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Wednesday September 14, 2022

September 14, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday September 14, 2022

Putin’s Kharkiv disaster is his biggest challenge yet

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spent more than two decades carefully cultivating his domestic political image of a strong foreign policy strategist who can outsmart Western leaders and restore Russia to its former glory.

April 12, 2022

But that image has suffered significant damage in the past few days, as a blistering Ukrainian counteroffensive in eastern Ukraine exposed the inadequacies of Moscow’s master plan and forced Russian troops to retreat.

Experts said the Russian collapse in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region represented the biggest challenge of Putin’s career, and that the Kremlin leader was running out of options.

Moscow has tried to spin the hasty withdrawal as “regrouping”, but in a sign of just how badly things look for Russia, the military has been publicly criticized by a number of high-profile Kremlin loyalists including Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, who supplied thousands of fighters to the offensive.

Russia has suffered significant setbacks earlier in the war — for example when it lost its Black Sea fleet flagship Moskva or when it was forced to withdraw from the areas around the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.

But the current situation could pose a much bigger problem for Putin, Russian political analyst Anton Barbashin said.

March 1, 2022

“The Kyiv withdrawal was framed as a gesture of goodwill, something they’ve had to do to prevent civilian casualties,” he told CNN. “The propaganda component was always focusing on Donbas region as being the top priority, but now that Russian forces are somewhat withdrawing from Kharkiv region and Luhansk region, it would be much more problematic to explain this if Ukraine does in fact, push further and I didn’t see a reason why they wouldn’t.”

The Kremlin on Monday said Putin was aware of the situation on the frontlines, and insisted Russia would achieve all the goals of its “special military operation” — the phrase Moscow is using for its war on Ukraine — to take control of all of Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

But that operation will be made much more difficult by Ukraine’s victories in neighboring Kharkiv. And the setbacks there have ignited criticism and finger pointing among influential Russian military bloggers and personalities in Russian state media.

February 17, 2022

Unusually, even Putin himself has been criticized. On Monday, deputies from 18 municipal districts in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kolpino called for Putin’s resignation, according to a petition with a list of signatures posted on Twitter.

Experts said Putin would now face growing pressure to respond with force. Influential Russian nationalist and pro-war voices are increasingly calling for radical steps, including full mobilization and ramped up strikes against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, some even suggesting the use of tactical nuclear weapons.

“Generally there’s a quite open sense of panic among Russian pro-war analysts and voices,” Barbashin said.

The Kremlin has so far rejected the idea of a mass mobilization and Russia watchers believe it is unlikely that Putin would call for one, because he is aware that such a move would likely prove unpopular and would be seen as an admission that the “special military operation” is, in fact, a war.

Putin signed a decree last month to increase the number of military personnel to 1.15 million, adding 137,000 service personnel, but analysts say it will likely become increasingly difficult for Russia to recruit.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based analytical group, pointed out on Sunday that some regional authorities have faced criticism for their push to recruit contract servicemen and volunteers to fight in Ukraine.

The full extent of Ukraine’s recent gains — and its ability to hold onto them — is still unclear. But experts say that if the Ukrainian counteroffensive continues at similar pace, Putin will find it increasingly difficult to present himself as a strong strategist. (CTV)

From sketch to finish, see the current way Graeme completes an editorial cartoon using an iPencil, the Procreate app, and a couple of cheats on an iPad Pro …

https://mackaycartoons.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/2022-0914-INT.mp4

 

Posted in: International Tagged: 2022-30, invasion, Kremlin, Russia, table, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, wood chipper

Thursday February 17, 2022

February 17, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 17, 2022

Putin’s Long Tables Explained

January 22, 2022

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s every move is dissected as fears escalate that he’ll soon order an invasion of Ukraine, but attention has recently turned to why Putin sits across from a comically large table during meetings with other world leaders, the most recent instance of which came Tuesday during a meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. 

The issue took global spotlight last week after Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron sat at opposite ends of a table pegged by Reuters to be 20 feet long during their meeting in Moscow.

The extreme social distance came after Macron refused to take a Russian-administered Covid-19 PCR test, and Reuters reported Thursday it was because France didn’t want Russia to have access to Macron’s DNA, citing two anonymous sources close to Macron.

Another French official told Reuters the protocols were due to Putin living a “strict health bubble,” and the Kremlin confirmed the extreme distance is to protect Putin.

Scholz met the same distanced fate as Macron during his Tuesday meeting in Moscow, sparking memes and providing comic relief during otherwise tense negotiations.

Posted in: International Tagged: 2022-07, Antony Blinken, Boris Johnson, covid-19, diplomacy, Emmanuel Macron, France, Germany, International, Olaf Scholz, olympics, pandemic, Russia, table, UK, USA, Vladimir Putin

Wednesday February 16, 2022

February 16, 2022 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday February 16, 2022

Ford’s pandemic timing is off

October 28, 2021

No question, on the COVID-19 front, things are looking up. Most, if not all, the signs and indicators point toward things brightening as spring arrives.

That said, the Ontario government’s timing on easing pandemic restrictions is, to say the least, questionable. It is not wrong for Premier Ford to declare the decline of COVID — the numbers bear him out on that. But timing is everything, and announcing the early lifting of many restrictions this week, while Ottawa is still in the grips of an illegal occupation, leaves a bad smell.

January 26, 2022

Ford insists that the timing has nothing to do with ongoing trucker protests. Maybe not, but the optics are far from good. You can bet that his haste to lift restrictions will be seen by many in the protest movement as a victory, as in, look what we’ve been able to accomplish — we’ve got the premier on the run.

In other words, the perception in many quarters will be that holding Ottawa citizens, and the Windsor Ambassador Bridge, hostage paid off.

The thing is, had Ford held off just another week, there is a good chance the Ottawa occupation would be over or nearly over. The premier’s timing, as well as the optics here, are not a good look for Ontarians. (Hamilton Spectator Editorial) 

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: 2022-06, advisory, alt right, confederate, covid-19, Doug Ford, freedom convoy, health, intolerance, learn to live with, Ontario, pandemic, Passports, racism, Science, table, thug, Vaccine

Wednesday June 11, 2018

July 10, 2018 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday June 11, 2018

Ontario PC government cancels $100-million school repair fund

Ontario’s new Tory government has cancelled a $100-million fund earmarked for school repairs this year, a cut that comes as a result of Doug Ford’s campaign promise to scrap the province’s cap-and-trade system.

School boards were notified on July 3 that the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund would be eliminated and that only work contracted on or before that date would be covered.

The memo, obtained by The Canadian Press, advises school boards to stop spending the cash that was allocated in April immediately.

“Please maintain detailed records of the contracts that have been signed as ministry staff will contact boards to collect information on the scope of the work underway,” the memo said.

Toronto District School Board chair Robin Pilkey said the move is disappointing because that board has a $4 billion repair backlog.

The TDSB had budgeted $300 million for upkeep this fiscal year, including the $25 million it was awarded specifically from this fund, and now faces difficult choices, Pilkey said.

“Losing $25 million is a big deal to us,” she said. “Our repair backlog is so large that every piece counts. We’ll have to make decisions in the next few weeks whether we don’t do those projects or we take the money out of … other funds and scrap something else.”

The board had planned to use the funding to repair windows, lighting and complete other mechanical work in its schools, she said.

It’s unlikely much of the money has been spent, however, because the board must hire contractors through the proper procurement process, which takes time, she said.

“It’s not like you get the money on May 1 and can spend it on May 15,” she said. “It takes a while to get the money flowing.”

The province has an approximate $15 billion repair backlog at its 4,900 publicly funded schools.

Stephen Seaborn, spokesman for the education advocacy group Campaign for Public Education, said the cut will hurt schools across Ontario.

“It’s bad,” he said. “It was done just like as if it was nothing. There was no discussion about what would be done about the budgets of the schools.”

Seaborn said the cancellation of cap and trade has clearly had unintended consequences and cutting funds for the renovation program is a prime example. (Source: CTV News) 

 

SaveSave

Posted in: Ontario Tagged: cap and trade, carbon tax, cloth, Doug Ford, energy, Green, incentives, Ontario, rebates, reno, retrofit, table, trick

Saturday January 14, 2017

January 13, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 14, 2017

Hamilton’s $1 billion LRT project may be getting a game-changing shakeup.

Mayor Fred Eisenberger says Metrolinx is considering killing the 2-kilometre James Street North light rail spur line for an alternative that has “greater value and cost efficiency.”

“I don’t know what and when the province is going to announce anything on this but I do know it’s been a topic of conversation.”

Multiple sources have told The Spectator the idea is to replace the James North spur with an express bus service from the waterfront to the airport on James and Upper James — essentially building the A-line route that’s part of the planned city-wide BLAST bus network.

According to sources, an announcement originally planned for Monday is now expected in a couple of weeks.

The proposal does not affect the 11-km east-west LRT route from McMaster to the Queenston traffic circle.

Eisenberger notes the James spur was an “add on” to the provincial funding announcement in 2015 and as such had never undergone a cost-benefit analysis.

“I assume that Metrolinx has done it now and I’m pretty confident it shows that it’s not the most viable business case … for an LRT on James.”

If the spur line is replaced with express buses from the Mountain to the waterfront, Eisenberger thinks it’ll be a better bang for the buck in terms of growing public transit across the city and will likely enjoy good political and public support.

A Metrolinx spokesperson said via email there “will be more news in the coming weeks.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator) 

 

Posted in: Canada Tagged: balls, drawing, Hamilton, LRT, mass transit, Metrolinx, paper, table, Transit

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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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