This report is last years UK ceremony of remembrance in London.
The parallels between what happens on the 11th of November in the US and other countries to honor the fallen war dead is telling, especially this year in 2007.
In the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and continental Europe the day is called Remembrance Day. People wear red poppies, a symbol of a fallen solider. The red flowers were the first things to grow on the muddy trenches in northern France after the end of the First World War. People stand for two minutes, at 11:00 in silence. In streets, offices, airports, stations, shops, squares, parks and government buildings. A chance to stop and think.
It is done in silence, with no speeches, no 'celebration', just diginifed, sombre reflection for the dead of past conflicts and those of the present day.
Those in charge of the Veteran's Day events in Long Beach California prevented those veterans taking part who are against the Iraq War because they didn't have the right "spirit".
Tell The Truthiness ; Anyone who's gone off to fight on our behalf and has been lucky enough to come back alive has earned the right to say whatever they like. Regardless of what they say, whenever they wish to say it, censoring them contradicts the very reason they go off to fight.
