Thursday, August 29, 2013

my friends in Syria

My daughter claims not to understand my outrage over the terrible things happening in Syria.
So this blog is aimed at making her understand some of the reasons it is very close to my heart.

I was in Syria in the early 1980 and formed several friendships, one in particular has remained close to my heart every since.

I met a man called Mohammad, he was a good man, a decent man and a very kind man.
In all honesty I treated him not very nicely, I was young and stupid, I valued his friendship, I loved him dearly as a friend but I was not in love with him. He was, he claimed in love with me.

Mohammad was not a poor man, far from it, but the details of his business, his family are not important to the purpose of this blog.

When I first started using social media, I had hoped to track Mohammad down to thank him for the friend ship that ended over two decades ago when my daughter was still very young, and catch up, like I did with other friends from back in the day...
I was unable to do that.

When I had my daughter, Mohammad asked me, as he had many times before, to marry him, so she would have a father, he wasn't her father, as it happens our relationship wasn't sexual. I said no, as I had many times before, because as I explained to him, I wasn't in love with him and to my way of thinking it was not the correct reason to marry someone.

He still stood by me, he still remains my friend.
When my daughter was born, it was him who bought her a posh new push chair, I had an old second hand one, he took me shopping one day an bought every girls dress in the Marks & Spencer & Littilwoods collections. I said no, he bought them anyway!

He offered to buy me a house, even had a deposit put on one of the posh new waterfront houses on the Clydesdale they were building at the time... I cancelled it, cos it wasn't my way of doing things.

I loved him, I valued him as a friend, but I was not interested in his money or position, which was apparently quite important, I was told he was in line for a political career in Lebanon where he came from originally, though he lived with his parent in Damascus where the family buisness was.

His parents didn't approve of his relationship with me, he was Muslim , I was not, however they did invite me into their home and treated me politely.

Mohammad took me and my daughter on holidays to Cyprus  & Italy, &I had several trips to London with him staying at the best hotels.
During a trip to Cyprus,  I was introduced to his best friends wife ,and dined at their home, I had met his friend previously but not his wife.

Our friendship was a long one & an important one to me, my parents, particularly my mother liked him, she called him MOMO, he was a good-un she said, & ticked me off for not treating his as well as I should have.

I was also friends with his cousin who lived in a different part of the middle east, who I also corresponded with a couple of times in letters, I like sending & receiving letter I always have.

The last time I saw Mohammad was at Easter around 1987,we celebrated Easter at my cousin home, but the day after, he was called away urgently as his sister had been killed, murdered he told me, in a political attack in her home,  she and her 2 children were assassinated.
Whither that was true or not, I don't know , I see no reason why he would have made it up.
Our friendship ended shortly thereafter , not on bad terms it just ended.

These days, as I watch the news reels and read the news about the terrible autocracies happening in Syria, I pray form Mohammad, I don't know if he's still alive, I hope so, I don't know if he has children, or if he every married, I hope so, cos he wanted that very much, and I hope he & his are safe and well.

I may not have been in love with him, but I did love him in my own way..., very, very much.

I met many nice kind ordinary people, from all walks of life, rich & poor, in Syria.
They showed  me kindness & gave me frienship & even support, in different ways, for different reasons at different times.

I'm not religious , but I pray for their safety and for their children's safety, and I have shed many tears these past two years at their plight, these  kind people I met during my two visits to Syria.

I abhor what David Cameron & his corrupt friends are planning for the people of Syria, because I know, without a doubt, that of those I knew personally, who may have survived the war so far, some of them will have died, or their family or friends will have, but even if by a miracle non of those I knew have their friends & children will have suffered in one way or another...
 and I know many more will suffer if these attacks happen.
People like the night porter who used to greet me every-night with a smile when I arrived back from work,
or the women who worked as a chamber maid,who cleaned my room, and ordinary woman doing a job to feed & cloth her family, in a job both I and my own daughter  have done in the years since I was in Syria, to feed and cloth our kids and keep a roof over their heads.

I think of Mohammad, when we were if Cyprus on holiday with my daughter, where she took her 1st steps, his excitement as she took them, and the case load of silly stuffed animals he bought for her every time he went passed the shop in the hotel foyer, some which I still have.
I fear for the children like she was then, living in the shadow of war, who may never get to take those 1st steps, or whose fathers & mothers may die before they see their children  grow up.

I look at  my grandson, living in relative safety, and I think of the man who could have been his grandpa had I made different choices, and I wonder if he, Mohammad, survived to see his own children &grandchildren  grow up, and I pray for then all,  I pray all my other friends in Syria & hope they are safe, those I laughed and joked with at work.

So, I hope one day my daughter & indeed my sons will understand why I have such strong connections with the people of Syria, and other places in the world where I have been, and made friends,
where ordinary people just like us live with fear from terror & attack, like that the UK & USA government is threatening Syria with now.

And although I know she doesn't remember him, I wish she could understand, that there is a man, who I hope & pray for & his friends & family in Syria, who loved her very much in her formative years and who wanted to be her daddy & who showed me and her kindness & generosity without condition, the likes of which I have never known since.





Tuesday, August 27, 2013

random thoughts...

I am a mum and a grandmother....
 I have a daughter of 29 whose son is 7 a joy, but like most wee boys occasionally a pain in the arse.
He goes to school, to football clubs, plays with his mates on the street on his scooter or at the part , plays on his ex box and is obsessed whith money & what he can buy wit it from sweeties to toys...
he knows nothing really much about religion and nothing about war except that it people die in it and to be honest he has no, or little  understanding at all about what death or dying really means as he has little experience of it...
I also have two sons, one who is 22, & who is 18 , i rarely see them these days... we are i guess what some people call estranged, the reason , I can't say I fully comprehend , it pains me because they both pass my home most days coming and going to thier place of work but neither has time to stop by for a short visit , and believe me that pains me... because I am aware that they can make time to visit the mothers of their respective girlfriend who they have known at most for less than  5years maybe less...
my children where my life , though they have accused me of neglect, & other equally unsavory things...
i don't believe i was the perfect mother , i wasn't but i did not neglect my children ....

Anyway, whats all that got to do with the price of milk ... nothing really , as I said random thoughts ... but
I was thinking as i started to write this about mothers in Syria...

I spent some time there in the 80's, got to know several people as friends, and tonight like many nights over the last few years since, I find myself thinking about them,...
The people of Syria have been plunged into this terrible war they did not ask for that is being carried out in their land killing their children for over 2 years now.
Each night they go to bed wondering what tomorrow will bring , little boys like my grandson & his friends but these little boys and girls can't play out on the streets because they could be shot or blown away by a bomb, they are lucky if they can attend school but for the last two years that has been a risky buisness so many many miss school .
As they sit in their homes they hear fighting and angry voices of " rebel forces " or solders out side and always there is that fear and that threat of what could happen next... .
because these kids unlike my grandson and his friend are well aware of death and dying ... they see it every day ... they hear about it everyday... and they fear everyday it could happen to them that day or the day after or maybe it could take their mother father sister or brother ... or maybe it already has.

And now today they have to fear the American & British  are coming and going to bomb them from the sky,
maybe killing their mums as they shop for bread , or their brothers who work or serve in the military or maybe even in the rebel forces who knows, for to them some all they know is war and violence and abuse and hate... maybe their sister has been caught up in the fighting coming home from the hospital or shop where she works, or their father killed after visiting a sick or wounded repetitive ac-cross town...

These are by and large ordinary people like you and me... ordinary people who just want to get on with their lives safely and free from risk of harm or softy of their loved ones...whose life's have been thrown in to tormile and who now face threat from SUPERPOWERS OF THE USA & UK.
Shame on the government of the country where I live, the UK and shame on the government of the USA they are terrorists.
As a UK citizen I apologies for my governments behavior, they do not act in my name, or with my consent I am sorry for those who fall pray to their waring ways,
 & I know their are many UK CITIZENS like who do not consent to THE UK GOVERNMENTS BEHAVIOR, THEY ARE A LAW UNTO THEM-SELF THEY ARE FASCIST.

I know that there are some now who were babies or young kids of the last world war , & some who remember the blitz or stories of it...
there are those who have come through war in other places who like me tonight will be praying for the children of Syria and their families, like we pray for the children of Palestine, and all children & their families in places where children become victims of violence and war.
Right now as I write this there are wars happening in;
Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Mali, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan, Sud Sudan, ...
Right now in these places children and their families are living with fear, hunger rape, & other abuses & violence ...
We the people of the world must come together in peace for peace we must demand our government stop these wars, must stop facilitating these wars by selling arms & military hardware that does aid those who are suffering it inflames the suffering and hard ship.
We must demand our government s cease the collateral murder and genocide we must make it clear that we the people will not tolerate any more of their participation in war , that they do not do it with our consent or in our name. And we do not approve them taking our tax money to fund these autracities they create & pertisipate in against our will.

IT HAS TO STOP PEOPLE & IT HAS TO STOP NOW WE MUST DECLARE PEACE & WE MUST INSIST OUR GOVERNMENTS CEASE TO PARTICIPATE & CREATE WARS .
wE MUST DECLARE WORLD PEACE & WE MUST DECLARE IT NOW TODAY NO MORE WARS NO MORE DEAD CHILDREN & NO MORE DEAD ADULTS END WAR NOW .
PLEEEEEEEEZ. 


letter, emailed to Ed Milliband leaderof the uk opposition ...made open now

Mr Miliband,
I write to you with grave concerns regarding your position as leader of the opposition.

Presently in the UK we have a government who is failing to uphold their oath & duty to the
citizens of the UK to act in the best interest of the people & nation.

We the British people, are told that we live in a democracy, however, in a democracy the government
is voted in to power by the people, to work on behalf of people, in line with the will of the majority
of the people.
However the present goverment took power after a hung parliament vote in election, reflecting no party had the confidence of the majority of the populous.
The coalition took power by agreement of these two parties after Gordon Brown & his predecessor also failed to maintain the confidence of the electrit.

You MR Milliband, as leader of the opposition have a duty to the people of this nation to hold the government  accountable and answerable to the electrit. YOU Mr Milliband, are failing to do that.

David Cameron has repeatedly failed to listen to the people of this country with his reform & austerity policies.
He has gone ahead with the Bedroom tax, plunging thousand of families into poverty and putting vulnerable people out of their homes, he has began to dismantle the NHS... BUT, I don't need to remind you of all the lists of failures of the
this government to act in the best interest of the people, or to adhere to their duty of care , you, as leader of the opposition are aware , or should be aware of it.
So my question to you Mr Milliband is why are you not holding them accountable?

The UK government has been proven, under your predecessor Gordon Brown & Tony Blair to have been involved in crime against humanity in  Iraq & Afghanistan wars, the evidence is widely available on the internet to prove this via the testament of numerous veterans & serving troops, journalist, and victims who have been displaced or otherwise affected by these autocracies, Not withstanding  evidence disclosed by PFC Manning during the trail in recent week at Fort Meade in the USA. Manning may be accused of espionage , however what the documents he took & disclosed reflect is irrefutable documented evidence of war crimes, which the UK government was involved with.

Presently Julian Assange the chief of wikileaks  & Australian senate candidate is a political refugee  in the Ecuadorian embassy in London as a result of his publishing organizations part in publishing documents challenging corrupt government, & you Mr Miliband, to the best of my Knowledge have failed to speak out in support of Manning or Assange
despite the very clear evidence of the crimes against humanity they have made the international public aware of, in the interest of global safety and putting an end to these crimes against the global masses and war.
These two brave individuals have the support of many humanitarian & human & civil rights organizations including Amnesty  International, and yet, you have failed to make comment or show support defending either of these ppl, 1 a British citizen by decent, Manning mother is Welsh, the other an international award winning humanitarian Australian journalist, Australia is I believe a Commons wealth country and therefore under the jurisdiction of the British monarchy,
yet, the UK government has failed to protect or respect Mr Assange's human & civil rights, & treated him like a criminal under the guise of Swedish allegations for which he has never been charged, and which again, evidence from court & police proceeding both in the Uk & Sweden, available on the internet, reflect as being all very questionable and dubious, but that is not the purpose of this communication.

The purpose of this communication Mr Miliband is to remind you of your duty of care to citizens of the UK, and part of that duty is to hold the government answerable and accountable.

It is widely recognized by academics , legal professionals & other notable public figures from political & military backgrounds that this government has been involved in crimes against humanity & war crimes that they have conspired to conceal & coverup,  and  it is presently set on taking the UK forces to be involved in another major and very serious war in Syria.  

David Cameron has repeatedly made public his support for the rebel forces in the conflict being played out in Syria, however it is widely known that the real origins of the so called Syria opposition or (FREE SYRIAN ARMY) is made up of various factions of undetermined origin, who have gone to Syria to involve in religious extremist jihad.

Many of these extremist have far right religious believes that are not in the interest of the Syria people, or indeed any people, as they are rooted in extreme religious ideology with sectarianism & discrimination against, primarily woman & children at its core.
These rebel forces that Mr Cameron is so keen to arm, are a volatile mix of unknown, unreliable entities
with little care or respect for life or anything other than their extreme religious ideology, and our government should not be involving with these people who are a risk and danger to the people of Syria, and the whole region, indeed, such actions by out government invite threat of retaliation on our shores.

In addition, the UK Prime Minister 's David Cameron behavior clearly reflects psychopathic tendencies in relation to the medical model of psychiatry diagnosis for severe mental health conditions, and this Mr Miliband can be supported by doing some research into his behaviors & the conditions, & you Mr Miliband have a duty of care as leader of the opposition to put and end to the risks and dangers, this criminally insane individual who is leading the UK government ,is causing to both the British people & indeed the people of the world .

Therefore Mr Milliband I call on you as leader of the opposition to hold accountable this criminal government and I make this official request to you as a U citizen, that you make official request of  the monarch of the UK Queen Elisabeth2, to devolve the UK government & install an intern government to over-see the ongoing governance of UK pending an election,
 & have David Cameron detained in a secure psychiatric hospital pending enquirer to his mental health condition & charged with  crimes against humanity .

& Mr Miliband, you should understand this letter is not a joke , it is a serious request regarding all issue referenced ,
 I write, not as a crazy person having a laugh , but as a individual with academic knowledge & experience in health & social welfare, mental health, political & legal practice, with genuine concern for the future of the country,
it citizens & indeed ,the world, under the leadership of a clearly diagnosable mentally ill individual.


your sincerely,
June MacKendrick

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Pressing Issues: Bradley Manning Agonistes

Pressing Issues: Bradley Manning Agonistes: He surprised some supporters today with an "apology" and admission that he could have tried other channels today in court as th...

This Day in WikiLeaks: 14 August 2013

This Day in WikiLeaks: 14 August 2013: Julian Assange has been detained without charge for 982 days.   - 422 days at the Ecuadorian Embassy. Bradley Manning has been in pr...

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

& they call it justice....

Today in Forte Meade PFC Bradley Manning is expected to take the stand at his military hearing & give a statement.
Manning at the age of 25 & who has been held in military prison for 3year,
11month of which was in solitary confinement during which he was subject of inhumane abuse and torture as defined by Jeun Mendez Special Rapporteur on Torture, faces up to 90 years in prison on charges of theft & espionage. 

His crime? 
He is the brave & courageous soldier who exposed crimes against humanity, war crime, & corruption by the US goverment, diplomats & military personnel engaging in criminal activities as defined under international law, on behalf of the US government.

Manning's trial  began on the 3rd of June 2013, and although it has been discussed and reported widely on the internet, Mainstream media, particularly in the UK, has for the most part ignored it, certainly little has been said on BBC news with regard to it, particularly given that Bradley holds UK citizenship by descent on his mothers side, and attended school for some time in Wales where his mother is from and still lives.

I make these point as for many years the BBC has been widely acclaimed as a world leading news reporting agency, that the people can depend on for up to the minute world news that can be relied on.

The Manning case is one of the biggest most relevant news stories of this decade. 
It reflects issues of international war crimes and murder by people acting on behalf of the US & other governments including  that of the UK goverment.

It involves several of the biggest leaks of documents reflecting evidence relating to war crimes, international corruption by diplomats & goverment officials in history reflecting crimes against humanity, 

AND, the case has seen presented evidence related to the wikileaks press organization, & associated press organizations who published the documents Manning disclosed in the interest of the public and world safety, whose founder and chief Julian Assange is presently a political refugee in the Ecuadorian embassy in London  where he has been granted asylum on grounds related to issues & concerns from his safety from the American goverment directly related  to issues in this case.

Yet, today, and in the weeks since June 3rd when this trial began, there has been practically no coverage or debate on the BBC regarding this trial.


In contrast I shall now refer you back to the the Trail of O J Simpson, the former basket ball player who murdered his wife in 1995, whos trial was the focus of daily coverage on the BBC & other international news channels on a daily basis for almost 11 months, and additional daily debate & in-depth break down of the trial evidence & legal commentary on said, I do not intend to deflect from the serious charges against Simpson, but it was not a crime against humanity nor was it a crime involving international governments corruption.

Indeed the child abuse trail of the former pop singer Michel Jackson received similar coverage on the BBC, and yet the trial of Bradley Manning ,has gone, as I said vastly ignored or unreported by the BBC & other mainstream media channels, why?


The purpose of "the News" is to provide News  of interest to the public,& in public interest, & indeed public safety, yet since June 3rd 2013 one of the most important stories of this century to date involving goverment corruption, war crimes  & crimes against humanity has not been reported or analyzed on the BBC, who claim to be a leading global force in global  news.

To this, I can only say shame on them .... 
They have betrayed not just the British public who pay through their lisence fee to keep the BBC afloat, but worse, they have failed one of the bravest young solders of British decent ever to serve the interest of humanity,

A son of Wales whose actions  & courage reflect the integrity and character of a true hero,with the traits that once reflected that which once was said,  made Britain great.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

The 99.99998271%: Pure Adversarial Journalism: Why Wikileaks is Esta...

The 99.99998271%: Pure Adversarial Journalism: Why Wikileaks is Esta...: "If I'd written all the truth I knew for the past ten years, about 600 people - including me - would be rotting in prison cells fro...

Sunday, August 11, 2013

A collection of photography from THE HETHEN PROJECT

 


The Hethen project comprises various collections of over 3000 photographic images.



Friday, August 9, 2013

two more paintings from "The Hethen project"

                           above ... Bug, Fly, The Minstrel, The Joker & The 3 Wise Women


                           below..... The Writing's On The Wall


Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Living in the shadow of the nuclear threat...

I had planned to write about the bedroom tax & Atos today, however as it's August the 6th , "A-bomb Day" I decided it's much more appropriate & relevant to write about the subject ,DANGERS  related to various nuclear issues & controversies.

It's hard to believe that its now 68 years since Hiroshima became the first city  to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped an atomic bomb on it.  I wasn't even born then, although my generation are I suspect, a little more aware of these events than many young people of the present generation,.

On that tragic Monday of  August 6, 1945, at 8:15 a.m., the Atomic Bomb "Little Boy" was dropped on Hiroshima by an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, flown by Paul Tibbets, directly killing an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000–140,000. The population before the bombing was around 340,000 to 350,000. Approximately 69% of the city's buildings were completely destroyed, and another 7% severely damaged.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hiroshima

 Since 1945 records from the US Air Force, Navy and Department of Energy disclose roughly one serious nuclear weapons accident every year.  The Navy alone reports 563 “incidents” between 1965 and 1983.
 The Center for Defense of Information reports  62 serious nuclear weapons accidents since 1945. ( "U.S. Nuclear Weapons Accidents", by Jaya Tiwari and Cleve J. Gray at http://www.cdi.org/Issues/NukeAccidents/accidents.htm)

On July 27, 2001, the UK Ministry of Defense for the first time admitted some details of seven politically sensitive accidents involving British nuclear weapons.  In 1992, an inquiry by Ronald Oxburgh, the then MoD chief scientific adviser, found that since 1960 there have been around 20 mishaps. (Source: The Guardian, 27 July 2001)
 http://www.web.net/~cnanw/a7.htm

I believe these facts alone represent the clear risks and danger to life these weapons represent from accidentally incidents, without even beginning to reflect on the possibility of what the consequences of a horrifying repeat of them being used could mean for all of mankind, were they used in armed attacks in warfare, the dangers which we are aware of, even if we are unfamiliar with all the details of stories from Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

It is my opinion that in the 21st century the greatest risk to humanity is not from the use of nuclear weapons persay, although I do not in anyway intend to deflect from the very real, and worrying risk of these weapons being used in the event of wars,(wars which we know continue to rage around the globe despite "NEVER AGAIN" rhetoric post WW1 in 1914-1918, which seemed to gone unheeded as WW2 saw another estimated 60-85million people killed.

My fears in regard of nuclear disaster focus around the very real dangers centered around nuclear energy production plants, and indeed not just from the very real risks they present in way of accidental disaster as have been shown by the incidents in Chernobyl (1986)
 http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Safety-and-Security/Safety-of-Plants/Chernobyl-Accident/#.UgDxXaxGqt8
& more recently Fukushima (2011) http://japandailypress.com/international-atomic-energy-agency-warns-of-fukushima-meltdown-inspired-terrorism-0331677/ 
but by the risk of them being used as potential targets in warfare between nations, and this fear is multiplied 10 fold by the knowledge that since  1950 governments have been developing methods to manipulate weather conditions  that if coupled with aggressive & or malicious intent, could very well destroy, not just nations, but could bring about the end of our entire planet.

Furthermore, the corporations involved in these developments have been linked to some very questionable ethical & moral buisness conducts and have very strong ties to international "superpowers" who themself have been exposed as reflecting little concern for Human rights or life & who have, what I believe is a sinister, and frankly, insane obsession with greed & power that would appear to override their ability to logically, and realistically, assess the very real dangers even to them self's, their families & heirs, of the truly dangerous path they choose to take that endangers mankind and the planet.

http://youtu.be/jDmNjt0Jf88
http://www.bariumblues.com/haarp1.htm
http://www.projectcensored.org/9-government-sponsored-technologies-for-weather-modification/

In 2012 the EU officially released bleak report on its nuclear power plants, and hints at requiring nuclear liability insurance. In  it Bellona President Frederic Hauge stated ;
 “It is a crime against the European community that the nuclear industry is competing with carbon capture and storage and renewable sources of energy by cheating on the safety of their plants and deflating the real cost of their operations,

http://www.bellona.org/articles/articles_2012/Eu_report_final 

There is no doubt that the recent revelations regarding the ongoing leak into the pacific ocean from the Fukushima disaster caused by earthqauke & Tsunami in 2011 which it has now been shown to have been subject of information & cover -up by Tepco & goverment officials to reflect the real & great dangers to mankind & planet, that arises from nuclear energy, and it is, I believe, blatantly obvious that these dangers vastly outweigh any possible benefits from thete continuing use, and indeed development of these energy sources, particularly when there are so many alternative safe renewable energies that are available.

 In conclusion, as someone who lives in the shadow of a nuclear power plant (approximately 17miles) away, that was due to be decommission in 2016 but had its life extended till 2023, and who is only approximately 30miles away from the Faslane nuclear navel base, I am more than alert to the real issues, risks and dangers that nuclear power and weapons represents to myself my children, my family, friends and neighbors and why today, I shall remember with both sadness and empathy the people of Hiroshima, Nagasaki,  Chernobyl & Fukushima and hope & ask that governments around the globe will do the same, and put an end to the nuclear madness once and for all.

http://news.stv.tv/west-central/204016-hunterston-b-nuclear-power-plant-has-life-extended-by-seven-years/

http://faslanepeacecamp.wordpress.com/
















Monday, August 5, 2013

OPEN LETTER TO ALEX SALMON REF BRADLEY MANNING PARDON

Alex Salmond MSP
Aberdeenshire East

Tuesday 6 August 2013



 MR Salmond,
  I am writing to in your position of 1st minister of Scotland to express my deep regret that on reading the recent letter sent to President Obama from european parliamentarians I did not see the name of a single Scottish MP.
This I find very alarming.

As the letter clearly states and I quote;
"In his defense against those charges to which he pleaded not guilty, PFC Manning was not permitted to bring any evidence of motivation. And in a statement calling on the court to allow a ‘public interest’ defense, Amnesty International said that this was ‘disturbing…as he has said he reasonably believed he was exposing human rights and humanitarian law violations. Moreover, the prosecution provided no evidence that PFC Manning caused harm to U.S. national security or to US and NATO troops."

During his time in captivity awaiting trial, this young soldier has been subjected to inhumane & degrading treatment as has been reported by Jeun Mendez the UN special rapporteur who has formally accused the US of treatments that reflect torture and abuse of Bradley Manning's human rights.

And yet out of 17 European parliamentarian signatories representing 8 countries not 1 Scottish MEP has had the decency to stand up and defend this young American soldier who has British citizenship by dissent on his mothers side.

"Bradley Manning was witness to the wrong doing of the U.S. military & he acted in accordance with international law and with a strong commitment to truth, transparency and democracy." as the letter states and the wrong doings represent war crimes in Afghanistan & Iraq was in which the British army were involved as Allies & worked alongside the US army.

Bradley Manning also released information about the men who continue to be wrongly held in indefinite detention at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo, Cuba including British detainee Shaker Aamer who has been cleared for release twice but remains in the Guantanamo prisoner camp & who is reported to being regularly tortured and force fed while on hunger strike.

These issues, and others that reflect gross mal behaviors as shown by the Cablegate releases reflect serious & intolerable situations being carried out by the US goverment & indeed, incriminate the UK goverment not only in issues related to war crimes as the US's closest ally, but by the collaborating reports of UK forces being involved in torture as reflected in various news reports & the MOD investigation into allegations of sexual abuse & torture & the Al-Sweady inquiry 2008.

As the letter from the signatories of the letter to President Obama state,
"Bradley Manning’s courageous action, for which he has three times been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, was an inspiration to others, including Edward Snowden, who recently revealed massive U.S. government surveillance in the U.S. and also against European governments and citizens.
 In addition the letter raises & reflects concerns "that the U.S. administration’s war on whistle-blowers such as Edward Snowden and Bradley Manning is a deterrent to the process of democracy in both the United States and Europe. "

The actions of Bradley Manning I believe, represent the actions of a young soldier with a duty of care to humanity to expose governmental wrong doings & war crimes against civilian children, men & women, as well as his fellow soldiers .

Frankly, I find it appareling that members of the Scottish Parliament appear to have little or nothing to say in regard of these deliberate attempts of the US goverment to send an honorable young man, who acted in the best interest of the people, to jail for the rest of his life for taking the correct action and making the information available to the public, & also in its failure to demand that those who were responsible for theses crimes and atrocities from goverment & military office are not held accountable, Because what sort of "democracy" or "justice" does that represent ...

Therefore I urge you & members of the Scottish Parliament to add their names to the open letter from the members of the European Parliament to President Barack Obama and US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel demanding Pardon for Bradley Manning,
 and, I further urge you to take steps to ensure that those in government responsible for the crimes PFC Manning exposed be held accountable.

SINCERELY,
JUNE MACKENDRICK

Sunday, August 4, 2013

open letter to the SSP...(scottish socialist party)

Dear Mr Venton,
Having signed up on line & joined the SSP a few months ago, and having to date not received
any official mail via traditional mailing system, or indeed, emails regarding meetings & events
regarding political or social issues I may wish to attend or have an interest in, I would be grateful
if you would cancel my SSP membership as of today.

As a result of recent events over the past week in regard of communications with SSP members I feel
I am no longer able to feel confident in the conduct of some of its membership, in addition
 I feel that in the past 7days some of the people I have had communications with have at very least ,
 misled or misinformed me, and at worst, were deceitful  & with malicious intent.
As a result I feel unable to trust that the party is being conducted effectively and transparently.

Let there be no misunderstanding, that I have reached this decision after much reflection and consideration
regarding all issues involved.
I understand that these deceptions may have been regarded as humorous to those involved,
however, from my prospective the issues were of very serious content of interest to the public,
and I say that in regard of not just the issues I was communicating on but in regard to the information
regarding other Demos by the anti ATOS campaign, in which I myself have an interest as I am
in receipt ESA and have not only have had personal problems with ATOS but have a keen interest on
the discriminatory issues reflect by the policies and procedure  they use,  and would have considered
at very least raising awareness of the ATOS demo, which your members conveniently failed to notify me of,
 via my personal contacts and  my social networking accounts and blog.

To be honest the trust issues that these events and behaviors of past week reflect apart,
these issues also represent in my opinion, poor communication and administration on the part of the SSP,
As a organized political party I believe communications & organization of administrative duties is of paramount
 importance for both promoting and mobilizing events and raising not just membership but awareness of party
policy and goals as a socialist movement.

Strangely enough these are areas in which I could, I suggest, have been an asset to the party in organizing events and promotions as I have considerable experience in these areas as well as a degree in health and social welfare.

If it has been judged by the membership that I was not a valued member as I don't contribute by attending meetings & therefore it is not of relevance to keep me informed as a member, of all events, meetings and demos in the event I may or may not attend, again, reflects poorly because as I have already mentioned, my reasons for not having attended meeting to date, is as result of personal health & financial issues , however that should not deflect from the positive contributions I 
could have become involved with and quite possibly have been a asset to the party, by using my personal creative talents & academic skills to help promote and raise awareness of the party policies and events.

Anyway, this is now immaterial,
as an independent thinker and individual of socail conciseness I no longer feel confident
or am able to trust fully the intent of some SSP party members at this time, and as a result request the intimidate cancellation of my membership.

I wish you well with future projects and endeavors in the name of socialism, which I shall continue to follow with interest as a non party member.
yours sincerely
june mackendrick

ps
i shall be posting this email on my blog as an open letter in the interest of transparency as i do not wish to mislead people
in regard of my political affiliations.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

my kind of town...

As a girl from Glasgow, I can honestly say the 3 things I appreciate most about my fellow Glaswegians is their warmth, friendliness and what some might call twisted sense of humor.

So it came as little surprise to me today, when I arrived in Glasgow at George square to have  demo/protest to raise awareness of the plight of Bradley Manning, the brave young soldier  who faces 136 years in an American jail for leaking the Afghan & Iraq war logs, the Collateral murder video & the Cablegate cables to wikileaks, to find that George square was a deserted building site cordoned off with 6 foot-barriers all way round it,
particularly since I have been posting about the demo on TWITTER, the social networking site for the last 7day, & during that time received several responses from people claiming to be from the Glasgow area, including members of the SSP(scottish socialist party) who have assisted me in my endeavors to promote the protest...
I mean ,at very least, given the seriousness of the  implications of Bradley Manning's case and my reasons for trying to organize the demo, you'd think that just maybe, someone might have asked why the square when it's closed off?
 It seems common sense to me that at very least someone might have asked did I know the square was a building site and just maybe have suggested I have my demo in a more accessible location where the public might be more easily attracted...
 See, although I am a girl from Glasgow , I don't live there, I live around 25miles away in Ayrshire, I don't have TV cos I have issues with the TV licenseing, the laws of the UK tht dictate I must have 1 to watch TV, & I don't buy news papers because I can't really afford on my benefits, to waste money on idle celebrity gossip & propaganda , and although I don't expect people to know this, they are issues I have discussed on Twitter.

Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting that its not my own fault I don't know the Square ( which George square is called locally) is a construction site presently, I should be more abreast of local affairs, but again without excusing my lack of knowledge as to whats happening in Glasgow, might I suggest that my present locality is Ayrshire, and I'v been busy with local affairs here as my previous blog regarding the Save the Magnum Project that I did the alternative report on reflects, and strange as it may seem I have other projects of my own I am involved with.
And, when I last attended Glasgow to support those fighting closures of social amenities for disabled & vulnerable people when I 1st returned to live in Scotland, 9 months ago, the square was as it always has been open and accessible.
Sure I consider myself a political activists, but, I tend to focus my attention on the bigger picture and the affects of issues not just  in Ayrshire where I presently live or my beloved home town of Glasgow,
I look to how the political climate effects the whole world and people in it, which is why I feel so passionately about  Bradley Manning and Wikileaks, because they highlight very important issues regarding Human rights & freedoms which affect everyone of us & have serious implications to our fundamental freedoms to communicate with each other, and express our feeling about world issues and political wrong doing by those who seek to restrict of freedoms & rights, which is why I tried to organize the demo today 2 raise awareness of the Bradley Manning case.

For that reason, as I approached Georges Square and saw the barriers around it I was, without a shadow of a doubt, proper miffed that no one who I had spoke to from the SSP, or via email or on Twitter had thought to mention that a change of location might be a good idea.



As it happens, I am made of quite strong stuff, and I am quite determined when I commit myself to something. I try to see it through and give it my best shot, so despite the barriers I was faced with I headed down to the city chambers building and went ahead with my "demo" anyway.





If I am honest, which I try always to be, I had been a little nervous about the whole thing...

I had decided to to try to organize the demo  after what was my 1st day out at a social event with my daughter in so long a time it makes me kinda sad to think about, this as a result of personal issues that have made me something of a social recluse or reject depending on how you might view it, but that's irrelevant to the subject in hand, except to say that I had had a lovely time at a fun day at a local pub on the street where I live, and after listening to the live music and watching the kids enjoy themself on the bouncy castle, and, a couple of 1/2's of lager, I had gone home and signed on to Twitter as usual, only to then realize that it had been the day of the international day of protests to raise awareness and show support for Bradley.
It was then, in a moment of spontinuity I decided I would try and organize a demo in Glasgow, something I had been thinking about for a while, but not having organized anything but myself for more than a decade, had lacked the confidence in myself to even contemplate or attempt.
Maybe it was the pint of confidence from my 2 1/2s that prompted me, I couldn't say, But I decided there and then I was going to organize a demo in Glasgow and promptly posted a shout out on twitter announcing a demo for today.

My mum used to say hindsight is a wonderful thing, and undoubtedly she was right,
 I have always been the type of person who acts on the spur of the moment, my mum again, used to advise I should put my brain into gear before putting my mouth on accelerator... something I work hard to do but still struggle with even a 51...
There is no doubt that had I paused and waited before posting on Twitter and made some inquiries regarding the necessaries for the demo I could have spared myself a lot of hassle and been more prepared for what I wanted to achieve... but again hindsight ... blah blah blah...

The past 7 days I'v busied myself trying to organize the resources I would need for the Demo, I was very lucky in that someone I met when I attended a demo in London for Bradley at the American embassy in June ,was able to, and very kindly mailed me some posters of Bradley, unfortunately they had no flyers and the contact links they sent for me to email to get a supply of these kept being rejected by my email server, so with time running out I made one myself adapting 1 I had picked up at the London demo, taking of dates and adding more up to date info on Bradley's case, but I couldn't get them printed off till Friday because of financials, so it was a case of running them off at the local library printer & photocopier which in itself was not with out problem as it, for some reason i don't know, scrambled a line of the text referring to the Cablegate documents  "the secret activities of US and other states were exposed."
Anyway, in the interim period I also tried to arrange speakers , but understandably at such short notice that was not going to be easy, so I drafted some words to say myself, should there be anyone to say them to!!!
This was a nerve racking prospect for me as its been so long since I did any kind of public speaking, contrary to common believe I am far from the confident person people think I am, or used to be...having had my confidence severely rattled over the last 10years, the prospect of speaking, for the last seven days has not been without some moments of anxiety ...but I would do what I had to, should the situation arise that it was necessary, I told myself ... as it turned out that was something I didn't have to worry about!
Yesterday, I got a message relaying a phone number of a lady who was willing to speak at the demo... but unfortunately today as I was about to walk out the door I got a text message from her apologizing that she was unable to attend because of personal family reasons related to her children, which I understood , and some supportive kind words of encouragement regarding speaking myself.
Oh well... I thought, picking up the papers from the bedside cabinet,I had stayed up till 5am writing out in case of this very situation! then picked up my placards with Bradley posters and rushed out the door.

To cut whats becoming rather a long story short, at the end of the day, and Demo over , I choose to remain the optimist in regard of today's events, because I feel I have achieved something...
Sure as a demo it was something of a 1 woman affair, however, I handed out around 45 leaflets from the 50 I printed off, and even if only 5 -10 people who took them read them than I've made 5 -10 people aware of Bradley's situation and the gross miscarriage of justice being played out against him.
In addition,  some people stopped and I spoke to them about Bradley's case , so even if they go home and think about it a little I will again have contributed to raising awareness for Bradley,
In addition,as a result of today's outing I met some interesting people from my home town, and a number of tourists , some who took photographs of my Bradly display among the flower pots, and hopefully they will have gone away knowing that in Glasgow their are people who care enough about things beyond their own local parameters to make a stand for others in the world and the serious issues that affect us all, including those issues which Bradley Manning has courageously tried to share with the world via his revelations to wikileaks.
If there was one thing about my day today that left me with feeling of sadness or shame, it was when I approached an American tourist who was an amputee in a wheel chair, and asked if I he would like a leaflet, and he roughly looked at me and said he hoped they jailed him...
I was tempted to responded equally sourly and say I hoped they impeached his criminal President,
 but I bit my tongue and just smiled as he was pushed on his way, because I didn't see any need to reflect a poor representation of the people of my home town, my city, to any visitor to it, as I like to believe Glasgow is a place where freedom of speech & expression will always flourish and people  no matter their nationality or culture, colour or creed, gender or sexuality, ability or disability will always be made to feel welcome.

When I had finished handing out my leaflets I gathered my banners together, leaving 2 in the plant pot for passersby to see, and headed up Buchanan St, & Sauchiehall St in my own little solitary protest march for Bradley, by now not really caring if people thought me a little crazy to be doing so alone, because if nothing else they'd see the poster and just maybe think about it or discuss it later with friends and I felt proud to do so in the name of Bradley Manning, because as I see it, he is a very brave young man who has sacrificed so much for me, and my children, and my grandchildren, in trying to show us all  the true cost of war & the true effects of corrupt governments .
& That is why I stand with Brad & today I acted for Brad as way of thanks for what he has done for me.