When I care what’s said on The Daily Show. Or for that matter, when I care about photos like this…
… making the email rounds.
Get a grip, people.
(BTW – if US “respect” for our military is your hot button, then this is a hell of a lot more concerning.)
The last word on this comes from Alex,in the comments;
I don’t find their comments particularly offensive, and I’m a serving member who’s lost personal friends in this war. They’re right – it’s pathetic that we have to consider pulling out just so we can recuperate. We should have never allowed the military to degrade that far.
The thing that infuriates me is the smug hypocrisy of the idiots who are most loudly complaining about this. They’re the same people who will will take any opportunity to make insulting jokes about Americans. They’re the same clowns who would gladly vote for a funding cut to the CF so that they can plant more trees in downtown Toronto. Yet they have the nerve to bitch and complain when some Fox talking-heads make a crack at our expense? It’s mind-blowingly asinine.
The above photo is funny. No doubt most in the Canadian military find it funny as well. It’s about our forces being ill-equipped, and has nothing to do with their personal contributions to efforts in Afghanistan.
The attack by Fox is something entirely different. It was a direct attack on the veracity and commitment of Canadian troops.
Why are you supporting Fox over Canadian troops? Are you really that partisan? Oh wait…
That stock photo of the gun ‘n skiff is out of date.
In 2002 we upgraded to bathtubs and heat seeking missiles.
đ
Don Cherry gets it right again:
“Who cares what they say down there?” Don Cherry, perhaps our most famous and patriotic Canadian, said today.
On his Saturday’s Coach’s Corner, he wept as he showed the pictures of the latest four soldiers.
But he did not want to bite on the bate from a low-rent American TV show.
“Pay no attention to it,” said Grapes. “And don’t give them any publicity.”
He’s probably right, but once something goes viral in this Internet world of ours, publicity is what it becomes. And on the backs of some dead soldiers?
http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/National/2009/03/23/8854601.html
If by yoga, Mr. Gutman means: “shooting the Taliban”, then yes, Canadians soldiers routinely do yoga- because they rock.
That show is excedingly bizarre and they are known to make odd commentary…but this really is over the top. An apology to our nation, troops and the families of the slain are in order.
kate…it’s Canada first…not Fox News
My first thought was “They look so real, those computer produced cartoons are getting so lifelike”. The hag looked like the toughest one there. As for the rest, they seemed a bit out of it.
As an old Vietnam vet, I salute all of the brave members of the Canadian military.
If there were ever a time when it was legitimate for Canadians to ridicule America because of political leadership, it is now. (We hope to change that.)
Clearly, right now there is only one distinctive statesman in North American leadership, and that is the very admirable and respectable Prime Minister Harper.
John: we should be outraged not at a cult tv show but at 1.5 decades of Liberal assault on the military and abuse of our forces and concerned with the subsequent problems that followed from attempting to âfight a war with peacetime process” that put Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie in a position were he felt the need to recommend an âoperational pause.â
That we would put our forces in the position where they require an “operational pause is what’s outrageous.
Canada’s favourite pastime: watching what the Americans say about us and going apoplectic when it ainât slobbering praise.
Some day weâll grow up.
Just goes to show FOX employs the same moron journalists everybody else does. They don’t know anything about Canada, the Canadian Forces, or Afghanistan, and they aren’t afraid to let it show. They also didn’t know we lost 4 guys that day, otherwise I’m sure their PC reflex would have kicked in.
Anybody in military circles knows that the Canadians are the guys you don’t want to have pissed at you. The Americans know it, the Brits know it, and the Taliban really know it.
And the picture is funny as hell. I bet a guy in the Forces made it.
Let the Americans keep thinking that. Its a good thing.
What I hope is they’re not feeding ammunition to the anti-war-in-afghanistan Canadians.
I don’t find their comments particularly offensive, and I’m a serving member who’s lost personal friends in this war. They’re right – it’s pathetic that we have to consider pulling out just so we can recuperate. We should have never allowed the military to degrade that far.
The thing that infuriates me is the smug hypocrisy of the idiots who are most loudly complaining about this. They’re the same people who will will take any opportunity to make insulting jokes about Americans. They’re the same clowns who would gladly vote for a funding cut to the CF so that they can plant more tree in downtown Toronto. Yet they have the nerve to bitch and complain when some Fox talking-heads make a crack at our expense? It’s mind-blowingly asinine.
Hey Alex
As another serving member, an infantry corporal no less, who’s lost many friends overseas, I can tell you that I’m not a person who makes insulting jokes about Americans. I’m not a clown who would vote for funding cuts to the CF. I’m not from Toronto, and I don’t live in Toronto. And I do have the nerve to bitch and complain and in fact, be disgusted at the Fox talking-heads. Have you risked your life under fire to bail out American troops? If you have then I’m guessing from your comment that you have a couple of screws loose. If you haven’t, then maybe you should talk to some of our lads who have. They’ll sort you out right quick.
To Kate: If you have never had to put your arm around a grieving father who had his son blown up with only melted and charred plastic pieces of his tactical vest left around a burning LAV, then you could never understand how incredibly despicable and hurtful these comments could be. I pray that you may some day gain some sensitivity.
Gutfeld is the very funny (conservative) host of a funny show.
When you’re a comedy writer and you hear a Canadian Army bigshot say, “The Canadian Army is taking a year off”, the yoga jokes write themselves.
Lighten up, guys. If you actually watched the show before complaining about it, you’d ‘get’ the take.
PS: here’s their take on David Frum. Come on, it’s hilarious:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Yd0Krz3q9k&feature=player_embedded
It angers me to hear that stuff on a weekend after our recent losses, but the hysteria is really misplaced. It was fairly boring material about Canada’s military that reflects the image our governments have spent the last fifty years cultivating. It’s all the same theme: draft dodgers, not going to Iraq and endless speeches about peacekeeping. Hey, the world noticed and that has become our image.
I wonder how many hack Canadian comics do routines about Americans as gun toting warmongers. Or Bush as Hitler?
I strongly suspect many of those complaining would happily degrade our military capabilities even further.
I have the greatest respect for the women and men of the Canadian Armed Forces. They are under paid, under equipment and under respected even by many Canadians, let alone the world’s most powerful military entity. Each day I try to consciously make a point of saying a silent “thank you” to these Canadian heroes as well as veterans from other wars.
That said: the Canadian Military is to the US military as Iceland’s Air Force is to the Canadian Air Force. If someone dissed the Icelandic Air Force would you get YOUR knickers in a knot?
Although our American cousins are not properly sensitive to and appreciative of the blood our soldiers have shed in Afghanistan, what great military power you would rather neighbour? Russia? China? Iraq? Iran? France or Germany during their hay days?
At the end of the day Blood trumps bullshit. The ignorant insensitive idiot who made the disrespectful comments should apologize to his betters.
And yes, I have indeed watched the show before, and I have indeed watched Fox News before.
I’ll lighten up when I feel it’s necessary. Now’s not the time.
I guess I’m with the liberals on this one. Proud to be agreeing with them on this matter.
Nice appeal to emotion, Phil. Very touching. I shed a tear, I really did.
“I pray that you may some day gain some sensitivity.”
I’ll sacrifice a goat that you may some day grow a pair. I’m not sure how you managed to stay in the infantry long enough to get your second hook, if this is the kind of shit that gets under your skin.
Alex took the words out of my mouth. Couldn’t have said it better.
Both posts.
Of a country that hauls comedians before human rights tribunals for insulting hecklers,
how could I expect its government not to demand apologies from comedians in others?
Well, after the ridicule and neglect that our military has had to put up with IN CANADA for so many years, I hardly think they will think twice about what some talking heads in the States have to say.
Personally, I would have been more upset about being used as a prop in an attack ad by the LPC.
I think my family members in the military feel the same way.
there are no comedians in foxholes….sometimes assholes of course…
which reminds me….anyone that would call a manhole a personhole is an asshole…
anyway this ignorant shite don’t bother me none….cause everyone knows us canucks are scary mofos in war….fyi we’re the numero uno snipers in the conflict mentioned…among other killing things we do extremely well…yup…comparisons ARE odious but we’re right up there with the limeys the scots and the marine corps…..and it IS a pity the gurkhas couldn’t help out some over there…everyone knows the a-rabs(like the germans) don’t like it stuck up them which is a particularly peculiarly scots/gurkha manner of rounding off a battlefield dispute…
i remember in the Falklands the brits told the argies they were cutting the gurkhas loose that night….the result ?…instant white flags…..yup…nobody much likes having it stuck up them…
What would General Patton say in a situation like this? Let me guess…….STOP WHINING.
F-in’ A, Alex.
You guys, the Forces have to take a year off because we don’t have any more guys to send. They sent -everybody-.
Who’s the joke here? The guys who went, or the stupid sonsab1tches who deliberately destroyed our armed forces over the last 35 years?
Or is it the voters of Canada who kept voting them in and letting them do it? You know, -us-?
Hey you know what? We bought it, we paid for it, now we get to WEAR IT.
Kate I usually agree with your point of view but we part company on this one.
Joking about the size or funding of our military is fair game. But joking about our lack of contribution to Afghanistan (or worse, not even being aware of it) when we’ve given 116 lives to the cause in being among the only countries doing the heavy lifting in Kandahar was disgraceful. These idiots do owe an apology to Canadians.
Well, I guess I’m not turning on my heel and stomping out of the room, but some of the comments above directed to Phil are making me think I should take a break from this site. dp left a little while ago, I guess I’m outta here for a while too.
The show just wasn’t funny.
The loss of four troops the same day is tragic.
Best wishes to all.
Hey, they are the ones thinking Afghanistan is connected to water.
Bush(pbuh) thought Islam was a noble religion that had invented toilet paper. Americans think Obama is a descendant of slaves when he is the descendant of slave dealers.
America lacks a lot of information it needs.
BTW, I don’t have a problem with the Canadian government issuing statements demanding apologies…if nothing else, it helps highlight Canada’s contributions in Afghanistan to our American neighbours. I think Mackay was doing his job here, defending the contributions of the CF.
I should be surprised that this got as much ink as it did, but really, I’m not. American bashing is a sport up here unfortunately.
If FoxNews disses you, who cares?
If the Taliban disses you on the battlespace, now there might be a more honorable quarrel to take up.
When the Taliban come out to play, might be a more relevant consideration for those in the CF. What some mutton heads say on TV or talk radio, has zero to do with controlling the battlefield.
I’m sure Lord Haw Haw and Tokyo Rose had many unflattering things to say in their day, but this didn’t dissuade troops from carrying out their charged tasks.
I would probably be more focused on why Public Works can’t get the lead out and refurbish the Leopard 2 tanks sitting on the Montreal waterfront.
Maybe Public Service need a couple of star shell rounds in their offices to light up their work space in addition to motivating their pointy little neurons.
A little Public Service ‘shock therapy’ might be just the ticket. Donner and Blitzen at your service.
Cheers
Hans-Christian Georg Rupprecht, Commander in Chief
Frankenstein Battalion
2nd Squadron: Ulanen-(Lancers) Regiment GroĂherzog Friedrich von
Baden(Rheinisches) Nr.7(Saarbrucken)
Knecht Rupprecht Division
Hans Corps
1st Saint Nicolaas Army
Army Group “True North”
“American bashing is a sport up here unfortunately.”
It’s because they so richly deserve it.
Come on. These guys were acting like dicks. I don’t see them putting their pasty asses on the line. That’s usually the funny thing about chickenhawks.
As for funding the military properly vs. planting trees in downtown TO… er… why not both?
I think anyone is entitled to make fun of anyone they want – we laugh at jokes regarding Catholics every other day.. we laugh at ignorant American jokes all the time as well..
My point – these assholes aren’t funny. Beyond that – their humor betrays their ignorance.
So?
Well – why is it that as biased as they obviously are, Jon Stewart and Bill Maher have a certain intelligence to their biased humor – and what we, as conservatives have to put up with, are moronic clowns like this and Rush Limbaugh…
I mean – our best ally is probably Dennis Leary who’s an avowed Democrat.
Yes – they can make fun of anyone they like – my point – is they sell the stereotype that conservatives are ignorant knuckle-draggers.. which inhibits our ability to establish a stronger foothold in politics – particularly in Canada.
I mean – what next, fart jokes?
He apologized:
http://www.winnipegsun.com/news/canada/2009/03/23/8856061.html
âThe March 17th episode of Red Eye included a segment discussing Canada’s plan for a âsynchronized break,â which was in no way an attempt to make light of troop efforts. However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood,â Gutfeld said in the statement. âIt was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize. Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humorous and ridiculous manner.â
And to those who suggest that our military should never have been allowed to degrade to the point that we need an operational break; fine. In my mind, the current state of our military makes the commitment we’ve shown in Afghanistan all the more remarkable, no? All the more reason for our contribution to Afghanistan to be recognized for what it is, and not mocked by a few uninformed idiots.
I know as a fact that Americans and especially American military have nothing but respect and high regard for Canadian military. The crack on Red Eye was to the government that decided to pull them back and not to the military directly. Big difference. Even so, why should your care? The show is nothing if not asinine cracks.
There are words for this where the terms are changed within the argument for the sake of disputation, but all that’s pedantry. The point is, we love you with the warmth of a glowing sun. Or perhaps the warmth of a 40 Watt light bulb. See what I did there? That’s what Red Eye does.
I didnt even know Fox News was even in the ratings war with the Daily Show.
Bad joke by a not terribly funny comedian, I wouldnt worry too much.
As for the military needing a rest….sure it does. It will be 9 years of combat operations for the army…time for the other Nato allies, yes that means you Germany, to put some soldiers in harms way…if not then the alliance isnt worth the cost or time and time to end it.
That being said, the US are the ones who can make the big difference now that they are largely done in Iraq, dont hear much about that anymore…hey did Obama win that war for the US? (LOL)
âIt was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military”
And who was he accusing needed to “take a break for a spa year” if it was not the same brave men and women of the Canadian military? Who made the joke that the US had to send soldiers up to protect against a Russian invasion because Canadian soldiers would be too busy with pedicures and manicures?
There is definitely a line between joking about the commitment by Canada to our military and the commitment by Canadian soldiers to our military. And that is the line that this uninformed maroon crossed.
idiocy
Yes, we are going to be taking a breather, a sort of ‘time out’, to rest, refit and re-equip our land forces.The sharp end of our armed forces is about 16.3 thousand.Can you imagine the incredible amount of money and effort needed to sustain 2500 soldiers in Afghanistan for seven years? To cloth, feed, transport, arm etc etc..it has taken billions of dollars.Add to that our other obligations with regards to our navy (also on rotation in the Gulf) our air force, homeland defense, training, attrition etc, and you can see a recipe for disaster if we don’t take a break from our sustained operational tempo.
Don’t you worry, the same people who decry us being in Afghanistan will be the first to bray for our rested and re-equipped troops to be dispatched to Darfur.
Just you watch..
Phantom, not to be insulting, but you don’t do youself any good by commenting on something you apprently know nothing about, and don’t trust CTV to help fill you in because their story leave so much out it looks more like a piece meant to incite a riot rather than inform.
These aren’t serious journalists, not by any stretch, and this was taped and aired 3 days before the deaths in Afghanistan.
Gutfeld is a former editor at Stuff and Maxim (UK) and Schulz writes/wrote for Stuff and various other magaznies; hardly serious journalists. They are the only permanent panelists and pretty much set the tone. All you need to know about Gutfeld is he was fired from Stuff for being too over the top although you can check out his HuffingtonPost entries to get a good glimpse of his humor. Let’s just say more than one petition was launched to get him throw off HuffPo.
On thing that is clear from looking at the youtube and CTV thread on this video, is that the people most offended at the stereotyping of the Candian military and police forces as low tech and backward don’t hesitate to stereotype Americans as dumb hicks and Fox news as a hate group (and then brag about how they’ve never actually watch it).
I would really like to see Andy Levy’s ‘omsbudding’ of that segment though. He is usually pretty quick to bring up Canada’s military record whenever we come up in on of the segments.
These guys are on in the weee hours of the morning for the same reason that lame-o’s like Rick Mercer work for the CBC . . . they don’t have the any talent.
The desperation of these guys to create some headlines and get some free publicity.
I don’t find their comments particularly offensive, and I’m a serving member who’s lost personal friends in this war. They’re right – it’s pathetic that we have to consider pulling out just so we can recuperate. We should have never allowed the military to degrade that far.
What’d ya do Kate, go through 500 e-mails on the topic to get that one? I think your poster boy is alone in his thinking. “Talking to Americans” is boring and stupid, this Redeye satire a whole new low.
Maybe you need to stay awake every night for 4 months straight wondering if your kid is going to come home, only to hear shit like this.
Maybe this incident will make the message hit home that we must invest much much more in our national defence and war-waging capabilities. It’s not happening quickly enough.
The guy on FOX is an asshat, no doubt, but not entirely off the mark, for the inconvenient truth is that we need much more done for the CF.
On the other hand, just watch Obama decimate the US Forces. He’s actually promised to do so, but how many of us heard? Of course the Big Media won’t mention it.
Rebuilding the CF will be stimulative. So let’s use those billions for the Forces! Let’s resurrect Avro, resurrect all sorts of defence industries. If we don’t, and if America doesn’t, either, then the Axis will be more powerful than we are… do we want that to happen? Imagine if Hitler and the Japanese had even bigger, more powerful militaries and if they beat us to the Bomb, what the world would be like today. What will it be like if we fail to stand up to them with a bigger stick? Dammit, the Arms Race is our survival insurance! If we let the enemy win the Arms Race, they’ll kill us.
And don’t forget that Obama refuses to allow the replenishment of aging nuke deterrent stocks, whilst our enemies are amassing theirs.
I agree with commentor Alex. If Leftists in Canada want to make a stink over some foreign asshat nobody dissing our Forces, then they’ll have to put their money where their big mouths are and call on the Harper Conservatives to inject billions more per annum into the CF.
As the father of a soldier who did 3 tours in Afstan I was insulted by the ignorance exhibited by Gutfeld, not really by his blather. The guy’s an immature jerkoff, nothing more.
It’s the culture of Americans to see themselves as all-important and all-powerful. They see a world map and all they see is a huge land mass called USA, and a whole bunch of little, inconsequential countries. Their educational system totally ignores geography & history which is not American.
This is the reason people like Bill Maher & Jon Stewart are so popular amongst the US population. They constantly disparage viewpoints and people from outside their cliques, because as Americans they hold the view that they can make fun of everyone, as its the American Way. However, Stewart has considerable wit when he pokes fun at political foes, and to a much lesser extent, so too does Maher. Gutfeld has nothing except a sneer & a smirk, and that makes his comments merely immature, cowardly tripe.
I posted comments on Fox with Glenn Beck & Bill O’Reilly outlining my objections with Red Eye’s segment. Doubtful that they are proud of having such a weak sister as Gutfeld on their channel, and they can probably help clean that train wreck up.
up teddy my BOY, life is definitly to short to joke, got to keep serious in the fore front
BTW; what was your take on the Parriah, stomping the USA flag, and refering to them very negatively
so if people don’t watch the “show”, it shouldn’t bother them
One lame brained commentator does not represent the whole of the United States. I`ve watched late night USA TV. In most cases it lacks but one important item. IQ!
“I posted comments on Fox with Glenn Beck & Bill O’Reilly outlining my objections with Red Eye’s segment. Doubtful that they are proud of having such a weak sister as Gutfeld on their channel, and they can probably help clean that train wreck up.”
Posted by: Alienated at March 23, 2009 3:45 PM
I did much the same.
As a Canadian I like FOX News, O’Reilly, Ingraham, Hannity, what a breath of fresh air to listen to conservatives, even if they are American.
The best we can do is on the internet, eh Kate?
Just out of curiosity,Where can I buy one of those boats in the picture?
I don’t get it. One person, that’s one person, on a show that airs at 3:00am, makes a juvenile joke, and Canadians are supposed to demand official apologies? That says something more about us than about the 3:00am host.
Americans, including their military and industrialists and just about any American, are routinely condemned, belittled and joked about on Canadian television – think about Rick Mercer, 22 Minutes, Royal Cd Air Farce, CBC and CTV news..I recall Kevin Newman gravely informing us that the US was a ‘rogue state’..; and sneered at by Liberals and NDP alike in parliament. And that’s in prime time, not 3:00 am. Do Americans demand apologies for all of this?
I think we are the ones with the problem. And no, not all Americans are dumb about other countries; a lot are quite knowledgeable. Just as a lot of Canadians don’t know a thing about the US. Or Europe. Or even, Canada, its geography and history.
But to treat this guy as if he were someone to take seriously – doesn’t make any sense to me.
Alex – STOP making perfect comments so the rest of us can write in.
It is a satire show , children, not a news show – satire is sometimes offensive – we really need some adult supervision in Canada.
Our military IS a joke , not our soldiers.
If we gave the CF any more funding cuts , they would be riding (cheap , old) oxen into battle with garbage can lids as body armor.
I have to say that I am on the side of those who are outraged.
You do not joke about dead people. Period.
When people have died in Afghanistan fighting for Canada, and they joke that they did not even know we were in Afghanistan, then they have crossed the line.
I really don’t care if our military needs improvement, or whatever. You do not joke about the sacrifice that so many people have made in Afghanistan.
You’re absolutely right, Kate, that the Red-Eye segment doesn’t deserve such major hoo-ha. And it’s revolting to see Canadian media who don’t support the war effort suddenly turning all defensive about our soldiers, especially when it’s a pretext to attack FOX, and Americans. But it probably deserves passing comment that Gutfield et al are repulsive — kind of gay, really, in the more pejorative, not the sexual orientation, sense.
Criticisms of Canada’s decision to wind down the AFghan mission are legitimate and welcome. As Alex said, “it’s pathetic that we have to consider pulling out just so we can recuperate. We should have never allowed the military to degrade that far.” But in light of the fact that Canadian troops have gone right to the heart of the fight in Kandahar while soldiers from other NATO nations have stayed a safe distance away, statements like “I thought that’s where you go when you don’t want to fight” are ignorant. Ignorance, of course, isn’t a crime, moral or otherwise.
So, are the remarks worthy of widespread gnashing of the teeth by CBC/CTV? No — that’s just evidence of prurient, opportunistic hypocrisy. Should anyone else here or elsewhere really care, or be up in arms about it? No; it was just a couple/three idiots who were trying to be funny and edgy. But — again, for what it’s worth — they are idiots.
I think there’s a positive angle to this mini-hoo-ha: as Bic said, just above in the comments here, “the people most offended at the stereotyping of the Canadian military…don’t hesitate to stereotype Americans as dumb hicks, and Fox news as a hate group.” To the extent that that’s true, the outraged critics he describes are not conservatives, who typically don’t bash America, but the prog/left. And I’m not sure there’s a real downside to the prospect of the Canadian prog/left defending our troops, even by default. Maybe the “outrage” is fueled by anti-Americanism, but there is an upside to that: among the prog-left, anti-Americanism is an endlessly renewable resource, whereas defense of our soldiers isn’t.