Monthly Archives: December 2009
We Will Remember Them
| 12/31/2009 | Posted by Patti under Brave Canadians |
They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadians:
Sgt George Miok — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Sgt Kirk Taylor — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Cpl Zachary McCormack — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Pvt Garrett William Chidley — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Michelle Lang — embedded journalist — Afghanistan December 30, 2009
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays
From Missing To Grieving In A Flash
| 12/25/2009 | Posted by Patti under Brave Canadians |
On Wednesday, just two days before the world celebrated Christmas, I expect the family of Lt. Andrew Nuttall was doing what most Canadians were doing, preparing for Christmas. I expect they were thinking about their loved one serving in Afghanistan. Thinking about how they would celebrate when his deployment was over and he returned home.
I can’t begin to imagine the gut wrenching body slam the Canadian Forces members served them as they arrived at the door to inform them of the death of Lt Nuttall. The news would have been delivered with compassion and as gently as possible but how do you tell anyone news like that gently? Especially just two days before Christmas.
My heart breaks for every Canadian soldier who dies in this war. Lt. Nuttall served with the Princess Patricia Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI), my late husband also served with the PPCLI in the Korea War. His birthday would have been on Wednesday, he would have been 79 years old. Frank, my late husband, came home safely although having suffered wounds. His best friend who he had grown up with and joined up with died the day after Frank was shipped out. (more…)
We Will Remember Him
| 12/24/2009 | Posted by Patti under Brave Canadians |
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They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning
We will remember them
In memory of our fallen Canadian:
Lt Andrew R. Nuttall — Afghanistan December 23, 2009
Always Caring — Always Canadian — Never Defeated
Support Our Troops — Wear Red on Fridays
This Canadian Cares About Detainee Issue
| 12/21/2009 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan, Canadian Politics, Ethics |
I’ve been reading and listening to the reporting about the detainee issue over the last several weeks. The Opposition parties in Parliament have been after trying to get to the bottom of finding out just who knew and when about detainees being turned over to the Afghans from Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. As much as the government has tried to characterize those who continue to push these questions as either Taliban supporters or not supporting our troops, nothing could be further from the truth.
Over the weekend, I was listening to a podcast of TVOs “The Agenda”. The podcast was talking about the failure of the Conservatives to show up at the parliamentary committee hearings trying to investigate this mess. The Cons failure to show up effectively killed the committee meeting over the Christmas break as the lack of Cons in attendance ensures there is no quorum to allow the meetings to take place.
Laurie Hawn, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defense claims that ordinary Canadians are not interested in this ‘so called issue’, that only the Opposition parties are interested in playing political games. Lowell Green, supposedly a highly respected Canadian radio personality, was also heard on the podcast claiming that the only Canadians who care about this issue are the ‘lefties, who read the Toronto Star, are opposed to the mission in Afghanistan and want the troops brought home immediately’. That no other Canadian cares about this matter. (more…)
The Plot That Wasn’t
| 12/7/2009 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
On Sunday I read through Angelo Persichilli’s political column in the Toronto Star. I usually give his column a scan but rarely put a lot of stock into it. More of a gut response to his writing than any true sense that he plays pretty loose with the truth in his perspective.
In his latest column he claims that a full blown revolt is happening in the Liberal party, led by Bob Rae, and apparently deep into planning through a group of MPs who sat down to have nightcaps together after a party. The brass of them, they decided to plot this coup in a very public venue. Persichilli doesn’t identify who his source is, one would wonder if it was speculation or if he truly had a mic on the table.
He claimed that it would be pretty difficult for Ignatieff to survive as leader until the end of this year, a scant 3 weeks away. The reality is, short of executing the guy, it would be pretty much impossible to remove him either before the end of the year or conceivably the end of next year. That would require a convention and leadership review. (more…)
Harper Had That Coming
| 12/3/2009 | Posted by Patti under Canadian Politics |
PM Harper’s arrival in China yesterday started off rather bizarrely by him choosing to upstage Flaherty (who was back here in Canada) and release the latest economic update. Guess that was as far as he could get from the House of Commons. Either that or he realized what a pompous little jerk Flaherty is and decided that as PM he was just had to upstage him, I’d be frightened if I actually started to understand Harper’s thought processes.
That little political grandstand was nothing compared to what came later on.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, the number two man in China, publicly chastized Harper for the five year gap in official visits from a Canadian leader. Harper hasn’t made an effort to visit China on his watch, in fact he and his goons have taken a bit of a hardline towards China. Economic conditions and pressure from the Opposition has more to do with Harper showing up in China than any change of attitude on his part.
David Akin, a journalist travelling with Harper, tries to argue that the public rebuke Harper received is a slight to all Canadians. Technically, Akin is right in that Harper is representing Canada and its people when he’s making an official visit. (more…)
Just Who Is Standing Behind the Troops
| 12/1/2009 | Posted by Patti under Afghanistan, Canadian Politics |
Okay Harper, you opened the door on the weekend by taking a partisan shot at the Opposition and accusing them of maligning Canadian soldiers over the handling of detainees. You just can’t resist taking your grossly inaccurate potshots at the Opposition no matter where you are in the world can you?
I’ve been watching this furor over the handling of detainees. This isn’t the first time this issue has come up since we sent our troops into action in Southern Afghanistan. Neither time has anyone tried to even imply our troops did not treat detainees properly. They did what they had to do and turned them over to Afghan officials as the government, first the Liberal government and now the Harper Conservatives government, had negotiated with the government of Afghanistan. The Conservatives have now been in power for four years, they own this issue and should have been taking steps to solve it.
It is those agreements and how they, or if, they were enforced that is at question — not the behaviour of our troops. Quit hiding behind them when you need to be showing some leadership Harper. First your ministers try to portray the whistle blower, Richard Colvin, as a Taliban sympathizer for insisting on his unheeded warnings coming to light. When that fails to gain any traction, Pamelin Wallin tries to appeal to Canadians to stop blaming the troops when no one was. Then you give that some treads by using a photo op on a Canadian ship to try the same claim and then you had it repeated in the House of Commons. (more…)
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