Iraq Freedom Congress Holds Its First Convention

by pat c Fri Nov 02, 2007 15:27

In a video Op-Ed by documentary filmmakers Molly Bingham and Steve Connors, Iraqis explain the roots of the insurgency.

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=8e9862a9f3a821602...b4134

by tomeile Sat Nov 03, 2007 12:44

The pictures in the link show banners proclaiming . "No Shia , No Sunni we are humans ". It was nice of the Iraqi organizers of the Kirkurk conference to go to the trouble of putting English translations on their banners for the benefit of indymedia ireland readers : Japanese translations were probably in other photographs .
The slogan “No Shia , No Sunni ,we are humans” gets around the problem of Islamo-fascism - in line with the IFC’s hopi-like manifesto which states inter alia, “ to restore civil order in Iraq the forces of political Islam and fascists must be swept away”. It must follow from the dehumanisation of Iraq's muslims implied in the slogan that any call for Sunni and Shia to unite against US imperialism would only play into the hands of Islamo-fascism - which at another point the manifesto assures us is “the other side of the coin” to the occupation forces.

by MichaelY - iawm Sat Nov 03, 2007 16:34

Good to see that a bit of sanity occasionally percolates into our threads in Indymedia. A large meeting with a lot of young people in the Teachers Club last Thursday, a smaller but highly instructive meeting with Susan George speaking earlier today in Liberty Hall, a large debate in the TCD Hist on Wednesday night.....in all three the message from political and campaign activists was the same..... let us work together, confront our politics if need be but UNITE in ACTION.
Nov 10th can be such an occasion. Posters are going up all over the city. Buses are coming from Cork, Tralee, Galway, Derry and Belfast. Friends from the Midlands are coming too. Thanks to the CYM, LY and SWP comrades for their help and solidarity. C u in front of the Central Bank at 2 pm. With your banners and energy.

No words needed

As above

by pat c Mon Nov 05, 2007 10:35

Thanks fot the comment MIchael. It is important to support the non-sectarian resistance in Iraq. I hope the IAWM demo goes well on 10 November. (Unfortunately the HOPI event clashs with part of it.

Also on the 10 November in the Teachers Club at 12.30 pm there is the Hands Off the People of Iran Teach In. Speakers include Iranian Socialist Yassamine Mather, Anne McShane, a speaker from the LGBT community and sesions will be chaired by Des Derwin, DCTU, and Deirdre Clancy, AWI.

by tomeile Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:38

Great that Yassamine will be able to make it on Saturday despite her heavy schedule . Her proven expertise in the aero industry will surely be missed in the run-up to war to free Iran from the mullahs ,but it’s right that the Aerospace Engineering department at Glasgow University gave Ms Mather time off to get over to Eire .
There’s a photograph on the department’s website showing some aeroplanes flying in formation that I was looking at earlier –isn’t it incredible how well the RAF train their chaps ? I’m not sure whether they are bombers in the photos or fighter jets ,but ,you’ve got to hand it to the designers , a brilliant work of engineering all the same . Congrats to Yassamine and all involved with the project .
http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/aerospace/

by Watcher Mon Nov 05, 2007 11:57

Will Yassamine be addressing the anti-war march? It will be a very interesting speech. looking forward to that.

by Curious Mon Nov 05, 2007 12:53

This storyline is about Iraq. Why are the SWP trolling it about Iran?

by tomeile Mon Nov 05, 2007 14:03

Patsy from Hopieire raised the subject of Iran in relation to his group's teach-in this coming Saturday at the Teachers Club . HOPIeire’s teach-in has the good fortune of having leading academic ,Yassamine Mather, from mainland HOPI in attendance ,so do try to get along to it. It should be a great gig.

Yassamine works on the development of fighter aircraft at Glasgow’s University in the Aerospace Engineering Department . She’s really doing her bit to give it to the fascist Iranian mullahs -fair play to her.
I think she’s one of the proud people in the photo at the second link ,but I’m not sure. Maybe patsy can tell us
http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/aerospace/
http://www-legacy.aero.gla.ac.uk/Research/rotorcraft/rotor/index.php

If you can’t make it on Saturday , Hopieire welcomes new members
suggested contributions) individual £10/€20 waged, £5/€10

by Anne - HOPI Mon Nov 05, 2007 15:20

Tom Eile has made some serious allegations about Yassamine Mather, one of our speakers on Saturday. He and some others have rather pathetically banded together to throw abuse against a campaign that they cannot attack politically. They mock the fact that Yassamine does not live in Iran, without stopping to consider why it would not be wise for such an opponent of the regime to go back there. Obviously they want to believe that the Iranian people are not repressed, or that leading trade unionists and activists are not in prison. In many repects the allegations that are being made are not worth answering. And to my mind the very fact that people like Tom Eile can try to besmirch the name of a leading left-wing Iranian dissident is truly shameful. He is doing the wok of the Iranian state and the US state for them.

But to deal with the issue of Yassamine Mather's so-called connections with BAE I state as follows:

Everyone in Glasgow University knows that Yassamine Mather has never been involved in BAE research contracts/grants . She has never undertaken research or contract work that involves the defence industry .
Of course it should be added that BAE is unlikely to accept someone born in Tehran
known as a leftist ativist as investigator or collaborator at any level (however junior) in one of their research contracts/programs .
Yassamine Mather's main research work at Glasgow university is with the Centre for the study of Socialist theory and Movements and the journal Critique of which she is deputy editor.

The Engineering research group she has any association with is Systems and Control group , the main well known academic in that group Professor Peter Gawthrop who is a member of CND , an anti war activist ( he spoke at anti war meeting, organised by Mike Gonzalez in Glasgow University exposing US claims that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction) This group is not involved in any BAE contracts and their research involves the following areas:
Intermittent Control
Applications to Human Motion Control
Applications to Mechatronics
System Identification
Bond Graphs
details in :
http://www.gla.ac.uk/faculties/engineering/aeromech/res...trol/

I hope that settles matters - well at least for those who want to listen.

Anne

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by MichaelY - iawm Mon Nov 05, 2007 15:52

A question posed above got me thinking.....Presuming Yassamine would be in the Teachers Club next Saturday Nov.10th, in a session chaired by Deirdre, entitled 'Imperialism', it would be, I suppose possible, for her to take about 15-20 mins and come over, with the participants of the Teach-In, to the GPO, lets say around 2.45-3.00 pm when the iawm demonstration would have arrived there. As I would be chairing the final session, where we intend to have an Iraqi, a Kurd and a Palestinian speaker, Yassemine would be more welcome to speak for about 7-8 mins as our guest.
I don't want to engage in a complicated rigmarole about this...it's a straight suggestion for your consideration. A straight Yes thanks, or No thanks, by Yassamine's hosts would suffice for the moment.

by pat c Mon Nov 05, 2007 15:58

Its a yes thanks, provisionally. Cant be 100% certain but I will raise it Yassamine. The first session probably wont start until 1 pm (being realistic).

Will get back to you by email.

by tomeile Tue Nov 06, 2007 16:30

"And then let the Iranian people take their country back." That's what HopiEre must mean by regime change from below.
Just don't mention the first bit about the jets going in from above first.

And ,after all ,what's forty-eight hours of precision strikes by aircraft engineered by equal-opportunity companies like BAE , when you consider that Iran is a fascist country controlled by a Hitler-like regime? If a few mad mullahs get their beards singed in the process ,what's that against the slavery those same mullahs impose on the women of Iran.

When the US took-out the Al-Jazeera station in Kabul - with everybody inside it - they made sure to chose a woman to pilot the bomber . That was progress surely wasn't it?

by Timeile Tue Nov 06, 2007 17:03

I see you have come out with a dazzling response to Anne McShane's post, Tomeile - you've done an excellent job of rebutting all her points. Oh wait, you just ignored it - what a massive shock that was

by pat c Thu Nov 29, 2007 18:12

The Iraq Freedom Congress continues to grow in strength. Here is news of an important affilation by the Engineering Union.

The Engineering Professions Trade Union Join IFC

On November 11, 2007 The Engineering professions trade unions (includes more than 17000 employees) joined the IFC during a TV interview with its vice president Samir Almosawi and the president of the oil projects trade union Ghazi Muftin.

Brothers Almosawi and Muftin pledged that their affiliation will be the first step towards strengthening IFC to boot out the occupation and sectarian gangs and building the country of freedom and equality.

Iraq Freedom Congress
Media center
12-11-2007