Top brass at the Canadian Forces have been at wit's end about what to do with their fleet of obsolete Sea King helicopters now that their replacements are coming on stream, a mere 25 years late. Now a win-win solution to the conundrum has presented itself.
The decrepit fleet is to be gifted to the UN mission to restore freedom and democracy to Mali, a benighted land-locked African "shit-hole" nation that has proven remarkably impervious to both freedom and democracy.
The fleet of 18 Sea Kings includes three whirly-birds believed to be fully operable, and the remainder are considered "parts" vehicles. The Canadian contribution to the UN mission will include 750 maintenance technicians tasked with keeping those three operable choppers in the air.
Mali has been over-run with terroristic types ever since the Canadian-led mission to restore freedom and democracy in neighbouring Libya concluded in 2011. It is believed that the mission will last at least until the last Canadian-owned gold mines in the country are completely worked out.
Showing posts with label Canada peace-keepers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Canada peace-keepers. Show all posts
Saturday, March 17, 2018
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Rebranding Canada
Back in the late 50's my folks, DPs fairly recent off the boat, moved us to a sleepy town in south Ontario, where I bore the distinction of being the only kid in Grade one who couldn't speak English.
My mother tongue was German, and this was in the day when you still had ex-army dudes on mechanic's creepers sitting outside the Iroquois Hotel with their tin cups and no legs.
It was not always the best of times.
But I grew up with a certain sense of what this adopted country was all about.
My dear daddy told me many times that we ended up in Canada because it was a less militaristic society than some of the other options.
That was one thing that always stuck in my mind.
The fact that Canada, very early on, was a destination for escaped slaves instead of the place they were escaping was something that stuck with me too.
We seemed to be just a bit ahead of the curve on all sorts of compassionate causes.
We were peace-keepers, not war-mongers. We cared about the environment. We believed in free health care for everybody and we brought in gun control.
That was then.
This is now;
When did we vote for that?
My mother tongue was German, and this was in the day when you still had ex-army dudes on mechanic's creepers sitting outside the Iroquois Hotel with their tin cups and no legs.
It was not always the best of times.
But I grew up with a certain sense of what this adopted country was all about.
My dear daddy told me many times that we ended up in Canada because it was a less militaristic society than some of the other options.
That was one thing that always stuck in my mind.
The fact that Canada, very early on, was a destination for escaped slaves instead of the place they were escaping was something that stuck with me too.
We seemed to be just a bit ahead of the curve on all sorts of compassionate causes.
We were peace-keepers, not war-mongers. We cared about the environment. We believed in free health care for everybody and we brought in gun control.
That was then.
This is now;
- Here's a story about Steven Harper praising the new Australian PM on scuttling the carbon tax
- Here's a story about Canada weaseling loopholes into the international prohibition against cluster bombs
- Here's John Baird poo-poohing the Iran deal negotiated this weekend
When did we vote for that?
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