[Imc-london] London feature proposal [2] more info

[Tony]

I think it was this demo -
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[A] Flowers for Fallujah: Emergency demo, Sunday 7th November, London
[B] Contingency plans for action if the massive attack starts
[C] Global Funeral March following the US election: this evening, London
[D] Recent inspirational actions from around the country
[E] Nonviolent direct action training workshop: Sunday 14th November, London
[F] Making a Killing: the corporate invasion of Iraq, talk in London with
Naomi Klein, 24 November
[G] Iraq Occupation Focus Organising Meeting, Tuesday 9th November, London
[H] Iraq Occupation Focus / Red Pepper Poetry Competition (fundraiser for
the International Teach-in on 'Occupation and Resistance in Iraq' on 5th
December)

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

[A] FLOWERS FOR FALLUJAH: Emergency Demonstration Against the Looming
Attacks on Iraq's Cities.
SUNDAY 7TH NOVEMBER, LONDON

Meet 2pm, Parliament Square
Bring white flowers & come and make your protest in your own way!

'In the name of recapturing Iraqi cities so that polling can take place,
US forces have already started – and are planning to widen – a campaign
of air strikes which will probably cause more civilian casualties than
last year's invasion' (Guardian, 9 Oct).

Bush's re-election makes immediate and sustained opposition to the
escalation more urgent than ever.

A massive attack on Fallujah, where US forces massacred hundreds of
Iraqis in April, is now imminent and will, in the words of one US
official, be “very bloody and nasty” (Washington Post on-line edition,
16 Oct).

IT'S TIME
“Iraqis are resisting desperately for their lives and for their country
and so far we in the anti-war movement have responded to their courage
with deafening silence. Millions of us marched against the war on
February 15th, but where were those voices when US tanks rolled into
Najaf? I know we tell ourselves we have this power, that when the right
moment comes we will really be able to mobilise. But that moment of
truth is always deferred. If we have these weapons let us use them now.
It's time.” (Naomi Klein, 20 Aug)

BLAIR WAVERED
When the US attacked Fallujah in April, more than 600 Iraqis were killed
in the first week and 'the vast majority of the dead were women,
children and the elderly,' according to local medical sources
(Guardian, 12 Apr). Publicly Tony Blair stood lock-step with the US
Government 'den[ying] 
 heavy-handedness by US forces' (Guardian, 20
Apr) and asserting that it was 'perfectly right and proper that [the US]
take action' (BBC, 28 Apr). Privately, however, he 'appealed to
Washington to halt the offensive.' Why? 'The Prime Minister had been
under pressure for more than a year from an antiwar majority in his
ruling Labour Party,' and civilian casualties were 'causing opposition
to flare' (LA Times, 24 Oct).

WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Popular protest here in the UK could help derail the planned attacks on
Fallujah and other Iraqi towns. No US assault is inevitable. If an
attack does take place, protests before, during and after the assaults
can limit the damage and help to deter further attacks.

Please join us on the 7th November!

Called by Stop the Attacks – an ad hoc collection of anti-war activists
old and new.
tel. 07818 651 124. e-mail: stoptheattacks at fastmail.fm

*********************************************
[B] CONTINGENCY PLANS FOR ACTION IF THE MASSIVE ATTACK ON FALLUJAH STARTS

* LONDON:
-  Stop The War vigil on the night of the major onslaught (or the night
after), 5pm-7pm, opposite Downing Street. Organised by the Stop the War
Coalition: www.stopwar.org.uk.
- Nonviolent Direct Action. Meet 7pm at the statue of Edith Cavell (opposite
the entrance to the National Portrait Gallery, north-east of Trafalgar
Square). Called by an ad hoc collection of nonviolent activists.

* OUTSIDE LONDON. On day of onslaught (next day depending on timing):

- CARDIFF: 5.30pm- at Nye Bevan Statue, Queen Street.
- CREWKERNE, S SOMERSET: 12pm, front of Victoria Hall. Black clothes
preferably,
banners. Coordination Pat Read, 01460 74043.
- EDINBURGH: 5pm, Parliament Square (off the Royal Mile).
- EXETER: 5.30pm, Exe Bridges.
- LEEDS: 5-6pm, Dortmond Square, Headrow, Leeds town centre.
- MANCHESTER: 5pm-, Picadilly Gardens, City centre, Manchester.
- SOUTHAMPTON: 6pm, Outside the Civic Centre, opposite the Marlands.
- SHEFFIELD: 4.30pm, Outside Sheffield Town Hall.
- SWINDON: 6pm, Cenotaph, Regent Circus.
- YEOVIL: 11am following Saturday, Millenium Clock Tower, High St.

If you are organising an action then please make make sure to send info. to
the following e-mails when you publicise your event: office at stopwar.org.uk,
iraqfocus at riseup.net and voices at voicesuk.org.

*********************************************
[C] GLOBAL FUNERAL MARCH FOLLOWING THE US ELECTION
Organised by the Campaign against Climate Change

Let them know what we think about the Bush victory! Straight away!

6.00 pm, Thursday evening (November 4th).
Assemble Lincoln's Inn Fields (Holborn tube) for march to US embassy

We need to remind everyone just how damaging Bush's policies are and to make
the point that we here in the UK deplore his re-election, and see it  as a
disaster for the whole world. The fight against Bush and his  oil-soaked
profit-before-the-global-environment  buddies goes on !

Route : via Kingsway & the Exxonmobil offices, the Strand, Trafalgar Square,
St James's, Piccadilly, Berkley Square to the US embassy, Grosvenor Square
(estimated arrival time 8.30 pm).

ExxonMobil are at the head of the corporate lobby that determines Bush's
climate/environmental policy. They have waged a cynical war of
disinformation on climate change for the last ten years (see further
www.stopesso.com).

Speakers will include Jean Lambert MEP (Green Party); Murad Qureshi, GLA
member (Labour) and representative of the Bangladeshi community; Bryony
Worthington, Senior Climate Campaigner, Friends of the Earth; Dave Timms,
World Development Movement.

More info  www.campaigncc.org    02088553327,    07903 316 331

********************************************
[D] RECENT INSPIRING ACTIONS FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY

DIRECT ACTION IN LONDON
Last Sunday a group of five enterprising anti-war activists took to the
streets to protest against  the looming assault on Fallujah. They started by
blocking the traffic at Oxford Circus, drawing crowds of 400+ and receiving
lots of support from interested people who were keen to know what was going
on - some of whom even wanted to join in blocking the road! They then went
to Downing Street where one of them managed to scale the gates and stood,
perched above the gates for about 45mins attracting the attention of passers
by. According to one of the demonstrators all the police they encountered at
D. Street were against the war and the new attacks! The intrepid climber was
arrested and released the following day. Pics from this action will be
available on-line shortly at www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions

NAMING THE DEAD
At least 30 'Naming the Dead' events took place around the country on
Tuesday night (see http://www.stopwar.org.uk/ntd.asp). In Hastings activists
chalked the names of those killed in the invasion and occupation onto the
ground in a large public area attracting a lot of attention, while in London
hundreds of people including Professor Stephen Hawking gathered for an event
in Trafalgar Square. If you have any pictures from these events - or
accounts of how they went - please e-mail copies to Voices:
www.voicesuk.org. The national organisers would probably also be grateful
for copies: 7days at stopwar.org.uk. There are now contingency plans for action
at at least 12 locations around the country if the massive attack on
Fallujah starts (see [B] above).

MORE DIRECT ACTION AT DOWNING STREET!
Yesterday a lone anti-war demonstrator staged a dramatic visual protest
against the imminent attacks on Fallujah, climbing onto the side of the
Foreign Office building next to the
gates of Downing Street, spashing it with fake blood and stencilling it with
the words “Don’t Attack Fallujah, Black Watch Out” and "No More War."

The protestor - who's handiwork appeared on yesterday's Channel 4 News - has
been charged with criminal damage and bailed to appear at Bow Street
Magistrates Court next Wednesday at 10am. Support welcome! Again, some pics
from this action will be available on-line shortly at
www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions

HANDS OFF FALLUJAH
Meanwhile activists also got inside RAF Welford in Berkshire, one of the
largest bomb-stores in Europe, hanging banners saying "No War" and "Stop
Bombing Kids" and chalking the words "Hands off Fallujah on the munitions."
Again, pictures are available on-line at
www.voices.netuxo.co.uk/recentactions.

IF YOU HAVE INSPIRING PICTURES OR STORIES FROM A RECENT ACTION PLEASE SEND
THEM TO US AT voices at voicesuk.org. You can also send photographs through the
post to us at Voices UK, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX.

********************************************
[E] NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION TRAINING WORKSHOP: NOVEMBER 14, LONDON

Sunday 14th November, London: Nonviolent Direct Action Training Workshop.
11am - 4pm, 7a Rampart Street (nearest tubes Whitechapel and Shadwell), E1.
Equip yourself  with the skills and knowledge you need to take part in - and
organise - civil disobedience and direct action. Includes legal briefing.
Workshop by Seeds for Change (see below). Organised by voices uk.  0845 458
2564.

If your group is interested in organising direct action but feels it lacks
the necessary skills, Seeds for Change  (www.seedsforchange.org.uk, 0845 458
4776 ) run excellent workshops on these and other topics and - provided you
can cover their travel expenses - are prepared to travel the length and
breadth of the country to come to you. Use them!

*********************************************
[F] MAKING A KILING: THE CORPORATE INVASION OF IRAQ
with NAOMI KLEIN, author of 'No Logo' and 'Fences and Windows.'

First major UK talk for 2 years. One night only!

Wednesday 24 November. Doors open 6.30pm.
Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, London (opposite Euston station)
£5 waged / £3 unwaged (all proceeds to civil society groups in Iraq)
Arrive early to ensure a seat or register in advance at:
www.waronwant.org/naomiklein

Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus; Jubilee Iraq; Voices in the Wilderness
UK; War on Want

In her first formal speaking engagement in the UK for two years,
award-winning journalist and activist Naomi Klein will be exposing how
American bombs have paved the way for free-market fundamentalism in occupied
Iraq. She will also be tackling the wider neo-con agenda and the future of
the anti-war movement after the US election.

For the past 18 months Klein's dispatches from occupied Iraq - and the
business conferences where US ideologues and corporations have been
organising the corporate assault on the country - have been must-read
material for the anti-war movement. She recently cost the Carlyle Group
(closely linked to Bush) over $1bn worth of investments when she exposed an
influence-peddling scam involving Iraq's debts.

Attendance is expected to be high so, to ensure a place, register in advance
at: www.waronwwant.org/naomiklein or e-mail globaljustice at waronwant.org.

Proceeds from the meeting will go to the Fallujah Centre for the Study of
Democracy and Human Rights, an Iraqi humanitarian group, and the Southern
Oil Company Union. The SOCU, the largest member of the Basra Oil Union, is
an anti-privatisation union who are fighting the poverty wages imposed on
the oil industry by the authorities and who stopped oil production during
the siege of Fallujah in protest at the occupiers' actions.

Sponsored by: Iraq Occupation Focus (www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk);
Jubilee Iraq (www.jubileeiraq.org); Voices in the Wilderness UK
(www.voicesuk.org); War on Want (www.waronwant.org).

*******************************************
[G] IRAQ OCCUPATION FOCUS ORGANISING MEETING: 9 NOVEMBER

Tuesday, 9th November, 7:15pm
SOAS, Room G50, Thornhaugh Street, London WC1

Discussion: Trade unionism in occupied Iraq
With Sami Ramadani and Ewa Jasiewicz

Followed by work on practical initiatives, including upcoming IOF teach-in
(see http://www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk/teachin.htm). All welcome.

For more information contact: iraqfocus at riseup.net

*******************************************
[H] IRAQ OCCUPATION FOCUS / RED PEPPER POETRY COMPETITION

For poems on the theme of war and occupation
NB. Closing date for submissions: 13 November, 2004

Judge: Adrian Mitchell- "Shadow Poet Laureate"

First prize: £100
Second prize:£50
Third prizes (two): £25 each

Winning poems will be published in Red Pepper and Iraq Occupation Focus
Newsletter
Entry fee: £3 for the first entry; £2 for each subsequent entry.
Closing date for submissions: 13 November, 2004

Entry fees will be used to help defray the costs of organising the Day
Conference on the Occupation of Iraq on 5th December in central London (for
information see www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk). Prizes will be presented
and winning entries read out at the Day Conference.

Entry form:
http://www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk/resources/IOF_poetrycomp_form.pdf

Cheques or POs should be made payable to ‘Iraq Occupation Focus’ and sent
with poems and entry form to IOF Poetry Competition. c/o Red Pepper
Magazine, 1B Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ.

Queries: iraqfocus at riseup.net

RULES
1. Poems must be original and unpublished, written in English and not exceed
50 lines.
2. To enter you must be at least 18 years old and a UK resident.
3. Each poem must be typed single-space on one side of A4 paper. The author’
s name must NOT appear on the poems, which will be judged anonymously.
Titles of all poems submitted plus the name and street address (and if
possible, email address) of the author should be clearly printed on the
separate entry form (available at www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk) or on a
separate sheet of A4 paper.
4. No author can win more than one prize.
5. The entry fee is £3 for the first poem and £2 for each subsequent poem;
i.e. one poet may submit 5 poems for a total of £11.
6. Poems will not be returned so please do not send your only copy. Receipt
of entries will NOT  be acknowledged.
7. Copyright remains with the author but the organisers reserve the right to
publish the winning poems in Red Pepper and the Iraq Occupation Focus
Newsletter.
8. Awards will be announced at the Iraq Occupation Focus Day Conference on
5th December. Winners will be notified in advance.
9. All money raised from entry fees will go towards the costs of organizing
the conference on the occupation of Iraq on 5th December 2004, organized by
Iraq Occupation Focus. Any remainder will fund further campaigning to end
the occupation of Iraq.
10. The judge’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
regarding the results.
11. The organisers reserve the right to return poems and entry fees if the
need arises.
12. No one employed by Red Pepper or involved in the organisation of the
Iraq Occupation Focus Day Conference is eligible to enter.
13. All entries will be read.
14. Cheques or POs should be made payable to ‘Iraq Occupation Focus’ and
sent with poems and entry form to IOF Poetry Competition. c/o Red Pepper
Magazine, 1B Waterlow Road, London N19 5NJ.

For more information: www.iraqoccupationfocus.org.uk; www.redpepper.org.uk
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