Uncle Sam

Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Wednesday, February 26, 2014By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday, February 26, 2014

A cheering crowd, a returning martyr, an ethereal blond woman in a wheelchair, her head wrapped in iconic braids.

It’s a clip straight out of Central Casting. But some say the abrupt appearance of once-imprisoned Ukrainian political leader Yulia Tymoshenko in Kyiv’s Maidan square may not be the trailer to a happy ending.

Since Ukraine’s protests broke out three months ago, the opposition has been largely leaderless. But whether Tymoshenko is a comeback kid, or yesterday’s woman, is up for grabs as the country struggles to find its balance after the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych.

“People were horrified by her political persecution, but when she was jailed there was no massive uprising,” said Marta Dyczok, a Ukraine expert at Western University, who is in close touch with the Maidan protesters. “That’s the key thing to remember.”

Tymoshenko, 53, was serving a seven-year prison sentence for abuse of office when parliament changed the criminal code to free her last week. The charges sprang from her negotiations with Russia over a gas deal, and many felt they were politically driven by her rival Yanukovych. As his popularity plummeted, sympathy for Tymoshenko rose and reports of brutal treatment and neglect of her health problems in jail sparked an international outcry. (Source: Toronto Star)

Friday August 23, 2013

Friday August 23, 2013

Syria gas ‘kills 100s,’ Security Council meets

Syria’s opposition accused government forces of gassing hundreds of people on Wednesday by firing rockets that released deadly fumes over rebel-held Damascus suburbs, killing men, women and children as they slept.

With the death toll estimated between 500 and 1,300, what would be the world’s most lethal chemical weapons attack since the 1980s prompted an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council in New York.

The council did not explicitly demand a U.N. investigation of the incident, although it said “clarity” was needed and welcomed U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s calls for a prompt investigation by the U.N. inspection team in Syria, led by Ake Sellstrom.

An earlier Western-drafted statement submitted to the council, seen by Reuters, was not approved. The final version of the statement was watered down to accommodate objections from Russia and China, diplomats said. Moscow and Beijing have vetoed previous Western efforts to impose U.N. penalties on Assad.

Syrian Information Minister Omran Zoabi said the allegations were “illogical and fabricated”. President Bashar al-Assad’s officials have said they would never use poison gas against Syrians. The United States and European allies believe Assad’s forces have used small amounts of sarin before, hence the current U.N. visit.

Immediate international action is likely to be limited, with the divisions among major powers that have crippled efforts to quell 2 1/2 years of civil war still much in evidence.  (Source: Reuters)

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FEEDBACK

This cartoon was featured in a gallery of Editorial Cartoons in the Yahoo! Canada News for August 2013. Here it is on Yahoo News’ Facebook page.

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Anger over proposed fee for Canadians entering U.S.

A proposal to charge travellers a fee for entering the U.S. by land has sparked anger in both countries, with opponents citing fears it will hinder border crossings and hurt the economy.

The proposal to study the new fee is included in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2014 budget.

In its proposal, the department urges a study examining the effect of collecting a crossing fee for both pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the Canadian and Mexican borders. Proponents say the fee is being considered as a way to cover increasing security costs.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson explained the study to reporters on Monday.

“There’s a proposal for some money for a study. We’ll wait to see what happens,” he said.

But opponents of the proposed fee already lashed out against it on Monday, saying it will complicate trade between the U.S. and Canada. It is estimated that nearly $1.6 billion in trade takes place every day along the U.S.-Canada border.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it would “vigorously lobby” against the proposal. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce called the fee a “serious mistake” and promised to fight it.
Chamber President Perrin Beatty told CTV News Channel the proposed fee unfairly punishes travellers. “The decision they’ve made is to study sticking it to the beleaguered traveller one more time,” Beatty said.

He said that if the fee is being used to cover security costs, it should be paid from general tax revenue and not charged to travellers. (Source: CTV News)

Friday, April 5, 2013

Friday, April 5, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday, April 5, 2013

North Korea Moves Missile to Coast

Most analysts do not believe that North Korea has a missile powerful enough to deliver a nuclear warhead to the United States mainland or that it is reckless enough to strike the American military in the Pacific. Still, with the North’s bellicose language showing no signs of letting up, the United States said Wednesday that it was speeding the deployment of an advanced missile defense system to Guam in the next few weeks, two years ahead of schedule, in what the Pentagon said was a “precautionary move” to protect American naval and air forces from the threat of a North Korean missile attack.

Testifying before a parliamentary hearing, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin of South Korea said the missile North Korea had moved to the east coast, possibly “for demonstration or for training,” appeared not to be a KN-08, which analysts say is the closest thing North Korea has to an intercontinental ballistic missile, though its exact range is not known. The new missile was unveiled during a military parade in the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, in April last year.

South Korean news media quoted military officials as saying that the missile was a Musudan. Deployed around 2007, the Musudan is a ballistic missile with a range of more than 1,900 miles, according to the South Korean Defense Ministry. Guam is nearly 2,200 miles from North Korea.

Wee Yong-sub, an army colonel and deputy spokesman for the Defense Ministry, would say only that the South Korean and American militaries had been closely monitoring the movements of all North Korean missiles, including the Musudan.

“Chances are not high that they will lead to a full-scale war,” said Mr. Kim, the defense minister, referring to the North Korean threats. “But given the nature of the North Korean regime, it’s possible that they will launch a localized provocation.”

Wednesday November 14, 2012

Wednesday November 14, 2012Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday November 14, 2012

Canada has contingency plan for fiscal cliff

Canada has a contingency plan should the United States not reach an agreement with respect to a series of tax hikes and spending cuts set to kick in next year or if the eurozone’s debt crisis worsens, finance minister Jim Flaherty said on Tuesday.

“I can assure you, we have contingency plans. This is not a new subject for us. We have been concerned about this subject for many months. And we prepare. So we have contingency plans not only with respect to the fiscal cliff, but with respect to the European situation were that to unravel in a disorderly way,” Flaherty told a news conference in Fredericton, New Brunswick.

Jim FlahertyFlaherty’s comments follow his warning last week that a failure by U.S. politicians to reach a fiscal deal before Jan.1 will plunge the United States into a recession quickly, with Canada to follow shortly afterward.

“Were the entire fiscal cliff risk to become reality, the effect on U.S. GDP, according to the Americans themselves, would be 4 to 5%, which would put the U.S. economy into recession quite quickly and the Canadian would follow shortly thereafter,” Flaherty told reporters in Ottawa last Wednesday.

“We’re all concerned that it’s an immediate problem within the next 60 days that needs to be dealt with.”

There are estimates that going over this fiscal cliff would reduce U.S. gross domestic product by about four or five percentage points.

Flaherty said finding compromise won’t be easy for American politicians, but he pointed out that the Harper government was able govern for five years as a minority, so it can be done. Gridlock in Washington could prevent a deal to extend about US$600-billion in tax cuts and spending beyond Dec. 31. (Source: Financial Post)