Democracy

Saturday November 14, 2020

November 14, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday November 14, 2020

Putin’s Russia Is Last Major Country Yet to Congratulate Biden on Winning 2020 Election 

Russian President Vladimir Putin is the last major world leader yet to congratulate Joe Biden on winning the 2020 election, following China’s recognition on Friday of the president-elect’s victory.

October 2, 2020

Putin won’t congratulate Biden until legal challenges to the U.S. election are resolved and the result is official, according to the Associated Press.

Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian leader, told reporters on Monday that this year’s election is different from those in past years.

“Obviously, you can see that certain legal procedures are coming there, which were announced by the incumbent president. Therefore, this situation is different, so we consider it correct to wait for the official announcement,” Peskov said.

The Chinese Communist Party congratulated Biden on Friday, although it noted Trump’s legal battles against the election results.

“We respect the American people’s choice and extend congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters, according to China’s state-run Global Times newspaper. “We also understand that the U.S. election result will be decided in accordance with U.S. laws and procedures.”

Other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Saudi Arabia’s royal family, have also congratulated Biden since his victory was projected last Saturday.

November 14, 2017

“We respect the American people’s choice and extend congratulations to Mr. Biden and Ms. Harris,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told reporters, according to China’s state-run Global Times newspaper. “We also understand that the U.S. election result will be decided in accordance with U.S. laws and procedures.”

Other world leaders, including British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Saudi Arabia’s royal family, have also congratulated Biden since his victory was projected last Saturday. (Newsweek)

Letter to the Editor, The Hamilton Spectator, Wednesday November 25, 2020

I find it odd political cartoonist Mackay would depict Russian President Putin (Nov. 14) pleased that Trump lost the 2020 U.S. election. It is believed by many that Russia meddled in the 2016 U.S. election to have Trump win! What changed in four years?

Russell Pape, Stoney Creek

Saturday October 17, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday October 17, 2020

Determined voters endure long lines to cast early ballots in historic election

October 2, 2020

Thousands of people, some braving hours-long waits, glitches and politically motivated obstruction, are flocking to cast early ballots and writing the story of a pandemic-era election that may change how America votes.

Heavy turnout at early voting centers in Georgia and Texas comes as many voters elsewhere take advantage of mail-in ballots, defying President Donald Trump’s misleading attempts to cast the election as the most corrupt in history. Another of the President’s many misinformation efforts — his claim that the Obama administration spied on his team — suffered a serious blow on Tuesday when it emerged in a Washington Post report that a Justice Department probe into one key aspect of the conspiracy theory will end without even a public report.

The candidates should have been making last minute preparations for the second presidential debate on Thursday night. But a drama initiated by the President’s diagnosis with Covid-19 caused the cancellation of the event after the President refused to take part in a virtual version — then demanded the reinstatement of the clash when he recovered.

April 30, 2020

Instead, Trump and Biden will take part in dueling town halls on NBC and ABC respectively. The arrangement may be a disservice to voters since they will only have one final chance to see the candidates on stage together on October 22. But given the President’s constant interruptions in the first debate, the format may actually allow a more forensic examination of each candidate’s positions. It is also certain to trigger the former “Apprentice” star’s obsession with television ratings.

Inspirational scenes of eager voters, in some cases in Georgia waiting eight hours to exercise their democratic rights, reflected enthusiasm on both sides at a raw moment in US history at the tail-end of a tumultuous presidential term.

Voters are facing the most difficult circumstances imaginable given the health emergency. Confidence in the election is also being challenged by court battles in a handful of states arising from apparent GOP efforts to complicate early balloting that Democratic voters prefer. There are also infrastructure problems — for example the registration portal in Virginia crashed on Tuesday on the last day when citizens can sign up to vote. 

Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden mostly concentrated Tuesday on winning votes rather than on how they will be counted. (CNN) 

 

Friday October 2, 2020

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday October 2, 2020

The decline of the American Empire

July 14, 2020

Whatever went on between Donald Trump and Joe Biden on Tuesday night, it wasn’t a presidential election debate, it was an unpresidential disaster. 

For the TV viewers unlucky enough to have stuck it out through this 90-minute waking nightmare, the experience was like standing in front of a 10-storey fan into which heavy artillery were constantly firing mud. Or like watching two guys wrestle in the gutter over a nickel.

From start to finish it was a high-decibel cacophony of insults, accusations and angry interruptions as the ever-pugnacious President Trump — staying true to brutal form — mocked the intelligence of his Democratic rival, accused Biden of being a stooge for socialists and even attacked his son, Hunter.

May 14, 2020

And while even a saint would have been rattled by Trump’s rude and blistering attacks, it was nonetheless disappointing to hear Biden respond in kind by calling the president a “liar,” a “racist,” and “the worst president American has ever had,” as well as telling him to “shut up, man.”

No matter who you think won this ugly verbal brawl, the losers were clear: the American people and every American ally around the world that still looks to the United States for leadership.

One of the most common responses of the American pundits who watched this dumpster fire was that they were ashamed of what they’d witnessed. That’s a stunning admission in a country known for its patriotism — but it was entirely appropriate.

April 23, 2020

No matter who wins this election, the office of U.S. president has been diminished, for now, shorn of the respect that should be due to the world’s most powerful leader and, in turn, to the world’s most powerful economic and military nation. 

How can this supposed beacon of democracy continue to shine when the democratic process of choosing its highest official is debased in this way, its light heaped with dirt? And how can the widening fractures in the U.S. on racial, economic and political lines be brought together when Trump, who might still be elected for another four years, not only treats his opponents with contempt but refuses in a public debate to denounce white supremacists? “Stand back and stand by,” was his bizarre and troubling message to one of these groups, the Proud Boys.

April 29, 2020

No wonder the dismay over this debate, as well as the state of disunion it signifies, spread far beyond the U.S. “There is a consensus in Europe that this is getting out of hand, and this debate is an indicator of the bad shape of the American democracy,” observed Ulrich Speck, an analyst with the German Marshall Fund in Berlin.

“European leaders must (be) thinking, ‘The American leadership is over,’” concluded Nicole Bacharan, a political analyst living in France, adding that authoritarian leaders such as Russia’s Vladimir Putin “must be telling themselves … they can do everything because the U.S. isn’t a leader anymore.”

The gleeful reaction in China, the emerging powerhouse that is challenging America’s global dominance, was also instructive. “Such a chaos at the top of U.S. politics reflects division, anxiety of U.S. society and the accelerating loss of advantage of the U.S. political system,” said Hu Xijin, editor of the Global Times, a Chinese Communist Party propaganda sheet.

Pandemic Times

The relative decline of the U.S., and its global economic and military empire, had been observed before Trump’s rise. His presidency has accelerated this decline and even if it is reversible it will take years to do so.

For Canada, which remains America’s closest neighbour and ally, the debate should serve as a reminder of this sad reality. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Wednesday June 19, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 19, 2019

Crowd Contrast

A city that was thirsty to celebrate its first major professional sports title in more than a quarter century erupted in joy Monday, with tens of thousands of fans jammed on to the streets of downtown Toronto for the championship parade.

June 15, 2019

The parade was more than two hours behind schedule as the buses carrying the Raptors were held up by the massive amount of fans on the streets. Just after 2:20 p.m., the national anthem was played at Nathan Phillips Square with the crowd singing O Canada as the wait continued for the Raptors.

It was followed by a flyby from the Royal Canadian Air Force’s Snowbirds demonstration team.

Raptors superstar Kawhi Leonard came out last, serenaded with chants of “MVP, MVP, MVP!”

The fans then gave a rousing rendition of Queen’s “We Are The Champions” before the politicians began their speeches.

Mayor John Tory said the city would rename a part of Bremner Blvd. as Raptors Way. Tory also gave the team a key to the city, handing it to Leonard. (Hamilton Spectator) 

Meanwhile, Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched through Hong Kong on Sunday to voice their opposition to legislation that would allow people to be extradited to mainland China where they could face politically-charged trials.

March 24, 2008

The massive demonstration took place three days before the semi-autonomous Chinese territory’s government plans to bring the highly-contentious bill to the full legislature in a bid to win approval by the end of the month.

Police estimated the crowd at 240,000, but organizers said more than one million took part.

The protest was one of the largest in recent Hong Kong history, underscoring fears over China’s broadening footprint in the former British colony. It appeared to be even bigger than a massive pro-democracy demonstration in 2003 against a proposed national security law, according to Associated Press journalists who covered both events.

Late Sunday night, a group of demonstrators broke through barriers at government headquarters, where the march had ended. The crowd briefly pushed its way into the lobby, but police in riot gear used batons and pepper spray to push the protesters outside. Most had dispersed by 1 a.m., but police continued pushing protesters away for kilometres over a period of two to three hours.

There was still a strong police presence on streets throughout downtown Hong Kong as of 3 a.m. Monday. (Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Wednesday April 10, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 10, 2019

Foreign interference in 2019 election ‘very likely’: report

The 2019 federal election is “very likely” going to be the target of foreign cyber interference, with voters being the most likely targets of this anticipated meddling, a new report from Canada’s electronic spy agency warns.

April 12, 2018

The report is also putting renewed spotlight on the risks of not having more robust cybersecurity and transparency requirements for social media platforms and political parties in place in advance of this year’s campaign, given these two areas are cited as being potential targets for foreign actors.

“An increasing number of foreign adversaries have the cyber tools, the organizational capacity and a sufficiently advanced understanding of Canada’s political landscape to direct cyber interference during the 2019 federal election, should they have the strategic intent,” the report states.

The report is an update to the 2017 Cyber Threats to Canada’s Democratic Process report published by the Communication Security Establishment (CSE).

September 17, 2015

The 2017 report noted that Canada’s electoral process would not be immune from potential interference by outside actors, and that federal candidates, parties, and voters are all at risk. The update notes that the likelihood of online election meddling has increased as the amount of cyber interference in other countries has increased over the last two years.

Now, CSE says that it is “highly likely” that interference in Canada’s democratic process will be done using similar tools that have been implemented in other countries, such as amplifying polarizing political issues, promoting one party over another or discouraging participating in the election altogether.

The document repeatedly cites Russia as an example of a foreign country that has been proven to be conducting this kind of cyber interference, including during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. Though a CSE official speaking to reporters on background said it is not anticipated that interference in the Canadian election will be on the same scale as what Americans experienced.

The intention of cyber interference is to compromise or gain access to information, or to use online means to “covertly manipulate online information” in order to influence voters’ opinions and ultimately the outcome of the election. (Source: CTV News)