Few who lived through the Cold War with its constant threat of nuclear annihilation realize the role confidence played in preventing an outbreak of apocalyptic hostilities. Even at times when we thought the “other side” might be nearing the point of pre-emptive attack, we had a sufficient degree of confidence
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The Canadian Progressive: On Twitter, Stephen Harper Doesn’t Follow Benjamin Netanyahu
Stephen Harper is Israel’s most unequivocal cheerleader. And yet, he doesn’t follow Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Twitter. The post On Twitter, Stephen Harper Doesn’t Follow Benjamin Netanyahu appeared first on The Canadian Progressive.
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: One of the most Powerful Countries in the World Can no Longer be Trusted
There is a Public Relations firm operating in both the United States and Canada, Ketchum Inc., that has for the past several years, been working with Vladimir Putin, to sell Russian influence in the United States. They run an English language website, ThinkRussia.com and when tensions first began to rise
Continue readingdrive-by planet: The West’s dangerous game: anti-Russia media hype and the MH-17 blame game
Obama continued with the blame game this week as a raft of new sanctions were introduced against Russia. In remarks directed at Moscow, he said that the ‘destabilization of a sovereign country [Ukraine] cannot be accepted in 21st century Europe.’ Obama must have a short and highly selective memory. It
Continue readingIn This Corner: Let’s all ruin Russia. Join the Boycott Russian Vodka movement!
The Russia of 2014 isn’t really a whole lot different than the USSR of 1964. In some ways, it’s worse. In the bad old days, the Communist Party leaders had to concern themselves about keeping the party elite happy, and there was always the chance of getting a sickle in
Continue readingTrashy's World: Russia should NOT be allowed to host…
…the 2018 World Cup. As Clegg asserts in this article FIFA is unlikely to strip Putinland of the tourney, however. Responding this week after some German politicians called for Russia to be boycotted, Fifa said the 2018 tournament could be a “force for good”. Putin is an international criminal and
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A meditation on the parlous state of the prime ministerial belfry: is he batty, or what?
Psychological-political portrait of Prime Minister Stephen Harper by Edmonton artist William Prettie. (Used with permission.) Below: The young Vladimir Putin; the young Stephen Harper. When I ponder our prime minister’s mental state nowadays, my mind spontaneously offers up a rude phrase about the things bats leave behind in belfries. Prime
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Russia must be stopped! And Peter Goldring’s just the man to do it! We’ll fight to the last Frenchman and German!
After we’ve won the war with Russia, a beachhead in the Caribbean! Edmonton MP Peter Goldring as illustrated by Press Progress. Below: Rob Ford, Louis Riel, Ann of Green Gables and last year’s military licence plate, which is presumably the same as this year’s military licence plate. Whenever you think
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Hard question about MH-17 disaster: BUK missile video blaming Russia is debunked
Below right: Black boxes being handed over to Malaysian delegation Since the crash of Malaysian Airlines MH-17 in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, questions have been raised about why the plane was flying over a war zone. MH-17’s flight path on July 17 diverged from the path taken during its earlier flights
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Atrocities committed by Kiev forces in eastern Ukraine: video footage you won’t find in mainstream media
According to the accompanying blurb this video and others like it have been “the object of censorship.” The blurb also notes that “…in the media’s coverage of unfolding atrocities directed against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, the words Nazi, Fascist or Neo-Nazi are a taboo. They have been eliminated from the
Continue readingPushed to the Left and Loving It: Harper’s Cold War Becomes Arctic Chill: Why Domestic Politicking Makes For Bad Foreign Relations
Outgoing Russian Ambassador Georgiy Mame, spoke before his departure, lamenting our government’s undiplomatic posturing with his country, including Stephen Harper’s suggestion that Putin was the next Hitler. He accused the Harper government of isolating itself from its allies over Ukraine and hinted broadly that the Conservatives are likely playing to
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Ethnic cleansing in east Ukraine? – toll of killed and displaced civilians continues to mount
The end of Kiev’s so-called “ceasefire” has seen intensified artillery shelling and airstrikes in the Lugansk and Donetsk regions. During the ceasefire-that-wasn’t the Ukrainian military continued with its operations in a number of key areas… breaches that gave the lie to Poroshenko’s ceasefire masquerade. A number of Western media outlets
Continue readingAlberta Diary: On the centenary of Gavrilo Princip’s fateful shot in Sarajevo, let’s learn the right lessons from history
Gavrilo Princip under arrest. Below: Princip and the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Today is the centenary of the day Gavrilo Princip took his little Belgian pistol to Sarajevo and blew the heir presumptive to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian empire into history. As is well known, not long after young Princip
Continue readingdrive-by planet: The contradiction between Poroshenko’s peace plan and Kiev’s actions… rhetoric
Top: Former Ukraine president Leonid Kuchma, OSCE’s Heidi Tagliavini and Russian ambassador Mikhail Zurabov in talks with separatist leaders Beneath: Alex Borodai and fighters Kiev’s recently declared ceasefire was initially rejected by pro-Russian separatists, in part because it was unilaterally declared by Kiev without prior negotiation. Separatist leaders have since
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Fascism has a long history in Ukraine: 2-part historical review
Below left: Hero of Ukrainian hardline nationalists – Stepan Bandera Below right: Bandera in Nazi uniform In order to get some background on the crisis in Ukraine, it’s important to take the historical record into account – both recent and long standing. This is especially important given slanted western media
Continue readingAlberta Diary: Enough petulant propaganda, please: the hammer of D-Day crushed Hitler on the anvil of Russia
D-Day on Juno Beach: Canadians trudge ashore under a strange colorized sky. Below: The distinguished Canadian military historian, the late Reginald H. Roy. It’s been 70 years today since our magnificent Canadian soldiers went ashore at Juno Beach in Normandy to play their part the grim and deadly task of
Continue readingdrive-by planet: Oligarch Pyotr "Chocolate King" Poroshenko wins big in Ukraine’s low turn-out election: change to disbelieve in
The presidential election in Ukraine was held on the same date as elections to the European parliament that resulted in an unprecedented showing by anti-immigration Euro-skeptic parties. The Ukraine election held in the midst of conflict and poll boycotts saw EU-friendly billionaire Pyotr Poroshenko – aka the “Chocolate King” –
Continue readingIs Putin playing to the gallery?
That Vladimir Putin laments the loss of the Soviet empire is well known, so adding a few bits back in no doubt appeals to him. He also has a perfectly legitimate reason for playing tough on Russia’s western front—security. Russia has suffered a number of devastating invasions from the west
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