Time to take a stand(rally in Canada)

Toronto Sun ^ | 4/3/2003 | Editorial

[hobson]

This is great!

[hobson]

oops. I think I posted this in the wrong place. This is my first Breaking News post.

[Bahbah]

Great news no matter where you post it. Thanks.

[blackdog]

I spoke with a woman in Alberta yesterday while searching for some cold weather hardy bamboo to plant here in Wisconsin. She told me that the reason Canada cannot back our coalition is that the last ten years of liberal control of their government has left them with a military that is not capable of even deploying to fight a bad cold. Other than some intelligence type op's, they have no effective military and it would embarass the politicians if they had to even symbolicaly send us some coalition forces with no training, bullets, gear, and machinery of war.

She also informed me that they are rounding up donations in her province to take out a full page ad in USA Today to express an apology for their governments lack of support.

This was just some customer service lady. A real Joannie six pack.

[anatolfz]

True; and what we have is spoken for in Afghan and Straits of Hormuz; about 3,000 people. That includes 30 or so in Iraq, another 30 or so in 'undisclosed' places.
They are trained and will act effectively though. The problem is we WON'T send poorly trained and ill-equipped people. No F-18s since the avionics are not up to snuff and therefore of no use to the coalition. Etc. What we CAN do is clear up Afghan and mind the straits.

[hawkaw]

We are also at sea protecting American ships and helping supply the British.

We are also in the air directing bombing runs.

We are part of the coalition of the willing but we just never stated it publically for poltical reasons.

What our government has done for a political gain makes me furious especially when I see some of the comments on this board.

hawk

p.s. - For those who want to read some of the stories of Canada's quiet contribution to the war effort go to the Toronto Star at www.thestar.com and type the word "AWACS" into the 14 day search engine.

[kanawa]

I'll be there with my grand-daughter. It's going to be chilly (-3C). Hope to get some pictures to post to FR.

[blackdog]

I had some Canadian Helicopter wing hang out at my home for two days a while back. We have an airport, and really bad weather and low ceilings forced them to land while they were on their way to South Carolina for some joint training ops. We gave them a loaner car for some trips into town, shared a few beers, and made our phone and Airstream camper available to them.

They never complained, but the Hueys they were flying had no avionics other than a DG, wet compass, single com, VSI, airspeed indicator,and single VOR. THAT WAS IT! I know helcopters are scud runners by design, but that's ridiculous.

[b4its2late]

Thank you Canada. A few bad apples don't spoil the whole bunch.

[b4its2late]

Though I didn't appreciate ad in the Toronto newspapers of the bird doo doo on the Yankee cap......... But, OTOH, maybe it gave the Yankees more reason sweep the Blue Jays this week...... :-)

[proud American in Canada]

Thanks for posting this, Hobson! :)

[RobFromGa]

Take Your Country Back, Canadians!

[DrewsDad]

She told me that the reason Canada cannot back our coalition is that the last ten years of liberal control of their government has left them with a military that is not capable of even deploying to fight a bad cold.

We visited Banff last September and remember reading about what bad decisions Chretien has made in regards to the military and the Sea Kings in the Sun satire sung to Seasons in the Sun:

Sea Kings in the Sun

Goodbye papa please pray for me
My helicopter's crashing in the sea
I honestly don't mean to pout,
but my future is in doubt,
My co-pilot just fell out.
Goodbye papa it's hard to fly,
When my airframe is cracking in the sky,
For every hour in the air,
it takes them 30 to repair,
We fly these things on a dare.
We've had joy, we've had fun,
We've had Sea Kings in the sun,
But the engines are on fire,
and the Sea Kings must retire,
Goodbye Chretien my stingy one,
You could have bought the EH-101,
Instead you blew 500 mil,
Just to cancel out the bill,
Now I need an airsick pill.
We've had joy, we've had fun,
We've had Sea Kings in the sun
We'll be lucky if we reach,
a crash landing on the beach.

Canadian Pilots Sing Protest Song Over Choppers

OTTAWA (Reuters) - While their aging helicopters may hover on the verge of calamity, the creative powers of Canada's air force pilots are soaring.

Earlier this month they created fake recruiting posters to protest the government's failure to replace their creaking, 40-year-old Sea King helicopters. Now they have devised a dark ditty to bemoan their fate.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Wednesday that the song -- a parody of the 1970s pop hit "Seasons in the Sun" -- was making the rounds of military bases by e-mail.

The ballad begins with the words, "Goodbye papa, please pray for me/ My helicopter's crashing in the sea," before reaching a chorus of, "We had joy, we had fun, we had Sea Kings in the sun/ but the engines are on fire and the Sea Kings must retire."

Each Sea King requires more than 30 hours of maintenance for every hour it spends in the air. Ottawa purchased 41 Sea Kings in 1961 and since then 12 have crashed, killing eight people.

A spokesman for the main Sea King base in the Atlantic town of Shearwater said the pilots had a good sense of black humor.

Plans to replace the helicopters have floundered amid accusations of dirty tricks and political favoritism, and the Sea Kings are unlikely to be replaced until July 2006 at the earliest.

[Mitchell]

Ping.

[Mad Dawgg]

"Earlier this month they created fake recruiting posters to protest the government's failure to replace their creaking, 40-year-old Sea King helicopters. Now they have devised a dark ditty to bemoan their fate."

I have several friends in Canada one (his name is Ron) sent me the following in an e-mail (we trade funny stories about our respective countries all the time)

Top ten reasons why Canada will not fight in Iraq:

10. We have no way of getting there.

9. We are too busy at home with the Maple Syrup Season.

8. After 136 Years, we are still copying off France.

7. Saddam's name pronounced backwards is "Mad Ass". We'll stay away from him THANK YOU.

6. There is only limited potential for sales of Canadian Bacon in Iraq after the war.

5. Our Sea King Helicopter was damaged and needs repairs.

4. Celine Dion can't sing to the troops because she has a contract in Las Vegas.

3. The Rivers in Iraq are too shallow for our War Canoes.

2. Lousy hockey in Iraq at this time of year.

1. Our army is needed at home in case of another snowstorm in Toronto.

[IvanT]

I'll be there with my grand-daughter. It's going to be chilly (-3C). Hope to get some pictures to post to FR

Snow is forcast, apparently, but it's nothing we can't handle. To show our support, we'd go oot in an ice storm and -50 weather, right Canucks??? Can't wait to show my unabashed appreciation in public for our wonderful neighbours to the south!

[Ciexyz]

Thanks to our friends in Canada!

[wingster]

It's about dang time!

Hang tough all ya all who are goin'!!!

[Robert DeLong]

Canadian BUMP!!!!