# Red Friday Rally Today on the Hill



## WannaBeFlyer (22 Sep 2006)

Walking around here at DND in Ottawa and it is great to see just about everyone in red. Saw a lot of red at Timmie's this am too; its nice to see all of the support.

Today's the big "Red Friday Rally" at the hill. If you can't make it or are out of town, you can watch it using the hill cam..

http://www.parliamenthill.gc.ca/text/hillcam_e.html


----------



## Pea (22 Sep 2006)

Seems to be a sea of red forming now. Wish I could be there.


----------



## HItorMiss (22 Sep 2006)

So do I pea, so do I


----------



## Pea (22 Sep 2006)

I was able to listen live via the radio, and watch on the Hill cam. What an awesome rally. The PM made a very good speech I must say.  

They announced that the Liberals and the NDP were being represented there as well. When they said NDP, I heard a huge BOO from the crowd.


----------



## cplcaldwell (22 Sep 2006)

Story at CBC, This link


----------



## HItorMiss (22 Sep 2006)

I just heard the PM's speech and I must say it was probably the best and most stirring speech I have seen a PM give.

Excerpt includes: " WE do not start fights but we finish them, and we never leave before our work is done"

Now that my friends is a leader!


----------



## Mike Baker (22 Sep 2006)

HitorMiss said:
			
		

> Now that my friends is a leader!


+1


----------



## karl28 (22 Sep 2006)

> " WE do not start fights but we finish them, and we never leave before our work is done"



I know I liked the PM for a reason  come next election date he will be getting my vote again


----------



## MarkOttawa (22 Sep 2006)

The rally to support all our troops overseas and their families was quite impressive. I would estimate 3-5,000 people (but I'm hardly an expert). Not bad considering that almost all the advance publicity was done by one media outlet: CFRA, Ottawa.
http://www.cfra.com/red-fridays/index.asp?id=8

Prime Minister Harper gave one of the most impassioned speeches I have heard from him. He pointedly stressed that our journalists only have their press freedom as a result of the sacrifices of our military--an obvious reference to these famous lines:

    The Soldier

    It is the soldier, not the reporter,
    who has given us freedom of the press.

    It is the soldier, not the poet,
    who has given us freedom of speech.

    It is the soldier, not the campus organizer,
    who has given us the freedom to demonstrate.

    It is the soldier, not the lawyer,
    who has given us the right to a fair trial.

    It is the soldier,
    who salutes the flag,
    who serves under the flag,
    and whose coffin is draped by the flag,
    who allows the protester to burn the flag.

    By Father Dennis Edward O'Brien, USMC

The prime minister also usefully re-empasized the UN mandate for the forces in Afghanistan.

Messrs Graham and Dosjanh from the Liberals were there along with Peter Stoffer from the NDP (good on him).
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/527114.html

A sea of red.

Earlier in the morning MND O'Connor and Gen. Hillier were interviewed on CFRA--audio here:
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/SM-O-CON.mp3
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/SM-HILLI.mp3

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## sleeman (22 Sep 2006)

I was on the Hill for the rally.  It was amazing!

I absolutely loved PM Harper's speech.  
" WE do not start fights but we finish them, and we never leave before our work is done"  That is an awesome line, the crowd went wild when PM Harper said that!  

And yes, the crowd booed when they announced the NDP.  I made sure to boo as loud as I could! LOL

GO TROOPS!!  Keep up the good work!


----------



## Signalman150 (22 Sep 2006)

Okay,

I just read the CBC article, and the Yahoo Canada article on Red Shirt Day.  As an aside, I noticed that there were several headlines on Yahoo related to the Afghan mission, and all were primarily reporting support for the mission from different sectors (i.e. Mr. Karzai's visit and speech to parliament.

My comment to the women and men in the Ottawa area--Good on you.  

Thank-you from the very bottom of my heart.  I don't have a stake in this the way that currently serving soldiers and their loved ones and dependants do, but it still matters very much to me. You showed--right there in the nation's capital--how so many of us feel.  At the end of the day, thousands of people converging on Parliament Hill means much more than all the silliness issuing from Taliban Jack's mouth, and the ineffective yelping of Ujjal Dosanjh.

Ladies and gentlemen, my thanks and warmest regards.


----------



## COBRA-6 (22 Sep 2006)

I was there, one RCMP guy I talked to said it was well over 10,000 people, fantastic!

You should have seen the CDS try and get out of there, _everyone_ wanted to talk to him, it's like he's in a boy band or something...  ;D


----------



## Jack O. (22 Sep 2006)

Wish I could have been there.


----------



## Mike Baker (22 Sep 2006)

Jack O. said:
			
		

> Wish I could have been there.


I second that. Don;t it look pretty


----------



## WannaBeFlyer (22 Sep 2006)

And this is just the people who were at the Hill. There is a lot of red all over the Ottawa area today; a lot more than I have seen on previous Fridays. Great to see!


----------



## armyvern (22 Sep 2006)

I hope all our men and women currently in the sandbox get nice big copies of these pics to put up. Whooo Ottawa. Good on ya!


----------



## COBRA-6 (22 Sep 2006)

They had a photographer in one of the office windows of the parliament buildings, and some big prints of everyone waving and cheering  will be distributed both to overseas missions and bases here in Canada!


----------



## cplcaldwell (22 Sep 2006)

HitOrMiss said:
			
		

> Excerpt includes: " WE do not start fights but we finish them, and we never leave before our work is done"



I like that. 'Got me a new signature.


----------



## Old Sweat (22 Sep 2006)

My wife and I attended the rally and deliberately arrived before 1100. As a result we had a spot within a few metres of the podium, where we were able to get a close look at the various MPs and members of the media, most of whom seem on their best behaviour. Other speakers included a representative from the Afghan-Canadian community and the two military wives from Petawawa who originated the wear red on Fridays idea in Canada. These two ladies - and I mean it in the classic sense of the word - were a class act, even in more than a little dazed by the magnitude of the event.

One protester surfaced during the PM's speech but was hustled away by the police, after two or three spectators in red ripped up his sign and decked him. Unfortunately all this happened a few metres from a journalist who will go nameless but publishes a military magazine. His lackey was trying to get a picture of the jerk's sign, but the crowd, including yours truly, moved in and blocked his view with Support Our Troops signs.

It was one of the most impressive events I have ever attended, ranking with the 4 CIBG 1 July 1967 parade in Germany, and I have never heard a crowd sign the national anthem with such enthusiasm and emotion. One can only hope the media give it the coverage it deserves.


----------



## vonGarvin (22 Sep 2006)

Old Sweat said:
			
		

> One protester surfaced during the PM's speech but was hustled away by the police, after two or three spectators in red ripped up his sign and decked him. Unfortunately all this happened a few metres from *a journalist who will go nameless but publishes a military magazine*. His lackey was trying to get a picture of the jerk's sign, but the crowd, including yours truly, moved in and blocked his view with Support Our Troops signs.


Shall we call him Scott T.?  Oh, that's too obvious, how about S. Taylor?


 >


----------



## COBRA-6 (22 Sep 2006)

Buahahahaha!


----------



## cplcaldwell (22 Sep 2006)

> Shall we call him Scott T.?  Oh, that's too obvious, how about S. Taylor?



More popular choices never make it through the profanity filters!


----------



## a_majoor (22 Sep 2006)

I think the picture of the sea of red shirts on Parliament Hill will do wonders for the morale of the troops over there. We should print up millions of leaflet sized ones and scatter them over Taliban held areas with a suitable message, something like "We're here; They're behind us."

Come to think of it, there are a few ridings here in Canada that could have these leaflets scattered over them as well..........


----------



## BernDawg (22 Sep 2006)

That's freakin' awesome!!!!  The pictures gave me chills.  I'll be looking for the PM's speach on the news tonight.


----------



## armyvern (22 Sep 2006)

Good speech!!


----------



## kilekaldar (22 Sep 2006)

Well, I'm in KAF, just got back from PBW, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the news of the rally, and everyone here that I've spoken too were delighted to hear about it. Between this, the news of the tanks, Van Doo Coy, and possible CF-18s coming it helped soften the edge of that last ramp ceremony.
It's nice being reminded that people support us when all the news we seem to hear about is the NDP yelling 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! AHHH!', plummeting public support, being more likely to die than anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan, constant critisizing that we should be carrying teddy bears instead of guns :, etc

Thanks all.


----------



## armyvern (22 Sep 2006)

kilekaldar said:
			
		

> Well, I'm in KAF, just got back from PBW, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the news of the rally, and everyone here that I've spoken too were delighted to hear about it. Between this, the news of the tanks, Van Doo Coy, and possible CF-18s coming it helped soften the edge of that last ramp ceremony.
> It's nice being reminded that people support us when all the news we seem to hear about is the NDP yelling 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! AHHH!', plummeting public support, being more likely to die than anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan, constant critisizing that we should be carrying teddy bears instead of guns :, etc
> 
> Thanks all.



No no...Thank YOU!!

Stay safe.


----------



## vonGarvin (22 Sep 2006)

+ 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Watch your arcs, stay safe, and keep the faith!


----------



## Mike Baker (22 Sep 2006)

kilekaldar said:
			
		

> Well, I'm in KAF, just got back from PBW, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised by the news of the rally, and everyone here that I've spoken too were delighted to hear about it. Between this, the news of the tanks, Van Doo Coy, and possible CF-18s coming it helped soften the edge of that last ramp ceremony.
> It's nice being reminded that people support us when all the news we seem to hear about is the NDP yelling 'RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!! AHHH!', plummeting public support, being more likely to die than anyone in Iraq or Afghanistan, constant critisizing that we should be carrying teddy bears instead of guns :, etc
> 
> Thanks all.


Im sure that everyone here is behind you all %110. Be safe over there and watch you'r back.


----------



## military granny (22 Sep 2006)

Pictures now on the Combat Camera site


----------



## armyvern (22 Sep 2006)

military granny said:
			
		

> Pictures now on the Combat Camera site



Granny can you post a link?? Thanks!!


----------



## military granny (22 Sep 2006)

http://www.combatcamera.forces.gc.ca/netpub/server.np?quickfind&site=combatcamera&catalog=photos&template=results_e.np&sorton=IPTC%20-%20DateCreated&ascending=0


----------



## Rice0031 (22 Sep 2006)

Yea baby, keep them troops supported


----------



## bcbarman (22 Sep 2006)

This is making my heart swell.  Anyone know if there is a transcript of the PM's speech anywhere?

+1 to all the troops overseas, and a  big +1 to the wives that organized the red Friday campaign


----------



## armyvern (22 Sep 2006)

And the song "Wearing the Red" by Roger Thornhill here:

http://www.cfra.com/audio/Wearing-the-red.mp3


----------



## 1Good_Woman (22 Sep 2006)

The PM's speech has not been cleared for posting on the web yet but it will be here: http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/media.asp?category=2&pageId=46 when it's released.   I was out there today and it was awesome seeing SO MANY coming together - I'm no suck but I have to admit, there were a few moments where I was overwhelmed and amazed by the energy and positive vibe of the crowd to the brink of tears.


----------



## Bobbyoreo (22 Sep 2006)

For once tonight I loved watching the news!!! Was very nice to see all the support!!!


----------



## warspite (22 Sep 2006)

I just new something good had to happen today, by far made my day


----------



## vonGarvin (23 Sep 2006)

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2006/09/23/1883896-sun.html

Nice article.  I also like this part:
At Albert and Metcalfe streets, another event had just taken place. People in red were gathered around a small, agitated woman in a red beret. "She nailed the big bastard," said an older man. 
"He was shouting our troops were war mongers," said the woman. She said her name was Gail Latourelle, 20 years old. "I dared him to say it to my face. 
"He did, *so I punched him in the mouth*. I actually decked him. I won't have anyone talking about Canadians that way. His mouth was bleeding. He jumped up and ran. The coward just took off."  

Now, I KNOW it was nobody from here, because our punch of choice is throat punch ;D

Well done, Ottawa!
(and naturally, those who made the journey from elsewhere!)


----------



## vonGarvin (23 Sep 2006)

Toronto next?
http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/09/23/1884096-sun.html

Go Hogtown, go!!!!!!!


and the writer needs help:
_Now many of you know I couldn't organize a drunk-up in a distillery, so if somebody wants to help do this in a bigger way, e-mail me and we'll do it. 

Nothing fancy. We're just going to do our part. 

Big or small, either way, I will be at Yonge-Dundas Square between noon and 1:30 p.m. next Friday wearing red and white and saying thank-you to the service men and women in Afghanistan. And thank you to those who have already died. Join me. _ 
Here is his email address.  Now, he DOES say "e-mail me and we'll do it", so, I assume it's safe to post here:
joe.warmington@tor.sunpub.com


----------



## rmacqueen (23 Sep 2006)

von Garvin said:
			
		

> Toronto next?
> http://www.torontosun.com/News/TorontoAndGTA/2006/09/23/1884096-sun.html
> 
> Go Hogtown, go!!!!!!!
> ...


Joe has been trying to get something going for awhile now.  I heard him Thurs on the radio asking for peoples assistance in getting one going.  Personally, I would like to see a nationwide rally in major cities across our country so people everywhere can show their support.  I had my shirt on yesterday and while driving around I noticed a lot of other people on the street wearing them.  This is spreading and we need to keep up the momentum.  Well done to the ladies who got the ball rolling!


----------



## Bobbyoreo (23 Sep 2006)

Good on her!!!!


----------



## Jaydub (23 Sep 2006)

I heard that the Prime Minister received a standing ovation for his speech.  For the people that were there, did you notice if Taliban Jack or any of the NDP stood up?


----------



## COBRA-6 (23 Sep 2006)

http://www.ottawasun.com/News/National/2006/09/23/1883893-sun.html



> Another protester swore at Karzai as he laid a wreath at the National War Memorial, to which the Afghan president responded good-naturedly by removing his trademark hat and waving it.
> 
> Some pro-military onlookers were less forgiving. A woman responded to the man's outburst by slapping him in the face. Witnesses said another man punched the heckler in the head.


----------



## MarkOttawa (23 Sep 2006)

Jaydub: The audience were already standing!
  

I'm almost certain Taliban Jack was not there, but Peter Stoffer of the NDP was--good on him:
http://thechronicleherald.ca/Editorial/527114.html

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## Old Sweat (23 Sep 2006)

I was close enough to the front to see all the MPs. The two NDP members I recognized were Stoffer and Joe Cromartin from the Windsor area, although there may have been others. Dosingh was there, but Graham was not. Among the Conservatives were Stockwell Day, Monte Solberg, Myron Thompson, Rob Merrifield (I think), Jason Kenney (sp?), Grant Hill, Cheryl Gallant, Scott Reid, Pierre Polievre and a few others I can't put a name to.


----------



## fighter puke (23 Sep 2006)

I was at the rally. It was an awesome sight........

What a feeling of pride!!!

Many thanks to the two Pet spouses that started this whole thing.........


----------



## RangerRay (23 Sep 2006)

This is so great!  I'm sure if it was on a Saturday, turnout would have been even larger.  

As for the stories of random acts of violence towards lefty moon-bat protestors...they warmed my heart to hear!  But since no throat punches were involved, I don't think anyone from Army.ca was involved!  ;D

Thanks to all those who have served, and are serving in the war.


----------



## a_majoor (24 Sep 2006)

This blog hosts video of Red Friday, in seven parts: http://www.officiallyscrewed.com/blog/?p=491 (Gen Hiller's speech)


----------



## reilly (25 Sep 2006)

I wanted to tell you that my family and friends think about you and pray for you and appreciate your pride and strength. We pray for your safe return and for the accomplishment of your Nato/UN/Canadian mission. Thank you for your willingness to serve your country. The Wear Red Friday Rally indicates that perhaps this nation has finally come to understand and recognize the sacrifices you and your families are making for all of us.


----------



## MarkOttawa (26 Sep 2006)

Speeches and Photos:

Audio:

Prime Minister Stephen Harper
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/Harper.RedFridayRally.Sept.22.06.mp3

Chief of Defence Staff, General Rick Hillier
http://www.cfra.com/chum_audio/Rick.Hillier.RedFridaySpeech.Sept.22.06.mp3

CFRA, Ottawa, photo gallery available here
http://www.cfra.com/red-fridays/index.asp?id=8#

Mark
Ottawa


----------



## a_majoor (27 Sep 2006)

Read this letter in the Turner Report: 

http://www.garth.ca/weblog/2006/09/27/worth-reading-2/



> Visitor Maria sends this to me:
> 
> Dear Garth
> I am writing today to you as the wife of an ex-military man. Although he has been out of the military for several years now, I can tell you he knows how the soldiers feel. I can only imagine the things he has been through. I can only tell you a little of what I have experienced as his wife. Please remember that I married him shortly after his leaving the military, but I am certain that any military wife out there can understand what I am talking about. I want people to understand that a soldier goes through so much and in return is usually forgotten, ridiculed and basically taken advantage of.
> ...


----------

