Category: Asia

Damn. First Bruce Cockburn grows a brain, and now this. And here I thought all the fancypants types in the entertainment industry were supposed to be all anti-military up the wazoo.

That doesn’t seem to be the case here, though. Canadian-born Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels seems to be the latest in a lengthening line of the supposedly exclusively-left showbiz crowd to yank his cranium out of his colon and say what most of us have known all along:

OTTAWA (CP) – “Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels applauded Canada’s participation in the Afghan mission Thursday, saying he’s glad his native country is “back in the world.”

But the Toronto-born Michaels, one of six Canadians being honoured this week with a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for lifetime achievement, had some sharp criticism for the previous Liberal government’s reaction to the September 11 attacks.

It’s almost enough to make you want to have faith in celebrities again.

It continues. As some of you will remember, Sun Media had themselves a little experiment a few days ago. They plopped one reporter on the street in several Canadian cities (Ottawa, TO, Edmonton, Calgary, London) for two days, carrying a different sign each day. On the first day, a sign would be displayed either in support of or against the deployment of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. The next day, the opposite message would be displayed.

Well, as Thane Burnette at the TO sun tells it, they seem to have opened up the floodgates of public opinion (and not leaning as we’ve been led to believe):

While those who approached me on the street seemed to match the polls of support for Canada’s mission in Afghanistan — about six out of 10 wanting us to stay — those opposing the war were vastly outnumbered in my e-mail in-box.

The handwringing continues over the war in Afghanistan. Do we support it or don’t we? Should we stay the course or cut and run? Are we warriors or peacekeepers? What’s the latest from Bin Layton on all this? Has there been another poll on this yet? Why do we see all these antiwar types all over the media when poll after poll shows that most of us actually support the mission? Who, what, where, when, how, why!? ACK!!

For months (no, make that years) now, we’ve been pummelled from all sides by media utterly obsessed with this melodramatic gawking at our collective bellybutton. Sun Media and cnews hopped on that bandwagon themselves today with a whole slew of articles and links on their website chewing over the question of what we think about the war; including:

Waging a war of words
(Adam Clayton, Winterpeg Sun)

[…]The plan was to walk through some of Winnipeg’s busiest spots with a sandwich board sign urging people to support our soldiers in the war-torn country — and then hit the streets a few days later with another sign saying the opposite.

After my first sign sparked virtually no reaction outside the bus shelter at Portage Place on Tuesday afternoon, I headed to Osborne Village thinking I was bound to get a response from a youthful, anti-establishment crowd.

No such luck, as people would read the sign and then quickly look away.

Calling it a day, I hoped the anti-war sign would provoke more of a reaction. Man, did it ever.

Give war a chance
(Dave Breakenridge, Calgary Sun)

Trying to figure out how many people in Calgary support the war in Afghanistan should be like asking first-graders if they like puppies, right?

Drawing battle lines
(Thane Burnett, TO Sun)

Our signs gave no indication we were from the press. We were to stand silent, and let people react to an opinion.

Polls suggest about 59% of Canadians support Canadian combat troops being used in Afghanistan — with about half the country wanting our men and women to all return home when our current military commitment ends in 2009.

Despite the numbers, any debate seems low and muffled.

When I suggested this national project to test our convictions, I assumed almost everyone — as Canadians often do — would walk politely past any controversy.

I thought you wouldn’t have much to say. And I was wrong.

Battle on homefront
(Nelly Elayouby, Ottawa Sun)

A dishevelled homeless man wearing a camouflage cap charges toward me, the smell of booze wafting in my direction.

Arms stretched out, he grabs at my picket sign as I walk through a downtown underpass.

The sign reads “Support Our Troops in Afghanistan,” a message he doesn’t agree with.

“You’re brainwashed just like the rest of them!” he yells, pointing his head toward Parliament Hill.

“Give me that sign, let me rip it for you!”

A war of words
(Joe Matyas, Freeps)

Tyler Fairweather had only been on the street for a minute with his “Support our troops in Afghanistan” sign when a man in a cube van flashed a thumbs-up in approval.

As he walked to the busiest corner in downtown London in the late afternoon, the affirmations kept coming — nods, waves, winks, a few “yeses” and “right ons” and more thumbs.

Fairweather, 17, has a 19-year-old cousin enlisted in the Canadian Forces who’s now in Edmonton preparing for a tour of duty in Afghanistan.

Strong views on either side
(Andrew Hanon, Edmonton Sun)

In my case, the people of Edmonton were too polite to get up into my face, no matter which placard I wore. The one that read “Support our troops in Afghanistan” earned more honks and thumbs-up from passing drivers, but drew more dirty looks and clucks of disapproval from pedestrians along Whyte Avenue. One young woman glared through her eyebrow piercings and shook her head, but never said anything as she shouldered her way past me. I even marched into HUB Mall at the University of Alberta to see if anyone would challenge me there. But the of only people who spoke to me were a former soldier and two active reservists, both whom had done tours in Afghanistan. Cpl. Marta Rzechowka said the media’s fixation on body counts has helped people forget the reason our soldiers are there in the first place ­ rebuilding a shattered country and routing the despotic maniacs who previously ruled it. She added that the federal government hasn’t done a very good job of explaining the mission to Canadians. Cpl. Greg O’Neil agreed: “The media report a lot on casualty rates, but nobody seems to hear when we build a bridge or a school. I guess that just doesn’t sell papers.”

So, just where the heck do Canadians stand on this issue these days, you ask? Well, the online poll at canoe.ca which was put up yesterday is still running and, while the number of votes has more than doubled, little has changed:

And yes, the poll that has been running here (at the top of the left sidebar) is still unanimous. That’s never happened before.

There’s been a lot of musing of late about the media’s role in the war on terror. Just what the heck do they think they’re doing, anyway? The way they slant the news, it’s enough to make you seriously wonder sometimes if they really aren’t on the terrorists’ side and deliberately trying to undermine our efforts to preserve our freedoms (including, ironically enough, freedom of the press). Why are they like that, anyway?

Over at the Calgary Sun, columnist Ezra “The Lip” Levant publishes his take on that question today. It makes for an interesting read, I’ll say that much.

That is the lesson every terrorist learned during the Vietnam era — if you can just survive long enough without being killed by the military, the media will save you. In Vietnam, for example, the 1968 Tet Offensive by North Vietnam was a military disaster — more than half of the 84,000 Communist troops involved were killed, and no territory was won.

It was a wipe-out. But anti-war media, led by Walter Cronkite, declared it a massive victory for the Communists, demoralizing Americans and undermining the military.

The full article can be found here.

I like seeing stuff like this, really, I do. In spite of all the bawling and cut-and-run crap coming from all the usual suspects at the far left of the political spectrum, you still end up with poll after poll after poll saying essentially the same thing: Yes, we support our troops and, yes, we do support what they are doing in Afghanistan! Here’s the latest one from canoe.ca’s question on the subject:

Do the math yourself and you see that a clear majority (65%) believe that our troops should damn well stay right where they are until the job is done. So where the hell is all the “widespread opposition” to this “unpopular action” that we keep hearing about over and over again?

Well? I’m waiting… 🙄

Hell, even the poll here that’s been up for the last 3 days shows ONE HUNDRED PERCENT support for keeping up the fight until it’s one. Granted, I don’t exactly get a lot of Lefties on this site 😉 but it’s not like the odd one doesn’t pop by every now and then. You would have thought, listening to all the bleats from the MSM on the subject, that there would have been at least one of the over 20 people that voted so far would have said something other than ” When the job is done,” wouldn’t you?

I usually like to put my own opinion on just about everything, but sometimes, it’s better to shut up and let something speak for itself. The following is a press release found at newswire.ca detailing the deeds of four of our soldiers serving in the Afghan theatre and the honours that they have earned. I believe no further embelishment is required.

Attention News Editors:
Governor General announces the first-ever awarding of Military Valour Decorations

OTTAWA, Oct. 27 /CNW Telbec/ – Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaelle Jean, Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada, announced today the awarding of the first four Military Valour Decorations to members of the Canadian Forces who have displayed gallantry and devotion to duty in combat.

The recipients will be invited to receive their decoration from the Governor General at a presentation ceremony to be held at a later date.

Military Valour Decorations are national honours awarded to recognize acts of valour, self-sacrifice or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. They consist of the Victoria Cross, the Star of Military Valour and the Medal of Military Valour. This marks the first time that these decorations, which were created in 1993, have been awarded.

Note that the rank used in this document reflects the substantive rank held by the member at the time of the incident.

<< Star of Military Valour ----------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------- Name Current posting and hometown ---------------------------------------------------------- Sergeant Patrick Tower, S.M.V, C.D. Edmonton, Alta., and Victoria, B.C. ---------------------------------------------------------- Medal of Military Valour ------------------------ ---------------------------------------------------------- Name Current posting and hometown ---------------------------------------------------------- Sergeant Michael Thomas Victor Edmonton, Alta. Denine, M.M.V., C.D. ---------------------------------------------------------- Master Corporal Collin Ryan Shilo, Man., and Morrisburg, Ont. Fitzgerald, M.M.V. ---------------------------------------------------------- Private Jason Lamont, M.M.V. Edmonton, Alta., and Greenwood, N.S. ---------------------------------------------------------- The citations for the recipients (Annex A), as well as additional information on the Military Valour Decorations (Annex B) are attached. Annex A ------- Sergeant Patrick Tower, S.M.V., C.D. Edmonton, Alberta, and Victoria, British Columbia Star of Military Valour Sergeant Tower is recognized for valiant actions taken on August 3, 2006, in the Pashmul region of Afghanistan. Following an enemy strike against an outlying friendly position that resulted in numerous casualties, Sergeant Tower assembled the platoon medic and a third soldier and led them across 150 metres of open terrain, under heavy enemy fire, to render assistance. On learning that the acting platoon commander had perished, Sergeant Tower assumed command and led the successful extraction of the force under continuous small arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. Sergeant Tower's courage and selfless devotion to duty contributed directly to the survival of the remaining platoon members. Sergeant Michael Thomas Victor Denine, M.M.V., C.D. Edmonton, Alberta Medal of Military Valour Sergeant Denine deployed with 8 Platoon, C Company, 1 PPCLI during Operation ARCHER in Afghanistan. On May 17, 2006, while sustaining concentrated rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun and small arms fire, the main cannon and the machine gun on his light armoured vehicle malfunctioned. Under intense enemy fire, he recognized the immediate need to suppress the enemy fire and exited the air sentry hatch to man the pintle-mounted machine gun. Completely exposed to enemy fire, he laid down a high volume of suppressive fire, forcing the enemy to withdraw. Sergeant Denine's valiant action ensured mission success and likely saved the lives of his crew. Master Corporal Collin Ryan Fitzgerald, M.M.V. Shilo, Manitoba, and Morrisburg, Ontario Medal of Military Valour Master Corporal Fitzgerald deployed with 5 Platoon, B Company, 1 PPCLI Battle Group in Afghanistan. He is recognized for outstanding selfless and valiant actions carried out on May 24, 2006, during an ongoing enemy ambush involving intense, accurate enemy fire. Master Corporal Fitzgerald repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire by entering and re-entering a burning platoon vehicle and successfully driving it off the roadway, permitting the remaining vehicles trapped in the enemy zone to break free. Master Corporal Fitzgerald's courageous and completely selfless actions were instrumental to his platoon's successful egress and undoubtedly contributed to saving the lives of his fellow platoon members. Private Jason Lamont, M.M.V. Edmonton, Alberta, and Greenwood, Nova Scotia Medal of Military Valour Private Lamont deployed with the Health Support Services Company, 1 PPCLI Battle Group during Operation ARCHER. On July 13, 2006, an element of the reconnaissance platoon came under heavy enemy fire from a compound located in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, and was isolated from the rest of the platoon. During the firefight, another soldier was shot while attempting to withdraw back to the firing line and was unable to continue. Without regard for his personal safety, Private Lamont, under concentrated enemy fire and with no organized suppression by friendly forces, sprinted through open terrain to administer first aid. Private Lamont's actions demonstrated tremendous courage, selflessness and devotion to duty. >>

Annex B
——-

The three Military Valour Decorations, namely the Victoria Cross, the Star of Military Valour and the Medal of Military Valour, were created by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, on January 1, 1993. The Decorations may be awarded posthumously.

The Victoria Cross is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery, a daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice, or extreme devotion to duty, in the presence of the enemy.

The Star of Military Valour is awarded for distinguished and valiant service in the presence of the enemy.

The Medal of Military Valour is awarded for an act of valour or devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy.

Anyone can propose a nomination for the Military Valour Decorations. If a member of our Canadian Forces meets the criteria, submission will be made through the member’s chain of command for consideration by the Military Valour Decorations Advisory Committee, and the Governor General. For all three Military Valour Decorations, recipients must be a member of the Canadian Forces or a member of an allied armed force that is serving with, or in conjunction with, the Canadian Forces, on or after January 1, 1993.

Shortly after the beginning of Canadian involvement in Afghanistan, it was established that the basic conditions for the awarding of the Decorations were met. The gallant actions of Canadian Forces members in the face of increased hostilities in recent months have provided the occasion to award them.

For further information: Media information: Lucie Brosseau, Rideau Hall Press Office, (613) 998-0287; Media Liaison Office: Department of National Defence, (613) 996-2353 or (613) 996-2354; Public information: Chancellery of Honours, 1-800-465-6890