I received this text from a long time friend.  I unashamedly reproduce it here.

The British Soldier

The average British soldier is 19 years old…..he is a short haired, well built lad who, under normal circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy.  Not yet dry behind the ears and just old enough to buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country – and for you.  He’s not particularly keen on hard work but he’d rather be grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the UK .

He recently left comprehensive school where he was probably an average student, played some form of sport, drove a ten year old rust bucket, and knew a girl that either broke up with him when he left, or swore to be waiting when he returns home.  He moves easily to rock and roll or hip-hop or to the rattle of a 7.62mm machine gun.

He is about a stone lighter than when he left home because he is working or fighting from dawn to dusk and well beyond.  He has trouble spelling, so letter writing is a pain for him, but he can strip a rifle in 25 seconds and reassemble it in the dark.  He can recite every detail of a machine gun or grenade launcher and use either effectively if he has to.

He digs trenches and latrines without the aid of machines and can apply first aid like a professional paramedic.  He can march until he is told to stop, or stay dead still until he is told to move.

He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he is not without a rebellious spirit or a sense of personal dignity.  He is confidently self-sufficient.  He has two sets of uniform with him: he washes one and wears the other.  He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry.  He sometimes forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to clean his rifle.  He can cook his own meals, mend his own clothes and fix his own hurts.  If you are thirsty, he’ll share his water with you; if you are hungry, his food is your food.  He’ll even share his life-saving ammunition with you in the heat of a firefight if you run low.

He has learned to use his hands like weapons and regards his weapon as an extension of his own hands.  He can save your life or he can take it, because that is his job – it’s what a soldier does.  He often works twice as long and hard as a civilian, draw half the pay and have nowhere to spend it, and can still find black ironic humour in it all.  There’s an old saying in the British Army: ‘If you can’t take a joke, you shouldn’t have joined!’

He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and he is unashamed to show it or admit it. He feels every bugle note of the ‘Last Post’ or ‘Sunset’ vibrate through his body while standing rigidly to attention.

He’s not afraid to ‘Bollock’ anyone who shows disrespect when the Regimental Colours are on display or the National Anthem is played; yet in an odd twist, he would defend anyone’s right to be an individual.  Just as with generations of young people before him, he is paying the price for our freedom.

Clean shaven and baby faced he may be, but be prepared to defend yourself if you treat him like a kid.

He is the latest in a long thin line of British Fighting Men that have kept this country free for hundreds of years.  He asks for nothing from us except our respect, friendship and understanding.

We may not like what he does, but sometimes he doesn’t like it either – he just has it to do.

Remember him always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.

And now we even have brave young women putting themselves in harm’s way, doing their part in this tradition of going to war when our nation’s politicians call on us to do so.

articleimg

Kraft Foods, sells food in more than 125 countries around the world and is opening a facility in France that will research biscuits. The facility, called Biscuit Research & Development Centre, is to be built in a suburb of Paris at a cost of around $20 million.

Known for their mistrust of banks, the French are not just stuffing money into mattresses in these anxious days of recession and minuscule interest rates, they are also putting their hard cash into cows.

For Pierre Marguerit, cows make a safe, secure investment, allowing for long-term growth from a renewable resource. Cow contracts are hardly new, but go back to Richard Cœur de Lion (Richard I).  The French word for livestock, “cheptel,” is the root for “capital.”

These are not literally cash cows. However, Mr. Marguerit says his investment in Holsteins will bring a 4 to 5 percent return a year after taxes, based on natural growth, i.e. the sale of their offspring. That compares to the present interest rate of 0.75% on the basic French bank account.

Mr. Marguerit says that last year his business went up by 40 percent, and so far this year, it has practically doubled.  He is the managing director of Élevage et Patrimoine, a cattle investment firm in eastern France, and president of Gestel, which works with farmers and investors.

Fluoride may now be added to foods manufactured and supplied in Europe.  It’s been classified as a harmless supplement, according to Europe’s highest authority on food standards.

The decision means that food manufacturers can include sodium monofluorophosphate in their products.  This is the common form of fluoride found in toothpaste and mouth washes.

The decision, by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), has angered the consumer pressure group Alliance for Natural Health (ANH).  ANH is asking for an immediate enquiry.

We have all heard it said that “money is the root of all evil” and probably thought that was a bit of an exaggeration. But when we understand how money is created in the modern world we can then understand the main cause of many major problems: ever increasing taxation; pensions disappearing; inequitable distribution of wealth; inflation; national debt; currency crises and devaluations; recessions; depressions; and even the failure of government in a democracy to govern in the interest of its electors.

Money was invented to be a tool for facilitating trade, but has now become a tool used by the rich to govern the world. If you have any doubt about that, please read on.

Introduction

Having a slim and healthy body is very much on people’s minds today. Most people think a healthy body is about being fit. In reality a healthy body is a combination of many factors, of which exercise is a small part. A healthy body is achieved not only with physical well-being but also with a healthy mental and spiritual attitude. The key to good health and a healthy body is directly related to what is put into that body and how the body is treated.

It’s horrifying to read the papers these days.

All sorts of terrible illnesses and conditions seem to be on the increase, despite the best efforts of medical technology.

It makes you wonder about the diets and lifestyle of modern man.  We’ve got old evils like polio and tuberculosis under control in this country… but new ailments are on the rampage.

Especially diabetes.

According to the organisation ‘Diabetes UK’, there are 1.8 million people with it. But there’s a million more who have it… but don’t even know it!  What’s more, it gets more common as you get older. The average age of diagnosis for people with no family history of the illness is 52.

There are two basic types of diabetes…

“Type 1″ develops when the body is unable to produce any insulin. Sufferers need to take insulin to control their blood sugar levels.

“Type 2″ develops when you can’t produce enough insulin, or when the insulin that is produced does not work properly.  This is the diabetes which usually appears in people once they pass 40 years old.

But I’ve got some good news for you. Protection from both kinds of diabetes can come in the form of a vitamin that’s not even a real vitamin!

“Why dead fish are the answer…”