Aug
13
2008
Canadian soldier and Canada-Afghanistan Solidarity Committee member Tylere Couture explains why he volunteered for the mission in Afghanistan.
My decision to deploy to Afghanistan was, more than any other reason, made after learning about the country’s almost incomprehensible infant, child, and maternal mortality rates…
He didn’t do it for George Bush. No mention of any oil pipeline. Nope, he just wanted to help a country get back on its feet and save the lives of women and children. It’s that simple.
I’m proud to know him.
UPDATE: Sadly, some stories of Canadian heroes end in tragedy. The latest horrors perpetrated by the Taliban against people who were just trying to help ordinary Afghan people show the evil that Afghanistan and the international community is up against. We will remember.
If there is justice, their sacrifice won’t have been in vain.
Aug
11
2008
A headline reads, “Montreal riot raises questions about police tactics as anger simmers” (Canadian Press). Other reports on the violent Montreal riot this week talk about the need for “sensitivity training” by police: “We give sensitivity training to every police officer to help them to have better contact with different communities in Montreal. We’re ahead of any police department that we know. We have to continue to work on that” (Canwest).
The same article describes how the locals rampaged on the scene, torching cars and attacking authorities: The riot left three police officers and one ambulance worker injured. Among the injured was one female police officer who was shot in the leg. Delorme said she was in stable condition and the bullet didn’t cause serious damage. The ambulance worker had a bottle smashed on his head and the other police officers suffered minor injuries.
So… the cops need sensitivity training? To deal with these savages?
But what about the “root causes”? It might have been the shooting of a local by the cops. Or it might have been this: “It went on for about four hours,” said Jean-Claude Dargis, director of security for the shop, as he replayed a security video in which a steady stream of young men carry TVs, bicycles and guitars out of the store. “Here they’re fighting over who’s going to steal the guitar,” Dargis said. “They’re stealing from their own neighbours.” (Montreal Gazette)
And this: Men and women of all ages were seen running down the street hugging television sets, cartons of cigarettes and raw meat.
Three-metre-high fireballs from burning propane tanks illuminated the looters as they stormed the streets.
Canadian Press reported seeing an elderly woman carrying a stereo and laughing with her friend as they made their escape. Other looters were seen sipping beer grabbed from a nearby convenience store… (CBC News)