#Street Photography #Echo Craft #Yarn Bomb##

#streetphotography #echo craft #yarn bomb #art installation

#Chinese

Woody's been hit we don't think he's gunna make it!!!!!!!!!!!

Iran "We have no discussions with the United States. But we're having a phone call with the UN!"

   Yesterday Gawker and The New York Times ran stories claiming that The United States and Iran would finally be having peace talks. Even the illustrious Time cited this in an online article. This is how Gawker told it;

"Iranian officials have insisted that the talks wait until after the presidential election, a senior administration official said, telling their American counterparts that they want to know with whom they would be negotiating.
News of the agreement — a result of intense, secret exchanges between American and Iranian officials that date almost to the beginning of President Obama's term — comes at a critical moment in the presidential contest, just two weeks before Election Day and the weekend before the final debate, which is to focus on national security and foreign policy."

Sound pretty convincing doesn't it?...Sounds like a "Obama administration official" had decided he needed to pump his ego by bullshitting major news outlets.... Because today the Obama administration came out and said "It's not true that the United States and Iran have agreed to one-on-one talks or any other meetings after the American elections." This was from Tommy Vietor, a White House spokesman! Meanwhile an Iranian spokesman, Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said "We have no discussions with the United States.

Sounds like time to be concerned to me. Especially when you consider that the French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius said in a radio interview that Iran will have "the ability to go toward possession of the nuclear weapon by the end of the first half of the next year"

Iran claims to be focused on the existing framework for negotiations with the UN P5+1 group of nations. This is the five permanent UN Security Council members and Germany.

In The Tehran Times today it was reported that;

"Ali Baqeri, the deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), made the announcement during a speech at the University of Tehran on Monday. 

“Today, they, the office of Ms. (Helga) Schmid contacted me for a telephone conversation with me, and we are scheduled to hold a telephone conversation today or tomorrow,” he stated. 

Baqeri is the deputy of SNSC Secretary Saeed Jalili, who is Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator, and Helga Schmid is the deputy secretary general for political affairs of the European External Action Service. 

Schmid is regarded as the deputy of European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who represents the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany) in nuclear negotiations with Iran."

The latest round of high-level talks between Iran and the six major powers was held in Moscow on June 18 and 19.

Baqeri claims the only delay in the talks with the UN has been the fact that "We have presented them our proposals, but they have not replied yet.” 

Some #Streetphotography & #DogsOfEngland

Nice pair! #Broad St #Leominster #Streetphotography

Into the light #Aldi #Leominster #Streetphotography

Busker #DogsOfEngland #CornSquare #Leominster #Streetphotography

Yes! I am your getaway driver! #DogsOfEngland  #Leominster #Streetphotography

More from Dave in Palestine

This street is only for Jewish people!! #Palestine #Apartheid (Copyright David Bland)

(Copyright David Bland)

  Another update from Dave Bland in Palestine:

   Today we went on a visit to Hebron whilst the West Bank voted iin town council elections. Traffic was mad as lots if people went out to vote.

    The old city of Hebron is overshadowed by a small (do I need to still add the word illegal) Jewish settlement that takes the upper stories of the market area. 400 settlers are 'protected' by 2000 troops. The local Palestinian population and tourists have to run the gauntlet as the settlers throw rubbish, stones, beer, urine and worse onto the market streets below. In some areas nets have been rigged up similar to victorian prisons.

#Hebron - Jewish settlers throw all sorts to the street below to attemp to drive out Palestinians.(Copyright David Bland)

    We visited the mosque and had lunch with a Palestinian family whose shop is in the area controlled by the army. We were able to explore the area but our Palestinian guide could not. Two British Muslims in our group were verbally abused by the settlers. We visited a kafhir factory and a glass blowing workshop. Tonight's lecture is to be given by an Israeli professor, but her son is on the boat attempting to break the blockade of Gaza, so she may need to stay near the phone.

    Tomorrow is our last day picking before we come home on Monday. Time to begin working out what the next step is, what to tell people and what to risk packing in my bags. I don't want what I bring through the airport to reduce my chances of being let in next time.

   

Just a bit of #Streetphotography...

David's Update from Palestine

#WestBank #SeperationWall #Palestine (Copyright David Bland)

#WestBank #SeperationWall #Palestine (Copyright David Bland)

David Bland's update from Palestine today:
"Better day today. A bit cooler. We helped a family close to Bethlehem with their olive harvest. Much of the local agricultural land had been taken over by an illegal Israeli settlement. This farmer had been denied access to his land for 5 years, but now he can farm his land again. His trees are regularly attacked by the adjacent settlers, 120 times in the last 3 years. Once the apartheid wall is complete he may again loose access to his land.

"This afternoon we had a talk about the geopolitical situation. The apartheid wall is annexing large parts of the West Bank onto the Israeli side. The wall is supposed to be for security, but vehicles passing checkpoints are rarely ever stopped. It would be easy for someone to mount an attack from the West Bank, but it doesn't happen. The wall is just a tool for gaining an additional 12% of the west bank as Israeli territory, making life so bad for residents that they choose to leave. There is a term for this - it is ethnic cleansing."

David Bland from #MessyChurch in #Palestine

#WestBank #SeperationWall #Palestine (Copyright;David Bland)

David Bland who helps run the Messy Church group in Leominster's Priory Church is travelling in Palestine during this week and next. Here is what he had to say about the situation in Palestine last night;

   "After todays tours of Jerusalem and the surrounding settlements I am left feeling completely overwhelmed by the extent and scale of the persecution of the palestinians. To call it apartheid is not strong enough. The inequality of the state of Israel is too great to grasp even when you are here. It is hard to believe that the world is not protesting loudly.

I wrote the above before we visited a bedouin camp outside Jerusalem, which left me in tears.

The bedouin have nowhere legal they can reside, although they have been where they are since soon after they became refugees in 1951. They have recently built a school for their children as the official school for them was 20k walk away. It is threatened with demolition.

The older boys help with herds. From time to time, most recently 3 months ago, the israeli army (IDF) leave toys rigged with explosives in the fields... The latest victim is in hospital in Jordan. I will show you the exact location when I get back. It is in the west bank on the palestinian side of the 1948 armistice line, on the palestinian side of the oslo agreement line. The actions of the IDF appear to be war crimes and are probably crimes against humanity. But the world is almost silent.

Sorry about the grim dispatch but it IS pretty grim here."

"HELLLOOO" One of David Bland's catchphrases, his way of making sure he has everybodies attention when he is speaking.

To see more of David's pictures from Palestine follow the link;  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10151070808696906.425407.681821905&type=1&l=53be129f48  

 I shall update this post when we hear from David again. Good luck and keep up the good work Dave!

#SchoolRun #Streetphotography

Just some #streetphotography  taken while doing the morning school run. Like Tim Page said "If you are a photographer and you are not carrying your camera, what the FUCK are you doing?"

#MessyChurch #PrioryChurch #Leominster #Photophilanthropy

   Recently a large percentage of my work has been Photophilanthropy. These are some images taken at a church group I am currently documenting. It is called Messy Church, based in Leominster's Priory Church it runs each month. Messy Church is run by an amazing couple David and Kathy Bland, aided by members of the Priory Church community. They provide arts and crafts for the children with a religious theme, tell stories, sing songs and at the end of the evening food is provided for everybody. To find out more about what they do check out their Facebook page by following the link below.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/283384545055229/

#Dogs Of England #StreetPhotography

#Dogs Of England #StreetPhotography