One writer (specialized in law) in my local newspaper pointed out that given the standards of evidence for taking away passports, usually if you can do that to someone you can ALSO take away their
As for Canada changing: Hell no.
I've had more Americans than I can conveniently count tell me I'd change my tune about security restrictions and all that the day the terrorists came for my place. And you know what? The terrorists did, and I still stand by all my opinions. The limits that I wouldn't have crossed before yesterday to stop terrorism are limits I wouldn't cross to stop yesterday from happening.
a man who joined the Canadian military (or any other, but this is Canada) understands that he may at some point be called upon to lay down his life for his country; and for what that country stands for. He or she makes the choice to embrace that career, knowing this may (not will, but may) be the result.
If we tell them that we must forsake the country's ideals to save their lives, in effect we're telling them that they chose wrong. That the country they were ready to die for, wasn't worth their lives,and that the rest of us are ready to surrender the essence of that country and the ideals it's built on to prevent them from dying.
It belittles their choices and their sacrifice. So NO.
Canada made huge and selfless contributions to the allied WW1 effort.
That's what the memorial is supposed to be about I think - for us to remember that these things can from time to time happen and that sacrifices are necessary. It is a way for us to remember those who made those sacrifices.
The people who made them, they made them for us. The least we can do is remember them... and remember the conflict, so that we can try to prevent future ones.
I get that. But don't you understand why I find it unsettling? It's the utter contempt for human life which such "reverence" represents.
Just exactly why did Canada so eagerly make such a huge and selfless contribution*? It's not at all clear to me.
*And they really did! As much, if not more, than any other Commonwealth country.
Australia and New Zealand have very much the same mindset, imo.
All this is by the by, though. And the fact that this jihadist sought to make his "point" before Canada's war memorial just compounds the infamy of it all. (edit: did he though? That's my impression, but I'll have to check it out.)
The memorial is precisely to remember those who died in the fighting - not just the wars themselves, but the deads. The price of war., so we don't forget that price. War is not something to be understaken lightly, and the memorial exist to remind us of that.
That'S why these days a major part of the monument is Canada's tomb of the unknown soldier.
And it's by that tomb that the soldier who died yesterday was shot.
Because we're eager to defend our values and the values and lives of our friends. Plus our presence was requested by the Brits I believe, but I'm not that well versed in WW1 history.
IIRC this is from a newspaper in Halifax.. Moving stuff...
So it turns out that not only wednesday attack happened very close to UOttawa (which went in lockdown), where I study (but I was at home at the time)...
...but as if that wasn't enough, *monday's* attack happened right in front of my sister's workplace (but she's on maternity leave).
But for me, it'S not just Canada under attack. It's my hometown. If I had any question about Ottawa being home, it's gone. It's my town. And today, someone attacked my town.
Canada, please don't change. Honor, grieve, and mourn as is only right. But you can do that as who you are. Change is what the murderers in New York craved, and change is what they got. Don't change because of Nathan Cirillo's murderer.
I've had more Americans than I can conveniently count tell me I'd change my tune about security restrictions and all that the day the terrorists came for my place. And you know what? The terrorists did, and I still stand by all my opinions. The limits that I wouldn't have crossed before yesterday to stop terrorism are limits I wouldn't cross to stop yesterday from happening.
Minor update: this week-end was supposed to be OTtawa's bi-annual poutine festival on Sparks Street, the pedestrian mall at the heart of downtown. Of course, given recent events there was talk of cancellation, so they polled Ottawans and discussed the matter with the city.
I'm glad to report that the poll overwhelmingly supported holding the festival this weekend anyway, and the city agreed. Poutine fest is still on, and we're going to reclaim our city one cheese-and-gravy-covered-fry at a time.
Whatever gave you the idea that "most left-leaning Canadians" hate Rex Murphy? There are times when I don't agree with him, but I don't hate him, not at all. Rex Murphy is someone who is respected by people who don't necessarily agree with some of what he says, and when he's gone, the country will mourn. He's one of those people who is both blunt and eloquent at the same time, and he's also one of the CBC veterans who has a sense of humor about being spoofed on the political satire shows.
Canada, please don't change. Honor, grieve, and mourn as is only right. But you can do that as who you are. Change is what the murderers in New York craved, and change is what they got. Don't change because of Nathan Cirillo's murderer.
Stephen Harper has been trying to change us for 8 years. This will have some of the cabinet ministers rubbing their hands with the expectation that they can push through some of the surveillance and other police/spy bills that have been stymied so far, since this has provided an opportunity to exploit peoples' fears. There were some institutions that went into lockdown right across the country yesterday, and for some of them it was beyond ridiculous. My own MP's constituency office was among the places told to shut down. Why anyone would bother to attack the office of such a useless backbencher in Alberta is beyond reason.
We'll see how much change is likely on November 11, when we see how much access the public will have to the National War Memorial (it's the custom at the end of the ceremonies for the public, if they wish, to lay their poppies on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier).
Maybe not all the moves. (there are moves?) But most serious hockey fans do know the anthem since it is always played before the game when a Canadian team comes to town.
Thumbs up to the Penguins organization for choosing to deliver it yesterday.
No, there are no 'moves.' People just stand up and sing, whichever version they know best, in whichever language. As long as they do it respectfully, that's all that matters.
Someone in one of my Yahoo groups is pretty upset by all this. She used to work on Parliament Hill, and thought that taking the passports was the wrong thing to do. She said they should have let these terrorists go, and then canceled the passports, thus stranding them in whatever country they went to. If they're going to be "Canadians of convenience" they can just go, as far as I'm concerned.
World War I is generally thought of as the event that marked Canada's "coming of age" in the world. Before then, we were just one more mostly-forgotten British colony that was good for raw materials and quaint little people, but the First World War changed that.
No doubt some of the soldiers went to war because they/their families were monarchists. Probably some went for adventure thinking, as so many did, that it would be less than a year and then life would go back to normal. But most, I believe, went because they saw it as their duty to fight, and to help the people whose countries had been invaded. To this day, there are people in Europe whose first reaction to seeing a Canadian tourist is to say "thank you" - even though neither person had even been born when that war happened.
There are three very important words associated with Remembrance Day: "Lest We Forget." We don't celebrate Remembrance Day. We observe it, we perform the Act of Remembrance. We remind ourselves that war is horrible and we must never allow it to happen again. Those who died must be remembered and their deaths must not have been in vain, we must learn from them.
Canada made huge and selfless contributions to the allied WW1 effort.
That's what the memorial is supposed to be about I think - for us to remember that these things can from time to time happen and that sacrifices are necessary. It is a way for us to remember those who made those sacrifices.
The people who made them, they made them for us. The least we can do is remember them... and remember the conflict, so that we can try to prevent future ones.
I get that. But don't you understand why I find it unsettling? It's the utter contempt for human life which such "reverence" represents.
Just exactly why did Canada so eagerly make such a huge and selfless contribution*? It's not at all clear to me.
*And they really did! As much, if not more, than any other Commonwealth country.
Australia and New Zealand have very much the same mindset, imo.
All this is by the by, though. And the fact that this jihadist sought to make his "point" before Canada's war memorial just compounds the infamy of it all. (edit: did he though? That's my impression, but I'll have to check it out.)
Because we're eager to defend our values and the values and lives of our friends. Plus our presence was requested by the Brits I believe, but I'm not that well versed in WW1 history.
IIRC this is from a newspaper in Halifax.. Moving stuff...
There are far too many photos to choose from, so I'll post a link to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier for people to scroll through. Note that all the red on the tomb is from the poppies people lay on it every November 11. It's mostly the public who do that, and by the end of the ceremonies, the tomb is usually covered in poppies.
I did a brief googling of him when I realized I didn't really know who he was. Maybe wikipedia? Not sure.
I really want to go back to Parliment hill, I haven't been there in a couple years. To those who haven't been there, pictures don't really do it justice.. It's a great place to just walk around on and explore. Beauty all around, in nature and in architecture.
In the early afternoon my friend posted on facebook that he is at the National War Memorial. He's a soldier, been deployed to Afghanistan, etc.. Here's what he wrote:
Standing here right now because I won't let terror win. — at National War Memorial.
I was just reading about what happened and how easy it was for this guy to end up one unlocked door away from the Prime Minister and a whole bunch of people.
The relatively open nature of Parliment Hill is awesome and I hope things remain that way, but it seems that something is going to have to be done about security. Maybe my friend can stand guard or something, but I really wonder what they're going to do..
Someone in one of my Yahoo groups is pretty upset by all this. She used to work on Parliament Hill, and thought that taking the passports was the wrong thing to do. She said they should have let these terrorists go, and then canceled the passports, thus stranding them in whatever country they went to. If they're going to be "Canadians of convenience" they can just go, as far as I'm concerned.
it just doesnt make sense to me, you apparently have the evidence they are wanting to go join one of the most barbaric organizations on the planet, but once you have that information the grand plan is to trap them in a country they hate? Either arrest them for supporting terrorism if you have the evidence or let them go and dont let them back in
it just doesnt make sense to me, you apparently have the evidence they are wanting to go join one of the most barbaric organizations on the planet, but once you have that information the grand plan is to trap them in a country they hate? Either arrest them for supporting terrorism if you have the evidence or let them go and dont let them back in
Apparently there isn't enough evidence yet. Merely having intentions doesn't mean they can be arrested if they haven't actually committed a criminal act.
As for stranding them in another country, while I agree with that on an emotional level, I remember all the hateful things said to and about Canada after September 11 when we were accused of letting the terrorists use our country to get into the U.S. If we deliberately exported known terrorists to another country we really would be guilty of what some Americans falsely accused us of doing 13 years ago.
Most countries consider Passports a privilege, not a right. They can take it away with a simple court order, even if you haven't been convicted of anything.
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There are times when I don't agree with him, but I don't hate him, not at all. Rex Murphy is someone who is respected by people who don't necessarily agree with some of what he says, and when he's gone, the country will mourn. He's one of those people who is both blunt and eloquent at the same time, and he's also one of the CBC veterans who has a sense of humor about being spoofed on the political satire shows.
