Defence Analyst Sunil Ram

[Fishbone Jones]

Isn't Putin's puppy dead yet?

 

[KevinB]

The guy is a tool, lets leave it to die, he gets press by us just talking and that is

 

[Journeyman]

  :rofl:


Besides, I just showed up to ID his tie 

 

[Greymatters]

I think that pretty much sums it up...

 

[SOES_vet]

Very late to the party here but here goes.

I saw this man at the RCMI tonight and all my alarm bells went off. I had to do some google searches on this guy and found this thread. Long story short, this guy said a bunch of things, with full confidence, that I know are factually incorrect (I have worked in and I am finishing my PhD in subjects he was trying to lecture me in). He seemed far too slick, and used car salesman for my liking. Seems like my instincts were correct.

+1 to steer clear of this guy. Lots of smoke from him.

I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.

*edited for some grammar and context. I was still a little wobbly when I got home. And yes I took the bus.

 

[George Wallace]

Very late to the party here but here goes.

I saw this man at the RCMI tonight and all my alarm bells went off. I had to do some google searches on this guy and found this thread. Long story short, this guy said a bunch of things, with full confidence, that I know are factually incorrect (I have worked and I am finished my PhD in subjects he was trying to lecture me in) and he seemed far too slick, and used car salesman for my liking. Seems like my instincts were correct.

+1 to steer clear of this guy. Lots of smoke from him.

I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.

Welcome to the 'club'.  This is an example of BS baffles brains.  One of the examples where we see no one cares to investigate credentials, or have no knowledge of what those credentials actually are, that allow these egotistical and pompous arses to find some sort of credibility.  Then there is the comic relief they provide when major News agencies call them in as 'experts'.  The unfortunate thing is; the majority of Canadians have no clue how much BS these clowns spew when they comment on world events.

 

[SOES_vet]

Welcome to the 'club'.  This is an example of BS baffles brains.  One of the examples where we see no one cares to investigate credentials, or have no knowledge of what those credentials actually are, that allow these egotistical and pompous arses to find some sort of credibility.  Then there is the comic relief they provide when major News agencies call them in as 'experts'.  The unfortunate thing is; the majority of Canadians have no clue how much BS these clowns spew when they comment on world events.

I was just reflecting on what happened again, last night, and he really was a horror show. No self respecting "Professor" would have acted the way he did. The whole time, whenever I tried to raise a point or a question he would pull the age, and his so called "experience", card and cut me off and try to bully and intimidate me. I decided not to call him out and make a scene because there were others there, including his wife.

Oh and apparently the university he is associated with "trains special forces members in culture and language before they get into theater." I really hope this isn't true.

 

[Loachman]

I don't know who invited him out tonight but his presence was disturbing.

I met him there several years ago, and recognized him from earlier discussions here and television. He's a regular. "All of the ladies love him" according to one of them.

I was not as impressed as they.

 

[George Wallace]

Oh and apparently the university he is associated with "trains special forces members in culture and language before they get into theater." I really hope this isn't true.

From what I have seen when looking at American Public University System (APUS) (accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)) it is a pair of American online universities.  APUS is comprised of American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU).  Not sure to what regard their diplomas are held.

 

[Danjanou]

SOEs nest time let us know in advance. We could have all showed up and asked questions of the expert  >

 

[Brad Sallows]

This is the song that never ends...

 

[George Wallace]

This is the song that never ends...

...the self-licking ice cream cone.

 

[The_Falcon]

From what I have seen when looking at American Public University System (APUS) (accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC)) it is a pair of American online universities.  APUS is comprised of American Military University (AMU) and American Public University (APU).  Not sure to what regard their diplomas are held.

They are accredited, and I have met quite a few American soldiers here, that have taken/are taking studies through AMU.  They are both private, so the tuition fees are astronomical.

As far as his "expert" status, I have discovered through some of the books I have been reading that it is really quite easy to get the "expert" tag and used by the media, especially since there are sites/companies that are literally "dial-an-expert" services, that any journalist can access.  Pay a fee, get yourself listed, and you too can get called as an expert (in the media sense).

 

[jeffb]

They are accredited, and I have met quite a few American soldiers here, that have taken/are taking studies through AMU.  They are both private, so the tuition fees are astronomical.

Not really by American standards. I did a MA through AMU, as have numerous other CAF members that I know, on an ILP and it was about $14,000 all in or about $1,100 per course. That is actually more expensive then a MAIS through Athabaska in Alberta. http://mais.athabascau.ca/fees/index.php

All in all, I was impressed with the quality of the education. I went to the University of Toronto for my undergrad and was underwhelmed by the low standards and sausage factory feel. Most of my classmates at AMU were senior officers/NCOs in the American military or DoD civilians. Almost all of the professors that I had were PhDs who also taught or had taught at places like US Army Command and General Staff College. It wasn't a perfect program to be sure, the marking standards are very generous to be sure, but for an online program I think it was really worthwhile.

As for Sunil Ram teaching there, I'd suggest that is somewhat of an outlier and not consistent with the quality of staff that I experienced while there.

 

[SOES_vet]

All in all, I was impressed with the quality of the education. I went to the University of Toronto for my undergrad and was underwhelmed by the low standards and sausage factory feel. Most of my classmates at AMU were senior officers/NCOs in the American military or DND civilians. Almost all of the professors that I had were PhDs who also taught or had taught at places like US Army Command and General Staff College. It wasn't a perfect program to be sure, the marking standards are very generous to be sure, but for an online program I think it was really worthwhile.

As for Sunil Ram teaching there, I'd suggest that is somewhat of an outlier and not consistent with the quality of staff that I experienced while there.

Well I am glad that service members and other students who are attending this university are more or less getting some quality education.

As for everything else, Sunil, if you are reading this and I mis-characterized you, send me a private message and I will be more than happy to meet up with you and we can sort this out then. I know you have posted in this thread and might still be monitoring it. I don't shy away from confrontation and I am certainly not going to take your dismissive, empty arrogance as a sign of competency or expertise. Myself and the other officer you were talking to (who also holds a graduate degree) didn't appreciate your attitude. We are active in both the military and the academic community in the GTA and you may want to settle this if there was anything we should know about or got wrong about you.