959 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

At least 17 people were killed in celebratory gunfire in Kabul, news agencies said on Saturday, after Taliban sources said their fighters had seized control of Panjshir, the last province in Afghanistan holding out against the Islamist group.

 

Leaders of opposition to the Taliban have denied that the province has fallen.

 

The Shamshad news agency said "aerial shooting" in Kabul on Friday killed 17 people and wounded 41. Tolo news agency gave a similar toll.

 

https://www.reuters....rts-2021-09-04/

 

 

The gunfire drew a rebuke from the main Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid.

 

"Avoid shooting in the air and thank God instead," Mujahid said in a message on Twitter. "Bullets can harm civilians, so don't shoot unnecessarily."

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 04 September 2021 - 06:14 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Lt.-Gen. Trevor Cadieu, who was to take command of the Canadian Army, is now under police investigation after allegations were raised about sexual misconduct, this newspaper has confirmed.

https://nationalpost...19-4e5aec6bdd7c

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 October 2021 - 05:03 AM.

[spanky123]

^ Another one bites the dust. With a backlog of a 1,000 grievances and a court system that will take years to progress, these folks will be long retired before there is any resolution at which time nobody will care anymore.

What I don’t understand is why decades old allegations are only made after someone is appointed to a position or becomes the centre of attention.

[VANRIDERFAN]

And another bites the dust. And he replaced Mulligan Man.

 

https://www.theglobe...ual-misconduct/

[spanky123]

Maybe it is just me but I find it hard to believe that every officer in the military is a sex offender. At some point the media needs to start asking how it is that as soon as someone is given a senior promotion the next day an anonymous complaint surfaces.

[Sparky]

^ But they are not anonymous allegations are they?

[Victoria Watcher]

The former commandant of the Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence is continuing to serve in the military after being relieved of his command following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct.

In April, the Canadian Forces temporarily removed Lt.-Col. Raphael Guay from his duties overseeing the school in Kingston, Ont.



https://www.cbc.ca/n...nduct-1.6215222

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 October 2021 - 03:28 PM.

[spanky123]

^ But they are not anonymous allegations are they?

 

I am sure that authorities know who they are, but I was suggesting that nobody has come forward publicly.

[spanky123]

The former commandant of the Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence is continuing to serve in the military after being relieved of his command following an investigation into allegations of inappropriate conduct.

In April, the Canadian Forces temporarily removed Lt.-Col. Raphael Guay from his duties overseeing the school in Kingston, Ont.



https://www.cbc.ca/n...nduct-1.6215222

 

The investigation found "no sufficient evidence to support" laying a charge using the military's justice system, DND said.

 

So what do you do with someone who is innocent then - fire them anyways?

[Victoria Watcher]

Emergency services say 10 people have been injured, one seriously, at Canadian Forces Base Comox in what the military described as a "significant" explosion.

The blast happened around 9 a.m. PT in an unused barracks building, according to base spokesperson Capt. Brad Little.

https://www.cbc.ca/n...ports-1.6253974

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 18 November 2021 - 03:34 PM.

[AllseeingEye]

Good old Canada and its federal politicians - dumb as a bunch of stumps. After all why procure the best weapons/patrol/surveillance platforms for those serving in uniform when the reality is "political considerations" will always dictate that we must above all ensure as many jobs as possible go to Quebec? 

 

As usual critical strategic and sovereignty considerations get flushed in favor of political expediency - no matter how strenuously the Liberals in this instance deny it - and those serving on the front lines are stuck again and again and again with outdated, obsolete or generally crap equipment usually not replaced for decades beyond its service life*

 

https://www.cbc.ca/n...-cost-1.6287985

 

*See the debacle around the Sea King helicopter replacements, see the RCN surface fleet upgrades/replenishment ship replacements, see the RCAF F-18 replacement program and now, totally unsurprisingly, the long ago promised polar icebreakers which likely won't patrol the Far North for at least another decade, if even then.....

[spanky123]

^ The problem is quite simple. Anyone good in DND procurement or construction gets poached by one of the defense contractors. They then get a decent salary PLUS their DND pension. They know all of the loopholes and DND staff and then work for the benefit of the contractors extracting as much money as they possibly can. 

 

Our system of procurement is f&^%ed, always has been and always will be. As the article states, there has never been a project delivered anywhere near on time or anywhere near on budget. 

 

If you want any hope of addressing the problem then we need to be serious about soliciting offshore bids and actually holding people responsible when they don't deliver.

[AllseeingEye]

^ The problem is quite simple. Anyone good in DND procurement or construction gets poached by one of the defense contractors. They then get a decent salary PLUS their DND pension. They know all of the loopholes and DND staff and then work for the benefit of the contractors extracting as much money as they possibly can. 

 

Our system of procurement is f&^%ed, always has been and always will be. As the article states, there has never been a project delivered anywhere near on time or anywhere near on budget. 

 

If you want any hope of addressing the problem then we need to be serious about soliciting offshore bids and actually holding people responsible when they don't deliver.

 

That's it, period full stop. 

[Daveyboy]

The submarines have been known since the beginning within DND ship repair as the "BLACK ATM's"

There is not really any interest at higher government levels of actually having a fully functional military.  I believe that the primary consideration is how Canada can be seen to have a military by other countries while continuing to use corruption to manipulate the voting public.  Nobody willing to state the obvious and actually effect change could ever make it into the upper ranks of the military.  

[AllseeingEye]

The submarines have been known since the beginning within DND ship repair as the "BLACK ATM's"

There is not really any interest at higher government levels of actually having a fully functional military.  I believe that the primary consideration is how Canada can be seen to have a military by other countries while continuing to use corruption to manipulate the voting public.  Nobody willing to state the obvious and actually effect change could ever make it into the upper ranks of the military.  

 

No question; of course we are fooling none of our close allies particularly the US/UK/Australia etc. Which is a large part of the reason the US/Australia have moved closer because the Aussies at least recognize some of the serious strategic issues confronting the West that Ottawa does not, either because they're utterly dense, negligent or because they simply don't care. No votes in it for them in Quebec by supporting a stronger CAF that's for sure....

 

And I'm fairly certain we only spend what we do on Defence - which isn't nearly enough, nor it is spent intelligently - due to the fact the allies pressure our government behind the scenes and sometimes very publicly when their frustration boils over. Had a friend some years back who was part of the team providing the daily intelligence brief to the PM/PMO when that old hack Chretien was was in charge.

 

To quote Hugh the ".....Liberals didn't know the difference between an aircraft carrier and a newspaper carrier and nor did they care". 

[Victoria Watcher]

World peace is sure to ensue.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canadian foreign minister to visit Ukraine, vows to deter Russian aggression

 

 

Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly will visit Kyiv next week to reaffirm support for Ukrainian sovereignty and reinforce efforts to deter "aggressive actions" by Russia, Ottawa said on Saturday.

 

Moscow has stationed more than 100,000 troops near the border with Ukraine and the United States said on Friday it feared Russia was preparing a pretext to invade if diplomacy failed to meet its objectives. 

 

 

 

 

https://www.reuters....ion-2022-01-15/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 January 2022 - 01:05 PM.

[Nparker]

So this doesn't apply to MPs/federal ministers: https://travel.gc.ca...nations/ukraine

[Moderation]

Perhaps the Government has decided that the situation is serious enough to be classified as essential travel.

[AllseeingEye]

Assuming all the usual covid protective and preventive measures are in place and adhered to by the minister's party, given the seriousness of the current situation this IMO is more than a risk worth taking; if 'bad things' happen in Ukraine i.e. an incursion by Russian troops who are currently massing on the common border - otherwise known as an invasion - the potential is very real for far more important repercussions for the Ukrainians and in particular NATO, than worrying about covid.

 

(Bad) optics and strategic considerations aside re NATO, given Chinese expansion everywhere and the North Korean Nutbag testing and periodically popping off missiles designed to hit western North America, the last thing the world needs right now is instability and outright hostilities in Eastern Europe.

 

Putin & Co need to be absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the negatives involved in any Russian military operation against Ukraine heavily outweigh any perceived positive net gains.

Edited by AllseeingEye, 15 January 2022 - 01:42 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Putin & Co need to be absolutely convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that the negatives involved in any Russian military operation against Ukraine heavily outweigh any perceived positive net gains.

 

I'll support Joly being placed as a "human shield".  

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 15 January 2022 - 01:39 PM.