http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1349090

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Serving members of the armed forces are to get free tickets to see the Dons play at home.

Aberdeen FC have signed up to an initiative aimed at acknowledging the sacrifices made by military personnel at home and abroad. The Dons are among several clubs and sports organisations across Britain backing the Tickets for Troops campaign launched by Conservative leader David Cameron yesterday.

 

Rangers have pledged support, alongside Falkirk, Hearts, Spurs and Manchester United. Other organisations taking part are the Scottish Football Association, Cricket Scotland and Tennis Scotland. The campaign was launched against a backdrop of concern about the way service personnel are treated. The Ministry of Defence has been criticised for limiting injury payments and not providing troops in Afghan-istan with adequate equipment such as helicopters and armoured vehicles.

 

Aberdeen FC managing director Duncan Fraser said: “Our troops – and there are many Dons fans among them – are doing such a wonderful job in extremely difficult circumstances.

 

“It is only fitting that they should be able to watch their favourite football team when they’re home.â€

Active members of the forces have only to contact the Dons customer services department to get a complimentary ticket. It will save each man and woman £27 for a seat in the Main Stand.

 

Rangers chief executive Martin Bain said: “Last season, the club was honoured to welcome soldiers from the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders battalion and marines from 45 Commando – who had just returned from Helmand province – to the games against Inverness Caledonian Thistle and Hearts and our supporters gave them a well-deserved standing ovation.â€

The Tories now plan to contact other clubs to see if they will also provide complimentary tickets to military personnel.

Scottish Tory leader Annabel Goldie said: “This is an issue above party politics which allows us to show our appreciation for the tremendous work and sacrifices our forces undertake for us. I hope others take up this campaign. Certainly, Conservatives the length and breadth of Scotland will be contacting their local sports clubs and attractions to see if they want to get involved.â€

 

Wanderingdon, no offence, but that is all rhetoric. You haven't answered one of the many points made on the thread.

 

List the points i will go through them and answer as many as I can.

So before you decide to reply with your tree hugging drivel don’t bother until you have something constructive to say

 

In other words, "don't reply unless you agree with me".  That's a good open minded attitude there.

 

With regard to "notability"... I can fully live without "notability" if it means I don't kill an innocent person while invading their country in the name of an unjust war.

 

At the end of the day, the troops are ordered out there and I'm sure you'd rather personally not be there and fair fucks to you for doing a job I could never, and would never do. But, to claim that anyone who doesn't want us in a war in Iraq or Afghanistan is a member of the "PC Brigade with rose tinted glasses" or a hippy is frankly ridiculous and maybe you should open up your mind to the bigger picture here.

Well for a start how are you making it more safe for us when terrorism still happens?

If anything the presence of the military is merely creating more people who want to kill british people.

Why has heroin exports from Afghanistan increased?

 

In reply to your first comment/Question,

 

Before the Coalition Forces went in to Afghanistan, it was being used as a Training ground for terrorists, They were free to roam and do whatever they wanted, this was not only the terrorists who want to kill £British£ but terroists from all over the world, by the presents of the Security Force now operation in Afghanistan thier area is much smaller, and they have pushed east to the Pakaistan border as per the news briefs you will of been seeing/hearing.

 

No matter home much effort we put into it you will always get your fantics who get brain washed into thinkig thier death is for the Greater cause, but slowly the flow is leveling out.  Once we have trained the Afgha Army/Police they will be able to ensure that terrorists have no free rein in Afghanistan.

 

In reply to your second question/comments,

 

Afghan's main export is drugs, if we take it out completely Afgan would have nothing to sustain its economy, and would cause a Voild which would be a total nightmare for Afghan and any countries supporting it.

 

Currently the Allies are paying farms their to farm other goods instead of poppies, this way it cuts down the growth, only problem is the drug dealers are threating to take out the farmers and thier families, as the Drug makers 7 taliban are almost one group, slowly we are turning the normal Afganistan people into working the land to feed themselves and sell on to raise money.

 

The influx of drugs you speak about is because the dealers know that in the future the poppy fields of Afghan will be no more so float the markets now with the cheap stuff to get the money in so they can "Try" and win the war/conflict.

 

Both these answers are not the view of the Army at all, but are my own views on what I have seen and read for myself.

 

 

I read the 150 civillians died in Afghanistan in May alone due to NATO operations. People are still getting bombed to shit in Iraq by the very terrorists you claim to be suppressing. There is much more violence now than before the Allied attack. Do you believe the killing and maiming of all these innocent civillians is really worth it?

I wasn't going to say anything but heroin production in afghanistan was zero before invasion. The taliban were opposed to the cultivation but the war we have given them has encouraged them to allow the drug trade and use the money to buy guns and bombs (a la columbia). own goal scored by the uk/us army on that account.

 

They had education and schools before but the Taliban (not the faceless 'terrorists') didn't approve of women being involved. Building new schools will do nothing for the women given that the ever increasing dominance of the taliban will see those schools eventually forbidden to the women again once these phoney pockets of western control evaporate.

 

Pakistan is now becoming as unstable as we have made afghanistan, the difference being that they have a neuclear weapon.

 

So in general, any "achievement" by the westerners only serves to strenghten those we are told we we are weakening.

 

I read the 150 civillians died in Afghanistan in May alone due to NATO operations. People are still getting bombed to shit in Iraq by the very terrorists you claim to be suppressing. There is much more violence now than before the Allied attack. Do you believe the killing and maiming of all these innocent civillians is really worth it?

 

The power of the Media, look when Saddam killed the kurds? the actual fact that we are allowed to sit here and debate in this manner, when in the old iraq & Afghan this could of ment imprisionment or even death.  There will be fanatics for a few years who still believe they have a just cause to kill and injury, as the people grow tired in that area more and more of them will "push out" these people.

 

deaths of people is never "Worth It" but in the long run these deaths should not be in vain.

I don't know too much about why we're in these places but while we're at it why not Zimbabwe, Iran and North Korea too? These are countries run by utter cunts too but who are we to decide to go in and "sort" them all out? It's got fuck all to do with us so we should stay out.

 

What annoys me are the attitudes of the jumped up neds who join the army (because they can do fuck all else) and go away and come back and look down on everyone and think they're heroes. That doesn't make you a hero.

 

A soldier with a chip on his shoulder - twat.

Well I feel much safer now thanks to Wanderingdon's efforts, Westhill used to be awash with murderous Afghans.

 

 

 

 

BTW way, have the Americans built that oil pipeline through Afghanistan yet?

 

 

 

 

 

BTW way, have the Americans built that oil pipeline through Afghanistan yet?

 

That's the crux of it.

Can we not at least be honest about why we are in Iraq and Afghanistan in this discussion ?. These nations pose no direct threat to life in the UK or the US or the Western world for that matter. What they do is pose a threat to our ability to profit from areas of the world that might not be in our control if the regimes in these countries strengthen.

 

There is no doubt that innocent civilians are leading difficult and, in many cases, very pianful lives. This is the case in many areas of the planet and I am all for doing something about it. The selection process for occupation is all about what benefit the West can get from creating the insurrection in the first place, not what protection it can provide to the civillians. The result for these people in either circumstance is pretty poor. This is a critical distinction that many British people fail to understand. Its hard to blame them, its the line fed in by the government and most mainstream media. Its then chewed up into utter pulp and passed mouth to mouth across huge sections of the population. You can bet that the armed forces will be at the top of the food chain for that particular meal given that they are the ones being placed up front.

 

I have no wish to attack an individual for the difficult job they do, likewise I have no desire to celebrate with them either. We all have to face difficulty in our lives and beleive it or not other people outside of the armed forces risk their lives and suffer in their struggles.

 

People aren't going to genuflect at your feet for the role you play in securing the future profit and dominance of our country in the world and hiding behind some misguided bullshit you have been fed about 'protect and serve'. Its simply isn't the case and the quicker you wake up and smell the shit they are shovelling at you the happier you will be.

 

We all still love you though and if you need a hug and  aflower in your hair then let us know  

In reply to your first comment/Question,

 

Before the Coalition Forces went in to Afghanistan, it was being used as a Training ground for terrorists, They were free to roam and do whatever they wanted, this was not only the terrorists who want to kill £British£ but terroists from all over the world, by the presents of the Security Force now operation in Afghanistan thier area is much smaller, and they have pushed east to the Pakaistan border as per the news briefs you will of been seeing/hearing.

 

No matter home much effort we put into it you will always get your fantics who get brain washed into thinkig thier death is for the Greater cause, but slowly the flow is leveling out.  Once we have trained the Afgha Army/Police they will be able to ensure that terrorists have no free rein in Afghanistan.

 

In reply to your second question/comments,

 

Afghan's main export is drugs, if we take it out completely Afgan would have nothing to sustain its economy, and would cause a Voild which would be a total nightmare for Afghan and any countries supporting it.

 

Currently the Allies are paying farms their to farm other goods instead of poppies, this way it cuts down the growth, only problem is the drug dealers are threating to take out the farmers and thier families, as the Drug makers 7 taliban are almost one group, slowly we are turning the normal Afganistan people into working the land to feed themselves and sell on to raise money.

 

The influx of drugs you speak about is because the dealers know that in the future the poppy fields of Afghan will be no more so float the markets now with the cheap stuff to get the money in so they can "Try" and win the war/conflict.

 

Both these answers are not the view of the Army at all, but are my own views on what I have seen and read for myself.

 

 

 

Then why don't we invade every other terrorist hot spot? Anyway the 7/7 bombings and the Glasgow airport bombing were both done by British born(1 British citizen) terrorists

Check out Malalai Joya's interview in the Metro - gives an interesting insight into her thoughts about the troops in her country

 

 

I agree with one of the earlier posts, the boys in the lifeboats and firebrigade especially deserve something similar. I do have a fair amount of respect for the boys in the army, its not something i would ever want to do, however i do feel that the praise for them has gotten way out of perspective.

 

I work with pretty dangerous chemicals so people can have a better life expectancy. Many chemists in the UK do the same, occasionally there will be a death. One of the boys in my lab lost an eye in an accident. Why doesnt the sun do a "support our organic chemists" campaign? Many other jobs carry the same risks but no-one expects any praise the same way the army expects it.

 

Its scary reading the sun at work cause they put the soldiers up pedestals that may be too high for them. At least in Scotland folk can have a wee debate about it. Over here 50% of folk think the army are scum, the other 50% think they are the greatest thing ever.

 

The chances are more and more 'terrorists' will be being recruited. I'd also like to ask Wanderingdon if he has asked the person on the Bagdhad street who wonders if they are going to get blown up nipping down to the market whether they feel safer now than they did under Saddam Hussein's regime?

 

 

I worked with some iraqis in my last job and although the country was pretty dodgy for a while, on the whole they think its been worth the trouble to get rid of saddam.

Catch the wind...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohXsdbF-7jc

 

Donovan