| Submit your comments on this article |
| Great White North |
| Draft-dodger tribute facing abandonment |
| 2004-09-29 |
A day after WorldNetDaily's story publicizing a proposed monument to honor draft dodgers from the Vietnam War, there is word the project itself is facing abandonment. The bronze tribute slated for Nelson, British Columbia, sparked outrage in both the U.S. and Canada, and now the town's online community bulletin board indicates the project is expected to be dropped: Administrator's note:City officials have now confirmed the monument will not be constructed. The message on Nelson's bulletin board continued: This issue has caused a lot of frustration and division. This website is no longer able to serve its purpose, and has become a discussion about this one topic. The discussion is no longer relevant. The proposed monument was spearheaded by an American living in Canada as a landed immigrant. The idea was digusting to myself and 90 percent of other Canadians. The media did a great job of blowing the whole issue out of proportion. Now the proposal is dead. Any Americans who didn't like the idea would do well to shut up about it and build their own monument to antagonize Canadians.The "landed immigrant" in charge of the project is Isaac Romano, who was very positive when the project was first made public. "This will mark the courageous legacy of Vietnam War resisters and the Canadians who helped them resettle in this country during that tumultuous era," he said. Mayor David Elliot also seemed delighted when a press conference was held announcing plans to build the monument. ''I think it's the right place for it,'' he told the Nelson Daily News. ''We have a lot of open-minded people in this area and certainly people who are conscious of the efforts that happened in the Vietnam War.'' His office was subsequently flooded with negative reaction, and he's now singing a slightly different tune. "I made an innocent comment, off the cuff,'' Elliot told the National Post. ''Yes, I am a peace activist. But I wasn't speaking as mayor when I said I liked the idea. I wasn't even talking about the sculpture, which I don't support. We don't have a lot of public art here.'' |
| Posted by:Super Hose |
| #8 Ah, yes, that world-class health system that would be ditched by the public if they couldn't go around it for surgery and other procedures in the US. |
| Posted by: lex 2004-09-29 2:42:08 PM |
| #7 Interesting story in today's NYTs on Canada and what is being called its "pessimistic" outlook and emaciation of its national character. Intellectuals are gnawing and wincing over the lost of importance and standing in the world. Of course, they blame all of this on its proximity to America but falsely equate that inferiority as the same as Belgium has being so close to France. Actually the Flemish population in Belgium laughs at France and is more determined to not be anything like them and also not anything like their Dutch cousins. But the article is interesting in that it concludes that you need more than a single-payer health system and hockey to be a world power. They don't even have hockey this year and their health system is in the tank. |
| Posted by: Jack is Back 2004-09-29 2:38:08 PM |
| #6 His office was subsequently flooded with negative reaction, and he’s now singing a slightly different tune. "I made an innocent comment, off the cuff,’’ Elliot told the National Post. ’’Yes, I am a peace activist..." Nothing more need be said. Once again, "peace activist" and "idiot" prove to be interchangeable. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-09-29 12:16:09 PM |
| #5 Just as well. I was running low on BBs. |
| Posted by: ed 2004-09-29 10:27:27 AM |
| #4 Does this mean the invasion is off? |
| Posted by: .com 2004-09-29 10:23:14 AM |
| #3 Now a monument to the tens [or hundreds] of thousand of Vietnamese who didn't make it through the South China Sea in their escape attempts and the million and half Cambodians annihilated in the third Holocaust of the 20th Century would make a nice piece to remind people of the consequences of abandoning their fellow man to bondage and slavery. Then we can add a set for the millions of Ukranians and middle class Chinese who suffered a similar fate at the hand of the Communists in the Soviet Union and China. Not like there was any pattern to the behavior. |
| Posted by: Don 2004-09-29 10:20:27 AM |
| #2 Did anyone get run over when Mayor Elliot was in head-long retreat from his strong anti-war stance? He was probably against it before he was for it (or vis versa). I hope our northern cousins remember his statement come time for elections. Aint Democracy wonderful? |
| Posted by: Cyber Sarge 2004-09-29 8:22:14 AM |
| #1 What he meant to say was "I am a total ass hat and have been told in no uncertain terms to drop this if I want to keep my job and comfortable life." |
| Posted by: Sock Puppet of Doom 2004-09-29 1:51:06 AM |