MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 4 Aug 11

• Who’s taking part in Operation Nanook this year (1)?  “Three Canadian navy ships and a U.S. Coast Guard cutter are being outfitted in St. John’s for an extended mission to the Arctic. The Canadian Forces says the frigate HMCS St. John’s will be joined by the coastal defence vessels HMCS Moncton and HMCS Summerside, as well as the American coast guard cutter USCGC Willow ….”
• Who’s taking part in Operation Nanook this year (2)?  “Frostbite, trench foot, snow blindness and wild animal attacks aren’t things Peter McKenna usually has to worry about while he’s at work. But they are on the list of things the UPEI professor might encounter when he heads to the Arctic as an observer in the Operation Nanook 11 sovereignty exercise. McKenna said before he could go on the trip, he had to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks involved, which included falling through ice, hypothermia, dehydration and geographic disorientation. “I’m mildly concerned but I think that I’m in capable hands when it comes to the Canadian Forces and the Department of National Defence,” he said ….”
• Here here.  “…. The Department of National Defence currently offers programs for serving members to address operational stress, addictions, mental health and wellness. There are also 32 Military Family Resource Centres across Canada and more in other countries. The centres run a full range of services on youth, parenting, wellness, deployment, and family separation and reunion. Like all programs, they need independent evaluations of their effectiveness. No doubt, they could work better and reach more people. They also could better target participants by working more closely with veteran’s organizations. Nonetheless, they are essential tools of support for military families — especially for the thousands of spouses who are fighting for their partners, and for us, on the new front line of troop reintegration. (M)inister Mackay, General Natynczyk: Don’t touch the funding of these programs.“
• Afghanistan (1a)  Survey says….  “As QMI Agency followed the last Canadian combat troops out of Afghanistan last month, there was one question that seemed to get under the thick skin of even the toughest soldier. In fact, after repeatedly being asked by media in the combat zone, it became a catch phrase among some combatants — tossed about with shrugs and often rolled eyes. The question wondered: “Was it worth it?” Now, in the settling dust of Canada’s combat exit from Afghanistan — our soldiers now remain in logistical and training missions only — an exclusive Sun Media national poll has found almost three in five Canadians doubt whether the sacrifice asked of our country was worthwhile. Only 30% of respondents to the Leger Marketing survey felt it was. As well, 58% of Canadians thought the mission could not be categorized as fully accomplished after we pulled out last month ….”  More poll details here (PDF).
• Afghanistan (1b)  “…. Despite the costs and the human loss, Canada’s role in Afghanistan, its combat assignment now over, has at least given the people of that tortured country a chance at a better life. What the Afghan people do with that opportunity is now up to them. It goes without question, however, that our soldiers did their uniform proud and, while only 30% of Canadians may ultimately see the cause as worthwhile, it will never negate the fact that no soldier has ever been more supported at home, despite the war’s unpopularity ….”
• Afghanistan (2)  Bringing home the signs, flags, letters and other paraphenalia.
• Afghanistan (3)   Guess where the last Canadian flag that flew over Kandahar’s Provincial Reconstruction Team base Camp Nathan Smigh has ended up?
• What’s Canada Buying? (1)  “Remember the Used Subs” editorial:  “…. As they go about their work, each member of the bureaucracy in charge of military procurement would do well to keep a photo of Canada’s woebegone subs close at hand, as a caution against false economies. In the words of Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme Allied commander in the Second World War: “There is no victory at bargain basement prices.” “
• What’s Canada Buying? (2)  Remember earlier this year when the CF research arm said it was hiring someone to do taser weapon research (second item)?  There’s a bit more time to offer an alternative the companies proposed.
• F-35 Tug o’ War:  Troubles in the U.S.  “All 20 F-35 Lightning IIs have been grounded following a failure of the aircraft’s integrated power package (IPP). The incident took place at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., during a ground maintenance run of aircraft AF-4, the fourth conventional takeoff and landing version of the triservice Joint Strike Fighter. Following the failure of the IPP — which combines the functions performed by an auxiliary power unit, emergency power system and environmental controls — the crew shut down the aircraft as per standard operating procedures, according to a press release by the JSF program office. There were no injuries ….”
• Some Canadian government systems are included in a report of systems found to be attacked or hacked.  “Security experts have discovered an unprecedented series of cyber attacks on the networks of 72 organizations globally, including the United Nations, governments and corporations, over a five-year period. Security company McAfee, which uncovered the intrusions, said it believed there was one “state actor” behind the attacks but declined to name it, though several other security experts said the evidence points to China. The long list of victims in the extended campaign include the governments of the United States, Taiwan, India, South Korea, Vietnam and Canada; the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN); the International Olympic Committee (IOC); the World Anti-Doping Agency; and an array of companies, from defense contractors to high-tech enterprises ….”  More from the McAfee blog here, and a Q&A here.
• Pack o’ Wanted War Criminals (1)  Number six nabbed, Amnesty International wants war crime trials here.
• Pack o’ Wanted War Criminals (2)  “It’s not up to Canada to prosecute people suspected of crimes against humanity, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews said Wednesday. The federal government has been publicly stepping up deportations of people found inadmissible to Canada because of a suspicion they may have participated in war crimes. But Toews said it’s not realistic for Canada to investigate, prosecute and imprison people who commit crimes against humanity in other countries. “Canada is not the UN. It’s not our responsibility to make sure each one of these faces justice in their own countries,” he (said) …. “What we are doing with [the Canada Border Services Agency] is ensuring that Canadian law is obeyed ….”
• Pack o’ Wanted War Criminals (3)  The courts say you shouldn’t hear what group one of the nabbed from Pakistan is allegedly associated with.
• A bit of perspective on the Winnipeg Jets logo:  “…. drawing political conclusions from a sports logo — racial issues aside — can point you down a long and winding road to insanity. Where does it end? Can’t cheer for the Ottawa Senators, as it conflicts with views on Canada’s unelected Senate. Or the Edmonton Oilers, as it might imply you support the pillaging of our natural resources. Or the L.A. Kings, since that would mean acceptance of any atrocities committed throughout history under monarchist rule. Or the Carolina Hurricanes, because it would be insensitive to those who have suffered at the hands of natural disaster. Forget the Calgary Flames, as too many people perish in house fires and to wear that sweater would be disrespectful. Or the Minnesota Wild. Nothing against the outdoors, they’re just ugly f*%kin’ sweaters.”

MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 24 Jul 11

• Here here.  “…. Having to battle through reviews, appeals and a drawn-out fight for better benefits, while waiting for the Conservative government to make good on its promises to take better care of wounded veterans, adds insult to injury for wounded soldiers ….” 
• Afghanistan  (One hopes) the LAST “Canadians and their hockey” story from Afghanistan.  “Oblivious to warning sirens and the dull thuds of possible mortar fire, Canadian troops battle it out for a tinfoil cup at their last hockey tournament under the sweltering Afghan sun. With the temperature sizzling above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), soldiers cheered on Task Force Freedom 2, mostly helicopter pilots and techs, as they thrashed Task Force Silver Dart 5-0 in the final of the five-a-side contest. Organised at the “Boardwalk” — a huge quadrangle of shops and restaurants on the sprawling Kandahar Airfield — it was a much milder form of the Canadian national sport than the version contested on ice. But with red rubber balls instead of pucks, it was enough to give them a fix of the sport that helped many of them cope with the psychological stresses of fighting a nine-year Taliban insurgency on one of its most potent battlefields …. “
• QMI columnist Peter Worthington highlights military poochies.
• Yet another illegal immigrant war criminal nabbed, this time in southern Ontario.  “…. Arshad Muhammad from Pakistan, whose last known address was Montreal, is now in custody, the agency said. He was arrested Saturday in Mississauga, Ont., after a member of Peel Regional Police spotted him in a store. Muhammad’s last known address was Montreal but the federal government lost track of him after he was deemed inadmissible to Canada in 2001 ….”  More here (Postmedia News) and here (United Press International).
• Meanwhile, “A Quebec immigration lawyer is criticizing the Canadian government’s recent release of photos of 30 suspected war criminals. The photographs are displayed on a government website along with the last known places of residence of each of the 30 people. Lawyer Dan Bohbot said it undermines the idea that people in Canada are presumed innocent until proven guilty. He said the federal Immigration Act shouldn’t allow individuals to be labeled without being charged. “It’s a problem because it means that really the Immigration Act makes it very easy for the government to label individuals and make them inadmissible in Canada. So really, you have a situation where a lot of people are found inadmissible or excluded from defintion of refugees,” said Bohbot ….”
• “One of Canada’s most respected assets – our passport – is under siege, with more than 1,000 stolen across the country every month on average, Passport Canada has revealed. The surprising disclosure was made in the agency’s latest annual report, which says 13,077 passports were stolen in fiscal 2009-10. By comparison, only 631 were swiped overseas. Another 47,704 passports were reported lost in Canada ….”
• Uh, not that there’s anything wrong with that?  “Ottawa’s Bytown Museum is igniting controversy over claims that renowned soldier-poet Lt.-Col. John McCrae was homosexual, and wrote the famous poem In Flanders Fields in mourning for a boyfriend killed in the First World War. Francesco Corsaro, Bytown’s director of development, said in an interview he knew of multiple, credible sources indicating the famed poet was gay. “There are some people who believe that he was,” said Corsaro. Yet the only historian who is named by Corsaro as a source disputes the same-sex story. And several museums directors and researchers questioned the claim, including the Canadian War Museum that displays McCrae’s service pistol in its collection ….”
• “Brad Trost, Member of Parliament for Saskatoon–Humboldt, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Blaney, Minister of Veterans Affairs, announced today up to $50,000 in federal government support for a project in Batoche, Saskatchewan to honour Métis Veterans and those who made the ultimate sacrifice …. The Government of Canada is providing funding of up to $50,000 to the Gabriel Dumont Institute to commemorate all Métis who served and those who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars, the Korean War and the South African War. The new memorial will include eight granite slabs, etched with 3,600 names of Métis Veterans. The entrance of the memorial will have carvings of images that are significant to the Métis and also symbolic to service men and women ….”