(no subject)
Sep. 4th, 2006 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
strangeanimal... I've already started, and deleted, this post twice.
I think I'll just cut the bullshit and post that it's pretty fucking sad that when someone who swims with deadly animals on a daily basis in front of TV cameras gets killed by one, it's front-page news...
... and when an anonymous Canadian kid gets his ass killed BY HIS OWN ALLIES in Afghanistan, virtually no one outside of Canada notices.
not that I don't feel for Steve Irwin, but you know what? he died doing what he loved. that counts for a lot. the Canadian soldier died wondering why the fuck a US plane fired on him.
RIP, as-yet-unnamed Canadian soldier.
you too, Steve.
I think I'll just cut the bullshit and post that it's pretty fucking sad that when someone who swims with deadly animals on a daily basis in front of TV cameras gets killed by one, it's front-page news...
... and when an anonymous Canadian kid gets his ass killed BY HIS OWN ALLIES in Afghanistan, virtually no one outside of Canada notices.
not that I don't feel for Steve Irwin, but you know what? he died doing what he loved. that counts for a lot. the Canadian soldier died wondering why the fuck a US plane fired on him.
RIP, as-yet-unnamed Canadian soldier.
you too, Steve.
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Date: 2006-09-04 11:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-04 11:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-04 11:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 06:25 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-04 11:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:03 am (UTC)in hindsight, replying with "tell me about it" was not my best play. ;)
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Date: 2006-09-05 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:30 am (UTC)It's all over the news here.
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Date: 2006-09-05 12:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:40 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:25 am (UTC)Do you mind if I like to this post, or just quote you?
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Date: 2006-09-05 12:34 am (UTC)and I have to use my icon now.
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Date: 2006-09-05 12:38 am (UTC)honestly, there are no words. No excuse for this shit.
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Date: 2006-09-05 12:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 12:48 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 01:01 am (UTC)Jesus fucking christ.
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Date: 2006-09-05 03:38 am (UTC)Indeed, it's sad anytime accidents like this happen.
But let's try and place it in some sort of context. The NATO air support units (Americans and British),currently commanded by a Canadian General have flown more than 800 missions in the last month and fired their weapons more than 450 times in those missions (according to the CBC) while it is little comfort to the 1 fellow killed, in the midst of a major offensive against Taliban fanatics (the largest such assembly of Canadian combat troops since WW2) it is unfortunate, but hardly unprecedented.
According to http://www.forces.gc.ca/site/newsroom/view_news_e.asp?id=1863,
"We do have procedures, we do have communications, we do have training and tactics and techniques and procedures to mitigate the risk, but we can't reduce those risks to zero..."
I choose to wait until some sort of investigation indicates who f'd up. 8-|
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Date: 2006-09-05 11:17 am (UTC)didn't the guy who bombed the 4 Canadians in '02 basically get a slap on the wrist?
damn you cut and paste html code!
Date: 2006-09-05 03:48 am (UTC)or if one prefers, there is always wikipedia
Re: damn you cut and paste html code!
Date: 2006-09-05 04:05 am (UTC)"The soldiers out there understand the risk and they manage the risk everyday...They understand sometime things happen, " said Brig.-Gen. Fraser. "The investigation, they know, will get to the bottom of this but their training, their dedication, the passion for what they're doing over here for a worthwhile cause will see them through these difficult times."
And what about Globe and Mail
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Date: 2006-09-05 04:01 am (UTC)All of these guys, to my knowledge, are from CFB Petawawa. That would be 20 minutes from here. Our town is 1/3 seniors, 1/3 nuclear plant workers and pretty close to getting to 1/3 military families who choose not to live on base. Waiting for names to be released is horribly stressful around here. Chances are, if you don't know the guy, you know someone who does.
What's really burning me up is two of the soldiers killed yesterday were Warrant Officers. I have a friend who's husband was a Chief Warrant Officer and to the best of my knowledge, that job consists of paper pushing and being the middle man for the soldiers and their jobs (issuing weapons, reorientating upon coming home, etc). What the heck were they doing in combat?! Don't try telling me this was an offensive attack. Warrant Officers don't go on the front lines... or so I thought.
I feel sad that we've lost so many American soldiers that deaths don't mean much down there anymore media-wise. I feel sad that Canadians are surprised when people die in war. I don't mean that we up here should be calloused; we should grieve and be devastated, but the sad truth is that it is a risk of the job. A rotten risk, mind you, but Canadians being there, I think, is doing a lot of good. One soldier in the last rotation wrote letters home that were printed in the newspaper. He worked in the medical field. Experiencing the war through his eyes was, well, eye-opening, but I don't know how many times he talked about helping the local people who got caught in the middle. I'm glad he chose to be in the military and be available where he was needed. And I'm glad he's home, safe and sound... until the next time.
I suppose I didn't make myself clear here and I may have come across as sounding like a high-and-mighty American (I've noticed I get lumped into that just because of where I'm from until I prove myself), but you've met me and I hope you realize I'm not some conservative heartless American prick. I'm just me. And I ramble. And I'll stop now. ;-)
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Date: 2006-09-05 11:21 am (UTC)Au contraire Cheryl, you've got a unique perspective on it, especially being in a very military part of the country... you probably know more about what's going on than most!
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Date: 2006-09-05 02:46 pm (UTC)It's times like this that I feel really dirty knowing that I work for a mainstream media conglomerate.
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Date: 2006-09-05 03:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-05 03:23 pm (UTC)