***It's going to take a little while to get there, but this posts' reading is Peter Edwards 'One Dead Indian: The Premier, the Police, and the Ipperwash Crisis.' I had long planned to do a post on Edwards' excellent book, as well as a separate one about the leadership issues that this post begins with. … Continue reading Reading + Leadership: Signal to Noise…
I’ve met these guys before…
***In this post, I'm relating a couple of real life events from my time in the army. I'm deliberately keeping some details vague in order to protect identities. If you happen to recognize any of the people involved, please do not mention their names in any comments.*** It was a multi-unit exercise, and I had … Continue reading I’ve met these guys before…
Supplemental Reading: It can’t happen here
So this Post was originally supposed to be about Sinclair Lewis's 'It can't happen here.' I've been meaning to write about this classic novel for over a year now, but for a long time I couldn't really decide how to approach it. How to tie it in with this blog and its themes. Then some … Continue reading Supplemental Reading: It can’t happen here
Study the Abyss
So in writing the last post, I had to do some basic research into the My Lai Massacre. That proved to be a lot more unsettling than I'd expected. Let me explain... I knew the basics. My Lai was a horrible massacre that took place just after the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam War. Bunch … Continue reading Study the Abyss
Supplemental Reading – A Soldier First
In the novel Uprising, Douglas Bland makes it pretty clear that his fictional CDS, Gen Andrew Bishop, does not respect the Prime Minister Jack Hemp. That in and of itself wouldn't be too strange, if it wasn't for the fact that (apparently) no-one else respects the Prime Minister either. During the meeting in Langevin Block … Continue reading Supplemental Reading – A Soldier First
Billy Bishop – Let’s have a proper introduction…
I've been meaning to do this for a bit. In Douglas Bland's Uprising, General Andrew Bishop is named after (and in story he's the descendent of) the real life William Avery "Billy" Bishop, who was a Canada's top Ace pilot during the First World War, and was a General training new pilots within the British … Continue reading Billy Bishop – Let’s have a proper introduction…
Supplemental Reading – In Peace, Prepared
Andrew B. Godefroy's history 'In Peace Prepared: Innovation and Adaption in Canada's Cold War Army' traces the history of Canada's post-Second World War military. This was a remarkable decade, where Canada emerged from the War with a huge army and a wealth of experience, demobilized to almost nothing, then rebuilt within the span of a decade. All the … Continue reading Supplemental Reading – In Peace, Prepared
Encountering John Trudell
We were born 18 If you think we're strange You ought to see the others So the other night I got surprised. Actually I got totally blindsided, but in a good way. A few weeks back, I was talking about A Tribe Called Red and contrasting their music and their protest with the dreck Douglas … Continue reading Encountering John Trudell
Supplemental Reading – Robert Falcon Ouellette on the Métis Wars
Sometimes you get lucky, and the fates conspire to hand you a gift. So I already (briefly) introduced Member of Parliament Robert Falcon Ouellette, the MP for Winnipeg Centre. He's the real life human being who stands in contrast to the underwhelming Jim Riley whom Bland has representing a similar region in the novel (Winnipeg … Continue reading Supplemental Reading – Robert Falcon Ouellette on the Métis Wars
Supplemental Reading – I am Thursday/Alpharius!
So in the novel Uprising, we’re told that the Complex at Akwesasne is so secure, that people working in one part are not allowed to wander into other parts lest they see something they shouldn’t. To make sure they don’t wander, guards posted everywhere. The guards can apparently be trusted to see everything. More recently, … Continue reading Supplemental Reading – I am Thursday/Alpharius!
Putting Down Uprising 