Governments that mistreat their war veterans are today's Cunts of the Day.

Something a little different today arising from an article in Canada's Globe and Mail informing us the Canadian "federal government has been harshly criticized for failing to properly explain why some soldiers have been denied disability coverage". The same article also tells us: "Benefits for disabled veterans have been an ongoing controversy in Canada, leading to a class-action suit against Ottawa that was heard in Federal Court in Halifax last November, with a decision still pending." The comments at the end of the article are worth a look.

Surely governments have a duty to make sure their soldiers are properly equipped (something the UK government has repeatedly been accused of failing to do) and well looked after when they return from service, more so if they are injured. This recent article in the Huffington Post interestingly tells us how British soldiers have been mistreated over the centuries; although things may now be better than they have been in the past, they are still far from acceptable.

The Economist recently reported on how US veterans are faring: "Around 800,000 veterans are jobless, 1.4m live below the poverty line, and one in every three homeless adult men in America is a veteran." What the article fails to mention is the reported statistic that 18 veterans commit suicide every day in the US, making up 20% of all US suicides. Surely some of these would be avoided with better care and support for these people.

Wherever you stand on western governments' foreign wars, if they are going to send men and women to do their dirty work overseas then the very fucking least they can do is equip them properly and care for them when they come home.

Sponsored by people who, on the subject of Canada, were interested to learn the country is threatening a trade war with the EU over its ever-so-clean oil producing tar sands. Happy days.