Remembrance Day 2008 - Britain Pays Tribute To War Dead

APPA NEWS, LONDON-UK 08/11/08 - Sunday 9th of November, Britain stops in a national two minute silence tribute to remember all those who fell in the line of duty.

A sad day doubtless, but also a profound tribute to the huge sacrifice of the Armed Forces in previous wars and more poignantly perhaps, the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, where so many have died and many more have returned home ill or disabled.

Across the entire country, multiple ceremonies will mark a solemn occasion of remembrance and gratitude, all of which will be presided by official ceremonies at the London Whitehall Cenotaph, presided by Her Majesty the Queen.

This year also marks the 90th Anniversary of World War I (1918 - 2008).

The two minute silence, which will take place at Big Ben’s 11th hour strike, is traditionally observed everywhere across Britain. Airports, train stations, shops, cafés, in the streets, churches and peoples’ homes… Silence! And remembrance! And deep gratitude! And heartfelt solidarity to their families, relatives and friends.

Remembrance Sunday, always in November, but also always somehow everyday in our collective memory.

In our hearts, lies a red poppy. Ultimate symbol of remembrance, a tradition inherited from a realisation atthe battlefields of Europe during the Napoleonic wars, the First World War and again the Second World War. When earth is revolved by the furious clash of battle, the red poppy is the only flower capable of surviving. And so, red poppies flourished in their millions in the fields of Europe, growing wildly around the fallen corpses of tens of thousands of soldiers. Blood red poppies, grow also in our mourning hearts, as we wear them in our lapels.

EU Commission President Durao Barroso Hails Barack Obama

APPA NEWS, LONDON - UK - European Union Commission President José Manuel Durão Barroso has been quick, in fact one of the very first to salute President elect of the United States of America, Barack Obama, on what is being estimated in political circles around the World, as a huge landslide victory!

According to British newswires, Mr Durão Barroso has sent messages of congratulations to the newly elected President of the United States saying that “Senator Obama will be taking office at a critical juncture. There are many pressing challenges facing the international community, including the global financial crisis and global warming.”

However politically correct, the move is nonetheless a surprising 360 degrees twist, as it is historically well known that Mr Barroso played host at the Azores Summit, which he proposed himself, to Toni Blair and President George W. Bush, days before America and

 the UK embarked on the War against Iraq.

Mr Durão Barroso, who was at the time the Portuguese Prime Minister, became the nominee of choice for the presidency of the European Commission, shortly after.

Popular memory may be short, but journalism must remain independent and recall the record of that day, 16 of March 2003, when José Manuel Durão Barroso, Toni Blair, José Maria Aznar and George W. Bush met to come up with a declarative statement on the issue of Iraq, which, we may agree, presented some Peace rhetoric, courtesy of Mr Barroso, together with enough jargon about weapons of mass destruction which never

existed, based upon intelligence, which was wrong, despite United Nations resolutions that condemned Iraq but did not convey a licence to invade or go to war and ultimately, against scores and scores in Public Opinion, strongly opposed to war in Iraq, on both sides of the Atlantic.

Doubtless, five years later, Mr Barroso is right about the new USA President elect taking office “at a critical juncture”.

We are wondering and keen to find out indeed, whose “juncture” ?… Barack Obama’s?… Or Mr Barroso’s himself?

For a full transcript of the Azores Summit, 16 March 2003, click here.