OPINIONS OVER THE EDGE NEWSPAPER. OCTOBER 27, 2006 Wear Red on the 28th NOLAN RAMSAY CONTRIBUTOR Several years ago, the news showed our contingent in Afghanistan look- ing small, ill-equipped, and bored. Now, one only needs to visit YouTube to see that our army, and the Canad- ian Forces as a whole, has changed. We see Canadian soldiers fighting off ambushes, getting into gun battles, and (most shockingly) aggressively raiding Taliban compounds with an enormous amount of firepower and violence. Even the new recruiting ads have begun to use the politically in- correct word “fight” in their new re- cruiting drive to attract soldiers. Enter the Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA). On October 28th, they will be organizing a “pan-Canadian” day of protest to “bring Canadian troops home” in conjunction with the Collec- tif Echec ala Guerre, Canadian Labour Congress, and the Canadian Islamic Congress. The event is expected to draw “tens of thousands” and “tell Stephen Harper that we are opposed to his wholehearted support for Can- adian and US militarism.” Through- ‘out the website are several factsheets, using various media reports, that try to de-legitimize the mission by paint- ing it as a US-led occupation with the sole intent of tapping the regional oil and natural gas reserves. They also point at Afghanistan’s elected legis- lature being made up of mostly dru- glords and warlords who still use pri- vate militias. Then, of course, is the idea of Canadian soldiers fighting in a war which goes against every national tradition of portraying the Canadian Forces as nothing more than inter- national relief workers in green fa- tigues (read: peacekeepers). “As someone who has served, and who has both family and friends in theatre, I'm going to wear ted on the 28th’ First of all, the invasion of Afghan- istan, and its subsequent stabilization, was thoroughly authorized by the UN in one of the most multi-lateral military agreements in history which even in- cluded nations outside of NATO. The fact that the United States and Britain can send more troops to help than most countries should be seen as an asset to the mission, not used to cre- ate some guilt by association because Canada is also contributing. Further, if we wish to help Afghanistan be- come more than a third-world country run by corrupt druglords, it would be beneficial to shift their primary econ- omy from opium and heroin to oil and gas. A growing oil-based industry can only benefit a country which has a 78% unemployment rate. If our soldiers look like they know how to fight, it should be no surprise. The Canadian army in particular has always been misunderstood by the general public. Since the Suez Crisis, it has been portrayed as a nothing more than a group of peacekeepers by the media. Only those actually in uniform, and their families, knew better. The Canadian army has never seen itself as a “peacekeeping only” organization, except when told to portray such an image by its polit- ical master of the day, but an actual army whose primary purpose is to engage enemy forces and kill them. For them, their heritage didn’t start at Suez but at Vimy Ridge where Canad- ian initiative, toughness, and sacrifice won the day. It continued into World War Two and Korea where, as Ste- phen Harper would say, we punched above our weight. Canada has a little known tradition of having a tough and adaptable army which is now surpris- ing both the media and the public as if it were a new development. To the equally ignorant CPA, this is nothing less than some new “Americaniza- tion” of our army. How else could you explain the “un-Canadian” defence developments like the formation of two special forces units, the acquisi- Environmentalism Goes to Vegas ANDREW KURJATA EDITOR IN CHIEF Today I’m going to talk about en- vironmentalism, and I want to- HEY! COME BACK HERE! Yeah, you. The person who sees the word “environmentalism” and immedi- ately turns the page, dismissing it as the ranting of tree-hugging, granola-loving hippies who have no grounding in re- ality. Well, I’m tired of it. I mean, I'm not the hugest environmentalist in the world, but I do try-- I sort my trash for recycling and I use the compost as much as I can. I know it isn’t much, but that's kind of the point. I'm sick of people being so damn lazy and clueless about things that they refuse to even make the smallest change to their lifestyle on the off-chance that maybe, just maybe, it might prevent complete and utter dis- aster, And, if you're an anti-environmental- ist I expect that you have already formu- lated one of two standard arguments. Either you're thinking (a) “What dif- ference will it make if I throw my apple in a compost? It’s not enough to change anything,’ or (b) “Psh. Global warming is just a scare tactic created by a bunch of ‘Chicken Little’ environmentalists running around saying the sky is going to fall every time winter comes a few weeks late.’ You could well be right. I mean, I'm not a scientist. I have no idea how figure out whether the core temperature has really changed that much in the-last twenty years, and then calculate whether this is a direct result of humans or not, But Ido know basic statistics. And I know that nearly one hundred per cent of scientists say that global warming is happening, it will have disastrous consequences, and it's a direct result of people in industrial- _ ized nations driving too much and using too much packaging. Pretty much the only ones who say otherwise are work- ing for the government-- and I don't much trust the government. Remem- ber, government said they would get rid of GST and that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that they did not have sex with that woman. Are you really going to trust their position on the environment, especially when so many politicians are in the pockets of mass- polluting industries? However, this sort of argument often falls on deaf ears, mostly because people think the economy is more important than the environment. So instead, let's take this to a place that anyone whos in- terested in money loves: Las Vegas. Vegas is the gambling capital of the world. Now, when you gamble, you make your bet based on the likelihood of an outcome, and the potential pay- off. So, for argument's sake let's say that there's a fifty percent chance that most of the world’s scientists are right and that global warming will have a disas- trous effect on the world within the next one hundred years if we don't change our ways. On the other hand, there's a fifty percent chance that they're wrong and nothing bad will happen. Here's a basic spreadsheet showing these two possibilities, along with our choice of ac- tions, and the consequences of each one, Where would you place your bet? Global Warming is Real Global Warming is False we change disaster averted. we diversify the economy, end de- pendence on oil, and create new jobs we don't change everyone dies life goes on I know this looks pretty stupidly simple, but in all honesty, that's just the way it is. If we change, the worst that happens is a short-term transition petiod for the economy and maybe the few extra seconds it takes to move your hand away from the trash can and over to the recycling bin. If we don't change, the best that happens is life goes on as it is-- until we run out of oil anyways and everything goes into a tailspin. Many, many countries have seen the error of their ways, from Western Eut- ope to Southeast Asia. They have infra- structure in place for mass recycling and composting programs, and there are often financial consequences for not adhering. People drive less, and when they do, their cars are more fuel-efh- cient. There's no reason we cant at least try to do the same. So next time you're asked if you want that McDonald's order “to go,’ just say no and avoid the extra packaging. Or walk to the corner store instead of driving-- you could use the exercise anyways. And that pop can? Hold onto for just a bit and throw it in the recycling. It's the least you can do. tion of armoured personnel carriers (which we also sell to the US), and the use of infantry to close with and destroy the enemy; don’t all these ag- gressively militant actions account for the 42 casualties Canada has sustained and thus make peacekeeping a safer strategy to fall back on? Actually, no, it doesn’t. Peacekeeping has taken over 115 Canadian lives world-wide which is more than twice the number of those killed in Afghanistan. Putting on a uniform is a risky endeavor, no matter where you’re serving. But casualty reports are of little use to organizations like the CPA, and some NDP members who have char- acterized Canadian soldiers as “ter- rorists”, except as political leverage to cut tail and run. They point to the problems of Afghanistan (and there are problems) as beyond repair and present themselves as a peaceful or- ganization of political doves whose cry “BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!” seems geared to resonate with the family of soldiers, soldiers who have lost comrades, and a public still in love with a cultural myth. Un- fortunately, this type of fear-monger- ing does nothing but display a lack of compassion for those the soldiers on the ground have volunteered to help INIVERSITY 4 and the families who take comfort from the sacrifice their loved ones have made is to a noble cause. What we really need to do on October 2gth is support out troops. We need to tell them we remember that they have helped put more than four million Af- ghan children back in school, have re- integrated three million refugees back into the country, and have cleared over a third of the landmines littering the Afghan communities. Most of all, we have to remember that, without this support, these troops will lose morale and become culturally distanced even farther from a seemingly ungrateful public. We should support the army the way it is, not the way we thought it was. As someone who has served, and who has both family and friends in the- atre, I’m going to wear red on the ath , the pan-Canadian colour of support for our soldiers, and let the ostriches at the CPA know that our soldiers are doing more than “being used to kill civilians in Afghanistan and advance the interests of corporations.” If they ever got their heads out of the sand, they might actually see that.