[zzze]

Assalamu alaykum

What's with the Queen's poppys? One isn't enough for her? Like she cares more than we do?




The oldest Veteran is 111 years old May Allah guide him to the true path, ameen


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Thousands of war veterans have marched past the Cenotaph memorial in London to mark Remembrance Sunday.
After the commemoration of Britain's war dead began, with a gun blast and two minutes' silence on Whitehall, the Queen laid the first wreath of poppies.

Senior Royals followed suit, including Prince William for the first time, then the PM and other leading politicians.

Other remembrance events also took place around the country and in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Royal wreaths

This year Remembrance Sunday fell exactly 89 years after the ending of World War I, Armistice Day.

Britain's oldest war veteran, 111-year-old Henry Allingham, laid a wreath in St Omer, northern France.

At the London ceremony thousands of veterans, many elderly and frail, marched past the memorial in Whitehall to pay their respects.

Their participation began after the Queen, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles, Prince William, the Duke of York, the Princess Royal and the Duke of Kent, had laid her wreath.

Princes Charles and Andrew and Princess Anne also laid wreaths, as did Edward for the first time.

A Clarence House spokeswoman said Prince Harry would be attending a private remembrance service with his regiment.

Gordan Brown said people would be remembering those who died in various wars.

"The sacrifice, the courage, the dedication of our armed forces is what is uppermost in our minds this weekend," he told Sky News.

"As a nation we are remembering more than perhaps 10 years ago, 20 years ago, just how much we owe to people who give their lives - and young lives - for the service of our country."

HAVE YOUR SAY
Read the names on your local war memorial. Then say thank you.

Mark Newdick, Danbury, USA


Send us your comments

Among many to lay wreaths around the Cenotaph were Conservative leader David Cameron, acting leader of the Liberal Democrats Vince Cable, Foreign Secretary David Miliband, Democratic Unionist Party leader Ian Paisley and the Scottish National Party's leader at Westminster, Angus Robertson.

Former prime ministers Tony Blair, Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, also paid their respects.

More than 40 High Commissioners of Commonwealth countries also laid wreaths at the event, and the ceremony was led by the bishop of London, Richard Chartres.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond earlier took part in a special Remembrance service in Sri Lanka.

In Afghanistan, 100 Royal Marines from 40 Commando earlier held a service overlooking the Kajaki dam in Helmand province, a site they have been fighting to protect from the Taleban.

We use this time to remember those who have made sacrifices and continue to do so, in order to bring about and maintain our freedom

Chris Simpkins
Royal British Legion


Your Remembrance pictures

At 1100 local time - 0630 GMT - a two-minute silence was held. This was followed by the laying of a single wreath at the foot of a wooden cross by the youngest marine present - Robert Worth, who turned 18 two days before he was deployed.

And, with 42 British soldiers having died since the last Remembrance Day, a roll of honour was read out.

Chris Simpkins, the Royal British Legion's director general, said Remembrance Sunday was one of the most important days in the nation's calendar.

He called on everyone to remember not only those who died in the two world wars, but also those currently fighting in the Middle East.

Elsewhere, 200 veterans of the Falklands War returned to the islands for a service of commemoration in Port Stanley.

British soldiers in Iraq and other countries also held services and parades.

The Chief of the Defence staff, Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup, sent a message to members of the armed forces.

"For the great many of you who have served or are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan, the memories of the price paid will be all too fresh," he said.

"We have lost friends and comrades. Families have lost husbands, wives, sons, daughters, parents.

"We remember those families today; they bear a heavy burden, and the nation owes them a debt that it can never fully repay."

[Timbit]

Yeah, what's up with all those poppies? Weird.


This was somebody's Facebook pic.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by zzze

Assalamu alaykum

What's with the Queen's poppys? One isn't enough for her? Like she cares more than we do?

Yeh, apparently five times more

Originally Posted by Timbit

Yeah, what's up with all those poppies? Weird.


This was somebody's Facebook pic.

That's a terrible picture, Rememberance Day is to remember all victims of war, and why we shouldn't let it happen again. (hasn't been so successful I know, but still...)

[Timbit]

Originally Posted by Variable

That's a terrible picture, Rememberance Day is to remember all victims of war, and why we shouldn't let it happen again. (hasn't been so successful I know, but still...)

That's not true.
It's a whole lot of spin about remembering those who "bravely" "gave their lives" for the "freedom" that we have today.

I wish it were about remembering that war is horrible. Then maybe we wouldn't be involved in more wars today. But we're still sending kids to die, so what the hell have we learned?

I didn't even wear a poppy this year. Or last year, for that matter. I would if I could find a white one maybe, to symbolize peaceful resolution of conflict.

[zzze]

assalmau alaykum

You Can get white ones, dunno where from though

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Timbit

That's not true.
It's a whole lot of spin about remembering those who "bravely" "gave their lives" for the "freedom" that we have today.

They originally started wearing them because they lost almost a whole generation after WWI. That was the message then... to remember them and not to let it happen again. (I've participated in enough cenotaph inaugurations to have had that message drilled into me) And then they did let it happen again, but ironically by not preparing to fight. Appeasment only gave the psychos running Germany the time they needed to prepare and launch their attack. So it's kind of tricky you know...

[Timbit]

Originally Posted by Variable

They originally started wearing them because they lost almost a whole generation after WWI. That was the message then... to remember them and not to let it happen again. (I've participated in enough cenotaph inaugurations to have had that message drilled into me) And then they did let it happen again, but ironically by not preparing to fight. Appeasment only gave the psychos running Germany the time they needed to prepare and launch their attack. So it's kind of tricky you know...

Okay, and this time around, I guess the Muslim fanatics were about to take over the world... so we had to send soldiers to Afghanistan (Canada and the UK) and needlessly start a war with Iraq (the U.S.).

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Timbit

Okay, and this time around, I guess the Muslim fanatics were about to take over the world... so we had to send soldiers to Afghanistan (Canada and the UK) and needlessly start a war with Iraq (the U.S.).

... no.

To some people Rememberance Day may be about justifying foreign policy by saying "yeh, but we feel really bad about it". (I'm not sure if this is what your saying).

But it isn't to me, and I don't think that's what it's about for most people.

[Pushpa]

I thought Remembrance Day was about remembering the horror of war and the loss of life it entails, in order that it does not happen again on such an appalling scale. In principle I think it's a good thing to observe it.

However I have to agree with Timbit, that it seems very hypocritical to observe this day when troops are still busy bombing civilians to bits in other parts of the world, and still needlessly putting their own lives at risk. What HAVE we learned? Nothing! And when these politicians and statesmen put on their fake sorrowful faces and turn on the crocodile tears it's actually sickening.

War is a demonstration of the biggest kind of failure for mankind - the failure to reach solutions without resorting to violence. The word 'peacekeeper' in an international context has turned into one of the most glaring oxymorons there are in the English language. As Benjamin Zephaniah once said, 'you can bomb people to pieces, but you can't bomb them to peace.'

[the_only_one]

'coz thats wht her fashion stylish said so.. wearing with style aint that sinful u know?

[Timbit]

Originally Posted by Variable

... no.

To some people Rememberance Day may be about justifying foreign policy by saying "yeh, but we feel really bad about it". (I'm not sure if this is what your saying).

But it isn't to me, and I don't think that's what it's about for most people.

No, that's not what I'm saying. I don't even understand what that means.
I'm saying 20 years from now, we're gonna be commemorating the soldiers who died in Afghanistan too. And Americans will be commemorating the soldiers who died in Iraq.

All this commemorating and supposed honouring isn't actually teaching us to stop sending our kids to die, is it now? And we're not commemorating the civilian lives we're taking. I guess that's for the Afghanis and Iraqis to do.

In any case, about my friend's Facebook pic: I think Remembrance Day means something else to him entirely... I'll have to ask him about it. But in the meantime, you might wanna think about this comment. From a reader of The Toronto Star, when asked about what Remembrance Day means:

"Remember what? Most recent immigrants have come from countries occupied, exploited and left in ruins by European countries. For many of us, Asian Indians for example, the image of white skinned soldiers with guns bring back memories which we would rather forget."
Sri Raja, Toronto

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Pushpa

However I have to agree with Timbit, that it seems very hypocritical to observe this day when troops are still busy bombing civilians to bits in other parts of the world, and still needlessly putting their own lives at risk.
What HAVE we learned? Nothing! And when these politicians and statesmen put on their fake sorrowful faces and turn on the crocodile tears it's actually sickening.

Agreed. But observing an established day of remembrance isn't going to single-handedly end world conflict. Back on Nov 11th 1918, it seemed like it was the least they could do for the generation that died. If you don't want to honor their memory, that's a personal choice.

War is a demonstration of the biggest kind of failure for mankind - the failure to reach solutions without resorting to violence. The word 'peacekeeper' in an international context has turned into one of the most glaring oxymorons there are in the English language. As Benjamin Zephaniah once said, 'you can bomb people to pieces, but you can't bomb them to peace.'

Well, you haven't too much to worry about on Canada's part - we have no close air support... so there isn't too much 'bombing people to pieces' going on.

Anyway, whoever said that about peace keeping doesn't have the slightest idea of what it is.

[Variable]

Originally Posted by Timbit

No, that's not what I'm saying. I don't even understand what that means.
I'm saying 20 years from now, we're gonna be commemorating the soldiers who died in Afghanistan too.

I'd commemorate many of them today. Others I'd send to a military prison if it were up to me, but I don't think that Canada's efforts in Afghanistan are imperialistic aggression like that picture said.

In any case, about my friend's Facebook pic: I think Remembrance Day means something else to him entirely... I'll have to ask him about it. But in the meantime, you might wanna think about this comment. From a reader of The Toronto Star, when asked about what Remembrance Day means:

"Remember what? Most recent immigrants have come from countries occupied, exploited and left in ruins by European countries. For many of us, Asian Indians for example, the image of white skinned soldiers with guns bring back memories which we would rather forget."
Sri Raja, Toronto

To me it's personal. I've had to stand there holding flags and wreaths in my frozen fingers many a Rememberance Day, or helping some old fart from his seat to podium. I'd stand there thinking - 'when is this going to be over? None of these young people even care at all, they're just putting on a sad face because they think they should'.

But I've had the fortune of meeting a lot of good veterans, and for me, it's to remember them. So I'm glad they have their day.

Not every soldier is a trigger happy maniac looking to 'blow civilians to pieces'.

[Pushpa]

Originally Posted by Variable

Agreed. But observing an established day of remembrance isn't going to single-handedly end world conflict. Back on Nov 11th 1918, it seemed like it was the least they could do for the generation that died. If you don't want to honor their memory, that's a personal choice.

Well, you haven't too much to worry about on Canada's part - we have no close air support... so there isn't too much 'bombing people to pieces' going on.

Anyway, whoever said that about peace keeping doesn't have the slightest idea of what it is.

I don't see anything wrong at all with observing Remembrance Day as a way of honouring the generation who died during the First adn Second World Wars; the difficulty comes when we are expected to lump every other conflict since then into the same category, when that isn't the case at all. And as Timbit said, while they talk about the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq in the same breath as those who fought in the 2 world wars - which I think is a travesty - nobody honours the memory of the civilians of those conflicts in the same way.