For those who care about our country’s future but don’t want to be buried in the minutia of the Russia collusion hoax scandal, here is your big-picture primer.
Russia
Why Russia Invaded Ukraine
Just when everything seemed to be getting back to the new normal, abnormality struck again. The war in Ukraine is raging and changing the face of the globalized world.
The situation is confusing as people struggle to find reasons behind the invasion. Conspiracy theories abound on both sides. Like the scenes of battle in Ukraine, chaos reigns in the minds of so many. There seems to be no rhyme or reason in the attacks.
However, four points can help people better understand what is happening. There is some method to the madness.
Need to protect our North
A senior Canadian general in charge of protecting North American airspace says Russia has the capability to strike this continent, bolstering the need for improved defensive systems.
Russia has spent years investing in its military, including when it comes to things like cruise missiles, and developing a variety of non-nuclear weapons among other defence measures.
Survey says 86.6% of Russians support the armed invasion of Russia in other European countries
86.6% of Russians tolerate and support the potential assault on the territory of the European Union, including: Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and others as evidenced by the results of the sociological survey conducted by “Active Group”.
War in Ukraine sparks concerns over worldwide food shortages
Three weeks after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, the war is starting to have devastating effects not only on the ground, but in many countries that rely on Ukraine’s important wheat production. The United Nations has warned of a “hunger hurricane”, which is already starting to be felt in Northern Africa.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 17 March 2022
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 17 March 2022
Find out more about the UK government’s response: https://t.co/OdjSV0U43C
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gxOTw78P0M
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) March 17, 2022
A large exodus of private jets out of Moscow towards Dubai this morning too. pic.twitter.com/pJzXPtyQOu
— Oliver Alexander (@OAlexanderDK) March 17, 2022
h/t Mauser 98
HMCS Halifax to deploy Saturday as part of NATO support for Ukraine
Canada will soon have two warships deployed overseas supporting NATO in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
On Saturday, HMCS Halifax will leave the East Coast to join allied ships in the Baltic region.
Last month, HMCS Montreal arrived in the Mediterranean region as part of a previously scheduled deployment.
Russia says mission ‘going to plan’, reality quite different
Russian bombs rained down on Ukrainian cities, despite talk of compromise from both Moscow and Kyiv in peace negotiations after three weeks of war. FRANCE 24’s Douglas Herbert gives his analysis.
Canada imposes economic sanctions on Belarusian defence officials
The federal government is levelling economic sanctions on 22 senior Belarusian officials who Canada says have supported Russia’s attacks on Ukraine.
According to Global Affairs Canada, the officials are part of Belarus’s Department of Defence and allowed their country “to serve as a launch pad for the Russian invasion.”
Fumbling the ball
Justin Trudeau famously claimed when he took office that Canada was back, but his attention to global affairs has been pitiful: five ministers in six years, the latest one inarguably the least qualified. He has been preoccupied with optics, and it’s arguable he no longer carries any standing to lead.
The Press Has Lied To Drag The United States Into War Before. Don’t Think They Won’t Again
When you see talking heads uncritically parroting propagandist stories about Ukraine that turn out to be false, from the “Ghost of Kyiv” to that Snake Island story to old photos taken years ago, you should be asking why the corporate media is so willing to spread such fake news (while it censors conservatives for factual critiques of disproven Covid narratives, no less). It wouldn’t be the first time the press lied to pull Americans into war.
CRTC bans Russian state-controlled TV channels RT, RT France from Canadian airwaves
The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) announced Wednesday afternoon that it was removing RT and RT France from the list of non-Canadian programming services and stations authorized for distribution in Canada.
The decision means broadcasters in Canada are no longer legally permitted to carry the channel.
The Fog Of Information War In Ukraine
The Western intelligence apparatus has been busy in Ukraine. With financing and collaboration through various non-governmental organizations, it won the information war with the help of Ukrainian media before Russia ever fired a shot in February. Even the country’s newest publications, like the Kyiv Independent, have received support and funding from institutions associated with the Central Intelligence Agency.
In most cases, these outlets have propagandized to the beat of the West’s war drums rather than inform the public.
Nearly three-quarters of Canadians say NATO should prepare to intervene in Ukraine: poll
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization has signalled its solidarity with Ukraine in the form of supplies, weapons and sanctions since the early days of Russia’s latest incursion into its territory, but has not deployed troops for combat.
“This is the first time where people say, ‘Give diplomacy and sanctions a chance but brace for potentially this becoming military involvement,”’ said Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque.