- Remember the promise to form a committee to look at vets’ health issues the Veterans Affairs Minister made to a hunger striker shortly before Remembrance Day? “Veterans’ advocates are skeptical of a federal government promise to study the effects of exposure to depleted uranium after years of ignoring their pleas to recognize the issue. Louise Richard, a long-time critic who says she suffers from Gulf War illness, says Veterans Affairs has persistently refused to acknowledge the health hazards and doesn’t even track suspected exposures ….” – more from the vets here. We’ll have to wait and see what this committee looks like, and what it will be allowed to do. I hope this isn’t just a gestureto get a hunger striking vet out of the headlines before Remembrance Day.
- University of Western Ontario report: Homeless vets also wrestling with addictions.
- Remembering (1a) Those white poppies are still about.
- Remembering (1b) Meanwhile, MacDonald’s worries about the pins from poppies falling into your food (hence the ban on poppies on employees)….
- Remembering (1c) …. while a Toronto hotel is now allowing its staff to wear the poppy.
- Remembering (2) How one soldier who says he knew 30 of Canada’s fallen remembers Afghanistan.
- Remembering (3) Vets have different ideas on whether their relatives should be allowed to wear their medals or not – LOADS o’ discussion on the issue here on Army.ca.
- Remembering (4) “Gen. Rick Hillier, the retired former chief of defence staff, looked at the families of five local soldiers who were killed in Afghanistan then looked around the audience at the Peterborough Remembers Gala on Wednesday night. “You’ve got their back,” Hillier told the 280 people at the gala ….”
- Remembering (4) Teacher who opposes the military says students should think critically about Remembrance Day and question what she says (unless, I guess, the students are pro-military?)
- Remembering (5a) Letter to the editor: time to remember all those regiments that fought in the War of 1812 – more here.
- Remembering (5b) Some very good reasons here and here (at Army.ca) to be VERY careful about recognizing War of 1812 unit contributions.
- Presumed innocent until proven guilty, but charged with with stealing poppy money. “A man and a woman face charges after money was stolen from two poppy donation boxes at a restaurant in Trenton, Ont. Provincial police say two suspects took money from one box last Friday afternoon and returned and took money from a second box in the evening. Wayne Enright, 48, and Theresa Marcotte, 37, both of Trenton, are each charged with two counts of theft under $5,000. Marcotte appeared in court Monday and Enright is due in court Dec. 8. Meanwhile, William McDaid, 31, of no fixed address has been charged with two counts of theft under $5,000 and a few breach counts after thefts of poppy boxes from convenience stores and a hotel in North Bay. Tomas Hvozdar, 26, of Toronto, who faces charges in two poppy box thefts, was released on bail Tuesday and is to return to court on Dec. 7 ….”
- What the Royal Canadian Legion is considering to make it harder to steal poppy money.
- Another “Highway of Heroes”, this time in Saskatchewan – more here and here.
- Afghanistan (1) Media Q&A with senior Canadian officer about training mission.
- Afghanistan (2) “To some, it’s the story of two Afghan girls fleeing from the Taliban in a high stakes journey that brings them to the brink of death. But for Sharon McKay, “Thunder over Kandahar” is a PG-13 primer on the Afghanistan War. “When I was growing up Vietnam was going on. No one would explain it to me,” says McKay, a writer who is based out of Burlington, Ont. “They didn’t know.” That childhood frustration helped inspire McKay to write children’s books that explain some of the world’s most vicious conflicts through the lens of adventure ….” More on war art here.
- Libya CF Info-Machine on Canada’s patrol planes heading home.
- F-35 Tug o’ War (1) Letter to the editor: greatest thing since sliced bread.
- F-35 Tug o’ War (2) Letter to the editor: don’t listen to that guy!
- What’s Canada Buying? Loads o’ CADPAT (temperate) pants and coats – more on quantities here (PDF).
- Nelson, B.C. students drop a line to Canadian Forces members deployed around the world.
MILNEWS.ca News Highlights – 10 Nov 11
MILNEWS.ca Blog 