2. This incident offended me.

3. I’m ignorant enough to ascribe the negative characteristics of those participating in the incident to the entire population of country.

Signed, VinceP

P.S. I’m probably also a bigot and, quite possibly, racist.

As a retired Military guy, I appreciate the sacrifice and support of ALL our allies, and to crack jokes about the defense forces of our closest neighbor is no laughing matter in my book.

That all said, I understood the context of the original comments, and consider the whole thing closed.

Have to disagree ddrintn,

It is their presence in Afghanistan that has put them high up on the terrorist hitlist. Supporting the US in afghanistan has significantly increased the likelyhood they will be attacked not the otherway around. Just look at the increase in threats they’ve receieved post-afghan war involvement.

DustyGreen on March 25, 2009 at 12:39 AM

Have to disagree with DustyGreen. Everyone who does not adhere to their exact brand of Islam is on the terrorists’ hit list already. The only difference between all of us on the hit list is when and how they’ll hit us. It therefore behooves everyone on the hit list to fight the terrorists now and wholeheartedly, rather than waiting until the terrorists start working their way down the list.

Canada and the rest of the free world are not pulling their own weight. If they wish to remain free, they need to start doing so now.

It is their presence in Afghanistan that has put them high up on the terrorist hitlist. Supporting the US in afghanistan has significantly increased the likelyhood they will be attacked not the otherway around. Just look at the increase in threats they’ve receieved post-afghan war involvement.

Let’s try this: someone flies a jetliner into a building in downtown Toronto, killing thousands. You offer your support to Canada, including sending troops overseas to help take down the cabal that hosted the attackers. Your troops are busy fighting and dying, with a planned operational stand-down coming up. A Canadian comedy host starts yacking about how the Americans are taking time off to run around in capri pants and paint landscapes, pussies that they are. What a ridiculous country, he says. Someone else chimes in that he didn’t even know the Americans were fighting. Their soldiers are doing so little, after all, it’s barely noticeable.

Gaunilon on March 24, 2009 at 8:00 PM

Your country isn’t there to avenge the WTC. Your country is there to reduce the likelihood of an airliner being flown into an office building in Toronto.

From 2003

During a four-day visit, boys travelling with their Massachusetts hockey team witnessed the burning of the Stars and Stripes and the booing of the U.S. national anthem. When travelling in their bus emblazoned with a red-white-and-blue “Coach USA” logo, they saw people on the street who extended their middle fingers or made other angry gestures.
[...]
Their bus entered downtown Montreal just as hundreds of college and university students were marching through the streets in an antiwar demonstration. Police cruisers spotted the U.S. bus and escorted it to its hotel on Sherbrooke Street as a safety precaution. A police officer urged the visitors to remain in the bus until the protest passed.

The children watched as several demonstrators made obscene gestures toward the bus. A U.S. flag was dragged through the street.

“We felt horrible,” Mr. Nadeau said. “How would you feel if the Canadian flag was dragged down the streets in the U.S.A.? This is a country that’s supposed to be our ally.”

That night, about a dozen families went to the Montreal Canadiens-New York Islanders game at the Montreal Bell Centre, a much-anticipated visit planned months in advance. In a gesture later condemned, the U.S. national anthem was widely booed by the crowd, leaving the visiting American children perplexed.

“The kids were just questioning, ‘Why are they doing this?’ ” said David Cruise, who was there with his 12-year-old son. “It’s hard for them to realize we weren’t in America any more; we were in a different country.

“I said, ‘They’re booing our national anthem because they don’t like us.’ ”

Mr. Cruise felt so uncomfortable that he left with his son after the first period. “Whether you’re for or against the war, we have guys over there dying,” Mr. Cruise said. “The next time, we’ll stay in the States. I’m not going back there again.”

The visitors say anti-American comments continued when the young players faced off against the Beverly Bandits, a team from Beverly, Ont. U.S. players say the Canadians hurled insults during face-offs and at other times.

“They told us we sucked, gave us the finger and said ‘Down with the U.S.A.’ or ‘The U.S.A. sucks,” Mr. Nadeau said. At one point, a Canadian player made a disparaging remark about the United States “and the referee turned around and said, ‘I agree with you.’ “What stunned us was that the referee, who is supposed to be unbiased, is agreeing with the boys on the ice.”

His players “wanted to retaliate” against the Canadians, but Mr. Nadeau said he urged them “not to do anything foolish.”

Let’s try this: someone flies a jetliner into a building in downtown Toronto, killing thousands. You offer your support to Canada, including sending troops overseas to help take down the cabal that hosted the attackers. Your troops are busy fighting and dying, with a planned operational stand-down coming up. A Canadian comedy host starts yacking about how the Americans are taking time off to run around in capri pants and paint landscapes, pussies that they are. What a ridiculous country, he says. Someone else chimes in that he didn’t even know the Americans were fighting. Their soldiers are doing so little, after all, it’s barely noticeable.

That scenario is a non starter – No one would have any doubts that the Americans were there and getting the job done. They would never take a year off for training or regrouping. And if they did, they would be deserving of mocking.

And BTW – it’s not the Canadian soldiers that were being ridiculed, it’s the Canadian government for having such a weak and underfunded military. And the only reason they can get away with it, is because they share a border with us, because they know we would never allow some thugs to come and make war with Canada.

Let’s try this: someone flies a jetliner into a building in downtown Toronto, killing thousands. You offer your support to Canada, including sending troops overseas to help take down the cabal that hosted the attackers. Your troops are busy fighting and dying, with a planned operational stand-down coming up. A Canadian comedy host starts yacking about how the Americans are taking time off to run around in capri pants and paint landscapes, pussies that they are. What a ridiculous country, he says. Someone else chimes in that he didn’t even know the Americans were fighting. Their soldiers are doing so little, after all, it’s barely noticeable.

I think you’d call it like it is: the comedian is a shithead.

One more thing: when Heather Mallick spewed her supposedly entertaining bile in a CBC opinion piece about American conservatives (not even the soldiers, as I recall) a lot of people on HotAir were rightly disgusted. A lot us Canucks were too. Many outraged letters were written to CBC, including by myself. After seeing the outrage the editor of CBC published a full-page apology, promising that this would never happen again.

You’ll notice the difference in response here. Of course, in this case it’s made worse that it comes from Fox. They’ve just given the left added ammunition. At least with CBC we all know it’s a rabidly leftist nutswamp, so it only reflects badly on the loons. Foxnews, on the other hand, is blue on blue. Thanks a lot gents.

Clue in people. We’re you allies. Our soldiers deserve better than this. Gutfeld is a shithead.

My God what a bunch of F’ing babies.

Gutfield was not insulting thier troops, they were joking about the buereuracracy.

I rememeber when Trimuph the Dog was in Montreal making fun of Canadians, they got in a huge uproar about that.

Canadians are sanctimonious little babies… and believe me, they have no qualms talking smack about us.

The USA IS IGNORANT by anyone standards, the UN does a survey of education across a selection of developed countries and we come pitifully low everytime.

DustyGreen on March 24, 2009 at 6:06 PM

Yeah, and the UN is totally disinterested. Of course the education system in the country stinks. That doesn’t mean there are loads of Einsteins north of the border, though.

I’m reminded a little of the ridiculous Reporters Without Borders “press freedom rankings” in which the media here were considered to be less “free” than in just about any European country.

Well, to answer my own question – Canada is not mad at Gutfeld, since the headline was “FOX MOCKS CANADA TROOPS” or “FOX MOCKS FALLEN CANADIAN SOILDERS CAUSE FOX IS EVIL”
The fact that soooo many poeple, some american , a very few of them are americans that now live in canada, or from canada living in america, calling our soilders terrorist…. when we lost 4000… alot mroe than 4…

Also Celine dione is very anti war….. so we demand an appology cause she is insentive to our 4k men lost? yeah didnt think so.

This is only an attempt to bash Fox

In an increasingly globalized world where US dominance is ona steady decline this fact is going to shoot us in the foot. We don’t just pay attention to what affects us, we are to ignorant to even guess what may affect us, thus we are woefully unprepared.

Or the Canadians could just grow a pair and ignore it.

Dr Evil on March 24, 2009 at 2:13 PM

Well, yeah. The Red Eye thing still is nowhere near as vile as, say, Heather Mallick, who’s still going strong, I take it. I don’t hold Canada responsible.

your ignorance becomes you.

Most military’s are not set up for a long drawn out struggle.

Bubba Redneck on March 24, 2009 at 1:57 PM

Neither is ours. Adapt and overcome.

Yes they have relied on their bigger brother to the South (what are North Americans for but to help out other North Americans!) but the Canadians have always tried to pull their weight as a member of NATO and NORAD…

Canada is not pulling its weight. Yes, they’re doing better than the French and the Germans, but is that anything to brag about?

“Canada: at least we’re better than France and Germany!”

The rest of the free world – including Canada – needs to start pulling its own weight if they wish to remain free.

What does everyone think we are sending in 17,000. troops and marines in for? To clean up the Taliban again, NATO couldn’t hold the territory.

The strategy in Afghanistan seems to consist of taking, leaving and then retaking the same town over and over again. Thiss a postmodern approach to warfare is doomed to failure.

I heard some wannabe reporter was watching Bigger, Longer and Uncut Sunday night; Matt and Trey, consider yourselves on notice.

With that said, the contribution Canada is making in Afghanistan is really neglected in our media. The only time I’m reminded of it is when Don Cherry salutes more dead troops each week on Coach’s Corner.

Or the Canadians could just grow a pair and ignore it.

These morons on the show need to:
a) Learn politeness
b) Learn respect for warriors who fight to defend freedom regardless of nationality
c) Learn some history
d) Stay south of our northern border
e) Learn to make fun friends in a way that makes them laugh as well – it’s called comedy.
f) Join the ranks of those serving Big Macs.