hysteria

Saturday January 26, 2019

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 26, 2019

Canada ramps up pressure on Venezuela’s Maduro

Top federal officials, perhaps Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself, will be reaching out to key European allies to encourage them to put more pressure on Venezuela’s Nicolas Maduro, CTV News has learned.

August 28, 2018

The news comes as Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium threatened to recognize Venezuelan National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the nation’s interim president if elections aren’t called within eight days.

Canada, the United States and 10 other countries in the Lima Group have already recognized Guaido, who declared himself interim president of the troubled South American country on Wednesday.

Canada played a key role in organizing that declaration. On Saturday, Trudeau spoke with Colombian Ivan Duque Marquez about the situation.

Canada’s representative to the UN, Marc-Andree Blanchard, told a special meeting of the UN Security Council that Canada has “firmly rejected Nicolas Maduro’s illegitimate claim to power,” citing “fraudulent” elections last year.

Russia, meanwhile, accused Canada and the U.S. of encouraging a coup.

For the estimated three million people who have fled Venezuela’s economic and political crisis in recent years, the growing support for Guaido gives them hope that they will one day be able to return home.

William Mesa is a medical student who was forced to leave Venezuela for Colombia four years ago.

“Many Venezuelans were eating on the streets from the garbage,” he told CTV’s Omar Sachedina in Bogota.

In addition to his studies, Mesa also volunteers at a clothing donation facility that helps Venezuelan newcomers, just as he was helped when he fled from neighbouring country. (CTV News) 

 

Thursday October 6, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday October 6, 2016 'Monsters in clown costumes': Mystery surrounds terrifying trend It's a phenomenon that's sweeping across North America, from Georgia to Glace Bay, N.S. Mysterious, occasionally armed individuals dressed as terrifying clowns, who are frequentlyÊspotted wandering the streets at night, standing in bizarre locations, or menacing members of the public. There have been no reported injuries stemming from the behaviour, but severalÊincidents have led police to get involved. There have been numerous reports of "creepy clowns" in the U.S. over the last month, and evenÊa few in Canada. In Nova Scotia, for instance, a woman in her car turned down a sideÊstreet to avoid one clown, only to be surrounded by five more who stood and simply stared at her. On Tuesday, a photo of a clown standing beside a Halifax high school wasÊposted toÊInstagram. The accountÕs biography reads, "We stalking you so keep your eyes open. We ain't killing we just creeping.Ó In some cases, police have been called to investigate. Two teenagers are facing charges in connection with allegedly uploading threatening Facebook posts about clowns at schools inÊColchester County, a community north of Halifax. A 17-year-old boy from Stewiacke, N.S. and a 16-year-old girl from Shubenacadie, N.S. are facing mischief charges. In aÊstatementÊreleased Tuesday, Truro Police said Òthere is nothing to indicate that these posts were going to be acted upon.Ó Police have not described details of the posts. In yet another incident in the Maritime province this week, a 24-year-old man was arrested in Clarks Harbor, N.S. on Tuesday after witnesses told police he was walking down the streetÊdressed in a clown mask and t-shirt and allegedly grabbed at the clothing of a young boy. The suspect, who police have not identified, faces charges of breach of undertaking. And back inÊmid-August, Gatineau police let two teens off without charges aft

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday October 6, 2016

‘Monsters in clown costumes’: Mystery surrounds terrifying trend

It’s a phenomenon that’s sweeping across North America, from Georgia to Glace Bay, N.S. Mysterious, occasionally armed individuals dressed as terrifying clowns, who are frequently spotted wandering the streets at night, standing in bizarre locations, or menacing members of the public. There have been no reported injuries stemming from the behaviour, but several incidents have led police to get involved.

There have been numerous reports of “creepy clowns” in the U.S. over the last month, and even a few in Canada. In Nova Scotia, for instance, a woman in her car turned down a side street to avoid one clown, only to be surrounded by five more who stood and simply stared at her. On Tuesday, a photo of a clown standing beside a Halifax high school was posted to Instagram. The account’s biography reads, “We stalking you so keep your eyes open. We ain’t killing we just creeping.”

In some cases, police have been called to investigate. Two teenagers are facing charges in connection with allegedly uploading threatening Facebook posts about clowns at schools in Colchester County, a community north of Halifax. A 17-year-old boy from Stewiacke, N.S. and a 16-year-old girl from Shubenacadie, N.S. are facing mischief charges. In a statement released Tuesday, Truro Police said “there is nothing to indicate that these posts were going to be acted upon.” Police have not described details of the posts.

In yet another incident in the Maritime province this week, a 24-year-old man was arrested in Clarks Harbor, N.S. on Tuesday after witnesses told police he was walking down the street dressed in a clown mask and t-shirt and allegedly grabbed at the clothing of a young boy. The suspect, who police have not identified, faces charges of breach of undertaking.

And back in mid-August, Gatineau police let two teens off without charges after they were arrested for donning clown costumes and frightening small children.

In the U.S., clowns have been spotted in the woods of South Carolina and North Carolina, near schools in Ohio, Georgia and Long Island, N.Y., and standing outside an apartment complex in Kentucky. The Kentucky case led to the arrest of a 20-year-old, who appears in his arrest photos wearing a clown costume, sans mask. (Source: CTV News)