Following the money in policy discussions in Washington.

(Ignore the bloke wandering around the back between 0:04 and 0:11.)

(Ignore the bloke standing against the wall at 0:44.)

"If there is impunity for police who beat up a citizen who works for an international organization in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and despite formal complaints, it’s clear how vulnerable ordinary citizens are."

An extraordinary cultural event.

MEPs rejected the deal in its current form by 326 votes to 296 on Wednesday, which will lead to its immediate suspension. They voted instead for a new protocol that is economically, ecologically and socially sustainable, and that fully respects international law. Back in Laayoune, Ismaili Mohamed Barek, 34, had been hoping for such an outcome. He …

Human rights v national interests!

"European Parliament's Development and Budget Committee both adopted an opinion calling on Parliament to reject the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement."

Well-known human rights organisation has some gaps in its coverage...

#fb

"Bardem told reporters that France, Spain and the United States were helping Morocco to block efforts to hold a self-determination referendum"

When it first came up in 2005, only Sweden voted against; when the renewal process began in February this year, five states refused to support it; that number has now risen to seven. And it still has to clear the European Parliament.

"Study finds that deal is not cost-effective and that agreement could break international law."

"The EU has paid too high a price to support its fishing fleet," said the 112-page report for the EU Commission.

...the Saharawi have no ties whatsoever to al Qaeda or terrorism. [The] claim that Saharawi are fighting for Gadhafi are equally baseless.

"A controversial fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and Morocco has provided very poor returns to the European tax payer, and failed to bring about tangible benefits in the north African country, according to a report sponsored by the European Commission."

Seemingly oblivious to the democratic fervour sweeping across the Middle East and the Maghreb, the European Union has moved to prop up another autocratic and corrupt regime to the south of the Mediterranean – that of King Mohammed VI of Morocco.

"The Spanish government, and Minister Aguilar in particular, are effectively choosing plunder over principle, and tarnishing the EU’s reputation worldwide. "

"They explained that we, as foreigners, are not allowed to speak with the local population. The more we asked about why that is not allowed, the angrier the police got."

"A less-than-accurate narrative is saleable as long as those to whom it is sold don’t discover that it is little more than fiction. Controlling the narrative becomes even more important when few Americans are familiar with the facts. "

Crisis in the desert

...In 1991 a ceasefire was declared, and under the terms of a UN agreement a referendum for self-determination was promised. Nineteen years later, the native Saharawi are still awaiting that referendum.

Isn't there something rotten about how Europe throws a pittance at the poor, while it empties the seas of their homeland?