Justice for Iraq Day Conference - 11.00-17.00, Saturday 19 July 2008

United Reformed Church
Buck Street, Camden (close to Camden Town tube)
London NW1 8NJ
Entry by donation (suggested amount: £7/£5 unwaged)

Justice for Iraq is a call to action – a campaign that demands a complete policy reversal of those countries who have invaded and occupied Iraq since 2003. Ending the military occupation remains the most urgent priority. But Iraq will remain a broken nation without urgent measures aimed at delivering lasting peace and justice for its people and healing some of the wounds caused by this disastrous war.

Justice for Iraq will pressure Iraq’s occupiers to:

* withdraw their troops and privatised security forces;
* restore Iraq’s full economic, legal and political sovereignty;
* dismantle the Green Zone and the other occupation walls;
* clean up toxic and unexploded weapons of war;
* release and compensate detainees;
* assist refugees and displaced persons;
* help Iraq to relieve dire shortages in food, water, energy and medical supplies;
* agree to pay reparations for waging a war of aggression;
* ensure that war criminals face justice.

These demands do not represent a complete or final list. This campaign is in the process of emerging and we are reaching out to build a network of organisations and individuals who share a similar goal.

Speakers confirmed so far:

* Hans von Sponeck, Former UN humanitarian coordinator for Iraq
* Haifa Zangana, Iraqi writer and activist
* Sami Ramadani, Iraqi Democrats Against the Occupation
* Kamil Mahdi, Senior lecturer in Middle East economics at University of Exeter
* Mazin Younis, Iraqi League
* Ewa Jasiewicz, Hand Off Iraqi Oil
* Greg Muttitt, PLATFORM
* John Hilary, War on Want
* Jehangir Jilani, Public Interest Lawyers
* Liz Davies, Iraq Occupation Focus
* Marion Birch, Medact
* Milan Rai, Justice Not Vengeance
* Sarah Parker, Coalition to Stop Deportations to Iraq

Contact: iraqfocus[at]riseup[dot]net

For more information see: Justice for Iraq blog.

Call out from Climate Camp and other activist groups…

Join the Greenwash Guerilla’s fight against slime!

Join the Greenwash Guerrillas to show that E.ON’S greenwash won’t wash!

Wednesday, 16th July, 8.15 AM, London

With two weeks to go before the Camp for Climate Action at Kingsnorth, E.ON are sponsoring a climate summit designed to help industry leaders ‘keep stakeholders engaged’. Just like their plans for ‘clean coal’ at Kingsnorth, this is greenwash of the highest toxicity: a laughable-if-it-weren’t-so-tragic attempt to distract us from the fact that E.ON are planning to build the first coal-fired power station in the UK for over thirty years. And that, in a time of unprecedented climate crisis, is an unacceptable insanity.

This hot-air-fest cannot pass without a visit from… the Greenwash Guerrillas!

Don a white painter’s suit and come on down to the Business Design Centre in Islington to join a crack team of greenwash detectors. We will be cordoning off the area and warning summit delegates about the high levels of toxic greenwash leaking from the building. (We suspect its source to be E.ON Managing Director Bob Taylor, who’s got a top spot on the panel.) To get a sense of what the demo will be like, check out the Greenwash Guerrillas in action - http://risingtide.org.uk/node/250.

This should be a fun, subversive demo, with the Camp for Climate Action, Rising Tide, People and Planet, Earth First! and WDM all helping to spread the word. Join us and help show E.ON that our actions won’t be confined to Kingsnorth this August. Climate Campers will go wherever we need to and do whatever it takes to shut down Kingsnorth – permanently.

Where: Business Design Centre, 52 Upper St, London N1 0QH
When: Wednesday, 16th July, meet 8.15AM in front of the Business Design Centre

Bring if you can: a white painter’s/boiler suit and any home-made greenwash detecting devices you can think up (eg. part of an old hoover, a remote control, a hair dryer painted green – get creative!) If you can’t bring these things, not to worry, extras will be on hand.

More info: info[at]climatecamp.org.uk
(Get in touch if you’re coming from out of town and need accommodation the night before)

On Monday 14th July 2008 there will be a Noise Demo at UK Coal . Meet at Doncaster train station at 3:30 or outside UK Coal at 4pm.

To combat open-cast mining, action group “Leave it in the Ground” was formed, it is supported by Earth First! and other local environmental groups. Leave It In The Ground want the government to back down on increasing new coal-fired power stations and destroying Britain’s beauty, as well as making locals who live in the vicinity of open-cast mines lives a misery.

Don’t forget your saucepan, stick, and loud hailer!

For more information check out the website: Leave It In The Ground

BREAKING NEWS: a farmhouse on the Derbyshire site has been occupied! Check out UK Indymedia for more news and updates.

Providing yet another example of why privatisation is rubbish, BBC Scotland recently reported on two private care firms that are failing to provide support to vulnerable people in Scotland.

Lanarkshire-based HRM Homecare and Domiciliary Care Services Ltd, based in Clitheroe, Lancashire, are implicated in the BBC investigation. According to the BBC’s report, Scottish independent regulator, The Care Commission has upheld several of the complaints against Domiciliary Care Services Ltd .

For more information go to: news.bbc.co.uk.

On Wednesday 4th June, The Telegraph reported that private firms were to take over ‘failing’ NHS trusts.

The British Medical Association has sent a call out to campaigners and anti-privatisation activists to try and halt this. The NHS Support Federation say that,

“The BMA petition urges the Government to continue to support our existing NHS GP surgeries and to improve services to patients by further investment in GP surgeries. It also calls for a halt to plans to promote the use of commercial companies in general practice. The plans are UK wide and could allow health authorities to put general practice services out to tender resulting in them being taken over by transnational corporations like Virgin and United Health as is already rapidly happening in England.”

The petition, and more information, can be found on the BMA’s Support Your Surgery website.

We reported a few days ago on the case of the Stop Sequani Campaign. Here’s what happened.

On the 30th May, a member of the Stop Sequani Animal Testing campaign went to Coventry Crown Court. Sean Kirtley was found guilty of conspiracy and sentenced to a four and a half years and a Crasbo (basically a criminal ASBO). Another man was also sentenced to 30 weeks suspended sentence and a Crasbo.

There for updates on the Stop Sequani campaign and for information on how to write to Sean, see: sequani.wordpress.com.

Derby Earth First! and new action group Leave it in the Ground have been challenging the proposed coal mine in Derbyshire.

Check out the following related links for:

• Leave it in the Ground blog
• Coal’s contribution to climate change (from the Tyndall Centre).

This year’s Manchester Anarchist Bookfair will take place on Saturday 7th June at Jabez Clegg, Portland St from 11am-5pm.

The Bookfair is the main opportunity of the year for anarchists in the north west to meet together, to network, plan and of course to buy and sell books, magazines and pamphlets.

Stalls will be provided by: Active Distribution, AK Press and Distribution, Anarchist Federation, Basement Bookshop, Cattle Prod, Class War, Corporate Watch, Escapade, Hands off the People of Iraq, Industrial Workers of the World, Manchester Animal Protection, Manchester Climate Action/ Climate Camp, Manchester Film Co-Operative, Natterjack Press, No2ID, Northern Anarchist Network, Northern Herald Books, Northern Voices, Shift Magazine, Solidarity Federation, Under the Pavement, Workers Solidarity Movement, and more.

For more information, visit the Bookfair’s website.

We’ll be seeing you there!

Campaign Against Climate Change Forum

Saturday- Sunday June 14th-15th

At the South Camden Community School, Charrington Street, NW1
(Warren Street, Kings Cross or Euston tubes)

There will be 2 major plenaries – huge range of seminars & workshops - speakers from around the world – art/music/performance –stalls/exhibitions. For more information about the Forum, go to campaigncc.org/forum.

Climate Caper! Party on Saturday 14th June

From 6pm, the Synergy Centre will host a party with films, food & music all night with bands & DJ’s downstairs and Live performances upstairs. There will be chill space and comfy sofas for tired activistas.

The Synergy Centre is in Camberwell (nearest tube: Oval), 220 Farmers Road, London SE5 0TW.

Corporate Watch will be there, will you?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 27 MAY 2008
Activists Symbolically Cut Trees to Save Forests and Call for GE Trees Ban

Bonn, Germany-A large number of activists today stopped and cut Genetically Engineered frankentrees
that attempted to invade a tree planting ceremony outside of the meeting of the UN Convention on
Biological Diversity (CBD).

“We came here to this event because this tree planting ceremony is representative of corporate
green-washing initiatives pretending to protect biodiversity,” said Peter Gerhardt of the German
based group Robin Wood. “The tree planting ceremony is symbolic of what industry is pushing
–non-native, often invasive trees for monoculture timber plantations. If industry has its way, in the
near future these will be genetically engineered (GE) trees for production of second generation agrofuels or pulp and paper,” he continued.

The activists expressed concern about the refusal of the EU and Brazil to ban GE trees. “These trees are simply too dangerous, not only to forests, but also to local communities and Indigenous Peoples who depend on forests for their existence,” stated Camila Moreno of Terra de Direitos of Brazil.

“Already forest dependent communities, especially women, are threatened by monoculture timber
plantations and GE trees will mean more plantations and an even greater threat,” stated
Anne Petermann, of Global Justice Ecology Project, and the STOP GE Trees Campaign. [1] “Imposing a
ban on the release of genetically engineered trees into the environment is the only sensible position,
which is supported by the entire African delegation plus numerous Parties from Asia and Latin America.”

The environmentalists also expressed their concern about the One Billion Trees campaign of the UN
Environment Program. [2] “This campaign fails to inform people that planting the wrong tree at the
wrong place can be ecologically and socially harmful”, stated Dr. Miguel Lovera, Chairperson
of the Global Forest Coalition.

“Companies also want to use GE trees and other tree monocultures for offsetting carbon emissions,”
highlighted Ana Filippini of World Rainforest Movement and the STOP GE Trees Campaign. “The destruction of forests, which are important carbon sinks, for new tree plantations releases huge amounts of carbon, worsening climate change. What we need is forest restoration with native species, not monocultures.”

A potential ban on GE trees was discussed at length during the first week of the Biodiversity Convention
and will now move into the High Level Session where Ministers from around the world will decide what
will happen with this issue. A decision to stop GE trees is considered critically important at
this time because of the rapid advancement of GE trees technology, which is being especially driven
by the projected increase in demand for wood that would accompany cellulose-based second generation agrofuels.

Contact: Orin Langelle, GFC Media Coordinator,
+49 (0)176 771 87583
Dr. Miguel Lovera, GFC Chairperson,
+49 (0)152 225 344787

For photographs of this action and other
events during the CBD please go to:
http://globaljusticeecology.org/gallery.php?catID=26

Notes: [1] The STOP GE Trees Campaign is comprised of 137
organizations in 34 countries.

[2] The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
has launched a major worldwide tree planting campaign
called Plant for the Planet: Billion Tree Campaign.

For photographs of this action and other events
during the CBD please go to:
http://globaljusticeecology.org/gallery.php?catID=26