Jump to content
Jambands.ca

Be thankful ....


Kanada Kev

Recommended Posts

We're coming up on Thanksgiving weekend here in Canada. We should all be thankful for our safety, health, and loved ones.

I stumbled upon this series of photos taken recently in Afghanistan. The picture below was not taken there, but rather at Trenton. This one hit me like a ton of bricks and am completely choked-up here at work. You can't help but focus on the children and the wife ofSergeant Prescott Shipway. Truly sad.

isaf28_16338937.jpg

Honor guard carry the casket of Sergeant Prescott Shipway to a hearse past his daughter Rowan Shipway, 4, his son, Hayden, and his wife Diana Dawn Kaczmar, at Canadian Forces Base Trenton September 10, 2008. Shipway, an infantryman with the Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, was killed on September 7 when his armoured vehicle struck a roadside bomb in the Panjwayi District of Afghanistan. (REUTERS/Fred Thornhill) #

See the other photos here:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/in_afghanistan_with_the_isaf.html

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our military is there to help open a secure corridor for a pipeline to export the oil and gas riches of the Caspian Basin of Central Asia to the West.

Bullshit. Our military is there because our neighbours and allies launched a vindictive, retaliatory revenge campaign and couldn't back that sh*t up. Our military is there because the consciounable decision was to excuse ourselves from another ill-conceived military effort into Iraq, and the the shallow politically expedient way of navigating that was to say 'Hmm, we won't send our soldiers into that minefield, but we'll free up your soldiers to do so. You win, we win, wink wink'.

If it was just a craven hunger for oil, it would be easier to stomach. At least it would be direct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our military is there to help open a secure corridor for a pipeline to export the oil and gas riches of the Caspian Basin of Central Asia to the West.

80% of the world supply of opiates comes from Afghanistan too. Not quite as profitable as oil but profitable none the less.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

( And KK' date=' that was a rather clever way of politicising something neutral! :P )[/quote']

A photo is political? Nay. The interpretation is political.

Thanks AD. Honestly, i didn't post the pic to be political in any way. I simply saw it in a collection of photographs and it really got to me emotionally. For me, I guess I see my wife, my son, and my daughter (who is 4 and has long blond hair like the girl in the pic) and it tugged on my soul.

Just wanted to state that we should be thankful for what we do have, and who we have, will they're here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You're right. KK's post was actually rather sincere and touching, the rest of us politicized it. Thanks. I let myself get carried away with that and lost sight of the initial perspective.

Humbled.

No worries man. I think I made the right decision by NOT posting it in the Politics Forum .

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I know I saw a thread (or post) by someone here a couple months back about all this. Might have been another board, I don't remember exactly.

A lot of the Afghan farmers, at least in a small portion of the country have switched to growing wheat & other crops, and considering that naan is made with wheat, for example, and is a staple food of the Afghan diet, it's probally a step in the right direction.

Although, I imagine it's tough to compete with the Taliban or al-Qaida militant's "up front" cash given to farmers to grow opium.

[color:red][edit to add]

And staying with the topic of the thread (sorta) I'm thankful my little bro has made it home (Scotland, UK) from both Afghanistan & Iraq. He's not in the Canadian military anymore, but serves in the QRAF, UK for the last 10-11 years.

Edited by Guest
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...