MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 6 July 12

• Afghanistan  “Logistical chaos on the ground at Pakistan’s largest seaport along with truckers’ demands for more money mean hundreds of tonnes of Canadian military equipment remain stranded in Afghanistan despite the opening of the border to NATO traffic after a seven-month closure. The first truck carrying NATO supplies finally crossed from Pakistan into Afghanistan Thursday but 446 sea containers of Canadian Forces materiel stored in Kabul and Kandahar won’t be moving any time soon, according to the contracted freight company. “Things are very chaotic,” said Alda Rodrigues, president of Montreal-based A.J. Maritime. “Nothing is happening right now — it’s quite a nightmare.” ….”
• Afghanistan (sort of)  “A Manitoba MP is calling for a review of Heritage Canada funding, following the release of a music video he says glorifies terrorism. The video by rapper Manu Militari shows a re-enactment of a roadside bomb attack on a Canadian military vehicle and the murder of Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. Selkirk-Interlake Conservative MP James Bezan said the video glorifies the Taliban. “I am disgusted by Manu Militari’s music video. It is outrageous, offensive, and I denounce it in the strongest terms,” Bezan said. “Our men and women in uniform have fought with dedication and valour, sacrificing their lives in defence of the values that we hold dear. “Canadian soldiers have been fighting in Afghanistan for over 10 years now. This music video shows an utter lack of sensitivity to the families of the 158 brave Canadians who have sacrificed everything for our country.” He wants Militari to return grant money he was given by MusicAction, an independent organization that receives funding from Heritage Canada. “I think that the artist should be allowed to say whatever they want. I do believe in freedom of expression and freedom of speech and making sure that their artistic talents can take them where they want. But I don’t believe that this is proper use of taxpayer dollars,” he said. Bezan is also calling for a review of all grants MusicAction manages that involve taxpayer money ….”
• Good questions …. “Does freedom of speech include the freedom of Canadian rappers to make music videos glorifying Taliban terrorist attacks on Canadian troops? As odious as that is, the answer must be yes. Manu Militari, a Montreal rapper, has done just that. It’s almost as sick as the snuff movies allegedly made by Luka Magnotta. Of course, Militari didn’t actually kill anybody. He just indulged his fantasy of it happening. Which is about as sick. But that’s the thing about freedom of speech. We have to give it to people we despise if we want it for ourselves. It’s unlikely that any of us will ever be quite as offensive or macabre in our speech. But each of us will surely, at one point in our lives, say something that offends someone — maybe even something that offends everyone. But. And there’s a big but here — a $110,000 but. That’s the amount of money that you and I were compelled to give Militari since 2008 to subsidize his “art,” by way of taxpayer-funded government grants. That’s almost as sick as the snuff video Militari himself made ….”
• “Defence Minister Peter MacKay’s political obituary appeared all but written following revelations a military helicopter was used to pick him up from a fishing trip, he misstated the cost of the Libya mission and his department bungled the $25 billion F-35 project. Then came word from Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Thursday that there will be no major ministerial shuffle before Parliament resumes in September — meaning MacKay will be staying put at National Defence for the foreseeable future. Whether Harper decided to leave MacKay untouched because of his importance to the party, his ties to the Atlantic region, because he’d done a good job or to prove a point is a matter of sharp debate. What is not is MacKay’s record for emerging unscathed when the consensus among pundits and experts seems to be his time has come ….”
• Military historian Jack Granatstein on someone asking him if the Harper government was using the military for political purposes  “…. many of our governments and leaders have used the military for their own political ends. Mike Pearson earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in creating the UN Emergency Force in Suez in 1956, then became Liberal leader and prime minister on the strength of the kudos. It took almost no time before John Diefenbaker predictably claimed that peacekeeping had really been his idea. Paul Martin, Sr., was instrumental in creating the UN force for Cyprus in 1964 and thought that if he received a Nobel Prize he too could become prime minister. Brian Mulroney put the national peacekeeping monument in Ottawa to demonstrate his commitment to the idea of Canada as a peacekeeping nation, and both he and Jean Chrétien almost broke the army by sending our then ill-equipped soldiers on every peacekeeping operation going in the 1990s ….”
• One Canadian aid worker’s story about being rescued in Somalia  “It was a nerve-racking five minutes after days of high tension. An operation to rescue four foreign aid workers abducted into Somalia was sprung as they were resting after yet another gruelling night march. But as the kidnappers started running and the crack of gunshots echoed in the air, it wasn’t immediately clear what was happening. “We were a bit panicked,” Qurat Ul-Ain Sadozai, one of two Canadians freed in the operation, said Wednesday in a telephone interview from Nairobi. Huddled against the ground in a thorn-bush, the aid workers waited tensely. Ms. Sadozai said she wasn’t worried about being killed but was concerned the foreigners, who had been treated comparatively well, could end up in the hands of a different kidnap group. The foreigners kept their heads down for more than five minutes. A group of about 20 men in fatigues finally appeared in place of the kidnappers. They were armed, but friendly ….”
• One day, it won’t be news anymore that a woman is in charge of a base  “When Col. Tammy Harris takes over at CFB Borden Friday, she assumes command of Canada’s largest training base, a sprawling enterprise that employs 3,250 military members and 1,500 civilians and trains 15,000 military personnel per year. Equally sizeable is the milestone: Harris becomes the first woman to head a Canadian Forces base. “I am honoured that I am the first woman,” Harris told the Star. “But I think in 2012, I’d hope it’s becoming more of the rule than the exception.” ….”
• Aboriginal Canadians getting a taste of the military in northwestern Ontario  “First Nations youth who are interested in joining the military can use the Bold Eagle program at the local Army Reserve Unit. Master Bombardier, Lynn Danielson explains the program. “Gold Eagle is an initiative, first established by Saskatchewan First Nation’s Elders, in order to get youth involved in the military, but having a cultural component at the same time. This is simply because the military culture and aboriginal culture are diametrically opposed,” she said. “The goals of the Bold Eagle are for First Nations Youth, ages 16 to 24, to give them a chance to see what military life is like,” she said. She adds that it also gives them a chance to see how far they can push themselves ….”
• Vets sought for Oil Sands work  “When Heather Reid broke her ankle in a training exercise after seven years in the military, she suddenly found herself in an unfamiliar place: the job market. But then she found Alberta’s Prospect Human Services, a job agency tha t launched a program this year tailored to Canada’s veterans. The program immediately caught the attention of the oil industry, which has been struggling with a critical labour shortage since the middle of the last decade. Traditional labour pools, such as employees who commute from the country’s east coast, are not deep enough to meet demand in an industry that needs to fill at least 9,500 jobs by 2015, and between 50,000 and 130,000 positions by 2020. And while the efforts of agencies like Prospect to reach injured and retired veterans from Canada and the United States will not solve the labour problem on their own, they serve as an example of the creative thinking that will be needed to address one of the oil sands’ most urgent challenges ….”
• Getting the older vets out and about  “In the golden light of sunset, two dozen people sit in white Muskoka chairs around a bonfire, singing. A light breeze blows off the pristine lake a few feet away as they lift their voices in renditions of King of the Road, Red River Valley and Mockingbird Hill. This could be any summer retreat in the vast wilderness of the Canadian Shield. Except that here, the average age of the campers is about 90 and all of them are war veterans. Ernie Weidner, 91, accompanying the singing on harmonica, was a gunner on a merchant ship; spry Jack Ford, 90, who uses a tambourine as a boater hat while dancing a jig, was a photographer with the air force; Norm Cook, 96, tapping away at a djambe, served in a tank brigade. Every summer, roughly 40 residents of Toronto’s Sunnybrook Veterans’ Centre and Parkwood Hospital in London, Ont., board buses and make the trek to Lake Joseph for four days. The program, which has been running for 17 years, involves a large crew of staff. They use facilities run by the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, which include a series of cabins connected by a boardwalk, making the whole place accessible to wheelchairs and walkers. Funding for the program is provided by the Royal Canadian Legion ….”
• This from the Veterans Ombudsman’s blog:  “The Veterans Ombudsman’s Commendation is awarded to an individual or group who has made an outstanding contribution to the Veterans community. I feel that it is important to recognize the extraordinary efforts of these individuals, as they are often the ones who work tirelessly to bring issues to light and provide a foundation for positive change for Veterans. At this time, I am seeking nominations for this year’s Veterans Ombudsman’s Commendation. I invite you to nominate any individual, group, business or association that has made an outstanding contribution to the well-being of Veterans and their families. More information on the criteria and nomination process is available on our Web site. The deadline for submission of nominations is August 10, 2012 ….”
• F-35 Tug o’ War  Dutch getting cold feet?
• What’s Canada Buying?  Wanted (maybe):  Someone to upgrade Halifax Class Underwater Warfare Suites, and someone to take care of the CF’s CC-150 Polaris fleet