For the military, shaping media coverage of deployments is what roasting a marshmallow is to a summer camper's S'mores; there isn't one without the other. Even before beginning a small "peacekeeping" mission, the Canadian forces have an elaborate media strategy. At the end of June, Chief of the Defence Staff Jonathan Vance brought journalists with... Continue Reading →
Art and history paid for to shape opinions about military
Would it surprise you to learn the Canadian military spends millions on art and history? Until April the Canadian War Museum is hosting an exhibition of war art from the Ukraine created through the Canadian Forces Artists Program (CFAP). In 2014–15 eight artists were sent to observe Operation UNIFIER, Canada’s “training” mission to support Ukraine’s... Continue Reading →
Celebrating war rather than peace reflects a sick society
Why do we build monuments to war rather than to its absence? I wondered about this when reading about a recent tussle in the nation's capital over the location for yet another celebration of people killing each other. Last month the Canadian War Museum (CWM) complained to the National Capital Commission about the planned site... Continue Reading →
How Canadian military tries to control what soldiers think
The Canadian Forces spends hundreds of millions of dollars a year to shape popular discussion of military affairs. But, did you know that commanding officers also aim to control the flow of information to rank and file soldiers? Recently, the newspaper at the Esquimalt, British Columbia, naval base rejected an ad from a law firm... Continue Reading →
Snowbirds so much more than just pilots and planes
Canada’s massive military cultural outreach effort suffered a blow last week. The Snowbirds aerobatic team was forced to cancel a half-dozen scheduled appearances because they require “additional practice and training.” Each year the famed Snowbirds participate in some 60 air shows across North America. Over the years they’ve flown more than 2500 shows and cultural... Continue Reading →
Victims of Canadian colonialism celebrated for joining imperialist war
Amidst an orgy of martial patriotism that is finally over, there was a sad irony. In recent days the Canadian Forces, banks, politicians, sports TV networks, private foundations, the news media, etc. have all promoted the idea that the centennial of Canadian troops capturing some high ground in France during a minor Word War 1... Continue Reading →
Media bias is real, and everywhere
Can you trust any media outlet to tell the truth about foreign affairs? Or are they all part of some propaganda system? Perhaps the best we can do to understand what’s really happening in the world is read/listen/watch a variety of sources, but assume they are all biased in one way or another? These questions... Continue Reading →
Who owns the ‘school’ that studies Canadian foreign policy?
Next week the Fraser Institute’s newly established Peter Munk Centre for Free Enterprise will offer a day long “Introduction to Economic Reasoning” seminar for Grade 10-12 students in Scarborough. Launched in June with $5 million from the founder of Barrick Gold, the Centre for Free Enterprise cements Munk’s position as leading contributor to right-wing ideas.... Continue Reading →
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