This weekend the world marks in time the end of WWI. It has morphed over the past century into a remembrance for all those that have served in their nations military. Veterans Day, Remembrance Day, etc.

Have you ever asked someone why they served. Not in the standard casual question way, but ask them to explain why that person made the personal choice to sign their life over to the military ? That is what you do, you give the government in trade for something of value to you the right to sacrifice your life. Most who enlist don’t think it that far through, but that is the Bottom line.

Some join for the education, some join to escape home, some join rather than go to jail, some on just a whim…. I know why I joined. It was what was expected of me. Not of any over bearing demand. Family Duty etc or anything like that. It was expected of me because it was a necessary path for the direction I thought my life was going to go in. It was what I wanted. Hell I signed up twice. First time Air Force Spec Ops Tactical Air Control and Command.  Translation: you jump out of a plane hide and point lasers at the targets for the missiles to hit, but while I was waiting I got mugged and stabbed. Almost lost my hand. After working with my hand for a year I talked my way back in and spent my time throwing spec ops out of the back of planes.

It wasn’t my plan, but it ticked off a box on the path I thought I was on.

Happy Veterans Day.

The BBC: Is climate change to blame for Australia’s bushfires?

No. It’s Australia in November. It gets hot and dry there. So they have bushfires.

Jeez

A man who admitted ruining a Remembrance Sunday event by setting off fireworks during a two-minute silence has been jailed for 16 weeks.

Stuart Potts, 38, let off two fireworks as hundreds of people observed the silence at 11:00 GMT at the cenotaph in Eccles, Salford, on Sunday.

Potts set off the fireworks while sitting on a ledge of a first-floor window in a nearby disused pub.

From insultingly short sentences for murder to 16 weeks for this. Reports are that he was squatting in a disused pub. Mental health problems might be a factor. The police stopped the public from getting to him, which is a pity because a good kicking would have been a more appropriate sentence.

Nigel Farage has ditched plans to take on the Tories in more than 300 seats, after what he said was Boris Johnson’s “shift of position” on Brexit.

The Brexit Party leader had planned to run candidates in 600 seats after Mr Johnson rejected his offer of a “Leave alliance” to deliver Brexit.

But he has been under pressure not to split the pro-Brexit vote.

The party will not now stand in 317 seats won by the Tories in 2017, but will continue to stand elsewhere.

Mr Farage said his party would focus its efforts on trying to take seats held by Labour, whom he accused of “betraying” its Leave-supporting voters.

So the BXP will not contest the 317 seats won by the Tories in 2017. It’ll be a relief to some Tory candidates with tight margins. The Tories still have comfy poll leads, but the BXP could have eaten those away.

But there are still Labour-held marginals which the Tories need to get. Sir Nigel needs to back away from those seats also. Regaining our sovereignty, independence and self-governance is much too important for egos and political willy-waving. Therefore the Tories need to do a bit of backing down also. There are a few dozen seats at least where the BXP stands a better chance of beating Labour than the Tories do. In some places, no matter how Brexity the locals, tribal blindness will simply not allow them to vote Tory. So Boris has to zip his old chap away and do the decent thing.

Anti-British candidates must face a total electoral barrage.

To see @evoespueblo who, along with a powerful movement, has brought so much social progress forced from office by the military is appalling.

I condemn this coup against the Bolivian people and stand with them for democracy, social justice and independence. #ElMundoConEvo

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) November 10, 2019

Evo Morales is a corrupt torturer and mass murdering bastard, but a Marxist one. So of course Corbyn backs him.

Not even mass protests at his corruption, despotism and stealing of the presidential election got him out. Marxists never step down. In the end the military had to force him out.

With Corbyn it’s always Marxist solidarity over democracy and human rights.

#RealSearchBan
RT If You Think It’s Time To
………. LOCK THEM ALL UP#WhatILikeIn4Words pic.twitter.com/EQP94VZXmF

— alice💞 (@realTRUMPERLAND) September 5, 2018

Congratulations to @evoespueblo on his re-election as Bolivia's President.

Evo Morales and his movement have secured indigenous peoples' rights, halved extreme poverty and presided over impressive economic growth.

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 27, 2019

The socialist crook Evo Morales has been forced to resign, his election the result of widespread vote fraud. I would hope that his friend Corbyn doesn’t get any ideas, but Labour needs no lessons in rigging votes.

Yes, I remember the thrilling story-book weeks 30 years ago when Communism’s grim, dark towers suddenly collapsed. I was lucky enough to be in Prague, Budapest and Bucharest when it was happening. I thought it was the end of that horrible creed. Yet now I see Communism all around me wearing new labels, from climate fanaticism to political correctness, stronger than before . Was I wrong to rejoice in 1989? I fear so.

 – Peter Hitchens

The General Election only started four days ago. The dominant theme so far is the extraordinary number of candidates who have chucked in the towel because of something they once said. It’s impossible to keep count. With al-Labour delegates it’s almost always comments about Jews. Conservative candidates display a greater diversity of subject which bring them down.

The one common theme is social media. It’s always something tweeted, retweeted, posted, liked or shared. We now have candidates old enough to stand but young enough to have grown up with social media. So they have a pretty packed audit trail for opponents to scrutinise.

But human nature doesn’t change. We all said or did dodgy things. Yes, even me, Pete “moderate” Moore. I once shook hands with a Labour MP. In my defence, and Gawd knows I need it with this one, he’s the father of an old schoolmate and I hadn’t seen him in years. There, it’s out now and I can’t take it back.

Nor would I. I’d like to see candidates owning up to what they said and telling their opponents to get stuffed if they think he’ll offer up his head for it. There’s something truly pathetic about a line containing “I deeply regret my words ..”. No, own up and stand your ground.

Maybe the rest of us need to be honest. We need to admit that we all have skeletons and maybe have an amnesty for things said or posted a few years ago. If not then all elections will be like this. More candidates will end up resigning than making it to polling day, and vast efforts will be spent forensically analysing social media accounts.

I’m not going soft on the bastards. In fact I’m amused that the kind of surveillance most of them would put us under is causing them damage first. But many a decent politician (yes, there have been a few), wouldn’t have made the cut today.

I have a fascination for those “then and now” photos. I’m a history addict but not the museum kind. Once you’ve seen the bust of one Roman emperor you’ve seen them all. For me it’s about walking the streets and seeing where history happened. When I was in Berlin a few years ago the first thing I did was walk a few miles of the wall’s route, taking a few detours into what was East Berlin. Following your nose is as important as following a map in town.

So this link was right up my strasse. It has one of those nifty sliding things to drag across the photos. Apologies for the tech jargon there, but you might find it interesting too.

(Note for Labour voters confused about the commemoration of the fall of the Berlin Wall today: your side called it the Anti-Fascist Protection Rampart. I hope that helps.)

Berlin before and after the Wall came down. Compare photos courtesy of ⁦@morgenpost⁩ https://t.co/RrEcjY1Yss

— simon wilson (@siwilso) November 9, 2019