So now we get to the part in the meeting between where Grand Chief Al Onanole and PM Jack Hemp cease to exist. They go from being poorly defined, two dimensional cardboard cutouts to becoming full-on straw men. A literary straw man is basically a character who is essentially little more than a political or … Continue reading 56-Jack & Al have a meeting(3): Strawmen Collide!
How I’m handling COVID-19
So those of you following the blog pretty regularly probably noticed that my output has dropped off quite a bit over the last couple of weeks. Part of this is just a lack of proper planning (it can happen to anyone), but there's been a bunch of other stuff happening in my life that I'm … Continue reading How I’m handling COVID-19
56-Jack & Al’s Meeting (2): A matter of perspective…
So last time, we looked at the idea of the Prime Minister of Canada having a secret meeting with the Grand Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, here represented by the fictional First Nations Federation (FNF)'s leader Al Onanole. Such a meeting would not be totally unprecedented, although in the past such meeting were … Continue reading 56-Jack & Al’s Meeting (2): A matter of perspective…
The ‘Headquarters Harem,’ or why we can’t have nice things.
***Quick note beforehand. As I have mentioned in other posts about women in the CAF, I'm coming from the perspective of a straight, middle-aged male, and my writing is going to reflect that. I'm not in any way trying to discount the perspectives of other genders and orientations, I'm just sticking to what I know … Continue reading The ‘Headquarters Harem,’ or why we can’t have nice things.
56-Jack & Al have a meeting
This next segment of the novel will probably have to be broken down into several parts, as the exposition is all over the place. But there's a lot going on to make it worthwhile. What’s about to happen here is that Douglas Bland will let the mask slip, and speak for an extended period of … Continue reading 56-Jack & Al have a meeting
I have a plan!
So I've already talked about how I don't want to turn this blog into a place where I speculate about how I would blow this country up? Well, for the most part that's still going to be a thing, but I feel that I need to chime in with my own alternative to Lepine's plan … Continue reading I have a plan!
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
ROEs – “What do you feel?”
Here's a really fucked up joke I've heard from way to many army friends acquaintances: Q: You're a sniper watching a bridge, and you got orders saying to shoot anyone trying to cross. Suddenly a small child approaches and begins to cross the bridge. What do you feel? A: Recoil. [Cue the laughter of assholes.] … Continue reading ROEs – “What do you feel?”
55-Lepine has a Plan (2) – Speaking of Ass…
And the dissection of Lepine's planning session continues! This next post is going to cover various situational and threat assessments that are informing Gen Lepine's hard-assed plan. It's a bit scatter-shot for a deconstruction, but then again, it's a pretty scatter-shot for a planning process too. Last time we discussed how Gen Lepine was basically … Continue reading 55-Lepine has a Plan (2) – Speaking of Ass…
55-Lepine has a Plan (1) – Hard Assed?
Soooo....now that I've laid out the basics of how Canadians do the airborne thing, let's start into how Bland envisions it working. Much like our examination of Alex Gabriel's Winnipeg Map Recce, I'm going to have to break this down into multiple posts. This one's going to deal with some big-picture strategy issues, the next … Continue reading 55-Lepine has a Plan (1) – Hard Assed?