over here in the good old country Harry Patch has died; as you will probably know by now.
Now I hear the Gordon Brown has 'ordered' a memorial service for those who served and died for their country in WWI. However, what I do remember is that when Brown confirmed our retreat from Iraq that there would be a parade to 'celebrate' their work in Iraq. Now will that parade still beheld or will it be merged with the new memorial service. What worries me most of all is that this memorial service will also 'celebrate' the soldiers who have fought, died or been injured in all conflicts since, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
I think that if there is to be a memorial service, then it should represent all the military who have fought, died and been injured. The war which Harry fought in was not World War I, it was the Great War, it could not be World War I until World War II, because there was not Queen Elizabeth the First, until our current Queen came along. Nobody knew that there would be another Queen Elizabeth until Queen Elizabeth came to the throne. But I digress.
I think that if anybody listens to the words of Harry Patch, it was about the dead, the young men who died, on both sides. I think that it was about the wasted lives, what did they die for, they followed orders, only trouble is that Harry was a conscript, as millions of men were, they did not sign up of their own free will. Same in other countries throuhgout the world.
I think that it will be wrong to have this memorial service. Just as it is wrong to continue to name the dead soldiers from our current conflicts. Did we read out the names of the dead in parliament during the Great War, of course not. Did we bring back the bodies of the dead from the Great War, of course not, the country would have come to a standstill.
There is one thing which parliament is consistent with however. That is that the war against Germany was declared on the 4th August 1914. Parliament sat and discussed the situation for a few days and then guess what, yes they went into recess on the 10th August 1914, and then went off to shoot the Grouse. Trust me you can read it in Hansard, adjounment debates and all that.
The situation in Afghanistan is appalling. After the Great War people asked what on earth went on, how did this happen. I have already said on your blog about all the investigations which were held in to the events leading up to the Great War, to show who was responsible. Keynes even had to write a book 'How to pay for the war', he was also involved in the issue over reparations because he and others understood the financial implications. Also Keynes had let some of his fellows who disagreed with the war down, because Keynes actually worked in the Treasury to pay for the war.
For Blair, read Lloyd-George, for Keynes read Brown. There must be no memorial service unless it includes representatives from all sides, if it is to work then it must be the largest peace demonstration the world has ever seen. Brown must announce the withdrawal of British soldiers from Afghanistan, this is his chance to do the right thing.
This memorial service must not be with flags, bugles, or a military parade. The Great War was a disaster, it was waste on a massive scale, but it was not the war to end wars, it was in reality a European Civil War, the lessons were not learnt. This 'memorial' service should also be a celebration of the European Union, a Union which has brought peace to Europe, after millions died, this is about 'Ode to Joy', not God Save the Queen.
The Great War changed our society, never again was the cry, yet we still fight and kill 'the enemy', who are the enemy. I think that enemy is the politicians, they give the orders, they have failed. A real memorial to the people like Harry Patch would be to sign a global peace treaty, to end war, to stop the killing, to stop producing the arms, to stop producing the bombs and bullets, and to stop the banks funding wars, and conflicts. Now I think that an announcement from Brown that he is supporting total nuclear disarmament, and that we will be in the forefront, Britain must announce in parliament that we will end all military expeditions and that the army will in future be referred to as the Home Defence Force and will not go outside our borders unless wearing the blue helmets of the United Nations, or join a European Army.
The War
over here in the good old country Harry Patch has died; as you will probably know by now.
Now I hear the Gordon Brown has 'ordered' a memorial service for those who served and died for their country in WWI. However, what I do remember is that when Brown confirmed our retreat from Iraq that there would be a parade to 'celebrate' their work in Iraq. Now will that parade still beheld or will it be merged with the new memorial service. What worries me most of all is that this memorial service will also 'celebrate' the soldiers who have fought, died or been injured in all conflicts since, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
I think that if there is to be a memorial service, then it should represent all the military who have fought, died and been injured. The war which Harry fought in was not World War I, it was the Great War, it could not be World War I until World War II, because there was not Queen Elizabeth the First, until our current Queen came along. Nobody knew that there would be another Queen Elizabeth until Queen Elizabeth came to the throne. But I digress.
I think that if anybody listens to the words of Harry Patch, it was about the dead, the young men who died, on both sides. I think that it was about the wasted lives, what did they die for, they followed orders, only trouble is that Harry was a conscript, as millions of men were, they did not sign up of their own free will. Same in other countries throuhgout the world.
I think that it will be wrong to have this memorial service. Just as it is wrong to continue to name the dead soldiers from our current conflicts. Did we read out the names of the dead in parliament during the Great War, of course not. Did we bring back the bodies of the dead from the Great War, of course not, the country would have come to a standstill.
There is one thing which parliament is consistent with however. That is that the war against Germany was declared on the 4th August 1914. Parliament sat and discussed the situation for a few days and then guess what, yes they went into recess on the 10th August 1914, and then went off to shoot the Grouse. Trust me you can read it in Hansard, adjounment debates and all that.
The situation in Afghanistan is appalling. After the Great War people asked what on earth went on, how did this happen. I have already said on your blog about all the investigations which were held in to the events leading up to the Great War, to show who was responsible. Keynes even had to write a book 'How to pay for the war', he was also involved in the issue over reparations because he and others understood the financial implications. Also Keynes had let some of his fellows who disagreed with the war down, because Keynes actually worked in the Treasury to pay for the war.
For Blair, read Lloyd-George, for Keynes read Brown. There must be no memorial service unless it includes representatives from all sides, if it is to work then it must be the largest peace demonstration the world has ever seen. Brown must announce the withdrawal of British soldiers from Afghanistan, this is his chance to do the right thing.
This memorial service must not be with flags, bugles, or a military parade. The Great War was a disaster, it was waste on a massive scale, but it was not the war to end wars, it was in reality a European Civil War, the lessons were not learnt. This 'memorial' service should also be a celebration of the European Union, a Union which has brought peace to Europe, after millions died, this is about 'Ode to Joy', not God Save the Queen.
The Great War changed our society, never again was the cry, yet we still fight and kill 'the enemy', who are the enemy. I think that enemy is the politicians, they give the orders, they have failed. A real memorial to the people like Harry Patch would be to sign a global peace treaty, to end war, to stop the killing, to stop producing the arms, to stop producing the bombs and bullets, and to stop the banks funding wars, and conflicts. Now I think that an announcement from Brown that he is supporting total nuclear disarmament, and that we will be in the forefront, Britain must announce in parliament that we will end all military expeditions and that the army will in future be referred to as the Home Defence Force and will not go outside our borders unless wearing the blue helmets of the United Nations, or join a European Army.