The ruins of Old Sarum on a #SilentSunday in May 2023

#Salisbury #Wiltshire #England #GB #UK #OldSarum #Ruins #Ruin #Ruine #Himmel #sky #bluesky #tree #Baum #Geschichte #history #Fotografie #photography

Minutes and Newsletter

March minutes and Newsletter

March 2026

We are pleased to attach this month’s minutes and Newsletter for the group thanks to group member Lesley for preparing them. We do not publish a Newsletter as such but they contain a lot of material on the death penalty around the world, the state of UK politics as they affect human rights and the current refugee situation. There are also some statistical details and we are pleased to report that number viewing the site have risen significantly.

• Minutes and Newsletter
• Middle East ‘forever’ wars
• Ex Iranian prisoner to tell his story
• Threat to Jury Trials: MPs Debate New Court Bill
• How the New UK Bill Aims to Prevent Foreign Election Interference

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Middle East ‘forever’ wars

Iran, Lebanon join victims in the forever war. Vigils continue

March 2026

The 119th vigil took place in Salisbury with over 25 in attendance, as the war intensified in the Middle East. We are in the third week of attacks on Iran as Israel and the US are bombing large areas of the country. Israel has resumed attacking Lebanon with over 800 dead. Israel seeks to destroy Hezbollah who are firing rockets into northern Israel. With Iran significantly weakened, the IDF regard now as a key opportunity finally to destroy the organisation’s activities in the Lebanon. Reporting on Gaza has been overlooked recently where the death toll now stands at 72,000 plus.

This new development has resulted in consequences which do not seem to have been anticipated. The response from Iran has massively affected the Gulf states and the movement of oil. The impact on western economies is only just starting. Some UK politicians were all for the Israeli/US action urging Sir Keir Starmer to be more pro-actively involved. There seems to be some rowing back from that as its effects became apparent. The bombing of the Shajareh Teyyabeh girl’s elementary school in, Minab, Iran killing around 170 – mostly children – has had an effect on public opinion.

The war, only three weeks old in its current manifestation, has led to a massive displacement of people around the region running into hundreds of thousands. The glee with which Pete Hegseth has spoken about the destruction of Iran is especially alarming. The objectives and timescale remain unclear.

Sources: Independent, CBS, Al Jazeera, Haaretz, Guardian

Recent posts:

• Middle East ‘forever’ wars
• Ex Iranian prisoner to tell his story
• Threat to Jury Trials: MPs Debate New Court Bill
• How the New UK Bill Aims to Prevent Foreign Election Interference
• Impact of Middle East Conflicts on Refugees in Turkey

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This month’s Death Penalty report

Report for mid – February to mid – March

March 2026

We are pleased to attach this month’s report on the use of the death penalty around the world thanks to group member Lesley for the work in compiling it. It features several US states, Iran, Israel and India. We note as ever that China is thought to be the world’s largest executioner of its citizens but details are a state secret.

Recent posts:

• This month’s Death Penalty report
• Yet more violence in the Middle East
• Another execution in Florida
• Is sport good for humanity?
• Executions continue at pace in Florida

Yet more violence in the Middle East

Vigil continues with Israeli and US attacks on Iran

March 2026

For 118 weeks now, we have held a vigil in Salisbury with the theme peace in the Middle East. Around 30 attended yesterday (7 March) and the hope must be that one day it would end. Any such hopes were dashed last week when Israel led an attack on Tehran and other Iranian cities followed by the Americans. They claim that all Iranian air defences are destroyed together with their air force and navy. The attacks continue and Israel has now restarted its attacks on Lebanon.

The objectives of the latest campaign are unclear. One aspect is to destroy Iran’s nuclear ambitions which President Trump has already claimed were destroyed. The other is to enable regime change and initially that appears to have happened because the late supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei and his top aids, were tracked to a location enabling them to be assassinated. There was a hope that the people of Iran would rise up and evict the regime.

Thus the violence has continued and taken on a new life. There have been many implications well aired in the press: retaliation from Iran and its dramatic effects on the Gulf states, the closure of the Straights of Hormuz with its effects on oil and gas prices and the closure of the important air hub at Dubai. International stock markets have fallen and energy prices have risen dramatically.

It has also had ramifications for UK politics basically between those who think we should support Israel and the US and those who do not think yet more bombing and violence is a way to conduct foreign affairs. Arguments have surfaced about Britain’s role in offering support via its bases in Fairford Gloucestershire, Cyprus and the Indian Ocean. Initially denied, within days they were made available to the Americans.

The most damaging feature of this latest violence is the erosion of international law. Attacks on foreign states has rapidly become normal behaviour. As ever, it is not the leaders and politicians who suffer, but those at the receiving end of missile, drone and bombing attacks.

“The escalating crisis in the Middle East poses a grave threat to multilateralism and to the integrity of the international legal order. Unlawful acts by parties to the conflict, particularly those committed by influential states, not only endanger civilians across multiple countries, but also accelerate the erosion of the global norms that are essential for the protection of human rights and global peace and security.” Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International. (March 3rd)

Previous posts:

• Yet more violence in the Middle East
• Another execution in Florida
• Is sport good for humanity?
• Executions continue at pace in Florida
• Nigeria and Shell Oil: 30 years on

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https://themarylandwire.substack.com/p/white-hate-not-at-salisbury-university

This blogger uses #AI to write but the piece is interesting. A Republican at U #Salisbury in #Maryland invited a tie-wearing #racist to talk. The University cancelled the event.

I've got mixed views. A Princeton study suggests that counties where Father Coughlin broadcasted had higher anti-semitic public opinion decades later, so it's good he was censored.

In 2026 racists have online platforms, so IMO we should debate racism in the open and not let it fester.

#media

City Cross, Salisbury, Wiltshire, c.1905-10 - J Welch Postcard

https://www.ebid.net/uk/for-sale/city-cross-salisbury-wiltshire-c-1905-10-j-welch-postcard-223828378.htm

#Salisbury