The respected war reporter, Robert Fisk, has publicly said what many of us have always thought.
“...those bloody poppies again...this obscene fashion appendage – inspired by a pro-war poem, for God’s sake, which demands yet further human sacrifice [whose words “Take up our quarrel with the foe…/ If ye break faith with us who die/ We shall not sleep, though poppies grow/ In Flanders Fields.” remind us of our duty to kill more human beings.] – still adorns the jackets and blouses of the Great and the Good? Even Tony Blair dares to wear a poppy – he who lied us into a war, which killed more people than the Battle of Mons....I know all the reasons they give us. We must remember our dead. “They” died for us and our freedom. The cost of sacrifice. Remember Passchendaele. Never forget... is there not some better way to remember this monstrous crime against humanity?... But the poppy...helps us avoid a search for the meaning of war.”
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In another story - THE Ministry of Defence has come under pressure to raise the minimum army enlistment age to 18. All the bishops from the Church in Wales – including the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan – are among a number of signatories of an open letter from the campaign group Child Soldiers International calling for an end to recruitment of under-18s to the Army. Other signatories include the Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, and peace groups run by Christians including Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics and Quakers.
The MoD enlists soldiers at 16 and deploys from the age of 18, but still refuses to implement a total ban on deployment of under-18s. Even during the First World War the minimum recruitment age was 18, and only those aged 19 or over were sent overseas to fight, the letter said, although it was known that many younger boys slipped through.
“...those bloody poppies again...this obscene fashion appendage – inspired by a pro-war poem, for God’s sake, which demands yet further human sacrifice [whose words “Take up our quarrel with the foe…/ If ye break faith with us who die/ We shall not sleep, though poppies grow/ In Flanders Fields.” remind us of our duty to kill more human beings.] – still adorns the jackets and blouses of the Great and the Good? Even Tony Blair dares to wear a poppy – he who lied us into a war, which killed more people than the Battle of Mons....I know all the reasons they give us. We must remember our dead. “They” died for us and our freedom. The cost of sacrifice. Remember Passchendaele. Never forget... is there not some better way to remember this monstrous crime against humanity?... But the poppy...helps us avoid a search for the meaning of war.”
Click here for full article
In another story - THE Ministry of Defence has come under pressure to raise the minimum army enlistment age to 18. All the bishops from the Church in Wales – including the Archbishop of Wales Dr Barry Morgan – are among a number of signatories of an open letter from the campaign group Child Soldiers International calling for an end to recruitment of under-18s to the Army. Other signatories include the Rev Sally Foster-Fulton, convenor of the Church and Society Council of the Church of Scotland, and peace groups run by Christians including Baptists, Methodists, Roman Catholics and Quakers.
The MoD enlists soldiers at 16 and deploys from the age of 18, but still refuses to implement a total ban on deployment of under-18s. Even during the First World War the minimum recruitment age was 18, and only those aged 19 or over were sent overseas to fight, the letter said, although it was known that many younger boys slipped through.
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