Flags

Politics can make me sick.

Not lowering the flag for every soldier's death = good thing.
Give them respect when they are alive, and you won't have to feel that there is a lack when they die.

That is all.

Myles Mansell

Well, now that makes it hit home. The first soldier that I know personally has died in Afghanistan. We went through basic training together in 1998, and worked together many times since then. I haven't seen him or talked to him in quite a while.

I konw that you will not be forgotten, Myles.

Maybe instead of immediate complaints about political decisions, war-mongering, and charges of following US policy, Canadians could stop for just one minute to appreciate life and the environment in which we live. Compare it to the life lived by the citizens of Afghanistan. And say thank you to those people who refuse to stand idly and let that continue. Personally, I say Thank you.

Keep going, boys and girls.



Here is what his Myles' family posted on his unit's website:

Bombardier Myles Stanley John Mansell was killed around 8:00pm PST Friday (April 21, 2006) while serving in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Myles was born in Victoria on August 5, 1980 to Nancy and Alan Mansell. He has two older brothers, Michael and Matthew. He lived his entire life in the Western Communities and graduated from Belmont School in 1998.

After graduating, Myles held a variety of jobs including working for his parents in the family business, Mansell's and Ken's Environmental Services, until shortly after his parents sold the business and retired in 2003. More recently, Myles was employed by Roma Builders.

Myles joined the reserves in May 1998 and completed training in Shilo, Manitoba and Gagetown, New Brunswick. Myles had a strong belief in the work of the Reserves and the Armed Forces and felt strongly about serving his Country. The family believes this is probably not such a coincidence as Myles middle names, Stanley and John, were given to him in honour of his two grandfathers, Stanley Mansell and John Yorko. Stanley saw active duty during the Second World War and John served in the Royal Canadian Navy and both were just as passionate as Myles in serving their Country. It was this strong conviction to serve his country that led Myles to volunteer for service in Afghanastan. His family supported him in his decision to do what he loved.

Myles met Lindsay Sullivan in April, 2003 and, this past Christmas, they became engaged. They had intended to be married when Myles completed his tour of duty later this year.

In 2003, Myles participated with the Reserves in battling the Kelowna fires. This ties into Myles kind, caring and generous personality - he was always ready to lend a hand and help out in any way he could, no matter what the circumstances.

Myles is survived by his fiance, Lindsay Sullivan; his parents, Nancy and Alan Mansell; his brothers Michael (Sonja) and Matthew (Sheila); his niece, Emma; his grandmother, Shirley Yorko, his Auntie Janice & Uncle Kazi Kataoka, and cousins Emily, Midori and Marina; Uncle Mike and Auntie Leah and Chris, Luke and Theresa; Auntie Kate and Jeremy; and Auntie Dolly.

-- Mansell and Sullivan Families

The 80s

There is a reason why the 80s are never coming back:
No, those ridiculously tight pants don't quite manage to make it all the way down to my shoes. If you were wondering.

Afghanistan 2

Well, looks like there will be a debate after all. Tonight. I hope something positive comes from this. Keep up to date on Canada in Afghanistan here.

Afghanistan

Are we really still questioning why Canadians are in Afghanistan? Why is it that we must have a debate now, instead of several years ago when the troops were sent there? Maybe most Canadians don't oppose the deployment, but going over the "Readers' comments" in the Globe and Mail is enough to drive me up the wall.

I was happy to hear Liberal Leader Bill Graham state recently that his party does not want to have a debate on the issue at this point (overruling his Health Critic's claim that they do). As for the people who claim that Canadians need to know what the troops are doing there, and open debate (and a vote, no less) in Parliament is the only way to determine if they should stay - well, frankly, you are lazy. What Canadians are doing there has been stated clearly many times by politicians, top soldiers, and the media. You could probably find it in a hundred places just on the internet. Start with the Foreign Affairs website. So inform yourself, or shut up. Seriously. Sure, we can have open discussion on the issue. Perhaps Canadians will then realize that the mission has actually been approved by the UN, that Canadians aren't traditionally just "peacekeepers," and that anyone who wants to sit at the table with the big boys has to earn a seat there. But this mission has already been committed to, and we have no right to back out now. If you still think that Canada shouldn't be in Afghanistan, that's fine. At least be informed. Maybe there will be a vote before any mission extension.

This is an excerpt from commentary on The Canadian Institue of Strategic Studies website:

The intent of the Kandahar mission is identical to previous peacekeeping operations: to give a battered country time to recover and administer to the needs of its people. The difference is that, this time, the recovery process is being opposed by groups who wish to re-impose a medieval political order (a goal not shared by the vast majority of Afghans) and who see no problem in employing extreme violence to establish it. If they must slaughter aid workers, diplomats, as well as thousands of their countrymen and co-religionists in the process, then so it must be.

If Canadians, including Mr Layton, believe that the end – a peaceful, stable Afghanistan - is truly worthwhile, then they have little choice but to support appropriate means to achieve it. And the means must include not only the “stabilization” tasks that Canadian troops have performed for the last four years, but also more proactive operations that will keep the insurgents off balance. Why? Because the aim cannot be achieved by having Canadians standing on street corners or patrolling the perimeters of their base while those who would kill and maim are left to roam the countryside or infiltrate the cities and set off car bombs. Put simply, peacekeeping and counter-insurgency operations (a.k.a. “limited war”) are complementary. One cannot succeed without doing both simultaneously. Afghanistan is too far gone for blue berets to ride to the rescue.

To be sure, peace restoration is not solely a military matter. The rehabilitation of a war-torn country will require diplomatic, economic, social, and technical assistance. Troops simply provide a secure environment in which the other partners can do their vital work. They buy time for the host government regain its footing and take care of its people. This noble goal takes place in a dangerous environment. Minimizing the danger will require good intelligence on what mischief the insurgents are planning, and the will to physically subdue them.

Still, Mr. Layton’s stance is attractive. It is tempting, even preferable, to believe that Canada has no enemies, and that it is not our destiny to offer offence to anyone. It is equally tempting to that believe that our values – which we constantly trumpet but have not defended in earnest for two generations – will simply prevail on their own. And it is easy to be beguiled by the credit our troops have brought to this country when deployed abroad as peacekeepers. How fortunate we have been to have the luxury of embarking, for the most part, on low-risk missions where our forces adhere to a latter-day version of the Hippocratic Oath, and do no harm.

How unsettling, then, is Afghanistan, where harm must be visited upon the enemies of the very progressiveness that Mr. Layton champions back home. How unusual that a self-proclaimed “peacekeeper” has taken sides, throwing its lot in with - wait a second - a democratically-elected government battling the forces of regression. And how haunting are the exhortations of President Hamid Karzai after last week’s suicide bombings in which Canadians and Afghans died together. Like a voice from the past imploring us not to succumb to the isolation of the 1930s, the Afghan leader beseeched the outside world not to abandon his country to the extremists who wish to usher in a new dark age.

Read the article here. Another, newer article can be found here and is more good reading if you wish to be informed on what your country is doing in Afghanistan.

Coffee

Hey, just because they're flying a multi-million dollar helicopter doesn't mean they don't want to Rrrrrrroll up the rim.