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PM Justin Trudeau's Canada

ADRM said:
Funny you say that -- it was Terry Milewski's first question of the Belgian Foreign Minister on CBC this evening, who chuckled, and said "well, it is pretty close to the German flag."
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Anybody who thinks flags are bad should see all the different rank insignia involved in a NATO meeting. Nothing like saluting the driver instead of the General when you misread the insignia.

Ever seen Devil Wears Prada? We had pictures books like that, with faces and insignia for my boss when he was heading to Flag Officers meeting.
 
...even the ham sandwich bit mentioned. Why are people who can't think of what they're doing even allowed to be involved in any of this stuff?

I mean, it's just ignorance which means they aren't qualified to be involved.
 
MTown said:
...even the ham sandwich bit mentioned. Why are people who can't think of what they're doing even allowed to be involved in any of this stuff?

I mean, it's just ignorance which means they aren't qualified to be involved.
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Because for most people this is not their day job. In that case, our clerk had just been posted in. She didn't know that foreign meetings had to be run by military protocol and she used the standard hospitality request form we have for all our office visits. And it had never been an issue before because most of the visits had been NATO countries for the time she was there. She ordered a normal sandwich platter as she usually did.

I'm not going to run down a military clerk who has never dealt with foreign protocol before getting posted to Ottawa for that mistake. She was posted in to support the military functions of the staff officers at HQ. Not to play host to foreign dignitaries. I simply shelled out my own cash and told her to head down and buy something asap.

She never made that mistake again. I'll say that.
 
Here's a bit of trivia most civilians don't get. Ever see all the military people with gold braids around the GG and other significant military or political officers of state? That's the Aide-de-Camp. He/she is not the dignitary. But the assistant. Yet, they'll often be more decked out than the general. You'll even see the ADC decked out in full uniform while the general is in a golf shirt at the bar in Yorkville.

I've seen more than one civilian official almost shake the wrong hand when a foreign general or minister arrives with his/her ADC.

Will add on the flag incident. The system worked like it should. You go through with the other side's advance party before to make sure everything is set up properly. Sounds like they caught it before the dignitaries arrived.
 
MTown said:
That's just........I mean, I feel embarrassed right now.

The Belgian flag, in addition to having vertical bars, has different proportions and the orange-yellow is a different hue to that in the German flag.

I know this isn't done nowadays (societal lack of self-responsibility) but I'd sack the loser who made this particular mistake for being absolutely useless to me.
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I once suggested to a German that the flag was Black, Red and Yellow. I was sternly corrected that it's Gold.
 
BurlOak said:
I once suggested to a German that the flag was Black, Red and Yellow. I was sternly corrected that it's Gold.
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The reason Belgium is sort of embarrassing is because we have more than a few Canadians who've served as diplomatic or military staff to NATO and the EU in Brussels. So somebody should have picked up on this.

Could also be possible that the flags were delivered right before and this was only caught last minute because nobody but the even contractor was around.
 
kEiThZ said:
The reason Belgium is sort of embarrassing is because we have more than a few Canadians who've served as diplomatic or military staff to NATO and the EU in Brussels. So somebody should have picked up on this.
Could also be possible that the flags were delivered right before and this was only caught last minute because nobody but the even contractor was around.
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Also, someone Belgian caught it and have it make the rounds before we did, which of course put us in a rather awkward position of having to respond to it.

AoD
 
Admiral Beez said:
I agree, and it was discovered before the VIPs arrived, albeit thanks to a sharp eyed Belgian beforehand.

It’s more a snowball effect of Trudeau’s silly trip to India and his other head shaking moments, such as ignoring the Belgium delegation. Had this flag thing been an isolated thing we wouldn’t care.
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Agree 100%.

The first couple of hundred times, the Press wrote these mistakes as one-offs. Now they are starting to realize that there have been more than 1.

It appears that Trudeau rejected to meet with the Belgian delegation because he was planning yet another vacation, this time in Florida. When he realized the optics of vacations in consecutive months, he cancelled. Thus, he had a completely free agenda and he chose to campaign in Hamilton instead of meeting the Royal and business delegation from Belgium.
 
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BurlOak said:
Trudeau is busy campaigning in Hamilton.

Also, Rideau Hall welcomes Belgian royalty with a German flag

It's just like these guys don't take their jobs seriously - or maybe they just don't have the ability to realize the responsibilities of their jobs.
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I don't think this was posted last month - similar theme.
Rob Rheaume‏@ABFortisEtLiber
That’s not the #Peopletoba flag!

DWxiVd3U8AAPu0W.jpg

12:33 am - 24 Feb 2018
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https://twitter.com/ABFortisEtLiber/status/967256149387984897
 
BurlOak said:
Agree 100%.

The first couple of hundred times, the Press wrote these mistakes as one-offs. Now they are starting to realize that there have been more than 1.

It appears that Trudeau rejected to meet with the Belgian delegation because he was planning yet another vacation, this time in Florida. When he realized the optics of vacations in consecutive months, he cancelled. Thus, he had a completely free agenda and he chose to campaign in Hamilton instead of meeting the Royal and business delegation from Belgium.
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I just can't... it is so beyond embarrassing to have snubbed a foreign delegation in this fashion. Maybe Trudeau doesn't like mussels, fries with mayo, Trappist beer, Stella Artois, or Tintin? (I ran out of Belgian things, apart I guess from EU HQ)

At some point I don't really understand why Trudeau got into the political game. He doesn't appear to have a lot of firmly held plans or convictions. I guess it's nice to be a celebrity? I guess he'll just continue to show how "down to earth" he is by a mere Florida vacation in March this year. Last March he did this by taking the family to Fogo Island for a little vacay at a $2000+/night hotel. Maybe ran into Gwyneth Paltrow there.
 
JGHali said:
I just can't... it is so beyond embarrassing to have snubbed a foreign delegation in this fashion. Maybe Trudeau doesn't like mussels, fries with mayo, Trappist beer, Stella Artois, or Tintin? (I ran out of Belgian things, apart I guess from EU HQ)
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Looking at this the relationship with Belgium certainly warrants Trudeau’s appearance. http://www.canadainternational.gc.c...ral_relations_bilaterales/index.aspx?lang=eng

Not to mention a top reason Canada joined the First World War was the Empire’s guarantee of Belgium security against the German invasion of 1914. There are Canadian troops buried across Belgium from both World Wars.

http://www.canadainternational.gc.c...relations_bilaterales/route1918.aspx?lang=eng

http://www.canadaatwar.ca/content-38/wwii-canadians-in-belgium/
 
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