He recently announced he will support only pro-choice judges to the Supreme Court.
'When I see the columns of smoke rising over Gaza, I now have personal memories of the people and the place. I remember walking past Israeli tanks in Beit Hanoun on the way to Gaza City and seeing the hovels that people live in. I remember Gaza City - how beautiful the sea is, how wonderful the fish is and how warm the people are.'
This extract is taken from the latest online diary entry or 'blog' by Caitlin Williams, one of eight interns who are working this summer with partner organizations of the Advocacy Project (AP). Ms. Williams is working with Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND), an AP partner in the Palestinian territories that promotes non-violent resistance to occupation. In her latest report she also describes her feelings at the latest cycle of violence that has followed the relaunch of the Middle East peace process, or Road Map.
In addition to the territories, AP interns are currently working in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Czech Republic, Italy, Nigeria, Nepal, and Lebanon. In one of the most innovative features of the program, all interns are posting regular diary entries, or 'blogs', directly onto the AP web site.
Julie Lee, who is studying for a Masters degree at Georgetown University, is working with Transnational AIDS/SIDA Prevention among Migrant Prostitutes in Europe Project (TAMPEP), an Italian organization based in Turin. In her latest entry, Ms. Lee describes accompanying the TAMPEP 'Search Unit' as it patrols the streets of Turin looking for foreign sex workers, many of whom have been trafficked into prostitution:
'We had brochures for every native language that the sex workers in Turin might speak. The brochures were self-help guides on topics ranging from the prevention of HIV/AIDS and other STDs, to protection against violent clients, to instructions on the use of condoms. The little kits consisted of items for the practice of safer sex. Our first encounter was with an Albanian woman by the side of a major road...'
* The latest entries from the interns can all be found by visiting the following address, and clicking on individual projects: http://www.advocacynet.org/campaigns.html
* For more information about the internship program contact Richard Blane: richard@advocacynet.org. Visit the AP web site www.advocacynet.org or contact us by phone at +1 202 332 3900 (Washington DC). ##