Neo-Conada Screws Dead Soldiers
What a disgusting, cynical political ploy Harper is pulling by not lowering the flag for Canada's 4 fallen soldiers. He says he is restoring tradition. I say he is trying to avoid making unpopular deaths more conspicuous. It's a cheap PR strategy to help maintain support for being complicit in a US-driven war and nothing more. Instead of letting Harper off easy with a simple mouth full of Bush's lumpy jizz, I say we shove a rifle in his fucking cowardly baby-soft, white knuckled hands and throw his white collared ass out in front of a hail of bullets and bombs.
UPDATE: Today, the Globe, Star and Post all ran pictures of the Canadian soldiers' coffins, draped in our flag, returning home. Be thankful that, at least, we haven't sunk to the propagandic control of the media that the US has - yet. But Harper is working on it.
DOWNDATE: Apparently, I spoke too soon yesterday. King Harper issued another censorship edict. No more media coffin shots. Welcome to the US. Please spread your legs and bend over while we check you for personality and individual thought.
UPDATE: Today, the Globe, Star and Post all ran pictures of the Canadian soldiers' coffins, draped in our flag, returning home. Be thankful that, at least, we haven't sunk to the propagandic control of the media that the US has - yet. But Harper is working on it.
DOWNDATE: Apparently, I spoke too soon yesterday. King Harper issued another censorship edict. No more media coffin shots. Welcome to the US. Please spread your legs and bend over while we check you for personality and individual thought.
posted by K-Dough at 7:00 AM
63 Comments:
in substance, I think you are crazy. in style, I think you are devine. funny. eh?
Not at all. I will defend my substance vigorously on this topic.
I am not crazy- I'm passionate.
"Lumpy jizz?" Ew...
Still, great post. I think the progressive bloggers should devote one entire week to expressing the legitimate and focussed anger that these idiotic neo-cons have engendered among sensible people.
And ban every neo-con troll that shows up. Bwahahaha...
Since harper is talking about the flag at Parliament Hill, maybe everyone in the country should respond by having their flags at half mast.
Absolutely!! Well said!
By keeping their CanadianAlly as ignorant of the sacrifice demanded of troops as many Americans for economic purposes, ="http://thiscanadian.typepad.com/this_canadian/2006/03/im_afraid_of_am.html">NeoCon pseudo-Canadians hope to slither up to the NeoCon agenda down South.
I can't stand the way Harper just gets off on being one of them Good Ol'Boys with that whole Bohemian Grove crowd.
They're, 'selling (Canada) by the pound'
its repulsive & its disturbing.
BlueBerry Pick'n
can be found @
ThisCanadian.com
Silent Freedom is Freedom Silenced
I exploded when I heard this today and went on a 10 minute rant.It's such a lack of respect. It's bad enough that Canadian soldiers are dying over there, but to not lower the flag due to "tradition" is just an insult.
Glad to see some others are as pissed as me.
And as far as banning neo-con trolls I don't really get any here. They tend to shy away from honesty and foul language -kinda like fundamentalist religious zealots. They like to keep the nastiness hidden deep inside, in dark, musty places with their fetish porn, nipple clamps and embezzlement proceeds.
Leather- maybe we'll go for the gold- the big 200- on this thread. What say ya dudes 'n babes?
I agree with you K-dough.
Marksomething, the justification, if you need one, for the flags to be lowered for the soldiers is that they were servants of the state. It is also tragic when people die by drug overdoses or in confrontations with the police, etc., just like it's tragic when people die by exposure during the winter, or in cancer wards. The point is, those people are not doing so in the service of the country, as a result of their job in other words. The very least the state can do in return is to show those people the respect of lowering the flag when they lose their lives.
This is an absolute disgrace. Shame on Steven Harper! I never thought even he could sink so low.
marksomething- You raise some very good points that have a lot to do with broader philosophical discussions of states, economies and power: i.e. political economy.
While I believe you are very earnest, I think you could benefit from refining and sharpening those views, through, say further "formal" study. That said, I don't believe formal study is essential for understanding how the world works- but it can help your focus and expression.
Not everything is digestible on a "meta" level- the level on which you tend to view most discussions. I believe it is an essential skill to be able to see the forest for the trees though, which you clearly try to do.
You need to make more solid and complex connections between commerce and war, politics and commerce, etc. Not easy tasks for a simple blog comment.
Just my opinion.
Disclaimer: By the way, I apologize for arbitrarily getting all serious on yo' assses, esp., after posting the phrase "lumpy jizz". Not a good example of formal expression. But, as coke head and wife beater Bobby Brown says, "It's my prerogative"..
I agree k-dough. I was livid when I read this. Our soldiers are giving their lives for their country. They endure conditions most of us would not even consider, especially for the pay they receive and the hardships they go through as a result of their service. Whether you agree with Canada's mission in Afghanistan or not, we should show our soldiers respect. Given what they are going through, the least our leaders (who sent them/keep them there) can do is lower the flag. It's an easy thing to do, but it's a powerful statement and sends an important and meaningful message. Seems like pretty easy thing to do when you compare it to what our soldiers go through every day.
I think the original point was dead on. Clearly more deaths will come and the powers that be know this. The thought of having the flag on Parliament Hill at near-perpetual half mast for months to come will not sit well with the public and media.
Remember, Americans aren't allowed to see the returning caskets being unloaded off the military cargo planes.
Chucker,
That is K-Dough's unique talent; he can take any commentary from the disturbing to the absurd and turn it into a Picasso.
Harper does his minority administration no favours by constantly testing the waters of public tolerance for control-freakishness. A real shame, since he is a very intelligent man. We've gone from Martin's ping-ponging cloddishness to a sense of superiority and indifference in one quick election.
I feel absolutely sick for the families of the fallen soldiers.
leather- flattery will get you everywhere sexy man. Well, almost everywhere. Don't plan on any Bush-Harperesque trysts between us, unless of course you are buying the booze- then it's all pants off and flag up the pole baby!
yes, yes, every one of us is a "special little snowflake". Who can 'argue motherhood'?
but the point is: these FELLOW CANADIANS made a contract to defend our Country. They placed their TRUST in US to honour their committment & to not place them in harm's way unless for a real necessity.
They joined for their own reasons, money, education the call to defend & protect, or just adventure.
This is NOT a respectful use of their trust.
They trust CANADIANS to honour their dedication, trust & welfare.
The Afganistan operation is backfilling the CorporateWar waged by the US & Britain.
Should we ignore their contributions, their pain & fear?
NO! I didn't ask anyone to die in a snowdrift, or OD in a stairwell. We asked Canadian Forces to contribute Life & Limb.
That is worth giving a moment, a second's pause when noticing a flag is down.
How many people don't even KNOW they died, but might if they saw a flag & bothered to inquire.
Harper is playing on their ignorance.
for shame that we cannot publically recognize the loss suffered by fellow Canadians.
Blueberry: Nice, substantive, well-written comment.
Today's Star is saying Bin Laden is reportedly in Afghanistan now. Bullshit U.S. intelligence reports like this are sure to bolster the PR-ammo of the tiny testicled hawkish Harpies.
K-Dough,
I agree with Harper on not lowering the flag and before you jump all over me, just remember that my uniform is still hanging in my closet and it still fits me.
So, why would I agree with Harper? Because I've stood at attention at Military funerals, but, didn't read a goddamm word about the military deceased in the paper or see the flag lowered on Parliament Hill.When a Canadian serviceman gets killed on duty, in uniform, on the 401, the flag isn't lowered on Parliament Hill. When the last Canadian pilot killed on exchange duty in the States was brought back to Canada, the flag wasn't lowered on Parliament Hill.When the boys in Wainwright or Suffield or Pettawa get killed on duty, the flag doesn't get lowered on Parliament Hill. They still wore the uniform of their country and their lives are just as precious as the lives of those lost on foreign soil.Why does it matter where or how they die, one life is just as important as the other. I don't hear politicans and the MSM bleating their stupid heads off about the troops who die at home!Fuck No! The politicans only concern is how they are going to screw the suvivors out of any benefits they have coming to them.Do you think any of the young wives of the boys killed overseas are going to get anything from the military after the intial hue and cry is over. Give your head a shake! After the bugles have blown and the lights are turned off on the TV cameras, the families will be on their own. Oh, sure, they'll be assigned an assisting officer who will forget to return phone calls and in some cases, the widow will have to prove her husband died on duty. No Shit! Seen it all, K-Dough. This outpouring of support for our troops is just hot air from our politicans. Don't trust a fuckin one of them.
So, Prime Minister Harper, until you can lower the flag for all my brothers and sisters in uniform who die for their country, keep the Maple Leaf up high for all of those who serve and to them I say:
I SALUTE YOU!
Sorry Old Squid, but isn't lowering the flag in this instance progress on the front you argue for?
By lowering the flag when troops die like this, aren't we on the path to commerating more and more of those less known souls, those people who died in service to their country?
Knowing some active servicemen, I know that "support" be it from the government, or the citizens, is at best often a speech act and at worst non-existent, but isn't lowering the flag at least for most people, a moment to wonder when they're passing a government building, "who died"?
If we can lower the flag for Trudeau, we can lower the flag for a private who died serving their country. That's the kind of progress I think everyone can agree on.
My personal viewpoint is that the flag being lowered to half-mast has become so overused in the past decade or so that the gesture has lost a lot of its former significance for me.
Having said that, it has become one of the popularly accepted ways in which we, as a society, show grief and solidarity, and Harper is being a schmuck in failing to acknowledge the fact.
but the principle or tradition should be robust enough for all situations.
here, we have intermittent loss of life, and the urge to mourn them individually and publicly. (with first respect given to family, friends and colleagues).
in a larger-scale war, like WWII of Korea, there would be the flag at half-mast permanently. It would be an unacceptable condition, thus the tradition of keeping the flag flying high, with pride.
please don't crucify me for saying this.
good point about our provincial police, national police and municipal police.
Squid- as always, I don't think we are far apart in terms of personal history or sentiment. Although, I might not use the word "cunt" as a persuasive highlight of my argument.
I might not have been in the army, but I grew up on the mean streets. Friends died and killed, or should have or might as well have. I almost did several times. I know what it is to be tough. I know what it is to have tough as your creed. I might live a cushy, soft pillowed life now, but that is not my roots- I assure you.
I don't agree with the policy that put those people there, but I still don't think we should be minimizing their deaths. They are dying due to a deadly mix of unwavering loyalty and political decisions. The only logical way I see around not honouring them is if you believe they deserved it because they were fucking stupid enough to join the army. But that does not wash with me.
That said, this is the kind of moral issue that needs to be debated by men (and manly women) over pints in a proper setting.
Just Society- thanks for presenting an argument that no self-serving Convserative could ever disagree with (i.e. Trudeau).
Chucker: No crucification forthcoming- wouldn't want you to become the example for another several hundred years of religious zealots.
But seriously, when you said "WWII or Korea"- there is a huge historical difference between those times and now. Not only in a global geo-political sense, but in a technology of warfare sense.
Apples/oranges in my eyes.
Harper needs to get that flag flying high now because if he doesn't do it fast, it's sadly going to remain at half mast in the days and months to come... so to speak.
SIDE-BAR COMMENTARY
Christ, what a collection of interesting people. I'm in awe. The wealth of knowledge and experience in this collection of comments is positively humbling.
"Apples/oranges in my eyes."
But that's my point too. The principle should accommodate situations that are apples and oranges.
Now that we have a basket of oranges, are you convinced it will be oranges forever? What happens if we get more apples - then your orange policy does hold up.
So, something that stands for both oranges and apples.
CC: It's all about fruit with you isn't it?
K-Dough,
My heart flies at half-mast for those who die in uniform. I was barely nineteen when I helped bury my first comrade-in-arms. I still remember his face. Over the years there were more and I'm ashamed to say I don't remember their faces because after a while things blur.Only their names remain fresh. Old politicans send young men and woman out to die and that's the way it's always been.Harper ain't doing anything different. Honest to God, if I were young enough, I'd be back in that uniform that's hanging in my closet and if I were to bite the big one, I sure as Hell wouldn't want someone lowering the flag on Parliament Hill 'cause I did my job.Where it counts is in the Regiments, the Squadrons or the Ships, not some fucking place occupied by greasy politicans who stripped our Forces to bare bones minimum and still expect them to die in far off places.. If people want to honour our fallen, they should go on line and find one of those sites the soldiers log on to and send a letter to a soldier. That's better than a flag lowering on Parliament Hill any fucking day!
k-dough, not at all, I talk alot about potatoes to. Especially when I'm pretending to be a Catholic priest who specializes in exorcisms.
Squid- alternatively, we could vote for someone who would keep the boys at home where it's fucking safe, shovelling snow on the side streets of Toronto!!!
Ahhh CC- I loves ya 'bye.
Vive les habs!
K-Dough,
That would be the NDP because the Lib sent the boys and girls over there nad the Cons are keeping them there. But, Holy Fuck, dude, can you imagine what would happen to the rest of the country if the NDP were in charge. BTW, it's a soldiers job to fight. Then again, from what I hear, the streets of Toronto is just another battleground without sandfleas!
This issue was being discussed this morning on local talk radio. A couple of soldiers called in and pretty much echoed the Squid, but every civilian caller was adamant the flag should be lowered.
All agreed that the best way to honour the soldiers was to give them the proper tools they need to do the job!
Squid is Canada's every man- with a slightly sour mind and excessively obscene tongue.
K-Dough,
If you think I'm obscene, you should listen to my older brother!
What's his name? I may have.
K-Dough,
His name is "The Second Oldest Squid" because there's one older than him.
Geez Louise- how many of you Squidlets did Mama Squid squeeze out dude?
K-Dough,
Do you mean including the girls?
"Ohhh! now he will lay eggs! "
"enjoy!"
Bulletin!We HAVE sunk to the propagandic control of the media that the US has! On CTV's Mike Duffy tonight (Monday the 24th)we heard that the PMO will not allow journalists in future to witness and report on the arrival at Trent airforce base of fallen Canadian soldiers. Bush lite, anyone?
Emily,
Is that a typo? Trent?
There is a base at Trenton, Ontario. Is that what you are referring to?
Hi all,
Please check out my post on Just Society (see the link on the right-hand side of K-dough's home page).
Harper has promised to give the military the resources to increase the odds that they will come home safely.
I'd take THAT kind of support / respect for our military and their families - over what the Liberals offered for 13 years - anytime. And I'm sure their families feel the same.
Talk about Bizarro-world. The Liberals sent our kids off in tin pot helicopters, leaky subs and wrong-coloured fatigues. And they died regularly because of it.
And when the bodies came home, the Liberals had the gall to pretend that they cared.
They did all of the cheap visuals... they lowered the flags, showed up at funerals and shed crocodile tears in front of cameras.... using the corpses to score political points. Disgusting.
As for the visuals at Trenton, Harper is in a no-win situation.
The Liberals are already calling it Harper's "Vietnam", as though they had nothing to do with us being there. And the media hates Harper so badly they're going along with it.
When someone hates your guts, there is no upside to kissing their ass. So why bother?
Hey, and did you see that the Conservatives have settled the Liberals' softwood lumber mess?
gwgm is back!
gwgm,
I agree with a lot of what you say, except for the part about banning the media from Trenton Airforce Base. That's a mistake. I say,let the Nation see the boys coming home. It doesn't cost the CPC anything and it's up to the viewers if they want to watch, or not.
I thought this was coming. Didn't we all?
By the way, you are QUITE dashing in your new photo, K. And your Habs did very well last night.
Thanks for noticing Chuck!
And congrats to K-Dough on the success of his new organ!
I took a bit of a pause after the election, but I felt like chiming in this morning.
Nice to see you, too, old squid.
I'm listening to Taylor Parnaby on CFRB's news right now and he's having a meltdown over being banned from Trenton.
Apparently, ole' Hap has a fettish for seeing dead bodies the moment they are unloaded. Or else he has a fettish for sticking it to Harper. Either way, there's no upside for our Stephen to do anything these harpies want.
If my brother were being unloaded off a plane in a box, the last thing I'd want to see was a bunch of Greta Van Susterns, Wolf Blitzers, Bob Fifes, Blatchfords and Parnabies sticking cameras and mikes in my face, asking me, "How do you feel?"... as if they gave a crap.
These people are vultures who have no shame. They will gladly feed off the carcasses if it helps their 'numbers' and/or cause.
Now would someone start a thread about Caledonia so I can unload on that one, too? K-Dough? haha.
gwgm,
I agree. While Squid and K-Dough has a point, you know the CBC is itching to get pictures of as much death as possible for a splashy bit they will forget 2 weeks later.
Even innocuous shows like "Sounds like Canada" focus almost entirely on death and dying.
gwgm- welcome back from your hiatus is dude!!!! You've been missed.
I completely see your point about media gawking and victim privacy. My issue is with transparency and accountability. It seems to me a monumental divergence in policy to claim your entire mandate is about accountability and out of the other side of your mouth say the press should not see into the workings of government or the affects of war.
That is complete hypocritical stuffed-suit bullshit to me.
k-dough,
you've never had a 3-month love making session? (me neither, since college).
oh, and with respect, its a stretch to portray the pictures of coffins as an accountability measure. its not quite the same thing as making sure no one is getting cash stuffed envelopes.
still, I take your point.
Mighty K,
Sandwiching your post on Buzz to appear below this one caused me to miss it, and I suspect most others too, hence the low comment count over there. I'm going there now. (Pretty tough to add any more to this post, where arguments on both sides are thoughtfully fleshed out.)
I hope, for all our sakes, that this endless pissing contest between Harper and the media doesn't end up being his only legacy.
Leatherhands,
I don't blame Harper entirely for the pissing match with the media. I place 99% of it on Olsen and Buckler. Olsen is pissed at the media because she was always the ice lady and got treated as such, and Buckler is Corporate Canada's muzzle on what Canadians should be allowed to know. Until Harper gets over his fear of strong women, he's fucked, and not in the way you and I would appreciate!
CC: re: "3-month love making session?". Yes I have, but I'm still in counselling becuase of it, and the Russian crew of that fishing trawler are still in court.
I had to have my colon reconstructed, and my ass sewn back onto my legs after that romantic "episode".
K-Dough, nice of you to welcome me and congrats again! Good for you for taking the leap!
I would have an issue if anyone tried to hide the fact that Canadian soldiers had died. But no one's doing that.
We knew about the tragedy very soon after it happened. People near the blast were interviewed. We saw ceremonies in Kandahar with their fellow soldiers paying tribute to them. We know the names of the poor souls, and where their families live.
In fact, other than seeing the coffins at Trenton and close-ups of their sobbing families (this will be readily available to all when the vultures descend on the funerals in a few days), we've seen it all.
No one is hiding facts or pretending it didn't happen. They're just keeping the crocodile tear reporters from doing their Nancy Grace routines for a few days while the families receive their dead.
As for hypocritcal, there's enough of that to go around. The Liberals are passing this off as Harper's Vietnam.
And the press - who have so much vigour as they keep Harper on the straight & narrow - never seemed to have much spunk when it came to asking questions about how our soldiers and sailors were regularly killed in the junk the Liberals put them in (subs & helicopters).
That's why it rings somewhat hollow now that the Liberals and the press are showing such concern for the soldiers and the free flow of information now that Harper's in charge.
Whether or not Harper is doing himself a favour by refusing to get down on his knees to the scribes who tried to destroy him prior to the election remains to be seen.
But the fact that he refused to bend over for these bullies earns him points in my book.
No one with any self-respect would pretend that these people aren't his enemy. Good for him.
Squid,
I'll bow to your knowledge of these two women, but will add that my own attraction to strong women has cost me a couple of houses. He probably knows what he's doing.
btw- update: Harper, today, says he is banning the media to protect the grieving kin.
Next thing, he'll be saying he banned the media from caucus and cabinet meetings as well, to protect grieving Liberals.
Ok you win- from now on I am only going to think of the sacrifice they are making for 3 mins per year on November 11th. The rest of the year I will spend buying technological gadgets, jamming my fat face with trans fat laden treats and watching TV in my cushy little civilian world, while our soldiers are disembowled, blown into bloody bits, riddled with lead and attacked with garden implements.
It's definitely easier that way. I don't want to see it. I don't want to smell it. And god forbid- I don't want to hear debate about why they are wherever they are either.
I gotta go- need to re-gaff tape up my eyes, ears, nose and mouth and inject myslf with some morphine. Mmmmmm, fun!
I think the larger problem is that we give soldiers guns and bombs. If they didn't have arms they couldn't shoot each other.
We should make them write poetry to decide who wins a fight.
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