STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/27 26 July 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) BUSH AND BLAIR SAY KEEP BOMBING 2) SIGN THIS LETTER TO TONY BLAIR 3) ISRAEL: A TERRORIST STATE LIKE NO OTHER 4) ISRAEL AND THE BBC 5) VOICES FOR LEBANON AND PALESTINE 6) MORE THAN EVER TIME TO GO 7) ALL PRAISE TO THE INTERNET 8) WEB DESIGNER WANTED FOR STOP THE WAR

************************************ ALL-LONDON "CEASEFIRE NOW" DEMONSTRATION END ISRAEL'S ATTACKS ON LEBANON AND GAZA STOP BLAIR'S SUPPORT OF BUSH'S WARS WHITEHALL FRIDAY 28 JULY 5PM-7PM Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, British Muslim Initiative and Lebanese community organisations

************************************ 1) BUSH AND BLAIR SAY KEEP BOMBING Israel is using cluster bombs and phosphorus bombs in Lebanon. George Bush and Tony Blair say keep bombing. Israel is deliberatly bombing fleeing convoys and ambulances. Bush and Blair say keep bombing. The United Nations says the one million Lebanese fleeing the Israeli bombardment are facing a humanitarian disaster. Bush and Blair say keep bombing. Israel, says Kofi Anan, is deliberately killing UN observers in Lebanon. Bush and Blair say keep bombing.

The world is witnessing a country, in the words of the Lebanese government, being bombed back 50 years, with over 400 Lebanese civilians killed, unknown numbers buried in the rubble of villages flattened by Israel's onslaught, Beirut now under collossal bombardment, thousands injured and without access to medical help and Lebanon's civil infrastructure completely devastated.

Nothing is escaping the Israeli bombs and missiles: hospitals, schools, power stations, mosques, residential areas, bridges, roads, airports -- all targeted as Israel turns Lebanon into a free fire zone. And this is what the commander of the Israel military calls "the most moral army in the world."

On Tuesday, as the world's fourth most powerful military bombarded over 100 Lebanese towns and villages -- the highest daily figure yet -- Condeleezza Rice stood side by side with the instigator of this barbarity, Israel's prime minister Ehud Olmert, and pronounced that we are watching the creation of "a new Middle East".

No doubt this is the same "new Middle East" we were promised when Bush and Blair invaded Iraq, where -- hidden from view for the moment by the monstrous war crimes in Lebanon -- over 100 Iraqis are being killed every day and Iraq sinks ever further into unimaginable depths of destruction and mass slaughter.

Last weekend's emergency demonstrations in hundreds of towns and cities around the world relected, in the Archbishop of Canterbury's words, "the concience of the people". From the 30,000 who protested in London to the 20,000 in Sydney, Australia -- extraordinary numbers for demonstrations called at such short notice -- the message was the same: immediate unconditional ceasfire in Lebanon and Gaza now.

Virtually all opinion polls around the world show the same "conscience of the people" calling for an immediate end to the killing and the devastation. Nearly every government in the world is saying the same.

14 British human rights, religious and aid groups, including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Save the Children, have urged Tony Blair to support calls for an immediate ceasefire.

Thousands are signing the Stop the War/CND letter to Tony Blair which will be delivered to Downing Street during the CEASEFIRE NOW demonstration this Friday 28 July (see below). But George Bush and Tony Blair say keep on bombing. Which is why all of us who are horrified by Israel's barbaric war crimes should do everything we can with the utmost urgency to add our voices to the call for Tony Blair to end his slavish obedience to George Bush, which has brought such catastrophe to the peoples of Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon, and which threatens to extend the carnage into Syria and Iran.

* SIGN THE STOP THE WAR/CND LETTER TO TONY BLAIR (SEE BELOW) * JOIN THE "CEASEFIRE NOW" PROTESTS THIS WEEKEND * CONTACT YOUR MP AND INSIST THAT HE/SHE CALLS FOR AN IMMEDIATE CEASEFIRE * GET INVOLVED IN YOUR LOCAL STOP THE WAR GROUP * FLOOD THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA WITH COMPLAINTS AND LETTERS AT ITS REFUSAL TO GIVE PROPER COVERAGE TO THE ANTI-WAR MESSAGE

ALL-LONDON "CEASEFIRE NOW" DEMONSTRATION END ISRAEL'S ATTACKS ON LEBANON AND GAZA STOP BLAIR'S SUPPORT OF BUSH'S WARS WHITEHALL FRIDAY 28 JULY 5PM-7PM Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, British Muslim Initiative and Lebanese community organisations

************************************ 1) SIGN THIS LETTER TO TONY BLAIR

DEAR PRIME MINISTER, Most people in this country are horrified at the bloodshed and destruction unfolding daily in Lebanon. There can be no justification for the conduct of the Israeli government and armed forces, which are laying waste to a country in an operation which will hugely damage the prospects for peace in the Middle East.

We are dismayed that the British government, almost alone in the world, is not calling for a ceasefire to enable the suffering to stop. This either shows a deplorable indifference to the plight of the Lebanese people or an attitude of total subservience to the foreign policy of the US administration. Either way, our country is being humiliated and our isolation from world opinion underlined once more.

We therefore call on the government to change its position and join the vast majority of the world�s states, the UN secretary-general and the Archbishop of Canterbury in calling for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in the Lebanon to save lives and prevent the destruction of that country."

ADD YOUR NAME TO THE THOUSANDS SIGNING THE STOP THE WAR/CND LETTER TO TONY BLAIR. YOU CAN DO THIS ONLINE, HERE: http://tinyurl.com/rgdwt

ENCOURAGE YOUR FRIENDS, RELATIVES, WORK COLLEAGUES, NEIGHBOURS TO SIGN THE LETTER.

************************************ 3) ISRAEL: A TERRORIST STATE LIKE NO OTHER Writing in The Independent, OREN BEN-DOR asks, Who are the real terrorists in the Middle East?

"Provoking violence, consciously or unconsciously, against which one must defend oneself is a key feature of the victim-mentality. By perpetuating such a tragic cycle, Israel is a terrorist state like no other...To sustain that mentality and to preserve an impression of victimhood among outsiders, Israel must breed conditions for violence. Whenever prospects of violence against it subside, Israel must do its utmost to regenerate them: the myth that it is a peace-seeking victim which has "no partner for peace" is a key panel in the screen with which Israel hides its primordial and continuing immorality." TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/pttbn

************************************ 4) ISRAEL AND THE BBC The Israeli government has been crowing about its success in the propaganda war, claiming that its spokespeople have had four times as much coverage in the western media as commentators criticising Israel.

The British media has plumbed new depths in the one-sided distortions of its coverage of Israel's destruction of Lebanon and Gaza, but the Israeli spin machine must see the BBC as the jewel in its crown, most of its reporting being little more that reading out press releases from the Israeli government, the White House and Downing Street. In a recent article, JONATHAN COOK, a writer and journalist based in Nazareth, Israel, writes:

Israel wants to portray Hezbollah, and its leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, as a crazed Islamic militia, as fanatical Muslims who hate Jews and Christians with equal vehemence. This is all part of Israel's claim that it is fighting George Bush's "war on terror." Predictably, the BBC obliged by regurgitating this racist nonsense. If anybody still doubts that Israel is shaping the news agenda of broadcasters like the BBC, here is as good as the proof. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/ezxky

************************************ 5) VOICES FOR LEBANON AND PALESTINE Sunday 30 July 1-3pm Trafalgar Square With celebrities, MPs, Lebanese and Palestinian community FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/glsaa

************************************ 6) MORE THAN EVER TIME TO GO With the catastrophic impact of George Bush's "war on terror" now engulfing four countries in the Middle East, and threatening at least two more, and Tony Blair proving that he is along for the ride on every stop of the Bush wars that have already slaughtered tens of thousands, the Stop the War/CND national TIME TO GO demonstration in Manchester on 23 September, on the eve of the Labour Party conference, has more significance than ever.

Coaches to bring protestors from all over Britain are now being booked. Contact the Stop the War office for information of a pickup point near you.

The Stop the War office is now taking bookings for seats on the special train that will bring protestors from London to the TIME TO GO demonstration. Tickets are �35 return. Online booking will be available very shortly. Telephone bookings can be made on 020 7278 6694. The London train tickets are on a strict first come first served basis.

Not everyone who wants to be in Manchester on 23 September can afford the price of the coach or train tickets. Local Stop the War groups are already finding that many local trade union branches, community groups, churches and mosques are willing to sponsor coach and train tickets to underwrite concessionary tickets.

The prime aim of local Stop the War groups must be that no one should say after 23 September that they were not at the demonstration because either they did not hear about it or because they couldn't afford the transport. Spread the word. Get the transport sponsors.

WE NOW HAVE "TIME TO GO" LEAFLETS, POSTERS, T-SHIRTS AND BADGES AVAILABLE FROM THE STOP THE WAR OFFICE. TEL: 020 7278 6694

HISTORICAL FOOTNOTE: The TIME TO GO demonstration will surround the GMEX arena, which is where the Labour Party conference is being held. GMEX is built on the site of St Peter's Field, where in 1819 60,000 working people gathered to demand that they have the vote, so they could have a political voice in a society which was then monopolised totally by the aristocracy. On 23 September 2006, we will be gathering at the same spot to insist that the vote that was denied to all but a small rich minority nearly 200 years ago, must now be shown to mean something in today's so-called "democracy". Tony Blair, with less than a quarter of the electorate voting for him, has taken Britain into illegal wars against the wishes of the majority of British people. He must be shown on 23 September that it is TIME TO GO from all his wars and his slavish obedience to George Bush's "war on terror".

************************************ 7) ALL PRAISE TO THE INTERNET The appalling biased coverage by the mainstream media of Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Gaza have highlighted yet again the importance of alternative sources of information and comment. The range and depth of articles now available on the internet is extraordinary. Three essential websites for everyone in the anti-war movement are: ANTIWAR: http://antiwar.com/ COUNTERPUNCH: http://www.counterpunch.org/ ZNET: http://www.zmag.org/weluser.htm

And of course for news of anti-war activity in Britain, visit the STOP THE WAR website regularly: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

************************************ 8) WEB DESIGNER WANTED FOR STOP THE WAR This year has seen a significant upturn in anti-war activity in Britain. STOP THE WAR is planning to update its website to enable it to respond more quickly to events, to publish continually updated bulletins and briefings and to provide support to local Stop the War groups, by publishing regularly updated information about local meetings, events, vigils etc. If you have the skills to help us and the commitment to offer those skills for free, please contact Robin at the Stop the War national office: Email robin@stopwar.org.uk; Tel 020 7278 6694

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/26 22 July 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) THE CONSCIENCE OF THE PEOPLE 2) ISRAEL'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY 3) HEZBOLLAH, HAMAS AND ISRAEL

************************************ 1) THE CONSCIENCE OF THE PEOPLE As Israel orders the whole population of southern lebanon to flee their homes before a full-scale invasion of Lebanon, the whole world except George Bush and Tony Blair says Israel's war crimes must stop now. Virtually every government in the world is calling for an immediate ceasefire, with the only exceptions being George Bush and his slavishly obedient servant Tony Blair. Everyone knows who the Archibishop of Canterbury was talking about when he said, ""We really do have to ask whether some western governments are catching up with the consciences of their people."

Today, 22 July 2006, that conscience of the people will be heard in emergency demonstrations all over the world. In London and other cities and towns across Britain, the protests calling for an end to Israel's crimes against humanity will say yet again to Tony Blair that his warmongering is not in the name of the British people and demand that the British government adds its voice to the call for an immediate ceasefire.

Israel is sytematically destroying two countries, Lebanon and Palestinian Gaza. None of us can stand aside in silence and watch this happen. Join the demonstrations taking place in London today and across Britain (details below), when the conscience of the British people will speak.

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION END ISRAEL'S BARBARISM NOW LONDON: SATURDAY 22 JULY

ASSEMBLE WHITEHALL PLACE, SW1, 12 NOON (Nearest tube: Embankment. Please note there are some tube restrictions this weekend)

ROUTE: Whitehall Place, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Piccadilly, Berkeley Street, Grosvenor Square (by US Embassy), Park Lane, Hyde Park.

ORGANISED BY: Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Muslim Association of Britain, British Muslim Initiative, Lebanese organisations.

STEWARDS NEEDED FOR LONDON DEMONSTRATION: If you would like to help us organise the demonstration, come to the stewards' meeting point: Embankment Tube at 10.00am

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATIONS ROUND THE COUNTRY: Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Kirkcaldy, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield, Southampton, York. FOR DETAILS GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/naz5d

************************************ 2) ISRAEL'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY Writer Dahr Jamail details the international laws which Israel is committing in its onslaught on Lebanon and Gaza, in which he concludes: "To initiate a war of aggression, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole. This is exactly what Israel is doing in Lebanon,aided and abetted by the leaders of the US government and all those who support them. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/h237o

************************************ 3) HEZBOLLAH, HAMAS AND ISRAEL Writer Alexander Cockburn writes: "So here we are, 24 years after Israel did its best to destroy Lebanon in 1982, here it is doing it all over again. Since Israel can�t endure the idea of any just settlement for Palestinians, it�s the only thing it knows how to do. Call Lebanon a terror-haven and bomb it back to the stone age. Call Gaza a terror-haven and bomb its power plant, first stop on the journey back to the stone age. Bomb Damascus. Bomb Teheran.

Of course they won�t destroy Hezbollah. Every time they kill another Lebanese family, they multiply hatred of Israel and support for Hezbollah. They�ve even unified the parliament in Baghdad, which just voted unanimously -- Sunnis and Shi�ites and Kurds alike -- to deplore Israel�s conduct and to call for a ceasefire. TO READ THIS ESSENTIAL ARTICLE GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/r6goc

************************************ EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION END ISRAEL'S BARBARISM NOW LONDON: SATURDAY 22 JULY ASSEMBLE WHITEHALL PLACE, SW1, 12 NOON (Nearest tube: Embankment. Please note there are some tube restrictions this weekend)

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/25 19 July 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) LEBANON TORN TO SHREDS 2) WHO ARE THE TERRORISTS? 3) RACISM OF THE WESTERN MEDIA 4) WHEN STATE TERROR BECOMES "SELF DEFENCE"

*************************************** 1) LEBANON TORN TO SHREDS END ISRAEL'S CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY JOIN THE DEMONSTRATIONS 22 JULY (See below) * More than 300 killed * 500,000 flee their homes * All major road destroyed, no supplies reaching many areas * Apartment buildings, churches, mosques, petrol stations bombed * Lebanon's largest dairy farm and pharmaceutical plant destroyed * Desperate need for water, medicines and sanitation for those fleeing Israel's bombardment

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATION END ISRAEL'S BARBARISM NOW LONDON: SATURDAY 22 JULY

(Note change of assembly point) ASSEMBLE WHITEHALL PLACE, SW1, 12 NOON (Nearest tube: Embankment. Please note there are some tube restrictions this weekend)

ROUTE: Whitehall Place, Trafalgar Square, Pall Mall, Piccadilly, Berkeley Street, Grosvenor Square (by US Embassy), Park Lane, Hyde Park.

ORGANISED BY: Stop the War Coalition, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Muslim Association of Britain, British Muslim Initiative, Lebanese organisations.

STEWARDS NEEDED FOR LONDON DEMONSTRATION: If you would like to help us organise the demonstration on 22 July, contact the StWC office: office@stopwar.org.uk, Tel 020 7278 6694. Stewards' meeting point Embankment Tube at 10.00am

EMERGENCY DEMONSTRATIONS ROUND THE COUNTRY: Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Exeter, Glasgow, Kirkcaldy, Manchester, Newcastle, Norwich, Sheffield, York. Details: http://tinyurl.com/naz5d

*************************************** 2) WHO ARE THE TERRORISTS? 20 year old lebanese student TANYA NASR describes Israel's crimes against humanity:

We have been under Israeli attack since last Wednesday, 12 July, 2006, following the capture of two Israeli soldiers for the purpose of exchanging them for 6 Lebanese prisoners who have been in Israeli prisons for 25 years.

Where do I start? Do I talk about the monstrosity of Israel? Or even worse, of the American support of the ugly war and their refusal of any discussion of a ceasefire?

Well, why should "Condi" care? It's not her children who are being massacred while trying to flee away from the chaotic Israeli fire! Anyhow, Bush considers that Syria should press Hizbullah to "stop this shit" (as a mic picked up for Bush during a lunch at the G8 summit). Yes Mr. President, a whole nation being brought to the ground over its peoples' heads is "shit", hitting the Red Cross cars who are trying to save what is left of the people under the rubble is "shit". Hitting the Civil Defense outpost and tearing more than 20 civilians into pieces and injuring more than 50 is "shit".

They say "we" are the terrorists. Is terrorism defending one's land and trying to get back one's own prisoners? Regardless of Hizbullah's strategies, beliefs and aims, whether we agree with them or not, by international law, a resistance group has a right to capture people for the purpose of exchanging prisoners with the enemy. I ask a simple question: whether Hizbullah is eligible or not, whether they are right or not, is the capture of two prisoners a sufficient excuse to start a full-fledged war against another country and kill hundreds of civilians and destroy all its infrastructure?

The American government says it is Israel's right to defend itself. Yes. But does Israel defend itself by massacring whole families by hitting their homes and burying them under the rubble of their houses? Does it defend itself by bombarding vehicles that are carrying tens of refugees, most of whom are children, who were trying to run away? These people were running away from the horrible attacks after Israel itself asked them to evacuate saying it wanted to hit their town...they hit these towns, and blew their people into pieces. Could this get any more monstrous? And they say we are terrorists!

Writing about the horrendous things that Israel is doing with the blessing of the United States is a never ending task Maybe things were meant to happen this way, but what hurts most is being under this severe attack, and seeing my people and my beloved country falling into pieces while the international media portrays Israel as the victim and us as the murderers. Furthermore, Israel's minister of foreign affairs states that they have killed more than 300 terrorists in Lebanon. Are newborns, children, mothers and the elderly terrorists?

*************************************** 3) RACISM OF THE WESTERN MEDIA Jonathan Cook writes: "If anyone doubted the racism of our Western media, here it was proudly on display. The BBC apparently considers their Beirut reporter's first duty to find out what meals HMS Gloucester's chef will be preparing for the evacuees. Lebanese and Palestinian civilians die unnoticed by the Western media (though not by the Arab channels) while we learn of onboard sleeping arrangements on the ship bound for Cyprus." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://electronicintifada.net/v2/article5106.shtml

*************************************** 4) WHEN STATE TERROR BECOMES "SELF DEFENCE" Paul Craig Roberts writes: "Many Muslims believe that Bush and Israel see them as animals to be slain. On July 17, neocon John Bolton, Bush's unconfirmed ambassador to the UN, gave credence to this Muslim belief when he announced that Israelis killed by terrorists were more important than the Lebanese civilians killed by Israel.

Bolton said that there is no "moral equivalence" between Lebanese civilians killed by Israel and Israeli civilians killed by Muslim terrorists: "It's simply not the same thing to say that it's the same act to deliberately target innocent civilians, to desire their deaths, to fire rockets and use explosive devices or kidnapping versus the sad and highly unfortunate consequences of self-defense."

In Bolton's sick mind, Lebanese civilians are not experiencing terrorism when Israel deliberately targets them and drops high explosives on their apartment buildings, streets, bridges, and power plants, and bombs the Beirut International Airport. This, says Bolton, is Israel acting in self-defense." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=9354 -- To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net

LONDON: Saturday 22 July

* Hands Off Lebanon * Freedom for Palestine * Don't Attack Syria. * Don't Attack Iran

Assemble Embankment 12 Noon Nearest tube: Embankment

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STOP THE WAR COALITION NEWSLETTER No. 2006/23 8 July 2006 Email office@stopwar.org.uk Telephone 020 7278 6694 Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 1) TIME TO ROOT OUT BLAIR�S EXTREMISM 2) TRIDENT: HYPOCRISY WITHOUT END 3) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH SPEAKS 4) AFGHANISTAN: A FIASCO BEYOND BELIEF 5) GAZA: KILLING A COUNTRY TO RESCUE A SOLDIER 6) CLOSE DOWN GUANTANAMO DEMONSTRATION 7) STOP THE WAR AT BESTIVAL

*************************************** 1) IRAQ: WHY IT'S TME TO GO Tony Blair says that Muslims should "root out extremism" in their communities. He adds, "I am probably not the person to go into the Muslim community. It's better that we mobilise the Islamic community itself to do this."

Tony Blair is right when he says he is "not the person to go into the Muslim community". He is right because he and George Bush are already 'in' the Muslim communities of Iraq and Afghanistan, where the extremism and terrorism of the US and UK invasions has left a trail of devastation, massive loss of life and the collapse of public services.

By the day, the statistics coming out of Iraq become unimaginably more horrific. Even the Pentagon now admits that 50,000 have lost their lives since March 2003, a figure which must be a massive underestimate, given that Baghdad's central morgue alone received 30,204 bodies in the same period, most of whom died violent deaths. (See http://tinyurl.com/ombam)

The Red Cross says that Iraq's health service, which once had "a high level of technology and state of the art medical care" comparable to any country in the world, has been "bombed into the middle ages." The World Health Organisation says life expectancy for those who don't die violent deaths is now 51 for men and 61 for women. 20 years ago Iraqis had the same life expectancy figures as anyone in the West. (See http://tinyurl.com/feq8q)

Despite the attempt by the US military, with the usual connivance of the mainstream media, to present random killings, torture and abuse as rare activities of a few "bad apples", there is a clear pattern of collective punishment, intimidation and terror -- from the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib to the revenge killings in Haditha from the massacres in Ishaqi and Qaiem to the wholesale destruction of cities and towns such as Fallujah and, just recently, Ramadi. (See http://tinyurl.com/lp722)

The terrorism in London on 7 July 2005 was an appalling atrocity, for which there is no justification. But in the scale of atrocities it is dwarfed by the carnage inflicted on Iraq in the past three years. Blair may say, as he did this week, that Muslims have "a completely false sense of grievance against the West" but a police report has just confirmed what the majority of people in this country have always known -- that July 7 was a direct consequence of the carnage inflicted on Muslim communities in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Neither Muslims nor non-Muslims need nauseatingly hypocritical lectures from Tony Blair, when he says, "We can only defeat extremism if we have people in the community who are going to stand up and not merely say 'you are wrong to kill people through terrorism'".

On Saturday 23 September, the eve of the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, we will all have the opportunity to do exactly what Blair says. The TIME TO GO demonstration, organised by Stop the War and CND, will bring protestors from every corner of Britain to demand the rooting out of Tony Blair's extremism, which has caused so much death and suffering among millions of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan, which threatens more illegal wars in Iran and elsewhere and which is a threat to the security of us all, whether Muslim or non-Muslim.

TIME TO GO DEMONSTRATION Troops Out of Iraq, No Attack on Iran No Trident Replacement SATURDAY 23 SEPTEMBER ASSEMBLE 1PM ALBERT SQUARE Organised by Stop the War and CND

WHAT YOU CAN DO: * Distribute flyers, available from Stop the War. * Get your trade union branch, campaign group, church or mosque to support the march * Help raise money and organise local transport to Manchester * Contact your local Stop the War group * Encourage your family, friends, work colleagues, fellow students to join the TIME TO GO demonstration

FOR LEAFLETS, POSTERS, BADGES ETC AND INFORMATION ABOUT TRANSPORT OR YOUR LOCAL STOP THE WAR GROUP, CONTACT STOP THE WAR COALITION: Phone: 020 7278 6694. Email: office@stopwar.org.uk. Web: www.stopwar.org.uk

ARRANGE YOUR TRANSPORT NOW Coaches are now being organised all over the country. There will be a special train to take people from London to Manchester (more information soon), as well as many coaches organised by London STW groups.

SEND DETAILS OF COACHES BOOKED The Stop the War office is already getting many requests for details of transport from around the country. Local STW groups should send details of their coaches to the office as soon as possible, so they can be publicised on the website and passed on to people contacting us for information. FOR COACH DETAILS: GO TO http://tinyurl.com/h74zb OR CONTACT STOP THE WAR COALITION: Phone: 020 7278 6694. Email: office@stopwar.org.uk.

ALL LONDON STW ACTIVISTS MEETING TUESDAY 11 JULY 6.30PM ST PANCRAS CHURCH HALL LANCING STREET NW1 (opposite EUSTON STATION, off EVERSHOLT STREET) For Stop the War's 14 previous national demonstrations the rest of the country has come to London. This time London is going to Manchester and a London wide meeting for Stop the War activists has been called for Tuesday 11 July to plan and co-ordinate London's mobilisation for the TIME TO GO demonstration. We want to ensure the biggest possible turnout from the capital. The meeting is open to all. Every London Stop the War group should make sure it is represented and encourage all of its supporters to join the discussion on Tuesday, at 6.30pm in St Pancras Church Hall, Lancing Street, NW1. Opposite Euston Station.

*************************************** 2) TRIDENT: HYPOCRISY WITHOUT END There are no depths to which Tony Blair's hypocrisy cannot sink. With his partner in war crimes, George Bush, he is threatening Iran for its plans to develop nuclear power, which is entirely legitimate under the conditions of the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty. At the same time Blair is planning to break those conditions himself by spending �25 billion on a replacement for the Trident missile.

As well as calling for the removal of troops from Iraq and the end to threats of war against other countries, the TIME TO GO demonstration, organised by Stop the War alongside CND, is a protest against Blair's plans to replace Trident with a new generation of weapons of mass destruction. Each Trident submarine carries 48 nuclear warheads, each of which has an explosive power which is 8 times the power of the atomic bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945, killing an estimated 140,000 people.

CND believes that Trident is illegal, immoral and a waste of resources. It does nothing to increase world security and undermines international efforts to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction. This is the first national demonstration to include a specific anti-nuclear message for many years and CND is urging all its supporters to join us in Manchester to show the Labour Party our opposition to a new generation of nuclear weapons. FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://tinyurl.com/s5crh

*************************************** 3) MALCOLM KENDALL-SMITH SPEAKS The highlight of A Night on Conscience on 28 June was a video message from Malcolm Kendall-Smith. Malcolm was court martialled on 12 April 2006 and sentenced to eight months imprisonment for refusing to return to Iraq. He was two weeks ago under outrageous conditions which subject him to a 6.00pm to 6.00am curfew until September and forbid any contact with the media until December.

Over 650 people attended the completely sold out fund raising benefit at St James's Church, Piccadilly, organised by Stop the War to help pay the �20,000 legal costs imposed on Malcolm. Tony Benn introduced comedians Mark Thomas and Mark Steel, composer Michael Nyman, film director Ken Loach, playwright David Edgar, actors Simon Callow and Janet Suzman, fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, singer Ed Harcourt and many more.

In the video filmed at his home, Malcolm regretted that the curfew prevented him joining A Night of Conscience and thanked the many people throughout the anti-war movement who have given him support. He urged everyone to continue the struggle for peace and justice in Iraq. TO SEE THE VIDEO, GO TO http://tinyurl.com/rnp6o

Among the many message many messages we received following A Night of Conscience were:

TONY BENN: Congratulations on organizing that inspiring and wonderful event at St James'. You did a really magnificent job and I was very moved by it all.

JANET SUZMAN, ACTOR: That was a great evening last night - one of the most varied and interesting I can recall, but then the whole raison d'etre is unique and I was so pleased and proud to be part of it.

SAMI RAMADANI, IRAQI EXILE AND ACADEMIC: It was a difficult and very emotional evening for me and Fenik. I was terribly distressed beforehand reading about the war victims. Everyone I talked to thought it was the type of meeting that made them feel they should do more.

AUDIO EXERTS FROM A NIGHT OF CONSCIENCE WILL BE AVAILABLE ON THE STOP THE WAR WEBSITE SOON. Malcolm Kendall Smith's first public appearance will be at the Stop the War National Steering Committee meeting on Saturday 15 July, which is during the day, thereby not breaking his curfew.

MESSAGES OF SUPPORT AND DONATIONS TO THE FUND TO HELP PAY MALCOLM'S COSTS CAN BOTH BE MADE TO MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR: http://www.mfaw.org.uk/.

*************************************** 4) AFGHANISTAN: A FIASCO BEYOND BELIEF Not content with waging illegal war in Iraq, Tony Blair has now committed five thousand troops to one of the most dangerous areas in the world, the Helmand province in Afghanistan. Within weeks of deployment, six British soldiers are dead and something near panic has struck government circles. In an answerable article, Guardian columnist Simon Jenkins voiced what everyone knew when Blair first announced he was intending to send yet more soldiers to kill and be killed in someone else's country. "The dishonesty and stupidity behind this Afghan fiasco is beyond belief," writes Jenkins, in calling for the government ministers responsible to be held to account. (Read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/jyrdt)

In another devastating depiction of reality for the British army in Afghanistan, read the report from Christina Lamb of the Sunday Times, an "embedded" journalist with the British army, who describes how a British unit on a "hearts and minds" mission to an Afghan village was subjected to ferocious attack just at the point when the Major in charge (called appropriately Blair) said, "I thought that went rather well." (Read the full article: http://tinyurl.com/kd2t9)

But what is Blair's response? To announce that the one billion pounds already earmarked for this disaster will now become a blank open cheque and more equipment and troops will be sent to try and pacify a people exercising their right under international law to resist occupation by a foreign power.

TO READ STATEMENTS FROM STOP THE WAR COALITION AND MILITARY FAMILIES AGAINST THE WAR TO THE AFGHAN FIASCO, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/nkyol

*************************************** 5) GAZA: KILLING A COUNTRY TO RESCUE A SOLDIER Not a word of condemnation has come from George Bush and Tony Blair, as Israel has violated no end of international laws in invading Gaza, destroying much of its infrastructure, including power and water supply, kidnapped most of the Palestinian government and killed dozens of civilians, including women and children. The United Nations says the whole of Gaza is on the brink of humanitarian disaster.

Even as this was being reported across the mainstream media, Tony Blair was insisting that Muslims who oppose his foreign policy, which includes uncritical support for Israel, regardless of how many atrocities it commits against the Palestinian people, have "a completely false sense of grievance against the West". FOR LINKS TO A SERIES OF ARTICLES BY WRITERS WHO ARE MORE IN TOUCH WITH REALITY THAN BLAIR, SUCH AS JOHN PILGER, GO TO: http://tinyurl.com/fek53

*************************************** 6) CLOSE DOWN GUANTANAMO DEMONSTRATION SATURDAY 15 JULY 2006, ASSEMBLE MARBLE ARCH 12 NOON MARCH TO US EMBASSY End detention without trial, illegality, torture, deaths and Guantanamo Bay as a whole. Called by the National Guant�namo Coalition. Demonstrations will also be held in the United States, Australia, Kuwait and Bahrain. FOR MORE DETAILS: Email: bhamguantanamocampaign@yahoo.co.uk Tel: 07721427690 Web: www.guantanamo.org

*************************************** 7) STOP THE WAR AT BESTIVAL ISLE OF WIGHT: 8-10 SEPTEMBER Following the hugely successful Stop the War Gig last December, when Rachid Taha, Brian Eno, Mick Jones from the Clash and others packed London's Astoria, we are a featured organisation at BESTIVAL, one of the musical highlights of the year. Petshop Boys and Scissor Sisters headline the 3-day Bestival on 8-10 September on the Isle of Wight, when Rachid Taha with special guest Brian Eno will again be appearing for Stop the War.

BRIAN ENO EXPLAINS WHY HE'S APPEARING FOR STOP THE WAR COALITION: http://tinyurl.com/o8xqv ARTISTS APPEARING AT BESTIVAL: http://www.bestival.net/

VOLUNTEERS WANTED: If you are interested in helping Stop the War Coalition at Bestival, contact the StWC office on 020 7278 6694. We will be publicising the TIME TO GO demonstration on 23 September, selling T-shirts, badges, posters etc to help fund the demonstration and encouraging people to get involved with the anti-war movement.

WATCH OUT FOR ANNOUNCEMENTS OF MORE BIG NAME STOP THE WAR GIGS IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

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