Saturday 9 October 2010

Afghanistan



A British soldier has been killed in an explosion in southern Afghanistan.

The serviceman, from 2nd Battalion The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment, died while on a patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province yesterday.

This soldier's death brings the number of British military personnel killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 to 340.

16 comments:

Smoking Hot said...

The MOD have to be the biggest enemy of our forces. They simply won't supply our troops with the equipment they need to do the job.

The equipments readily available in other countries but the MOD ignores them. lnstead they waste millions on developing our own ... which is never available, vastly over-priced, goes over budget, never on-time and in most cases doesn't work.

Tke the bomb dispoasal robots ... they are simply remote control buggys/cars with cameras and robot arms ... with a laptop. Any technician could build one within a week from scratch ... l kid you not. All the materials are readily available on the high street.

It won't be pretty but it will work. You could even have 'toy' helicopters with hi-def/infra red cameras fitted underneath. l say 'toy' but they are highly sophisticated/reliable but very useable.

The MOD have a grat deal to answer for.

Anonymous said...

And I thought this would all change with the change of government.

Silly me. Will I never learn?

subrosa said...

Remember during the election campaign Cameron repeated he would set up a War Cabinet Tris?

A few met the first week he was in office and there's been nothing since.

I never learn either.

hatfield girl said...

There are times, SR, when I hardly dare look at your posts.

RMcGeddon said...

Hague said that Afghanistan was 'the biggest priority' and he would give it all his attention if he got into power. Well as soon as he got into power he said at the UN that global warming was 'the biggest priority' and that we need to 'step up our game ' on reducing CO2 emissions.
Why do we ever believe anything these drones say ?

I see Mr Hosie has had some replies to his supportfor the smokestack planned for Dundee's waterfront...

http://www.thecourier.co.uk/Opinion/Readers-letters/article/6093/october-8-time-for-local-champion-to-live-up-to-promise.html

His wife Shona is also a politician and they trouser about £200K a year between them.

subrosa said...

They do indeed SH and the MoD are totally responsible. Their system of procurement is possibly the slowest and most cumbersome in any western country.

They argue for so long with experts and refuse to accept the word of those who know what is required.

Some years ago I remember speaking to an Army officer who'd been working with the Australian army for a few months. He was astonished at the quality of the Australian's equipment. They had phones which fitted in the palms of their hands and were very reliable. We still had phones half the size of a brick and they were notoriously unreliable. It wasn't the fault of the Royal Signals, it was the MoD's refusal to talk to those who know everything there is to know about communications. They refuse to pay for the best - which often isn't much more.

subrosa said...

Hague is presently a big disappointment to me RM. I don't believe anything these days. I'm in limbo. :)

Ah, I spent ages last night looking for Mr Marshall's original letter RM but couldn't find it on the site. It's not under letters 29 September.

I'm still going to write about this today because Hosie's language is that response of his is pompous and completely unacceptable.

subrosa said...

Sorry HG, I'm sure you realise I've no wish to upset anyone. It's important we record the lives lost though.

RMcGeddon said...

Yes Hosie has been abysmal as usual.
Mind you his wife seems to have been posted absent aswell over the Dundee FC fiasco. She enjoys free entry to matches at Dundee FC ( and Dundee Utd) so you would expect at least some message of support or something over their impending demise.

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/msp/memberspages/shona_robison/roi.htm

subrosa said...

Funny you should say that, I mentioned that last night when I saw the news on STV.

Maybe it's because she's too occupied in Delhi. You know it's not easy being a global player.

RMcGeddon said...

Well the Dundee FC fiasco has been going on for months SR so I don't think she can use Delhi as an excuse.
While supporters stop going to matches because of the cost she enjoys free entry. Plus free entry to the executive hospitality at Dundee United via her hubby.
The last time Dundee FC went into administration local suppliers lost thousands and people were laid off. The same thing will happen again yet no politicians seem too bothered. Mention anything to do with 'green' issues though and the SNP are sniffing around like bloodhounds. Ready to throw billions at it. Poor deluded brainwashed fools.

subrosa said...

That's a disgrace she gets in free. Didn't do much for Dundee FC did it.

I remember well the problems last time. Surely she could at least ask the bank to reconsider this time. Hasn't that kind chap coughed up £200,000 this week to help?

Mind you RM, as for football in general, I really feel the rules need to be radically changed. How clubs are allowed to run up such huge debts beats me and the likes of Dundee doesn't stand a chance against the big boys.

They brought many happy hours to both my grandpa and Dad and they could watch the matches from the living room window on really bad days. (I lived in Dens Road and a top flat).

RMcGeddon said...

SR. The £200K from Melville isn't enough. They owe HMRC about £350K.
Melville promised to cover day to day expenses for the club but seems to have changed his mind.
The £350K HMRC bill has built up over a year so who knows what happened to the fortnightly reminders from HMRC.
Politicians could step in and talk to HMRC but seem unwilling to do so.
Many Dundee FC fans lost faith when Jocky Scott was sacked last season despite Dundee being top of the league with 12 clear points. They went on to miss out on promotion to the SPL and it's been downhill from there.
Dens Rd seems to have gone downhill. The usual scourge of drugs and 3rd world immigration.

Strathturret said...

Come on politicians cannot go to HMRC and ask them to cancel Dundee's tax problems. This is not a banana republic.

Dundee FC's main problem is a long list of unsavioury owners.

subrosa said...

Did I say that Strathturret? I don't think so. What I would expect is that the local politician would acknowledge the problem by saying something like "I'm sorry to hear about Dundee FC's problems and do hope they can resolve them."

To suggest I think she should approach the tax office is laughable but to show her electorate she's aware of the situation is courtesy. No Dundonian, unless a Dundee FC supporter, would expect her to offer to take any action. Regardless of your opinion of Dundonians we're not all that daft.

RMcGeddon said...

strath..

" Come on politicians cannot go to HMRC and ask them to cancel Dundee's tax problems. This is not a banana republic."

Politicians do go and ask. Not to cancel the debt but to reschedule it. When Highland Airways went bust with tax debt Danny Alexander lobbied Treasury Ministers as HMRC were reneging on their promise to handle debt with sensitivity during the depression.
Now with Danny being Chief Sec to the Treasury he won't mind some lobbying from the SNP or whoever is interested. Especially with HMRC making errors with 8 million taxpayers accounts.
Worth a go at least.

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