socialmedian: Remembrance Day: Goodbye to all that

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Source: The Guardian

Nov 07, 2009

Summary

It has been another bad week in Afghanistan. Seven British soldiers have died, as well as uncounted civilians, some unintended casualties of the Nato effort. Support for the war has fallen from just under half in September to a third. Gordon Brown's attempt yesterday to shore up support by laying out a renewed set of objectives by which success could be measured were undermined even as he spoke by the former chief of the defence staff Lord Guthrie, who criticised his conduct of the war. An observer from another planet might suppose tomorrow's Remembrance Day ceremonies would at the least be tinged with anger, and might provoke bitter protest.

They will not, of course, despite the growing protests of some soldiers' families. That is no thanks to the dubious new interpretation of remembrance that is evident in the stridency with which poppy-wearing by celebrities and newsreaders and X-factor judges is policed, and by campaigns in some newspapers to make leading football clubs wear embroidered poppies on their shirts. The appetite for public emotion is threatenin

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