Death of Alan Henning

Dear James Morris

Your vote last week helped to seal the fate of Alan, who is now dead.

You have always been in full agreement with a foreign policy, since the War of Terrorism began on the 7 October 2001, that has killed, injured and displaced many hundreds of thousands of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq.  Perhaps, millions in 13 years of warfare and rising.  You and your fellow politicians, so well meaning but deluded, have slaughtered innocent men, women and children in lands far from our shores and, it has now led to the rise and advance of Islamic State, it seems.

Deluded because your foolish foreign policy led to 7/7 in London, the death of drummer Lee Rigby and others, when your unethical foreign policy was supposed to make the UK safe from such horrors.

Think again.  Develop a more empathic and sensitive conscience.  Work for more humane and tolerant foreign policies that will implement UN resolutions and that stop the sale of our weapons ending up in the arms of Islamic State.  Our weapons should be there in case we get invaded by a foreign power or, put at the disposal of the UN.  Not to attack other countries in a crime of aggression.  Or, to be sold to any old dodgy regime - democratic or dictatorial makes not a scrap of difference - that we prop up with our armaments of every size, shape and description.

Tim

Thoughts on the day of Mike Verduyn's funeral

19 Dec 2013

At Mike’s funeral, Tony read out from Ecclesiastes about a time for killing and a time for war.  This on the very day that the two converts to Islam were convicted of the killing of ‘Help for Heroes’ T-shirt wearing, Lee Rigby outside Woolwich Barracks.  They say they only killed a British soldier because of their killings of Muslims in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan.

The week before saw the death of Nelson Mandela who was feted, applauded and celebrated.  Yet, he was a man of violence who had long renounced non-violence as being ineffective.  Yet, Gandhi and then Martin Luther King Jnr had shown the power of non-violence.  Both men got what they wanted.  Mandela did too but, only after spending 27 wasted years in prison.  He should have stuck to his earlier non-violence.

Mike had a rear car window sticker that said, ‘Respect for British armed forces’.  Respect them as heroes, as 450 making the ultimate sacrifice and, all the soldiers serving, so nobly their Queen and Country.