STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/22 24 June 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) JOHN PILGER JOINS NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE 2) ANOTHER LIEUTENANT SAYS NO TO WAR 3) SEPTEMBER 23: GET YOUR LEAFLETS 4) AN 'EMBEDDED' REPORTER CHANGES HIS TUNE 5) AFGHANISTAN: NO LONGER THE FORGOTTEN WAR

*************************************** 1) JOHN PILGER JOINS NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 7.30PM ST JAMES CHURCH, 197 PICCADILLY LONDON, W1J 9LL Writer John Pilger is the latest addition to A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE on Wednesday 28 June for Flight-Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith, now serving an eight month sentence in Cheltenham Prison for refusing to fight an illegal war in Iraq. (SEE http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx)

Tickets are still available for this unmissable event which aims to raise funds to help pay the �20,000 legal costs imposed on Malcolm. People are coming from all over the country, so moved have they been Malcolm's refusal to be deployed to Iraq, the first serving officer to do so.

A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE will be introduced by Tony Benn. Appearing with John Pilger, will be comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, film director Ken Loach, playwrights David Edgar and Caryl Churchill, actors Simon Callow and Janet Suzman, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and many others from film, stage, television and politics.

BUYING TICKETS: Online booking is available at http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx. Tickets can also be bought by debit/credit card: telephone 020 7278 6694.

DONATE: For those who can't make A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE, donations to the Malcolm Kendall-Smith fund can also be made by telephoning 020 7278 6694 or by cheques made payable to 'Stop the War Coalition' and sent to Stop the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP (Please write MKS on the back of cheques.)

WRITE TO MALCOLM: You can write to Malcolm, sending messages of support, to: Malcolm Kendall-Smith, HMP Chelmsford 200 Springfield Road CHELMSFORD CM2 6LQ

SIGN THE PETITION: You can sign the Sign the Free Malcolm Kendall-Smith petition here: http://www.mfaw.org.uk/.

NOTE 1: KEN LOACH'S film THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY, which won the Cannes Film Festival Best Film award, is now on release in the UK. The film describes the early days of the IRA in the 1920s but is also a critique of the US-led invasion of Iraq. "Maybe if we tell the truth about the past, maybe we tell the truth about the present," Ken says. "Our film is a little, a very little step in the British confronting their imperialist history." He has faced a series of vitriolic attacks by several right-wing tabloids. The Sun said the film had a plot �designed to drag the reputation of our nation through the mud�. TO READ KEN LOACH'S REPLY TO THESE ATTACKS GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/h4gcw

NOTE 2: JOHN PILGER'S new book is FREEDOM NEXT TIME, which reviewer Mark Curtis says, "allows us to hear the personal testimonies of those challenging power. The array of interviews with the voiceless and abused provides an indispensable corrective to the litany of disinformation we are fed by the media, and for this achievement Pilger is surely the most outstanding journalist in the world today." TO READ THE FULL REVIEW GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/mcog7

*************************************** 2) ANOTHER LIEUTENANT SAYS NO TO WAR America now has its Malcolm Kendall-Smith. Lieutenant Ehren Watada has become the first commissioned officer to publicly refuse deployment to the illegal war in Iraq. He has been confined to base and had a gag order imposed on him. As with Malcolm Kendall-Smith, Ehren's integrity and courage have generated a groundswell of support across the country. For more information and to see a video in which Lieutenant Watada explains his reasons for refusing to serve, go to the website set up by his supporters: http://www.thankyoult.org/

*************************************** 3) SEPTEMBER 23: GET YOUR LEAFLETS 70,000 leaflets publicising the Time to Go national demonstration in Manchester on 23 September have been distributed in the last week alone. Timed for the beginning of the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, the demonstration calls for Troops Out of Iraq and No Attack on Iran.

All over the country local Stop the War groups and peace organisations are planning public meetings, street stalls, press conferences etc, and booking coaches to ensure that we mobilise a massive demonstration in Manchester. Many individuals have contacted us to ask for leaflets to distribute among friends and at work, college or school.

Order your leaflets now from the Stop the War national office. We will have stickers, posters and a specially designed Time to Go T-shirt available very soon. MORE DETAILS HERE: http://tinyurl.com/k7jhz

*************************************** 4) AN 'EMBEDDED' REPORTER CHANGES HIS TUNE Some reporters who were formerly "embedded" in the Pentagon's spin machine have woken up to the scale of the catastrophe in Iraq. Bill Neely, ITN's Chief international editor, has recently broadcast two devastating reports from Basra's main hospital, showing how limbs which could be saved have to be amputated for lack of standard medical supplies, how children die from easily preventable diseases, how there has been no treatment available for cancer patients for three years. And all of this in Basra, Iraq's second city, supposedly controlled by the British army and not so long ago portrayed by Bush and Blair as calm and orderly, in contrast to the rest of Iraq. TO SEE ONE OF NEELY'S REPORTS: http://tinyurl.com/fxt6v

*************************************** 5) AFGHANISTAN: NO LONGER THE FORGOTTEN WAR The forgotten war in Afghanistan is now very much back on the political agenda. It was this war which prompted the creation of the Stop the War Coalition five years ago. Since then Afghanistan has been either ignored or presented as a picture of progress towards normality and democracy. When Bush visited in March 2006 for a few hours, he said everything was going brilliantly.

Now reality has forced Afghanistan back into the headlines. In the last three months the US has dropped 340 bombs on the country, twice the number it used in Iraq over the same period. Even Karzai, Afghanistan's puppet prime minister, whose every movement is guarded by American security guards, has said the killing of hundreds of Afghans by US forces over the past few weeks is "unnaceptable". We can in the coming months expect ever more death and devastation to be inflicted by Bush and Blair on the country which in 2001 they promised to bring only "reconstruction", "freedom" and "democracy". READ MORE: AFGHANISTAN IN CRISIS: http://tinyurl.com/qz7ge READ MORE: AFGHANISTAN ON THE BRINK: http://tinyurl.com/ppaot -- To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/21 20 June 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) COUNTDOWN TO 23 SEPTEMBER 2) A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE: GET YOUR TICKET NOW 3) CONFERENCE REPORT

*************************************** 1) COUNTDOWN TO 23 SEPTEMBER TIME TO GO: SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1PM TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ. DON'T ATTACK IRAN. LABOUR PARTY ANNUAL CONFERENCE, MANCHESTER

The TIME TO GO demonstration in Manchester on 23 September will be one of the most important we have organised . It is timed for the start of the Labour Party annual conference, which is being held in Manchester. It will coincide with a peace camp in the city organised by Military Families Against the War, whose activities have been so significant in bringing home the realities of Blair's illegal war (see http://www.mfaw.org.uk/)

There is now a concerted spin exercise by Bush and Blair to hide the horrific reality of Iraq under US/UK occupation. In truth, the killing and the chaos in Iraq is intensifying and major military operations in Ramadi, Baghdad and elsewhere are already adding to the carnage and the generalised suffering of the Iraqi people.

Building support for the September 23 TIME TO GO demonstration should be the priority of everyone who wants to contribute to ending this war. Anti-war protestors are coming from all corners of Britain to ensure that Tony Blair can't use his speech at the Labour Party conference to peddle the lie that "progress" is being made in Iraq.

WHAT WE CAN DO:

LOCAL STOP THE WAR AND PEACE GROUPS Build support for the demonstration throughout the Summer with: - Public meetings - Street stalls - Visits to workplaces, community centres, mosques, churches etc - Press conferences at which local MPs, councillors, trade union officials, celebrities give their support to the demo (send details of supporters to the StWC national office) - The widest possible distribution of leaflets, stickers etc (available now from the Stop the War office)

Encourage new people to get actively involved in the anti-war movement. Think of imaginative ways to raise the profile of the demonstration. One group is already planning a feeder MARCH FOR PEACE across the Pennines to join the demo in Manchester.

Book coaches now. The Stop the War office is already getting requests for information about transport. This shouldn't be left to the last minute. The selling of seat tickets should start immediately. No one should be able to say they weren't at the demonstration because they didn't have transport. Groups in the same area should plan the co-ordination of pickup points for people living in outlying districts.

TRADE UNIONS Fourteen national trade unions are affiliated to Stop the War (see http://tinyurl.com/ofdzk). Dozens of local trade union branches and local trade union councils are also affiliated. Local trade unionists should: - Get union branches to vote support for the TIME TO GO demonstration. This is already happening in Manchester, where the NUJ, TGWU and City College UCU have all voted to support. - Get local union branches and trades councils to circulate the demonstration details to all their members and to hold meetings on the Iraq war. - Visit workplaces with leaflets

INDIVIDUALS Everyone one of us can plan now to be in Manchester on 23 September and encourage our families, friends, work colleagues, fellow college and school students etc to join the TIME TO GO demonstration. If you want to get involved in a local Stop the War or peace group, contact the national StWC office for details of the nearest group to where you live or study. If there is no group near you, consider starting one with your friends. You will be surprised at the positive response you get. A regular Saturday street stall is a good place to start. The StWC national office will help with resources and advice. Telephone 020 7278 6694 or email office@stopwar.org.uk.

NEED PERSUADING IT'S TIME TO GO? If you're not convinced that it's time for all foreign troops to leave Iraq and time for the Iraqi people to be free to decide for themselves how their country should be governed, here is an article describing the reality of what the Bush/Blair invasion has brought to Iraq: http://tinyurl.com/l8rqf

TIME TO GO: SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1PM TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ. DON'T ATTACK IRAN. LABOUR PARTY ANNUAL CONFERENCE, MANCHESTER Spread the word. Book the coaches. Get the leaflets.

Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

*************************************** 2) A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE: GET YOUR TICKET NOW In America, First Lieut. Ehren Watada has become the US Army's first commissioned officer to publicly refuse orders to fight in Iraq on the same grounds that it is an illegal war (see http://tinyurl.com/mtdje). He is following the example of Malcolm Kendall-Smith, the British RAF office who is in prison because he refused to return to Iraq for the same reason (see http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx).

On Wednesday28 June, you can join many well known contributors from film, stage, television and politics at a London benefit to express solidarity with Malcolm Kendall-Smith and to raise funds to help pay his �20,000 legal costs.

Among those appearing are Comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, actress Janet Suzman, film director Ken Loach, playwrights Caryl Churchill and David Edgar, musician Ed Harcourt and fashion designer Vivienne Westwood.

If you live in the London area or beyond (people are travelling from as far as Birmingham and Cornwall), don't miss this opportunity to give voice and practical support to Malcolm for his courage and integrity, which has inspired so many in the anti-war movement.

WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 7.30PM: A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE INTODUCED BY TONY BENN ST. JAMES CHURCH 197 PICCADILLY LONDON, W1J 9LL

Tickets are �15. Full details and online booking are available on the Stop the War website, here: http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx. If you want to book by debit/credit card phone 020 7278 6694. To book by post send a cheque made payable to 'Stop the War Coalition' to Stop the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP

If you are unable to attend, please donate to the fund to help pay Malcolm's legal costs. Contact the Stop the War office to make a donation.

*************************************** 3) STOP THE WAR CONFERENCE REPORT The Stop the War fifth annual national conference was the biggest and most widely representative since before the Iraq invasion, an indication that the anti-war feeling in Britain is as strong as ever, particularly with the ever deepening Iraq crisis and the threat of future wars in Iran and elsewhere. A conference report, details of the resolutions passed and the delegates elected to the Stop the War national steering committee are available on our website, here: http://tinyurl.com/r2z7b

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No 2006/14: June 8 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web www.stopwar.org.uk

************************************************* IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) YET ANOTHER TURNING POINT IN IRAQ 2) DON'T MISS BIGGEST StWC CONFERENCE YET 3) AMERICA HAS ITS FIRST MALCOLM KENDAL-SMITH

************************************************* 1) YET ANOTHER TURNING POINT IN IRAQ Our previous newsletters have cited the never-ending list of 'turning points' for Iraq announced by George Bush and Tony Blair. Now we have the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to add to the list. The anti-war movement will not feel sorry in any way over Zarqawi's death. While we have always defended the right of Iraqis under international law to resist the US and British occupation of their country, we have never supported the use of tactics which target innocent Iraqi civilians, or the kidnapping of aid workers such as Margaret Hassan, or the murder of journalists who have died in record numbers trying to report the realities of life in Iraq since the war in 2003.

Zarqawi and his terrorism were a consequence of the illegal invasion of Iraq. As were the 1,400 deaths by violent means recorded in May 2006 by Baghdad's central morgue alone. As were the numerous atrocities committed by the US military, the names of which are engraved for ever in history: Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Tal Afar, Haditha and many more. As are the countless deathless of Iraqi civilians who have died because US troops at checkpoints have orders to shoot first and ask questions afterwards, one of the latest victims being a pregnant women on her way to hospital to give birth. As are the countless deaths of children now suffering levels of malnutrition never before experienced in Iraq.

Zaqawi's death will no more be a turning point for Iraq than any of the "new beginnings" proclaimed by Bush and Blair, because the chaos, destruction and slaughter in Iraq can only end when their source is removed � i.e. when all the occupying troops leave Iraq and Iraqis are free to decide for themselves how they want their country to be governed.

************************************************* 2) DON'T MISS BIGGEST StWC CONFERENCE YET Registrations for the Stop the War Coalition's fifth annual conference in London on Saturday 10 June have far outstripped expectation and the conference will be the largest in the five years since Stop the War was first formed. Delegates and individuals are coming to the conference from all corners of the UK and from Ireland.

Although registrations for delegates representing organisations affiliated to Stop the War have now closed, we are accepting registrations on the day of the conference from individuals. The conference is open to all, and both members and non-members of Stop the War are welcome. Full details of the conference, including the agenda, workshops, speakers and resolutions are available on our website: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

The speakers include Tony Benn, Craig Murray, MEP Caroline Lucas, Iraqis Sami Ramadani and Sabah Jawad, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway, renowned writer on the Middle East Dilip Hiro, Iranian Elaheh Rostami Povey, chair of CND Kate Hudson and many more.

Among the workshops are: - Iraq Today: Democracy or Civil War? - Why Iran is Under Threat - Where Now for Palestine? - Is Latin America the Next Target? - The Forgotten Wars in Africa - Civil Liberties and Guantanamo - Military Families Against the War

The conference pack for delegates/observers will include: - A new briefing on the threatened attack on Iran, with contributions from Dilip Hiro and Paul Rogers - The latest newsletter from Media Workers Against the War, with contributions from among others, Iraqi Sami Ramadani - The leaflet announcing the national TIME TO GO demonstration in Manchester on 23 September, timed at the beginning of the Labour Party conference - Full details of the Malcolm Kendall-Smith benefit (see below)

5TH NATIONAL ANNUAL STOP THE WAR CONFERENCE SATURDAY 10 JUNE 9.30AM-7.30PM FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, EUSTON, WC1 OPEN TO ALL Details: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

************************************************* 3) AMERICA HAS ITS FIRST MALCOLM KENDAL-SMITH On 7 June U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to the unlawful Iraq war and occupation. He announced his intention to disobey the illegal order to deploy to Iraq, saying: "I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to "stay the course." � I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home." FOR MORE INFO SEE: http://tinyurl.com/zodat

British RAF Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith took the same path last year and is now serving a jail sentence for his refusal to fight an illegal war. The fundraising benefit A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE in London on Wednesday 28 June to help pay the �20,000 legal costs imposed on Malcolm is getting an extraordinary response. Tickets are going very fast for A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE, which will feature, among many others, comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, award winning film maker Ken Loach, singer Ed Harcourt, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and playwrights David Edgar and Caryl Churchill.

Malcolm's courage has so caught the admiration of people outraged at his imprisonment that they are travelling from as far as Wales and Liverpool to be at A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE. Others who cannot travel to the benefit are sending in donations. Full details of how you can buy tickets or donate to the fund to help pay Malcolm's legal costs are available on the Stop the War website, here: http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx

A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 7.30PM Benefit for Malcolm Kendall-Smith Introduced by TONY BENN ST. JAMES CHURCH, 197 PICCADILLY LONDON W1J 9LL http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx

*************************************************

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No 2006/14: June 8 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web www.stopwar.org.uk

************************************************* IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) YET ANOTHER TURNING POINT IN IRAQ 2) DON'T MISS BIGGEST StWC CONFERENCE YET 3) AMERICA HAS ITS FIRST MALCOLM KENDAL-SMITH

************************************************* 1) YET ANOTHER TURNING POINT IN IRAQ Our previous newsletters have cited the never-ending list of 'turning points' for Iraq announced by George Bush and Tony Blair. Now we have the death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi to add to the list. The anti-war movement will not feel sorry in any way over Zarqawi's death. While we have always defended the right of Iraqis under international law to resist the US and British occupation of their country, we have never supported the use of tactics which target innocent Iraqi civilians, or the kidnapping of aid workers such as Margaret Hassan, or the murder of journalists who have died in record numbers trying to report the realities of life in Iraq since the war in 2003.

Zarqawi and his terrorism were a consequence of the illegal invasion of Iraq. As were the 1,400 deaths by violent means recorded in May 2006 by Baghdad's central morgue alone. As were the numerous atrocities committed by the US military, the names of which are engraved for ever in history: Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Tal Afar, Haditha and many more. As are the countless deathless of Iraqi civilians who have died because US troops at checkpoints have orders to shoot first and ask questions afterwards, one of the latest victims being a pregnant women on her way to hospital to give birth. As are the countless deaths of children now suffering levels of malnutrition never before experienced in Iraq.

Zaqawi's death will no more be a turning point for Iraq than any of the "new beginnings" proclaimed by Bush and Blair, because the chaos, destruction and slaughter in Iraq can only end when their source is removed � i.e. when all the occupying troops leave Iraq and Iraqis are free to decide for themselves how they want their country to be governed.

************************************************* 2) DON'T MISS BIGGEST StWC CONFERENCE YET Registrations for the Stop the War Coalition's fifth annual conference in London on Saturday 10 June have far outstripped expectation and the conference will be the largest in the five years since Stop the War was first formed. Delegates and individuals are coming to the conference from all corners of the UK and from Ireland.

Although registrations for delegates representing organisations affiliated to Stop the War have now closed, we are accepting registrations on the day of the conference from individuals. The conference is open to all, and both members and non-members of Stop the War are welcome. Full details of the conference, including the agenda, workshops, speakers and resolutions are available on our website: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

The speakers include Tony Benn, Craig Murray, MEP Caroline Lucas, Iraqis Sami Ramadani and Sabah Jawad, MPs Jeremy Corbyn and George Galloway, renowned writer on the Middle East Dilip Hiro, Iranian Elaheh Rostami Povey, chair of CND Kate Hudson and many more.

Among the workshops are: - Iraq Today: Democracy or Civil War? - Why Iran is Under Threat - Where Now for Palestine? - Is Latin America the Next Target? - The Forgotten Wars in Africa - Civil Liberties and Guantanamo - Military Families Against the War

The conference pack for delegates/observers will include: - A new briefing on the threatened attack on Iran, with contributions from Dilip Hiro and Paul Rogers - The latest newsletter from Media Workers Against the War, with contributions from among others, Iraqi Sami Ramadani - The leaflet announcing the national TIME TO GO demonstration in Manchester on 23 September, timed at the beginning of the Labour Party conference - Full details of the Malcolm Kendall-Smith benefit (see below)

5TH NATIONAL ANNUAL STOP THE WAR CONFERENCE SATURDAY 10 JUNE 9.30AM-7.30PM FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE, EUSTON, WC1 OPEN TO ALL Details: http://www.stopwar.org.uk/

************************************************* 3) AMERICA HAS ITS FIRST MALCOLM KENDAL-SMITH On 7 June U.S. Army First Lieutenant Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer to refuse deployment to the unlawful Iraq war and occupation. He announced his intention to disobey the illegal order to deploy to Iraq, saying: "I refuse to be silent any longer. I refuse to watch families torn apart, while the President tells us to "stay the course." � I refuse to be party to an illegal and immoral war against people who did nothing to deserve our aggression. I wanted to be there for my fellow troops. But the best way was not to help drop artillery and cause more death and destruction. It is to help oppose this war and end it so that all soldiers can come home." FOR MORE INFO SEE: http://tinyurl.com/zodat

British RAF Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith took the same path last year and is now serving a jail sentence for his refusal to fight an illegal war. The fundraising benefit A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE in London on Wednesday 28 June to help pay the �20,000 legal costs imposed on Malcolm is getting an extraordinary response. Tickets are going very fast for A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE, which will feature, among many others, comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, award winning film maker Ken Loach, singer Ed Harcourt, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and playwrights David Edgar and Caryl Churchill.

Malcolm's courage has so caught the admiration of people outraged at his imprisonment that they are travelling from as far as Wales and Liverpool to be at A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE. Others who cannot travel to the benefit are sending in donations. Full details of how you can buy tickets or donate to the fund to help pay Malcolm's legal costs are available on the Stop the War website, here: http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx

A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 7.30PM Benefit for Malcolm Kendall-Smith Introduced by TONY BENN ST. JAMES CHURCH, 197 PICCADILLY LONDON W1J 9LL http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx

*************************************************

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No 2006/13: June 4 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web www.stopwar.org.uk

************************************************* IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) StWC CONFERENCE: STILL TIME TO REGISTER 2) WOMEN AGAINST THE WAR: BRING OUR BOYS HOME 3) SCAPEGOATS IN A BARREL FULL OF ROTTEN APPLES 4) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH BENEFIT: SELLING FAST 5) EGYPT: NUJ PROTEST MONDAY 5 JUNE

************************************************* 1) StWC CONFERENCE: STILL TIME TO REGISTER This year's annual national conference on 10 June is going to be significantly bigger than last year. Close to 150 affiliated organisations are sending up to four delegates each and there are a large number of individuals coming as observers. This reflects the widespread anger over the escalating death and destruction in Iraq, especially following recent revelations which show that massacres of Iraqi civilians by the US military are systematic (see below). Added to this is the growing concern over a possible attack on Iran, as was shown when 1000 people came to a Don't Attack Iran meeting in London last week.

The unprecedented TIME TO GO campaign, launched by wives and mothers of soldiers serving in Iraq, is another indication of this anger, as reported on the front page of the Independent on Sunday newspaper (see below).

DON'T MISS THIS IMPORTANT CONFERENCE. INDIVIDUALS CAN REGISTER EVERY DAY THIS WEEK AND AT THE CONFERENCE ON SATURDAY. (Book in advance online or by telephone. See below.)

THERE'S STILL TIME FOR DELEGATES FROM AFFILIATED ORGANISATIONS: Given the increased interest in the conference, following recent events in Iraq, we have decided to extend the deadline for delegates from affiliated organisations until 6pm on Wednesday 7 June. (Book online or by telephone. See below.)

StWC 5TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE SATURDAY 10 JUNE 9.30am � 8.00pm FRIENDS MEETING HOUSE EUSTON ROAD, LONDON WC1 Register online or by telephone: ONLINE: http://www.stopwar.org.uk TELEPHONE: 020 7278 6694

CONFERENCE AGENDA AND RESOLUTIONS: The conference agenda, up-to-date details of speakers and conference resolutions will be posted on the STOP THE WAR website early this week.

FULL DETAILS OF THE CONFERENCE ARE GIVEN HERE: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

************************************************* 2) WOMEN AGAINST THE WAR: BRING OUR BOYS HOME The military families' session at Saturday's national Stop the War conference is bound to attract a very large audience. Every week new military families are contacting Stop the War and Military Families Against the War, saying they want to get involved in the campaign to end the war and to bring the troops home.

Wives and mothers of serving soldiers have now launched an unprecedented campaign, which was announced in a four page feature in the Independent on Sunday, with the front page headline "Enough. Bring Our Boys Home". TO READ THE IOS ARTICLE GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/hhem8 TO SEE THE FRONT PAGE SPREAD GO TO: http://www.independent.co.uk/

The Independent on Sunday feature cites repeatedly the Military Families Against the War website (MFAW), where you will find the petition that the women against the war have launched. The MFAW website is an essential resource for everyone in the anti-war movement and it's where significant developments are likely to be announced in this campaign in the near future. TO KEEP INFORMED AND GET INVOLVED GO TO: http://www.mfaw.org.uk/

************************************************* 3) SCAPEGOATS IN A BARREL FULL OF ROTTEN APPLES The Bush spin machine is desperately trying to present the revelations of a series of civilian massacres in Iraq as the deeds of a few bad apples in an otherwise ethically clean US military. The problem for Bush is the mountain of evidence which shows that it's not just a few bad apples, but the whole barrel that is rotten. This will make it increasingly difficult to scapegoat a few rank and file soldiers, when it is so obvious that their commanding officers should also be in the dock for war crimes, including the supreme commander of the US military, George Bush himself.

Even the BBC, which has been most slavish is adhering to the US government line in the past, broke ranks this time, with two reports � one on Haditha and one on Ishaqi � which show beyond doubt that the US army is slaughtering civilians in cold blood. You can see both of these videos on the Stop the War Website here: http://tinyurl.com/qycf4

Nor is the Iraqi prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki -- who was recently installed after much pressure by the US ambassador to Iraq -- accepting the American interpretation of these massacres. Al-Maliki knows these are only the tip of the iceberg. He says that violence by the US military against civilians had become a "daily phenomenon", adding: "They crush them with their vehicles and kill them just on suspicion." Al-Maliki has also refused to accept the US internal investigation, which has cleared all soldiers of any wrong doing at Ishaqi, where 11 civilians were killed, including women and children. The Iraqi government is demanding an apology and compensation for the victims. READ REPORT HERE: http://tinyurl.com/qrtl7

The mainstream media may have given widespread coverage to the Haditha massacre but, as Sami Ramadani says in the latest issue of the Media Workers Against the War newsletter, "The Haditha massacre is one of countless crimes. By ignoring the mass of atrocities committed by the US/UK occupation, the media are portraying the Haditha massacre by US troops as an exception, when in fact it is the rule." READ THE MEDIA WORKERS AGAINST THE WAR NEWSLETTER HERE: http://tinyurl.com/j84tz

There are many essential articles now published on this issue, some of which can be found in the NEWS AND ANALYSIS section of the Stop the War website, here: http://tinyurl.com/kocou

The following links should also be required visits for anyone who wants to stay informed about the realities of the horrors inflicted on Iraq by the Bush/Blair invasion and occupation: ANTIWAR: http://www.antiwar.com/ INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ URUKNET http://www.uruknet.info/?p=-6 COUNTERPUNCH http://www.counterpunch.org/

************************************************* 4) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH BENEFIT: SELLING FAST If you want to be at A Night of Conscience, the benefit on Wednesday 28 June organised for Malcolm Kendall-Smith, who was given an eight month sentence for refusing to serve in Iraq, and ordered to pay �20,000 legal costs, it is advisable that you book your ticket now. Tickets are going very fast, even before the benefit has been widely publicised, and there are people coming from across the country, so widespread is the admiration for Malcolm's courage in refusing to fight an illegal war.

And this is before some high profile names have been added to the already impressive list of those appearing, who include comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, actress Janet Suzman, playwrights David Edgar and Caryl Churchill, film director Ken Loach, fresh from winning the Cannes film festival prize, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, singer Ed Harcourt and many more.

A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WEDNESDAY 28 JUNE 7.30PM ST. JAMES CHURCH PICCADILLY LONDON TICKETS �15 AVAILABLE: ONLINE: http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx BY TELEPHONE: 020 7278 6694 BY POST: Cheque made payable to 'Stop the War Coalition', sent to Stop the War Coalition, 27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP.

FULL DETAILS OF A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE: http://tinyurl.com/z5vsx

************************************************* 5) EGYPT: PROTEST MONDAY 5 JUNE George Bush has talked a lot recently about bringing "democracy" and "freedom" to the Middle East. However, he has not had a single word to say about the attacks on freedom and democracy by one of America's closest allies in the region, the virtual dictatorship in Egypt. Judges who were part of a working party monitoring parliamentary elections last year found a large amount of fraud. Two of the judges trying to highlight these violations were arrested and many thousands turned up to protest and give them support. The protestors were attacked by thousands of riot police, who sealed off access to Egypt's High Court.

Protestors who were arrested have been tortured, and many are now on hunger strike. Now two BBC journalists trying to report for the BBC Arabic Service on the struggle for democracy and the violent suppression by the Egyptian government, have been beaten up by government thugs.

They are both members of the National Union of Journalists, which has called a demonstration on Monday 5 June, from 1200-1300, outside BBC World Service, Bush House, Aldwych, London. For further details, contact: Pierre Vicary on 0207 557 1197 or 07803 726 476.

FOR BACKGROUND TO THE ATTACKS ON DEMOCRACY PROTESTORS IN EGYPT, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/oyuad

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