International

Friday November 16, 2018

November 16, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday November 16, 2018

The Brutal Reality Of Brexit

June 25, 2016

Theresa May’s chickens are coming home to roost. The deal she agreed with Brussels is unravelling fast, and her premiership along with it. So far, seven of her ministers have resigned. Letters calling for her replacement are pouring in to the powerful chairman of the Conservative Party’s 1922 Committee: once he receives 48 letters, there could be a vote of confidence in her leadership, and perhaps a leadership challenge. Other Tories are calling for a second referendum. Meanwhile, the Labour party is slavering at the possibility of an early General Election. The political crisis that has been simmering since 2016 has erupted with a vengeance.

The political fallout from Mrs. May’s latest attempt to square the Brexit circle is understandable. Her Brexit deal is horrible. It would lock the UK into a “frozen Brexit”, neither in the EU nor completely out of it.  The U.K. would be forced to accept EU decisions over which it would have no say, and continuing to contribute to the EU budget despite no longer being a member. It would also be unable to enact its own trade deals with the rest of the world until the freeze ended. And it would be unable to end the freeze unilaterally.

June 22, 2016

The idea is that this “frozen Brexit” would initially be only for a transitional period ending in December 2020, when it would be superseded by a free trade agreement. But the proposal allows this date to be extended, if necessary for decades, if no free trade agreement is negotiated. And if the transition ends without a free trade agreement, then the entire U.K. would remain in a customs union with the EU indefinitely, but Northern Ireland would have a closer relationship with the EU than the rest of the U.K.

For Brexiters and Remainers alike, this is the worst of all possible solutions. But horrible though it is, this deal satisfies the conditions set by Mrs. May in her Lancaster House speech. It also satisfies the EU’s conditions. No other proposal achieves this. It is, therefore, the best deal available. The U.K. Government has struck a deal that allows Britain to have its cake and eat it – but the cake tastes so disgusting that no-one wants to eat it. (Source: Forbes) 

 

Wednesday November 14, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 14, 2018

UFO reported streaking across Irish skies on Friday morning

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) is investigating an unidentified flying object (UFO) which streaked across the sky on Friday morning and disappeared.

December 17, 2016

Several commercial aircraft reported seeing at least one bright light with one pilot stating that the UFO was going at an “astronomical” speed of at least Mach 2 (2,500 km/h), which is twice as fast as a commercial jetliner.

If there are little green men and women visiting Earth for the first time, they have proved to be very elusive.

The British Airways 787, call sign Speedbird 94, radioed Shannon Air Traffic Control at 6.47am asking if there were any military exercises off the west coast of Ireland.

A pilot recounted: “It was moving so fast. It appeared on our left hand side and rapidly veered to the north. We saw a bright light and it then just disappeared at a very high speed.

“We were just wondering. We didn’t think it was likely political. We were just wondering what it might be”, she added.

May 14, 2004

A Shannon air traffic controller responded: “There’s nothing showing on either primary or secondary (radar)”.

A pilot from a Virgin Airlines plane, callsign Virgin76, came on to air traffic control and suggested it might be a “meteor or another object making some kind of re-entry. There appeared to be multiple objects following the same sort of trajectory. They were very bright from where we were.”

The pilot also confirmed that he he had seen “two bright lights that seemed to bank over to the right and climb away at speed at least from our perspective.”

A third pilot responded: “Glad it wasn’t just me”.

An IAA spokesman said the authority is investigating the incident and will file a report. “This report will be investigated under the normal confidential occurrance investigation process.” The spokesman added that it was unlikely to be aliens from another planet. (Continued: Irish Times)

 

 

Saturday October 28, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 28, 2018

‘Difficult contract’ binds Canada to Saudi LAV deal, Trudeau says

October 12, 2018

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it’s difficult to break Canada’s deal to supply light armoured vehicles to Saudi Arabia because of the way the contract was negotiated by the previous Conservative government. 

“The contract signed by the previous government, by Stephen Harper, makes it very difficult to suspend or leave that contract,” Trudeau told host Matt Galloway on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Tuesday. “We are looking at a number of things, but it is a difficult contract.

“I actually can’t go into it, because part of the deal on this contract is not talking about this contract, and it’s one of the binds that we are left in because of the way that the contract was negotiated.”

August 10, 2018

Saudi Arabia faces possible international repercussions over the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. Trudeau, in Toronto today to announce how Canada will go about implementing the carbon tax, was asked in the Metro Morning interview what Canada could do.

Canada and many of its allies are trying to figure out what kind of diplomatic and economic pressure can be applied to Saudi Arabia to make it clear that the killing of the dissident journalist inside the Saudi Consulate in Turkey is unacceptable.

Germany, for example, has stopped its arms sales to the kingdom in light of this incident.

May 13, 2016

But Canada continues to fulfil its contract to supply the kingdom with LAVs built by General Dynamic Land Systems Canada, a military supplier in London, Ont.

Even before Khashoggi’s death, human rights advocates said Canada should not be supplying the Saudis with military vehicles that could assist in its ongoing military intervention in Yemen, where civilians have been brutally targeted.

Trudeau said he understands this situation “very well,” calling it “incredibly frustrating.” (Source: CBC News) 

 

 

SaveSave

SaveSave

Thursday October 25, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 25, 2018

On Jamal Khashoggi Killing, Trump Administration Sends Mixed Signals

The Trump administration, confronted with further evidence of a cover-up in the killing of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi, veered on Monday between defending the value of its alliance with Saudi Arabia and pressing the Saudi government for answers.

October 12, 2018

The White House sent the director of the C.I.A., Gina Haspel, to Istanbul to help the Turkish government with its investigation into the killing, according to an official. But in Riyadh, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin held a wide-ranging meeting with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who is suspected of playing a role in the killing of Mr. Khashoggi, a Saudi dissident.

Mr. Mnuchin, who canceled his attendance at this week’s Saudi investment conference in the wake of Mr. Khashoggi’s killing at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul, traded views with Prince Mohammed on economic ties and counterterrorism initiatives, as well as on the investigation into Mr. Khashoggi’s death, according to a Treasury Department spokesman.

August 8, 2018

There are also fresh doubts about the Saudi government’s claim that Mr. Khashoggi was strangled accidentally after he got into a fist fight with 15 Saudi operatives, with video of a body double surfacing on Monday. A Saudi operative donned Mr. Khashoggi’s clothes after he was killed and left the building to create a misleading trail of evidence, surveillance images leaked by Turkey show. (Continued: New York Times) 

SaveSave

Friday October 19, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 19, 2018

Trump says missing Saudi journalist no reason to stop investments there

U.S. President Donald Trump says he sees no reason to block Saudi Arabian investments in the United States despite concern over a missing Saudi journalist, saying the Gulf nation would then just move its money into Russia and China.

August 10, 2018

Trump, speaking to reporters at the White House, said the United States was expecting a report soon on journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but gave no other details.

Trump also spoke about the disappearance while being interviewed on the Fox & Friendsprogram on Thursday, saying the U.S. is being “very tough” as it looks into the case.

“Well, we’re looking at it very, very seriously,” Trump said. “I don’t like it at all. Now, you don’t have American citizens, but that in this case, [it] doesn’t matter. I don’t like it. I don’t like it with respect to reporters. It is a terrible, terrible precedent. We can’t let it happen.

August 17, 2002

“I have to find out what happened … and we’re probably getting closer than you might think,” he said in the Fox News interview.

Trump expressed reservations over calls to withhold further U.S. arms sales to Saudi Arabia, saying such a move “would be hurting us.”

Global pressure has mounted on close U.S. ally Saudi Arabia over the whereabouts of Khashoggi, a prominent critic of Saudi policies who entered the consulate on Oct. 2 to get documents for his planned marriage. His Turkish fiancée, Hatice Cengiz, who was waiting outside, said he never reappeared.

September 5, 2014

Turkish sources have said they believe Khashoggi was killed inside the building and his body was removed, allegations that Riyadh dismisses as baseless.

A team of investigators is preparing to go into the consulate, where Khashoggi was last seen entering nine days ago, a Turkish security official told Reuters. (Source: CBC News)