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691
News Items / 'No decisive victory in Afghanistan' says UK Brigadier
« on: October 07, 2008, 05:04:14 PM »
'No decisive victory in Afghanistan' says UK Brigadier     
Written by Richard Norton-Taylor     
Monday, 06 October 2008 
Britain is stepping up pressure for a political and diplomatic settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan, a move set in sharp relief yesterday by the commander of UK troops who warned that the war against the Taliban was not going to be won.

The message is being delivered with increasing urgency by British military commanders, diplomats and intelligence officers, to Nato allies and governments in the region, the Guardian has learned.

"We're not going to win this war," Brigadier Mark Carleton-Smith said yesterday. "It's about reducing it to a manageable level of insurgency that's not a strategic threat and can be managed by the Afghan army. We may well leave with there still being a low but steady ebb of rural insurgency."

Carleton-Smith, commander of 16 Air Assault Brigade, which has just completed a six-month mission in southern Afghanistan during which 32 of his soldiers were killed and 170 injured, said his forces had "taken the sting out of the Taliban for 2008". But he warned that the public should not expect "a decisive military victory". It was necessary to "lower our expectations" and accept it as unrealistic that multinational forces can entirely rid Afghanistan of armed bands.

He said the aim should be to change the nature of the debate in Afghanistan so that disputes were settled by negotiation and not violence.

"If the Taliban were prepared to sit on the other side of the table and talk about a political settlement, then that's precisely the sort of progress that concludes insurgencies like this," Carleton-Smith said. "That shouldn't make people uncomfortable."

Abdul Rahim Wardak, Afghanistan's defence minister, expressed disappointment at the comments.
But Carleton-Smith's warnings were echoed by a senior defence source yesterday, who said "the notion of winning and losing the decisive battle does not exist". Carleton-Smith added that all the Nato-led international military force could do in Afghanistan was provide the "parameters of security".

The deepening concerns reflect what British defence chiefs are saying privately. The conflict with the Taliban has reached "stalemate", they say. They also express increasing frustration with the weakness and corruption of President Hamid Karzai's government in Kabul.

Britain has denied that it believes the military campaign in Afghanistan is doomed to failure after the French weekly Le Canard Enchaîné reported that Sherard Cowper-Coles, UK ambassador to Kabul, told a French official that foreign troops added to the country's problems.

The newspaper reported that Cowper-Coles had said Afghanistan might best be "governed by an acceptable dictator", that the American strategy was "destined to fail", and the presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan was "part of the problem, not the solution". The French foreign ministry said the newspaper report did not "correspond at all with what we hear from our British counterparts in our discussions on Afghanistan".

Writing on his website on Friday, David Miliband, the foreign secretary, described the report as "garbled" and insisted that Britain did not support a Kabul dictatorship.

"The future of Afghanistan is not about appointed dictators or foreign occupation, it is about building Afghan capabilities with the confidence of the Afghan people," he wrote.

A Foreign Office official was reported to have described the claim that Cowper-Coles advocated a dictatorship in Afghanistan as "utter nonsense", and that the comments attributed to the ambassador were likely to have been a distortion of what he had said in the meeting.

British officials are exasperated with the Karzai administration, the slowness in building up a national army and corruption in the Afghan police force.

Violence in Afghanistan has risen to its worst level since 2001, when US-led forces overthrew the Taliban.

Aid agencies say the Taliban and associated groups are controlling more territory and it is increasingly difficult to provide the population with their humanitarian needs, let alone physical security.

After months of indecision and attacking western diplomats and military officials for approaching Taliban forces and their local commanders, Karzai said last week he had asked the king of Saudi Arabia to mediate in negotiations.

From the Guardian
 

692
News Items / Dear Hands Off Iraqi Oil supporter
« on: October 01, 2008, 09:12:28 PM »

Dear Hands Off Iraqi Oil supporter,
 
Today is the 2,000th day of the occupation of Iraq - 2,000 days during which Iraq's future, in the shape of its oil, has been under dispute. On one side have been hundreds of thousands of US and UK occupying troops, and some of the world's most powerful and profitable multinational corporations, looking to take control of the world's second largest oil reserves. On the other, are the Iraqi people, including the oil workers, trying to defend their right to take decisions about their country's primary natural resource.
 
Incredibly, after 2,000 days of occupation, George Bush and Dick Cheney are about to enter the final 100 days of their administration without getting what many feel they came for. Yet still their efforts to get their hands on Iraq's oil before they are out of power continue - including through a status of forces agreement Bush is determined to sign before he leaves office (see below for more).
 
In two weeks time the Iraqi government will be meeting in London with 41 international oil companies to discuss doing business together. On the eve of this meeting, on Saturday 11 October, Hands Off Iraqi Oil is staging a demonstration in central London featuring a giant Dick Cheney puppet and visiting two of the companies, BP and Shell, at the forefront of these efforts. We urge you to join us. It's vital that international solidarity movements continue our support in the months ahead - so that we see out the last 100 days of Bush and Cheney with Iraq's future still in tact.
 
In solidarity,
Hands Off Iraqi Oil
www.handsoffiraqioil.org

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

 
1) JOIN US FOR THE 100 DAYS TO STOP BUSH AND CHENEY DEMO - SAT 11 OCT
2) IRAQ OIL CARVE-UP MEETING IN LONDON - MON 13 OCT
3) UPDATE: BIG OIL'S LATEST PLANS FOR IRAQ

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

1) JOIN US FOR THE 100 DAYS TO STOP BUSH AND CHENEY DEMO - SAT 11 OCT

Join us in central London next Saturday for a demonstration to mark the beginning of the last 100 days of the Bush-Cheney administration, and oppose Big Oil's Iraq carve-up meeting two days later (see below). There will be giant puppets, samba and more!

Assemble 12 noon, outside the Shell Centre (York Rd, SE1 7NA), opp. Waterloo train station, next to Waterloo tube. 
 
**************************************************************************************

2) OIL CARVE-UP MEETING IN LONDON - MON 13 OCTOBER

Want another reason to come to the 100 Days to Stop Bush and Cheney demo on Saturday 11 October?

How about that two days later, on Monday 13 October, Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al Shahristani is meeting with Big Oil in London to discuss long-term deals for controlling Iraqi oil.

41 international oil companies including Shell, BP and Exxon, which have pre-qualified for bids on existing producing oil and gas fields will attend.

The meeting is thought to be an interim replacement for a major oil and gas event which had been schedueled to take place in Baghdad in October. This event has now been postponed until December.

The London meeting will mark a crucial step forward in making privatisation of Iraqi oil a long-term reality.

According to Oil Ministry spokesperson Assim Jihad 'The oil ministry will unveil the legal framework and conditions for signing service contracts by qualified oil companies,'

Technical Service Contracts normally do not allow investing companies control over development, production or depletion of reserves.

Yet the service deals currently on the table have been written by the oil majors and US State Department and reportedly include clauses allowing companies to effectively transform the service contracts into Production Sharing Agreements at a later date.

PSAs are reserves-granting contracts which hand control over oil reserves to companies. Iraqi oil experts, trade unions, MPs and civil society have condemned the contracts as a form of economic occupation and a violation of any future potential Iraqi sovereignty.

The situation in Iraq is far from fair or normal for any long-term deals to be negotiated let alone signed.

Over one million people have died since the beginning of the war and occupation.

Millions are dispalced by occupation-stoked sectarian violence. Occupation forces and mercenaries continue to kill and main with impunity, thousands suffer in prison camps, indiscriminate aerial attacks and curfews terrorize thousands.
Profound injustice, disempowerment, poverty and distress dominate the daily lives of most people living in occupied Iraq.

The oil law threatens to escalate and perpetuate the occupation and sectarian violence. Its' passage could re-draw the map of Iraq through allowing regions to control their own oil industries, sign contracts with majors without democratic oversight and economically empower their already occupation supported political and military power structures.

Passage of the oil law and the signing of longterm privatisation deals in Iraq will escalate conflict, entrench the occupation and increase the number of paramilitary and mercenary forces in the beleagured country. The stakes could not be higher for the future of Iraq´s economy, independence, stability and unity. This is why the law is still off the statute books and Iraqis up and down the country continue to oppose it.

Thwarting the economic and geo-political aims of the neo-conservative right which are profiting from the war on Iraq, such as the US oil lobby and its´ man in the whitehouse Dick Cheney should be at the forefront of the anti-war movement.

The Bush-Cheney administration and its' allies in the oil industry and are not giving up, neither are the people of Iraq and neither should we.

It is vital for the anti war movement, social justice movements and the trade union movement to come out into the streets on saturday. We need to show our solidarity with the Iraqi people in resisting the rip off of their resources and the ongoing occupation - military and economic - of Iraq.

Join us on the streets of London on Saturday 11 October in telling Shell, BP and the others, Hands Off Iraqi Oil - End the Occupation Now!

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

3) UPDATE: BIG OIL'S LATEST PLANS FOR IRAQ

Technical Service Contracts cancelled by Iraqi government – what next?
 
Briefly, the recent cancellation of the TSAs or TSCs – originally part-written by the US state department and international oil companies - is evidence of the progress the Iraqi and international campaign has made, and how much there is still left to play for.
 
The oil law is now unlikely to be passed before Bush and Cheney leave office. The Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein Shahristani himself admits there is no prospect for the foreseeable future.
 
However, the rumours in Baghdad are that some kind of oil agreement will be included in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA). SOFA remains unratified yet the deal is likely to reflect not only long term US military interests in the region but a long-term economic agenda favourable to allied oil industry interests.
 
The Chinese development contracts for the al-Ahdab deal near Baghdad as well as the gas capture contract for Shell have not yet been signed, merely their terms agreed by the Iraqi cabinet.
 
The details of the contracts have not been released to the parliament, nor have they been subject of public scrutiny or debate. However they could be signed soon. Oil experts and civil society leaders in Iraq continue to call for an open debate and transparency and consultation with all Iraqi resource deals.
 
Some oil experts privately suspect that US officials were involved in the decision to agree the Chinese deal. By Iraqi standards, it is a small field and gives a handy answer to charges that the US administration wanted Iraq's oil for US companies. However these suspicions lack evidence.

FAQs

So why weren't the Technical Service Contracts not signed?
Essentially, the reason for the collapse of these negotiations (after nearly a year) was that the western oil companies were so greedy. They weren't interested in the contracts in their own right (they're only 1-year service contracts), but in what they could give them beyond. So they were insisting on long-term extension rights, giving them first refusal on subsequent longer contracts - something the Iraqi government resisted. But the companies were too greedy and have now missed out altogether, so will have to wait for the bidding round.
 
Why has the Iraqi Ministry of Oil taken this position?
That the Oil Ministry was prepared to stand up to the companies is due to the shift in the politics of the oil issue. Eighteen months ago, oil policy in Iraq was consistently reflecting the interests of the western companies and governments - it was due to the popular campaign in Iraq that the Oil Ministry felt able to (and needed to) push a firmer line.
 
So what happens next?
Other contracts are proceeding. A bidding round is about to be launched for 8 large oilfields (roughly the same ones that would have been covered by these no-bid contracts), and then there is the contract agreed recently with Chinese companies for the al-Ahdab field and with Shell for gas development for the domestic and export market. All of those are long-term contracts (reportedly 20 years).
 
What kind of contracts are these long term 'development' contracts?
According to the Ministry's claims, they are service contracts. If that is true, they would be comparable at least to contracts in Venezuela and Iran, rather than giving such a large share of ownership, control and revenues as the production sharing contracts the companies wanted; but still giving away more than in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where foreign companies do not manage a whole field, but are just contracted to install a piece of technology, for example. Russia by comparison is a different case altogether, as it is mostly closed to foreign companies.
 
How do we know that these contracts won't just be Production Sharing Agreements of privatisation deals by another name?
It is hard to say because so far there has been absolutely no transparency, and no-one knows what the terms of the contracts are. The priority now in Iraq has to be for these terms to be disclosed - the issues are too important to be decided in secret.
 
How can the companies start work in Iraq when the oil law is still not passed?
The legal position in Iraq is that limited contracts (like in Saudi Arabia) can be signed without an oil law, but extensive ones (like production sharing contracts) can't. These contracts currently being considered are in a grey area in between. To know the answer, we would have to see the precise terms of the contracts, and take legal advice.
 
**************************************************************************************
 
HANDS OFF IRAQI OIL is a UK coalition of development, anti-war, environmental and human rights groups opposed to the rip-off of Iraq's oil wealth. For more information see our website at: www.handsoffiraqioil.org.
 
About this list: This is the news and action email list for supporters of Hands Off Iraqi Oil.
To subscribe, email: handsoff-update-subscribe@lists.riseup.net.
To unsubscribe, email: handsoff-update-unsubscribe@lists.riseup.net.

 


693
News Items / WERE YOU ON THE GEORGE BUSH DEMO 15 JUNE 2008?
« on: October 01, 2008, 09:09:36 PM »
WERE YOU ON THE GEORGE BUSH DEMO 15 JUNE 2008?

Message from bushdemo@gmail. com

POST-ACTION ARRESTS ARE TAKING PLACE - THE LONDON PAPER HAS PRINTED A POLICE APPEAL - KNOW YOUR RIGHTS!

In recent weeks several people have been arrested in connection with the demo against Bush's visit to Downing Street in June, in addition to the 25 people who were arrested on the day of the demo itself. These arrests are continuing - people are still being identified and arrested by the police as we write this on 29th September.

We think it's really important for people who may have been involved to know that this operation is happening and to be prepared. Some of those arrested so far have unexpectedly had their houses raided, and been arrested at home or unexpectedly picked up on unconnected actions or demonstrations. Those arrested are in some cases facing unreasonably serious charges such as 'violent disorder'.

On Thursday 25 September the London Paper printed pictures released by the police of 4 men who they are pursuing in connection with the demo. The article relates people 'thought to be anarchists' trying to 'push through police lines' and makes claims about sharpened sticks being poked into the eyes of police officers.

The police have an operation dedicated to pursuing people from this demo called 'Operation Spring Brook'. The plain clothes police working on this are using footage from several different FIT video cameras which were positioned behind police lines at the demo and also aerial CCTV footage.

This does not mean that everyone who attended the demo is going to be arrested tomorrow. However, we suggest that anyone who was near the front of the demonstration when the police decided to attack protesters with batons should be aware of what is happening and be aware of their rights.

THINGS YOU CAN DO:

1) Tell people you know who might have been on the demo how this situation is developing. Forward them this email including the LEGAL BRIEFING included below, especially if they might not know much about their rights when being arrested. Some people who have already been arrested ended up without solicitors and answering lots of questions they didn't need to answer when they were surprised by the police turning up at their door!

2) If you didn't see the London Paper article with the photos in it and would like to see a copy we can send you one. Email us via bushdemo@gmail. com and we will email you back. If you are worried about revealing your email address to us you can eg. set up a new email address on Gmail and email us from that.

3) If you have been arrested in connection with this demo and you do not yet have a solicitor contact Bindmans on 020 7833 4433. They are a law firm that sometimes represents activists - explain the situation and see if they are able to represent you.

4) If you have been arrested and you want to make contact with others in the same situation get in contact with us by emailing bushdemo@gmail. com. You can also call up the Stop the War Coalition office as they organised the demonstration - tel 020 7278 6694 or email office@stopwar. org.uk. They have held one meeting for defendents in recent weeks.

5) Whether or not you were at the demo, if you're interested in doing solidarity work for the people who have been arrested you can also contact us on bushdemo@gmail. com. Again, you could also contact Stop the War: 020 7278 6694 or office@stopwar. org.uk.

6) Contact the London Paper to tell them what you think about their cooperation with this political policing, and the baseless claims in their article. Email talk@thelondonpaper .com, write to The London Paper, 1 Pennington St, London E98 1XY, phone 020 7782 4848 or text 88855.

For reports and images from the demonstration, see:
- http://www.indymedi a.org.uk/ en/2008/06/ 401432.html
- http://www.indymedi a.org.uk/ en/2008/06/ 401236.html
- http://www.indymedi a.org.uk/ en/2008/06/ 401276.html
- http://www.indymedi a.org.uk/ en/2008/06/ 401258.html
- http://www.youtube. com/watch? v=5mVR--UdL78

In struggle,
Bush Demo Arrest Solidarity
bushdemo@gmail. com

YOUR RIGHTS IF YOU ARE ARRESTED

If you are arrested you are entitled to:
- Know what you have been arrested for - ask the police officer who is arresting you
- Access to free legal advice either from a solicitor (some activists use the firm Bindmans - ring them on 020 7833 4433 and explain your situation) or sometimes now via telephone. If you want a solicitor who is sympathetic to activist needs we strongly recommend you don't accept a duty solicitor.
- If you are arrested for a non-imprisonable offence (which maybe isn't very likely in this case) you may have to use telephone advice from CDS Direct or pay for a solicitor's advice.
- Have one phone call made on your behalf informing someone of your arrest.
- Remain Silent - You can answer 'no comment' if interviewed to ALL questions - this may well be to your own benefit (although you can consult your solicitor about this). The police will try to convince you that you have done something wrong, and all their questions will be trying to incriminate you - try to stay strong. You can refuse to take part in an interview or answer any questions until you have spoken to your solicitor. From the moment you are cautioned everything you say is evidence. There is no such thing as a friendly chat. The police are not trying to help you. Do not sign any statements.
- Be offered a translator if English is not your first language.
- Vegan/Vegetarian Food if you want it
- Not give your name, address or date of birth. This may however delay your release, and if you have been charged and refuse to give these details you are unlikely to be given bail (ie. be released until you have to appear in court). The police may well try to ask you lots of other questions - eg. your hair colour, height, place of birth, favourite film etc, and may even present it as just filling in a questionnaire - but you do not have to answer these questions and it should not be a reason not to grant bail. This can be hard to do especially if they are friendly about it - but it is your right to decline to answer and ask them to come up with their own answers to their questionnaire.
- Request a medical examination if you feel unwell.
- Inform the custody officer if you are on prescribed medication. You may be permitted to take it.
- Your photograph, fingerprints and DNA may be taken without your consent.

For more legal information see the website of the Activist Legal Project: http://www.activist slegalproject. org.uk/

INSIST ON YOUR RIGHTS! (otherwise you won't get them)


694
STOP the WAR COALITION Public Meeting
TROOPS OUT OF IRAQ & AFGHANISTAN NO TO ARMY RECRUITMENT ON CAMPUS
6:30pm, Monday 13th October
Curtis Auditorium, Newcastle University (opposite Haymarket metro)

Speakers:
JANE SHALLICE – National Officer STWC and author, Afghanistan: Why We Should Get Out
ROSE GENTLE – Mother of fusilier Gordon Gentle who lost his life in Iraq - Honorary vice-president, National Union of Students - Military Families Against the War (www.mfaw.org.uk)
ARTEM LIEBENTHAL - Student suspended for protesting against army recruitment

695
For Your Information / Peace in Iraq is an option
« on: September 24, 2008, 09:36:13 PM »
Peace in Iraq is an option
International Anti Occupation Network
- Le Feyt Declaration

Contact with the Anti-Occupation Network :
only at Anti Occupation Network

The undersigned, friends of Iraq from France, Belgium, the United Kingdom,
Italy, Spain, Portugal, the United States of America, Egypt, Sweden and
Iraq, organized in the International Anti-Occupation Network (IAON) and
gathered in Le Feyt, France, from 25 to 27 August 2008, have adopted the
following position and declaration reflecting our commitment to a true end
to the occupation and to a lasting, sustainable peace in Iraq.

27 August 2008, Le Feyt, France

The US occupation of Iraq is illegal and cannot be made legal. All that has
derived from the occupation is illegal and illegitimate and cannot gain
legitimacy. These facts are incontrovertible. What are their consequences?

Peace, stability and democracy in Iraq are impossible under occupation.
Foreign occupation is opposed by nature to the interests of the occupied
people, as proven by the six million Iraqis displaced both inside and outside
Iraq, the planned assassination of Iraqi academics and professionals and
the destruction of their culture, and the more than one million killed.

Propaganda in the West tries to make palatable the absurdity that the
invader and destroyer of Iraq can play the role of Iraq's protector. The
convenient fear of a "security vacuum" -- used to perpetuate the
occupation -- ignores the fact that the Iraqi army never capitulated and
forms the backbone of the Iraqi armed resistance. That backbone is
concerned only with defending the Iraqi people and Iraq's sovereignty.
Similarly, projections of civil war ignore the reality that the Iraqi population
overwhelmingly, by number and by interest, rejects the occupation and will
continue to do so.

In Iraq, the Iraqi people resist the occupation by all means, in accordance
with international law1. Only the popular resistance can be recognized to
express and defend the Iraqi people's interests and will. Until now the
United States is blind to this reality, hoping that a "diplomatic surge",
following the military surge of effective ethnic cleansing, will secure a
government it imposes on Iraq. Regardless of who wins the upcoming US
presidential election, the US can never achieve its imperial goals and the
forces it imposes on Iraq are opposed to the interests of the Iraqi people.

Some in the West continue to justify the negation of popular sovereignty
under the rubric of the "war on terror", criminalizing not only resistance2,
but also humanitarian assistance to a besieged people. Under international
law the Iraqi resistance constitutes a national liberation movement.
Recognition of the Iraqi resistance is consequently a right, not an option3.
The international community has the right to withdraw recognition from the
US-imposed government in Iraq and recognize the Iraqi resistance.

It is evident that Iraq cannot recover lasting stability, unity and territorial
integrity until its sovereignty is guaranteed. It is also evident that the US
occupation cannot avoid accountability by trying to switch responsibility to
Iraq's neighbors. A pact of non-aggression, development and cooperation
between a liberated Iraq and its immediate neighbors is the obvious means
by which to achieve this stability4. In its median geopolitical position, and
given its natural resources, a liberated, peaceful and democratic Iraq is
central to the welfare and development of its neighbors. All of Iraq's
neighbors should recognize that stability in Iraq serves their own interests
and commit to not interfering in its internal affairs.

If the international community and the United States are interested in
peace, stability and democracy in Iraq they should accept that only the Iraqi
resistance -- armed, civil and political -- can achieve these by securing the
interests of the Iraqi people. The first demand of the Iraqi resistance is the
unconditional withdrawal of all foreign forces illegally occupying Iraq --
including private contractors -- and disbanding all armed forces established
by the occupation.

The Iraqi anti-occupation movement -- in all its expressions -- in defending
the Iraqi people is the only force empowered to ensure democracy in Iraq.
Across the spectrum of this movement it is agreed that upon US withdrawal
a temporary administrative government would be charged with two tasks:
preparing the ground for democratic elections and reconstituting the
national army. Upon completion of these tasks the administrative
government would disband, leaving decisions regarding reparations,
development and reconstruction to a sovereign and freely elected Iraqi
government in a state of all its citizens without religious, ethnic,
confessional or gender discrimination.

All laws, contracts, treaties and agreements signed under occupation are
unequivocally null and void. According to international law and the will of
the Iraqi people, total sovereignty of Iraqi oil and all natural, cultural and
material resources rests in the hands of the Iraqi people, in all its
generations, past, present and future. Across the spectrum of the Iraqi
anti-occupation movement all agree that Iraq should sell its oil on the
international market to all states not at war with Iraq, and in line with Iraq's
obligations as a member of OPEC.

The 2003 US invasion was and remains illegal and the law of state
responsibility demands that states refuse to recognize the consequences of
illegal state acts5. State responsibility also includes a duty to restore.
Compensation should be paid by all state and non-state actors that profited
from the destruction and plundering of Iraq.

The Iraqi people are longing for long-term peace. On the basis of the 2005
Istanbul conclusions of the World Tribunal on Iraq6, and in recognition of
the tremendous suffering of the aggressed Iraqi people, the signatories to
this declaration endorse the abovementioned principles for peace, stability
and democracy in Iraq.

The sovereignty of Iraq rests in the hands of its people in resistance. Peace
in Iraq is simple to attain: unconditional US withdrawal and recognition of
the Iraqi resistance that by definition represents the will of the Iraqi people.

We appeal to all peace loving people in the world to work to support the
Iraqi people and its resistance. The future of peace, democracy and
progress in Iraq, the region and the world depends on this.

Please circulate this statement widely

Members of the International Anti-Occupation Network :

Abdul Ilah Albayaty, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive
Committee, France - Iraq
Hana Al Bayaty, Coordinator of the Iraqi International Initiative on refugees,
France - Egypt
Dirk Adriaensens, member of the BRussells Tribunal Executive Committee,
Belgium
John Catalinotto, International Action Center, USA
Ian Douglas, Coordinator of the International Initiative to Prosecute US
Genocide in Iraq, UK - Egypt
Max Fuller, Author of For Iraq, the Salvador Option Become Reality and
Crying Wolf, death squads in Iraq, UK - Crying Wolf
Paola Manduca, Scientist, New Weapons Committee, Italy
Sigyn Meder, member of the Iraq Solidarity Association in Stockholm,
Sweden
Cristina Meneses, member of the Portuguese session of the World Tribunal
on Iraq, Portugal
Mike Powers, member of the Iraq Solidarity Association in Stockholm,
Sweden
Manuel Raposo, member of the Portuguese session of the World Tribunal
on Iraq, Portugal
Manuel Talens, writer, member of Cubadebate, Rebelión and Tlaxcala, Spain
Paloma Valverde, member of the Spanish Campaign Against the Occupation
and for the Sovereignty of Iraq (CEOSI), Spain

International figures who join us in our commitment to a true end to the
occupation and to a lasting, sustainable peace in Iraq :

Ramsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney General, international human rights
activist, founder of the International Action Center - USA
Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat, former Chief of Naval Staff -- India
Cynthia McKinney, Green Party US Presidential Candidate - USA
Denis Halliday, Former UN Assistant Secretary General & United Nations
Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq 1997-98 - Ireland
Hans von Sponeck, Former UN Assistant Secretary General & United
Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq 1998-2000 - Germany
François Houtart, Director of the Tricontinental Center (Cetri), spiritual
father and member of the International Committee of the World Social
Forum of Porto Alegre, Executive Secretary of the Alternative World Forum,
President of the International League for rights and liberation of people and
president of the BRussells Tribunal - Belgium
Socorro Gomes, Chairwoman of WPC - World Peace Council and of
Cebrapaz - Brazilian Center of Solidarity with Peoples and Struggle for
Peace - Brazil
José Francisco Gallardo Rodríguez, General Major and PhD. in Public
Administration - Mexico
Manik Mukherjee, Deputy, International Affairs, Socialist Unity Center of
India, General Secretary, International Anti-imperialist and People's
Solidarity Coordinating Committee - India
Eduardo Galeano, Essayist, journalist, historian, and activist - Uruguay
Harold Pinter, Author, Nobel Prize in Literature 2005 - UK
James Petras, Author - USA
Jan Myrdal, Author - Sweden
Michael Parenti, Author - USA
Peter Curman, Author - Sweden
Rosa Regàs, Author - Spain
Santiago Alba Rico, Author, philosopher, member of Rebelion, Spain -
Tunisia
William Blum, Author, USA
Issam Chalabi, former Iraqi Oil Minister, Iraq/Jordan
Dr. Omar Al Kubaisy, senior iraqi cardiologist, anti occupation politician and
activist on iraq health & medical situation
Dr. Saeed H. Hasan, Former Iraqi Permanent Representative to the United
Nations - Iraq
Dr. Saadallah Al-Fathi, former head of the Energy Studies Department at
OPEC - Iraq
Salah Omar Al Ali, ex iraqi minister/ex Iraq's ambassador to UN
Faruq Ziada, Former Iraqi Ambassador
Majid Al Samarai, former Iraqi ambassador
Wajdi A. Mardan, writer and Iraqi Diplomat
Naji Haraj, former Iraqi diplomat, human rights activist
Ridha Al Ridha, President of Iraqi Ja'fari shiits association: Al Ja'faria
Hassan T. Walli Aydinli, President of the Committee for the Defence of the
Iraqi Turkmens' Rights - Belgium-Iraq
Saif Al din Al Douri, Iraqi writer and researcher
Sabah Al-Mukhtar, President of the Arab Lawyers Association - Iraq / UK
Mohammed Younis Alobaidi, Oil Expert, Petroleum Consultancy Group
(PCG) Board Member
Prof. Dr. Zuhair Al Sharook, Former President of Mosul University, Iraq
Dr. Abdul Razaq M. Al Dulaimi, Dean of college of communication in
Baghdad before the invasion
"Hana Ibrahim", Chair of Women's Will Organisation - Iraq
Mohammed Aref, Science writer - Iraq / UK
Muhamad Tareq Al-Deraji, Director of Monitoring net of human rights in Iraq
- President of CCERF - Fallujah
Dr. Mousa Al-Hussaini, Iraqi Writer
Buthaina al Nasiri, author and activist, iraq-egypt
Dr. Souad Naji Al-Azzawi, Asst. Prof. Env. Eng. - University of Baghdad -
Iraq
Dr. Fadhil .M. Albadrani, Professor in media, journalist. baghdad - Iraq
Mundher Al-Adhami, Research Fellow at Kings College London - Iraq / UK
Nermeen Al-Mufti, Former co-director of Occupation Watch - Journalist -
Iraq
Salam Musafir, Iraqi author and journalist based in Russia
Wafaa' Al-Natheema, independent journalist, activist, founder of the
Institute of Near Eastern & African Studies (INEAS), filmmaker, author of
"Untamed Nostalgia - Wild Poems"
Hisham Bustani, Writer and Activist, Secretary - Socialist Thought Forum,
Jordan
Nada Kassass, activist, Egypt
Arab Lotfy, artist and activist, Resistance Alliance, Lebanon- Egypt
Dr Sahera Al Abta, Academic,Doctor in biology,Faculty of
Sience,Iraq/Amman
Sabah Al-Khozai, Academic & Politician
Yihia Abu Safi, searcher and activist, committies RIGHT TO RETURN
palestinian, member of Resistance Alliance-Cairo
Dr. Mahmoud Khalid Almsafir, Ass. Prof. International Economics, Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia
Ghali Hassan, Independent writer living in Syndey, Australia
Yasar Mohammed Salman Hasan, computer science and business
management - UK
Abdul Wahab Hamid Rashid, Iraq/Sweden
Asma Darwish Al-Haidari, Economist and Activist - Amman
Dr. Curtis F.J. Doebbler, International Human Rights Lawyer - USA
Karen Parker, Attorney , Association of Humanitarian Lawyers, partners of
the BRussells Tribunal - USA
Niloufer Bhagwat, Vice President of Indian Lawyers Association - Mumbai /
India
Amy Bartholomew, Law professor - Canada
Jennifer Van Bergen, journalist, author writing about civil liberties, human
rights and international law, law lecturer at the Anglo-American University
in Prague
Ana Esther Ceceña, Researcher/professor in geopolitics, National
Autonomous University of México, Director of the Geopolitics Latinamerican
Observatory - Mexico
Ángel Guerra Cabrera, journalist and professor - Cuba
April Hurley, MD, Iraq Peace Team, Baghdad 2003 - California, USA
Azildin Bin Hussain Al Qutamil, Arab Avant Guard-blog - Tunis
Dr. Bert De Belder, Coordinator Intal & Medical Aid For The Third World -
Belgium
Carlos Fazio, journalist and academic - Mexico
Carlos Taibo, professor of Political Sciences, Madrid Autonomous
University - Spain
Carmen Bohorquez, philosopher, Coordinator of the network of networks
In Defense of Humanity - Venezuela
Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, President of JUST International - Malaysia
Claudio Moffa, Professor of History - Italy
Corinne Kumar, Secretary General of El Taller International - Tunesia / India
Dahr Jamail, independent journalist, author: Beyond the Green Zone:
Dispatches from an Unembedded Journalist in Occupied Iraq - USA
David Hungerford, antiwar activist - USA
David Miller, Professor of Sociology at Strathclyde University, co-founder of
Spinwatch - UK
Dirk Tuypens, Actor - Belgium
Elias Davidsson, composer, international law scholar and activist for 9/11
truth - Germany
Eric Goeman, coordinator ATTAC - Belgium
Fausto Giudice, Writer, translator, activist, member of Tlaxcala -
Italy/France
Felicity Arbuthnot, Journalist - UK
Frank Vercruyssen, Actor, TG Stan - Belgium
Dr. Gideon Polya, scientist, author of Body Count, Global avoidable
mortality since 1950, Australia
Gie van den Berghe, professor University of Ghent - Belgium
Gilad Atzmon, Musician, writer, pro-Palestinian activist - UK
Gilberto López y Rivas, anthropologist - Mexico
Prof. Hedvig Ekerwald, Dept of Sociology, Uppsala University - Sweden
Prof. Em. Herman De Ley, Em. Prof. Ghent University, Ex-director of Centre
for Islam in Europe - Belgium
Isaac Rosa, Writer - Spain
James E. Jennings, PH.D., President , Conscience International, Inc., a
humanitarian aid and human rights organization working primarily in the
Middle East; and Executive Director, US Academics for Peace, a group of
university professors dedicated to dialogue among civilizations - USA
Jean Pestieau, Professor Emeritus, Catholic Univercity of Louvain (UCL),
Belgium
Joachim Guilliard, Journalist, Anti-war movement - Germany
John Saxe-Fernández, Professor of political science, National Autonomous
University - México
Jos Hennes, Publisher EPO - Edition House - Belgium
José Reinaldo Carvalho, Journalist, politologue, Relations Internationales,
Cebrapaz - Centre Brésilien Pour la Solidarité avec les Peuples et la Lutte
pour la Paix - Brazil
Kris Smet, Former Journalist - Belgium
Larry Holmes, Troops Out Now Coalition - USA
LeiLani Dowell, Fight Imperialism, Stand Together - USA
Prof. Dr. Lieven De Cauter, philosopher, K.U. Leuven / Rits, initiator of the
BRussells Tribunal - Belgium
Lolo Rico, screenwriter - Spain
Ludo De brabander, Vrede, Peace Organisation - Belgium
Luz Gomez Garcia, Lecturer. Universidad Autonoma de Madrid - Spain
Manlio Dinucci, journalist Il Manifesto - Italy
Marc Vandepitte, philosopher - Belgium
Maria McGavigan, Institute for Marxist Studies, Brussels
Dr Mario Novelli, Lecturer in International Development, University of
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Maruja Torres, writer and journalist - Spain
Mary Rizzo, Writer, translator, pro-Palestinian activist, member of Tlaxcala -
USA/Italy
Mathias Cederholm, historian University of Lund, member in the Iraq
Committe in Malmö, Sweden
Merry Fitzgerald, Europe-Turkmens of Iraq Friendships - Belgium
Michel Chossudovsky, economics professor and director, Centre for
Research on Globalization (CRG) - Canada
Michel Collon, author, journalist - Belgium
Miguel Álvarez Gándara, member of SERAPAZ - Mexico
Mohamed Larbi Benotmane, law professor, Mohamed V University (Rabat).
Dr. Nayar López Castellanos, National Autonomous University of México -
Mexico
Pascual Serrano, journalist, member of Rebelion - Spain
Paul Vanden Bavière, Former journalist De Standaard, publicist and editor
of webzine Uitpers - Belgium
Pedro Monzón, Professor, Coordinator of the Cuban Chapter In Defense of
Humanity - Cuba
Dr. Pol De Vos, Public Health Researcher - Peace movement, Belgium
René Naba, journalist, writer - France
Robin Eastman-Abaya, physician and human rights activist - USA
Prof. Rudi Laermans, sociologist, Catholic University of Leuven - Belgium
Sasha Crow, founder, co-directer of Collateral Repair Project
Sara Flounders, co-director of the International Action Center
Sarah Meyer, Independent researcher living in Sussex - UK
Saul Landau, scholar, author, commentator, and filmmaker on foreign and
domestic policy issues, fellow of the Institute for Policy Studies - USA.
Sköld Peter Matthis, ophthalmologist - Sweden
Stephan Galon, ABVV Trade-Union Secretary / Permanent Syndical
Centrale Générale FGTB - Belgium
Stéphane Lathion, swiss scholar (Fribourg University) - President of the
GRIS (Research Group on Islam in Switzerland).
Stephen Eric Bronner, Professor of political science, Rutgers University -
USA
Stevan Kirschbaum, Chair Grievance Committee United Steel Workers 8751
- USA
Steve Gillis, Vice President, United Steel Workers Local 8751 - USA
Teresa Gutierrez, May 1st Coalition for Immigrant and Worker Rights
Co-Coordinator and Deputy Secretary General International Migrant
Alliance (organizations for ID only) - USA
Dr. Thomas M. Fasy, MD PhD, Clinical Associate Professor, Mount Sinai
School of Medicine - USA
Víctor Flores Olea, writer and political scientist - Mexico

Endorsing Organisations :

All India Anti-imperialist Forum - India
BRussells Tribunal - Belgium
CEOSI - Spain
Conscience International - USA
El Taller International - Tunesia
INTAL - Belgium
International Action Center - USA
International Anti-imperialist and People's Solidarity Coordinating
Committee
The Iraq Solidarity Association in Stockholm (IrakSolidaritet) - Sweden
Medical Aid For The Third World - Belgium
Muslim Peacemaker Teams - Iraq
Palestine Think Tank (Free Minds for a Free Palestine)
Tlaxcala, The Translators' (Global) Network for Linguistic Diversity
US Academics for Peace - USA
World Courts of Women
Collateral Repair Project (www.collateralrepairproject.org)

We encourage the international peace movement, civil society and
politicians to follow their example :

1 The right to self-determination, national independence, territorial
integrity, national unity, and sovereignty without external interference has
been affirmed numerous times by a number of UN bodies, including the UN
Security Council, UN General Assembly, UN Commission on Human Rights,
the International Law Commission and the International Court of Justice.
The principle of self-determination provides that where forcible action has
been taken to suppress this right, force may be used in order to counter
this and achieve self-determination.
The Commission on Human Rights has routinely reaffirmed the legitimacy of
struggling against occupation by all available means, including armed
struggle (CHR Resolution No. 3 XXXV, 21 February 1979 and CHR
Resolution No. 1989/19, 6 March 1989). Explicitly, UN General Assembly
Resolution 37/43, adopted 3 December 1982: "Reaffirms the legitimacy of
the struggle of peoples for independence, territorial integrity, national unity
and liberation from colonial and foreign domination and foreign occupation
by all available means, including armed struggle." (See also UN General
Assembly Resolutions 1514, 3070, 3103, 3246, 3328, 3382, 3421, 3481, 31/91,
32/42 and 32/154).

2 Article 1(4) of the 1st Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions,
1977, considers self-determination struggles as international armed conflict
situations. The Geneva Declaration on Terrorism states: "As repeatedly
recognized by the United Nations General Assembly, peoples who are
fighting against colonial domination and alien occupation and against racist
regimes in the exercise of their right of self-determination have the right to
use force to accomplish their objectives within the framework of
international humanitarian law. Such lawful uses of force must not be
confused with acts of international terrorism."

3 National liberation movements are recognized as the consequence of the
right of self-determination. In the exercise of their right to
self-determination, peoples under colonial and alien domination have the
right "to struggle ... and to seek and receive support, in accordance with
the principles of the Charter" and in conformity with the Declaration on
Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and
Co-operation among States. It is in these terms that Article 7 of the
Definition of Aggression (General Assembly Resolution 3314 (XXIX) of 14
December 1974) recognizes the legitimacy of the struggle of peoples under
colonial or alien domination. Recognition by the UN of the legitimacy of the
struggle of peoples under colonial and alien domination or occupation is in
line with the general prohibition of the use of force enshrined in the UN
Charter as a state that forcibly subjugates a people to colonial or alien
domination is committing an unlawful act as defined by international law,
and the subject people, in the exercise of its inherent right of self-defence,
may fight to defend and attain its right to self-determination.

4 The Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly
Relations and Co-operation among States (General Assembly Resolution
2625 (XXV)) cites the principle that, "States shall refrain in their
international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of any State, or in any other manner
inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations." Individually and
collectively, Iraq and its neighbors would commit to refrain from the use of
force or threat of the use of force, facilitating the use of force or threat of
use of force by other actors, and refraining from all forms of interference in
the affairs of other states. Individually and collectively, Iraq and its
neighbors would also commit to cooperation and development on the basis
of negotiation, arbitrage and mutual advantage.

5 Article 41(2) of the United Nations International Law Commission's Draft
Articles on State Responsibility, representing the rule of customary
international law (adopted in UN General Assembly Resolution 56/83 of 28
January 2002, "Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts"),
prevents states from benefiting from their own illegal acts: "No State shall
recognize as lawful a situation created by a serious breach [of an obligation
arising under a peremptory norm of general international law]"; Section III,
UN General Assembly Resolution 36/103 of 14 December 1962, "Declaration
on the Inadmissibility of Intervention and Interference in the Internal Affairs
of States".

6 Declaration of the Jury of Conscience, World Tribunal on Iraq, Istanbul,
23-27 June 2005.

7 The International Anti-occupation Network is a coalition of groups that
stand in solidarity with the Iraqi people and for Iraqi sovereignty and
against the US-led occupation of Iraq. It was established in April 2006 at the
Madrid International Seminar on the Assassination of Iraqi Academics and
Health Professionals, the final resolution of which can be read here.

Original and official text of "Le Feyt Declaration: Peace in Iraq is an option".
This text cannot be altered. If copied in its entirety, or in parts, the original
source should always be mentioned: http://anti-occupation.org

696
South Tyneside Stop the War / Witch hunt against Chris
« on: September 23, 2008, 09:31:46 PM »
Dear All
 
One of the Stop the War Coalition activists who has been working on  the stall and been involved in a number of our protests in the town has been singled out in a witchunt conducted by the Chronicle into the Newcastle Sunderland match last year in which the paper has been conducting a guilty campaign on the say so of the police.  The consequence of which are serious for Chris. I have protested in this letter to the Chronicle which I doublt will be published.
 
Roger
 
 
Chronicle
 
Dear Editor
 
I would like to protest in the strongest possible terms against the article you
published by Adam Jupp, "Shocking Statistics Reveal Extent of Soccer
Violence."  Not only does this article seem to be aimed at diverting attention
when Newcastle fans are protesting against the corporate greed that is
destroying football but it unjustly labels many supporter  involved as thugs
on the police say so.
 
The article names Chris Brannan in this way as the so-called 50th soccer
hooligan. The fact is Chris is a loyal  Newcastle supporter who admitted to
throwing some of his bottled water over a policeman in full riot gear with
dog.  He also admitted to condemning the police action in charging the fans
with riot police batons and horses as fascist because there was not a
Sunderland fan in sight and he felt the police action was unprovoked.  The
article does not report what he said but reports him as "hurling abuse".
 
I have personally known Chris Brannan  for many years and he is not a thug
or a hooligan. In fact Chris is one of the kindest people I know always keen
to help people in the community where he lives and is well liked.
 
Recently we took part together in naming of the dead ceremony of the 100
soldiers killed in Afghanistan attended by ourselves and military families as a
protest to the government invasion and occupation of that country as well
as Iraq.  It is interesting to note that whilst the journalist and your paper are
quick to condemn these young people as thugs, using a two page spread
and to print their picture and give out their address,  you are very slow to
condemn the real thugs in 10 Downing Street who have carried out war
crimes in our name that have led to the death of so many people in Iraq and
Afghanistan and who are responsible for the death, wounding and maiming
of so many British soldiers and whose policies are also devastating the
communities in which we live.
 
Yours faithfully
 
Roger Nettleship

697
On Saturday, September 20th thousands of people travelled to Manchester to take part in a mass protest to coincide with the start of Labour Party Conference to oppose the spread of war and to demand an end to the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan. The demonstration was aimed not just against the Labour Government but all of the big parties and against their pro war agenda. Slogans of No to NATO! and Stop the Warmongering! were carried by peace activists, military families, youth, minorities and Manchester and other trade unionists that took part on mass. Manchester Trades Council Banner was proudly carried with the slogan Unity Is Strength and A Better World Is Possible! The demonstation finished with a large rally at the end adddressed by a range of speakers finishing with Tony Benn President of the Stop the War Coalition. The Demonstration showed once again the continuing vitality of the anti-war movement.

A Coach went from Newcastle to take part in the demonstration organised by the Tyneside Stop the War Coalition. Participants on the coach dedicated this action and day to the memory of Julie Fowler, an activist of the Tyneside Stop the War Coalition, who suddenly passed away days before the demonstration and whilst working for the success of this important event

698
On Friday the 12th Sept Newcastle College invited onto campus the
army in order to do a presentation to recruit students with the promise of
financial assistance for college and University fees. This time last year the
Students' Union passed a policy against Army recruitment on campus and banned
the Army from the fresher's fair.

Last Friday an emergency protest was organised by students at
Newcastle College. Artem and other students went into the presentation to ask
simply `How many of our students would be killed'? for this he was threatened
with security and in the end left of his free will.

The following Monday Artem was told by phone that he was being
suspended for a week pending an investigation and a disciplinary
hearing on the 22nd Sept.

No other student involved in the protest is being punished for the
same activities that Artem carried out. This is simply a way to spread fear and
intimidation in order to paralyse any student activism, democracy or
accountability.

Those of us who wish to defend our rights to speak out, to vote, to
stand in elections or to organise on campus as activists should have the right
to do so. Democracy and human rights are not something that you leave at the
doorstep of the college but something that you carry with you everywhere you go.

Defend democracy, defend our right to speak out, defend Artem
Liebenthal! Download the leaflet defending Artem.

Breaking News...sign the online petition here
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://www.petitiononline.com/nowar567/petition.\
html
What you can do...
1) Email to complain to the college linda.moore@ncl-
http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http://coll.ac.uk? This e-mail address is being
protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
2) Email Artem in support artem_88@web.deThis e-mail address is being
protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
3) Join the protest (details below)
4) Get support from your Students'/Trade Union

Join the protest
PROTEST OUTSIDE HIS DISCIPLINARY HEARING
MONDAY 22ND SEPT 12NOON, ASSEMBLE ON
ELSWICK EAST TERRACE
(Please bring union banners, delegations etc. etc.)

699
General Discussion / Britain Out of Nato!
« on: September 17, 2008, 08:46:49 PM »
Tony Benn joins peace activists to protest NATO expansion
     
Written by Stewart office
     
Thursday, 28 August 2008 

Tony Benn, Lindsey German and Chris Nineham were joined by Brian Eno, David Gentleman and kate Hudson as they handed in a letter of protest to Downing Street condemning the expansion of NATO which has led to the war in Georgia.

The letter, reprinted below, highlighted the double standards of a government which invades countries across the world then accuses others of doing the same.

When Stop the War Coalition marched against the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq, we said that the world would become a more dangerous place as other countries sought to use war to achieve political ends. There is a direct causal relationship between the Iraq war and the Georgian War, not least Georgia's 2,000 troops who learned their trade in Iraq.

If NATO expansion is allowed to continue unhindered, this will be seen not as an isolated incident but the beginning of a new cold war.

 

Dear Prime Minister,

We write to express our deep concern at the policy of the British government
toward the recent war in Georgia.

Government policy must recognise that the military action of the Georgian
government against South Ossetia was the trigger for Russian military action.

In addition, the government should grasp that the encouragement given to
Georgia by the US and Britain to become part of NATO was seen by Georgia as a
direct encouragement in its conflict with Russia. NATO's eastward expansion to
include most of the countries in Russia's former sphere of influence was bound
to lead to just such a conflict.

We are also concerned that the government's slavish repetition of the
statements being made by the US government, even down to the repetition of
exact phrases, risks re-running the errors that the Blair government made
during the Iraq war.

Those making government statements seem unaware that echoing George Bush's
denunciation of Russia for having "invaded a sovereign neighbouring state" can
only further diminish the standing of those making them when they are widely
seen as responsible for two such invasions - those of Afghanistan and Iraq.

The government needs to break decisively with the US-led aggressive expansion
of NATO around Russia's borders. The end of the Cold War should have been an
opportunity to inaugurate a peaceful era in international relations. But the US
determination to exercise global hegemony through a series of military
adventures, the expansion of NATO, the adoption of first strike and pre-emptive
strike policies and the spread of US bases through the former Soviet central
Asian republics has all but destroyed this prospect.

It should be the policy of the British government to revive this vision of
peace. The first step is to break with the war-drive of the US state.

Yours sincerely

Tony Benn
Brian Eno
David Gentleman
Andrew Murray (STWC)
Kate Hudson(CND)
Lindsey German (STWC)
Billy Hayes (CWU) 

700
For Your Information / Miliband's true colours
« on: September 17, 2008, 08:34:48 PM »
Miliband's true colours

The foreign secretary's Bush-echoing stance on Georgia shows just what kind of leader he'd be    All comments (159) 

Andrew Murray The Guardian, Friday August 22 2008

If there is a Labour party leadership election this autumn, Dick Cheney and John McCain have their candidate. Step forward David Miliband, neoconservative. The foreign secretary's aggressive posturing on the side of Washington over the Ossetian crisis has made it abundantly clear where he stands on the great divide in world politics today. He is for the US empire.

This is bad news for those Labour party supporters who correctly believe that the party's troubles cannot be overcome without ending its witless support for US foreign policy and the calamities it is causing, of which the continuing Iraq war is the most lurid exhibit.

There was a flutter of hope during his momentary honeymoon period last summer that Gordon Brown would make the change the party and the public wanted - he muttered about pulling troops out of Iraq and looked a study in sulkiness when visiting George Bush.

All huff and puff, as it turned out. At least Miliband has made a point of puncturing any similar illusions in advance. His now famous manifesto in the Guardian parroted the standard Washington line on Iraq to the effect that the only problem was the failure of the invaders to prepare for the peace as well as the war, a proposition that even Donald Rumsfeld and Christopher Hitchens may by now agree with. But it is in relation to the Russia-Georgia crisis that he has most clearly broken cover.

Mikheil Saakashvili's role in igniting the conflict is ignored or downplayed. Russia should be punished. Nato must expand headlong. The view of the peoples of South Ossetia and Abkhazia that they do not wish to be Georgian must be ignored. Above all, the part played by US global expansionism in provoking the crisis must go unexamined.

Miliband has put Britain back in the centre of almost exactly the same "coalition of the willing" as rallied behind the Iraq infamy - Washington, London and "new Europe". The main difference is that this time Italy and Spain have joined France and Germany on the side of caution, leaving the British government even more isolated.

And even more hypocritical. For Miliband to insist - as he did in an article in the Times this week - that Russia must respect international law, displays a breathtaking lack of self-awareness. Pre-Iraq, support for the UN and international legality were cornerstones of Labour's stated approach to world politics. Tony Blair put paid to that and here we are half a million or so corpses later.

You can't play cop and robber at the same time on the world stage, just as you can't offer Labour a fresh start while clinging doggedly to the most disastrous policy of the last 11 years. Deputy chief whip Nick Brown appears to have got the message with a remarkable article on Comment is Free this week, trashing the Miliband line and Georgia's Nato aspirations.

Perhaps he has noticed that the foreign secretary is not only echoing George Bush's approach to the Georgian crisis but even David Cameron's, whose brief flirtation with less subservience to Washington seems to have gone by the board. Indeed, Miliband seems irked that Cameron got to Tbilisi first to deliver a Russophobic rant - the Tory leader's pledge to bar Russians from Selfridges marks the only point of difference. Miliband apparently stands firm on the right to shop, come what may.

Of course, the collateral damage done to the foreign secretary's prime ministerial pretensions is surely the least of the tragedies of the unnecessary war in the Caucasus. But it does leave an opening for any politician who can articulate the public desire for a foreign policy more independent of the US, before imperial Washington drags us into conflicts which may make even the immense suffering of Iraq seem like an appetiser.

· Andrew Murray is chair of the Stop the War Coalition
office@stopwar.org.uk

701
News Items / Protest this Thursday as NATO comes to London
« on: September 17, 2008, 08:25:08 PM »
Protest this Thursday as NATO comes to London     
Written by Stewart office     
Monday, 15 September 2008 

Victim of NATO bombingProtest this Thursday as NATO comes to London
Stop the Spread of War, No to US missile defence
7pm Thursday September 18th, Lancaster House, Stable Yard Road, London SW1A 1BB
Nearest tube Green Park
***Note Change of Time*** 



NATO defence ministers are meeting in London on Thursday and Friday for 'talks about NATO reorganisation'. Chaired by our very own Des Browne, items on the agenda include Afghanistan, US incursions into Pakistan, and the 'Star Wars' missile defence project.


On 3 September, at least 20 civilians were killed when US ground forces attacked a village in Pakistan. In the last week, 38 Pakistanis have been killed in US airstrikes.

Pakistan has been a key ally of the US in the 'War on Terror', but popular opinion there says that the alliance has brought only violence to their country. The spread of the war to Pakistan, a nuclear armed state, could ignite a regional war.

The US Missile Defence Shield is also on the agenda. The Georgian crisis a few weeks ago has led to the speeding up of the 'Star Wars' project. Poland has agreed to have US 'Interceptor' missiles, another provocation to war in Eastern Europe.

Stop the War Coalition and CND are calling a joint protest at this NATO meeting, and we're asking all of our supporters to be there and be noisy! Spread the word. 
 

702
For Your Information / TUC and Civil Liberties
« on: September 17, 2008, 06:52:38 PM »
13 Civil liberties
Congress expresses its concern at the steady erosion of civil liberties in the UK and in particular the negative impact such attacks have on members' working lives.

Congress congratulates unions who have resisted the imposition of draconian measures in the workplace and unions who have worked with civil liberty campaigners to expose the wider threat posed to civil liberties, including plans for ID cards, 42-day detention and limits on the right to protest.

Congress also expresses its grave concern at the threats to independent journalism posed by the Terrorism Act and other recent legislation. In particular, Congress condemns the threat to jail journalists such as Shiv Malik and Robin Ackroyd for protecting journalistic sources.

Congress recognises the importance of a free media in a democratic society, the essential function fulfilled by whistleblowers and the vital public interest in upholding journalists' rights not to reveal their sources.

Congress condemns attempts to use the Contempt of Court Act, Terrorism Act and other legislation to compel journalists to betray confidential sources in breach of Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

Congress urges the General Council to take a lead and work with affiliates to support legal and industrial challenges to defend civil liberties and the right of members to work free from such threats.

National Union of Journalists

The following AMENDMENT was accepted

In paragraph 3, line 1, after 'journalism' insert 'and academic freedom'.

At end of paragraph 3 add:

'Congress also condemns the use of the Terrorism Act to restrict the rights of academics and students to research and study terrorist tactics (as occurred at the University of Nottingham in May).'

Insert new paragraph 5:

'Congress also recognises the importance of academic freedom in guaranteeing a robust democracy.'

University and College Union

703
IN THIS NEWSLETTER: 
1) THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY   
2) PROTEST WHEN NATO COMES TO LONDON 
3) "DEEPLY SADDENED" AGAIN AND AGAIN 
4) GEORGE BUSH DESPERATE FOR "TROPHY STRIKE" 
5) IRAQI ART UNDER OCCUPATION   
6) YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT UP: NO. 2847

*************************************   
1) THE WORLD'S MOST DANGEROUS COUNTRY

Iraq is the most dangerous country in the world. With at 
least a million civilians killed since the illegal invasion 
in 2003, the daily toll of death and destruction outstrips 
any other country, however much the mainstream media peddles 
George Bush's propaganda that his "surge" is working.   
Journalist Patrick Cockburn, described recently the all too 
frequent reality for the Iraqi people:

"A car bomb exploded in the Shia market town of Dujail, 
north of Baghdad, killing 32 people and wounding 43 others. 
"The smoke filled my house and the shrapnel broke some of 
the windows," said Hussein al-Dujaili. "I went outside the 
house and saw two dead bodies at the gate which had been 
thrown there by the explosion. Some people were in panic and 
others were crying." (See http://tinyurl.com/5tgp9d )

There are 4,500 British troops in the midst of this brutal 
occupation and the horrific instability it has brought in 
its wake. They almost never leave their base at Basra   
airport, on the outskirts of the city. Their only function 
-- at a cost to the British taxpayer of around one billion 
pounds a year -- is to provide political cover for George 
Bush's continuing aggression against the Iraqi people and 
the pillaging of the country's resources.

The most recent polls show that the majority of Iraqi and 
British people continue to want all foreign troops to be 
withdrawn. But, just as George Bush insists he plans to 
reduce US troop levels (they are in fact as high as they 
have ever been in the last five years), Gordon Brown has 
reneged on the promises he made when he became prime 
minister that he would make sizeable reductions in 2008. In 
practice, the number of British troops withdrawn from Iraq 
has been pitifully low.

Stop the War's demonstration at the Labour Party's national 
conference on Saturday 20 September will include the call 
for all British troops to be withdrawn from Iraq now. It's a 
message we will do all we can to press home for as long as 
there is a single soldier left in Iraq.

MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD - STOP THE SPREAD OF WAR   
DEMONSTRATE AT THE LABOUR PARTY CONFERENCE 
SATURDAY 20 SEPTEMBER: ASSEMBLE 12.30PM 
ALL SAINTS, MANCHESTER M15 
Updates: http://www.stopwar.org.uk

TRANSPORT DETAILS: See http://tinyurl.com/696px8 or call 020 

7278 6694 
LEAFLETS: Call 020 7278 6694 or download at 
http://www.stopwar.org.uk

*************************************   
2) PROTEST WHEN NATO COMES TO LONDON

NATO defence ministers are meeting in London on Thursday 18 
September and Friday 19 September. They will be here for 
'talks about NATO reorganisation' and the discussions will 
be chaired by our very own defence minister Des Browne. 
Items on the agenda include Afghanistan, US incursions into 
Pakistan and the 'Star Wars' missile defence project.

Well might the NATO warmongers discuss Pakistan, which has 
been a key ally of the US in the 'war on terror', against 
popular opinion in the country which says the alliance has 
brought nothing but violence and instability. The risk of 
igniting a regional war is clearly contained in the illegal 
US attacks on Pakistani territory, which in the past two 
weeks have killed at least 60 Pakistani civilians. The   
chilling shadow over George Bush's decision to sanction 
covert military action is that Pakistan is a nuclear armed 
state.

The US Missile Defence Shield is also on the NATO agenda. 
The Georgian crisis a few weeks ago has prompted 
acceleration of the 'Star Wars' project. The Polish 
government, despite widespread opposition in Poland, has 
agreed to provide bases for the US Interceptor missiles, yet 
another potential provocation to war in Eastern 
Europe.

Stop the War Coalition and the Campaign for Nuclear 
Disarmament are calling a joint protest at the NATO meeting 
on Thursday 18 September and we're asking all our supporters 
in London to be there if they can and to help make this a 
noisy protest. Please publicise the protest as widely as 
possible.

NATO COMES TO LONDON 
STOP THE SPREAD OF WAR   
NO TO US MISSILE DEFENCE 
Thursday 18 September, 12.30pm   
Lancaster House 
Stable Yard Road, 
London SW1A 1BB 
(Nearest tube Green Park)

FURTHER INFORMATION: 
A Stop the War briefing on NATO by Kate Hudson, Chair of 
CND, is available here: http://tinyurl.com/6ml2ty

NO TO NATO DEMONSTRATION APRIL 2009 
On 4-5 April 2009, an international protest, supported by 
Stop the War and antiwar organisations across Europe, is 
being organised outside the NATO conference in Strasbourg, 
France, which will mark the 60th anniversary of NATO's   
foundation. The call will be for NATO, a driving force   
behind global war, to be dismantled. More details to follow.

*************************************   
3) "DEEPLY SADDENED" AGAIN AND AGAIN

UK defence minister Des Browne's well of sadness is clearly 
very deep. In the past week he was three times "deeply   
saddened" by the deaths of three more British soldiers in 
Afghanistan. This brings to 120 the number of military   
casualties killed so far in this unwinnable war.

It's always worth recalling that when Browne's predecessor, 
John Reid, deployed British troops to Helmand -- 
Afghanistan's most dangerous province -- he certainly didn't 
anticipate being "deeply saddened" on a weekly basis. Rather 
he looked forward to the troops leaving "without a shot 
being fired".

With George Bush announcing a "quiet surge" of more troops 
to be sent to Afghanistan and British defence officials 
talking of the British army staying there "for a 
generation", there's clearly going to be a lot more 
pointless death and destruction.

The anti-war movement has always insisted that there is no 
hope of progress in Afghanistan while it is occupied by 
foreign forces. It is our task to mobilise all available 
pressure on the government to act in accordance with the 
majority view of people in this country and in Afghanistan 
that all troops should be withdrawn. Which is why we will be 
demonstrating on Saturday 12 September, at the Labour   
Party's annual conference, with the clear message, Troops 
Home Now.

PAMPHLET: AFGHANISTAN: WHY WE SHOULD GET OUT 
Stop the War has published a new pamphlet, called 
Afghanistan: Why We Should Get Out, with an introduction by 
John Pilger. It will be on sale for £1 (reductions for bulk 
orders) at Saturday's demonstration in Manchester and can be 
ordered from Stop the War's national office: Tel 020 7278 
6694

*************************************   
4) GEORGE BUSH DESPERATE FOR "TROPHY STRIKE"

George Bush has signed a secret order allowing US troops to 
operate in Pakistan, without permission from the Pakistani 
government or agreement by the United Nations, contravening 
numerous international laws and conventions. Bush says the 
recent ground assault by US commandos and the big increase 
in the number of US missiles fired from unmanned aircraft 
are directed at al-Qaeda leaders, but the Pakistani 
government and local observers say that most of the dozens 
killed in these attacks have been civilians, the majority of 
them women and children.

The Guardian newspaper suggests a different interpretation 
for these attacks: "Bush is thought to be in a desperate 
push for a trophy strike… before he leaves office." No doubt   
part of the calculation is the hope that this will boost the 
electoral chances of John McCain in his campaign to succeed 
Bush as president. (See http://tinyurl.com/68jpda )

Since 1945, American has bombed 25 countries round the   
world, killing many millions of people (some estimates put 
the figure as high as 20 million). But George Bush has a 
message for all the families grieving as a result of his 
contribution to this horrendous scale of mass slaughter. He 
recently expressed his sorrow, following the US attack in 
Afghanistan which killed 90 civilians: "I am a partner in 
your loss and that of the Afghan people."

And, of course, all those grieving families will be 
comforted by an earlier Bush pronouncement: "America is a 
Nation with a mission -- and that mission comes from our 
most basic beliefs. We have no desire to dominate, no   
ambitions of empire. Our aim is a democratic peace -- a 
peace founded upon the dignity and rights of every man and 
woman."

*************************************   
5) IRAQI ART UNDER OCCUPATION

RIDING ON FIRE is an exhibition of paintings and sculptures 
which have been created by Iraqi artists who are determined 
to keep art alive while everything around them is falling 
apart. It opens in London on 19 September and is highly 
recommended to all our supporters as a testament to how 
artists manage to remain creatively active, producing   
stunning works of art, in an unimaginably hostile 
environment.

It is only through overcoming hurdles and hazards which can 
be literally a matter of life and death that these 
twenty-two artists have been able to create their paintings 
and sculptures and get them transported to us in London.

Stop the War is proud to have helped in the organisation of 
RIDING WITH FIRE: IRAQI ART UNDER OCCUPATION, which will run 
at the Artiquea Gallery in south London from 19 September-31 
October. ( See: http://www.artiquea.co.uk )

RIDING WITH FIRE: 
IRAQI ART UNDER OCCUPATION 
19 September - 31 October 
Artiquea Gallery 
82 Wandsworth Bridge Road 
London SW6 2TF

FOR MORE DETAILS: 
WWW: http://www.artiquea.co.uk/ 
TEL: 020 7731 2090 
EMAIL: info@artiquea.co.uk

*************************************   
6) YOU COULDN'T MAKE IT UP: NO. 2847

"Things are better in Iraq. Life is returning to normal." 
This is the propaganda story from George Bush and the puppet 
Iraqi government, a story dutifully spread -- to its 
continuing shame -- by the mainstream media,. One supposed 
indicator of the good life returning to Iraqis is the   
announcement of lavish plans to build the Baghdad Eye, aimed 
to be the world's largest Ferris wheel. Baghdad citizens 
will be pleased to know that their city, in which there is 
usually only two hours of electricity a day -- and never 
enough to meet essential energy needs -- will at least find 
the power to rotate a 650 feet tall Ferris wheel, carrying 
30 passengers in each of its air conditioned compartments.

704
News Items / Our murderous comedy of errors
« on: September 13, 2008, 09:59:33 AM »
Our murderous comedy of errors

John Pilger

Published 11 September 2008 New Statesman

Last month, “our” aircraft slaughtered nearly 100 Afghan civilians, two-thirds of them children aged three months to 16 years, while they slept

Try to laugh, please. The news is now officially parody and a game for all the family to play.

First question: Why are "we" in Afghanistan? Answer: "To try to help in the country's rebuilding programme." Who says so? Huw Edwards, the BBC's principal newsreader. What wags the Welsh are.

Second question: Why are "we" in Iraq? Answer: To "plant a western-style open democracy". Who says so? Paul Wood, the former BBC defence correspondent, and his boss Helen Boaden, director of BBC News. To prove her point, Boaden supplied Medialens.org with 2,700 words of quotations from Tony Blair and George W Bush. Irony? No, she meant it.

Take Andrew Martin, divisional adviser at BBC Complaints, who has been researching Bush's speeches for "evidence" of noble democratic reasons for laying to waste an ancient civilisation. Says he: "The 'D' word is not there, but the phrase 'united, stable and free' [is] clearly an allusion to it." After all, he says, the invasion of Iraq "was launched as 'Operation Iraqi Freedom'". Moreover, says the BBC man, "in Bush's 1 May 2003 speech (the one on the aircraft carrier) he talked repeatedly about freedom and explicitly about the Iraqi transition to democracy . . . These examples show that these were on Bush's mind before, during and after the invasion."

Try to laugh, please.

Laughing may be difficult, I agree, given the slaughter of civilians in Afghanistan by "coalition" aircraft, including those directed by British forces engaged in "the country's rebuilding programme". The bombing of civilian areas has doubled, along with the deaths of civilians, says Human Rights Watch. Last month, "our" aircraft slaughtered nearly 100 civilians, two-thirds of them children between the ages of three months and 16 years, while they slept, according to eyewitnesses. BBC News initially devoted nine seconds to the Human Rights Watch report, and nothing to the fact that "less than peanuts" (according to an aid worker) is being spent on rebuilding anything in Afghanistan. Such wags, the Welsh.

As for the notion of a "united, stable and free" Iraq, consider the no-bid contracts handed to the major western oil companies for ownership of Iraq's oil. "Theft" is a more truthful word. Written by the companies themselves and US officials, the contracts have been signed off by Bush and Nouri al-Maliki, "prime minister" of Iraq's "democratic" government that resides in an air-conditioned American fortress. This is not news.

Try to laugh, please, while you consider the devastation of Iraq's health, once the best in the Middle East, by the ubiquitous dust from British and US depleted uranium weapons. A World Health Organisation study reporting a cancer epidemic has been suppressed, says its principal author. This has been reported in Britain only in the Glasgow Sunday Herald and the Morning Star. According to a study last year by Basra University Medical College, almost half of all deaths in the contaminated southern provinces were caused by cancer.

Try to laugh, please, at the recent happy-clappy Nurembergs from which will come the next president of the United States. Those paid to keep the record straight have strained to present a spectacle of choice. Barack Obama, the man of "change", wants to "build a 21st-century military . . . to stay on the offensive everywhere". Here comes the new Cold War, with promises of more bombs, more of the militarised society with its 730 bases worldwide, on which Americans spend 42 cents of every tax dollar.

At home, Obama offers no authentic measure that might ease America's grotesque inequality, such as basic health care. John McCain, his Republican opponent, may well be a media cartoon figure - the fake "war hero" now joined with a Shakespeare-banning, gun-loving, religious fanatic - yet his true significance is that he and Obama share essentially the same dangerous prescriptions.

Thousands of decent Americans came to the two nominating conventions to express the dissenting opinion of millions of their compatriots who believe, with good cause, that their democracy is evaporating. They were intimidated, arrested, beaten, pepper-gassed; and they were patronised or ignored by those paid to keep the record straight.

Meanwhile, Justin Webb, the BBC's North America editor, has launched his book about America, his "city on a hill". It is a sort of Mills & Boon view of the rapacious system he admires with such obsequiousness. The book is called Have a Nice Day.

Try to laugh, please.

705
News Items / 100's of cities around the world Chalk4Peace2008 Sept13-21
« on: September 04, 2008, 10:59:04 PM »
100's of cities around the world Chalk4Peace2008 Sept13-21

Please copy this & forward this to your contacts

This is non political campaign- whether we are left, right or centrist,
PEACE is in all of our interests, especially our children
:)

Its Time To Get Out The Chalk!
Global Chalk4Peace2008 - Sept 13 - 21st
During the week of international peace events
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
United Kingdom...United States...Egypt...Austria...Germany...Canada...
Ecuador...Puerto Rico...France...Chile...Iran...Iraq...Mexico...Spain...
Italy...Cypress...Israel... In hundreds of towns and cities - Everywhere!

"Our Streets Are OUR Media"
WE have TOTAL access -
"We CAN Make the difference"
_______________________________________

http://www.infinitepossibility.org
Changing The World By Changing The Conversation"
Please Support The work of this website

----------------------------------------------------------

Mission Possible "Our World Working For ALL of Us"

We CAN Make THE Difference!
THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 13th - 21st Chalk4Peace!
On the pavements and sidewalks of our towns and cities

You are invited to Take Action! -
For your local organiser, LOOK IN THE MIRROR

(Scroll down for "WHAT CAN YOU DO?" to Participate in this
GLOBAL outpouring of public art. Where we make
our personal statements for peace on the pavements and sidewalks of
our cities all over our world.")

Chalk4Peace IS HAPPENING!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCjATioFPCI

All around the globe, together we are decorating, dedicating and
declaring, in deep sincerity our collective call for peace.

Chalk4Peace is about our empowerment. We The People, our global
culture, all people everywhere and our common desire to live in peace.

The Chalk4Peace project has already transformed the experience of
thousands of people attending demonstrations for peace and public
gatherings all over the
world during the past 3 years. Chalk4Peace is both a tool and a
conduit for non violent public self expression,
and participation in the growing global movement for peace.

Chalk4Peace is an opportunity for all of us of all ages to make our
feelings known, especially the young, whose future is in dire jeopardy
as our global village falls faster and faster into the fear breeding
fear breeding fear spiral.

Our global culture is teetering on the edge of extinction.

No one person alone can turn this around, but together WE CAN!

"The Structure of world peace cannot be the work of one man, one
party,or one nation. It must be a peace which rests on the cooperative
effort of the whole world"
... Eleanor Roosevelt

Our basic human instincts drive us to seek safety. This is what this
chaos is all about.Our essential human survival instincts are acting
out of context with the wider global cultural need resulting in
mistrust, fear and conflict.

Everywhere the media is bombarding us with WAR TALK, distractions and
negative belief patterns that encourage us to believe that the future
of our world is out of our hands entirely.

One place we still have communal access to, is OUR STREETS.

We can balance our GLOBAL CONVERSATION with collective self-expression
using OUR STREETS AS OUR MEDIA!

Chalk4Peace is one step, a catalyst that can transform our global
conversation as we the people, en masse make our statement that is our
common
aspiration for peace.

START NOW! Just DO IT!

Carry some chalk with you, invite a friend with you, to chalk
inspirations on the pavement whenever and wherever you fancy.

Chalk is harmless, cheap and washes away within a few days.

Especially PARTICIPATE in the Sept 13th - 21st
GLOBAL Chalk4Peace ACTION!

Make it happen in your Community!

(Scroll down further for "WHAT CAN YOU DO?")

Lets us turn our grey streets into a living river of colour and
possibility - With poetry, hearts, peace symbols, empowering
statements, also
expressions of our frustrations and despair.

All will be seen for several days by thousands of people, then as they
are washed away by the elements WE CAN CONTINUE to find fresh places
to Chalk4Peace.

We don't need to be an artist to Chalk4Peace. Every statement, however
small or large becomes part of the amazing tapestry that is our
global future.

This unique event conceivably, could be the largest of its kind in
modern history.

It is a global effort that is happening.

We The People are spreading the word and making the effort to be a
part of this huge creative endeavor to bring Peace back into the equation.

It is our goal for at least one million or more of us to participate
with this sidewalk/pavement chalk extravaganza, at thousands of
locations, in as
many countries, cities and towns around the world as is possible.

So WHAT CAN YOU DO to help make this happen?

1. NETWORK this email to your friends, contacts and where ever else
seems appropriate

2. JOIN the Yahoo group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Chalk4Peace

or send a blank email to:
Chalk4Peace-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

also facebook
http://www.new.facebook.com/event.php?eid=32458235549&ref=mf

To network with others around the world who will be Chalking4Peace.

3. EMAIL:
viziondanz@infinitepossibility.org
to let us know what you are doing in your community, and please send
us pictures. Or to find out how you can participate in the project.

4. ARRANGE with you local businesses, libraries, churches, mosques,
synagogues, restaurants, supermarkets etc to chalk on the pavement
outside their premises during the 13th to 21sr of September and whenever
else.

IDENTIFY public squares such and invite
all your friends and your friends' friends to show up with a few
boxes of chalk, or even get some from your local quarry.

TAKE extra chalk with you to hand out to passers-by.

5. USE this Email as a press release for you local TV, Radio and
Newspapers.
Let them know that Chalk4Peace is happening ASAP to get the
momentum going.

6. DOCUMENT YOUR Chalk4peace actions with photos and video.
Send them to your local media - copies for our website will be greatly
appreciated - send to:
viziondanz@infinitepossibility.org

7. ENGAGE co-creatively in local communal efforts, strengthen
working relationships and find what it takes
to stand for peace and freedom.

8. Have lots of FUN and keep on
Chalking4Peace after the September event.

"FUN The Final Frontier"

How did Chalk4Peace begin?
"Message in a bottle"
http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk/message/
http://www.infinitepossibility.org/chalk
http://www.myspace.com/chalk4peace

for Chalk4Peace locations in America
http://www.chalk4peace.org

Its time for us to move beyond the "No to War" position and come
together
"Saying Yes2Peace"

"If we don't create our future, our past will create it for us"

http://www.infinitepossibility.org/yes1
Lets skip the war bit and just get to the peace

Greet someone new today,
look into their eyes, smile, say hello,
shake their hand ...
LET THE PEACE BEGIN!

Brian
:)

--
1+1=11
We Are S.Y.N.E.R.G.Y

"There is nothing wrong with our world,
we are just having a weird conversation"
"Reclaim the conversation"
"Our New World Order IS Love

http://www.infinitepossibility.org
Please support the work of this website
with a financial contribution if you are able to.

Profile @
http://www.infinitepossibility.org/movies
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=522206103
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=viziondanz
http://www.myspace.com/viziondanz
http://www.myspace.com/chalk4peace

Social Acupuncture
http://www.infinitepossibility.org/sa

Sunrise Celebration
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFunT6c_Pl0

The Synergy Project video
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ecPKHAW0AXA

Waveform/Earthdance documentary
http://youtube.com/watch?v=AIC5T22-MDg

The Movement For Peace Enters A New Phase
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4cSDimvFYVU

"This is what democracy looks like"
http://youtube.com/watch?v=FZ01Z2pC2Is

Dedicated to the child inside each one of us,
All the children and
All the children to come

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