A Selection of Poetry

 Dear Mr Stride,

I have read the FCO letter with interest.  The last paragraph is especially disingenuous.  The correspondence is recorded on my web site - easily linked by 'googling'   david halpin   or  https://dhalpin.infoaction.org.uk/

I asked this - 

Please confirm or deny whether these two entities (Saudi Arabia and Israel) are allies of the UK - via the FCO please.  And, if they are formal allies, has the current HMG plans to revise this status in the face of international law and ordinary humanity. Neither question is answered

And tell me the total value of arms sales to each entity within the last 5 years    Not given, but I know that UK arms sales to Saudi Arabia has been worth c. £5 billion.

Please press the FCO for clear answers.  Over 300 Palestinians - all ages, both genders, have been shot by Israeli Occupation Force snipers, with rifles containing British made parts I understand.  Thousands have had their knee joints 'exploded' by the same agencies.  See   https://www.pscp.tv/w/1ypKdBQNqOgJW   7.10 to 9.30

This e-mail will be posted.

yours sincerely

David Halpin FRCS

PS    'No mother and child should be in the least harmed anywhere in our still beautiful world'.  You might have seen the report on BBC 'News' about 5 nights ago detailing the deaths and injuries resulting from a Paveway guided bomb directed at civilians in a poor, rural village.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GBU-12_Paveway_II   unit cost $22,000

https://web.archive.org/web/20061020015641/http://www.raytheon.com/products/stellent/groups/public/documents/content/cms01_055758.pdf

Dual mode– GPS for all weather– Laser for precisionJRetains Paveway™ III precision,laser guidance accuracyJMinimizes collateral damageJIn-flight retargetingJIn-flight mode selectionJGreatly expanded deliveryenvelopes including high off-boresight capabilitiesJGraceful transition from precisionto GPS accuracyJCombat proven

War head - BLU-109 Design:

The BLU-109/B has a steel casing about 1 inch (25 mm) thick,filled with 530 pounds (240 kg) of Tritonal. It has a delayed-action tail-fuze. The BLU-109 entered service in 1985. It is also used as the warhead of some marks of the GBU-15 electro-optically guided bomb, the GBU-27 Paveway III laser-guided bomb, and the AGM-130 rocket-boosted weapon. This weapon can penetrate 4–6 feet of reinforced concrete,^[2] which is greater than the 3 foot capability of the Small Diameter Bomb.^[3] The BLU-109 is not likely to be retired anytime soon, due to the much larger blast capable from its warhead.^{[citation needed]}

------- Forwarded Message --------

Dear Mr Halpin,

Further to our correspondence, please find enclosed a copy of the response I have received from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office regarding Saudi Arabia and Israel.

I hope this is helpful and thank you again for being in touch.

With best wishes,

Mel

Rt Hon. Mel Stride MP
Member of Parliament for Central Devon

E-mail 15-10-19 5.31 pm

No responses by 27-11-19

Dear Mr Halpin, 

Thank you for your e-mail. 

I have raised your concerns with the Foreign & Commonwealth Office as you request and will be in touch as soon as I have a response. 

Thank you again. 

With best wishes, 

Mel 

Rt Hon. Mel Stride MP
Member of Parliament for Central Devon

Allies of the UK. Confirm or deny. Saudi Arabia 'Israel' Brutal executions. Torture 2-10-19 9.30 pm

Dear Mr Stride,  MP for Central Devon

I bring to your notice -

Firstly this e-mail from an excellent group of women - mostly, in the US

Dear David,

Today marks one year since the brutal murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi Arabia, and the brutal regime is showing no shame as they try to sweep Khashoggi’s memory under the rug. At the end of this month, they are hosting an investment conference titled “Davos in the Desert” and have invited the world's biggest financial giants. Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, and Larry Fink, the Chairman and CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor in the weapons of war have all RSVP’d yes.

We’ve long known that companies such as these don’t give a damn about human rights, but to appear in Saudi Arabia less than 13 months after a prominent journalist was lured into an embassy, murdered in cold blood, and then chopped into pieces and disposed of? That just rubs salt in an open wound. Help us call on Larry Fink and others to withdraw from the Davos in the Desert investment conference.

Last year, in response to Khashoggi’s murder, Blackrock and others — Google, Uber, JP Morgan Chase, CNN, The New York Times, and more — all pulled out of the conference. But now, with a year having passed, despite there still being zero accountability for those responsible, companies are trying to slip back in. Some, like Blackrock’s Larry Fink, have publicized their attendance, while others —- and we are hard at work right now trying to identify who — are trying to attend quietly. 

NO COMPANY OR CEO SHOULD ATTEND DAVOS IN THE DESSERT. Send a message now to Fink, Citigroup, and Goldman Sachs asking them to cancel. As soon as we find out who else is planning to attend, we will let you know so you can appeal to them also.

Even though Fink admits Khashoggi’s murder was “horrifying,” he is willing to overlook Saudi Arabia’s crimes against humanity — Khashoggi’s murder, the imprisonment and torture of women activists, the war in Yemen— as long as it furthers his company’s business ties, including the launch of a new BlackRock office in the kingdom.

Just this past Sunday Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman (MbS) was interviewed on CBS’s 60 Minutes. He denied any personal involvement or knowledge of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi who was chopped into pieces with a bone saw. This was despite CIA and UN intelligence that indicated that MbS was not only involved but likely the person who gave the order.

During his 60 Minutes interview, MbS also denied any knowledge of the torture of woman’s rights activist Loujan al-Hathloul who has been languishing in a Saudi prison since March 2018, saying Loujan's release is not up to him. But this is ridiculous, as Saudi Arabia is an absolute monarchy where MbS has knowledge of and controls every major decision, from the torturing of Loujan to the premeditated murder of Khashoggi. We call BS on MbS!

Saudi Arabia thinks that now that a year has passed since Khashoggi’s murder, that the world should close their eyes and ignore Saudi crimes. But MbS belongs at the Hague, not on 60 Minutes or hosting extravagant economic forums. Take action now by telling Larry Fink of Blackrock, as well as Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, to withdraw from the Saudi Davos in the Desert investment conference.

Towards justice and freedom,
Ann, Ariel, Caroline, Carley, Clara, Jodie, Leonardo, Maya, Mark, Medea, Megan, Michelle, Nancy, Paki, Rose, Teri, Tighe, and Ze

Secondly   Saudi Arabia has brutally executed 134 humans so far this year, including teenagers, often after torture produced 'confessions'

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/9935530/saudi-arabia-executions-increase-134-crucified-beheaded/  

Thirdly    Israel  https://imemc.org/article/pchr-holds-israel-responsible-for-life-of-prisoner-samer-al-arbid/  etc etc  Torture practiced widely by Israel against Palestinians including children down to the age of 12

Please confirm or deny whether these two entities are allies of the UK - via the FCO please.  And, if they are formal allies, has the current HMG plans to revise this status in the face of international law and ordinary humanity.

And tell me the total value of arms sales to each entity within the last 5 years

David Halpin FRCS