2014 October 01 « Dr Alf's Blog

This is an interesting insight into David Cameron‘s speech from Janet Daly. It’s worth a read. Check it out!

via David Cameron: he said everything we might have hoped for – Telegraph Blogs.

Listen to David Cameron’s speech by open this link.

Whilst I am no great fan of David Cameron, at least he had something to say, rather than the non-speech of Ed Milliband.

I must say, I like the reference to patriotism. It’s good to hear. I was in a small town in Alberta, Canada, for Canada day, and I was really impressed with the passion and respect in the ceremony; an ex-serviceman raised the flag and their was silence. When I was a child and in the Boy Scouts, raising the UK flag was an equally solemn occasion. Apart from Canada, the US and Autralia are big on patriotism; what ever happened to patriotism in the UK. Similarly, there is nothing wrong with ambition, achievement and fair reward. Sadly, I fear that the UK has gone too far with social services, and safety nets.

Because of austerity, the mainstream military services have been savaged to the point where I suspect that the UK is at risk.

Let me test the idea of patriotism in a practical way with two open questions:

Should the UK re-introduce national service, perhaps along the lines of Israel, with compulsory three years for men and two years for women?
Should national service include services to the community?

Thoughts?

The Carl-Schmincke-Straße in Eltingen, a district of the city Leonberg in Baden-Württemberg in Germany, is said to be the „southern Germany’s prettiest village street“. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

English: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989. The photo shows a part of a public photo documentation wall at Former Check Point Charlie, Berlin. The photo documentation is permanently placed in the public. Türkçe: Berlin Duvarı, 1989 sonbaharı (Photo credit: Wikipedia)





#92632700 / gettyimages.com

Spiegel takes a hard look at Germany’s defense capability and compares it to Germany’s global aspirations. It’s an important article and strongly recommended. Check it out!

via Ramshackle Army at Odds with Berlin’s Global Aspirations – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

Germany is just as much at risk of international terrorism as say the US, the UK, France, Israel or Russia. But German would perhaps struggle to defend herself or go after terrorists?

This is a difficult dilemma for Germany. It favors a united approach from Europe but the reality is increasingly fractious because of fiscal policy and the Euro. Indeed Germany needs to be careful not to alienate her neighbors further – she must be conscious of right-wing nationalism in Japan making China increasingly angry.

Let me ask an open question: