Thursday June 13, 2024

June 13, 2024 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday June 13, 2024

Global Summit Amidst Rising Far-Right Tide

June 15, 2021

The upcoming G7 summit in Italy, amidst discussions on pressing global issues, highlights the challenges posed by the rise of far-right regimes, prompting urgent calls for progressive solutions and international cooperation.

As Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prepares to attend the annual G7 leaders’ summit in Italy, the international community faces pressing geopolitical conflicts and complex challenges. Against the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine and Israel-Hamas conflicts, as well as discussions on the energy transition, artificial intelligence, migration, and collaboration with Africa, the summit holds unprecedented significance.

News: Trudeau heads to Italy as shadows of war in Ukraine, Gaza loom over G7 summit

Tuesday December 19, 2023

However, amidst these critical discussions, the rise of far-right regimes globally demands attention. The recent European parliamentary elections have strengthened far-right leaders, amplifying concerns about their impact on fundamental issues such as human rights, climate action, migration, and the escalating authoritarian tide.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s far-right Brothers of Italy party’s ascendance in Italy underscores the shifting political landscape within the European Union. Meloni’s stability contrasts sharply with the challenges faced by counterparts like Germany’s Olaf Scholz and France’s Emmanuel Macron, who have seen declining support in recent elections. The electorate’s turn towards more extreme alternatives reflects broader dissatisfaction with centrist and progressive policies.

May 24, 2017

Beyond Europe, the influence of figures like Donald Trump in the United States, Nigel Farage in the UK, and Pierre Poilievre in Canada signals a global trend towards right-wing populism. Characterized by nationalist and anti-immigration rhetoric, these leaders contribute to a troubling wave of right-wing extremism.

The implications of the rise of far-right regimes extend beyond domestic politics. They pose a direct threat to global human rights, often enacting policies that erode democratic institutions, curtail freedoms, and target minority groups. Furthermore, their reluctance to engage in international cooperation weakens responses to authoritarian aggressions, such as Vladimir Putin’s actions in Ukraine.

News: Trump’s potential return hangs over gathering of Western leaders

June 6, 2007

On critical issues like the climate crisis, far-right leaders often prioritize national interests over global environmental goals, hindering collective efforts to combat climate change. Similarly, their restrictive immigration policies exacerbate social division and undermine principles of compassion and inclusivity essential for global harmony.

As Trudeau joins fellow world leaders at the G7 Summit, the stark contrast between progressive values and the rise of far-right populism underscores the urgency of the moment. It is imperative for leaders to address these challenges head-on, advocating for progressive solutions and building resilient alliances to counter the threats posed by rising authoritarianism and right-wing extremism.

August 24, 2019

The G7 Summit presents a crucial opportunity to reaffirm commitments to a just, inclusive, and sustainable future. In the face of growing geopolitical tensions and the resurgence of far-right ideologies, the world must stand united in upholding democratic values and promoting global cooperation for the betterment of all. (AI)

Wednesday April 1, 2020

April 8, 2020 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday April 1, 2020

Long-term care homes are worrisome COVID-19 hotspots

Coronavirus cartoons

Monday’s news of a deadly outbreak of COVID-19 in a long-term care home in Ontario has once again put the spotlight on how these facilities are coping with the pandemic, and what measures are being taken to protect their residents.

The Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, about 150 kilometres northeast of Toronto, has lost 12 residents, and a volunteer whose husband is a resident also died.

It’s a big heartbreak for a little town, and that pain is being experienced by Canadians across the country.

On Tuesday, a care home in Calgary reported its third death, while a home in Toronto, the Rekai Centre reported one of its residents died. There have been at least 29 deaths at seniors’ residences throughout Ontario and four in Quebec.

Lynn Valley Care Centre in North Vancouver was one of the first and hardest hit seniors homes in Canada. It’s where the country’s first death related to COVID-19 occurred on March 8. In all, 11 residents died, 40 more got the virus, and 21 staff became ill.

Nineteen long-term care homes in B.C. are currently dealing with outbreaks. Several homes across the country are in the same boat.

These residences are the kinds of places where an illness like COVID-19 can easily take hold. Residents share living spaces — in some homes there are four people to a room — as well as eating spaces and other communal areas.

They can be high traffic places, with staff, visitors and deliveries coming and going. The residents are elderly, and some may have compromised immune systems that can’t fend off the virus or underlying conditions, or both. The people caring for them are hands on — they can’t stay a hockey-stick length away from their patients, as other Canadians are being instructed to do.

Long-term care homes are used to dealing with outbreaks of influenza and other illnesses within their walls, but this pandemic has led them to go far beyond their usual infection control protocols.

Non-essential visitors have been shut out for weeks now at homes across the country, and governments and home operators are implementing more restrictions.

Isobel Mackenize, the B.C. government’s seniors advocate, said in an interview that lessons were learned from the Lynn Valley outbreak, and that a number of steps have been taken to prevent more residents, and staff, from getting sick. (CBC)

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

September 17, 2013 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, September 16, 2013

Salvaging the Costa RobFordia

Mayor Rob Ford didn’t make it to any screenings at the Toronto Film Festival this week, but he is starring in a new release.

The 2:41 minute short was released online by Mr. Ford’s office Friday morning, about the same it began playing on a continuous loop from his staff’s office on the second floor of city hall.

Mr. Ford’s critics were quick to point out that the video only tells half of the story of a summer filled with controversy for Toronto’s civic leader, including allegations that the mayor was caught on video smoking crack cocaine. Videos of the mayor wandering up Greenwood Avenue late on Friday evening during the Taste of the Danforth festival asking “where’s the party?” also went viral in August.

“He’s plugging a certain narrative,” said Councillor Joe Mihevc. “There are clearly some people buying into that narrative and then there is another narrative that’s out there and certainly when I’m talking to folks they’re wondering what’s going on in the city and who is in charge of the ship.” (Source: The Globe & Mail)

Meanwhile, Salvage officials have begun the mammoth task of righting the crippled Costa Concordia as jacks hoist it off rocks near the Tuscany coast.

The operation was delayed by about three hours due to bad weather, and began at 9am.

“At 9 o’clock all the checks were completed and the operation began,” Sergio Girotto, a senior engineer.

“Everything is going smoothly, the operators are now working from the control room.

“There are a team of engineers who will follow the operation until the end.”

The rescue effort will see the giant ship gradually rotated and rolled upright. It is expected to last up to 12 hours, taking it into Monday evening. Engineers say the lifting can continue after darkness falls. (Source: Sky News)

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Tuesday May 8, 2012

May 8, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Tuesday May 8, 2012

Merkel readies for fight

Angela Merkel is under pressure to defeat the popular backlash against austerity to save her political skin and preserve Germany’s dominance in the eurozone.

Over the next four weeks, the German chancellor will face the fight of her political life on all fronts, domestic and European, at a moment when one slip could sink her government and tear down the European Union’s single currency.

Merkel must take the lead in trying to find an answer for the crisis in Greece, after three-fifths of Greek voters rejected EU austerity measures. Ger-man taxpayers have put $275 billion on the line to bail out countries such as Greece, and Germany’s patience is running out with countries that reject the prescribed economic medicine of debt reduction while continuing to demand the handouts.

To appease her highly taxed voters, who are worried that EU bailouts have breached Germany’s constitution, Merkel has made German economic aid conditional on all eurozone countries signing the “fiskalpakt”.

The treaty, signed by 25 EU countries, gives Brussels officials the right to block bud-gets that break spending rules which are enshrined in national constitutions, as is the case in Germany.

The measures, the chancellor assured German voters, would prevent eurozone countries going bust and leaving Ger-many holding bailout bills.

Merkel on Monday insisted Greece had to stick to the austerity program so resoundingly rejected by voters and that the reforms to the Greek economy were of “utmost importance”(Source: Vancouver Sun)

Thursday January 19, 2012

January 6, 2012 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator, Thursday January 19, 2012

Italian cruise disaster

A stricken Italian cruise liner shifted on its rocky resting place Monday as worsening weather disrupted an increasingly despairing hunt for survivors and authorities raised their estimate of the number missing to 29 people.

As the Costa Concordia’s owners blamed their captain for veering shorewards on Friday in a bravura “salute” to residents of a Tuscan island, the giant ship slid a little, threatening to plunge its whole carcass and 2,300 tonnes of fuel below the Mediterranean waters of the surrounding nature reserve.

The slippage forced rescuers to suspend for a few hours their efforts to find anyone still alive after three days in the capsized hull, resting on a jagged slope near the island of Giglio. Firefighters said the search would resume at daybreak.

Six bodies have been found since the ship foundered after striking a rock Friday night. Italian coast guard officials on Monday revised the number of people missing up to 29 — 25 passengers and four staff members — from 16.

Environment Minister Corrado Clini said he would declare a state of emergency because of the risk that the ship’s fuel would leak into the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. No fuel spillage has been detected so far, he told an Italian TV show.

The father of the ship’s head waiter said his son telephoned him before the accident to say the crew would salute him by blowing the ship’s whistle as they passed close by Giglio, where both the waiter, Antonello Tievoli, and his father Giuseppe live. “The ship obviously came too close,” the elder Tievoli said. “I don’t know if Antonello asked the captain to come near, but the responsibility is always the captain’s.” (Source: Toronto Star)