Christopher Dornan
Ahora, jubilado. Formerly, School of Journalism and Communication & Arthur Kroeger College of Public Affairs, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. 🇨🇦 Writing on disinformation, the twilight of the news media, and politics.
- In a town where the cops are corrupt, might be a good idea to join a gang. Or start one. Carney's open invitation to the middle powers.
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- Reposted by Christopher DornanFirst, the UCP said there was an “election integrity crisis," which led to a voter ID law. Then a “national unity crisis” → a sovereignty referendum. Now a “crisis of confidence” in the courts → defunding judges. There is no evidence of these crises. The UCP is trying to manufacture them.
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- Pleasantly surprised by the distribution of attitudes on Reddit. Unpleasantly unsurprised by the attitudes of Twitter habitués.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanNew Brunswick, an east coast Canadian province of about 900,000 people, will no longer use billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X for routine government communications, its leader announced
- Why do the last four words in the post below come as no surprise?
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- Reposted by Christopher DornanThis is preying on my mind a bit. Jeffrey Epstein was not primarily a British scandal! So far we've removed a Prince from the Royal family, fired our US ambassador who was one of the most important political figures of the last few decades and banned the CEO of Barclays from the financial industry..
- Reposted by Christopher DornanOne by one, Europeans mentioned in the Epstein files who still hold political office are beginning to resign or are being forced out of office. Meanwhile, ruled by an administration almost entirely made up of Epstein associates, the US carries on as if nothing really happened.
- What comes after the Davos speech? Who will speak for Canada against Alberta and Saskatchewan secessionists? Getting real about Arctic defence.
- That was me, Elon. I said that. I want you to know it was me.
- The news industry, for the past 26 years: “We have concluded that the company’s structure is too rooted in a different era, when we were a dominant, local print product... This restructure will help to secure our future in service of our journalistic mission and provide us stability moving forward.”
- Me: “I swear my phone is spying on me to send me targeted ads.” Her: “Don’t be paranoid.” My phone:
- Just a reminder that the people building the AI Agents are the same tech wizards who gifted unto us the flawless, super-dependable, and not at all infuriating AutoCorrect.
- Does it follow you into the dry cleaners, the supermarket, the pharmacy and the coffee shop as you’re doing your errands?
- “We too often write from one perspective, for one slice of the audience.” What exactly is meant by that?
- Who do you think the first oligarch in Trump's America to "fall out of a window" will be?
- I guess those Bombardier planes owned by US airlines are still flying.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanWe should have listened when the modems screamed at us.
- Stephen Harper’s official portrait was unveiled today, 11 years after he stepped down as prime minister. How long do these portraits take to paint? Or was Harper waiting for Justin Trudeau to exit the stage before returning to the Hill for the ceremony?
- About that echo chamber …
- Reposted by Christopher Dornanlike, I haven't thought about Greenland in days. it's absolutely wild. I would say it's almost impressive if they weren't so fucking evil.
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- The 1961 episode of The Twilight Zone, It’s A Good Life, is about a monstrous six-year-old with unbridled powers who terrorizes his town, demanding that everyone around him smile all the time.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanThere is an echo-chamber problem. But it is only one side of the political spectrum who are climbing into echo chambers. The rest of us consume media for information and to shape our opinions with diverse voices. The right consumes stuff that affirms pre-existing affinities and validates prejudices
- 1952. Lieutenant-Colonel W. Arthur Croteau of the Civil Defence Technical Training Centre stands with a model of a mushroom cloud on a map of Ottawa. Fun fact: the epicentre of the explosion is my house. (Also someone in the government had to make a papier-mâché mushroom cloud.)
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- What is the difference between a chatbot, an AI assistant, and an AI Agent? Here's a useful rundown on the latest stage in the AI industry, provided by a company that builds and sells AI Agents.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanJust a quick reminder: Children of Men is set in the year 2027. ⬇️⬇️⬇️ cinephiliabeyond.org/children-of-...
- A thing to keep in mind about Melania, the movie, is that as godawful as it may be, the subject of the film and her loathsome husband had complete control over the contents. This is the version they *wanted* people to see.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanFrom Toronto's Union Station. Can we please have this society back?
- Reposted by Christopher DornanAs fell Kennedy, so falls the Kennedy Center: Taken down by a babbling conspiracy theorist, besotted then humiliated by Russia, standing alone at a window, oblivious to any wider context
- This is an excellent article. You will come away informed.
- "... and totally subject to Board approval ..." Thus, the veneer of oversight, checks, and balances. As far as I can gather, the US Congress now has all the oversight authority of the board of the Kennedy Centre.
- Look, there's absolutely nothing fascist in Trump's plans to build a monumental arch or to demolish the Kennedy Centre and replace it with a Trump-o-tron performing arts venue.
- New at @washingtonpost.com: Trump wants to build a *250-ft-tall arch*, for America’s 250th anniversary The structure would tower over nearby memorials — changing DC’s skyline and blocking views of the Lincoln Memorial It’s also spooking experts who say it’s just too big
- It's a damn shame Prince isn't alive today. Because Prince taking to the streets of Minneapolis would have been a hell of thing.
- On second thought, this can't be real, surely.
- Why not also: March for Bankruptcies. Stand up for the entrepreneurs, innovators, and risk-takers whose big ideas just didn't work out. People like Elizabeth Holmes (Theranos), Cambridge Analytica, Adam Neumann (WeWork), Billy McFarland (Fyre Festival), and Sam Bankman-Fried (FTX).
- I assumed this was a devilishly satirical piece of performance art. Nope. It's for real.
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- Starting to get worried about Alberta separatists? Overlook Saskatchewan at your peril, says Dale Eisler. That should be a Canadian political truism.
- Goebbels was a loathsome person, but he never said this. Nor would he have. First, no one in the 1930s called newspapers, movies, and radio "the media." Second, a master propagandist would not have been caught demeaning the very people he sought to manipulate.
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- You know, if Trump wants to de-certify and tariff a Canadian export to the United States, he could start here. I'm sure there are all manner of American-made armoured vehicles ICE could be using.
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- First Bonhomme, now Hudson Williams. Is the PM getting a little handsy, or does he just need a hug?
- Reposted by Christopher DornanGawd he’s an idiot.
- Reposted by Christopher DornanTonight I watched Prime Minister Mark Carney take the actual Heated Rivalry Canada fleece from Hudson Williams, slip it on and say: “This is true soft power.”
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- New Substack just dropped, in which the idea is to draw together a writers' trust of experienced hands and smart cookies to talk us through what's happening to Canada, and offer wise counsel on what to do about it. SAGE comes about because of the energies of @egreenspon.bsky.social.
- Others may have pointed this out already, but Mark Carney wasn't the first to bring up Thucydides with regard to Trump. Carney got a lot of props for the learned two-and-a-half-thousand-year-old reference, but he got it from somewhere. Here's Dan Gardner on the subject from December 2024.
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- Who are they fighting, exactly? Who are these enemies who resist lowering costs, who threaten workers, and who want an unresilient economy?
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- Starting this. Will keep you posted.
- The 21st version of being erased.
- A historical tidbit: At the onset of the Second World War, the Bank of Canada stored gold reserves and securities worth millions upon millions from Britain, Norway, the Netherlands and even France. The bullion was transported in warships and ocean liners in the highest secrecy. Not a penny was lost.
