| Home |
| Events |
| News & Analysis |
| Get Involved |
| Resources |
| Merchandise |
Press Enquiries |
Shoulder to shoulder with George Bush
NEWSLETTER No. 1040
20 April 2008
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH GEORGE BUSH
2) CULTURE AND THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
3) PALESTINE: BREAKING THE SILENCE
4) JOB VACANCY AT OUR NATIONAL OFFICE
5) STOP THE WAR AND TIBET
6) STILL TIME TO WIN THAT TRIP TO PARIS
*********************************
1) SHOULDER TO SHOULDER WITH GEORGE BUSH
As Gordon Brown returned from genuflecting before George
Bush and confirming that he, like his predecessor, stands
shoulder to shoulder in the continuation of war crimes which
have slaughtered hundreds and thousands and driven millions
from their homes, the British army spokesman in Basra
reported with undisguised fervour that, "British artillery
and US planes conducted a firepower demonstration to the
west of Hayania, to give a demonstration of the firepower
available."
Gordon Brown's promise last Autumn that British troop
deployments would be drastically reduced during 2008, have
proved to be worthless. Security and the death toll in Iraq
have worsened sharply in the past two months, with the rate
of civilian deaths doubling and the US military admitting to
a "spike" in attacks on its forces and in American
fatalities. British forces -- attached to the coat-tails of
the US military facing the reality of a failed "surge" --
are becoming increasingly active in attacking Iraqis.
Yet again, in contrast to the supine reporting of the
mainstream media, the anti-war movement has been correct in
its portrayal of Iraq as a disaster for the Iraqi people
which can only begin to be resolved by an end to the
occupation and the complete withdrawal of all foreign
troops. The blank cheque that Gordon Brown gave to George
Bush for British troops to stay in Iraq for as long as it
suited America's imperial purpose, showed that the anti-war
movement's task remains as urgent as ever -- to mobilise the
widest possible support for the demand that all the troops
come home now. Over the coming weeks and months, Stop the
War will announce a series of activities and campaigns aimed
at doing just that.
*********************************
2) CULTURE AND THE ANTI-WAR MOVEMENT
The media is full of reflections on the 1968 protest
movements, specifically around the Vietnam War, and some
commentators have compared unfavourably the involvement of
artists, musicians, writers, etc forty years ago with
today's anti-war movement, where supposedly the world of the
arts has been less committed to the campaign for peace.
You could have fooled us. In the six years since Stop the
War was founded, hundreds of artists, writers, singers,
musicians, actors and performers across the full spectrum of
the arts have participated in our cultural events and joined
our demonstrations and other events, both nationally and
locally.
From pop musicians and performers such as Damon Albern,
Brian Eno, Massive Attack and Kylie Minogue to classical
musicians Nigel Kennedy, Michael Nyman and Peter Maxwell
Davis; from playwrights Harold Pinter, Caryl Churchill and
Dario Fo to cartoonists Steve Bell, Ralph Steadman and Peter
Kennard; from artists David Gentleman, Tracy Emin and Banksy
to designers Vivienne Westwood, Katharine Hamnett and Jamie
Reid; from novelists John Berger, Hanif Kureishi and Haifa
Zangana to actors Tim Robbins, Julie Christie and Prunella
Scales; from comedians Mark Steel, Mark Thomas and the late,
much lamented Linda Smith to poets Adrian Mitchell, Mike
Rosen and Linton Kwesi Johnson - the list is endless and
continually growing, with artists reflecting in their
commitment to peace the widespread anger over our
government's support for George Bush's war policies.
On Thursday 24 April, the ILLUMINATIONS benefit for Stop the
War at St James's Church in Piccadilly, London, brings
together another fine array of musicians and writers, who
will be performing pieces of music or writing which have
been so inspirational that they return to them time and
again. The performers include:
** Composer and pianist MICHAEL NYMAN, who works in numerous
musical settings and is most widely known for his many film
scores, including "The Pianist", "The End of the Affair" and
"The Cook, the Thief, his Wife and her Lover"
** Actor ROGER LLOYD-PACK, best known for his role as
Trigger in Only Fools and Horses, who has appeared in
countless films, TV dramas and theatre plays, both in the
West End and at the National Theatre;
** Novelist AL KENNEDY, whose latest novel "Day" won the
prestigious 2007 Costa Book of the Year Award
** Journalist YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN, regular columnist in The
Independent, frequent broadcaster on radio and television,
author of several books, recently voted the 10th most
influential black/Asian woman in the country;
** Journalist and former "anti-sleaze" MP MARTIN BELL, whose
latest book is "The Truth That Sticks - New Labour's Breach
of Trust";
** Playwright DAVID EDGAR, whose "Nicholas Nickleby" was
recently revived in the West End and whose latest play
"Testing the Echo" is currently running at the Tricycle
Theatre;
** Editor DR RICHARD HORTON, whose magazine The Lancet has
published the research which indicates that up to one
million Iraqi civilians have been killed as a result of the
Iraq invasion and occupation;
** Poet ADRIAN MITCHELL, a veteran of the peace movement
going back to the Vietnam War and beyond, who has given more
than a thousand performances of his poems across the world,
in theatres, colleges, pubs, prisons, streets, public
transport, cellars, clubs and schools of all kinds;
** Iraqi novelist HAIFA ZANGANA, former political prisoner
under Saddam Hussein's regime, whose latest book is "City of
Widows: An Iraqi Woman's Account of War and Resistance";
** Playwright TIMBERLAKE WERTENBAKER, whose many plays,
adaptations and film scripts include the award winning
Broadway production of "Our Country's Good" and the
screenplay for "The Wings of the Dove";
** Composer & pianist KEITH BURSTEIN, whose much praised
opera "Manifest Destiny" is a scathing vision of the West's
global power for all those caught in the 'war on terror';
** Mezzo soprano JANET SHELL, internationally renowned
singer who has sung with many of the country's most
important choirs and orchestras;
** Actor JANIE DEE, winner of numerous awards in Britain and
New York, whose recent performance in "Shadowlands" was
nominated for the 2008 Theatregoers' Award for Best Actress
in a Play;
** Professor JACQUELINE ROSE, academic and writer, whose
latest books are "The Question of Zion" and "On Not Being
Able to Sleep";
** Stop the War national convenor LINDSEY GERMAN, who is
currently standing as a candidate in the election for Mayor
of London;
** Musician PEYOTTI FOR PRESIDENT, latest album titled "The
Rising Tide of Conformity", about whom The Independent
wrote, "Flamenco thunder, Bolenesque vocals, a sixties pop
sensibility and political conscience makes Peyoti for
President an agreeable antidote to all the tedious guitar
bands busy going nowhere."
** Iraqi oud player AHMED MUKHTAR, latest CD "The Road to
Baghdad", about which The Independent reviewer wrote, ""The
unfretted Oud may be the hardest of all instruments to play
but Mukhtar extracts magic: he can make it dream, gallop, or
thunder."
The evening will be hosted by ANDREW MURRAY, national chair
of Stop the War Coalition.
ILLUMINATIONS: A CONCERT FOR PEACE
THURSDAY 24 APRIL AT 7.00 PM
ST JAMES'S CHURCH
PICCADILLY LONDON
TICKETS: £15 / £12. On sale from Stop the War national
office on 020 7278 6694 or on the door on the night
*********************************
3) GAZA BLOCKADE A 'CRIME AND ATROCITY'
"It's an atrocity that is being perpetrated as punishment on
the people. It's a crime... I think it is an abomination
that this continues to go on," This are the words of former
US president Jimmy Carter. "The international community's
patience with the regime is wearing thin," said Gordon
Brown. "I am appalled by the signs that the regime is once
again resorting to intimidation and violence."
The atrocity Jimmy Carter was talking about was Israel's
barbaric treatment of Palestinians in Gaza, where, according
to the United Nations, a medieval siege is causing
catastrophic suffering for its one million inhabitants, and
where this week Israeli bombs and rockets killed dozens of
civilians, including at least ten children.
But it's not just in Gaza that Israel is breaking
international law and perpetrating atrocities. Breaking the
Silence, an organisation which publicises testimonies by
Israeli soldiers has horrific details of how Palestinians
are treated by the Israeli army in the occupied lands. In
Hebron, one soldier reports of incidents in which
Palestinian vehicles are stopped for no good reason, the
windows smashed and the occupants beaten up for talking back
- for saying, for example, they are on the way to hospital;
the theft of tobacco from a Palestinian shopkeeper who is
then beaten "to a pulp" when he complains; the throwing of
stun grenades through the windows of mosques as people
prayed. And worse." (See http://tinyurl.com/3uz2fs)
Not content with brutalising the population, Israel this
week announced further expansion of its settlements in the
West Bank, where 400,000 Israelis live in settlements
regarded as illegal by virtually every other country in the
world.
Was this the "regime" with which Gordon Brown was "losing
patience"? Was this the "intimidation" and "violence" he
found so appalling? Not at all. He was talking about
Zimbabwe and he had not a word to say about the crimes and
atrocities in Gaza referred to by Jimmy Carter.
The so called "international community" (a code name for the
United States) cherry picks the crimes and injustices it
wants to condemn, according to what suits the US political
agenda. For sixty years, it has not just turned a blind eye
to one of the most brutal occupations in recent history but
has actively supported it.
Breaking the silence over this collusion with crimes and
atrocities is the aim of demonstrations which will take
place across the world on Saturday 10 May, the 60th
anniversary of what Palestinians call the Nakba, when Jewish
settlers used a campaign of terror to drive hundreds of
thousands of Arab inhabitants from their homes, destroying
their villages and towns to be replaced by exclusively
Jewish settlements.
NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE
SATURDAY 10TH MAY 2008
FREE PALESTINE - END THE SIEGE ON GAZA
FOR THE RIGHT OF RETURN - END ISRAELI OCCUPATION
Assemble 1pm Temple Underground station / Victoria
Embankment. Rally in Trafalgar Square.
Organised by: British Muslim Initiative, Palestine
Solidarity Campaign, Palestinian Forum in Britain. Supported
by: UNISON, Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS),
Unite the Union (Amicus and T&GWU), Communication Workers
Union, GMB, TSSA, National Union of Miners, FBU, RMT,
Association of Palestinian Community UK, Amos Trust, Friends
of Al Aqsa UK, War on Want, Jewish Socialist Group, Pax
Christi, Stop the War Coalition, Britain Palestine Twinning
Network , ICAHDUK, Midlands Palestinian Community
Association.
FOR FURTHER DETAILS SEE: http://www.palestinecampaign.org
*********************************
6) JOB VACANCY AT OUR NATIONAL OFFICE
The Stop the War Coalition has a job vacancy at its national
office in central London. The post will entail involvement
in all aspects of the coalition's work. Applicants should be
conversant with the anti-war policies of the coalition and
have had some campaigning experience. Computer skills are
essential. Some evening and weekend work will be inherent in
the job.
If you are interested in this post, send your CV to the
national office:
Email: office@stopwar.org.uk
Or send to National Office Vacancy, Stop the War Coalition,
27 Britannia Street, London WC1X 9JP
Telephone 020 7278 6694
*********************************
5) STOP THE WAR AND TIBET
The previous Newsletter No. 1039 gave the impression that
the Stop the War Coalition has taken a position on the Tibet
issue. This is not the case, and the reference to Tibet was
included in error. The Coalition has not discussed the
issue, since it is peripheral to our central aim of opposing
the policies of the British and US governments in Iraq,
Afghanistan, and in the "war on terror" more generally. We
recognise that different affiliates and individuals in the
Coalition will have differing views on this matter and the
Coalition is not going to take a collective view. We regret
any confusion caused by the reference in the earlier
newsletter.
*********************************
7) STILL TIME TO WIN THAT TRIP TO PARIS
An all expenses paid weekend in Paris is the first prize in
the Stop the War fundraising raffle. The closing date is 23
May and books of raffle tickets can be ordered from the
national Stop the War office (tel 020 7278 6694 or email
office@stopwar.org.uk).
*********************************
--
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net
Sunday, April 20, 2008 | Permalink
George Bush's "decisive moment"
NEWSLETTER No. 1039
07 April 2008
Email office@stopwar.org.uk
T: 020 7278 6694
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
1) GEORGE BUSH'S "DECISIVE MOMENT"
2) HOW THE MEDIA SELLS WAR AND WHY
3) TONY BLAIR'S MORAL INFERIORITY
4) NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE
5) MOQTADA AL-SADR: BOOK SPECIAL OFFER
6) STOP THE WAR COALITION ARCHIVE
7) HELP NEEDED WITH STOP THE WAR WEBSITE
************************************
1) GEORGE BUSH'S "DECISIVE MOMENT"
George Bush declared the recent attack by the puppet Iraqi
government - supported by waves of US and British bombers -
on Iraq's second city Basra as a "defining moment" in his
"surge" strategy. He had no idea how within days the truth
of his words would return to haunt him, as the attack
stalled almost immediately before determined resistance and
the refusal of many government soldiers and police to fight
against their fellow Iraqis, with a number defecting to the
resistance.
As hundreds of thousands of Iraqis came onto the streets in
towns and cities across the country to call for the
occupiers to leave, it was clear that the Iraqi government
had suffered a humiliating defeat, at which point the attack
was no longer a "defining moment" for Bush and his
administration. These protests showed that, despite the US
policy to foment communal tensions, the main division in
Iraqi society is between pro- and anti-occupation forces.
The widely popular cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has now called for
a million strong demonstration this week against the
occupation.
While this was clearly a defeat for the US client government
in Iraq, and exposed the reality behind the supposed
"success" of Bush's surge, it is in such moments that an
imperial power can become most dangerous. The intensifying
claims by Bush and his military leaders that Iran is behind
the resistance to the US-British occupation -- without
producing a shred of evidence -- may well turn into an
attack on Iran, with incalculable consequences for the
region and world stability.
The announcement by the British government that it will not
be reducing the number of its troops in Iraq, as previously
announced, could in part be due to plans for such an attack
on Iran. The recent events in Basra show that Tony Blair's
insistence last year that the British army withdrew from the
city because its mission was a "success" and "complete"
could not be further from the truth.
************************************
2) HOW THE MEDIA SELLS WAR AND WHY
What is the media's role in selling war to a predominantly
anti-war public? Has the media learned anything at all, five
years after the torrent of gushing coverage with which it
greeted the toppling of Saddam Hussein's statue -- an event
staged by the US army -- or does it continue at every turn
to be the willing dupe of the warmongers?
This will be the topic at a public meeting in London on
Wednesday 10 April, when two award winning journalists --
Nick Davis and Dahl Jamail -- will be joined by Kim
Sengupta, defence and diplomatic correspondent of The
Independent newspaper, and Lindsey German from Stop the War.
Dahr Jamail, is an independent journalist in Iraq and author
of "Beyond the Green Zone". His reports have become
essential reading for anyone who wants to keep informed of
the realities of life for ordinary Iraqis under the
US-British occupation. In the words of John Pilger, ""While
so much reporting from Iraq has remained embedded and wrong,
Dahr Jamail's courageous truth-telling from the frontline
has been a beacon."
Nick Davies is an award-winning Guardian journalist, whose
recently published and much discussed book "Flat Earth News"
seeks to explain why the media so dutifully shapes its
reporting to a news agenda determined by governments and
politicians.
PUBLIC MEETING: ALL WELCOME
Thursday 10 April, 7pm
IRAQ 5 YEARS ON - HOW THE MEDIA SELLS WAR AND WHY
SPEAKERS:
DAHR JAMAIL, independent journalist in Iraq and author of
"Beyond the Green Zone"
NICK DAVIES, award-winning Guardian journalist and author of
"Flat Earth News"
KIM SENGUPTA, defence and diplomatic correspondent, The
Independent
LINDSEY GERMAN, national convenor, Stop the War Coalition
VENUE:
The Old Lecture Theatre, University of Westminster
309 Regent Street (2 mins from Oxford Circus)
TICKETS: £5, £3 (concessions)
Hosted by: Media Workers Against the War www.mwaw.net
Download the flyer here: http://mwaw.net/4-10-flyer.pdf
More details: Emailinfo@mwaw.net; Tel 07801 789 297
************************************
3) TONY BLAIR'S MORAL INFERIORITY
For once Tony Blair told the truth. With a "wall of sound"
from hundreds of anti-war protestors in the background, he
told the Westminster Cathedral audience at his lecture on
Faith and Globalisation on 3 April, "I make no claims for
moral superiority. Quite the reverse."
Blair's boundless hypocrisy and gall was much to the fore in
the rest of his speech, in which he called for "people of
faith" like himself -- for whom "belief is quintessentially
about truth" -- to become "the conscience of the world". No
mention of course of the serial lying he told to take
Britain into an immoral and illegal war. No mention indeed
of Iraq at all, which the United Nations calls the worst
humanitarian catastrophe in the world today.
Blair claimed his faith guided him "to do good, to think and
act beyond the limitations of selfish human desires".
Clearly his faith went into hiding over the last few months
when he pocketed a five million pound advance for his
memoirs, took a part-time advisory role with bankers JP
Morgan, said to be worth up to £2.5m a year, and another
advisory role with Swiss insurers Zurich worth half a
million a year, added to which the £230,000 he got for one
speech in China was just small change. (See
The Westminster Cathedral lecture was preceded outside by a
silent vigil by Catholic anti-war group Pax Christi, members
of which then joined Stop the War's noisy protest timed to
start as Blair began speaking. For once, an anti-war protest
got some media coverage, the Daily Mail report being one of
the better examples: http://tinyurl.com/yoctq3
However, the BBC's Today programmed managed to have a long
feature on Blair's speech without mentioning the protests
outside. Musician and record producer Brian Eno, who
participated in the anti-war "wall of "sound", sent this
response to the BBC:
"Your 'Today' report about Blair's speech failed to mention
the source of the noise in the background: many hundreds of
people protesting outside against the absurdity of the man
who has presided over Britain's biggest foreign policy
disaster since the Crimean War being asked to talk about
globalisation. The real democrats were outside last night.
Funny you missed them."
Many thanks to Brian and everyone else who made the "wall of
sound" protest so memorable. Blair apologised to his
audience that we there. "Sorry about the people who follow
me around," he said. We intend to keep doing so until he is
held to account for his part in war crimes that have
destroyed Iraq, slaughtered hundreds of thousands of
civilians and turned four million people -- one in seven of
the population -- into refugees.
************************************
4) NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE
Some occupations it would seems are more worthy of
opposition than others. While the absolute right of the
Tibetans people to be free of Chinese occupation -- which we
should all support -- gets acres of media coverage and is
openly supported by George Bush, Gordon Brown and government
leaders across the world because it fits their political
agenda, the plight of the Palestinian people continues,
largely un-recorded and un-opposed by the very same
politicians.
The siege of Gaza and the occupation of Palestinian land by
Israel violates numerous international laws and United
Nations resolutions but despite the desperate plight of the
Palestinians, the world leaders so quick protest against
China in support of the Tibetan's just cause, turn a blind
eye to Israel's crimes, responsible for one of the most
brutal occupations in recent history. (See
On Saturday 10 May, to mark the sixtieth anniversary of the
mass expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948, a
demonstration has been organised by Palestine Solidarity
Campaign, British Muslim Initiative and PFB, supported by
UNISON, NUM, PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union),
UNITE (TGWU), Association of Palestinian Community UK ,
Friends of Al Aqsa UK, War on Want, Jewish Socialist Group,
Pax Christi, Stop the War Coalition, Britain Palestine
Twinning Network , Midlands Palestinian Community
Association.
NATIONAL DEMONSTRATION FOR PALESTINE
SATURDAY 10TH MAY 2008
END THE SIEGE ON GAZA
FOR THE RIGHT OF RETURN
END ISRAELI OCCUPATION
Assemble 1pm Temple Underground station/ Victoria Embankment
March to rally in Trafalgar Square.
For further information, leaflets, posters etc:
Email: info@palestinecampaign.org
Tel: 020 7700 6192
Web: http://www.palestinecampaign.org/
************************************
5) MOQTADA AL-SADR: BOOK SPECIAL OFFER
Each month Bookmarks bookshop will promote a book for Stop
the War supporters. This month's book is Patrick Cockburn's
"Moqtada Al-Sadr and the Fall of Iraq". Cockburn is one of
the most experienced journalists writing about Iraq and his
book is particularly timely, given the recent failed attempt
by the puppet Iraqi government to destroy al-Sadr's popular
movement, which has widespread support and has consistently
opposed the US-British occupation.
Bookmarks is offering the book at the special price of
£14.99 (normally £16.99) to the Stop the War supporters. You
can order by calling 020 76371848 or online at
www.bookmarks.uk.com - postage and packing is £2.50.
Bookmarks will also be hosting an event with Patrick
Cockburn to discuss his book on Tuesday 29th April at 6:30pm
at Bookmarks Bookshop, 1 Bloomsbury Street, WC1B 3QE. To
reserve your free place call 020 76371848 or email
events@bookmarks.uk.com.
************************************
6) STOP THE WAR COALITION ARCHIVE
The Stop the War Coalition has been one of the largest
campaigning organisations in British history, which has
involved millions of people in the many hundreds of events
it has organised over the past six years. Now the
Bishopsgate Institute has been chosen to house the official
archive of the Stop the War Coalition and its campaigns. The
archive will be preserved in perpetuity, catalogued and free
for public access and to researchers the world over.
A wealth of materials has already been transferred from Stop
the War's national office. The Bishopsgate Institute is
looking to build on this collection and would be delighted
to accept any material relating to the Stop the War
Coalition, its activities and the peace movement in general.
This might include posters, flyers, official papers,
photographs and audio/video recordings.
If you have any material you would like to donate to this
historically important collection, please contact:
Stefan Dickers
Bishopsgate Institute Archivist
Email stefan.dickers@bishopsgate.org.uk
Phone 020 7392 9270
Post: Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London, EC2M
4QH
************************************
7) HELP NEEDED WITH STOP THE WAR WEBSITE
Over the coming months, Stop the War will be re-designing
its website and introducing a range of improvements to its
use of the internet in providing news about anti-war
activities, analysis and information and to maintain contact
with its supporters across the county. If you are interested
in being involved, please email Stewart Halforty at the Stop
the War office, giving a short summary of your experience in
website techniques: EMAIL stewart@stopwar.org.uk.
*************************************
--
To unsubscribe from this list, send a blank e-mail to stwc-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net
Monday, April 07, 2008 | Permalink