Comments on: Occupy London to mark Remembrance weekend

By: Roger

Roger — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:15:11 +0000

Be aware that whatever you post on this site is under the scrutiny of the security forces. It is straightforward to obtain a subpoena to any internet service provider and thereafter obtain home / office details of any possibly criminal incitements on this website. Just a reminder to those who, were this a moderated website , would have their postings removed. Keep the conversation realistic & to the point or you may be in contravention of the law !!

By: Loving the 100%

Loving the 100% — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 16:25:47 +0000

I spent some time helping out on a feeding program for the homeless in a city-centre. I spoke to an ex-services man who had been provided with a flat by the British Legion. He spoke of how it had been fully furnished with all he needed and he was very grateful. From what he told me, I got the impression that he probably didn’t need free hand-outs of food, and yet he came to the hand-out every night and hung around until the end. It would seem that his hunger and need went far deeper than for material provision. Food for thought.

By: mark

mark — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:12:57 +0000

My own personal opinion (is that allowed?)

Sky News reported yesterday that 2500 wounded soldiers (including 350 with lost limbs) could be made redundant.

Is this how we remember those who have served in the armed forces?

According to defucemanagement.com:

• Around one-quarter of all single homeless people have served in the Forces.

• They are more likely to sleep rough, spend long periods of time in temporary accommodation, and have been homeless for many years.

• In addition, homeless ex-Service people are, on average, considerably older than none ex-Service homeless.

• 70% surveyed said they had physical and/or mental health problems

• This includes just over a quarter suffering from depression, stress or nerves, and about a quarter with an alcohol related medical condition;

• 40% had been in prison and 23% in a psychiatric unit;

• Ex-Service people found the level and quality of help in finding accommodation when they were leaving the Service to be inadequate;

• Only 12% of ex-Service people surveyed had received any help in finding accommodation when they left the Forces. Only 39% were satisfied with the help they did receive. In addition, many who had thought at the time that they did not need help had since changed their mind;

• Resettlement help given by the Forces welfare agencies for people leaving the Forces is geared towards families. Much less is available for single people.

How are these lost souls remembered? Chewed up and spat out….

And then, least we forget, the despicable case Lance Corporal Jordan Bancroft. After he was killed in Afghanistan his family where told that £433 had been overpaid into his account because he died on August 21, 2010 and thus had not served the whole month.

It was taken from a payment of £1,493.04 refunded for holiday time off not taken.

What a disgrace. These men and women deserve better.

By: Mutation or Mutiny? | Think Left

Mutation or Mutiny? | Think Left — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 08:02:31 +0000

[...] Occupy London to mark Remembrance Weekend [...]

By: human of planet earth

human of planet earth — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:32:47 +0000

Dill Doe,
**** “usually I try to come up with something a little more educated” ****
I read this yesterday and started laughing………..and I am still laughing !!

By: Redscribe

Redscribe — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:39:28 +0000

Yes indeed, and in those days the working class engaged in revolutions against the warmongers who were sending them off to kill each other in the trenches. In Russia they overthrew the capitalists and refused to carry on with the war. Something similar came close to happening in Germany. But Poppy Day is not about celebrating those things, its about celebrating the generals, politicians and capitalists who sent them there to kill and die.

By: Sally

Sally — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:36:32 +0000

FYI, the “plastic poppies” are produced by veterans.

By: Redscribe

Redscribe — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 21:30:24 +0000

“Our parents fought the evils of fascism, both that which arose in Europe and that which arose elsewhere. Whatever we believe, we cannot avoid the fact that these previous generations gave up years of their lives for something in which they had a belief, to which they felt, for the most part, they owed a duty. For some it was the threat of fascism for others it was merely to defend their country and their way of life. Yes, there were those who would have willingly seen Britain, and more of the world, under the rule of regimes couched in fascist, racist ideals.”

There was no fascism in the first world war, 1914-18, and Germany under the Kaiser was not really any more or less democratic than Britain. Unless you want to count ‘poor little Belgium, which was on Britain’s side in the first world war and whose racist king was responsible for murdering 10 million people in the Congo. Don’t believe me? Look it up. Google it. Read ‘King Leopold’s Ghost’, the noted book on the subject. The worst racist killers were on Britain’s side in the first world war. And the British Empire itself led to millions of people dying violent death or avoidable famine.

The second world war was largely caused by the outcome of the first, incidentally, with the impoverishment and plunder of Germany. If Britain, France and the US had not tried to make the German people pay, then Hitler would probably have never even gained power. And don’t kid yourself that there was not real sympathy for Hitler and fascism among the wealthy in this country.- including among royalty.

And there are a lot of people in Iraq and Afghanistan who do have experience of war, at the hands of ‘our’ government. Poppy Day does, as Phillip Hammond made very clear in supporting the government’s view, imply support for current wars and not particularly showing respect for those who died in wars in the early 20th Century.

And in any case, the far right do not need any excuse. They don’t care about the fact that the camp is celebrating Poppy Day. They were planning to smash it up anyway, and would have done if the cops had not stopped them. You wont fight against the far right by appeasing militarism, that only plays into their hands and gives them legitimacy.

By: David M

David M — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 19:45:15 +0000

“but this is about the ongoing sacrifice that people here are making on a daily, weekly basis, that they all live with every day.”
I suggest that you re read what he said and then think about it. Don’t just offer a knee jerk reaction because he’s a member of a particular party or the Government.
By the way, your contributions to this, which I have come to late in the day, are grist to the mill of those who are on the far right. They prove their points quite well in their eyes.
No matter what one thinks or believes about war, it is true to say that my generation and those following it to date have no experience of the overwhelming horrors (or even the occasional human glories) of total war. Our parents and grandparents were, through no fault of their own, forced, cajoled, shamed, persuaded into their parts in these all engulfing conflicts. Little was it thought that the effects could be as long lasting as they have been………
Our parents fought the evils of fascism, both that which arose in Europe and that which arose elsewhere. Whatever we believe, we cannot avoid the fact that these previous generations gave up years of their lives for something in which they had a belief, to which they felt, for the most part, they owed a duty. For some it was the threat of fascism for others it was merely to defend their country and their way of life. Yes, there were those who would have willingly seen Britain, and more of the world, under the rule of regimes couched in fascist, racist ideals.
It behooves us to consider with care how we remember and acknowledge, or not, the sacrifices made by so many from such a wide world.(http://magpie11.wordpress.com/)

By: human of planet earth

human of planet earth — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:37:56 +0000

Andy
and all others reading Reds. post/s

Do not assume he is THE voice of occupy,

He is like you and me, one person with a viewpoint. !