Countdown to Zero reveals the truth behind an issue on which human survival itself hangs – the very real possibility of nuclear disaster. From the producers of An Inconvenient Truth, Countdown is a chilling wake up call about the urgency of the nuclear threat.
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RSS feed for this sectionGlobal cluster bomb ban takes effect August 1st
A global treaty that bans the use of cluster bombs, a weapon containing multiple – often hundreds – of small explosive submunitions or bomblets, will take effect today, August 1st, when the treaty, signed by 107 countries, becomes legally binding. Steve Goose, who is the co-chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition, comments that, “Nations that […]
DND computers used to remove criticism of F-35s from Wikipedia
The Department of National Defence has confirmed that its computers were used to alter the Wikipedia entry regarding the F-35 fighter and the Conservative government’s decision to purchase 65 of them. Reportedly, the edits included “the removal of information critical of the government’s plan to buy the jets and the addition of insulting comments aimed […]
Tory government misplaces Canadian Arctic
In an effort to bolster its claims that Canada needs the F-35 to defend Canadian sovereignty in the North, the Conservative Party is pointing to the recent intercept of two Russian Bear aircraft “over the Arctic” by Canadian CF-18s as evidence of the need for new fighters, claiming that the intercept puts Liberal leader Michael […]
Hawks versus doves
Last weekend’s National Post published a letter from Senator Pamela D. Wallin questioning the independence and expertise of three critics of the Department of National Defence’s purchase of F-35 fighter jets on the basis that all of them have ties to the Rideau Institute. Dismissing the Rideau Institute as an organization that “routinely criticizes Canada’s military spending”, […]
Report suggests changes to rules of engagement could cause increased insurgent attacks
A recent study by the National Bureau of Economic Research finds “strong evidence” that “local exposure to ISAF generated civilian casualties drives increased insurgent violence over the long-run.” (Luke N. Condra, Joseph H. Felter, Radha K. Iyengar & Jacob N. Shapiro, The Effect of Civilian Casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq, NBER Working Paper No. 16152, […]