From Bradford blog. Plymouth in occupation. More soon. http://occupied-bradford.blogspot.com/2009/02/plymouth-university-occupy.html

Throwing shoes at war criminals is now a permanent feature of the arsenal of the pro-Palestinian and anti-war movements. From ynetnews Holland: Shoes thrown at IDF officer during speech Captain (Res.) Ron Edelheit asked to speak to members of Jewish community on situation in Israel and Gaza, gets four shoes hurled at him by three pro-Palestinian protestors before even opening his mouth. Suspects detained; Edelheit tells Ynet, 'Slander is just words – here they crossed the line'

Can't wait to hear how UK foreign secretary Miliband tries to explain this one. From the Guardian Binyam Mohamed, a former UK resident who is flying home after four years of incarceration at Guantánamo Bay, today accused Britain of involvement in his alleged torture . "I have to say, more in sadness than in anger, that many have been complicit in my own horrors over the past seven years," he said in a statement his lawyers released shortly before the chartered plane bringing him back from the US detention camp in Cuba was due to land at RAF Northolt, near London. "For myself, the very worst moment came when I realised in Morocco that the people who were torturing me were receiving questions and materials from British intelligence," he said. "I have met with British intelligence in Pakistan. I had been open with them. Yet the very people who I had hoped would come to my rescue I later realised had allied themselves with my abusers. "I am not asking for ...

Byam Shaw are doing it in style over in Archway, north London. I love art schools. They have now taken over the entire building but are not disrupting classes. And they use computers from GazaSolidarity's favourite US corporation, if one can have such a thing - Apple Inc (Steve Jobs is adopted but his birth-father is Syrian). From Aerobics to artful posters - and some good-looking food, it's all there. This occupation goes directly to matters concerning how the college is run. They have taken their inspiration from the Gaza student occupations. Lets hope other unis/colleges in turn take their cue from Byam Shaw and start extending demands to the whole gamut of how higher education is run in the UK, which is increasingly as a business. Byam Shaw students are putting a spoke in that wheel.

Solidarity with Gaza - End the war on terror The Stop the War Coalition is going on the road. We are organising meetings in towns and cities up and down the country, with speakers including Palestinians, activists, representatives of the Muslim community and well known figures such as Tony Benn,Bruce Kent and Jeremy Corbyn. The title of the meetings is 'Solidarity with Gaza, end the war on terror' and they are aimed at sustaining the momentum of the mass movement round Palestine while mobilising for the week of protests around the G20 and NATO in early April. Below is a list of meetings already booked. More are being organised. If you would like a meeting in your area, please let us know. We will provide speakers and help you to organise and publicise it. RALLIES: SOLIDARITY WITH GAZA - END THE WAR ON TERROR Blackburn : 13th March. More information: 0207 278 6694 Brighton : 13th March with Tony Benn & Andrew Murray + others tbc 7.30pm, The Metropole Hotel, Sea Front. More...

From Tehran Times The Pacific Quay sit-in was widely reported across the Scottish media. But on the day itself BBC Scotland journalists were initially asked not to film the demonstrators. When one member of staff did shoot footage on a hand-held camera, they were asked not to upload the film onto the BBC's computers , where it could be accessed by other parts of the corporation. When the member of staff eventually did so, the footage was used by BBC News 24, a source said. After a period of about an hour and half, a full film crew arrived and shot footage of the demonstration. Peter Murray, deputy leader of the National Union of Journalists' BBC Scotland branch, said the union had received complaints about the incident which it had passed to management. more

Hamas calls on Egypt to open Gaza borders forever GAZA, Feb. 23 ( Xinhua ) -- The Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) on Monday called on Egypt to immediately open its border with the Gaza Strip freely and forever. Hamas spokesman in Gaza Fawzi Barhoum said that this step is needed to respond to Israel which "blocked Egypt's efforts aimed at brokering a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip between his movement and Israel." "The Israeli occupation has no intention to reach any agreement on lull," Barhoum said, adding that Israel "badly invests Egypt's efforts" to release Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier Hamas has been holding hostage since 2006.

Olive oil production is one of the few ways in which Palestinians in Gaza can make any money. Fairtrade announced in December last year that they intended to offer the product and it has now finally reached the shelves. Gordon Brown after helping the Israelis almost totally destroy the economy is now supporting Fairtrade Palestinian Olive Oil - to show how fair-minded he is I'm sure. From the Morning Star THE first olive oil produced by Palestinian farmers to carry the Fairtrade mark will be launched in Britain on Monday. The olive oil is produced by co-operatives of 265 Palestinian farmers, providing a vital source of livelihood for communities where olive production is often the only feasible agricultural activity. The launch marked the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual campaign which urges people to buy goods and food carrying the Fairtrade mark. Fairtrade Foundation chief executive Harriet Lamb said: "We have been working with olive producers in Palestine and we are...

The boneheaded Vice Chancellor of Manchester Uni still refuses to negotiate with the student union. In response students are escalating the action and have called a national demo on March 4 . Seems a bit far off but the students need your support. “Now 2 weeks on, University of Manchester students have occupied key buildings in the heart of the campus. The occupation has seen an unprecedented amount of support from students and academics alike most notably in an emergency general meeting in which over a thousand students attended to overwhelmingly support a motion to stand in solidarity with the people of Gaza. Entering their 18th day, the occupation is still strong in both numbers and spirit. The next focus is to pressure the university administration to accede to our reasonable demands but the arrogant and uncompromising Vice Chancellor (send complaints to president@manchester.ac.uk ) has failed to make any concessions for the student body claiming that the university cannot take a ...

This is the first report on the Beeb since the convoy left - with the exception of the 'terror' arrests. They probably noticed the rest of the world reporting on the convoy and thought they better catch up, despite their pro-Israel biases. From the BBC The border between Morocco and Algeria, closed for almost 15 years, has been temporarily reopened for an aid convoy heading towards the Gaza Strip. The convoy of 99 vehicles, which left from the UK loaded with medicine, food, clothes and toys, crossed into Algeria near the Moroccan town of Oujda. The frontier was shut in 1994 after Morocco accused Algeria of involvement in an attack on a hotel in Marrakech. The convoy is due to cross from Egypt to Gaza in early March

Amnesty International today called for an arms embargo on Israel and accused the IDF of carrying out war crimes in Gaza. Unfortunately AI's report also accuses Palestinians fighting back in a massively unequal war of also committing war crimes by using unguided weapons. As one freedom fighter during the Algerian war of independence against the French put it: if we had fighter planes we'd use them. AI in the name of 'balance' is in danger of undermining its own report with such a strange attempt at equivalence. By Amnesty's reckoning virtually every army since the second world war has committed war crimes by firing shells into civilian (unguided munitions) areas, notably the British Army in Basra a few years ago now.. BBC Radio 4's Today Programme this morning reported that among the weapons being used in addition to white phosphorus were specially designed anti-personnel weapons that left metal darts implanted in people's bodies, usually killing them. The aw...

From Haaretz The Israel Defense Forces on Sunday confirmed that an army dog bit an elderly Palestinian during a West Bank raid. Salem Bani Odeh said he was in his bed when he was bitten repeatedly. He remained hospitalized Sunday with a gash in his left ear. The 99-year-old's relatives said he is paralyzed. The incident occurred before dawn Friday in the village of Tamoun.

[11:28 GMT 22 Feb - People absolutely overwhelmed by response they received in Maghnia. Small place, felt like entire town came out, even though late & cold. - 21 Feb - Convoy was hugely delayed at border while paperwork was checked. But, huge crowds! All vehicles getting free petrol in Algeria - twitter.com/georgegalloway ] For more go to Viva Palestina and Gaza convoy blog “Salaam we went through centre and hundreds of people here, it was amazing as its somthing we have never seen before. There were hundreds of people on the streets cheering. We were on the roof of our van, hanging off the back ladder with Mudasir tannoy. It was top, even the police are cheering ‘Allah Hu Akbar’. The youths, kids and men were hugging us…a 15yr old boy told me that even the muslims who drink came on the street to shout ‘Allah Hu Akbar’ and they make dua for us everyday to succeed. We have come to a caravan site to sleep now” No pics yet

What we all suspected was the case - UK is up to its neck in torturing 'terrorist' suspects according to Human Rights Watch. Are the criminals that ordered this going to go to prison? No, unless we bring enormous pressure to bear; Tony Blair is now a 'peace envoy' in the Middle East. UK has of course had plenty of places to practise its torture techniques from the old days of Empire and not so old days in the north of Ireland. From the Guardian/Observer A shocking new report alleges widespread complicity between British security agents and their Pakistani counterparts who have routinely engaged in the torture of suspects. In the study, which will be published next month by the civil liberties group Human Rights Watch, at least 10 Britons are identified who have been allegedly tortured in Pakistan and subsequently questioned by UK intelligence officials. It warns that more British cases may surface and that the issue of Pakistani terrorism suspects interrogated by Britis...

As predicted on this site Egypt has opened the border crossing at Rafah (at 7:00 GMT) - but only for three days, and only for students and medical patients. They are going to have difficulty shutting it again now that its open so let's hope three days becomes mutates into a permanent opening The border between Gaza and Egypt, the sole crossing that bypasses Israel, has been opened for three days to allow the passage of students and the sick.

From PIC RAMALLAH, (PIC)-- The new American administration pledged to continue cooperating with the new Israeli government to be formed by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, expressing optimism about the future of peace talks in the Middle East. more

Statement of support from Birzeit University students to occupaying students aronud the world The Right to Education Campaign and the students of Birzeit University would like to commend and express support for students worldwide who have taken a principled stance against the ferocious Israeli bombardment of the Gaza strip for 22 days between December 2008 and January 2009. More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed, including 400 children, and over 4,000 Palestinians were injured. more

Posted on Islam Times website Barcelona Basketball Fans: Boycott Israel...viva Palestine After sports fans and activists in Turkey and New Zealand took action in support of a sports boycott of Israel, this very promising sports boycott movement has finally eached Europe, where it counts the most, starting from Barcelona, no less, a major European sports powerhouse! As many of you already know, Israeli teams compete in European championships as if Israel were part of Europe. Not different from academia, among other fields. Finally, Israeli sports teams are facing what their South African predecessors had experienced in the 1980s. Could not have come at a more opportune time ... And for those who think that sports should not be "politicized" or that Israeli sports is about the nobility of athletics as an expression of humanity, a thorough examination of the Israeli sports scene will confirm that sports teams (particularly football and basketball teams and most of their fans) a...

picture by Yana Paskova NYU has gone in hard against the student occupation by suspending 18of them when the sit-in ended Friday. This is likely to lead to more action and the admins hope of nipping things in the bud will surely blow up in their face. NYU's polce-state methods included photographing occupiers and calling in the police, pepper spray and all. From the New York Times A protest by New York University students seeking negotiations with school officials over financial and academic issues ended Friday after almost 40 hours, with students leaving a dining room that had been barricaded and a school spokesman announcing the suspensions of 18 of the participants pending a disciplinary review... ...Ms. Quadir said that those inside the room were photographed and asked to present identification and that school officials distributed letters to N.Y.U. students that stated, "You are suspended from, and classified as a persona non grata at New York University... ...students ...

Haaretz reports that Egypt has moved hundreds of policemen to its Gaza border to prevent a breach by Palestinians. Meanwhile reports that Egypt may be opening the border for two (according to ynetnews ) or three days (according to AP) to commercial traffic. The Egyptian state is in a quandry about its collaboration with the Israelis. Egyptian authorities have dispatched hundreds of policemen to the border with the Gaza Strip, fearing Palestinian protesters might try to breach it into Sinai, security officials said on Saturday. One official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Egypt has information that hundreds of Palestinians were planning a demonstration demanding that Cairo open its Rafah border crossing with Gaza to normal traffic. The officials said 400 riot police were deployed in the border region as a precautionary measure. Katyusha rockets fired into Israel from Lebanon today. Three casualties reported by Israelis. Hezbollah denies involvement.