'Don't Attack Iran' Public Meeting Monday 9th September Brent Trades Hall

No coup or war in Venezuela! Meeting Monday March 11th - Brent Trades Hall

CHANGE OF VENUE & TIME: Brent Stands Up to Trump! July 7th Harlesden TAVISTOCK HALL 12.30pm

Brent Momentum, Brent Stand Up to Racism, Brent Central Labour Party and Brent Stop the War  are holding a meeting from 12.30pm - 2.30pm  Tavistock Hall  25 High Street
Harlesden, London NW10 4NE  on Saturday July 7th to organise support for the demonstration on Friday July 13th when Donald Trump comes to the UK.


Speakers include:

Cllr Muhammed Butt (Leader, Brent Council)

Sabby Dhalu (National Co-Convenor, Stand up to Racism)

Ian Hodson (McStrike/ President, Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union)

Shaka Lish (Brent Green Party & Greens of Colour)

Seema Chandwani (Haringey TUC)

Mary Adossides (Chair, Brent Trades Council)

The organisers are at pains to emphasise that attendance on July 7th is not restricted to Labour Party members.  Free places can be booked HERE

Tavistock Hall is 8 minutes walk from Willesden Junction or Harlesden stations. 18, 260, 266, 206 buses.

'What the Trump Presidency Means for the Anti-War Movement’ Murad Qureshi 7.30pm Monday

Source LINK

  Speaker:  Murad Qureshi (Chair of Stop the War) ‘What the Trump Presidency Means for the Anti-War Movement’

 Monday January 9th 7.30pm Brent Trades Hall, 375 High Road, NW10 2JR

 The talk will be followed by Brent Stop the War AGM

Sheila Robin: fellow activist and friend

Sheila Robin

A wave of disbelief swept through friends and fellow activists of Sheila Robin on Wednesday when  we heard of her death after a short illness.

Sheila combined energy, commitment, thoughtfulness, courage and a love of life in a unique way that makes her loss particularly painful.  Fiercely politically independent, she not only supported many campaigns but did much of the detailed  hard work that made them successful.  

Characteristically my last email from her was about the Brent Stop the War meeting that is being held on Monday. She was concerned that the title  of the talk 'Don't bomb Syria' was rather boring and uninspiring and urged people to come up with something 'brilliant'.

That nagging at the detail to get the most out of a political action was very much a Sheila trait and the annual Stop the War-Brent PSC Fundraising Garden Party was an event that brought her organising skills to the fore. She managed to persuade Julie Felix to perform this year which made it our most successful fundraiser to date.

Sheila never shrank from difficult issues, thinking exhaustively through all the principles involved, before reaching a position. I saw this close up when we were involved in the controversy over the Tricycle Theatre's decision not to accept Israeli government funding of the Jewish Film Festival.

It wasn't all hard work though, Sheila enjoyed having fun whether at the theatre, cinema, comedy club, choir or sailing!

Below are tributes from those who both worked with Sheila politically and enjoyed socialising with her:

Sheila with Brent Stop the War Banner

From Brent Stop the War Facebook: I am sorry to have to pass on the very sad news that Sheila Robin, the immensely hard working secretary of Brent Stop The War, active in the Red/Green socialist choir and many more labour movement and international campaigns died suddenly on Tuesday. 

Sheila has been absolutely central to Brent Stop the War, making it the priority of her political activity for the last few years. We will miss her immensely.

We felt that Sheila would have wanted us to proceed with Monday’s meeting and to do all we can to keep the group going, although she will be impossible to replace.

Sheila had been unwell for several months and was awaiting an operation, but we all expected her to recover in the near future, so this has come as a huge shock to us all. Our thoughts are with her daughter, Anna, and all the family at this very difficult time.

Sarah Cox (Brent Stop the War)

 
Sheila contributed so much to so many - individuals and causes.... Here is a photo of her, taken a few years ago, with her friend (and my partner) Ian Saville.  Sheila was always a person to go to for good advice. She absolutely committed to thinking and thinking and thinking again about the best way to go about things - whether it was buying a new hoover or organising a campaign or supporting family and friends with some difficulties to sort out.

Pam Laurance
  

Sheila was a dedicated and hard-working member of Brent Stop the War from its inception, taking on the role of Secretary in recent years. She worked tirelessly on fund-raising intitatives and to make our monthly meetings a success. In recent months, she was especially inspired by Jeremy Corbyn’s bid to become Labour leader, contacting repeatedly her local MP to get her to nominate him. Her persistence succeeded and Jeremy got the requisite number of nominations, allowing him to achieve today’s stunning success. It is highly poignant that Sheila is not here to share in the celebrations today. More than that, she will be greatly missed by activists in Brent who will remember her anti-war and anti-cuts campaigning and her unshakeable belief that a better world was possible. 

Mike Phipps, Chair, Brent Stop the War.

Sheila was inspiring to work with, a human Dynamo as described by Diane. 

I was inspired by Sheila to implement strategies /ideas/suggestions that were originally thought impossible or impractical. She did not follow 'a party line' and was always questioning.

She initiated contacts with a variety of community and political groups as well as individuals such as Joan Baez.

Sheila had a wide range of friends and interest.  I always enjoyed going with Sheila to mainly non mainstream theatre, comedy, concerts and cinema, although I never sailed with her  or accompanied her to distant places!

Sheila would proclaim each year she would withdraw from organising meetings and fund raising but each year she would be involved as enthusiastically as before. She was always direct and honest. 

Despite her medical problems and the associated pain and exhaustion Sheila would persevere.

We will miss her.

Liz Lindsay (Brent and Harrow Palestine Solidarity Campaign) 

There was a sense of unbearable shock to hear the news of Sheila Robin’s death. She had not been struggling with a long term illness but had died after a short period of ill health.  It was not as if she was a close friend, but it was as an activist in Jews for Justice for Palestinians that I came to know her.  She was someone who could be relied on to be open and forthright, to address issues with a passion and with commitment.  

Sheila was someone who could be relied on to make a contribution to debate and to take on the humdrum tasks that any organisation needs.  We kept bumping into one another at meetings, at events and at protests.  This is how many of us came to know and appreciate Sheila, a sound helper and comrade active in the grassroots of the movement for Palestinian self determination.   Her courage and good humour were always in evidence and it is almost impossible to absorb the fact that her vibrant personality is no longer with us.  It was a privilege to know her

Diana Neslen (Jews for Justice for Palestinians)


 I was very shocked and saddened to hear about about Sheila. She was always one of the people I could guarantee to bump into on any protest and campaign, and we waved hello to each other at the crowded Jeremy Corbyn meeting in the Camden Centre just a few weeks ago. I also used to see her occasionally in her work capacity in Islington. Wishing long life to her family and close friends.

David Rosenberg (Jewish Socialist Group)


Sheila was both a friend and a fellow activist. She was always a pleasure to work with for her enthusiasm, great ideas and energy. She was completely dedicated and an important part of a number of local, national and international campaigns and will be missed by all. I particularly appreciated her support and advice.

Aisha Maniar

Please feel free to add futher tributes as comments or by email.

Confronting a World at War Conference speakers tomorrow includes Green's Deputy Leader Shahrar Ali

Shahrar Ali, Green party deputy leader, is among the speakers at this conference. He will speak on migration and war.

Confronting a World at War conference

BOOK ONLINE NOW Box office 020 7561 4830
Saturday 6 June • 10am - 5pm

TUC • Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3LS

hahrar Ali, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, is to speak at the Stop the War Coalition’s Conference ‘Confronting a World at War’ on Saturday 6 June.

The conference brings together writers, activists and politicians from around the world to analyse recent conflicts and current foreign policy approaches.

Shahrar Ali said:

“The Green Party will contribute to this important debate about conflict resolution with an analysis of unjust war as a major cause of displacement of peoples. Too often governments fail to recognise the long-term impact of foreign policy disasters on the lives of untold families, forced to flee from persecution or from the destructive power of arms these governments have sold abroad or used themselves.

“The UK must not add to the suffering of those fleeing from war with the imposition of arbitrary restrictions on movement, which often have inhumane consequences. We must hold to our collective obligations as a common humanity and take joint responsibility for instability we have directly caused or are implicated in.

“We have clear policies on dialogue, peace, diplomacy and international cooperation which aim to tackle forced migration at source, to grant communities both the capability to live in peace and also the right of return.”

The Green Party has opposed recent UK interventions in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, and holds that the UK needs to rethink its current defence policy. In particular, the Green Party advocates the abolition of Trident.

·      See more at: https://www.greenparty.org.uk/news/2015/06/05/green-party-deputy-leader-to-speak-at-international-anti-war-conference/#sthash.H9UaAMi9.dpuf

Meet the speakers

·      Mustafa Barghouti is an activist and the General Secretary of the Palestine National Initiative. He has been a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and was Minister of Information in the Palestinian unity government.

·      Medea Benjamin is a leading US peace activist. She is the co-founder of Code Pink and one of the best-known progressive figures in the United States.

·      Tariq Ali is a noted writer and filmmaker. A veteran of the movement against the war in Vietnam, he has for decades been one of the most prominent critics of Western militarism and imperialism.

·      Lindsey German is the convenor of the Stop the War Coalition and one of its founders. She is the author of a number of books, including How a Century of War Changed the Lives of Women (2013). She regularly appears in the media.

·      David Edgar is one of Britain’s most prominent writers and playwrights. He is the President of the Writers’ Guild of Great Britain and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, as well as a Professor of Playwriting Studies.

·      Richard Sakwa is a Professor of Russian and European Politics at the University of Kent and an Associate Fellow at Chatham House. His book Frontline Ukraine (December 2014) offers a powerful critique of Western propaganda surrounding the crisis in Ukraine.

·      Victoria Brittain is a prominent author and journalist. She is a former associate foreign editor of the Guardian. She wrote a play about the Guantanamo Bay concentration camp and has co-authored Moazzam Begg’s book Enemy Combatant. She is on the Council of the Institute of Race Relations and is a Patron of Palestine Solidarity.

·      Seumas Milne is a distinguished journalist and writer. He is a columnist and associate editor at The Guardian and the author of the best-selling book The Enemy Within: The Secret War Against the Miners.

·      Mark Weisbrot is a writer for peace and social justice. He is the co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, D.C. He has written for publications such as New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian etc. He is the co-writer of the screenplay for Oliver Stone’s film South of the Border.

·      Jeremy Corbyn is a Labour MP and a leading British campaigner for peace and social justice. He is the chair of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      Andrew Murray is the Chief-of-Staff at UNITE the Union. He is the former chair of the Stop the War Coalition and is now its Deputy President. He is co-author of the book Stop the War: The Story of Britain’s Biggest Mass Movement (2005).

·      Chris Nineham is the vice chair and founding member of the Stop the War Coalition. He is the author of a number of books including People vs. Tony Blair: Politics, the media and the anti-war movement (2013).

·      John Rees is a national officer and a founding member of the Stop the War Coalition. He is the author of a number of books including Imperialism and Resistance (2010) and A People’s History of London (2012).

·      Explo Nani-Kofi is a Ghanaian-born social researcher and a campaigner for social justice. He coordinates the Campaign against Proxy War in Africa and is the Director of the Kilombo Centre for Civil Society and African Self-Determination.

·      Kate Hudson is the General Secretary of CND and an officer of the Stop the War Coalition. She was Head of Social and Policy Studies at London South Bank University and is now a Visiting Research Fellow.

·      Bruce Kent is a famous peace activist. He was the General Secretary of CND from 1980 to 1985 and its chair from 1987 to 1990. He was also the President of the International Peace Bureau. He is a member of Pax Christi.

·      Lee Jasper is an anti-racist activist and politician who served as Senior Policy Advisor on Equalities to the former Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.

·      Jonathan Steele is a distinguished journalist and author. He was Foreign News Editor and Chief Foreign Correspondent for The Guardian. A recipient of several journalism awards, he is a broadcaster on the BBC and a writer for the London Review of Books.

·      Sami Ramadani is a noted Iraqi dissident. He was an exile from Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and founder of Iraqi Democrats against the Occupation. He was for many years a lecturer in sociology at London Metropolitan University. He is a member of the steering committee of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      George Galloway was a most prominent campaigner against the Iraq War in 2003. He is famous for his appearance at the US Senate in defence of his anti war stance. He was Respect MP for Bradford West until May this year. He is also a broadcaster of the current affairs programme Sputnik on RT.

·      Jenny Clegg is a lecturer in Asia Pacific Studies at the University of Central Lancashire. She is the author of several books, including China’s Global Strategy: Towards a Multipolar World (2009).

·      Hamja Ahsan is a curator and human rights activist. He leads the Free Talha Ahsan campaign. His brother, Talha Ahsan is a British-born award-winning poet with Asperger’s syndrome who was extradited to the US.

·      Chris Cole is a peace activist and the founder of Drone Wars UK. He is a former Director of the Fellowship of Reconciliation and co-ordinator of Campaign Against the Arms Trade.

·      Steve Bell is treasurer  of the Stop the War Coalition and a campaigner for Palestine, and against racism and war.

·      Ahmed Al-Ashaf is a political activist, Director Yemenis Culture Centre.

·      Sabby Dhalu is a campaigner, the secretary of Unite Against Fascism and an organiser for Stand up to Racism.

·      Malia Bouattia is the NUS Black Students’ Officer who has been at the forefront of opposing Islamophobia and the heavy-handed policing of British universities.

·      Judith Orr is a writer and campaigner. She is the editor of the Socialist Worker and a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition.

·      Carol Turner is a national officer of the Stop the War Coalition and a member of the national council of CND. She is author of a forthcoming book on Labour and foreign policy.

·      Matt Willgress is a prominent anti-war and social justice campaigner. He is the national coordinator of the Venezuela Solidarity Campaign.

·      Daniel Jakopovich is a writer and anti-war campaigner. He was a guest lecturer at the University of Cambridge and at several other universities, and is a member of the Council of the International Peace Bureau. His forthcoming book is entitled Essays in Defence of Human Dignity.

·      Anas al Tikriti  is from the British Muslim Initiative. He is of Iraqi origin, was one of the chairs on the demo on February 15^th 2003 and is a well known campaigner and speaker against the war.

·      Kevin Ovenden is a writer and campaigner around Palestine and the Middle East. He helped to found Viva Palestina.

·      Sarah Colborne is the director of Palestine Solidarity Campaign.

·      Erdelan Baran is a member of the foreign affairs committee of the Kurdish organisation, KNK.

·      Shahrar Ali was elected deputy leader of the Green Party in 2014, becoming in the process the first BME deputy of a UK parliamentary party. He has been a vocal critic of successive government’s failed foreign policy and anti-terror legislation.

·      Malia Bouattia is the NUS Black Students’ officer.

·      Akinola Davies Jr is a London-born videographer and activist with the organization Nigerian Lives Matter.

·      Barbara Ntumy is an anti-war, anti-racism and anti-austerity campaigner.

·      Laura Avarez is a Mexican activist. She has been active in several NGOs in Mexico and in London, and has worked for the National Commission for Human Rights in Mexico.

·      Rania Khan is an ex-councillor, teacher and anti-war activist.

·      Kim Sharif is a human rights activist, solicitor, and Director of Yemeni Human Rights.

Confronting a World at War conference

BOOK ONLINE NOW Box office 020 7561 4830
Saturday 6 June • 10am - 5pm

TUC • Great Russell Street

London WC1B 3LS

Brent Central Tories select Mendoza and declare 'no confidence' in Muhammed Butt

Former Brent Conservative Councillor Alan Mendoza has been selected by the Tories to  fight Brent Central in the General Election. Mendoza topped the poll in a by-election in Preston ward in June 2005.

He was regarded as a 'Young Turk' who presented a challenge to the leadership of Bob Blackman, now MP for Harrow East.

Mendoza  is Executive Director of the neo-con Henry Jackson Society and a supporter of the Conservative Friends of Israel. He has affiliations with many other organisations and when a councillor declared that he was a Freemason.

He has a particular interest in the Middle East and in security issues and was commenting on TV over Charlie Hebdo on Friday LINK


Mendoza contributes to the Guardian's Comment is Free website.

Foreign policy could be come an issue in the General Election, as it was in 2010 over the Iraq war. The views of HJS are likely to be in conflict with those of the other candidates so far selected:

Henry Jackson Society:

1. Believes that modern liberal democracies set an example to which the rest of the world should aspire.
2. Supports a ‘forward strategy’ – involving diplomatic, economic, cultural, and/or political means — to assist those countries that are not yet liberal and democratic to become so.
3. Supports the maintenance of a strong military, by the United States, the countries of the European Union and other democratic powers, armed with expeditionary capabilities with a global reach, that can protect our homelands from strategic threats, forestall terrorist attacks, and prevent genocide or massive ethnic cleansing.
4. Supports the necessary furtherance of European military modernisation and integration under British leadership, preferably within NATO.
5. Stresses the importance of unity between the world’s great democracies, represented by institutions such as NATO, the European Union and the OECD, amongst many others.
6. Believes that only modern liberal democratic states are truly legitimate, and that the political or human rights pronouncements of any international or regional organisation which admits undemocratic states lack the legitimacy to which they would be entitled if all their members were democracies.
7. Gives two cheers for capitalism. There are limits to the market, which needs to serve the Democratic Community and should be reconciled to the environment.
8. Accepts that we have to set priorities and that sometimes we have to compromise, but insists that we should never lose sight of our fundamental values. This means that alliances with repressive regimes can only be temporary. It also means a strong commitment to individual and civil liberties in democratic states, even and especially when we are under attack

No stranger to controversy, Mendoza was lambasted for his activities in the Henry Jackson Society,and accused of mounting a putsch by Marko Attila Hoare LINK

I grew up with groups like the Socialist Workers Party, in which total power is held by one or two leaders, but the totalitarianism is disguised by window-dressing consisting of branch meetings, annual conferences, meetings of the Politburo and the like. Well, the HJS is like that, but without the window-dressing: there isn’t even the pretence of democracy or consultation. Instead, the organisation operates on the basis of cronyism and intrigue. Sole power is held by one individual – Executive Director Alan Mendoza. He was not elected to the post and is not subject even to formal or technical restraints, nor to performance review and renewal of contract.

Mendoza's views can be seen in this clip when he was up against Stop the War's John Rees:


Meanwhile the Brondesbury Park Conservatives have put forward a motion for the next Full Council meeting that should also attract controversy:

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Motion under Standing Order45 in the names of Cllrs.Warren,Shaw and Davidson.

"NO CONFIDENCE VOTE IN CLLR.BUTT..........BUT HOW DO WE DO IT???? "*
This Council recognises that Cllr.Butt is unfit to lead Brent Council,and notes his actions since taking this post......
1. On becoming Council leader falling out with the previous Chief Executive and costing Brent £200,702 in compensation for loss of office.
2. In May 2014 installing  himself for four years as "Brent's Prime Minister," instead of the usual annual election for leader.
3. Introducing a Kremlin - style Constitution  in May 2014,including a reduction in Council scrutiny from 8 to 1 committees.
4. Presiding over a humiliating Industrial Tribunal case,where Brent was found guilty of race discrimination and yet still continuing with futile appeals....costing thousands .
5.  Damaging dramatically Brent staff relations as a result of the aforementioned I.T.case.
6.  Surrounding himself with a " Mafia - style " group of members and officers at the expense of most Labour members.
7. Losing Cllr.Perrin from his Cabinet within days of the new Council and barring Cllr.Van Kalwala from the Civic Centre.
8. Appalling lack of judgement in the Tricycle furore that happened in the summer of 2014.
9. Wasting more Brent Council taxpayer monies in the so called "independent " Mansfield inquiry into Brent NHS issues.
10. Totally undermining the Mayor of Brent by hogging every conceivable photo- opportunity at Mayoral events.
11. Showing a total lack of leadership in the ongoing budget process with endless consultations,forums,working groups,focus groups instead of showing real leadership.
12. Including the amazing Standing Order 13 in the Council constitution,which eliminates the traditional method of moving a motion of no- confidence.
This Council notes how difficult it is to move a no- confidence vote in Cllr. Butt Standing Order 13 requires 40% of Council members to put forward such a motion to Council some 10 working days before the meeting.In the interests of democracy this Council calls upon Cllr. Butt to remove Standing Order at the Council AGM on 20 May 2015.

A bit odd as Cllr Butt doesn't have the power to remove Standings Orders on his own, surely removal  of SO13 itself should have been a motion that the Brondesbury Conservative 'Provisionals' put to the AGM?

I expect the Kenton Conservative 'Officials' to treat the motion with disdain as they seem comfortable in their role on the Council after being officially recognised by Labour as the official opposition.

Brent North Conservatives have selected Luke Parker who works for IBM. According to the Kilburn Times LINK he wants 'better' schools, will champion small businesses and supports the living wage.

It really does look like there are two distinct Conservative Parties in Brent.

* The printing of this motion does not indicate my support for any or all of the points or  belief in their accuracy.