The new Conservative government barred the media from military ceremonies Tuesday at a Trenton, Ontario, air base, where the coffins of four troops killed in Afghanistan arrived last weekend.
The government also has decided to fly Canadian flags at half-staff only on Remembrance Day, celebrated November 11, for military fatalities, not each time a soldier dies.
The moves set off debate this week in Parliament in Ottawa on whether the government’s actions are motivated by a desire to downplay bad news.
The government is trying to make this a question of privacy for families of the fallen — and has decided it’s legitimate to shut out an event from the whole nation. Harper will probably invoke his conversations with Bush’s God as the next rationale for censorship.
“milo……it dosen’t matter who’s paying for the soldiers burial, if the family dosen’t want you or the media there, you have NO RIGHT to be there, period.”
joshua I have no patience for people who pretend not to understand what is said to them. I didn’t say that and neither did the article this blog links to. You know that very well.
“Why should I or anyone give a rat’s a** what the family wants? If the citizens of Canada want to honor their dead soldiers and watch the proceedings on television, what right does the family have to say “no”? I want you to cite a law that supports what you’re saying.”
As an actual Canadian, I’m pretty surprised by that statement. I’d consider it rude and in extremely poor taste for the media to force their way into a funeral or other cermony if the family didn’t support it. As for your “show me a law” statement, I’m fairly confident that our privacy laws would easily permit the family to say “no” to any media coverage they did not desire, so long as the funeral or cermonies are not themselves public, and last time I checked they were not.
The debate is about whether or not the goverment has the same ability to bar the media coverage.
Now my own countrymen are doing it!
Ok, here’s the quote form the story, emphasis mine:
“The new Conservative government barred the media from MILITARY CEREMONIES, MILITARY CEREMONIES, MILITARY CEREMONIES, MILITARY CEREMONIES,Tuesday at a Trenton, Ontario, air base, “
So just in case you missed it these are MILITARY CEREMONIES, THEY ARE NOT FUNERALS, once again, MILITARY CEREMONIES, NOT FUNERALS.
The term for the ceremony is repatriation BTW.
sorry for not recognising sarcasm sn. It is sometimes a bit difficult to see it in print. Why does there have to be a law to forbid coverage of a furneral? Just respect for the family’s wishes should be enough.
But as I said earlier….is it censorship to not allow media coverage of the ceremonies? I don’t think so, since the media is aware of the deaths and as the article said were able to take footage of the caskets being taken into the aircraft.
Milo…..same as before….funeral or ceremony, the fact that the military is publically financed has nothing to do with what can or can’t be taped or shown on camera by the media. And as the military mentioned……that some families want the ceremonies public and some don’t…..this is what I said earlier also……if the families want it…then fine. Not all do.
This arriving ceremony was put off limits to media for the sake of all families, but the military didn’t or isn’t trying to bar the media from ceremonies that they are invited to by the families.
I do want to apologise for flaming both of you……today hasn’t been a good day for me and I’m afraid I have been out of sorts all day.
When the coffins are carried from the plane, across the tarmac to the waiting hearse, the “repatriation ceremony” as stated above, should to my way of thinking, be open to the public and the media. The public deserves a chance to morn, and pay respect to our country’s fallen. These soldiers belong to us, too. Whether we agree with the politics or not, these people died in service to our country. They paid the ultimate price for us, all of us. They deserve at least a moments notice, from each of us, and we deserve the right to pay it to them. I’m sorry if that upsets the family of the soldier, but when they gave their son or daughter to the military, they gave them to us, all of us collectively. Collectively, we should have the right, to see the flag draped coffins, morn, and pay our respect. It’s more than a right, it should be a responsibility. These are people that we will eventually build a monument to honor. They do, in part, belong to us.
Photographs are important too. Ever since the camera was invented, pictures have been an important tool for documenting our history. Documenting, the best we can, all angles, of war, is important for our history, and for our collective psyche. A picture of a flag draped coffin, will be a solemn image, as it should be. It is part of the cost of going to war. It is part of history. History needs to contain the good and the bad.
Yes, it’s possible that a picture of a flag draped coffin could become an iconic image, to people who oppose this war. It is probably at least as likely that the picture of the falling statue of Saddam will be an iconic image for those who support the war. As for those against the war, I’d sure think that the image of pres Bush standing on the deck of the aircraft carrier, announcing “mission accomplished”, would be a much stronger icon, than a dozen flag draped coffins pictured together.
The actual funeral is a time in which the whole World, should respect the wishes of the family. Collectively or alone, we don’t have any rights to the soldier, during the funeral service. The family decides whether to share with us or not.
Comparing a soldier who dies in combat, with the death of every other civil servant, as was mentioned in one of the posts, is just being silly, although; if the civil servant is killed during the regular commission of his or her work, then it is a situation that probably deserves our attention and respect. The family might have to share a little. I think we tend to sometimes name buildings in honor of these unfortunate people.
I’d also like to mention that I like the way PBS handles it. A moment of silence, a picture, a name, rank, age, and hometown.
“So just in case you missed it these are MILITARY CEREMONIES, THEY ARE NOT FUNERALS, once again, MILITARY CEREMONIES, NOT FUNERALS.”
I didn’t miss it. I fully understand the purpose of the ceremony. But the last time I checked cermonies performed on a military base were not generally open to the public for viewing.
If you’ve ever actually read the notices the military posts regarding funeral and repatriation ceremonies you’ll note that the public and media has to be invited to view the ceremony. If they are not then it’s a private ceremony. Simple as that.
Having served 8 yrs in the Marine Corps and knowing people who have either died or are now crippled, I will tell you JimS, that I am not your damned poster boy. And my body doesn’t belong to you or anybody else in this country but me, so please spare me all this trite, collectivist crap.
I would willingly risk my life to defend our system of republican government, but I couldn’t give a shit less about most of the people in this country. Too man Americans are idiots with no clue, who eagerly go to the polls to vote for whatever power-seeking fool will promise them the most benefits, regardless of the ultimate cost. If they think I would die for them, they are seriously mistaken.
“I didn’t miss it.”
You called it a funeral. You missed it because it’s not a funeral. Now you’re just lying.
“Having served 8 yrs in the Marine Corps and knowing people who have either died or are now crippled, I will tell you JimS, that I am not your damned poster boy. And my body doesn’t belong to you or anybody else in this country but me, so please spare me all this trite, collectivist crap.” – Mike
Cool beans, go out and get yourself killed in combat, and we’ll skip putting your name on the memorial.
#31…milo…..what *w* said was….”funeral or other ceremonies”.
not once, but all through his post. Maybe you should heed your own admonishment about reading and understanding a post or article.
Just b/c no one is mentioning the halting of the flag lowering on Parliament Hill, I think it’s a good idea – we are, like it or not, at war – this means soldiers will die – possibly many of them – extending this (new) practice of lowering the flag to a possible future war on the scale of WW I or II, the flag would never be all the way up the mast – the government is right, the death of one soldier, however tragic, is not a national tragedy. As for press and cameras at the repatriation ceremonies, someone in gov’t poll the troops, and take their policy suggestion and do that – it is, in the end, their ceremony, even if they never see it.
joshua: funerals are not part of this discussion at all because we’ve never had the media at funerals and the article posted isn’t about funerals.
Tell you what. You joshua find any article covering this where it says that access to funerals is the issue and then that will prove me wrong. I’m sure you’ll spare the effort because you’re so concerned that you have to respond for other people.