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| Witchvox Chapter: Wren's Nest News | Chapter Page Views: 59,684,576 |
 Tories Keep Media Away From Coffins Author: Canadian Press Source: Toronto Star Title: TORIES KEEP MEDIA AWAY FROM COFFINS The Conservative government has taken steps to keep the public from seeing images of flag-draped coffins when fallen soldiers are returned home from Afghanistan. For the first time since the Afghan mission began, the government will shut down an Ontario airfield when the remains of four soldiers killed over the weekend are returned Tuesday. Government officials said the new directive is permanent. It echoes a policy attempted by the Bush administration. Concerns that a stream of images of coffins draped in the Stars and Stripes would diminish public support for the Iraq war prompted the White House to impose a publication ban. With Canadian public opinion evenly divided on the Afghan mission, it appears the federal government may have similar political concerns. | |
| Community Thoughts: There are 4 comments posted | Reverse Sort |
| Mini-Bush | Apr 26th. at 3:51:08 pm EDT |
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Storm Summerhaven (Lanark County, Ontario) - Email Me Yes, Harper seems to want to follow Bush's lead. I think of him as Bush's mini-me. As if it weren't enough with the original still in office. As a Canadian, I feel our men and women in the services SHOULD be honoured for giving their lives in performance of their duty. And if the FAMILIES truly don't want their loved ones' homecoming televised, that's ONE thing, but THIS is entirely another. This is purely political on the part of the Tories. They have the same mind-set as the US political far right. And this move is intended to control the feelings and reactions of Canadians to the presence of our military overseas. When it was recently demanded of Prime Minister Harper that Canada's presence in Afghanistan be REVIEWED (not that we should definitely pull out -- but just that we should set a date to REVIEW the situation, and talk about it again before making a further commitment) , Harper responded with that insulting and offensive old chestnut about how, unlike the opposition, HIS government SUPPORTS the troups. What? And so, the people who want to review whether or not we should leave our troups there, under almost daily assault, indefinitely, DON'T support them??? Duh? Maybe, just maybe, we'd rather they came home ALIVE, than in those flag-draped coffins that nobody's supposed to notice. |
| I Guess The Deaths Of Soldiers Are Shameful | Apr 26th. at 9:41:52 am EDT |
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Ben Gruagach (Oakville, Minnesota) - Email Me The media routinely covers funerals of public figures and those considered to be heroes -- firefighters, police officers, etc. It's the same reason why the media also reported on the funerals of soldiers, or more often, the respectful "coming home" of those who gave their lives overseas out of patriotic duty. By banning the media from covering the return of fallen soldiers the government is sending the clear message that these deaths are shameful. Is that what our men and women in uniform deserve? (Ben Gruagach -- a proud Canadian who is ashamed of our Tory government) |
| Well Hopefully.... | Apr 25th. at 3:52:49 pm EDT |
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Fire Warrior (Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia) - Email Me this will change in some respect. I do believe that any soldier killed in action should be given proper honors, as well as the dignity deserving of that honor. Sometimes the media can be invasive at these types of events, and take away from the solemnity of the occasion. However people are going to find out one way or another, and the way is usually the electronic eye. Hopefully I won't be the one in the box this time next year. Brighids hand upon you. FW |
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