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Tuesday May 3, 2022

May 3, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 3, 2022

Pulling back from wider war in Europe

August 15, 2008

As bad as the war in Ukraine has already been, it may soon get a lot worse.

So far, the death and destruction has been confined to Ukraine itself. It’s a tragedy for the Ukrainian people, but the conflict has at least been contained.

But what if it spills over into other parts of Europe, or turns into a direct confrontation between NATO and Russia? Or more directly, between the United States and Russia? That would be far more dangerous.

This is not idle speculation.

As Ukrainians put up fierce resistance to the invaders, bolstered by political support and a flood of weaponry from the West, it looks like the war will drag on. The possibility of a deal to end the fighting, a lively possibility a few weeks ago, has faded.

April 28, 2022

And the longer the conflict lasts, the greater is the risk it will spread. Not necessarily because either side has a grand design for major conflict, but by a series of escalations and miscalculations. We know from Europe’s bloody history that this is how small wars become big ones.

Once again, the danger of escalation is coming mostly from Russia. This past week, it cut off shipments of natural gas to Poland and Bulgaria and ramped up warnings about its nuclear capability.

It also looks like Moscow may be eyeing the tiny former Soviet republic of Moldova, squeezed between Ukraine and Romania, as its next target. Russia already has troops there, and a Russian general has publicly said his country intends to take over all of southern Ukraine and then link up with Moldova, the justification being to end “oppression of the Russian-speaking population.”

Behind all that, it seems, is deep frustration within the Russian military over its setbacks against Ukrainian forces and Russian President Vladimir Putin’s strategy of abandoning the goal of controlling the entire country in favour of a more limited campaign to dominate the east and south.

February 23, 2022

“Russia’s military believes that limiting the war’s initial goals is a serious error,” Russian journalists Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan write for the Center for European Policy Analysis in Washington, D.C. “They now argue that Russia is not fighting Ukraine, but NATO.”

All of which suggests that behind the facade of unity behind Putin, Russia’s military and security apparatus is seriously divided, with a powerful faction arguing in favour of expanding the war, not ending it. They’re pushing for even more aggressive action in Ukraine itself, as well as a push beyond its borders.

On the other side, western allies are escalating their support for Ukraine. More sanctions, more troops in the region (Britain announced 8,000 more last week), and more heavy weaponry.

Some have read much into the statement by U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin that Washington wants “to see Russia weakened to the degree that it can’t do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine.”

Marvellous Maps

For them, that reveals a hidden “real reason” why the U.S. (and presumably Canada, France, Germany et al) are backing Ukraine. This, however, ignores the fact that Russia brought the alliance against it entirely on itself with its unprovoked aggression. And what decent person, in the end, doesn’t want to see Putin rendered incapable of inflicting similar violence on others?

Regardless of the rights and wrongs, the prospect of a wider war is horrifying. Right now there’s a consensus in the West around supporting Ukraine. But there’s no consensus around pursuing a broader campaign against Russia as such.

The danger, however, is that we may find ourselves on that road without quite realizing it.

While there’s still time, the world needs to find a way to back away from the brink. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

 

Posted in: International Tagged: 2022-15, Bulgaria, Estonia, Europe, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, map, maps, Moldova, octopus, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sweden, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, world

Tuesday February 2, 2021

February 9, 2021 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday February 2, 2021

No written guarantee on EU vaccine shipments, says international trade minister

January 28, 2021

Minister of International Trade Mary Ng said she has received assurances that export controls on vaccines introduced by the European Union will not affect Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine orders. 

Testifying at the House of Commons trade committee Monday, Ng said the government received verbal assurances in phone conversations with EU officials that Canada’s shipments will not be disrupted.

Opposition MPs asked Ng why the government had not secured a more formal, written guarantee from the EU.

Ng said she spoke with EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis, while Prime Minister Justin Trudeau discussed the issue with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

“I reiterated that Canada has advanced purchase agreements with vaccine manufacturers in Europe, and we expect that those agreements be respected,” Ng said.

January 7, 2021

“Vice-President Dombrovskis provided strong reassurances that this mechanism will not delay vaccine shipments to Canada, and we both committed to continue to work together, as we have since the beginning of the pandemic.”

On Jan. 29, the European Commission introduced new export controls for the 27-member bloc, which requires member states to get authorization before they can export vaccine doses out of the EU.

The export controls have raised concerns that Canada’s advance purchase agreements may not be honoured, which would threaten the supply of vaccines coming into the country. Canada is not on a list of countries exempted from the controls.

While Ng said Canada would prefer to get on that list, she did not elaborate on a pathway to do so. She repeatedly brought up that other countries such as the United States and Australia are also not exempt.

Ng said she spoke with the Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium Sunday, Sophie Wilmès, who gave similar assurances that Canada’s advanced purchase agreements would be honoured.  The Pfizer vaccines Canada has ordered are being manufactured at a facility in Puurs, Belgium.

Conservative MP Ziad Aboultaif said the government should have pushed for a written guarantee. 

“There’s a term here — if it’s not in writing, [it] never happened. Do you agree?” Aboultaif asked.

Ng responded that she was confident in the assurances she had received.

“What I would say is that assurances by a vice-president and commissioner of the European Union, as well as the European Union president, to a prime minister, is a … good thing,” Ng said. (CBC) 

 

Posted in: Canada, International Tagged: 2021-04, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chocolate, covid-19, Editorial Cartoon, EU, Greece, Latvia, pandemic, Trade, Vaccine

Friday August 15, 2008

August 15, 2008 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday August 15, 2008

There’s a Bear in the Woods!

The guns of August 2008 have in a matter of a few days significantly changed the world we live in. It is now clear to almost everyone that Russian objectives go well beyond the issue of the ethnically Russian citizens of South Ossetia. Moscow’s swift military gambit clearly includes “regime change” for the entire nation of Georgia.

That is important not simply because Georgia’s democratically elected president, Mikhail Saakashvili, is far more pro-western than his eventual Russian-picked successor will be, but also because it sends a clear message throughout the region that Russia can do what it pleases—and that the United States is too weak, too overstretched, too unpopular, and too weary from years of failed international exploits to act.

Marvellous Maps

That is a message that will be heard first in Azerbaijan, Armenia, and the Ukraine. Leaders such as Azeri Prime Minister Ilham Aliyev will go to considerable lengths to avoid the fate that apparently awaits Saakashvili. They will see the value of alliance with the United States in greatly diminished terms. All will urgently seek ways to accommodate Russian interests.

But the message will extend beyond those countries. Iran and Turkey will be forced to recognize that Russia is reemerging as a force in their region, and that their economic and security interests in the future will have to be more closely harmonized with those of Russia. Former Soviet Republics such as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan will be far wearier of entanglements with the United States that might provoke Russian displeasure.  (Source: American Progress) 

 

Posted in: Canada, International Tagged: Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, imperialism, International, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, octopus, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vladimir Putin

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Please note…

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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