Galicia Governor Otto von Wechter (first on the left) and German politician Hans Frank (third on the left) pass a group of volunteers of the 14th Waffen SS Galicia Division, June 1943. Photo courtesy the Polish National Digital Archive. The following article by Sol Littman (1920-2017), a sociologist turned journalist
Continue readingTag: Canadian Politics, Europe, War Zones,
Canadian Dimension: Scandal builds at University of Alberta over Nazi endowments
Ukrainian-born Canadian lawyer Peter Savaryn. During World War II, he belonged to the Waffen-SS Galician Division. Photo courtesy the University of Alberta. The fallout from the Canadian Parliament’s decision to honour a Ukrainian Nazi veteran continues to expand. Anthony Rota, the former speaker of the House of Commons and the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Feds cut off Toronto while sending billions to Ukraine
Toronto’s new Mayor Olivia Chow is seen by many progressives as a welcome change from conservative rule, thirteen years of which transformed Canada’s largest city into a troubling icon of the “neoliberal city.” This was especially true under Chow’s predecessor John Tory, whom activist John Clarke describes as “the very
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: NATO does not, and never did, ‘defend’ democracy
NATO advocates frequently ignore the alliance’s ties to undemocratic regimes and its efforts to silence its critics, writes Yves Engler. Photo from Flickr. A secretive alliance Canadians never voted to join that requires this country to defend faraway lands and funnel ever greater resources to warfare is typically presented by
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: We need statesmanship, not politics, to end Ukraine war
Minister of Defence Anita Anand, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly at the 2022 NATO Summit in Madrid, Spain. Photo from Twitter. As a military historian I am always seeing parallels between past events and those taking place today, including the war in Ukraine. Parallels between
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Peace-minded Canadians deserve a voice in Parliament
A Ukrainian soldier stands near a checkpoint leading to the city of Irpin near Kyiv. Photo by Volodymyr Kutsenko. NDP Foreign Affairs Critic Heather McPherson’s promotion of NATO and opposition to diplomacy is indirectly prolonging the horrors in Ukraine. On Monday McPherson attacked the Liberals for acceding to Germany’s request
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Ottawa must be honest with Canadians about troops in Ukraine
The NATO Enhanced Forward Presence Battle Group conducts an exercise in the Camp Ādaži training area in Latvia as part of Operation Reassurance, September 1, 2019. Photo by Corporal Djalma Vuong-De Ramos/DND. During a press conference last week, I interrupted Chrystia Freeland to ask whether Canada sent special forces to
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Is it time to admit that Canada is at war in Ukraine?
A Ukrainian national flag waves over the center of Kharkiv, February 4, 2022. Photo by Evgeniy Maloletka. It’s time to stop pretending that Canada isn’t at war with Russia. On Tuesday, April 19, in advance of a new Russian offensive in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: How Canada’s support for NATO expansion led to the Ukraine tragedy
Justin Trudeau attends a NATO Summit in Warsaw, July 9, 2016. Photo courtesy the Prime Minister’s Office. Moscow’s illegal invasion of Ukraine has been condemned around the world. The suffering of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers is shocking, and the worst is yet to come as Russian forces push deeper into
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Jason Kenney making political hay out of tragedy? Why not?
Jason Kenney holds a press conference following his meeting with former Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach and the Consul General of Ukraine in Edmonton, February 23, 2022. Image courtesy Jason Kenney/Twitter. Alberta Premier Jason Kenney on Wednesday simply wasn’t be able to resist weighing in on the Russian invasion of the
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: No, Canada shouldn’t be arming Ukraine
Leadership course at the Ukrainian National Academy of Land Forces. Photo courtesy Press Service of the Ukrainian National Academy of Land Forces/Flickr. Why would a progressive media outlet regurgitate talking points from the Conservative Party and hawkish media pundits about Canada arming the Ukrainian military? On January 31, The Tyee
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: The petro-war of Chrystia Freeland: Canada’s military support for Ukraine
Former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko holds a bilateral meeting with then Minister of Foreign Affairs Chrystia Freeland in Kiev, September 2017. Photo from Twitter. According to the Globe and Mail, Canada’s Minister of Finance, Chrystia Freeland, is playing a leading role in the Trudeau government’s efforts to provide expanded support
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Bombs and Waffles: the NDP and NATO in the twentieth century
L-R: Frank Howard, James Laxer, John Harney, David Lewis and Ed Broadbent, one week before the 1971 New Democratic Party leadership election where David Lewis was elected as the successor to Tommy Douglas. The convention was widely viewed as a battleground between the party establishment and the Waffle. Photo courtesy
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: On NATO all parties agree—follow orders without question
NATO flag flies in Ukraine during a visit to Kyiv by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, July 2017. Photo courtesy the Presidential Administration of Ukraine/Wikimedia Commons. NATO’s proponents often claim it’s a democratic force, but in Canada’s case the alliance highlights the hollowness of our democracy. A healthy polity requires
Continue readingCanadian Dimension: Nazis, NATO, and Canada’s Latvian Love-in
Members of the 3rd Battalion of The Royal Canadian Regiment (3 RCR) fast rope down the Latvian search and rescue helicopter while the Latvian army observe • Photo by Canadian Department of National Defence, Land Task Element Instead of simply admitting what she knew to be true about her grandfather,
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