Reports say 81 people have been jailed since the protests over the polls....
In recent days President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been in in the Western Hemisphere using inflammatory rhetorical words against the USA. He has stated we are an occupying force and trouble to the global community, therefore there was need by Iran to continue its nuclear program.
Those are lies, propaganda and used to justify Iran's actions in regard to its continued escalation of its nuclear program. Those words are a very clear indication that Iran seeks not peaceful use, but, weapons use of its uranium enrichment.
A peaceful nuclear program would not in any way amount to an understanding as an enhancement to national defense. We are left to conclude by that statement alone that Iran wants a nuclear weapon arsenal.
We have witnessed this pattern many times before with Iran in order to ignore the global community and its responsibility to run a peaceful nuclear program. Iran continues to increase its enrichment practices even after agreeing to work with Russia and Europe to dismantle those facilities and receive 'energy grade' uranium in a peaceful method.
Iran rejects IAEA resolution as "illegal" - TV (click here)
Wed Dec 2, 2009 7:45am EST
TEHRAN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected on Wednesday as "illegal" a U.N. nuclear watchdog resolution over the country's disputed nuclear activities, state television reported.
Ahmadinejad also said Israel could not do a "damn thing" to stop the Islamic state's nuclear programme, which the West suspects is a front to build bombs. Iran denies the claim.
"Under pressure of a few superficially powerful countries ... the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) passed an illegal resolution against the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad said in a televised speech in the central city of Isfahan.
The IAEA passed a resolution on Friday censuring Iran for covertly constructing a second enrichment plant near the holy city of Qom, in addition to its IAEA-monitored one at Natanz, and demanding a construction halt....
Iran is completely ignoring its responsibility to its people and the international community. This is still ANOTHER nation too unstable to allow nuclear proliferation to continue.
The United Nations as well as all the party countries to the Iran issue need to approach this assault against civilization differently. Rather than simply 'disenfranchisement' of 'good will' as measures against its nuclear activities, the World Court needs to recognize its responsibility with these countries. Their sovereignty is not intact and they have very dangerous programs. They are a danger to the entire populous of the planet and they should be disarmed.
It is time to hold President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for 'crimes against humanity' in its aggressive enrichment of nuclear material while demonstrating its intention to increase the range of its missile systems. This is in direct violation of human rights laws and international treaties in 'the threat' exists when it should not. Iran is not one of the five legitimate nuclear countries in the world, THAT itself, is a human rights violation by the simple fact the leadership acts as criminals to treaties widely recognized.
Iran will enrich uranium to 20%: Ahmadinejad (click here)
By Hiedeh Farmani (AFP) – 3 hours ago
TEHRAN — A defiant President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran will itself enrich uranium up to 20 percent purity in a blow to Western efforts to stop Tehran's sensitive nuclear activities.
Ahmadinejad also said that even the Islamic republic's arch-foe Israel would be unable to do a "damn thing" about Iran's nuclear programme.
He reiterated that as far as Tehran is concerned, the nuclear issue is "over" and said the Islamic republic will "not back down from its rights."
"The Iranian nation will by itself make the 20 percent (nuclear) fuel (enriched uranium) and whatever it needs," the hardliner announced in a speech broadcast live on state television from the central city of Isfahan....
It is irresponsible of the World Court to allow such dangers to exist for the global community and needs to act to remove leaders such as President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from their seats of power to a court where they can be held responsible for threats against any other nation. To wait in anticipation of 'peaceful use of nuclear materials' with Iran is foolish when the President of that country has openly exhibited hostility and genocidal ideals toward other nations as well as demonstrating oppression of the will of the Iranian people to conduct democratic principles. Iran's intentions are obvious, it is not a stable nation and oppressive practices with its own people clearly demonstrate misuse of the authority of their laws.
Security Council
5612th Meeting (AM)
SECURITY COUNCIL IMPOSES SANCTIONS (click title to entry - thank you) ON IRAN FOR FAILURE TO HALT URANIUM ENRICHMENT, UNANIMOUSLY ADOPTING RESOLUTION 1737 (2006)
Measures Will Be Lifted if Iran Suspends Suspect Activities;
Report Due from Atomic Energy Agency on Compliance within 60 Days
Determined to give effect to its unmet 31 July demand that Iran suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities, the Security Council today imposed sanctions on that country, blocking the import or export of sensitive nuclear materiel and equipment and freezing the financial assets of persons or entities supporting its proliferation sensitive nuclear activities or the development of nuclear-weapon delivery systems.
This has gone on too long with no demonstration by Iran to comply with the global community. Iran is making fools of everyone in definance of 'reasonable' requests with formal proceedings recognized globally as legitimate. It is time to indict the authorities in the Iranian government responsible for the threats to the global community.
In this case, words are not benign, they are indications of hate and intentions to kill. It will be too late when Iran covertly assembles it's missiles and kills millions of people in a single act of hatred.
Pre-empting a nation like Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a responsible act by the World Courts. It is a methodology that maintains peace while denying 'economic war strategies' from taking place as witnessed in recent years with Iraq. When seats of power are held responsible for their escalation of danger to humanity in irresponsible and oppressive policies, the world will be a far better place and diplomacy will have deeper meaning.
