November 29, 07 Distributions

Bush Welcomes Representatives to Annapolis Conference

STATEMENT BY THE PRESIDENT

I am pleased to welcome Prime Minister Olmert, President Abbas, and representatives of more than forty countries to the United States for the November 27 Annapolis Conference. The broad attendance at this conference by regional states and other key international participants demonstrates the international resolve to seize this important opportunity to advance freedom and peace in the Middle East.  (Read more)

Historic Annapolis, Maryland, Hosts Middle East Peace Meeting

The scenic, waterfront city of Annapolis -- a historic Colonial town and state capital of Maryland -- is the site of a Middle East peace meeting November 26-28.  The meeting will associate Annapolis with other Maryland locations, near Washington, that have hosted U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations. The best known is the presidential retreat at Camp David, in the Catoctin Mountains, but another is the Wye River Conference Center on Chesapeake Bay, where the 1998 negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority were held.  (Read more)

Transcript of Press Conference: President Bush and Palestinian Authority President Abbas at the White House

PRESIDENT BUSH:  It's good to have you back here in the Oval Office.  Thank you for coming, and thank you for working hard to implement a vision for a Palestinian state.  We want to help you.  We want there to be peace.  We want the people in the Palestinian Territories to have hope.  And we thank you for your willingness to sit down with Israel to negotiate the settlement.  The United States cannot impose our vision, but we can help facilitate.  (Read more)

Thanksgiving Prompts Americans to Help Their Communities

On Thanksgiving Day, when most Americans enjoy a holiday meal with friends and family and give thanks for the good things in their lives, many also take time to prepare and serve meals to the needy.  Others donate to food drives, work at food warehouses or deliver groceries to soup kitchens, churches and other charitable groups. "As we count our many blessings, I encourage all Americans to show their thanks by giving back," President Bush said November 19 during a speech at Berkeley Plantation in Virginia, where in 1619 English settlers offered up thanks for their safe passage across the Atlantic.  (Read more)

Innovative Firms Change Corporate, Social Landscapes

Innovative U.S. companies are transforming the business paradigm through products, services and operations that address social and environmental problems. Such companies engage voluntarily around the world in enterprises as diverse as preserving wilderness areas and providing information technology training for underprivileged populations.  Some companies view such projects as part of corporate responsibility, also known as corporate stewardship or citizenship, for the impact of their activities on stakeholders and the environment that goes beyond their statutory obligations.  (Read more)
 

Briefing by Assistant Secretary Welch on November 20 regarding the Annapolis Conference

I'm pleased to announce that on Tuesday, November 27th, the United States will host Israeli Prime Minister Olmert, President -- Palestinian Authority President Abbas, members of the Arab League Follow-on Committee, permanent members of the UN Security Council, members of the G-8 and other key international actors, for a conference in Annapolis, Maryland to take place at the U.S. Naval Academy.  This conference will signal international support for the courageous efforts of Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas and will serve as a launching point for negotiations with an eye towards establishing an Israeli and Palestinian state.  (Read more)

From an Iranian Childhood of More Work than Play, a Tycoon Rises

Iranian American wins Entrepreneur of the Year award

Were you to talk to Isaac Larian about his childhood in Iran, he would not wax nostalgic over childhood games or playthings.  In fact, he would tell you that when his friends and cousins played or went on vacation, he did "constant, hard work" helping his father run a retail textile business.  Today, Larian is president and chief executive of the largest privately held toy company in the world, MGA Entertainment, based in Van Nuys, California.  (Read more)

Palestinian Activists Hone Advocacy Skills

Palestinians traditionally value education as the way forward, so it is not surprising that the West Bank has dozens of articulate, home-grown advocacy groups.  But even the most seasoned civic activists constantly seek new strategies to communicate their message.  Recently, the U.S. Consulate General invited an experienced U.S. activist to work with local advocacy groups on communicating their message through the media as part of the United States' continuing support for democratic development in the Palestinian Territories.  (Read more)