Message to all Stop the War Coalition supporters‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1132 23 December 2009  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk  
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:  
1) A MESSAGE TO ALL STOP THE WAR SUPPORTERS  
2) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER 
3) VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY GAZA 27 DECEMBER  
4) STOP THE WAR'S SONGS FOR CHRISTMAS WEEK

*********************************  
1) A MESSAGE TO ALL STOP THE WAR SUPPORTERS

Dear Friends,

We are writing to thank you for all your work and support over 
the past year.

The Stop the War Coalition began 2009 by mobilising to stop  
the attack on Gaza, which included the biggest demonstration  
for Palestine ever held in Britain, when over 100,000 
protested on 10 January.

We have ended it campaigning to get the troops out of 
Afghanistan and remembering Gaza on the anniversary of 
Israel's attack.

Over this week alone we organised a protest by military  
families at Downing St, where we handed in our petition  
calling for British troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan;  
we held a successful Beats Beat Bullets gig for Gaza, and --  
together with PSC, CND and BMI -- we will be holding a vigil  
at the Israeli Embassy in London on 27 December (see below).

Over the year we have organised -- both nationally and locally 
around the country --  a series of demonstrations, vigils,  
meetings, rallies, cultural and fundraising events. We will  
begin the new year with two important initiatives.

In London on 28 January, Gordon Brown has convened an 
international conference to discuss further escalation of the 
war in Afghanistan. Stop the War will be organising a protest, 
details of which will be available at the beginning of 
January.

Also in January or possibly February, it is expected that Tony 
Blair will appear at the Chilcot inquiry on Iraq. We want to  
mobilise the biggest possible protest against the man now  
widely regarded as having broken international law in taking  
Britain to war.

There is likely to be a major national demonstration in March 
as part of an international day of action, calling for all  
foreign troops to be withdrawn from Afghanistan.

A general election will be called in the first half of 2010  
and Stop the war will be organising a campaign to ensure that 
the war in Afghanistan is a prominent issue.

Our priority for 2010 will be to intensify the pressure on the 
government to bring the troops home, reflecting the view of an 
ever increasing majority of people in Britain. The recent US  
and British troop surge, the extension of the Afghan war into 
Pakistan and Yemen, and the threats against Iran, make our  
campaign more important than ever.

The coming year is clearly going to be as busy for Stop the  
War as any in our eight year history. Please continue to  
support our work and our activities.

We rely entirely on contributions by our supporters to fund  
our small office and all of our campaigns. If you are not  
already a member of Stop the War, we urge you to consider  
becoming one now, or make a donation to help us sustain our  
anti-war work as effectively as we can. You can join or donate 
online, here: http://bit.ly/APlKX

We wish you a happy holiday and new year, and we hope that by 
active opposition to our government's war policies, together  
we can help make 2010 more peaceful than the year just ending.

Best wishes,

Lindsey German 
National Convenor, Stop the War Coalition

Andrew Murray 
National Chair, Stop the War Coalition

*********************************  
2) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER

To mark that anniversary of Israel's attach and to protest at 
the continuing siege of Gaza,  there will be a vigil outside  
the Israeli Embassy, 3.00 - 5.00pm 5pm, High Street  
Kensington, London W8, called by Palestine Solidarity 
Campaign, Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative  
and Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

REMEMBER GAZA: END THE SIEGE  
SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER 2009 3-5PM 
HIGH STREET KENSINGTON LONDON W8  
(High St Kensington tube station)

*********************************  
3) VIVA PALESTINA CONVOY GAZA 27 DECEMBER

The Viva Palestina convoy taking 100 vehicles full of aid from 
Britain to break the siege plans enter Gaza on 27 December,  
when it will be joined by convoys from Turkey and the United  
States. For updates on the convoy,  
http://www.vivapalestina.org or Twitter: viva_palestina

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4) STOP THE WAR'S SONGS FOR XMAS WEEK

We've chosen two songs for Christmas week.

Christmas in the Trenches by John McCutcheon, which is about  
Christmas Day 1914 when all sides in World War I laid down  
their weapons and made peace by playing a game of soccer.

Barra Barra by Rachid Taha is the soundtrack to a video called 
Israel - An Apartheid State, which powerfully captures life  
for Palestinians under Israeli occupation and siege. Plus  
we've included a bonus video of Rachid Taha and Brian Eno  
performing Barra Barra live at the great benefit concert they 
did for Stop the War in 2005.

FOR BOTH SONGS, GO TO: http://bit.ly/6vnfKN

Final push for Bring the Troops Home petition‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION 
NEWSLETTER  
No. 1131 15 December 2009  
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk   ; 
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

1) FINAL PUSH FOR BRING THE TROOPS HOME PETITION  
2) TONY BLAIR CONFESSES HE'S A WAR CRIMINAL  
3) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER 
4) VIVA PALESTINA AID CONVOY TO GAZA  
5) BEATS BEAT BULLETS GAZA SPECIAL  
6) SONG FOR GAZA  
7) POSTSCRIPT: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

*********************************  
1) FINAL PUSH FOR BRING THE TROOPS HOME PETITION

If you haven't signed Stop the War's Bring the Troops Home  
petition, we urge you to do so online now:  
http://bit.ly/8jLhRk. You will then be included when military 
families and former soldiers deliver the petition to Gordon  
Brown in Downing Street on Monday 21 at 5pm.

Military families are coming with their supporters from around 
the country and they have asked for the widest support when  
they go to Downing Street. If you are able to join them, it  
will be very much appreciated.

Please note that if you have been collecting signatures for  
petition sheets, these need to arrive at the Stop the War  
office by 17 December to be included in Monday's submission to 
Gordon Brown.

Many thanks to everyone who has helped us accumulate tens of  
thousands of signatures.

MILITARY FAMILIES DELIVER PETITION TO GORDON BROWN  
BRING THE TROOPS HOME 
MONDAY 21 DECEMBER, 5PM  
DOWNING STREET, WHITEHALL, SW1A 2AA  
PLEASE SUPPORT IF YOU CAN

For more information see: http://bit.ly/4Z3eCR

*********************************  
2) TONY BLAIR CONFESSES HE'S A WAR CRIMINAL

Tony Blair's admission in a BBC interview that he would have  
made up some other lie other than weapons of mass destruction 
to topple Saddam Hussein has raised the stakes considerably  
for his appearance at the Iraq Inquiry, probably in January.

As John Rentoul, Blair's biographer and the Independent's  
chief political commentator, put it, "Tony Blair's interview  
was the front-page lead in The Guardian and prominently  
reported in all available outlets, all along the lines 
summarised by the Stop the War Coalition press release this  
morning: Tony Blair confesses to war crimes."

Stop the War will ensure that Blair gets a very warm reception 
at the Iraq Inquiry. We will undoubtedly be joined by many of 
the families who lost loved ones because of Blair's war  
crimes.

Reg Keys, who stood against Blair in the 2005 general 
election, has already said he will be on the Inquiry's 
doorstep the day Blair is there. After hearing Blair's latest 
justification for his war crimes, Reg gave a withering and  
unmissable interview to the BBC about losing his son, who was 
killed in Iraq, due to Blair's lies. You can watch the video  
here: http://bit.ly/6Gw9h2

*********************************  
3) REMEMBER GAZA: ISRAELI EMBASSY 27 DECEMBER

On Sunday 27 December, it will be exactly one year since the  
start of Israel's attack on Gaza, in which 1,400 Palestinians 
were killed, 5,000 injured and 50,000 homes destroyed.

To mark that anniversary and to protest at the continuing  
Israeli siege of Gaza, which denies the one million population 
of Gaza the basic necessities, there will be a vigil outside  
the Israeli Embassy, 3-5pm, High Street Kensington, London W8.

The vigil has been called by Palestine Solidarity Campaign,  
Stop the War Coalition, British Muslim Initiative and Campaign 
for Nuclear Disarmament.

REMEMBER GAZA: END THE SIEGE  
SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER 2009 3-5PM 
HIGH STREET KENSINGTON LONDON W8  
(High St Kensington tube station)

*********************************  
4) VIVA PALESTINA AID CONVOY TO GAZA

As well as the vigil at the Israeli embassy in London, Sunday 
27 December is the day that the Viva Palestine aid convoys  
from Britain, the United States and Turkey will enter Gaza,  
bringing essential resources to its people that are deniedthem 
by the Israeli siege.

The Viva Palestina convoy is getting a tremendous response in 
every country it crosses on the way to Gaza. You can follow  
its progress on the Viva Palestina website, which has lots of 
videos, pictures and reports, and on Twitter. 
* Website: http://bit.ly/pPrky 
* Twitter: http://twitter.com/viva_palestina  
* George Galloway on Twitter: 
http://twitter.com/georgegalloway

*********************************  
5) BEATS BEAT BULLETS GAZA SPECIAL

On Tuesday 22 December, Start the Music has a Gaza Special in 
its series of highly successful Beats Beat Bullets fundraising 
gigs for Stop the War.

Another impressive line-up will be performing in memory of the 
atrocities committed by Israel and the worldwide protests that 
took to the streets in every corner of the world (see Stop the 
War's Song of the Week below).

Top of the bill is rapper-poet Lowkey, who made such an impact 
on Stop the War's Stop the Massacre demonstration on 10  
January 2009 - the biggest protest for Palestine ever held in 
Britain - with his "Long Live Palestine - Long Live Gaza" (see 
http://bit.ly/Q7jEd).

Joining Lowkey will be Reveal and Shadia Mansour.

BEATS BEAT BULLETS TUE 22 DECEMBER  
A GAZA SPECIAL FEATURING:  
LOWKEY, REVEAL AND SHADIA MANSOUR  
8-11pm at Vibe Live, Vibe Bar Tickets £5  
91 - 95 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL

See Start the Music website for more details: 
http://startthemusic.org.uk/

*********************************  
6) SONG FOR GAZA

With the Viva Palestina aid convoy on its way to Gaza, and the 
anniversary of Israel's attack approaching, we've chosen Song 
for Gaza by Michael Heart as song of the week, which has  
become a YouTube phenomenon, with millions of hits and many  
people creating their own videos to go with the song.

The video we've used is a moving testament to the worldwide  
outpouring of rage against Israel's attack, with pictures of  
demonstrations from every corner of the globe. You can watch  
the video and hear the song here: http://bit.ly/7YhW1D

Many thanks to everyone sending in suggestions for song of the 
week, which have all been excellent and very varied. Keep them 
coming. Sometime soon we'll try and have a multiple posting on 
the website so we can begin to catch up with the backlog of  
suggestions.

*********************************  
7) POSTSCRIPT: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE

Rage Against the Machine are one of the biggest bands in the  
world and they are uncompromisingly anti-war. In 2007, their  
lead guitarist Tom Morello did a memorable benefit gig in  
London for Stop the War.

An extraordinary internet rebellion has broken out to try and 
get Rage Against the Machine's protest track, "Killing in the 
Name", as Christmas No.1, in front of the latest X  
Factor/Simon Cowell single.

It seems to be working, with nearly one million joining the  
Facebook group which started the campaign (see 
http://bit.ly/4pwYdT) and downloads of the song putting it  
currently ahead of the X Factor song. Simon Cowell is not  
pleased! Sales also generate donations to the housing charity 
Shelter, which has already receive £30,000 as a result. The  
singles chart will be published on 20 December.

SEE THIS VIDEO FOR MORE INFO: http://bit.ly/4vnt7q

Israel the Palestinians and apartheid - central London meeting Friday 4 December

Israel, the Palestinians and apartheid

There will be a major event on the issue of boycott, disinvestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel in SOAS, University of London, Malet St, on Friday 4 December at 7pm.

The lecturers' union UCU is hosting an international conference on BDS and the London event is a "spin off" with many of the key note speakers from the UCU conference.

Protest Israeli PM Netanyahu meeting Gordon Brown‏

STOP THE WAR COALITION   
Email office@stopwar.org.uk  
Tel: 020 7801 2768  
Web: http://www.stopwar.org.uk
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu is due to meet British prime minister
Gordon Brown tomorrow in Downing Street.

PROTEST 1.30-3pm TOMORROW, Tuesday 25 August opposite Downing Street (nearest
tube Westminster)

Please come to send a clear message to Gordon Brown:
# Israeli settlements block peace – they must be dismantled, not just frozen
# End Israel’s siege on Gaza
# End Israel’s ethnic cleansing in East Jerusalem

If you are unable to come to the protest, write to Gordon Brown to insist that
real peace means delivering justice for the Palestinians. The British
government must act to ensure Israel ends its numerous violations of
international law.

# Fax a letter to 10 Downing Street : 020 7925 0918.
# Email David Miliband at the Foreign Office reaquesting his office convey your
message to the Prime Minister: msu.correspondence@fco.gov.uk