Downing Street emergency demonstration, Thursday September 26

Stop the War Coalition in its newsletter of September 17 writes of the emergency demonstration of the previous day which condemned Israel's terrorist attacks on Lebanon:

"Hands off Lebanon, we want Netanyahu gone!" rang out across Whitehall during last night's protest in London. The chant reflects the anger stirred by Israel's indiscriminate killing of over 700 people in Lebanon this week. It also reflects the fact that the Israeli leader is hell-bent on initiating an all-out war in the Middle East to protect his precarious position and draw the US into fighting a regional war alongside it.

As has been the case for decades, Israel is completely isolated in the region - a situation that's been exacerbated by its bombing of Gaza, the West Bank, Iran, Syria, Yemen and Lebanon in the past 12 months. The only lifeline Israel has is the funding and support of the Western powers, support the US is only too willing to provide.

Demonstration at the Labour Party Conference, Liverpool, September 21

This week, Israel announced that it had reached an agreement with the Biden administration for $8.7 billion to support its ongoing horrors. What timing. Such a move extinguishes any doubts that the US are wholeheartedly behind what Israel is currently carrying out.

The Lebanese resistance is developing its opposition to the Israeli crimes. Hezbollah targeted Tel Aviv with a missile, cementing "the strike for strike" and "Tel Aviv for Beirut" equation, the organisation said in a statement.

It is also a fact that the genocidal Zionist war is having severe economic and political repercussions in Israel itself.

The Palestinian resistance is broadening its fight for the rights of the Palestinian people. It is calling for a ceasefire, prisoner exchange and lifting the siege, achieving Palestinian reconciliation, forming a comprehensive national unity government, and engaging in a comprehensive political process based on relevant international resolutions to end the occupation, establishing an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital, and the return of refugees.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres said in his speech to the opening session of the 79th General Assembly of the United Nations: "The level of impunity in the world is politically indefensible and morally intolerable." He lamented that many governments feel entitled to disregard international laws, human rights conventions and UN resolutions.

Nowhere is that more shameful than in Britain, where the government continues to fete representatives of the Zionist regime, give the green light to Israeli genocide, maintain a huge level of arms sales to Israel, and prove itself the most reliable ally of US imperialism.

But literally millions have demonstrated worldwide in support of Palestine and its right to be since October 7, 2023. Broad sections of the people in Britain, including the workers' movement and the youth, have taken to the streets without let-up to affirm Free, Free Palestine! and vehemently call for an end to the genocidal assaults on the Palestinian people, and that all the perpetrators be brought to justice, as is being demanded worldwide. The anti-war movement is further warning against the escalation of the war in the region.

When: Saturday, October 5, 2024, 12:00 pm
Where: Russell Square - Whitehall, London

Workplace Day of Action: Ceasefire Now - Stop Arming Israel

October 10, 2024

The next Workplace Day of Action called for by Stop the War will take place on Thursday, October 10. Join us on Monday (30 September) to discuss how we can build the day in workplaces, schools and colleges as widely as possible.

Passed as an emergency motion at the TUC Congress. The motion states, "The Israeli bombing of Lebanon-with the support of Britain-is a significant and qualitative escalation. After over 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, Israel's escalation threatens a much wider war in the Middle East that will lead to far greater death, destruction and instability in the region."

The motion committed the TUC "to support the call for a UK-wide workplace day of action in support of an immediate ceasefire".

National School & Uni Strike for Palestine

October 10, 2024

Alongside workers organising in their workplaces as part of the national day of action, students nationally are organising walkouts from schools and universities to demand a ceasefire now, an end to all arms sales to Israel and an end to the censorship on Palestine in academic institutions.

For further details, see: https://www.stopwar.org.uk/events/national-school-uni-strike-for-palestine/

Anti-War Assembly

Stop the Genocide! Stop Arming Israel! Stop Britain's Role in the Escalation of War!

Sunday, September 29, 2-5pm
Tyneside Irish Centre

Join in the discussion to renew the anti-war movement in Britain!

Session 1:
Ending Britain's support alongside the US for genocide in Palestine

Session 2:
Ending Britain's support alongside the US for escalating war in the world through NATO in Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Newcastle Stop the War Coalition

On September 13, a government press release announced that Keir Starmer arrived in Washington for talks with US President Joe Biden [1]. The statement said that it was an "extended meeting" discussing "ongoing support for Ukraine, and the urgent need for a ceasefire deal and the release of all hostages in the Middle East". It also highlighted that the "session will focus on strategy and how progress can be made towards long-term solutions for both conflicts". It also stated it was expected to "touch on" a wider range of global issues "advancing a free and open Indo-Pacific and strengthening US-UK co-operation to secure supply chains and increase climate resilience". The statement also said that the meeting followed on from the visit of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Blinken to Kyiv to meet with President Zelenskyy. Lammy also accompanied Starmer in the talks with Biden.

The following day a shorter government press release on the meeting added that they "focused on immediate co-operation as well as long-term strategy over the next few months" [2], adding that at the end "they moved on to discuss the Indo-Pacific region and agreed on the vital importance of our global defence partnerships, including AUKUS".

However, reports on the meeting revealed that this was deliberately misleading and that the meeting had one main focus and was a desperate attempt by Starmer and Lammy to dangerously escalate the Anglo/US led NATO proxy war in Ukraine against Russia. Neither did the meeting have any impact on de-escalating Israel's continuing genocidal war in Gaza as it claimed, or on stopping the Israeli regime's latest state terrorist attack against the Lebanese people and bombing of Lebanon with US support that followed a few days later. It can be surmised that Israel's aggression against Lebanon is also highly likely to have been discussed by both leaders in their meeting.

The New York Times raised the question in its headline, "Biden Hasn't Let Kyiv Strike Deep Into Russia. Could Britain Change That?" It elaborated, "A trip to Washington by Britain's prime minister, Keir Starmer, came after President Vladimir Putin of Russia warned that the allies' next step could mean war for NATO." Its article highlighted the role of Britain in escalating the war in Ukraine. Britain was the first to supply main battle tanks, then it supplied Storm Shadow missiles prior to the US deployment of similar weapons. Now, the paper said, "tensions between London and Moscow spiked this week over signs that the United States, prodded by Britain, was moving toward allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied missiles to strike military targets deep inside Russian territory". The paper concluded that "Mr Starmer and Mr Biden were expected to discuss the terms under which Ukraine could get a green light to use Britain's 'Storm Shadow' long-range missiles inside Russia. After the meeting, the White House said that the leaders had 'reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend against Russia's aggression,' without releasing any details on the use of missiles."

That this was a meeting where Starmer and Lammy were desperately trying to further escalate the Anglo-US proxy war in Ukraine was revealed by Lammy when he spoke at a Labour Party conference fringe event last week. The Guardian reported that "UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has indicated that delicate negotiations with the White House to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia are ongoing, arguing it was a time for 'nerve and guts'". [3]

"The apparent encouragement to Joe Biden comes just over a week after Lammy and Keir Starmer visited the US president in the White House but failed to resolve the sticking point between two countries."

Of course, the "delicate discussions" and the "sticking point" were not the scruples of the US President to continue to try to desperately escalate their proxy war in Ukraine but rather to maintain the war under the hoax that that they are only "supporting" Ukraine and "supplying the weapons" but "not party to it". Clearly there is no intention to de-escalate the war and support a peace deal between these two neighbouring countries Ukraine and Russia. The "sticking point" for not openly allowing Britain to support strikes deep inside Russia with Storm Shadow missiles was what Russia Today reported as Russian President Vladimir Putin warning, speaking in St Petersburg a day before the Starmer-Biden meeting, that Ukraine would not be able to operate long-range systems without the use of intelligence from NATO satellites and the involvement of "NATO military personnel", and "that such a development would change the essence of the conflict". He added that "this will mean that NATO countries, the United States, European countries are fighting Russia. And if this is the case, then we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us."

Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, told the Security Council before the meeting that NATO would "be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power", if it allowed Ukraine to use longer range weapons against Russia. "You shouldn't forget about this and think about the consequences," he declared.

Former chief UN weapons inspector, Scott Ritter, writing in Consortium News [4] said that the finishing touches on driving home the seriousness of Putin's warning was left to the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov. Speaking to the Russian media, Antonov said that he was surprised that many American officials believed that "if there is a conflict, it will not spread to the territory of the United States of America. I am constantly trying to convey to them one thesis that the Americans will not be able to sit it out behind the waters of this ocean. This war will affect everyone, so we constantly say - do not play with this rhetoric."

Ritter's reflections continue: "Antonov's sentiments were likely echoed through existing back-channel communications used by the Department of Defence and the CIA. In the end, the message got through - Biden pulled back from giving Ukraine the permissions it sought. Most Americans are unaware about how close they came to waking up Saturday morning, only to find that it was their last. Had Biden yielded to Starmer's pressure (the British, together with Ukraine and several NATO nations, believed that Putin was bluffing), and signed off on the permission, Ukraine was prepared to launch strikes on Russia that night."

The Starmer and Biden talks reflect the dangerous desperation to achieve their failing global ambitions in Ukraine and the Middle East and in a changing world. Starmer had already indicated his readiness to use nuclear weapons during his General Election in June as Workers' Weekly reported [5]. Starmer had then given fair warning of an even more dangerous direction that a new Labour government intended when he angrily replied to a question, saying that "this is a changed Labour Party and the most important thing is I voted in favour of the nuclear deterrent, ...and my commitment to the nuclear deterrent is absolute, absolute! That is why I voted for it, that is why I have changed this party and that is why it will be the number one issue for an incoming Labour government."

In other words, these Anglo-US imperialists pin their hopes on continuously escalating their arming and support for Ukraine in their proxy war to defeat Russia even if this risks provoking a nuclear war. They continually arm and support Israel in its massacres of the Palestinian people thinking this will defeat the Palestinian resistance and "free the hostages". They do the same in arming and supporting Israel in its war of aggression against Lebanon, Syria and Iran. They must be stopped.

Today the Anglo/US-led NATO alliance is adding to its crimes against peace by its interference wars and warmongering in Asia, Africa and on every continent. The danger of world war is very real and the peoples of the world, including the people of Britain, have a duty to step up their stands and organisation against the escalation of war and for peace. The people must give rise to the new and modern arrangements in the world where conflicts are resolved peacefully in the interests of all peoples, nations and countries. It is the people's voice and vision which must and will prevail in the face of this desperation of the warmongering of these Anglo/US imperialists.

Fight for an Anti-War Government!
No to NATO! Yes to Peace!

Notes
1. Press release: Prime Minister travels to Washington for White House talks: September 13, 2024
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/prime-minister-travels-to-washington-for-white-house-talks
2. Press release: PM meeting with President Biden of the United States: September 14, 2024
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-meeting-with-president-biden-of-the-united-states-13-september-2024
3. Lammy urges 'guts' in ongoing US talks over Ukraine using missiles in Russia - The Guardian September 22, 20024
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/sep/22/lammy-urges-fortitude-over-ukraine-using-storm-shadow-missiles-in-russia
4. SCOTT RITTER: 72 Minutes Consortium News, September 19, 2024
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/19/scott-ritter-72-hours/
5. No to the Pro-War Cartel Parties! Starmer Says Nuclear Weapons Are the "Number One Issue for an Incoming Labour Government", Workers' Weekly, June 8, 2024
https://www.rcpbml.org.uk/wwie-24/ww24-13/ww24-13-01.htm

Large meeting of Isle of Wight residents opposing the Exxon/Shell pipeline - Photo:Vix Lowthion

On September 16, a large meeting of Isle of Wight residents turned out to oppose the suggested pipeline planned by the Exxon/Shell Oil oligopoly. The pipeline is to stretch from Fawley, Hampshire, at a government-approved facility on the Western side of the Solent, to capture greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2).

More than 150 islanders packed into the Riverside Centre for the "Say No to the CO2 Pipeline" meeting, organised by the Green Party and supported by various campaigns that have been initiated. A group for concerned islanders has been formed, called SAY NO to CO2 Pipeline across the IOW.

The meeting was so unexpectedly large due to public interest that the start was delayed by quarter of an hour as the venue accommodated attendees by moving chairs into the largest room. Even so, many residents had to stand.

Green Party spokesperson Vix Lowthion gave a presentation about the oil company's plans and some background. She also updated people about the current status and mentioned, in particular, the pressure being put on landowners to allow access for surveying.

The meeting also heard from Councillor Claire Critchison about the establishment of a campaign steering group. The meeting was chaired by Green Party co-chair Cameron Palin. There were many contributions from the floor.

"Exxon's extensive proposals for a pipeline from Fawley across the breadth of the Island will have a devastating impact on our landscape and wildlife habitats," said Vix Lowthion. "The huge turnout at this meeting demonstrates the strength of feeling against their plans and that Islanders are not going to accept the damage to our woodlands and coastal areas. We need to invest in clean, renewable energy - not perpetuate our reliance on oil!"

The concerns are well-founded. On February 22, 2020, a CO2 pipeline in the US exploded leading to mass evacuations and hospitalisation of at least 45 people. NPR reports that, due to the lack of oxygen, "cars stopped working, hobbling emergency response. People lay on the ground, shaking and unable to breathe. First responders didn't know what was going on." The community has been suffering ongoing health effects to the present day [1].

Behind the scheme is the policy of the government and Secretary of State for Energy and Net Zero, Ed Miliband. Rather than dealing with the energy crisis by humanising the natural and social environment, and changing the direction of the economy in favour of the people, the government has continued to pander to the oil magnates to avoid confrontation and offset their "windfall oil tax" strategy, which the oil companies are trying to evade. The CO2 pipeline is a gesture by this oil company to assist the government's net zero policy with the aim of continuing production of hydrocarbons unhindered. Meanwhile the people affected are being excluded from decision-making. They are determined that they must have their say.

(Source: OnTheWight)

Notes
1. "The U.S. is expanding CO2 pipelines. One poisoned town wants you to know its story", Julia Simon, NPR, September 25, 2023
https://www.npr.org/2023/05/21/1172679786/carbon-capture-carbon-dioxide-pipeline