I hear the Canadian Armed Forces are in Haiti

[Argus]

Canada is operating an airport in Jacmel that had 80 flights the other day. The control tower is the flight operations centre on HMCS Halifax. Navy personnel are helping clear roads, and DART has set up its water purification equipment and is operating a medical clinic. I know this. Because I watch CNN. Thus far I have seen virtually no sign on Canadian television that there are any CAF members in Haiti. They must surely be aware of them, because CBC did a 6 minute long piece on Jacmel today which included almost ten seconds where the camera passed over part of the clinic. The focus of the story, you see, was not on Canada's relief efforts, but on the cultural history of Jacmel and the ties it has to Governor General Michael Jean. There was no time to talk about the CAF or interview (blech) soldiers.

I've now seen two reports on Jacmel and the CAF, both on CNN. Christiane Amanpour and Soledad O'brian apparently thought showing us their efforts was worth the trip there, but thus far Canadian media haven't seemed to show much interest. I wonder what would happen if someone started a rumour that a Haitian had been "abused" by a Canadian soldier. Do you think the poor residents would have to duck and cover from all the Canadian media aircraft buzzing the airfield, from all the reporters, cameramen, sound technicians and producers being parachuted down to get the story?

[Smallc]

Thus far I have seen virtually no sign on Canadian television that there are any CAF members in Haiti.

Then you haven't been watching Canadian TV. It was on Global National tonight...it's been on the National and CTV National News every night.

[William Ashley]

Canada is operating an airport in Jacmel that had 80 flights the other day. The control tower is the flight operations centre on HMCS Halifax. Navy personnel are helping clear roads, and DART has set up its water purification equipment and is operating a medical clinic. I know this. Because I watch CNN. Thus far I have seen virtually no sign on Canadian television that there are any CAF members in Haiti. They must surely be aware of them, because CBC did a 6 minute long piece on Jacmel today which included almost ten seconds where the camera passed over part of the clinic. The focus of the story, you see, was not on Canada's relief efforts, but on the cultural history of Jacmel and the ties it has to Governor General Michael Jean. There was no time to talk about the CAF or interview (blech) soldiers.

I watch CBC and CPAC, and I know that they very much did have it in the news the first week. They reported every step of the deployment.

Every bloody news channel was haiti this haiti that, it was actually quite frustrating. So I would tend to disagree, there was rampant over reporting. Last time there was an earthquake in Asia of this magnitude you hardly heard anything about it.

Maybe cause no one gave a damn. I get an ever increasing sense the overreporting is occuring because it was with the ratings popularity of katrina or tsunami.. each year we need another disaster to eat up air time so that real news stories can be avoided.

It'd be nice to see national news on a national news station and local news on local news stations not news about an impoverished caribean island getting all its debt removed because a paltry 150,000 people die. It horrific no doubt, it is worth reporting no doubt but constantly reporting on nothing but haiti like it is the end of the world is a waste of airtime. (CNN is notorious for that)

Did you hear about in their initial days of deployment essential equiment broke down?

Edited January 26, 2010 by William Ashley

[Smallc]

Oh, and also, because CBC and CTV have had the story so much, there comes a point where the same story is no longer news. CNN is just catching on now.

[Smallc]

Did you hear about in their initial days of deployment essential equiment broke down?

Which equipment?

[William Ashley]

Which equipment?

their anesthesia machine was one.

http://www.nurse-anesthesia.org/archive/index.php?t-1677.html

Here is a news article that was posted previously outlining how they lacked medical supplies on deployment.

http://news.globaltv.com/world/Canadian+Haiti+focus+reconstruction/2454871/story.html

Edited January 26, 2010 by William Ashley

[Oleg Bach]

DART is all show. Canadian administrators are not interested in humanitarian aid. Our military used to be renouned at one time as the great and respected peace keepers - as that became a thing of the past it looks like sincere humanitarian aid is also of a bygone era..The first and only thing Canada sent as a first response was observers and not helpers..by the time they got there everyone they could have helped was dead. Fire fighters and those specialised in rescue were begging to be deployed but that petition fell upon deaf ears..they needed professionals with small equipment to lift concrete slabs..a simple solution..but simple solutions don't fly well with simpleton leaders.

[Army Guy]

Did you hear about in their initial days of deployment essential equiment broke down?

their anesthesia machine was one.

http://www.nurse-ane...php?t-1677.html

Here is a news article that was posted previously outlining how they lacked medical supplies on deployment.

http://news.globaltv...4871/story.html

I know you can't resist a good military bashing story, but atleast tell all of it, or put it into context. The above story is about the Advance party for the Field hospital (part of the expanded Dart), deployed in advance with very limited resources, such as med supplies, Thier main objective was get there as fast as they could with as much as they could. What medical supplies were consumed in the treatment of Haitians...as for the Anestesia machine, ya it broke, shit happens, try and take a delicate machine like that and take it off road in the back of a army truck , lets keep it all in context they are doing an impossiable job with limited resources...the Question you should have asked yourself is did they make a difference when they arrived, and I'm saying yes they did. they treated as many as they could saving how many lifes....thats what is missing from your story..

[Army Guy]

DART is all show. Canadian administrators are not interested in humanitarian aid.

For being all show Oleg they have alot of pers and equipment in warehouses on stand by, say's alot for our interest as well.

Our military used to be renouned at one time as the great and respected peace keepers - as that became a thing of the past it looks like sincere humanitarian aid is also of a bygone era..

Thats a myth, composed by politicians and gullable Canadians, who could not stand the thought of Our Nations military used for anything else but handing out blankets and candies...But reality say's different our military was a being used and trained to close with and destroy the enemy... I know deep down Oleg you like us, but were not that warm and fuzzy bunch of guys you think we are....

The first and only thing Canada sent as a first response was observers and not helpers..by the time they got there everyone they could have helped was dead. Fire fighters and those specialised in rescue were begging to be deployed but that petition fell upon deaf ears..they needed professionals with small equipment to lift concrete slabs..a simple solution..but simple solutions don't fly well with simpleton leaders.

You mean like our SAR techs and the many pers involved with advance teams such as medical , engineers, those types of guys Oleg you should read some of our own media, it might open your opinion up alittle...

[Argus]

Then you haven't been watching Canadian TV. It was on Global National tonight...it's been on the National and CTV National News every night.

If it was on Global it was American. Global have no international reporters that I'm aware of but maybe they sprang one of their Toronto city reporters free for the occasions. I haven't seen any sign of that, though. CTV and CBC have sent multiple reports from Haiti but I have seen none on the Canadian military.

[Argus]

I watch CBC and CPAC, and I know that they very much did have it in the news the first week. They reported every step of the deployment.

Until they got there.

[Smallc]

If it was on Global it was American. Global have no international reporters that I'm aware of but maybe they sprang one of their Toronto city reporters free for the occasions. I haven't seen any sign of that, though. CTV and CBC have sent multiple reports from Haiti but I have seen none on the Canadian military.

Then like I said, you haven't been watching them very much, because up until now each CTV and CBC have bad a report every night involving the military....the arrival of the HMCS Athabaskan...where CBC has a reporter, the first helicopter to arrive in Jacmel, the first aid to Legolane, the landing and taking off of military aircraft at the airport, the deployment of a military field hospital....it was all covered by both...and yes, Global has sent one of their reporters there.