Stop_the_War : Messages : 2153-2182 of 2182

https://lists.riseup.net/www/d_read/cjpp/%20gazavigilleaflet091209.pdf

Dear friends,

This silly season, please do not forget the Palestinian people, still fighting for freedom.

As Australian activists set off to join the Gaza Freedom March (see http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/424/t/9750/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=2055) Sydney's Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine and Gaza Defence Committee and those going to Gaza are organising a protest on the anniversary of Israel's attack on Gaza in 2008. Stop the War Coalition urges solidarity for this protest on December 27. Please spread the word. (You may also like this youtube Christmas in the Holy Land, made by neverbeforecampaign http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9esPiCxLDZk )

Stop the War Coalition thanks you all for joining us this past year in standing up against the Australian government's illegal wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. No doubt, 2010 will be just as busy, and we look forward to seeing you at one of our meetings, or actions. Our first meeting for 2010 will be on Monday January 18 at 6.30pm at Room 318, Main Building UTS, Broadway INFO: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871. To stay in touch with our and other peace movement activities, visit www.stopwarcoalition.org

Finally, stay safe this silly season and solidarity from us all in Stop the War Coalition,

Regards,
Pip Hinman

GAZA FREEDOM VIGIL - SYDNEY

on the anniversary of Israel's attack on Gaza

SUNDAY 27 DECEMBER

RALLY and MARCH 5PM

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL 7PM

Break the Siege of Gaza - End the Occupation

TOWN HALL SQUARE, SYDNEY

See flier here

#2181

From: "Pip" <piph@...>
Date: Sun Dec 13, 2009 9:18 am
Subject: REMINDER: Mon Dec 14: End of year drinks with David Cortright

piphinman

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MEET DAVID CORTRIGHT
Updated Saturday, 28th November, 2009

Join Stop the War Coalition and David Cortright

Time: 6pm
When: MONDAY December 14
Where: Duck and Swan Hotel 74 Rose St, Corner Myrtle and Cleveland Streets, Chippendale, Sydney.

David Cortright is the Director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Chair of the Board of the Fourth Freedom Forum in Goshen, Indiana. Cortright is the author or editor of fifteen books, including most recently Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Other recent works include the 2nd edition of Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for a New Political Age (2009) and Uniting Against Terror:

read more

Looking forward to seeing you there!

Pip Hinman
for the Stop the War Coalition team

#2180

From: Marlene Obeid <mlobeid@...>
Date: Tue Dec 8, 2009 11:14 am
Subject: Stop the War: Events

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http://www.StopWarCoalition.org

UN Human Rights Day
Thursday 10 December 2009
Stop the War Coalition
SpeakOut
5.30pm Sydney Town Hall

We call for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. These are racist wars, which have deprived the people of any human rights. For eight years Afghans, and for six years, Iraqis, have been suffering the ravages of war on a daily basis.
Grant refugee status to asylum seekers
Close Guantanamo & Bagram concentration camps.
For more info.: 0412139968/0404090710/401758871

******************
Teaching Behind the Wall

Marrickville Peace Group invites you to "Behind the Wall" a photo-presentation by Sydney teacher Jennifer Killen based on her experiences as a volunteer English teacher in Palestine.

Schoolteacher Jennifer Killen has recently returned from the West Bank of Palestine, where she spent 3 months working as a volunteer teacher of English.

She was able to see the effects of Israel's military occupation first hand. Based in Abu Dis, a suburb of Jerusalem, Jennifer also spent time in Marrickville's sister city of Bethlehem, which is now surrounded by the wall.

Time: 7.30pm
Date: Wednesday 9 December
Venue: Herb Greedy Hall, 79 Petersham Road, Marrickville

CJPP will be selling our Bethlehem cards, embroideries and other fair trade produce from Palestine.

Enquiries: Marrickville Peace Group, PO Box 647. Marrickville, NSW, 2204 mob 0422 520 935

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

Join Stop the War Coalition for an end of year get together and

Meet David Cortright

Monday 14 December
6-8pm
Duck & Swan Hotel
74 Rose St (Cnr Myrtle St), Chippendale

David Cortright is the Director of Policy Studies at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame and Chair of the Board of the Fourth Freedom Forum in Goshen, Indiana.

Cortright is the author or editor of fifteen books, including most recently Peace: A History of Movements and Ideas (Cambridge University Press, 2008). Other recent works include the 2^nd edition of Gandhi and Beyond: Nonviolence for a New Political Age (2009) and Uniting Against Terror: Cooperative Nonmilitary Responses to the Global Terrorist Threat (MIT Press, 2007), co-edited with George A. Lopez.

Cortright has a long history of public advocacy for disarmament and the prevention of war. As an active duty soldier during the Vietnam War he spoke against that conflict. In 1978 Cortright was named executive director of SANE, the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy, which under his leadership grew from 4,000 to 150,000 members and became the largest disarmament organization in the United States. Cortright was actively involved in the nuclear freeze movement of the 1980s. In November 2002 he helped to create Win Without War, a coalition of national organizations opposing the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

For more info.: 0412139968/0404090710/401758871

*******

Stop the War first meeting for 2010 will be on Monday 18 January 2010. Check our website for details.

Check out the latest features today Get more out of Hotmail

#2179

From: Marlene Obeid <mlobeid@...>
Date: Fri Dec 4, 2009 10:35 pm
Subject: Human Rights Day: Obama to accept Peace Prize

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Dear all
More reasons to come to our SpeakOut on December 10 Human Rights Day.

Check this:
Next week, President [warmonger] Obama will go to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Gather to watch the award ceremony at 7 pm Eastern time on December 10th, invite the press, and write letters to the editor and op-eds to protest the absurdity of giving a peace prize to a president who has tripled the size of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan during his ten months in office.

Join Stop the War on Human Rights Day
Thursday 10 December 2009
5.30pm
Sydney Town Hall

The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, in which Australia is directly involved, have displaced millions of people, yet Australia continues to demonise and imprison refugees.

Join us on Human Rights Day. Help us promote this event.
In solidarity

Marlene Obeid
Mob. 0401 758 871
c/o PO Box 109, Glebe 2037, Australia

email blast template

It's Obama's War, and We Will Stop It

The current escalation of the Afghanistan war comes at a new political moment. Unemployment is over 10%. Cities and towns are slashing basic services right and left. People are losing health care in droves, nothing is being done about the foreclosure crisis, and the U.S. is going to Copenhagen empty handed. We need to build a movement that can respond to these challenges- because while this is not a new war, we need to fight it in a new way. We need to build new alliances into a movement that can bring this war and occupation to a rapid end, so that we can begin to make good on our real obligations to the peoples of Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as to the people of our own country who struggle to find jobs, health care, and climate justice.

We need to build a movement with roots in the labor movement, and among those struggling for economic rights, particularly among communities of color.

Congress hasn't given Obama a blank check for this war yet - not even a $30 billion check. And there's still time for us to make sure they don't.

Take Action

� Please call your member of Congress at 202-224-3121 with this simple, clear message:

Sign on to Barbara Lee's HR.3699 which prevents funding for troop increases. And vote NO on further funding for the war in Afghanistan.

It is long past time to bring home all our troops, and military contractors from Afghanistan.

� Next week, President Obama will go to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Gather to watch the award ceremony at 7 pm Eastern time on December 10th, invite the press, and write letters to the editor and op-eds to protest the absurdity of giving a peace prize to a president who has tripled the size of the U.S. forces in Afghanistan during his ten months in office

� There is still a huge amount of confusion about Afghanistan. We need to keep doing basic education and outreach work. Show the film "Rethink Afghanistan", sponsor lectures and talks, and do vigils and creative protests to link the war to the economic crisis at home.

Read UFPJ's synopsis of the President's speech below. For more detailed analysis of the President's new Afghanistan policy, see this Phyllis Bennis paper. For other options to escalation see Madre: Six Alternatives to a Troop Surge in Afghanistan and Don't Escalate a Failing War (Ann Wright and Paul Kawika Martin).

UFPJ's Synopsis: What Did the President Say in His Speech?

President Obama tried unsuccessfully in his escalation speech Tuesday night to sugar-coat a disastrous and unpopular strategy. In a new USA Today/Gallup Poll, only 36% said the decision to send 30,000 troops was right, and 73% worried that the costs of the war will make it more difficult to deal with problems at home. A national poll of young adults by the Harvard Institute of Politics found that 66% oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan.

Obama's red-meat rhetoric about how 9/11 was planned by terrorists in Afghanistan was a throwback to the Bush era, and he presented the goal of the Afghanistan project as to "disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan." Yet he failed to acknowledge the generally shared view that there are fewer than 100 members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Sending more than 100,000 U.S. troops and tens of thousands of NATO troops is not about hunting for these 100 people, but fighting for control of Afghanistan - against the Taliban and others opposed to U.S. occupation.

The President dropped any claim that the U.S. war was bringing democracy to Afghanistan, modernizing a backward country, or liberating Afghan women. It's understandable that Obama would drop those claims. Afghanistan ranks second to last in the UN's Human Development Index, and just two weeks ago UNICEF identified Afghanistan as one of the three worst places in the world for a child to be born. Obama did not use the words "exit" or "exit strategy" in the speech. He gave a July 2011 date for the "beginning" of transferring U.S. troops out of Afghanistan, but Secretaries Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates made clear in testifying to Congress the next day that the 18-month timeline is conditional. And most importantly, the speech lacked any indication how fast troops will be withdrawn at that time or any commitment to ever withdraw all U.S. troops or to close the enormous U.S. military bases now being constructed in Afghanistan.

The U.S. has more mercenaries in Afghanistan (104,101 in September) than troops; their number has been rising rapidly (40% just between June and September 2009), with no discussion of reducing these.

The President said that responsibility for security will be handed over to the Afghan army starting in 18 months. But riven by ethnic tensions, corruption, and warlordism, the viability of the Afghan government is seriously in doubt. Analysts on all sides are pointing out that the counter-insurgency strategy the U.S. is pursuing does not make sense without a viable Afghan government.

President Obama acknowledged a $30 billion cost in 2010 for the escalation but left unsaid that the total Afghanistan war cost for the year will really be $100 billion. $100 billion a year is enough to fund the entire health insurance reform program for tens of millions of Americans.

Together, we can and will stop this war!

Help us continue to do this critical work: Make a donation to UFPJ today.

UNITED FOR PEACE AND JUSTICE
www.unitedforpeace.org | 212-868-5545
PO Box 607; Times Square Station; New York, NY 10108

To subscribe, visit www.unitedforpeace.org/email

Click here to edit your subscription | Click here to unsubscribe

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#2178

From: "Pip" <piph@...>
Date: Sun Nov 29, 2009 12:04 am
Subject: Protest against visit of deputy Israeli PM

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Protest against visiting Israeli Deputy PM

Israeli deputy PM Silvan Shalom is coming to Sydney and being welcomed by Kevin
Rudd

It's up to us to give him the welcome he really deserves. Join the protest:

War criminals not welcome here!
End the siege of Gaza, end the occupation!
Cut ties with apartheid Israel!
11am Thur 3rd Dec Martin Place (Cnr Pitt St)

Called by: The Gaza Defence Ctte, Students for Palestine, Coalition for Justice
and Peace in Palestine, Jews Against the Occupation, Stop the War Coalition,
Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group, General Union of Palestinian Workers.

On Thursday the 3rd of December, Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Silvan Shalom
will be attending a lunch at the Westin Hotel at Martin Place in Sydney,
featuring keynote speaker Kevin Rudd. Shalom, a member of the far-right Likud
party, is the current Minister for Regional Development, in particular the
development of the Negev and the Galilee regions �" the West Bank. He has been
a vociferous defender of the massacre carried out in Gaza and the ongoing siege
of that territory.

As Minister of the development of the Negev and Galilee, his policies have
focused on actively encouraging religious Zionists to settle in these
predominantly Arab areas.  This is land that has been legally defined as
Palestinian Territory by the UN. Shalom also openly advocates settling all of
'Eretz Israel' (greater Israel) which includes the West Bank, something that is
illegal under international law.

Shalom is also responsible for proposing a project to build a canal connecting
the Red Sea to the Dead Sea running along the Jordan River. The land surrounding
the river will be reserved for Israeli agriculture and industrial projects
denying Palestinians the ability to build in those areas. This is one of the
primary reasons given for denying Palestinians building permits in other parts
of the West Bank (the land supposedly being reserved for agriculture).  The
project is another land-grab and could possibly cause the dispossession of
Palestinians already living in those areas.

Hosting this event is the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE), which was
launched earlier this year while Julia Gillard was touring Israel.  The AICE
describes itself as aiming to “foster a spirit of greater tolerance and
understanding of the unique cultures that these two ancient lands have to
offer”, yet the assault on Gaza earlier this year is clear evidence that the
state of Israel is explicitly intolerant and hostile to the culture of 
Palestinians.

The presence of Silvan Shalom and Kevin Rudd reflects the fact that the event
will be a show of political unity between the two nations, and Australian
support for all of Israel's war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Read more here:
http://newmatilda.com/2009/10/21/reports-clear-findings-israeli-terrorism

We reject the principle of ‘normal’ relations with the apartheid state of
Israel, and in particular with the idea of hosting a high level political
representative with views as extreme as those held by Silvan Shalom.

Join the protest to demand:

War criminals not welcome here!
End the siege of Gaza, end the occupation!
Cut ties with apartheid Israel!

For more info contact Josh 0408885622; Aaron 0403879220

#2177

From: "Pip" <piph@...>
Date: Fri Nov 20, 2009 6:09 am
Subject: Reminder: Film showing Rethink Afghanistan Mon Nov 23

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FILM SCREENING: 'RETHINK AFHANISTAN,' MON NOV. 23

Stop the war invites you the screening of the film Rethink Afghanistan - a ground-braking, full length documentary focusing on the key issues surrounding this war...

6.30pm MONDAY NOVEMBER 23
Room CB02.03.37 (i.e. Building 2, Level 3, Room 37)
UTS SYDNEY
MAP

INFO: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871

* Common Dreams, October 6:
Jeremy Scahill: 'RETHINK AFGHANISTAN' DESTROYS THE FAILED LOGIC OF WAR

#2176

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Tue Nov 10, 2009 10:13 am
Subject: Remembrance Day Vigil Nov 11 and other events

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REMEMBRANCE DAY VIGIL, NOV 11

Stop the War invites you to remember ALL the victims of the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond...

10.30am WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11
US CONSULATE MLC CENTRE, MARTIN PLACE
SYDNEY

INFO: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871
(See media release below)

FILM SCREENING: 'RETHINK AFGHANISTAN', NOV 23

Stop the War invites you to a screening of Rethink Afghanistan -- a ground-breaking, full-length documentary focusing on the key issues surrounding this war...

6.30pm MONDAY NOVEMBER 23
Room CB02.03.37 (ie, Building 2, Level 3, Room 37)
UTS, BROADWAY, SYDNEY

Info: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871

* Common Dreams, October 6:
Jeremy Scahill: 'RETHINK AFGHANISTAN' DESTROYS THE FAILED LOGIC OF WAR

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY SPEAKOUT, DEC 10

On International Human Rights Day, Stop the War Coalition is calling for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq...
These are racist wars, which have deprived the people of any human rights. For eight years, Afghans, and for six years, Iraqis, have been suffering the ravages of war on a daily basis.
Join the campaign to end Australia's participation in these wars...

5.30pm THURSDAY DECEMBER 10
SYDNEY TOWN HALL
GEORGE ST SYDNEY

INFO: Pip 0412 139 968, Marlene 0401 758 871

AFGHANISTAN: TIME TO LEAVE

The Independent
Sunday 8 Nov 2009
Britain should start withdrawing, not reinforcing, its troops in Afghanistan. Sending extra troops is unnecessary and will prove counter-effective.

What should be a war in which the Afghan government fights the Taliban has become one which is being fought primarily by the American and British armies. To more and more Afghans, this looks like imperial occupation.
MORE

'FRIENDLY FIRE' ACCIDENTS?

Tim Anderson Sun 8 Nov
The Afghan resistance must be celebrating. The occupying forces have suffered three major 'friendly fire' accidents within a few days. But are these just 'accidents', or the signs of a war machine cracking under pressure?

First, in Helmland province, an Afghan policeman of three years standing unexpectedly kills five British soldiers and wounds six others, then escapes, apparently with assistance from other police.

AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN TURNS SCREWS ON UN

AFP Friday 6 November 2009
KABUL � The Taliban on Friday levelled a stinging attack on the United Nations, ratcheting up pressure on the world body as it relocates 600 foreign staff in Afghanistan and reassesses its position in the country.

In a statement on its website, the Taliban accused the United Nations of "suppressing and oppressing" Muslims while supporting "arrogant invaders."
MORE

AFGHANISTAN: WHAT DOES THE AUSTRALIAN MILITARY HAVE TO HIDE?

*NewMatilda Oct 13
Compared to the other Western nations fighting in Afghanistan, Australia is notoriously secretive about its military operations, writes foreign correspondent JOHN MARTINKUS...

In the five reporting trips I have made to Afghanistan for SBS TV since 2005, my relationship with the Australian military reached a laughably low moment in a Stanley-and-Livingstone-type encounter I had with two Australian soldiers in the office of the then Governor of Uruzgan, Abdul Munib, in May 2006...

MORE

November 11 reminds us to
rethink Afghanistan

November 10, 2009

Sydney Stop the War Coalition reminds people that Remembrance Day was established at the end of WWI, 91 years ago, to reflect on wars and their terrible consequences.

On that day, people around the world greeted with tremendous relief the end of a terrible four-year war. Millions of soldiers and their families vowed "never again" to another war.

This November 11 we should remember the peoples of Afghanistan who have been suffering under a US-led war and occupation that has been raging for eight years.

Australian soldiers are fighting with NATO troops a war without legitimate aims and which they cannot win.

NATO bombings continue to kill Afghans civilians. The carnage and trauma caused by this war is affecting the NATO troops sent there.

"The dreadful event at Ford Hood Texas, where a senior US officer killed 13 armed forces personnel and wounded more than 30 others, is more evidence of the effects of this war on the soldiers because they know it has no legitimate purpose" , said Pip Hinman, speaking for the STWC today.

"More and more soldiers are speaking out against the US war on Afghanistan", she said.

A former US marine officer who served in Iraq, and had been in a civilian position in Zabul Province near Kandahar wrote this in his resignation letter:

`The US military presence in Afghanistan greatly contributes to the legitimacy and strategic message of the Pashtun [Taliban] insurgency", he said. "Our backing of the Afghan government [of Hamid Kazai] in its current form continues to distance the government from the people.'

"The claim that NATO is fighting for democracy in Afghanistan has been blown apart by President Hamid Karzai's fraudulent election", Ms Hinman added.

Stop the War Coalition points out that opinion polls across the West now show majorities oppose this war.

A recent Yougov poll for Channel 4 in the UK found a massive 73% want the troops withdrawn immediately.

A majority of Afghans who were polled recently by the BBC supported a reduction of NATO troops, and want the occupation to end.

Stop the War Coalition calls on the Rudd government to bring the troops home and give no more support to an unjust and devastating war. Activists will be holding up a banner outside the US consulate in Martin Place on November 11, at 11am, collecting signatures on a petition calling for the troops to leave.

Stop the War Coalition is hosting a special screening of Rethink Afghanistan, the newly released film by Robert Greenwald, director of Outfoxed and Iraq for Sale. It will be shown on November 23, 7pm at the University of Technology, Building 2, Level 3, Room 37.

Pip Hinman 0412 139 968 or Anne Picot 0404 090 710

#2175

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Wed Nov 4, 2009 2:40 am
Subject: John Pilger speaks at the Opera House and other events

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JOHN PILGER WINS SYDNEY PEACE PRIZE

Congratulations to author, activist and documentary film maker, John Pilger, recipient of the Sydney Peace Prize...

John Pilger - PEACE PRIZE AWARD CEREMONY
7.30pm Wednesday November 4
Maclaurin Hall, University of Sydney
Info: spf@...

John Pilger - PEACE PRIZE LECTURE
8pm, Thursday November 5
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Info, Tickets: www.sydneyoperahouse.com

REMEMBRANCE DAY VIGIL, NOV 11

Stop the War invites you to remember ALL the victims of the war on terror in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond...
10.30am WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 11
US CONSULATE
MLC CENTRE, MARTIN PLACE
SYDNEY
INFO: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871

FILM SCREENING: 'RETHINK AFGHANISTAN', NOV 23
Updated Thursday, 22nd October, 2009

Stop the War invites you to a screening of Rethink Afghanistan -- a ground-breaking, full-length documentary focusing on the key issues surrounding this war...

6.30pm MONDAY NOVEMBER 23
Room CB02.03.37 (ie, Building 2, Level 3, Room 37)
UTS, BROADWAY, SYDNEY

Info: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871

Common Dreams, October 6:
Jeremy Scahill: 'RETHINK AFGHANISTAN' DESTROYS THE FAILED LOGIC OF WAR

HUMAN RIGHTS DAY SPEAKOUT, DEC 10
Updated Thursday, 22nd October, 2009

On International Human Rights Day, Stop the War Coalition is calling for an end to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq...
These are racist wars, which have deprived the people of any humanrights. For eight years, Afghans, and for six years, Iraqis, have beensuffering the ravages of war on a daily basis.

Join the campaign to end Australia's participation in these wars...
5.30pm THURSDAY DECEMBERER 10
SYDNEY TOWN HALL
GEORGE ST SYDNEY
INFO: Pip 0412 139 968, Marlene 0401 758 871

#2174

From: Pip Hinman <piph59@...>
Date: Sun Oct 25, 2009 10:52 pm
Subject: Reminder: Meeting tonight: Guantanamo & the US

piph59@...

Please note change of lecture theatre - watch out for the signs

STOP the WAR COALITION
PUBLIC MEETING: GUANTANAMO - THE STRUGGLE FOR JUSTICE WAR

An update on the bogus and illegitimate US Military Commissions and the fate of the Guantanamo prison and its inmates.

Are there lessons for Australians re our own draconian 'terror laws'...

6.30pm MONDAY OCTOBER 26
Building 2 (CB02)
LEVEL 6
Room 44

UTS SYDNEY
MAP

INFO: 0412 139 968 / 0401 758 871

<><><><><><><><>

DONATIONS & MAIL TO:
Stop the War Coalition
PO Box 458
BROADWAY NSW 2007

OR DIRECT DEPOSITS TO:
Stop the War Coalition
Commonwealth Bank
A/C No. 06 2498 10046565

Access our website for up-to-date information:
http://www.StopWarCoalition.org

In solidarity

Marlene Obeid

--
Pip Hinman
9690 1230
0412 139 968

#2173

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Wed Oct 21, 2009 4:11 am
Subject: Upcoming anti-war events to support and forward on

piphinman

Offline

Dear all,

The Troops Out of Afghanistan rally on October 8 was a success, and the website
(www.stopwarcoalition.org) carries some of the speeches given at it and a
youtube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZvP32V8Q2g).

Thanks to all who helped spread the word and who came along. some pictures of
the rally can be seen here:

There has been an interesting development today with defence minister John
Faulkner hinting that the government was considering bringing the Australian
troops home "early" (although as we do not know when he was thinking of bringing
them home in the first place, we do not know what "early" means). Nevertheless,
it shows that the Rudd government is feeling some pressure from the
overwhelmingly anti-war public.

But we must keep up the pressure to withdraw the troops completely, and now, and
help the Afghan people with non-military aid and assistance to help re-build
their war-torn country.

In other news, the Canterbury-Bankstown Peace group has issued a statement
calling for the repeal of the so-called terror laws and the sentancing of the
five Muslim men for alleged terror acts, the so-called "Goulburn 5". It will be
up on the website soon.

Stop the War Coalition is hosting a meeting "Guantanmo and the US Military
Commissions: the Struggle for Justice" on Monday November 26 at 6.30pm at UTS
Tower Block Bld CB01.

This will include an update on the bogus and illegitimate US Military
Commissions and the fate of the Guantanamo prison and its inmates. Are there
lessons for Australia about the draconian "anti-terror" laws?

Other events we are organising are listed on our website -
www.stopwarcoalition.org

We are very happy to congratulate John Pilger on being awarded the Sydney Peace
Prize. John has been an unstinting advocate for self-determination and justice,
and this is a very well-deserved award. For those who wish to hear his lecture
at the Sydney Opera House on Thursday November 5, tickets can be booked through
www.sydneyoperahouse.com

In other news, Stop the War Coalition has made a submission to the Senate
committee which is considering Scott Ludlum's (Greens) bill to require that the
sending of troops overseas can only be done by resolution of Parliament, both
houses, and for a re-submit of the question every two months.

In solidarity,
Pip Hinman
(for the Stop the War Coalition team)

#2172

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Fri Oct 2, 2009 8:29 am
Subject: Momentum builds for Afghanistan rally Oct 8

piphinman

Offline

Dear friends,

There are number of things you can do to help Stop the War Coalition's
campaigns.

First, Stop the War Coalition was invited to submit a comment to the Senate
committee which is considering Greens Senator Scott Ludlum's bill requiring that
the sending of troops overseas can only be done by resolution of Parliament,
both houses, and for re-submit of the question every two (2) months.

The bill is called "A bill for an Act to amend the Defence Act 1903 to provide
for parliamentary approval of overseas service by members of the defence Force".

We may see it and the explanatory memorandum at
http://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22leg\
islation%2Fbillhome%2Fs649%22

Go to http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/committee/fadt_ctte/dapaosb08/index.htm to
make a submission.

Secondly, Stop the War Coalition activists have been out on the streets
leafleting for the October 8 rally - and we've found a very positive response.
If you can help out in the next few days, please get in touch. You can also help
by directing people to
http://www.stopwarcoalition.org/news/news_items.php?shownews=3264 to download a
flyer and encourage tour friends to come along.

You can also help by posting around this short Youtube promoting the rally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-NBZShSim0

The war in Afghanistan is having a devastating impact on Pakistan. A group of
Pakistani-Americans has recently posted a sign-on statement that you may like to
support. It's at http://freedomforward.org/campaigns/pakistan/the-call/

Finally, if you can volunteer to help out at for Stop the War Coalition (at the
stall, as a marshal, or bucketer) on October 8, please get in contact or just
turn up at Sydney Town Hall a little earlier. The more hands the better.

In solidarity,
Pip Hinman
(for the Stop the War Coalition crew)

#2171

From: Pip Hinman <piph@...>
Date: Tue Sep 22, 2009 12:16 pm
Subject: Afghanistan: help needed to build troops out protest

piphinman

Offline

Dear all,

The discussion about the fraudulent elections in Afghanistan, the increase in US/NATO troop numbers and the polls indicating growing global opposition is focussing attention on the war in Afghanistan and the plight of its peoples. These events are certain to raise interest in the rally Stop the War Coalition is organising for October 8 - the 8th anniversary of the invasion.

Already there are signs that this event will draw a crowd, and with your help we can make it bigger, increasing the pressure to pull the troops out.

Stop the War Coalition is pleased that an ad-hoc committee in Melbourne is organising a similar protest (on October 10).

We also agree with the focus of the Melbourne group which are making the following additional demands: refugee status for asylum seekers fleeing the war; genuine civilian-based reconstruction aid; and fund independent women's rights groups in Afghanistan. We will be seeking to raise these issues at the Sydney rally.

International protests are taking place throughout the month of October, and the rallies in Sydney and Melbourne are a part of the growing global voice demanding the troops be pulled out.

You can help get the word out about the Sydney October 8 rally in a number of ways, including (but not exclusively):

forwarding this message to friends, neighbours, colleagues and others
picking up some flyers and posters from 23 Abercrombie Street, Chippendale
helping distribute flyers and or posters (you let us know when you can do it and we'll try and get you some help)
come to the rally for Palestine, Friday September 25, 5.30pm, at Sydney Town Hall (where you can help distribute flyers and take some along with you)
Get in touch with your local paper to see if they will carry an ad - or write them a letter to the editor advertising the event

As usual with these events, the more little things people can do, the bigger the momentum built.

If you can volunteer to help out on the day of the protest - we will be setting up from 4.30pm - please get in touch.

Finally, below are some links you may find interesting:

Malalai Joya (an inspirational woman) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OehptJDAJ4

US/NATO war crimes http://pz.rawa.org/pznews/youtube.htm

Rethink Afghanistan http://rethinkafghanistan.com/

RAWA website http://www.rawa.org/index.php

The looming political war over Afghanistan http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/09/03-12

Could Afghanistan become Obama's Vietnam? http://current.com/items/90764854_could-afghanistan-become-obama-s-vietnam-commondreams-org.htm

In unity,
Pip Hinman

++++

Please onforward and apologies for cross postings

March & rally

8 years of war on
AFGHANISTAN

END IT NOW!
Bring the troops home!

Life is getting worse for ordinary Afghans, life expectancy is now only 43 years, adult literacy is just 24% and the UN estimates that 4654 civilians have died since January 2007. 65% of Australians oppose sending more troops, and 51% oppose the war. Meanwhile the governments of the world are planning to send more troops to prop up this failed war.�

The rally is being held during an international month of action against the war on Afghanistan.

5.30-7pm Thursday October 8
@ Sydney Town Hall Square

Speakers: Riz Wakil (Afghan refugee); Lee Rhiannon (Greens MLC); Jim Casey (Fire Brigades Union); Paul McAleer (Maritime Union of Australia); Jake Lynch (director Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Sydney University)

The Solidarity Choir will be performing

There will be a march to the Defence Department in Pitt Street and back to Town Hall.

Endorsed by: Fire Brigades Employees Union; Greens NSW, Maritime Union of Australia, Canterbury-Bankstown Peace Group; Marrickville Peace Group; Socialist Alliance, Resistance, Solidarity Committee with Iranian Workers - Australia; Socialist Alternative, Solidarity, Communist Party of Australia, SUPRA

Donations to help the campaign to get the troops out of Afghanistan can be sent to:

Stop the War Coalition
PO Box 458
Broadway NSW 2007

Or directly deposited into:
Commonwealth Bank
Name of account: Stop the War Coalition
BSB and account no: 06 2498 10046565

For more information and to download a flyer visit stopwarcoalition.org

#2170

From: "bodhi522" <bodhi522@...>
Date: Sat Sep 5, 2009 2:13 pm
Subject: New Member

bodhi522

Offline

Hello,
  I am a new member to the group and look forward to discussing (cussing) the war
and all.
  I ran across a good article today on
http://mountainsofourmind.blogspot.com/

    It had this tidbit of info in it..
The Soviet Union introduced about 130,000 troops in the 1980s. When Soviet
generals, in the face of rising casualties (an estimated 26,000 fatalities by
the 1989 withdrawal), decided that something like a force of 300,000-400,000
would be necessary, secretary-general Mikhail Gorbachev elected to cut and run.

The U.S. Army's new Counterinsurgency Field Manual, a document overseen by
Petraeus himself, appears to call for as many as 650,000 for Afghanistan � or
more than three times the current Afghan-Coalition's mass (and well over the
545,000 troops peak U.S. commitment in Vietnam).

    Doesn't bode well for my son and his generation.. I hope they don't bring
back the draft here in the US.
   I served in the USMC  1972 -75.. No, I didn't go to Vietnam.. I side stepped
it twice while in uniform..:)
    Good to be on the messege board..

#2169

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Wed Sep 9, 2009 11:28 am
Subject: Justice and Peace: upcoming events

piphinman

Offline

Bankstown-Canterbury Peace Group

Picket: Robert McClelland, Member for Barton, and Federal Attorney General
When: 3 October 2009
Time: 11am
Where: Forest Road (opposite Hungry Jack), Hurstville.

In August, new draconian 'anti-terrorism' laws were introduced. In the lead up,
the Muslim community was the target of more arrests and media hysteria.
'Terrorism' laws are not about protecting citizens or Australia's national
security; these laws are about controlling the population and silencing public
dissent; these laws put at risk more and more our civil liberties, and appeal to
'gutter politics', racists and fascists. We are calling on Robert McClelland to
repeal these unjust and racist laws.

Contact: Raul 0403 037 376 Aaron 0416 116 767

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

STOP THE WAR COALITION
Protest 8 years of war on AFGHANISTAN
Time: 5.30pm
When: Thursday 8 October 2009
Where: Sydney Town Hall
Speakers: Riz Wakil, Afghan activist; Lee Rhiannon, Greens MLC; Jim Casey, FBEU;
Paul McAleer MUA (NSW Branch); Jake Lynch, Director of the Centre for Peace &
Conflict Studies.

On the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Afghanistan, Stop the
War Coalition, Sydney, joins the international community on a day of action to
demand and end to the war on the Afghan people, and for a withdrawal of all
foreign troops.

End the war. Bring the troops home.

For more information: http://www.stopwarcoalition.org

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

Coalition for Justice and Peace in Palestine
CJPP Dinner with Saree Makdisi - Sunday, 20 September, 6.30 for 7pm

www.coalitionforpalestine.org

As we remember the 27th anniversary of the Massacre of Sabra and Shatila

CJPP Film Screening - for the first time in Sydney - "Frontiers of Dreams and
Fear"

When: 6.30pm for 7pm, Tuesday 15 September

Where: NSW Teachers Federation Building, 23 Mary Street, Surry Hills (5 mins
from Central station)

Offering a rare glimpse into one side of the Middle East conflict, Frontiers of
Dreams and Fear explores the lives of a group of Palestinian children growing up
in refugee camps.

Filmmaker Mai Masri focuses on the story of two Palestinian girls, one born and
raised in Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, the other under Israeli control in the
Dheisha refugee camp, Bethlehem. Although living in refugee camps miles apart,
the girls manage to communicate and become friends with each other despite the
overwhelming barriers separating them. The film reveals their lives and dreams
and their growing relationship, at first through email, then culminating in
their dramatic meeting at the fence that separates them at the Lebanese/Israeli
border.

Booking is strongly recommended: events@...

Cost: $10 unwaged, $15 waged, $20 solidarity price

CJPP will donate a proportion of the proceeds of this event to the Union Aid
Abroad-APHEDA Gaza Humanitarian Appeal

Organic, Fair Trade olive oil and other products from Palestine will be
available to buy at our stall. No credit cards, cash only.

********************************************************************************\
**********

CJPP will host a dinner to welcome visiting Middle East analyst Professor Saree
Makdisi, UCLA.

Summerland Restaurant, 457 Chapel Road (North), Bankstown
Sunday, 20th September, 6:30 for 7pm.

This is an opportunity to meet Prof. Makdisi and hear him speak in an informal
setting.

Tickets: $40 CJPP members/$45 others
which includes a full Arabic-style dinner with tea/coffee & non-alcoholic
drinks.

Bookings essential, numbers are strictly limited.

RSVP no later than Thursday 17 September to:
CJPP, PO Box 399, Dulwich Hill NSW 2203, events@... or
0432 917 474

Saree Makdisi is a professor of English and Comparative Literature at the
University of California in Los Angeles, UCLA. As well as being published widely
in his academic field, British Romanticism, he writes regularly on contemporary
Arab politics and culture. He has also written many commentaries on Palestine
for publications such as the Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, Houston
Chronicle, London Review of Books and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Palestine Inside Out: Everyday Occupation, his book combining an analysis of the
overall functioning of the Israeli occupation with reminisces of day to day
personal experience, was published in 2008.

Saree Makdisi is in Australia for the Edward Said Memorial Lecture hosted by the
University of Adelaide.

He will deliver a lecture titled Excavating Memory in Jerusalem as part of
Sydney Ideas at 6.30pm Tuesday 22 September at the Seymour Theatre Centre,
University of Sydney Tickets: $20 Full, $15 Conc.  Sydney Ideas is the
University of Sydney's premier public lecture series program.

The Centre for Middle East and North African Studies and the Centre for Cultural
History, Macquarie University are co-sponsoring another lecture by Professor
Makdisi at 1 pm on Monday 21st September 2009 in Room W6A 127, Macquarie
University, North Ryde.  RSVP to mecentre@...

Professor Saree Makdisi is the nephew of the late Edward Said.

========================================================

:::::Other Events of Interest:::::

Book launch - Antony Loewenstein in conversation with Paul McGeough

My Israel Question: 3rd Edition

At this event, Antony Loewenstein will have just returned from the Middle East
and Paul McGeough from Afghanistan. Loewenstein and McGeough are the foremost
Australian journalists and writers covering these war-torn, troubled countries.
Their conversation about the Israel question, and what's happening on the ground
in Palestine and Afghanistan, is not to be missed.

When: 6.30pm for 7pm, Thursday, 17 September
Where: gleebooks, 49 Glebe Point Rd, Glebe
Cost: $10/$7 - Book: gleebooks - 9660 2333

********************************************************************************\
**********

Students for Palestine present: Palestinian Resistance to Apartheid Israel

An afternoon of discussion about the origins of Palestinian oppression and the
possibilities for liberation.

When: 1-4pm Friday, September 25th

Where: The University of Sydney, Carslaw Lecture Theatre 175

1pm - Whatever Happened to the "Peace Process" (UTS Professor of History Heather
Goodall)

2pm - Palestinian Uprising: The Origins and Significance of the Second (Al-Aqsa)
Intifada (Gennaro Gervasio, Research Fellow in the Centre for Middle East and
North African Studies, MQU)

3pm - Video report from students in Gaza about the situation they face and the
ongoing struggle against Israeli Apartheid.

For more info contact Robert 0400 308 198 or Ophelia 0410 782 263

********************************************************************************\
**********
Rally for Palestine

Date: Friday 25 September

Time: 5.30pm

Location: Sydney Town Hall (George Street)

Organised by Students for Palestine - for more information contact Kay (0413 957
838) or Luke (0401 527 788)

CJPP has endorsed this rally.

#2168

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Wed Sep 2, 2009 12:00 am
Subject: Upcoming events to support and let others know about

piphinman

Offline

1. End the Siege of Gaza
RALLY FOR PALESTINE
Time: 5.30pm
When: Friday 25 September 2009
Where: Sydney Town Hall

This rally will also commemorate the massacres at the Sabra and Shatila refugee
camps in Lebanon when on September 16-18, 1982, up to 3500 Palestinian refugees
were brutally murdered by the Falange militia with the full support of the
Israeli Defence Force.

Organised by Students for Palestine
Contact Kay 0413 957 838 or Luke 0401 527 788

2. Eight years of war on AFGHANISTAN
     END THE WAR, BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!

RALLY: 5.30pm - 7.00pm
WHEN: Thursday 8 October 2009
WHERE: SYDNEY TOWN HALL

SPEAKERS include: Lee Rhiannon, Greens MLC; representative from the fire
Brigades Employees Union (FBEU); Afghan speaker

October 8 marks the 8th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of
Afghanistan.

Eight years of war and for what?

No one keeps track of the Afghan death toll. Reports are that tens of thousands
have been killed since 2001. Eleven Australian soldiers and more than 1300 US
and NATO soldiers have been killed in this war.
Life is getting worse for most Afghans under occupation.

Kevin Rudd claims the war is about 'combating terrorism'. But there was no
terrorist threat to Australia before the war in Afghanistan.
The majority of Afghans do not want us there. The majority of Australians want
the troops to leave.

Organised by Stop the War Coalition
Contact: Pip 0404 090 710, Anne 0412 139 968, Marlene 0401 758 871
www.StoptheWarCoalition.org

3. Donate to Stop the War Coalition
Direct deposits
Bank: Commonwealth Bank
Account: 06 2498 10046565

Cheques or money orders to:

PO Box 458
Broadway 2007

Stop the War Coalition has been campaigning against the war unabated. Funds are
essential for the printing of fliers, posters, information leaflets, stickers,
to keep our website and PO Box going, to hold events, rallies, fora and others.

Please help keep the campaign alive - any small (or big!) contribution counts.

Thank you also to all those who have donated in the past and also to our regular
donors.

Marlene Obeid

#2167

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:32 am
Subject: Afghanistan: Elections a travesty, troops out now

piphinman

Offline

Sydney Stop the War Coalition
Media release
August 20, 2009

AFGHANISTAN:
Eight years of war and occupation and the Taliban can still threaten the election

As the Afghan presidential election campaign comes to an end, war, hunger, and devastation are making life hell for the people.

Hamid Karzai, President and only one of 41 candidates, is no longer Washington's favourite in today's travesty of an election. A puppet president installed by the Bush administration, Karzai has kept himself in power thanks to his deals with warlords and the US military.

Anne Picot, a Stop the War Coalition (StWC) spokesperson, said: "Eight years of war has devastated Afghanistan. Tens of thousands of Afghans have been killed, or maimed or driven from their homes and over 4 million refugees are still waiting in neighbouring countries. And according to the UN Development Programme, nothing has improved under Karzai's government - adult literacy is 23.5%, only 31% of households have access to water, life expectancy is 43 years, while over 6 million Afghans are at risk of starvation".

"Sixty eight thousand foreign troops occupy the country. Yet the influence of the Taliban has spread from the south to the north and they are able to threaten voters with violence. What has this terrible war achieved?", Ms Picot asked.

Marlene Obeid, another spokesperson for the peace group, commented: "Women have not fared any better. Malalai Joya, a female Afghan MP, has been the target of several assassination attempts and has been barred from Parliament because she has condemned the Karzai government and the warlords for war crimes and abuse of women. The newly-passed law condoning rape in marriage is a case in point".

The war on Afghanistan is not a "good war" for the invaders either. Australia has lost eleven soldiers, while the total number of foreign troops killed is 1,319 with this figure rising by the day.

Australia has committed $1.4 billion in this year's budget to wars of Afghanistan and Iraq and very little for reconstruction.

Ms Picot remarked: "Karzai's deals with the war-lords and the continuing opium trade has left Washington red-faced. It's not surprising they are bad-mouthing him and are backing other candidates in the election today".

Stop the War Coalition demands the Rudd Government end Australia's involvement in the occupation of Afghanistan and calls on Australians to protest against the war on October 8, 5.30pm-7pm, the 8th anniversary of the invasion.

If you would like to help out in promoting this event to your work mates, friends, union and any other community group, please get in touch and we can arrange to send flyers, posters and background material.

Anne Picot 0404 090 710; Marlene Obeid: 0401 758 871; Pip Hinman 0412 139 968

www.stopwarcoalition.org

#2166

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Tue Jul 21, 2009 12:32 pm
Subject: 11th Australian soldier dies in unwinnable war:

piphinman

Offline

Stop the War Coalition - Sydney

MEDIA RELEASE � FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2009

AFGHANISTAN: A Terrible and Unwinnable War

TheStop the War Coalition express its condolences to the family of PrivateBenjamin Ranaudo - the eleventh Australian soldier to be needlesslykilled in Afghanistan. It also calls on the Rudd government toimmediately withdraw the troops from this terrible and unwinnable war.

Anti-war activists will be present on Thursday July 30 from 12noonat the ALP Conference, at the Convention Centre in Darling Harbour,Sydney, to take their views to the Prime Minister and ALP delegates.

Spokespersonfor the Sydney Stop the Coalition, Pip Hinman, said that this tragicand unnecessary death should be on Rudd's conscience � if he had one.

"The Stop the War Coalition opposes this criminal war which haswrought so much misery and tragedy to the people of Afghanistan and thefamilies of those young soldiers who have been sent to Afghanistan on alie: to save us from `terrorism'," said Ms Hinman.

Even Hugh White, from the ANU and the Lowy Institute, aconservative think-tank, believes the war in Afghanistan can't be won.The Sydney Morning Herald quotes him on July 20 as saying that thegovernment is being dishonest to claim Australian soldiers are dying tosave us from terrorism. He goes further and says, "It's an illusion tothink that if you fix Afghanistan, we'll be safe from terrorism".

Malalai Joya, an Afghan MP who recently visited Australia, toldpacked-out crowds all over the country that Australia, and the US andNATO forces, should leave Afghanistan.

"I'm confident that ifforeign countries stop meddling in Afghanistan and if we are left freefrom occupation, then a strong progressive and democratic force willemerge", she told packed out venues. She added that the Afghan peoplecurrently had two enemies to fight � the fundamentalists and thecoalition forces. If the coalition forces left, Malalai said, she wouldbe very confident that the people of Afghanistan could deal with thefundamentalists on their own.

The Stop the War Coalition is also calling on the Australiangovernment to bring all the troops out of Iraq, and is opposed toAustralia lending its support for any US-led, or backed, interventionin Iran.

Join the Stop the War Coalition from 12 noon on Thursday30 July at the Darling Harbour Convention Centre, to call on the ALPfor an end to the war on the people of Afghanistan.

More information: Pip Hinman 0412 139 968, Marlene Obeid 0401 758 871, Anne Picot 0404 090 710

www.stopwarcoalition.org

#2165

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Thu Jul 16, 2009 12:40 am
Subject: Upcoming events to support

piphinman

Offline

Students for Palestine Fundraising Dinner
Time: from 6pm Friday 24 July
Venue: Rockdale Town Hall (Cnr Bryant St and Princes Highway, near Rockdale
station)

Celebrate 61 years of Palestinian resistance and help us raise funds to continue
our campaign of Palestine solidarity.
Join us for a night of fun, food, music, film, poetry, theatre, politics and
much more! All welcome (not just students).
All proceeds raised will be split between Palestinian causes (TBA) and Students
for Palestine ongoing campaigns.

Organised by Students for Palestine, a cross-campus organisation uniting all
students who want to campaign in solidarity with the Palestinian people. Check
out our website <http://studentsforpalestine.wordpress.com>

Featuring:

     * Hip hop crew The Brothahood from Melbourne + other Palestinian music

     * Speakers, inc. Professor John Macdonald, an eyewitness from Palestine
     * Video messages direct from students in besieged Gaza

     * Fantastic 100% halal food

     * Short films documenting recent events in Gaza

     * Palestinian poetry

     * And more...

Ticket prices:
Solidarity - $20
Adult - $10
Under 18/high school - $5
Kids under 5 - free
(Tickets available at the door.)

An alcohol-free event

RSVP by 23 July (or contact for more info):
by email: s4pfundraiser@...
by phone: Aisha 0416 474 782; Patrick 0422 028 113

++++
THURSDAY July 30

The Gaza Defence Committee is calling on supporters of Palestine to help leaflet
the ALP conference at Darling Harbour on Thursday July 30 at 12 noon.

A further action that will take place in the afternoon at an event being
organised by Paul Howes, secretary of the Australian Workers' Union and a
promoter of an international group, TULIP, which is opposed to isolating
apartheid Israel.

For more information about TULIP, see <http://www.tuliponline.org/>

For more information about the Howes' event see
<http://labor.net.au/news/1246922178_20301.html>

For a critical appraisal of TULIP see
<http://www.labournet.net/world/0905/tufi1.html>

To find out more about this action ring Raul on 0403 037 376.

#2164

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Sun Jul 5, 2009 11:56 pm
Subject: Reminder: Tonight: Iran's struggle for democracy @ 6.30pm @ UTS

piphinman

Offline

StopWarCoalition, Sydney

Dear friends,

The Stop the War Coalition is holding a public meeting to discuss the prospects
for the struggle for democracy in Iran after the violent repression of the
demonstrations by the state.

"A feeling of anger, despair and mistrust of government prevails among Iranian
citizens, which has only deepened after the Guardians Council's announcement [of
confirmation of] the controversial landslide win of President Mahmud Ahmadinejad
and [rejection of] claims of widespread fraud", to quote a correspondent to the
Asia Times Online website.

This after 16 days of protest and unrest by supporters of former prime minister
Mir Hossein Mousavi and reformist politician Mehdi Karroubi, two of the leading
candidates who claimed election fraud when the landslide victory of President
Mahmud Ahmadinejad was announced within hours of the polls closing on 12 June.

Many anti-war activists who have been campaigning over the past seven years
against the wars and occupations of Afghanistan and Iraq were fearful that the
Iranians' protest movement and the repression could be used as an excuse for
further sanctions or even military intervention in the country.

On the contrary, we call on anti-war activists to support the right of Iranians
to protest and bring about change, free from the influence of Western leaders
and to continue to play our role to limit the threat of war which only serves to
strangle any movements for change.

We are therefore holding a meeting to discuss the background to the election
contest, the protesters' movement, and the role which anti-war campaigners can
play in supporting the struggle here in Australia.

GUEST SPEAKERS:

* Sara Poya � Antiwar activist and researcher on the reformist movement in Iran.

* Mansour Razaghi � Organiser for NSW CFMEU; member of Solidarity Committee With
Iranian Workers.

6.30pm Monday July 6

Student Assn Meeting Room

Level 3, Tower Block CB01

Uni of Technology

Broadway

INFO: Pip - 0412 139 968 / Anne - 0404 090 710

#2163

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Thu Jul 2, 2009 12:24 pm
Subject: Solidarity events to support this weekend

piphinman

Offline

Friday, July 3

Protest against suppression of Iranian People's struggle for freedom

Freedom loving people!

Once again the ruling dictatorship of Iran has unleashed its thugs on
our people and their call for freedom and democracy.

Protesters and dissidents are being illegally arrested, some are shot
dead, and many others are savagely beaten. They shot dead a brave young girl by
the name of Neda Agha Sultan (Neda means Herald of Freedom in Farsi).

Through these savage acts of vengeance, they are trying to silence our people's
demand for freedom and democracy.

In solidarity with our people, and to commemorate the martyrdom of our loved
ones, we will have a gathering in front of NSW Parliament House.

We call upon the Australian public, International human right
organisations, NGOs and governments to support our peoples' struggle for
freedom, human rights and democracy.

We simply ask you to join us in condemning this outrageous assault on
humanity. We ask you to do whatever you can to put an immediate stop on
arbitrary arrests, torture and use of live ammunition on defenceless protesters.

We will light up candles and sing songs in the memory of our murdered
countrymen and women.

We will put on display pictures of the recent street protests and images of the
deceased who lost their precious lives in defence of freedom and democracy.

The Committee for Solidarity with Iranian People - Sydney

When: 3PM-5PM - Friday, July the 3rd 2009

Venue: NSW Parliament House

Macquarie Street, SYDNEY

+++++

Sunday July 5

FROM ASHES TO EMPIRES�TAMIL EELAM WILL RISE

Uyirthelluvom or "Tamil Uprising"

130,000 Tamils massacred by the Sri Lankan Government.

A race enslaved by forces of hate, brutality and oppression.

A state sponsored genocide used to silence the desire for Tamil
independence.

Now, amid the rubble of our lands, the spirit of our people must rise
once more.

United, we must defy this tyranny, define our history & fulfill our destiny.

Place - Martin Place

Date - 5th July 2009
Time - 2pm - 5pm

+++++

Monday July 6

Public meeting: Iran's struggle for democracy

Sara Poya � antiwar activist and researcher on the reformist
movement in Iran

Mansour Razaghi � Organiser for NSW CFMEU and member
of Solidarity Committee with Iranian Workers

Monday July 6, 6.30pm, UTS Student Assn Meeting Room
Level 3, Tower Block CB01
Uni of Technology
Broadway (nr Railway Square)

Pip - 0412 139 968 / Anne - 0404 090 710

#2162

From: "piphinman" <piph@...>
Date: Sat Jun 27, 2009 12:50 am
Subject: Two events to support the democractic movement in Iran

piphinman

Offline

This Sunday June 28, 5pm
Sydney Town Hall
Please let your networks know

+++++

Stop the War Coalition public meeting: Monday July 6, 6.30pm

The Struggle For Democracy in Iran: Background to the crisis

GUEST SPEAKERS:
Sara Poya � Lecturer in the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the
University of Sydney � and who has been making a study of the reformist movement
in Iran

Mansour Razaghi � Organiser for NSW CFMEU. Member of Solidarity Committee With
Iranian Workers.

6.30pm Monday July 6
Student Assn Meeting Room Level 3, Tower Block CB01 Uni of Technology Broadway
(nr Railway Square)

Info: Pip - 0412 139 968 / Anne - 0404 090 710. www.StopWarCoalition.org

#2161

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Tue Jun 9, 2009 6:59 am
Subject: Protest Julia Gillard speaking at Aus-Israel Chamber of Commerce, June 11

sandspiral2004

Offline

Protest Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard�at Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce luncheon

Boycotts and sanctions, not trade and exchanges, with Israeli apartheid!
Break ties with Israel!

Thursday, June 11,�

11.30am
Westin Sydney Hotel,�

Grand Ballroom,�

1 Martin Place, Sydney

Called by Gaza Defence Committee
www.gazadefencecommittee.org

The Gaza Defence Committee condemns in the strongest possible terms the planned visit of a "high level" delegation to Israel organized by the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange and led by the deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard, as reported in the May 26 Sydney Morning Herald.

At a time when Israeli crimes against the Palestinian people have never been more blatant, we believe that it is nothing less than grotesque for the Rudd Government to be "part of an effort to strengthen political, business and cultural ties" with Israel.

Such a move, following Federal Parliament's celebration of Israel's 60th anniversary last year, the government's failure to condemn Israel's recent massacres in Gaza, and its decision to boycott the United Nation's World Racism Conference (Durban II), only emboldens Israel to continue its ongoing campaign of dispossessing and caging the Palestinian people.

GDC calls on the Rudd Government to instead cut its ties with Israel in conformity to the Palestinian United Call for Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions against Israel (2005).

Join us on June 11 to send a message to Gillard: Boycotts and sanctions, not trade and cultural exchanges, with apartheid Israel

Below is a petition being circulated in protest at the proposed cultural exchange that Gillard is promoting.

P E T I T I O N

To protest the proposed Australia-Israel cultural exchange trip to Israel �to be led by Australia�s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard this month.

As citizens of conscience we would like to protest in the strongest possible terms, the proposed Australia-Israel cultural exchange trip to Israel to be led by Australia�s Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard MP and involving other parliamentarians, academics, business people, and journalists. �

We consider this trip a dreadful affront to the many Palestinians left maimed, wounded, traumatised and homeless by Israel�s devastating assault on the Gaza Strip in late 08/early 09. The statistics of dead, wounded and dying are in the thousands, whole neighbourhoods lie in ruins, hospitals are bursting at the seams without adequate medical supplies to help the suffering, and world aid - some of it already rotting - lies massed outside Gaza�s entry points unable to be distributed because of Israel�s draconian restrictions - a policy of collective punishment that is an egregious violation of the Geneva Convention. Reports of illegal phosphorous attacks are evident in the horrific burns endured by the victims months afterwards.

Every parliamentarian ought to think seriously about the moral implications of Australia normalising relations with a state that is still under investigation for war crimes committed during Israel�s �Cast Lead� operation. �Further, Israel is refusing to commit to the two-state solution that Australia supports; it is continuing to build illegal settlements in the West Bank in defiance of the current United States administration; and it is continuing to maintain an illegal military Occupation of Palestinian lands that denies Palestinians basic human rights such as freedom of movement.�

We remind all those contemplating such a trip, that Israeli is not a truly democratic society even when it comes to the Palestinian citizens of Israel. As we write, the Israeli Ministerial Committee on Legislation has approved a preliminary proposal which would make it illegal to hold events or ceremonies marking Israel�s Independence Day as a �Nakba� or catastrophe for the Palestinians dispossessed of their homes and land in 1948. We remind you that the party of Israel�s Foreign Minister Avigdor Leiberman, �Yisrael Beitneu� has submitted a bill - subsequently rejected - for cabinet approval, which would require all Israelis, including Palestinians, Christians, and Bedouins, to declare loyalty to �the state of Israel as a Jewish, Zionist, and democratic state� before they can be issued a national identity document.�

We remind you that a bill has just passed its first reading in the Israeli Knesset that would institute a one year jail term for anyone who speaks �against Israel�s existence as a Jewish and democratic state�, and that the Second Annual Palestine Festival of Literature in Occupied East Jerusalem was ordered to close down by the Israeli Ministry of Internal Security only moments before its opening on 23rd May, a festival supported by UNESCO and the British Council among others.�

We reject the oft touted clich� that Israel is a democracy like Australia, rather we remind those intent on strengthening cultural and political exchange between Israel and Australia that Israel is not a state for all its citizens but a state that explicitly advances the interests of one ethnicity alone, a state of affairs that is simply unthinkable in modern Australia. Along with the current editor of the respected American periodical �The Nation�, we wonder how a �State that imprisons 4 million Palestinians behind ghetto walls, bypass roads and a blockade, and treats another 1.5 million as second-class citizens, [can] be democratic?�

Yours Sincerely�

Dr. Anthony Ashbolt (University of Wollongong)

Dr Ruth Barraclough (Australian National University)

Dr Gaik Keng Choo (Australian National University)

Dr Ned Curthoys (Australian National University)

Professor Ann Curthoys (University of Sydney)

Professor John Docker (University of Sydney)

Vicki Grieves (University of Sydney)

Professor Heather Goodall (University of Technology Sydney)

Dr Rick Kuhn (Australian National University)

Antony Loewenstein, Sydney-based journalist and author.

Associate Professor Jake Lynch (Director, Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Sydney)

Dr. Ron Witton (University of Wollongong)

Dr. Adel Yousif (Deakin University)

Sonja Karkar (Australians for Palestine/Women for Palestine)

�STOP JUNKET PETITION.doc

#2160

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Sun May 24, 2009 12:50 am
Subject: Afghanistan Public Meeting, Mon May 25

sandspiral2004

Offline

AFGHANISTAN: NOT THE 'GOOD' WAR

This Monday, Stop the War Coalition is featuring two articulate and outspoken advocates for the Afghan cause. Come along to hear activists and former refugees�Riz Wakil, and�Abdul Hekmat�speak on the parlous situation in their country of birth, and what needs to be done to re-empower their countrymen and bring peace to the region...

STOP THE WAR COALITION PUBLIC MEETING...

6.30pm MONDAY MAY 25

STUDENT ASS'N MEETING ROOM

LEVEL 3, BLDG CB01

UTS SYDNEY

SPEAKERS:

RIZ WAKIL - former refugee from Afghanistan

ABDUL HEKMAT - human rights activist, member of�International PEN & former Afghan refugee

INFO: Pip 0412 139 968 Rob 0411 449 033 Andrew 0409 959 014

=========================================================

WHY WE MUST GET THE TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTAN

� On 17 October 2001 the US and allies invaded Afghanistan as part of the Bush admin�s bogus �war on terror�. The FBI and the CIA have since been forced to admit that they found no evidence to link Afghanistan to the September 11 attacks.

� Gail David, of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada wrote: �The war against Afghanistan violates international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions and the relevant provisions of the eleven International agreements dealing with the suppression and control of terrorism. The attacks by bombing and the use of other military force are war crimes pursuant to the Rome Statute�.

A BAD WAR

� The Afghan occupation is now in its eighth year, and resistance to the occupation has not abated � even NATO commanders are pessimistic about the outcome of the occupation. According to the US National Intelligence director, the Hamid Karzai regime exerts control over a mere 30 percent of the country.�

� The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) relies heavily on air-power for its military operations: indiscriminate air-raids have caused heavy civilian casualties as well as extreme resentment in the Afghan population. Tens of thousands of Afghans civilians have been killed in the war. This year, Australian soldiers killed four Afghan civilians in January and five Afghans children and an adult in February, wounding many others in the process.

� A 2007 United Nations Development Report, published in May 2008, reported that the situation is going terribly wrong in Afghanistan: access to water is at 31 percent of households; life expectancy is 43.1 years; adult literacy is 23.5 percent; 50 percent of Afghan children under five are malnourished; and 6.6 million Afghans do not meet their minimum daily food requirements.

� Forty percent-plus of the active population is unemployed, and since October 2001, over four million people have taken refuge in neighbouring countries. A Christian Science Monitor article published in March 2008 states that Afghanistan �is responsible for 92 percent of the global opium output. There are twice as may heroin users on the streets of Kabul than just four years ago, about one million of Afghanistan�s 34 million people are drug users � and 60,000 children are addicted to drugs�.

� RAWA, the lead Afghan Women�s Rights Group (which fought the Soviets and the Taliban) says the US-backed regime in Kabul has offered no improvement for the situation of Afghan women.

� So far, ten Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan (plus well over a thousand British, Canadians, French, Americans and others). The overall body-count will only continue to climb and may even accelerate, courtesy of Obama�s troop surge.

ALL TROOPS OUT

� The Australian government has allocated $429 million to Operation Slipper in Afghanistan, with a further $122 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and $47 million to fund the deployment of 12 Australian Federal Police.

� Barack Obama is sending an additional 17,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, and the U.S. is pressuring Kevin Rudd to ignore public opinion and send more Australian troops.

Stop the War Coalition demands the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan and an End to the Occupation.

1 of 1 Photo(s)

afghanwomanmourning2.jpg

#2159

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Wed May 20, 2009 9:27 am
Subject: Protest the genocide of the Tamil people: rally May 23

sandspiral2004

Offline

(Help get the word out! Please forward to your lists: apologies for cross-posting...)

��

STOP PRESS:�If you can help with Marshalling at�the rally in Sydney this Saturday, it would be much appreciated.

Due to events in Sri Lanka and tensions in the local community, the police are a little bit nervous about numbers, and how the rally will run, so we need to reassure them that we have sufficient people to keep the rally and march happening smoothly and safely.

Even if you are not a regular Stop the War person, please make the effort to support the Tamil Community in being heard during their hour of need...

Rally Marshals: arrive no later than 11.30am at Martin Place Amphitheatre -- ask for Raul or Rob...

ALSO: The weather has prevented us putting up as many posters as we had hoped. If you can help with leafletting and/or postering in the next few days, please let us know...

Thank you!�

- Stop the War Coalition / Tamil Youth of Australia

MORE INFO:

Adrian Francis�0420 522 099

Sam Pari 0433 428 967

Andrew Cheeseman 0409 959 014

Pip Hinman 0412 139 968

��

PROTEST THE GENOCIDE OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

No peace without justice
Food� and medical aid needed now�
Allow foreign media and human rights monitors in
Help evacuate�Tamil IDPs and investigate their claims of abuse
Support the Tamil's right to self-determination

Rally on May 23, 12 noon, Martin Place, Sydney�

While the Tamil Tigers have laid down their�arms in Sri Lanka, it is unclear what the Sri Lankan army is up to in�the��safe areas��and refugee camps which double as concentration�camps.

A rally for�justice for the Tamil people�will be held on Saturday, May 23, starting 12 noon at Martin Place and marching to Town Hall.

The situation for the Tamil people remains dire. The Sri Lankan army�s ruthless military offensive against the Tamils in the country�s north east has not solved any of the long-running political grievances which led to this latest phase of the war.

If anything, the political grievances are now even more pronounced. Where will the Tamils now go? What rights will they have?�

On May 10, some 2000 civilians, including many women and children, were massacred in a single night by the Sri Lankan armed forces in a �no fire zone�. According to Tamil sources, more than 5000 civilians, including hundreds of children, were injured.

Since then more thousands more Tamils have been killed - including those trying to flee the fighting.

Press censorship and harassment of journalists means too little truth about these mass killings is reaching the outside world.�

Dr Sam Pari, a spokesperson for the Tamil community, said: �Aid agencies must be given access to thousands of injured civilians. Food must be given to thousands on the brink of starvation. Foreign media and human rights monitors must have access into the area to investigate suspected government war crimes. There also has to be unhindered access to government camps to investigate claims of rape, abuse and torture of Tamil IDPs.

Dr Pari urged the international community to help facilitate evacuation of thousands of displaced civilians being held in camps. �The international community must also support a political solution that addresses the aspirations of Tamil self determination�, she said.

Rally speakers include�Dr Sam Pari and other�Tamil youth activists, Reverend John Barr � Uniting Church; Phil Glendenning � Edmund Rice Centre and Phillip Boulten, Sydney barrister

For more information Adrian Francis�0420 522 099; Sam Pari 0433 428 967; Andrew Cheeseman 0409 959 014; Pip Hinman 0412 139 968

Organised by Tamil Youth of Australia & Stop the War Coalition

www.stopwarcoalition

fastuntoaction.wordpress.com

#2158

From: Stefania Siedlecky <awcouani@...>
Date: Thu Apr 16, 2009 11:31 am
Subject: invitation to WILPF 94th Birthday

awcouani@...

Dear Friends,

On the 9th March, WILPF NSW will celebrate the 94th birthday of the organisation. Please circulate this invitation among your members and contacts.

Hoping to see you there,

Stefania Siedlecky AM

President, WILPF NSW

Dr Stefania Siedlecky AM

siedleck@...

Ph 02 9960 2952

Fax 02 9960 2515

#2157

From: "briannapike" <pike.brianna@...>
Date: Thu May 14, 2009 3:29 am
Subject: Protest the Genocide of the Tamil People 12noon Sat May 23 @ Martin Pl.

briannapike

Offline

PROTEST THE GENOCIDE OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

Protest: 12noon Saturday May 23 @ Martin Place

* Ceasefire now! Allow food, medicine and aid into the war zone.

* Let international observers and media in.

*Let the Tamil people decide where they want to live.

The situation for the Tamil People in Sri Lanka is dire. Civilians are being herded into so-called "safety zones" in the north of the country and then being bombarded by Sri Lankan artillery.

On May 10, some 2000 civilians, including many women and children, were massacred in a single night by the Sri Lankan armed forces in a 'no fire zone'. According to Tamil sources, more than 5000 civilians, including hundreds of children, were injured.

Press censorship and harassment of journalists means too little truth about these mass killings is reaching the outside world. Despite this, Human Rights Watch on May 8 condemned the Sri Lankan armed forces for repeatedly bombing hospitals in the northern Vanni region. It said: "Commanders responsible for ordering or conducting such attacks may be prosecuted for war crimes."

On May 11, the British, French and Austrian foreign ministers urged the UN Security Council to take action to prevent more killings of civilians in the northern war zone.

This horrific scenario must stop, and the Australian government must find its conscience and speak out against the racist and genocidal policies of the Sri Lankan government. It must condemn the Sri Lankan government for the genocide and add its weight to calls for an immediate and permanent ceasefire.

Join the emergency rally on May 23, 12noon at Martin Place organised by the Tamil Youth of Australia and the Stop the War Coalition to demand that the Rudd government adds its weight to calls on the Sri Lankan government to allow medical aid and independent journalists into the war zone, to allow Tamil civilians the right to decide where they live, and allow Tamil refugees to come to and settle in Australia.

The Tamils are looking for broader Australian support. Since the beginning of this year they have organised many, many protests, vigils, car cavalcades to Canberra but, so far, have been ignored by most politicians and the mass media. This is your chance to add your voice and take a stand against genocide against a whole people.

If you can help out in any way, please contact Dr Sam Pari on 0433 428 967 or Mohan on 0411 290 413, or get in touch with the Stop the War Coalition to take posters and leaflets or otherwise help with informing networks about this important protest.

The rally will march from Martin Place to Town Hall Square. For more information, visit <fastuntoaction.wordpress.com> or www.stopwarcoalition.org Queries: Mohan Rajan 0411 290 413; Sam Pari 0433 428 967; Andrew Cheeseman 0409 959 014; Pip Hinman 0412 139 968

#2156

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Sun May 10, 2009 7:25 pm
Subject: Public Meeting: The Tamil Emergency in Sri Lanka

sandspiral2004

Offline

��TAMIL PROTESTERS BLOCK CITY STREET TO GET RUDD'S ATTENTION

www.stopwarcoalition.org

PROTEST THE GENOCIDE OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

The situation for the Tamil People in Sri Lanka is dire. Currently civilians are being herded into so-called 'safety zones' in the north of the country and then finding that they are being bombarded by Sri Lankan artillery. Press censorship and harassment of journalists means too little truth about these mass killings is reaching the outside world...

This horrific scenario must stop, and the Australian government must find its conscience and speak out on the world stage against the racist and genocidal policies of the Sri Lankan government...

PUBLIC MEETING...

THE TAMIL EMERGENCY IN SRI LANKA
6.30pm MONDAY MAY 11
UTS STUDENT ASS'N MEETING ROOM
LEVEL 3, TOWER BLOCK CB01
UNI OF TECHNOLOGY
BROADWAY, SYDNEY
MAP

SPEAKERS�from the Tamil Community
INFO:�Pip 0412 139 968 Rob 0411 449 033 Andrew 0409 959 014

<> <> <>

Stop the War Coalition: STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY WITH THE TAMIL PEOPLE IN SRI LANKA

STWC supports an immediate end to the war in Sri Lanka and calls on the Australian government to end its political and military support of the government of Sri Lanka.�

As long as the fighting continues, STWC supports the call for a boycott of Sri Lankan goods.

STWC supports the Tamils� right to self-determination...

� ABC, May 11:

�ABC News, Monday May 11:

�SRI LANKAN SHELLING KILLS HUNDREDS OF TAMIL CIVILIANS

��THE PLIGHT OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

- KEVIN RUDD: STAYING SILENT ABOUT THE GENOCIDE OF THE TAMIL PEOPLE

- DID THE SRI LANKAN GOVT DESIGNATE A NEW TAMIL 'SAFETY ZONE' AND THEN BOMB IT? AND THEN LIE ABOUT THE BOMBING??

================================

STAY IN TOUCH�

��CLICK HERE TO JOIN STOP THE WAR'S LOW-VOLUME ANNOUNCEMENT E-LIST

GET ACTIVE�

��CLICK HERE TO JOIN STOP THE WAR'S ORGANISING E-LIST

� PETITION -- WITHDRAW AUSTRALIAN TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN:

DOWNLOAD A COPY

� MINUTES, STOP THE WAR MEETING, MONDAY APRIL 27

� WHY WE MUST GET THE TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTN

� MINUTES, STOP THE WAR MEETING, TUESDAY MARCH 30

� ABOUT STOP THE WAR COALITION

- Background

- Aims & Objectives

http://www.stopwarcoalition.org/

#2155

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Sat May 9, 2009 12:45 am
Subject: Successful Troop Surge Protest + Upcoming Stop the War Meetings

sandspiral2004

Offline

PEACE ACTIVISTS SPEAK OUT AGAINST MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN

ON FRIDAY MAY 8,�Stop the War Coalition�staged a successful protest at Sydney Town Hall against Rudd's troop surge...

Speakers included Gerry Binder from StandFast Veterans Against War, Irene Doutney from The Greens, Denis Doherty from the Anti-Bases Coalition, Pip Hinman from Socialist Alliance, Andrew Cheeseman from Socialist Alternative, and Stop the War Coalition's Marlene Obeid...

PLEASE NOTE: Stop the War is hosting two very important PUBLIC MEETINGS...

(see details at the end of this email).

* One will focus on the dangerous plight of the TAMIL PEOPLE�in Sri Lanka -- this Monday, May 11.

* The other will examine the horrific consequences for civilians of the invasion and occupation of AFGHANISTAN�-- Monday May 25.

Please come along, your support is needed... ALL WELCOME!

==============================

� IRENE DOUTNEY: SPEECH @ AFGHANISTAN 'PROTEST THE TROOP SURGE' RALLY � 8/5/09

"I�d like to acknowledge that we are meeting on Aboriginal land of the Eora nation and I pay my respects to their elders past and present.

I would also like to acknowledge that we have been meeting on this ground at Sydney Town Hall for years now in the fight for peace and non violence. Sadly we are here yet again.

I have been coming here since the 1960s when we first began protesting about America�s invasion of Vietnam and it�s sad to say that nothing has changed. Innocent civilians, women and children have died in their millions since those days and it is a tragedy that we are still here today opposing more US adventurism and the continuing intervention in a country that has nothing to do with us.

Just like in the 1960�s we are following the US into another foreign country and killing innocent people who have done nothing to deserve this horror. The Afghan people did not attack America. The Taliban were not International terrorists: they were the government of their own country.

The Taliban were the product of the Russian invasion in 1979 and US proxy war games and despite their beliefs and methods they were supported by the US when it suited them. This is the irony of the Afghanistan conflict - that it is partly a product of America�s own creation.

When the US invaded Afghanistan after 9/11 they went in with a clear aim � to catch Osama bin Laden and end the activities of Al-Queda but instead of concentrating on this they were diverted into punishing the Taliban and invading Iraq.

8 years on and we still hear little of Osama bin Laden but we do hear a lot about the Obama �surge� and the destabilisation of yet another country with the spread of hostilities into Pakistan.

This week we saw the Presidents of Pakistan and Afghanistan called to Washington by President Obama for a council of war and a pep talk as the US prepares to send another 17,000 combat troops into Afghanistan and Australia follows suit with 450 of our own Defence Force personnel.

Meanwhile earlier this week US airstrikes killed up to one hundred people as they sheltered from the fighting between the Taliban and the ISAF.

Poor Afghanistan has been the battleground for the superpowers and civil war since the 1970s and millions of people have died or been displaced. The Taliban are the product of that turmoil and have come from the mujahdeen tradition of resistance to foreign invasion and their numbers grow constantly with the victims of this occupation.

As innocent civilians die in airstrikes and villagers lose their livelihood the ranks of the Taliban grow with paid and committed �occasional guerrillas� who will fight endlessly to get rid of the invaders. We should have learnt this lesson in Vietnam or even Iraq but we keep repeating the same destructive mistakes.

Many specialists recognise that insurgency is usually �a mass social movement based on genuine grievances� that is driven and manipulated by fighters who are hard to tell from the general population. Thus civilians are used and misused by both sides in the conflict as the Taliban hide among the civilians and the invaders target any person who could be an insurgent.

A Corporal giving evidence to the current Senate Foreign Relations Committee when talking of nearly killing a local man out buying milk said

�there were hundreds of incidents like this�.Almost 100%of the time we would find that suspected terrorists turned out to be innocent civilians.�

Wedding parties, villages, taxi drivers, any group of people moving around the countryside can easily become targets for US airstrikes. Any man is potentially an insurgent and as such is at risk of victimisation by either side. The Taliban��want to recruit him the ISAF want to neutralise him....noone really cares what he wants to do.

It is an unsustainable cycle for the West which continues to alienate the general population and enlarge the numbers of insurgents. And constantly the civilian population suffers as they try to find safety from both sides.

For many people in the West the Taliban were an abhorrent government who treated women appallingly and practised barbaric biblical forms of justice so it is hard for them to get any sympathy or support in the West but their role as freedom fighters is popular with their fundamentalist neighbours.

It is not suprising that the Taliban have found support in Pakistan when we consider the millions of refugees who have fled there over the years.�

This week with the battle for the Swat Valley and the scaremongering about terrorists gaining control of nuclear facilities nearby, we can see the expansion of this conflict spreading further into Pakistan.

This is the West�s worst nightmare and we can expect this terrible �war against terrorism� to escalate across the sub continent as the US demands the prevention of nuclear terrorism at all costs.

Early this year the Afghanistan Taliban created an alliance between the 3 Pakistani groups of Taliban called the Council of United Mujahadeen which has come together to face the Obama�s surge. This Council has the potential to destabilise Pakistan even more as it combines groups that had previously been in conflict.

Although it is rarely mentioned by the Western media the Taliban in both countries are often fighting very close to the capital cities. This week the Taliban were only 70 miles away from Islamabad and nuclear facilities, while attacks around Kabul are common.

Operation Enduring Freedom is a joke which has done nothing to improve the�circumstances of the Afghan people who have a life expectancy of only 44 years and little education or medical services. Like Iraq what little they do have is slowly being bombed into the ground.

The conditions for women have never been worse and attempts to liberalise their lives are now costing them their lives if they attempt to attend school or join public life.

The US is finding nothing but hostility with its inhuman drones and its growing military backed Christian mission work which insults and infuriates the muslim population.�

The continuing cultivation of the world�s biggest opium crop which supports both the farmers and the Taliban has not been addressed and continues to finance the insurgents and spread addiction across the world.

The whole operation is a growing disaster and it is time Australia took stock of� its role in this conflict. Some Generals talk of being in the region for up to another 10 years and billions of dollars are being poured into military equipment. 10 soldiers have died and over 60 have been wounded. Australian troops have killed and wounded innocent civilians.

This is not what the people of Australia want.

Like Vietnam we face a mass movement that has growing support among the population and a war that has little real support at home.�

In a time of climate change and economic crisis we should not be wasting our resources and manpower on yet another unjust war. It is time for this government to have some real backbone and to reconsider its support for the US surge and our involvement in this self fulfilling war on terrorism.

It�s time to bring the troops home and end the occupation now!"

===============================

� May 6, 2009:

� April 30, 2009:

PEACE COALITION CONDEMNS RUDD'S DECISION TO SEND MORE TROOPS TO AFGHANISTAN

��NEWS ARTICLES RE LATEST TROOP INCREASE

================================

STOP THE WAR PUBLIC MEETING...

THE TAMIL EMERGENCY IN SRI LANKA

6.30pm MONDAY MAY 11

UTS STUDENT ASS'N MEETING ROOM

LEVEL 3, TOWER BLOCK CB01

UNI OF TECHNOLOGY

BROADWAY, SYDNEY

SPEAKERS from the Tamil Community

INFO: Pip 0412 139 968 Rob 0411 449 033 Andrew 0409 959 014

================================

STOP THE WAR PUBLIC MEETING...

AFGHANISTAN: NOT THE 'GOOD WAR'

6.30pm MONDAY MAY 25

VENUE: tba

UTS SYDNEY

SPEAKER: RIZ WAKIL - former refugee from Afghanistan.

INFO: Pip 0412 139 968 Rob 0411 449 033 Andrew 0409 959 014

================================

#2154

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Thu Apr 30, 2009 1:03 am
Subject: AUSTRALIAN TROOP SURGE PROTEST Friday May 8

sandspiral2004

Offline

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/04/29/2555859.htm

AFGHANISTAN TROOP SURGE PROTEST

5pm FRIDAY MAY 8
SYDNEY TOWN HALL
483 GEORGE ST SYDNEY

(near Town Hall Station & George St buses)

MAP

SPEAKER: Gerry Binder, StandFast - Veterans Against War

INFO: Pip 0412 139 968 Rob 0411 449 033 Andrew 0409 959 014

www.StopWarCoalition.org

* Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has given the order to increase Australia’s military presence in Afghanistan by 450 - making a total of 1,550.

* Join Stop the War in a protest vigil and speakout in the city next Friday afternoon, May 8. Come along to tell Mr Rudd that he is sending more soldiers to join an illegal, Bush-era war against people who had no connection to 9-11, in a struggling, damaged and deeply impoverished country.

* The people of Afghanistan need our support to begin a new era of peace, self-determination and improved quality of life. They don’t need more pointless destruction of innocent lives and property...

SPEAKER: Gerry Binder, StandFast - Veterans Against War

================================================

* ABC, April 29:

Rudd Confirms Afghanistan Troop Boost

================================================

Stop the War Coalition:

Why We Must Get the Troops Out of Afghanistan

* On 17 October 2001 the US and allies invaded Afghanistan as part of the Bush admin’s bogus ‘war on terror’. The FBI and the CIA have since been forced to admit that they found no evidence to link Afghanistan to the September 11 attacks.

* Gail David, of Lawyers Rights Watch Canada wrote: “The war against Afghanistan violates international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, the Geneva Conventions and the relevant provisions of the eleven International agreements dealing with the suppression and control of terrorism. The attacks by bombing and the use of other military force are war crimes pursuant to the Rome Statute”.

A BAD WAR

* The Afghan occupation is now in its eighth year, and resistance to the occupation has not abated č even NATO commanders are pessimistic about the outcome of the occupation. According to the US National Intelligence director, the Hamid Karzai regime exerts control over a mere 30 percent of the country.

* The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) relies heavily on air-power for its military operations: indiscriminate air-raids have caused heavy civilian casualties as well as extreme resentment in the Afghan population. Tens of thousands of Afghans civilians have been killed in the war. This year, Australian soldiers killed four Afghan civilians in January and five Afghans children and an adult in February, wounding many others in the process.

* A 2007 United Nations Development Report, published in May 2008, reported that the situation is going terribly wrong in Afghanistan: access to water is at 31 percent of households; life expectancy is 43.1 years; adult literacy is 23.5 percent; 50 percent of Afghan children under five are malnourished; and 6.6 million Afghans do not meet their minimum daily food requirements.

* Forty percent-plus of the active population is unemployed, and since October 2001, over four million people have taken refuge in neighbouring countries. A Christian Science Monitor article published in March 2008 states that Afghanistan “is responsible for 92 percent of the global opium output. There are twice as may heroin users on the streets of Kabul than just four years ago, about one million of Afghanistan’s 34 million people are drug users č and 60,000 children are addicted to drugs”.

* RAWA, the lead Afghan Women’s Rights Group (which fought the Soviets and the Taliban) says the US-backed regime in Kabul has offered no improvement for the situation of Afghan women.

* So far, ten Australian soldiers have been killed in Afghanistan (plus well over a thousand British, Canadians, French, Americans and others). The overall body-count will only continue to climb and may even accelerate, courtesy of Obama’s troop surge.

ALL TROOPS OUT

* The Australian government has allocated $429 million to Operation Slipper in Afghanistan, with a further $122 million in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and $47 million to fund the deployment of 12 Australian Federal Police.

* Barack Obama is sending an additional 17,000 soldiers to Afghanistan, and the U.S. is pressuring Kevin Rudd to ignore public opinion and send more Australian troops.

Stop the War Coalition demands the withdrawal of all troops from Afghanistan and an End to the Occupation.

================================================

NB: Stop the War Coalition Public Meeting:

AFGHANISTAN: NOT THE 'GOOD WAR'

6.30pm MONDAY MAY 25

UTS, BROADWAY SYDNEY

MAP

Guest Speaker: Riz Wakil - former refugee from Afghanistan

All Welcome!

================================================

#2153

From: Rob Kennedy <rkennedy07@...>
Date: Mon Apr 27, 2009 6:17 am
Subject: Stop the War Coalition - News & Events

sandspiral2004

Offline

www.stopwarcoalition.org

UPCOMING EVENTS (scroll down for latest news...)

STOP THE WAR COALITION: BRING ALL THE TROOPS HOME

NEXT STOP THE WAR COALITION MEETING...

6.30pm MONDAY APRIL 27

UTS STUDENT ASS'N MEETING ROOM

LEVEL 3, TOWER BLOCK CB01

UNI OF TECHNOLOGY

BROADWAY, SYDNEY

VETERANS GROUP REFLECTS ON BRUTALITY OF WAR AND QUESTIONS HOW POLITICIANS USE OUR ARMED FORCES ON A.N.Z.A.C. DAY

WATCH THIS SPACE - FOR NEWS OF PROTESTS IN THE EVENT OF A FURTHER

AUSTRALIAN TROOP INCREASE IN AFGHANISTAN...

STAY IN TOUCH�

��CLICK HERE TO JOIN STOP THE WAR'S LOW-VOLUME ANNOUNCEMENT E-LIST

GET ACTIVE�

��CLICK HERE TO JOIN STOP THE WAR'S ORGANISING E-LIST

� * * * PRESS RELEASE * * * PRESS RELEASE * * * 23 April 2009

� PETITION -- WITHDRAW AUSTRALIAN TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN:

DOWNLOAD A COPY

� WHY WE MUST GET THE TROOPS OUT OF AFGHANISTN

� MINUTES, STOP THE WAR MEETING, TUESDAY MARCH 30

� ABOUT STOP THE WAR COALITION

- Background

- Aims & Objectives

AL NAKBA DAY RALLY, MAY 15 -> PARRAMATTA

Al-Nakba - "The Catastrophe"

Free Palestine, Protest Israel

61 years of Palestinian dispossession

5.30pm FRIDAY MAY 15

PARRAMATTA TOWN HALL

(CHURCH ST MALL)

PARRAMATTA

www.gazadefencecommittee.org

Organised by:

Gaza Defense Committee

Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions (BDS) Sydney

WE CALL FOR:

* An end to Israel's occupation of Palestine

* The Palestinian Right of Return

* Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions against Israel

FEATURING:

* Speakers inc. Mal Tulloch (CFMEU)

* Footage from Gaza & Shatila camp

* Street theatre

* Photo display

*�DOWNLOAD A POSTER

INFO: Aaron 0403 879 220 Kerrie 0408 292 256

� Wikipedia:�AL NAKBA

THE GLOBAL 'BOYCOTT ISRAEL' CAMPAIGN

� SENews, April 21:

'DUMP CONNEX' PETITION GATHERS STEAM IN MELBOURNE

� Electronic Intifada, April 24:

UK CAMPAIGNERS SCORE VICTORY TOWARDS ARMS EMBARGO

� Links.org, April 22:

SCOTTISH TRADE UNION CONGRESS VOTES FOR BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISRAEL

� SFGate, April 21:

BRITAIN TO REVIEW ALL ARMS EXPORTS TO ISRAEL

� Lancashire Evening Post, April 22:

CALL FOR UK LOCAL COUNCIL TO BOYCOTT ISRAEL

� AntiWar.com, April 21:

ISRAEL STRIVES TO REBRAND ITSELF

� Calgary Herald, April 21:

CANADIAN RETAILER CONSIDERS ISRAEL BOYCOTT

� BOYCOTT CAMPAIGN INFO & MORE ARTICLES...

GAZA DEFENCE COMMITTEE - CAMPAIGNING FOR A FREE PALESTINE

� Next GAZA DEFENCE COMMITTEE MEETING:

7pm MONDAY MAY 4

rear, 140 Haldon St, Lakemba

(Enter via Davids Lane - carpark nearby)

ALL PALESTINE SUPPORTERS WELCOME

* Freedom and self-determination for Palestine

* End the blockade of Gaza

* Reparations for victims of the recent war

* All Israeli troops out immediately & unconditionally

* End all Australia-Israel ties until Gaza is free

��www.GazaDefenceCommittee.org

� NOTES, GDC MEETING APRIL 6

� NOTES, GDC MEETING MARCH 23

� NOTES, GDC MEETING FEB 26

� NOTES, GDC MEETING, TUE FEB 17

ACTIVISTS PREPARE FOR QLD WAR GAMES PROTESTS

STOP TALISMAN SABRE 09!

NO WAR GAMES!

PEACE CONVERGENCE 3 - 26 July 2009

Operation Talisman Sabre is the name for the biennial war games between Australian and the United States military and will run for three weeks in July this year.�

These joint exercises occur in some of the most environmentally precious locations in Australia including the biodiverse region of Shoalwater Bay on the central coast of Queensland.�

A Peace Convergence is planned for 2009 to call for an end to our involvement in war and war preparations...

INFO:

www.peaceconvergence.com

��SENATOR SCOTT LUDLAM: ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF EXERCISE TALISMAN SABRE 09

� Workers Bush Telegraph:

JOIN US FOR TWO IMPORTANT PEACE EVENTS IN THE LEAD-UP TO TALISMAN SABRE '09

� PEACE CONVERGENCE TRAVEL & ACCOMMODATION INFO

� CERTIFICATE TRAINING COURSE FOR ACTIVISTS

PERFORMANCE: MY NAME IS RACHEL CORRIE, MAY 28 - JUNE 20

The Seymour Centre is proud to present the return season of this powerful and controversial celebration of one young woman�s moral strength and passionate mind�

In 2003, 23 year old Rachel Corrie left her American hometown and went to Palestine as a part of peaceful demonstrations in the Gaza Strip against the demolition of civilian homes by the Israeli Defence Forces.�

In March that year she was killed by an IDF bulldozer.

My Name is Rachel Corrie is the story of one individual�s journey in the global struggle for sense and justice. Through her extraordinary journals, emails and writings we are offered a deeply personal insight into the core of another human being�

28 MAY - 20 JUNE

SEYMOUR CENTRE

cnr CITY RD & CLEVELAND ST

CHIPPENDALE