Support a judge! (yes, really)

Not the sort of thing I'd usually say. But strange times...

After the historic victory of the EDO Decommissioners (http://www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=3673) earlier this month, the judge in the case, Judge George Bathurst-Norman, has become subject of a concerted campaign of smears and defamation by a number of right-wing columnists, the Zionist Federation, and the Board of Deputies of British Jews on grounds that his summary of the evidence was 'anti-semitic'.

The Office of Judicial Complaints (OJC) has as a result opened an investigation into Judge Bathurst Normans handling of the case.

Although we don't normally find ourselves sticking up for judges we find the charge of anti-semitism a grossly cynical attempt to undermine the significance of these acquittals of pro-Palestinian activists on evidence of Israeli war crimes that was for the most part agreed by the Crown Prosecution Service.

There is nothing anti-semitic in putting agreed evidence of Israeli war crimes to a jury.

You can express your concern about this investigation by sending an email to the Office Judicial Complaints, marking your email 'Bathurst Norman'.

customer@ojc.gsi.gov.uk

A full transcript of the Judge's summary of the evidence has been published by the Jewish Chronicle (strange times indeed!) here.

Weird things to be happy about

There's something wrong, and yet very right, about being cheered up by people's amazing strength and cheerfulness in response to horrible things happening to them. Fr'instance, there's Emily Henochowicz, the 21-year-old Jewish-American activist who had her eye smashed out by an Israeli high-velocity tear gas canister at a peaceful West Bank demonstration only a few weeks ago. One of her reactions to losing an eye, something which as an artist can't be great news, is to design a really fucking cool pair of glasses, with a beautiful pattern half-covering one eye socket. There's a picture of them on her blog here.
And then there's Tristan Anderson, who was also hit in the face by a high-velocity tear gas canister fired by an Israeli soldier against peaceful protesters (spot a pattern here?). Despite spending the first six months after the incident in what was often described as a coma but which was something which I guess to most of us would look similar, Tristan is now in a wheelchair, able to speak and function in many ways, although severely constrained in others. He's back in the USA and at a rehab centre, which is probably more than many of us who were following his situation from afar ever thought would be possible (and is of course very far from what most Palestinians who suffer similar injuries would ever be able to access). A Q&A on his progress is here.

On a completely different subject, this neat little site gives an easily digested run-through of why all the Tory cuts which are currently cutting a swathe through public sector and probably third sector employment in this country, as well as many not-as-useless-as-they-might-make-out services, are ill-conceived, economically damaging and hypocritically and ideologically selective.

Manchester Anarchist Bookfair

Message from Dave at Manchester Anarchist Bookfair:

We can now announce that the Manchester Anarchist Bookfair will take
place from 11.00am until 5.00pm on Saturday 2nd October 2010 at The
Dancehouse Theatre, Oxford Road (opposite the BBC).
The venue is bigger and more importantly brighter than last year!
Are you interested in having a stall at the next Manchester Anarchist
Bookfair?
Stalls cost £10 per table.
If you are a bookstore or distributor and require more you can book
more tables at £10 per table.
Let us know how many you need.
We'll be posting details of stalls as they are confirmed at:
http://www.bookfair.org.uk
Follow us on twitter
If you live in Manchester and want to get involved in organising
things get in touch.

Ivor Dembina at Manchester Peace Festival

Tickets for anti-Zionist Jewish comic Ivor Dembina's show 'This is Not a Subject for Comedy', running in Manchester for one night only as part of Manchester Peace Festival, are now on sale. The show will be on Wednesday September 22nd at 7.30pm.

According to The Independent, the show tells “the story of how Dembina, 58, had his own unconditional support for the Jewish state challenged when he visited Israel and the West Bank between 2003 and 2005, and the hostility he faced from friends and family for his views.” A review of the show can be seen here, and an interview with Dembina here.

All proceeds from this event will be split between the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions and the Free Gaza movement.

Manchester Peace Festival will be launched with an opening concert on September 18th, headed by folk singer Leon Rosselson.

Full details of how to buy tickets for Ivor Dembina, as well as information on the many other events taking place during Manchester Peace Festival, can be found at http://manchesterpeacefestival.wordpress.com/whats-on-at-the-peace-festival/

The Dr Laura letter...

This round-robin email came to me again yesterday, and I thought I'd post it. Firstly because it's very funny.
Secondly because to certain people jumping on the Islamophobic bandwagon on the basis of Muslim homophobia, it's an appropriate reminder that while, yes, deeply unpleasant, backward and reprehensible homophobia is widespread amongst observant Muslims, it's equally common amongst the faithful of the other 'religions of the book,' and no amount of pinkwashing will cover that up. Homophobia, sadly, stems from social conservatism and the alarmingly popular practice of taking the word of 4000-year-old texts a bit too literally, and is not confined to one specific religious group.
And thirdly it's an entertaining highlight to the hypocrisy of the American Moral Right. The 'Dr Laura' mentioned at the start of the email is a Republican radio show host who has authored 'family-first'-type books with titles like: Ten Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives and The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands. This family-friendliness did not apparently extend to keeping her hands off the married father-of-three she's now hitched to, having started an affair with him while he was still the husband of someone else. She's also made herself deeply unpopular with the North American gay community, to the extent that "In May 2000 the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that her "consistent characterization of the sexual behavior of gays and lesbians as 'abnormal,' 'aberrant,' 'deviant,' 'disordered,' 'dysfunctional,' and 'an error' " constituted abusive discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and as such, were in violation of the human rights provision of its Code of Ethics. The CBSC found similar fault with her generalized statements that pedophilia is more prevalent among members of the gay community." She has also been the subject of various - in some cases successful - boycotts and campaigns, most notably StopDrLaura.com.
It's also worth noting that the letter below does not come from the guy whose name is at the bottom. But he seems to be generally sympathetic to it, and has put together an entertaining collection of his reflections on his accidental fame and of the letters - ranging from the bonkers homophobic to the amused liberal - he's received from people who did think it was him.

In her radio show, Dr Laura Schlesinger said that, as an observant Orthodox Jew, homosexuality is an abomination according to Leviticus 18:22, and cannot be condoned under any circumstance.

The following response is an open letter to Dr. Laura, written by a US academic and posted on the internet. It's funny, as well as informative:

Dear Dr. Laura:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination ... End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some other elements of God's Laws and how to follow them.

1. Leviticus 25:44 states that I may possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of Menstrual uncleanliness - Lev.15: 19-24. The problem is how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

4. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself, or should I ask the police to do it?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination, Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this? Are there 'degrees' of abomination?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle-room here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev. 19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev.19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair, like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively and thus enjoy considerable expertise in such matters, so I'm confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your adoring fan.

James M. Kauffman,
Ed.D. Professor Emeritus,
Dept. Of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education University of Virginia

PS (It would be a damn shame if we couldn't own a Canadian)

Tom Hurndall killer released

Anyone familiar with Israeli concepts of justice will be depressed but unsurprised to hear - from a report in Ha'aretz earlier this week - that the soldier who shot peace activist and former MMU student Tom Hurndall is to be released before his sentence is up. Taysir Heib was sentenced to eight years in jail for manslaughter in 2005, so he has been released 3 years early, on the orders of an Army committee acting against official legal positions. The Israeli military's culture of impunity strikes again.
It's rare for Israeli soldiers to be prosecuted or even disciplined for killing or wounding unarmed people, even in the very few cases when those killed are international activists, rather than Palestinians. This week a not-atypical sequence of stories appeared in Ha'aretz, an earlier one stating that a Palestinian shot dead while trying to break into the Barkan settlement in the West Bank was "apparently armed," while an update today revealed that a preliminary enquiry showed that actually, he was unarmed. Guess which version will get quoted by Israel's supporters, and which will vanish down the memory hole? I can't give a link to the second version as it only appeared on the 'breaking news' feed. Will it even get a full story?
It is likely that one of the reasons that a soldier was even convicted for Tom Hurndall's death is that the man who fired the shot was Bedouin, and therefore subject to routine racism in Israeli society anyway.
The Hurndall family have expressed their anger and distress at the move, which they heard about from the British FCO, not the Israelis, but Tom Hurndall's sister commented that it was the Israeli system they were concerned about, not the fate of an individual soldier who they extended compassion to. The family have previously been openly critical about the lack of support they received from 'Middle East Peace Envoy' (WTF? I mean, really) Tony Blair while he was still Prime Minister.

"Why Misogynists Make Great Informants"

"In January 2009, activists in Austin, Texas, learned that one of their own, a white activist named Brandon Darby, had infiltrated groups protesting the Republican National Convention (RNC) as an FBI informant. Darby later admitted to wearing recording devices at planning meetings and during the convention. He testified on behalf of the government in the February 2009 trial of two Texas activists who were arrested at the RNC on charges of making and possessing Molotov cocktails, after Darby encouraged them to do so..."

A very interesting and important article from Make/Shift magazine. Read the full piece here.

The Daily Mail Song

Gaza art exhibition at Manchester Cathedral

Image converted to jpg from pdf by the wonderful zamzar.com

Creative Co-operatives

The Creative Co-ops website I was commissioned to copywrite by Co-operatives UK is finally up, after a few technical blips. It includes a collection of information and case studies on the benefits of co-operation for creative workers - writers, artists, musicians, web designers, actors, journalists etc etc etc. Not featured, because I only found them today, are a very cute Glossop-based co-op of textile geeks called Moot Fibre Arts Co-op. They're having a garden party at Glossop Labour Club this Sunday...

ei: IKEA furnishing the occupation

Ikea delivers to Israeli settlements, but not to Palestinian towns. And it gets rumbled just a couple of weeks after Swedish dock workers start refusing to unload Israeli vessels. Ooops.

ei: IKEA furnishing the occupation

Carbon Co-op - events in Moss Side

Email from friends at the Carbon Co-op:

In March 2010 The Carbon Co-op launched its Moss Side project with the Carbon Co-op
Manual offering advice on saving energy in the home. Now we’re inviting you to take the next steps by joining us for a free workshop and tour of local green projects.

*Moss Side Carbon Co-op workshop*
6pm-8pm, Tuesday 22nd June 2010
Greenheys Centre, Gt Western Street, Moss Side
How do you use electricity and gas in your home?
What simple ways are there to save energy and cuts bills?
How might local people club together to make savings cheaply and simply?

Come along to this free workshop to pick up some practical hints and tips and share
experiences with other Moss Side residents.
Arrive 5.30pm for complimentary food and refreshment

*The Big Red Bus Tour of Green Projects*
Midday-4pm, Saturday 19th June 2010
- See energy saving projects up close
- Meet people who have transformed their houses and hear how they did it
- See renewable energy projects from the top deck of a red London bus!
Departs midday from Greenheys Centre, Great Western Street, Moss Side, returns 4pm.
Complimentary food and refreshments available

Book spaces
Both events are FREE! To book a space on the workshop or the Big Red Bus tour call 0161 408 6492 or email info@carbon.coop

Find out more about the Carbon Co-op: 0161 408 6492 or www.carbon.coop

In collaboration with Great Western Street Residents Association and Peace FM.

Paintballs or pepperspray?

I was bcc'd into this email last night, from a friend who is well-versed in the dubious delights of military and 'security' technologies to Jon Snow of Channel 4 news. They raise this point about the bizarre-sounding Israeli claims that some of their commandos were armed with 'paintball guns' (presumably not those who were armed with live ammo):

Hi Jon
I've just watched your interview with an Israeli spokesman (who didn't believe your assertion that Turkey was considering sending a warship to protect a further aid boat wishing to dock in Gaza).
Can I suggest that you investigate whether those paint guns much mentioned in the piece were actually going to be firing pepper spray? I'm told that these weapons are used by Israel, sold to them by the US. This would of course also explain why the Israelis were wearing what look like gas masks rather than some form of goggles to protect them from paint spatter.
For example see www.pepperball.com (you may not see the exact model here, but you will see what is on the market).
Best wishes

The deeply unpleasant military-spec page on pepperball.com is here. The 'law enforcement and corrections' page has some stuff that looks even more like paintball toys.
Which would perhaps also account for the 'strange-smelling gas' that some of the passengers on the attacked boats reported?

Sharyn Lock on Gaza flotilla killings (and Israeli hasbara)

As someone who was in Gaza during the 08/09 attacks, working with the ambulances, I saw first hand the contradictions to all the lies Israel told then.

It makes it impossible for me to trust their side of the story now, when they are preventing us not just from contacting our friends for their side of the story, but from even finding out if they are alive or dead.

I personally know my close friends on board the boats would take an Israeli bullet rather than resist violently in any way - and in the past, some of us have - Caoimhe Butterly for example.

But isn't the question we should be asking instead - why didn't the Navy just stay home and let the aid through, when the flotilla was going nowhere near them, as FreeGaza boats never had in the past?

From Sharyn Lock, founding member of the FreeGaza movement, nonviolence trainer, passenger on the first and fourth FreeGaza boat trips, and author of Gaza: Beneath the Bombs

Call for action from activist Caoimhe Butterly (Gaza TV News).

Call to action in response to Israeli killing of humanitarian activists on FreeGaza flotilla:

Gaza flotilla; Mahmoud Darwish & Trio Joubran

Below is a YouTube video of the wonderful Trio Joubran setting of Mahmoud Darwish reading 'Wait for her.' Lovely.



Today is a tense one for anyone caring about the fate of the flotilla of aid, human rights workers, journalists, parliamentarians and others trying to enter Gaza by sea again. The State of Israel has been threatening all sorts of hi-tech and savage ways to prevent them reaching Gaza, whilst making disingenuous statements about its 'inability' to control shipping in Gazan waters. Follow the flotilla's progress on http://twitter.com/freegazaorg or http://www.witnessgaza.com/

Greenpeace on the BP oil spill

Original here.

Local food event, June 12th

I'll be at a wedding somewhere terrifyingly countrified, but in Manchester on 12th of June this very worthwhile event will be happening:

“Create your own Abundance” open event
Saturday 12th June, 11am-1pm at Madlab,  36-40 Edge St, Northern Quarter, Manchester City Centre, M4 1HN
Abundance Manchester invites groups and individuals in Greater Manchester to find out how they can cut food waste, have fun, reduce food miles, get fit, help vulnerable people and strengthen their communities.....all at the same time. How? By coming to an open event designed to help them set up an 'Abundance' project in their area.
Abundance Manchester is a small voluntary group that harvests surplus and unwanted fruit and veg from gardens, allotments and public places and distributes it to places that need it, like homeless hostels and refugee projects. It has been running for 2 years in South Manchester, covering Chorlton, Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield & Whalley Range. Jointly with several other Abundance projects in the country, it is one of 3 schemes shortlisted for the ‘Best Grassroots Project’ award at the Observer's Ethical Awards 2010.
“Abundance is a great project, but we can only cover a tiny fraction of Greater Manchester, and we want people in other areas to take advantage of the 'abundance' of fresh produce that's going to waste where they live” said Debbie Clarke of the group. “And we'd like to help get them started”.
On Saturday 12th June, Abundance Manchester is holding a short open event in Manchester city centre where people can find out just how easy it is to start and run their own Abundance project, or something like it. The group will provide tips and advice on getting started, plus the chance to connect interested people from the same areas.
Starts 11am with a short presentation, followed by discussion and one to one advice. Those interested are asked to book by Monday 7th June, as places are limited.
For more info (& to book) - email: abundancemanchester[at]yahoo.co.uk, phone: Nicola: 07515 116 730 or Debbie: 07967 227 981, website: http://abundancemanchester.wordpress.com/

And congratulations to Abundance, especially Nicola, on that Observer Ethical Awards shortlisting. Full details of the shortlist for this year's awards are here - we'll know if Abundance gets the top prize in June.

Oh for goodness' sake...

These are the opening paragraphs of a press release I received yesterday morning:

Abu Dhabi Launches World’s First Gold Vending Machine 17 May 10
Emirates Palace host to unique tourist attraction
The world’s first gold vending machine is now enticing tourists in Abu
Dhabi where the Gold to go™ has found a home in the uber-luxurious setting
of Emirates Palace – one of the world’s most opulent hotels.
Gold to go® dispenses ten specially-designed 24 carat gold bars in various
designs, such as the Kangaroo, Maple Leaf and Krugerrand in denominations
of one, five and ten grams, as well as one tenth, a quarter and one ounce
of gold.

Anyone got any theories on why our civilisation might actually deserve to survive?
Sigh.

Nick Clegg on Gaza

On Tuesday 22nd December last year - 2009 - Nick Clegg wrote on the Guardian's Comment is Free website that:

What is less well-known [than the December 2008/January 2009 invasion] is the escalating humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The legacy of Operation Cast Lead is a living nightmare for one and a half million Palestinians squeezed into one of the most overcrowded and wretched stretches of land on the planet. And as Israel and Egypt maintain a near total blockade against Gaza, the misery deepens by the day.
This is not only shocking in humanitarian terms. It is not in Israel's or Egypt's interest, either. Confining people in abject poverty in a tiny slice of territory is a recipe for continued bitterness, fury and radicalism.
And what has the British government and the international community done to lift the blockade? Next to nothing. Tough-sounding declarations are issued at regular intervals but little real pressure is applied. It is a scandal that the international community has sat on its hands in the face of this unfolding crisis.
No doubt the febrile sensitivities of the Middle East have deterred governments, caught between recriminations from both sides. No doubt diplomats have warned that exerting pressure on Israel and Egypt may complicate the peace process.
But surely the consequences of not lifting the blockade are far more grave? How is the peace process served by sickness, mortality rates, mental trauma and malnutrition increasing in Gaza? Is it not in Israel's enlightened self-interest to relieve the humanitarian suffering?
The peace process is in serious trouble right now. Internal Israeli politics limits any meaningful room for manoeuvre, illegal settlement activity in the West Bank continues, and leadership of the Palestinians is divided and incoherent. A two-state solution, long the accepted bedrock of any agreement, is being openly questioned
But paralysis in the peace process cannot be an excuse for the inhumane treatment of one and a half million people, the majority of them under 18 years old. No peaceful coexistence of any kind is possible as long as this act of collective confinement continues.
According to a recently leaked report by the UN office of the humanitarian co-ordinator, Gaza is undergoing "a process of de-development, which potentially could lead to the complete breakdown of public infrastructure". A report released today by a group of 16 humanitarian and human rights groups further spells out the effects.
Family homes destroyed in the invasion lie as shattered as ever. The embargo on construction materials means they will stay that way. Local hospitals and clinics were left devastated by the invasion, and those suffering health problems wait longer than ever to get out of Gaza for treatment. Many have died waiting. Bed-wetting and nightmares are endemic among children.
Half of those under 30 are unemployed. These young people are trapped in a broken land with little hope of economic opportunity. The blockade's restrictions on Gaza's fishermen mean they can sail only three nautical miles from the coast, impoverishing their families. Meanwhile, 80m litres of raw and partially treated sewage is pumped out into the sea every day.
Most disturbingly of all, the lack of access to materials means that basic water infrastructure simply cannot be repaired or improved; 90 to 95% of Gaza's water fails to meet WHO standards. The extremely high nitrate level in the water supply is leaving thousands of newborn babies at risk of poisoning.
The insistence by some that aid should come into no contact whatsoever, even indirectly, with Hamas means NGOs are prevented from repairing basic water and sanitation facilities in schools.
There is a clear moral imperative for Israel and Egypt to end the blockade, as well as it being in their enlightened self-interest to change course. But if they do not do so of their own volition, it is up to the international community to persuade them otherwise.
The EU has huge economic influence over Israel, and it believes the blockade must be lifted. At the same time as exercising leverage over Hamas, it should make clear that the web of preferential agreements which now exists between the EU and Israel – from Israeli access to EU research and development funds to recently improved access for Israeli agricultural products – will be brought into question if there is no rapid progress.
Equally, the US, as by far the largest bilateral donor to Egypt, should press President Mubarak to allow in the humanitarian and reconstruction materials that are so desperately needed.
What will be the state of Gaza's drinking water by next December? Of the health of its children? Of the economy? The attitude of its people towards Egypt and Israel? The risk of waiting another year is too great. Gordon Brown and the international community must urgently declare that enough is enough. The blockade must end.

I wonder if Mr Clegg, from his new position of power in the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, recalls his words? Perhaps we should ask him. He can be contacted on cleggn@parliament.uk and leader@libdems.org.uk.