Wherever you are in the UK, we're sure you have a local newspaper.
When we came out of work in Central London this evening, we were greeted by the freebie newspaper London Lite's headline:
"1,000 killed or injured in Afghan war - Shocking toll of British troops is revealed"
Our view on the war in Afghanistan is irrelevant, so we'll spare you the trouble of finding out in minute detail.
What is most interesting though is the position of the British media.
There seems to be a continual supply of bad news headlines concerning Afghanistan recently.
Our troops have been there waging a 'war on trainspotters' for nine million years - or something - and yet it's just in the last few weeks that the media tide seems to have turned into bad news story after bad news story.
A constant supply of bad news stories will obviously have a negative impact on public opinion.
Not that this New Labour lot care a fig about public opinion. Remember the 80 billion people who marched against the war in Iraq? We exaggerate the number... obviously. Call it dramatic license.
Anyway, we just wondered whether these constant bad news stories about our involvement in Afghanistan were simply the media's response to detail as it happens or whether the proprietors of the British media industry have decided that they've had enough of us being there now..?
Sorry, we did study media and we know about the way the media can often create the stories it wants the public to get energised about.
It's interesting.
Obviously, the media can say what it likes. New Labour's war on trainspotters and photographers must be fought in the caves of Afghanistan in order to prevent people who like trains and photography thinking they can get away with that sort of criminal behaviour on British streets.
Yadda, yadda.
Maybe New Labour should just consider bringing our brave troops home and sending Joanna Lumley to Afghanistan in their place. She could sit down with them in a mountain cave - or whatever it is - and just say: "I say, would you mind awfully not being rotters and being awfully well behaved in the future, Old Bean?"... now wouldn't that save a lot of time and trouble?
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