i had this in an earlier post but decided not to publish it then. anyhow, you have to add "i listened to bbc suffolk" beforehand...

but how should i have got to know otherwise that the suffolk regiment returned to bury st. edmunds the other day?!? i saw them, not because of them but because of bury st. edmunds. went there. was the third time and still has some attraction. those blokes were children. sorry for that. they really are, both blokes and children. i think it must be strange for them to come straight from being under fire into their mum's arms (or their girls). but no one forced them to do so in the first place. its free choice, doing service. even tho the service may entail the loss of life. i went to radio 4s "any questions" the other day on campus. i actually asked a question but it wasnt picked. however, there was one about the rather inappropriate treatment of british soldiers. barracks are run down, payment low, and utmost, no recognition. sure. i think it was gordon the other day who said that every soldier should wear uniform while off duty to show proudness. well, why? there was a "vote" by the moderator at radio 4, asking the audience who thinks that british soldiers are treated bad. around 95% raised their hands, scary. i was sitting there and couldnt really believe it. i thought, this is university, people should have a critical mind. people should think about whether war really is the continuation of politics with other means or not. another reason, there are much more people out there doing their service to society. public service employees. nurses. academics. volunteers. recognition? treatment?
what was the figure i had in an earlier post? 500,000,000,000 US Dollars are spent by the US government for military purposes, in official accounts. intermit it for one year only and climate change could be impeded, starvation held, poverty fought, education topped up, and there would be still enough left. i know its a silly calculation and the usual argumentation. if if if. but why not trying it? you always can invade later on... ok. i stop here.