ANTIWAR ASSEMBLY WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL DAY

STOP THE WAR COALITION	 
Newsletter No.1221   
04 October 2011   
Email office@stopwar.org.uk   
Tel: 020 7801 2768   
Web: http://stopwar.org.uk   
Twitter: http://twitter.com/STWuk   
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/stopthewarcoalition

IN THIS NEWSLETTER:   
1) ANTIWAR ASSEMBLY WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL DAY	 
2) IT'S STOP THE WAR'S ANNIVERSARY TOO	 
3) WONDERFUL RESPONSE TO OUR FINANCIAL APPEAL	
4) MARK STEEL'S VERY FUNNY ANSWER TO THE DOUBTERS

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1) ANTIWAR ASSEMBLY WILL BE A VERY SPECIAL DAY

All the signs are that the Anti-war Assembly in Trafalgar Square   
on Saturday is going to be a memorable day. Pledges to be there   
are pouring in and among the latest are the Wikileaks founder	
Julian Assange, who will be speaking in person, Birmingham   
councillor and leader of the Respect Party Salma Yaqoob, and   
Grace McCann, the women who has come closest so far to carrying   
out a citizen's arrest on Tony Blair.

They will join an impressive list of prominent figures from the   
world of politics and the arts: MPs include John McDonnell and	 
Jeremy Corbyn, writers include John Pilger and Egyptian novelist   
Ahdaf Soueif, musicians include Billy Bragg, Brian Eno and   
Lowkey, campaigners include Jemima Khan and Peter Tatchell, trade   
union leaders include Len McCluskey and Billy Hayes, actors   
include Mark Rylance and Simon McBurney.

In addition we are awaiting confirmation of a very special guest   
speaker from the United States.

Films, visuals and audio will be an integral part of the day, and   
when the Assembly ends at 4pm, we will march to Downing Street,   
led by ex-soldiers and relatives from military families, with the   
demand that the government bring the troops home now.

The need to build the political pressure to make the politicians   
reflect the majority view of public opinion that all the troops   
should be withdrawn from a futile and unjustified war, was never   
more apparent following the statement this week by the new US	
commander of the occupation in Afghanistan, US General John   
Allen, who said: "We're actually going to be here for a long   
time."

Which is why this week, in Trafalgar Square in Britain, and on	 
Freedom Plaza, Washington DC, in the United States, there will be   
major anti-war events on the tenth of anniversary of the start of   
the Afghanistan war.

Please do all you can in these last few days to help publicise	 
the Anti-war Assembly as widely as possible and encourage   
everyone you know to join us. Users of social networks please	
spread the word, share and retweet as much as you can.

Updates for the Assembly will be available on the dedicated   
website: http://www.antiwarassembly.org/

ANTI-WAR MASS ASSEMBLY	 
SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER   
12 NOON TO 4.00PM   
TRAFALGAR SQUARE LONDON   
Called by Stop the War Coalition, CND and British Muslim   
Initiative   
http://www.antiwarassembly.org/

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2) IT'S STOP THE WAR'S ANNIVERSARY TOO

Stop the War Coalition was also founded in October 2001, so we	 
are as old as the war in Afghanistan and the 'war on terror'. The   
Antiwar Assembly is just the latest of the many hundreds of   
events Stop the War has organised over the past ten years.

Many thanks to all our supporters over these momentous years. We   
had no idea when we began that we would still be around a decade   
later, but we intend to keep campaigning in every way we can   
against the war policies of our government, which are opposed by   
most people in this country.

***************************************   
3) WONDERFUL RESPONSE TO OUR FINANCIAL APPEAL

The response to our financial appeal to help us cover the costs   
of the Anti-war Mass Assembly on Saturday has been wonderful.	
Many thanks to all the contributors who have given so generously.

However we are still short of our target for the funding required   
to pay for the two stages, marquee, screens, sound systems etc.   
If you have not donated yet, please consider doing so now.

We are very grateful for any contributions, big or small, as we   
depend entirely on donations from our supporters and members to   
finance our small office and all the anti-war work we do.

There are three ways to donate specifically to the Anti-War   
Assembly Financial Appeal: online, by phone or by post. For   
details of how to donate, go to: http://bit.ly/n0eEh2

If you would rather contribute by becoming a national member of   
Stop the War, you can do that here: http://bit.ly/k0tBVk

***************************************   
4) MARK STEEL'S VERY FUNNY ANSWER TO THE DOUBTERS

In a very funny video titled "How We Stopped Them Bombing Iran",   
comedian Mark Steel, who will be speaking at the Anti-war Mass	 
Assembly, demolishes the "what's the point" doubters who won't be   
joining us on Saturday, and makes the case for why the	 
demonstrations, protests, meetings and all the other activities   
which go to make up the anti-war movement have an impact far   
beyond how it may feel at the time of a specific event. It's a	 
must watch: http://bit.ly/pUkyoI