Wednesday 30 October 2013

STOP THE WAR UPDATE AUTUMN 2013

International anti-war conference - 30 November

10am (registrations from9am) Emmanuel Centre, Westminster, London

The year 2013 will be remembered as the year when a British prime minister was defeated in his attempt to launch another war. The historic parliamentary vote in August which narrowly opposed air strikes on Syria forced David Cameron onto the back foot and has forced imminent overt military intervention there off the agenda.

What implications does this have for questions of war and peace? The declining superpower, the United States, is facing growing military and economic challenges, but will respond with more militarism and war.
Obama is sending more military resources to encircle China, and while the Middle East remains a key US preoccupation, the West is ramping up its military presence on the African continent.

Imperialism and war are the themes of this Stop the War conference. We have campaigners and speakers from across the globe who will be in London on 30th November. We will discuss NATO's wars, the history of British imperialism, the wars in Africa, what's happening in the Middle East and much more. This conference is a vital opportunity to analyse and debate the fast changing and dangerous situation and plan how best to step up opposition to the West's imperial wars.

Speakers include:

Jeremy Scahill | Diane Abbott MP | Tariq Ali | Tony Benn | Jonathan Steele | Owen Jones | Manik Mukherjee | Lindsey German | Mitra Qayoom | Kate Hudson | Andrew Murray | Sami Ramadani

Tickets cost £15/£10


White poppies for Remembrance Day
Why I won't wear a red poppy on Remembrance Day
By Lindsey German

It's that time of year again. The poppy appeal has been launched in the run up to Remembrance Day. But I won't be wearing one. Instead my poppy will be white, as a symbol of peace.

Remembrance Day is on November 11th, to mark the date on which the carnage of the First World War ended. The red poppy was adopted as the symbol of remembrance because of the large numbers of those flowers that flourished in some of the most deadly battlefields ever seen.

For much of the nearly 100 years since remembrance began, the symbol and associated ceremonies have been low key, without much wider political significance. All that has changed in recent years. It's hard not to see the present poppy appeals as highly politicised. The events are organised by the British legion. The slogan this year is 'Shoulder to Shoulder with all who serve.'
Stop the War is now selling white poppies for remembrance day through the Stop the War web site

No Glory: The Real History of the First World War
Available now: a new 36-page pamphlet by historian Neil Faulkner looks at the real reasons for the outbreak of the First World War. This pamphlet is part of the No Glory campaign.

No Glory in War 1914-1918 is a national campaign of political, cultural, and educational activities that aim to tell the truth about the First World War, to oppose ‘nationalist’ interpretations of the conflict, and to use the occasion to remember the dead, learn the lessons, and promote international solidarity and peace. For more information, go towww.noglory.org

Contents:
  1. The First World War today
  2. Their history and ours
  3. How it started
  4. Could it have been stopped?
  5. Were the generals to blame?
  6. Total war
  7. How it ended
  8. A peace to end all peace
  9. A century of war (and counting)
  10. Open letter
Cost: £4 (the monthly wage of a married World War One soldier, with three children - and the cost of a pint of beer today). Postage is £1.

ISBN: 970-0-9927166-0-8
For wholesale enquiries please call Stop the War on 020 7561 4830.

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