Michael J Armstrong

FYI @cynthb.bsky.social ?

Or decoys to screen the other missile from IDF interceptors?

Collections: Strategic Airpower 101 This week, I’m going to offer a fairly basic overview of the concept of strategic airpower, akin to our discussions of protracted war and nuclear deterrence. While the immediate impetus for t…

Seems like a good moment to re-up my primer on the endless empty promises that strategic airpower can win wars entirely from the air: acoup.blog/2022/10/21/c...

"If you go to war against Persia, you will destroy a great empire."

Correct me if I am wrong, but that was the legendary prophecy from the Oracle at Delphi to King Croesus of Lydia, shortly before Croesus started & lost a war against Persia.
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Well. He’s a list of actually credible defense people to follow I suppose.

Eight Canadian wines to enjoy now, including youthful whites from Niagara’s 2025 vintage Wines that boast a fresh and fruity character don’t need prolonged aging, so unbottle them with confidence

Wineries in Niagara are currently experiencing a surge in sales, leading producers to fast-track the release of white wines made last fall. Homegrown wine sales have increased owing to retail expansion and the removal of U.S. products from liquor stores.

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/260a807...

This image shows my reader statistics dashboard for articles I wrote for The Conversation Canada web site. Between 27 Jun 2017 & 27 Feb 2026, I had 61 articles posted there. They collectively have accumulated 1.04 million page views. 39% came from Canada, 29% from the USA, & 32% from elsewhere. This includes views of articles republished on other sites (e.g., newspapers), but only if those sites set up their tracking system properly.

FWIW @bretdevereaux.bsky.social, here are my online reader stats from @ca.theconversation.com.

Between 27 Jun 2017 & 27 Feb 2026, my 61 articles there collectively drew 1.04 million page views. 39% from Canada, 29% from the USA, & 32% from elsewhere. The most-read article has 126,000 views.

‘I hope they hurt’: Unifor irate over early idling of Crown Royal factory in Amherstburg, Ont. Unifor is upset over the early idling of the Crown Royal factory in Amherstburg, Ont.

Diageo's Crown Royal bottling plant in Amherstburg, ON, shut down 3 days early.
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www.ctvnews.ca/windsor/arti...

YouTube video by Brock University Say you’ll remember me: Wartime love letters revived in A (Taylor) Swift History course

A @brocku.ca history course this spring will analyze the letters received by a World War I soldier from his Canadian fiancée, plus the lyrics to a Taylor Swift song.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSjT...

Product recall for some Cannabis Cartel edibles sold in Ontario. They might contain mold toxins.

recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-rec...

3 ways Canada can navigate an increasingly erratic and belligerent United States Canada can draw lessons from its centuries-long coexistence with an often-erratic neighbour to successfully navigate the economic volatility of the present era.

"3 ways Canada can navigate an increasingly erratic and belligerent United States"

theconversation.com/3-ways-canad...

For grants I would assume single-spacing.

My limited application experience is that grant agencies count pieces of paper, rather than words.

"Elsevier Shuts Down Its Finance Journal Citation Cartel"
#EconSky

This line chart displays total monthly retail sales of alcoholic beverages in Canada from Oct 2018 to Dec 2025. Sales are in seasonally adjusted Canadian dollars. Source: Statistics Canada retail trade report of 20 Feb 2026.

Canada's alcoholic beverage retail sales totaled $25.7 billion in 2025, down 0.5% from 2024. Adjusting for rising prices implies product volumes fell 2.0%.
2/2
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This line chart displays total monthly licensed retail sales of recreational cannabis in Canada from Oct 2018 to Dec 2025. Sales are in seasonally adjusted Canadian dollars. Source: Statistics Canada retail trade report of 20 Feb 2026.

Canadian retail sales of licensed recreational cannabis totaled $5.6 billion in 2025, up 4.1% from 2024. Adjusting for declining prices implies product volumes rose 5.7%. 1/2
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#EconSky #EpiSky

Compliance a concern at many Canadian vape shops, inspection report suggests Canada has strengthened enforcement of vaping regulations, but a new federal report shows compliance remains a concern, particularly among specialty retailers.

Health Canada inspectors found that 99% of gas & convenience stores were complying with vape retail rules, but only 57% of specialty vape shops were compliant.
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www.ctvnews.ca/health/artic...

A few weeks of X’s algorithm can make you more right-wing – and it doesn’t wear off quickly Elon Musk’s social media platform is boosting conservative content – and it’s having long-lasting effects on how users see the world.

Study on X: "the algorithm increased the share of right-leaning content ... It also significantly demoted the share of posts from traditional news organisations’ accounts while promoting or boosting posts from political activists"
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#polisky
theconversation.com/a-few-weeks-...

Owners of Canada's only non-alcoholic winery land $1M deal on Dragons' Den | CBC News ONES is the passion project of Tyler Harlton from Pense, Sask., and Chris Pagliocchini, a scientist for Agriculture Canada. Harlton is no stranger to the agriculture industry himself, having grown up ...

"ONES's products contain only 0.5 per cent alcohol and zero sugar. Since launching in 2022, ONES's wines went from selling in small boutique shops to lining shelves in nearly 600 stores across Canada."
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www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

ANALYSIS | Build it here or buy it there? Canada's defence plan meets Trump's new arms agenda | CBC News The Carney government formally released its long-awaited defence industrial strategy, which aims to boost domestic weapons manufacturing while reducing Canada’s heavy reliance on U.S. suppliers.

For the 1st time in 40+ years, the Canadian government looks like it will actually take defense spending seriously.
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www.cbc.ca/news/politic...

Is teasing playful or harmful? It depends on a number of factors Teasing is a common but complex behaviour that can signal relational closeness, but it can also have antisocial functions.

"Is teasing playful or harmful? It depends on a number of factors"

theconversation.com/is-teasing-p...

Diageo, Ontario reach agreement to keep Crown Royal on LCBO shelves but plant closure remains | CBC News Ontario will keep Crown Royal on the shelves in the province's liquor stores, it says, after parent company Diageo agreed to almost $23 million in spending in the alcohol and agriculture sectors.

Under the deal Diageo will give $2M to development agencies, spend $5M on ads, & buy $16M of raw materials in Ontario.
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www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Alberta imports of U.S. alcohol are back, but who’s drinking it? In Ontario, beer, wine and alcohol from south of the border have tanked 95 per cent due to the trade war

'“The wine side of it is pretty dead, there’s barely anybody buying U.S. wine,” said Ivonne Martinez, president of Alberta Liquor Stores Association. However, demand for U.S. bourbon has surged'

www.theglobeandmail.com/business/art...

Advisory committee sounds alarm over restructuring at Brock University President’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, Equity and Decolonization says staff reductions will hurt students

'Brock plans to reduce staffing by one third across all programs “beginning with administrative assistants, academic co-ordinators and some academic advisors" ... cutting back on those positions will only hurt students'

@brocku.ca @bufa.bsky.social
www.pelhamtoday.ca/local-news/a...

Tuition set to rise, OSAP grants lower with new Ontario post-secondary funding changes: minister | CBC News The province announced billions in new funding for Ontario's colleges and universities Thursday, along with the end of a years-long tuition freeze and changes to the Ontario Student Assistance Program...

Ontario universities will be allowed to raise tuition rates up to 2% per year.

So, they'll keep falling behind inflation, but more slowly than they have been for the past decade.
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www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

'Our position will remain the same': Newmarket council not moving on allowing cannabis stores Advocates push for reconsideration, but council members say planning control would be needed

Newmarket, ON, decides to maintain its ban on licensed cannabis stores.
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www.newmarkettoday.ca/local-news/o...

This is something I like about studying cannabis legalization's impacts. Even studies finding no significant effect are publishable.

E.g., did legal cannabis lead to more, less, or no change in alcohol use?

Trump’s Trade Policy Is Teaching Partners Washington Can’t Be Trusted Every broken commitment, every tariff threat announced via social media, teaches important economic partners that American trade agreements are not worth the paper they’re printed on. And they are lea...

"Every broken commitment, every tariff threat announced via social media, teaches important economic partners that American trade agreements are not worth the paper they’re printed on. And they are learning fast."
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www.cato.org/commentary/t...

Flag politics in Canada and New Zealand resulted in drastically different outcomes Both Canada and New Zealand experienced a post-Second World War reassessment of their ties to colonialism, evident in the Union Jack occupying the upper left quadrant of each nation’s flag.

"Both countries also experienced a post-war reassessment of their ties to their colonial pasts, evident in the Union Jack occupying the upper left quadrant of each flag. But the efforts to redesign the Canadian and New Zealand flags followed different pathways."

theconversation.com/flag-politic...

Product recall on some Lunaire dried cannabis due to arsenic.
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recalls-rappels.canada.ca/en/alert-rec...

Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 The Corruption Perceptions Index 2025 ranks 182 countries by their perceived levels of public sector corruption. Find out the scores and read our analysis.

Source: Transparency International 2025 report

www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2025/