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alien

Friday February 9, 2023

February 9, 2023 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 9, 2023

Why wasn’t the suspected Chinese spy balloon shot down over Canada?

November 29, 2022

Critics say the U.S. and Canada had ample time to shoot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon as it drifted across North America for a week, although it’s unlikely Canadian jets could have done the job.

“This was an outrageous intrusion,” Conservative defence critic James Bezan told CTVNews.ca. “If we were tracking this from the time it entered Alaskan airspace, the question is, why didn’t Norad take action sooner?”

Two hundred feet tall, manoeuvrable and with a payload of sensors the size of three school buses, the alleged surveillance balloon initially approached North America near Alaska’s Aleutian Islands on Jan 28. According to officials, it crossed into Canadian airspace on Jan. 30, travelling above the Northwest Territories, Alberta and Saskatchewan before re-entering the U.S. on Jan 31.

November 19, 2015

The presence of the balloon was made public on Feb. 1 as it flew above Montana, home to one of three U.S. nuclear missile silo sites. On the afternoon of Feb. 4, an American F-22 fighter jet finally brought it down with an air-to-air Sidewinder missile over the Atlantic Ocean near South Carolina. U.S. President Joe Biden has said he wanted it shot down sooner, but was advised to wait until it was above water to minimize potential damage and injuries from debris.

In the U.S., Republican leaders have criticized the Biden administration for not downing the balloon as it traversed remote waters, vast tundra and sparsely-populated wilderness.

June 17, 2017

“It defies belief to suggest there was nowhere between the Aleutian Islands of Alaska and the coast of Carolina where this balloon could have been shot down right away without endangering Americans or Canadians,” U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a Feb. 5 statement.

“What if it had been weaponized?” Bezan, a Manitoba member of Parliament, added. “I think they had an opportunity to take it down over the Pacific… Why wouldn’t we have shot it down there before it even got to any populated regions?”

Speaking to reporters on Monday, Norad commander Gen. Glen D. VanHerck offered his rationale.

“It was my assessment that this balloon did not present a physical military threat to North America, this is under my Norad hat,” VanHerck, who heads the joint Canada-U.S. air defence group, said. “And therefore, I could not take immediate action because it was not demonstrating hostile act or hostile intent.”

September 16, 2017

Bezan says the government has kept Canadians in the dark about the incident, who are relying instead on information from the U.S.

“I’m disappointed that the minister of defence, Anita Anand, and the prime minister have been both tight-lipped on this,” the opposition lawmaker told CTVNews.ca. “Why didn’t the Government of Canada tell Canadians what was in Canadian airspace, especially when Canadians could see it? Why did it wait until it was in Montana before this became public information?”

Charron from the University of Manitoba also wants to know more about how the incident was handled. (CTV News) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2023-03, alien, balloon, beaver, Canada, continental, Defence, map, North America, space ship, UFO, Uncle Sam, USA

Tuesday November 5, 2019

November 12, 2019 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 5, 2019

Wexit group applies to become federal political party

A separatist group calling for Alberta to leave Canada has begun the process to become a federal political party.

October 22, 2019

Wexit Alberta’s application arrived on Monday at Elections Canada, which has begun the verification process, according to a spokesperson for the federal agency.

The group, led by Albertan Peter Downing, aims to do “for Western Canada what the Bloc Québécois did for Quebec,” Downing said.

Downing ran federally with the Christian Heritage Party in 2015. He said he’s since been involved with federal Conservative Party boards, and as a campaign manager with the former provincial Wildrose Party.

Before that, he was an RCMP officer and during that time was suspended for uttering threats against his ex-wife — according to both National Post and a now-deleted article in the St. Albert Gazette. Downing has denied the allegations and says he left the force with a clean record.

Wexit Alberta has been accused of allowing conspiracy theories or other harmful rhetoric to circulate online.

Wexit (“Western exit”) supporters are scheduled to hold rallies across Alberta this month, and the sentiment has gained support in the wake of the federal election, which saw the governing Liberals shut out of Alberta and most of the west.

Western Alienation, by Arch Dale, 1915

Announcing the party’s application, Downing wrote on Facebook that Premier Jason Kenney “needs to become the VERY FIRST PRESIDENT OF ALBERTA.”

Kenney has called separation “irrational,” but is also planning a referendum on equalization and is appointing a panel to discuss the province’s place in the federation.

Many politicians are being careful to hedge their words on the topic, says political scientist Jared Wesley.

“This is a different kind of movement. We’ve seen it generate success south of the border and in Europe. I think political elites ignore it at their peril but they have to be very careful when they provide legitimacy to what, right now, is a pretty fringe movement,” he said.

Seceding could also be difficult, experts say. Any provinces looking to leave Confederation would have to address First Nations treaties and other complications like trade, national defence and amending the country’s constitution. (CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: 2019-39, Alberta, alien, Canada, doctor, Justin Trudeau, Physician, Pierre Trudeau, Western Alienation, Wexit

Wednesday November 14, 2018

November 21, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

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)

 

 

Posted in: International, USA Tagged: alien, Bono, Donald Trump, Ireland, leadership, ScienceExpo, UFO, Vladimir Putin

Wednesday May 13, 2015

May 12, 2015 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday May 13, 2015 Meet Patrick Who, OntarioÕs new Progressive Conservative leader  The only thing that is absolutely certain about Patrick Brown, the new Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, is that he loves the political process. He has attended an enormous number of community events, everywhere from his federal riding in Barrie, Ont., to the state of Gujarat in India Ð where he made a particularly rewarding connection with the future prime minister of India, Narendra Modi. Long-time MPP and relatively moderate Christine Elliott was expected to easily win the leadership when the campaign began, but Mr. BrownÕs relentless contact-making, politicking and membership-selling put him far ahead in the end. Mr. Brown was rather a silent MP in Ottawa, so itÕs hard to make out what he stands for. There is evidence of his being a social conservative, but on becoming leader, he was quick to say he would not revisit divisive social issues. He now calls himself a pragmatic conservative, and he points out that he has attended Gay Pride events in Barrie. His surprising campaign has drawn attention to the fact that there are no limits to campaign contributions from any single person or corporation in Ontario party leadership races Ð a situation that needs to change. His larger donors range from the proprietor of Canada Cannabis Corp. to the owner of the Barrie Colts hockey team, to an onion-farming corporation and the owner of a chain of hotels across Canada. The Ontario Liberals have been in power ever since 2003. In the past two provincial elections, the Conservatives, led by Tim Hudak, offered a platform and a tone modelled on what got them Mike Harris elected in the mid-1990s. It might as well have been called Common Sense Revolution II. They are still in opposition. Mr. Brown needs to win a seat in the Legislature before long, but more importantly, he needs to articulate a substantial

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday May 13, 2015

Meet Patrick Who, Ontario’s new Progressive Conservative leader

The only thing that is absolutely certain about Patrick Brown, the new Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario, is that he loves the political process. He has attended an enormous number of community events, everywhere from his federal riding in Barrie, Ont., to the state of Gujarat in India – where he made a particularly rewarding connection with the future prime minister of India, Narendra Modi.

Tim Hudak elected 2009

Long-time MPP and relatively moderate Christine Elliott was expected to easily win the leadership when the campaign began, but Mr. Brown’s relentless contact-making, politicking and membership-selling put him far ahead in the end.

John Tory elected 2004

Mr. Brown was rather a silent MP in Ottawa, so it’s hard to make out what he stands for. There is evidence of his being a social conservative, but on becoming leader, he was quick to say he would not revisit divisive social issues. He now calls himself a pragmatic conservative, and he points out that he has attended Gay Pride events in Barrie.

Ernie Eves elected 2002

The Ontario Liberals have been in power ever since 2003. In the past two provincial elections, the Conservatives, led by Tim Hudak, offered a platform and a tone modelled on what got them Mike Harris elected in the mid-1990s. It might as well have been called Common Sense Revolution II. They are still in opposition.

Mr. Brown needs to win a seat in the Legislature before long, but more importantly, he needs to articulate a substantial reason why people should vote for his party, one that is neither dogmatic nor vacuous. The next election is not until 2018, but the province needs an Official Opposition that can present a serious alternative to the Liberals. There’s a strong suspicion that Mr. Brown will try to win the next election by essentially repeating the strategy of the past two, or possibly running even further to the right, and doing even less to attract voters beyond the base. That would be a mistake. He and his party have three years to think it over. (Source: Globe & Mail)

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: alien, invasion, Ontario, party, Patrick Brown, PC, Progressive Conservative, Queen's Park, robot, space ship, UFO

Saturday September 22, 2012

September 22, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Saturday September 22, 2012

OLG rejects Hamilton’s request to delay casino decision

The Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation has rejected Hamilton council’s request to put off making a casino decision until it can hold a referendum in the 2014 municipal election.

“We can’t delay. We need to move on,” said OLG spokesman Tony Bitonti.

“We have timelines and we need to meet certain targets.”

Bitonti says OLG representatives took the city’s request to board chair Paul Godfrey and President and CEO Rod Phillips shortly after meeting with city council Wednesday.

They decided they could not postpone a decision for two years because the delay would impact other gaming zones that are undergoing a massive modernization plan.

“We’re not just looking at Hamilton, we’re looking at 28 other gaming zones,” said Bitonti.

Councillor Sam Merulla, who has led the charge for a referendum, is infuriated that OLG dismissed the request in a letter to council the day after hearing it.

“If that’s their only response, it’s the mother of all incompetent responses,” he said.

Bitonti says OLG is sticking to its timelines for sending out RFPs to potential private sector casino operators in fall or early winter.

If Hamilton wants to be involved, he says it needs to say so sooner rather than later.

“We need a clear resolution and (to see) how the public was engaged.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: alien, casino, decision, Gambling, Gaming, Hamilton, invasion, Lottery, mothership, OLG, Ontario, spaceship
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This website contains satirical commentaries of current events going back several decades. Some readers may not share this sense of humour nor the opinions expressed by the artist. To understand editorial cartoons it is important to understand their effectiveness as a counterweight to power. It is presumed readers approach satire with a broad minded foundation and healthy knowledge of objective facts of the subjects depicted.

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