12 Comments
Jan 27, 2023Liked by Dan Fournier

Gosh Dan! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to see Rosemary Barton commenting on your substack articles.

Excuse me while I go tend to those pesky Russians under my doormat.

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I didn't see any comments in my posts with that name. Can you point me to it?

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My bad. The name I had in mind was Nil Koksal in this infamous assertion wherein she suggested:

"I do ask that because given Canada's support of Ukraine, in this current crisis with Russia, I don't know if it's far-fetched to ask," CBC host Nil Koksal told Minister of Public Safety Marco Mendicino Friday.

"But there is concern that Russian actors could be continuing to fuel things as this protest grows. But perhaps even instigating it from, from the outset."

I get all those CBC mannequins mixed up for some reason!

https://twitter.com/TrueNorthCentre/status/1487465754668810240?s=20&t=LY-507lGW6KMYjyZHwpxwg

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Many Veterans don’t realize their social media channels are full of misinformation. I recommend they check out my podcast on this or Dan Crenshaws.

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Jan 27, 2023Liked by Dan Fournier

Which of these do consider misinformation? By the way Dan Crenshaw has lost some credibility with quite a few people since it was found out he was a WEF YGL

It's been the West / NATO who has been threatening Russia.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug2468hDl6E

The West is propping up and arming corrupt Ukraine & corrupt Zelensky.

https://twitter.com/bb12forEver/status/1499198212388786178

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQIbhQbrs7E

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/meta-welcomes-neo-nazi-azov-regiment-back-facebook-removes-dangerous-organization-listing

Looks like the Ukrainians are having to 'recruit' more cannon fodder.

https://twitter.com/HungaryBased/status/1617643119587233795

This war like others is about money laundering.

https://twitter.com/wikileaks/status/1551583003490623488

Taxpayers are fed up with politicians lies. I wonder why.

https://twitter.com/apocalypseos/status/1618018059037577216

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Excellent links Joe. Thank you. I've added the Natalya Vitrenko video as an addendum to this post and the bigger Ten truths about Ukraine post (now with nearly 10k) views. Thanks again!

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Thank you for your comment Mr. O'Toole. Are you implying this one may have some (of such misinformation)? If so, could you please outline which ones here? If not, can you give examples of some you have come across? Thanks!

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I think discussion on this is important as there is corruption in Ukraine like any country. That said, great strides have been made to ensure military aid is not diverted. I was a direct part of this work in 2014. Plus, any Veteran should recognize that the modern CAF was established to defend against the Soviets and an evolving Russian threat. I have spoken to some Vets who have questions based on social media posts they see battle buds sharing. Many - if not most - are misinformation from Russia. Both podcasts talk about the degrading of an opponents capacity and the ROI for countries that support Ukraine. Canada spent billions during the Cold War just for the sake of deterrence against the USSR. Ukraine is actually degrading Russia’s ability to war fight for a fraction of that spending. They are taking all the risk.

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Mr. O'Toole, firstly thank you for your public service to our country. Also, I appreciate your clarifications along with your kind engagement through public discourse regarding this topic of great importance that bears significant ramifications not only in Canada, but elsewhere.

“Dis/mis/mal”information is omnipresent in any fog or war and amidst the information age in which we live.

Relatedly, part of this “information warfare” also entails the *absence* of information.

Similar to the Covid-19 Pandemic (esp. re the “safety and efficacy of the vaccines”), a mostly one-sided narrative has emerged in the traditional media about this Russian-Ukrainian War.

Seldom are they critical of the Ukraine and the atrocities they have committed - even on their own people; have you seen the 2021 report titled UKRAINE 2021 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT published by our American ally’s own State Department? (https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/313615_UKRAINE-2021-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf).

My first published article of this year (Ten Inconvenient Truths about Ukraine largely ignored by the MSM) is by far my most popular with over 10k views here on Substack and nearly 22k views from Maxime Bernier’s re-tweet of it (https://twitter.com/MaximeBernier/status/1614659097839931392).

What this tells me is that the Canadian public is hungry for a more balanced view on these complex issues. And that is what I try to offer. I have no stake or skin in this far away war and am no supporter of Putin or Russia, either.

Moreover, not divorced from this is the extent to which Canadians, including myself, have become distrustful of the traditional media as well as in our governmental institutions (see the 2022 Edelman Trust Barometer: Trust in Canada, https://www.edelman.ca/trust-barometer/2022-edelman-trust-barometer-trust-canada).

These are reasons as to why many are seeking their news from alternative news sources, including my Substack and The Counter Signal to which I contribute.

As a three decade plus educator, including at the collegiate level, the final point I would like to make regarding so-called “dis”information is the following.

In my opinion, there is no such thing as dis/mis/mal information, for it is ALL INFORMATION.

For the past few years, these labels (similar to “conspiracy theory” & “conspiracy theorist”) have been thrown around by various players (especially Big Tech and the various “Ministries of Information”) as a means by which they can discredit, ridicule, and censor dissenting and opposing voices (so many logical fallacies have been used and abused in this regard).

What is important, rather, is the critical lens through which readers can vet, verify, challenge, scrutinize, synthesize, discard, and summarise the information they have come across.

I use to teach many courses related to critical reading and writing so as to give my students the tools by which they could use in critical reasoning. Sadly, our education systems have been failing us in this regard. Just like when I was teaching in China – the education system there teaches students *what* to think, rather than *how* to think. Tragically, I see the same trend happening right here in Canada, at all levels.

A similar phenomenon is happening in the professional world/workplace, as with the recent “wrongthink/wrongspeak” Jordan Peterson affair.

That said, I thank you once again for engaging in this important discourse and wish more public figures such as yourself would have the courage to do so.

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It's exactly the sheer absurdity of Ukraine worship that makes it a suitable state religion.

The more absurd, the better for signalling loyalty.

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Whitney Webb is a phenomenal investigative journalist and reporter.

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