Fox News Conservative Pundit Pokes Fun at Canadian Military

[Vong]

Story (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090323/military_comments_090323/20090323?hub=TopStories)

After Canadian outrage, Fox News host apologizes

CTV.ca News Staff

The host of a Fox News program has apologized for a segment on the Canadian military that Defence Minister Peter MacKay called "disgusting" and "crass."

A group of pundits on "Red Eye with Greg Gutfeld," which airs weekdays at 3 a.m. on Fox News, each took turns trashing Canada and its military during an episode that aired on March 17.

Gutfeld mocked Lt.-Gen. Andrew Leslie, chief of land staff, who suggested in early March that the military may need a year-long break in operations due to personnel and equipment shortages.

"Once their Afghan mission winds down sometime in 2011, certain members of the Canadian military are looking to take a much-deserved break. And by certain members I mean all of them," Gutfeld said.

"Meaning, the Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants."

Gutfeld issued an apology Monday afternoon saying, "I realize that my words may have been misunderstood. It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize."

But the host also seemed to defend his program, adding "Red Eye is a satirical take on the news, in which all topics are addressed in a lighthearted, humorous and ridiculous manner."

In the four-minute segment, Gutfeld asked the other three members of his panel: "Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!"

Panelist Doug Benson, a comedian, replied: "I didn't even know they were in the war. I thought that's where you go when you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada."

MacKay expresses anger

In an interview with CTV Newsnet earlier on Monday, MacKay expressed his anger over the comments and demanded an apology.

"It's crass, it's insensitive, it's in fact disgusting given the timing where Canada is just receiving back four fallen heroes here at CFB Trenton," MacKay said.

On Friday, Master Cpl. Scott Vernelli, 28, Cpl. Tyler Crooks, 24, Trooper Jack Bouthillier, 20, and Trooper Corey Joseph Hayes, 22, were killed in two separate IED blasts that injured another five soldiers.


The deaths bring the total number of Canadian soldiers killed in Afghanistan to 116.

MacKay said the Canadian government will be demanding an apology from the panel and from Fox.

"There should be an apology -- to the families in particular, and to the Canadian Forces and to Canada generally -- given the sacrifice and the commitment that we've demonstrated in Afghanistan."

Earlier Monday, Conservative strategist Geoff Norquay said the comments on the show were insulting to Canadian soldiers and show that the host was ignorant of the fact that Canadian troops have been working hard in Afghanistan.

"What could anybody with common sense say about his kind of trash? It's ignorant, it's inappropriate, it's insulting," Norquay said during an interview on Canada AM. "It's insulting to the 116 Canadian troops who have given their lives and paid the supreme sacrifice while we've been in Afghanistan."

While the controversial comments were made nearly a week ago, they have only come to light in Canada in recent days.

An outraged Canadian posted the clip from the show to YouTube with a comment that says, "Fox News belittles and mocks the Canadian military." It goes on to say: "These are the people who keep Americans up to date and mis-informed."

Norquay said he hopes Canadians who subscribe to Fox News will cancel those subscriptions and that Canadian advertisers will cancel their business with the network.

I dunno why MacKay exploded with rage about this...the pundit airs a show at 3am.

And it's Faux News! Nothing they say is based on fact...

[The Heart Collector]

conversative humor isn't funny.

[someguy]

Two things I noticed...

1) That article calls them pundits when they're just lame comedians
2) Why the hell is Doug Benson on Red Eye?!

[Homyrrh]

It's RedEye...like Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen. They're far from pundits.

[Homyrrh]

Well, and the fact that the Canadian DM is actually replying himself is somewhat of a testament to how this isn't exactly...shall we say..."unfounded"

[Potter82]

Story (http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090323/military_comments_090323/20090323?hub=TopStories)


I dunno why MacKay exploded with rage about this...the pundit airs a show at 3am.

And it's Faux News! Nothing they say is based on fact...

I think he was really pissed given the timing of the whole rant, it happened around the time Canada lost another 4 soldiers in Afghanistan and I'm sure that contributed to it somehow. That and I'm sure as Defence Minister he got plenty of angry calls from the military and his own constituents to say something about this.

I'm glad he called them out for it, it was incredibly disrespectful, especially in light of the fact that Fox News played a major role in selling the Iraq War. If it weren't for the Iraq distraction, the U.S. could have concentrated their efforts on destroying the Taliban when they were at their most weakest and
the war could've been over by now - at the very least the Taliban would've been weaker... and as a result Canada would may lost less soldiers in the process. So at the very least, they owe it to Canada to show us some common fucking decency.

By the way, Fox News is generally considered to be absolute dog shit in Canada based on my experience (well maybe not in Alberta :P). We know it's reputation all too well.

I mean when a Canadian conservative characterize it as being ignorant trash you can just imagine what Canadian liberals think about it.

[Homyrrh]

I think he was really pissed given the timing of the whole rant, it happened around the time Canada lost another 4 soldiers in Afghanistan and I'm sure that contributed to it somehow. That and I'm sure as Defence Minister he got plenty of angry calls from the military and his own constituents to say something about this.

I'm glad he called them out for it, it was incredibly disrespectful, especially in light of the fact that Fox News played a major role in selling the Iraq War. If it weren't for the Iraq distraction, the U.S. could have concentrated their efforts on destroying the Taliban when they were at their most weakest and
the war could've been over by now - at the very least the Taliban would've been weaker... and as a result Canada would may lost less soldiers in the process. So at the very least, they owe it to Canada to show us some common fucking decency.

By the way, Fox News is generally considered to be absolute dog shit in Canada based on my experience (well maybe not in Alberta :P). We know it's reputation all too well.

I mean when a Canadian conservative characterize it as being ignorant trash you can just imagine what Canadian liberals think about it.
Yeah, that's a good point. For a network of pundits who've adamantly advocated for military involvement in the Middle East, to dismiss another nation's own respectable comittment, especially in light of these soldiers KIA, is both hypocritical and disrespectful.

[Bourne101]

.

[Homyrrh]

.
Not really. In other, more serious and respectful words, I don't know why the DM would be replying to some pundit on at ~3 AM. Robert Gates would likely not be attending to similiar comments made by Terrance and Phillip. A comment like this is beneath him.

[Bourne101]

Not really. In other, more serious and respectful words, I don't know why the DM would be replying to some pundit on at ~3 AM. Robert Gates would likely not be attending to similiar comments made by Terrance and Phillip. A comment like this is beneath him.

As indicated by the quote simply being a period, I indeed had read it incorrectly. :D

[Homyrrh]

What the $#%&...

[TheAxeGrinder]

I think it's also due to the fact that we (Canadians) have been taking the brunt of the casualties (in relation to the size of our military) and dangerous work in Afghanistan, while we haven't gotten much support from other NATO countries. True, there are other countries involved in Afghanistan, but they primarily in less hostile areas than Canadian troops.

[ArtFactoryRadio]

Oh, and the host of Red Eye never served in any military.

Chickenhawks tend to love throwing the first stone when it comes to military. Just look at the Bush Administration.

[horrorfreak13]

My cable company dosent carry Fox News it's crap like this that wishes they did so I could enjoy having something to cancel or not watch.

We just lost 4 people and 116 total glad my uncle got out of there his unit accounts for about a quarter of the deaths there.

[Mopar Fanatic]

First off, the "war on terror" is completely fake. The only enemies the U.S., Canada, Austrlia, etc. have are the ones we creates for ourselves. The CIA/Mossad created Al Qaeda because there always has to be a boogeyman out there waiting to "attack" and quess what? We gladly support more foreign wars which bankrupt our nation and we willingly give away more and more of our constitutional rights. The war in Afghanistan is about DRUGS and a oil pipeline.

[Homyrrh]

First off, the "war on terror" is completely fake. The only enemies the U.S., Canada, Austrlia, etc. have are the ones we creates for ourselves. The CIA/Mossad created Al Qaeda because there always has to be a boogeyman out there waiting to "attack" and quess what? We gladly support more foreign wars which bankrupt our nation and we willingly give away more and more of our constitutional rights. The war in Afghanistan is about DRUGS and a oil pipeline.
I let this thread go, but...I don't know what to say. To clarify, you believe that terrorism doesn't exist? Or, more specifically at least, that there are no terrorist threats to the Western world? We blew up our own buildings?

[Brando @$$ Fat]

I've had the misfortune of watching that show before. Greg Gutfeld's only jokes are part of a long-running formula: "if so-in-so was a so-in-so, I would...*insert something gay here*." So yeah, I guess even the funniest people at Fox News aren't really that funny. (Except I did see a clip on the Daily Show of Shep Smith making fun of Glenn Big Baby Beck crying...pretty funny).

[Mopar Fanatic]

To clarify, you believe that terrorism doesn't exist?

"Terrorism" certainly does exist. But it only exists if we make it through our foreign (and internal policies) which are completely horrible.

Or, more specifically at least, that there are no terrorist threats to the Western world?

Oh the Western world has the most terrorist threats but the catch is that they mostly come from within. Our federal government is the ultimate terrorist. On top of that we have the terrorists they create as I stated before.

We blew up our own buildings?

"We" didn't do anything. They (being Mossad/CIA/federal government) are directly responsible for the attacks.

[eljefe15]

conversative humor isn't funny.

I agree. Wasn't there some movie coming out before the election poking fun at "libruls" like Micheal Moore? What happened with that? Did anyone see it?

[The Heart Collector]

The CIA/Mossad created Al Qaeda because there always has to be a boogeyman out there waiting to "attack" and quess what?

I don't really understand what you are claiming. Are you claiming that Al Qaeda doesn't actually exist, but that it's a cover made by the CIA and Mossad?

If so, can you provide some evidence?*





* evidence that doesn't look like it came from a press print in a compound in Montana ran by Ron Paul fanatics.

[The Heart Collector]

I agree. Wasn't there some movie coming out before the election poking fun at "libruls" like Micheal Moore? What happened with that? Did anyone see it?

My right-wing cuban friend who thinks society should revert to the 18th century thought it was funny.

[Vong]

I don't really understand what you are claiming. Are you claiming that Al Qaeda doesn't actually exist, but that it's a cover made by the CIA and Mossad?

While I do not fully embrace everything Mr. Fanatic is saying, it is true al-Qaeda is a fictional group. It was created in the 90's following the first attack on the WTC, when the U.S. government wanted to put the terrorists on trial for the attacks, but had no representatives. The term "al-Qaeda" then became a label applied by the Western governments to any Islamic militant phenomena.

I highly suggest reading Al-Qaeda: The True Story of Radical Islam by Jason Burke. It details everything regarding the origins of this fictional group.

[Homyrrh]

I don't really understand what you are claiming. Are you claiming that Al Qaeda doesn't actually exist, but that it's a cover made by the CIA and Mossad?

If so, can you provide some evidence?*





* evidence that doesn't look like it came from a press print in a compound in Montana ran by Ron Paul fanatics.
I laughed aloud at this. Thank you.

[The Heart Collector]

While I do not fully embrace everything Mr. Fanatic is saying, it is true al-Qaeda is a fictional group. It was created in the 90's following the first attack on the WTC, when the U.S. government wanted to put the terrorists on trial for the attacks, but had no representatives. The term "al-Qaeda" then became a label applied by the Western governments to any Islamic militant phenomena.

This is a meaningless and erroneous definition of "fictional". Yes, there isn't some sort of secret cave where Bin Laden controls all of his terrorist cells; it's a bunch of loosely (if at all) connected groups with their own purposes and ideas. But that doesn't make them fictitious. They exist. You are complaining about mischaracterization, which is a whole other thing. Fictitious is claiming they don't exist, not that our interpretation of them is wrong.

I don't know if it's that Mopar is not expressing himself well or not. His posts can be interpreted as America's foreign policy is bad (true) or that the government literally did all this shit and made people and groups up (dumb).

Considering how he is singling out the federal government, I am assuming it's the second interpretation.

[Vong]

The cells exist, yes. But they do not collectively see themselves as part of "al-Qaeda". There are only a handful of groups that openly call themselves "al-Qaeda", most are just taking a page from other successful terrorist groups and following their example. It's the ignorance of the Western media and understanding to say that every Islamic terrorist activity in the Middle East and abroad are linked to "al-Qaeda".

The borderless group that many Americans see as "al-Qaeda" is fictitious, in the sense that such a large and powerful group does not exist.

[Crazy Dud]

Wow! Are we really even discussing whether or not terrorism exists? This explains why I rarely look at the Politics forum here. Wow!

[Brando @$$ Fat]

The cells exist, yes. But they do not collectively see themselves as part of "al-Qaeda". There are only a handful of groups that openly call themselves "al-Qaeda", most are just taking a page from other successful terrorist groups and following their example. It's the ignorance of the Western media and understanding to say that every Islamic terrorist activity in the Middle East and abroad are linked to "al-Qaeda".

The borderless group that many Americans see as "al-Qaeda" is fictitious, in the sense that such a large and powerful group does not exist.

Is it ignorant to not use terms like "the Provisonal IRA," "Real IRA," etc? Besides, who's saying that every terrorist act in that region is connected to al-Qaeda?

[eljefe15]

My right-wing cuban friend who thinks society should revert to the 18th century thought it was funny.

I know several Cubans, most of whom are "right winged" or equivalent, but I don't know any that would prefer to go back to colonial times. LOL!

[Homyrrh]

I know several Cubans, most of whom are "right winged" or equivalent, but I don't know any that would prefer to go back to colonial times. LOL!
So long as we're on the right end...;)

[Jon Lyrik]

The Canadians had a part in sacking DC once, didn't they? I would never fuck with Canada.

[RicochetShaw]

"This hot tub has more jets than the Canadian Air Force."