Yesterday, August 9, was National Peacekeepers’ Day. The citizens of Saskatoon honoured the occasion with a memorial service at the cenotaph outside of City Hall. The gathering was small. Several dozen veterans and active service members mingled in the warm evening air, squinting into the still-bright setting sun, before taking their seats at seven o’clock. […]
In my previous post, I talked about the possibility of glory in war. I alluded to this being an inherent reality of human nature. At sometime, I’ll have to delve into the concept of the warrior ethos in more detail. But that’s for another time. War can be glorious, yes, at least in parts. But […]
Remembrance Day: the time of year when we argue about honouring the service of our nation’s soldiers. I’ve written about this before. I figure I’ll write about it every year until I’m gone. In any case – although I tried mightily hard to avoid doing so – here’s this year’s two cents. It isn’t really […]
Word today of Robert Semrau’s much-delayed sentence: reduction in rank (to Second Lieutenant) and dismissal from the Canadian Forces (but not dismissal with disgrace). Semrau has thirty days to appeal, but my guess is he won’t. This sentence is remarkable considering that only a few months ago there was plenty of speculation that Semrau might […]
UPDATED: The recorded votes are now available. Looks like Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff was one of those Liberals who had something better to do when Kennedy’s bill came to a vote. I find this significant because Harper remained for the vote. — Late this afternoon: news that the Bill C-440 was defeated. The bill was […]
I’m unconvinced that Citizenship and Immigration Canada is up to anything devious with the announced of new centralization of military deserter cases, as described in the Globe and Mail yesterday. Nevertheless, I think that MP Gerard Kennedy’s response to the changes gets to the heart of the matter. The G&M quotes Mr. Kennedy as saying […]
In a recent article in the Life section of the National Post, Cristina Alarcon, a pharmacist, ostensibly attempts to wear the shoes of Captain Semrau on that dusty battlefield in Afghanistan. I take the opportunity to suggest that the author is slipshod and should try again: Greetings Ms. Alarcon, I read your thoughtful attempt to […]
