What a bunch of wankers.

I nearly drove my car off the road last night.

I was listening to The World at Six on CBC. One of the lead stories was about the Canadian military's deployment to Khandahar, Afghanistan. General Rick Hillier was explaining and selling the mission to the Canadian public. He made the pitch for better funding, better equipment, and a Tim Horton's outlet. All of these wishes seemed to carry equal gravity.

There's a recurring theme here. Over the past few weeks, numerous articles decrying the lack of Tim's in Afghanistan have made their way into print.

This saucy piece in today's Toronto Star is typical in its whiny tone:

Tim, you do have a public relations department, yes? We weren't sure because, well, Burger King is here. And Pizza Hut. And Subway. Come to think of it, where is your friend Wendy?

What these wankers the writers of these missives fail to realize, is that the vast American Army and Air Force Exchange System (AAFES) and Naval Exchange System (NEX) own the Burger King, Subway, Pizza Hut and McDonald's franchises that grace the US military bases both stateside and abroad. The fact that one can get a whopper in Baghdad has nothing to do with the benevolent nature of Burger King, and everything to do with its profit margin.

Tim Horton's makes regular, substantial donations of cans of coffee to Canadian troops serving overseas or onboard ship. I've sent many a tin of Tim Horton's Fine Grind to my husband over the years, to many less-than-exotic locations worldwide. It's good stuff, and I certainly understand the desire for a double-double.

But ...

The Canadian Armed Forces has a long and proud tradition of peacekeeping missions in places like Cyprus, Bosnia, and Croatia. Somehow, they've all managed to get through the deployments without a Tim Horton's franchise next door.

To apply public pressure on a company to set up shop in a dangerous country is silly and greedy.

I really must learn not to listen to the news when I'm driving.