Section: National Post (Canada)
Lithuania says it’s not scared on no Putin, even if NATO is. And Monday’s other reasons to fear for humanity.
1. Give us first-past-the-post, or give us death THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian WyldA shifting, informal coalition of non-partisan experts has emerged as the most effective counterweight to the Conservative government. They offer less overt opposition to the government’s agenda than that most potent of weapons, constructive criticism. Could this...
Vladimir Putin ready to sit at the table with G7 leaders again, says Harper will just have to accept it
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia — Russia appears to be angling to make it the G-8 once again and President Vladimir Putin suggests it’s something Prime Minister Stephen Harper will just have to accept. “I don’t want to offend anyone, but if the United States says Russia should be returned to the G8, the prime minister will change his opinion,”...
National Post View: NATO should establish a ‘tripwire’ force to box in an expansionist Russia
Ever since Russia — pardon us, “pro-Russian rebels” — invaded eastern Ukraine, NATO’s easternmost allies have worried that they may be next. Like Ukraine, they, too, have many Russian-speaking citizens. Like Ukraine, they, too, do not have the military strength to resist an assault. And like Ukraine, they do not have any NATO military...
Fears that Canada may help neo-Nazis in Ukraine with training mission starting soon
U.S. lawmakers have voted to block American troops from training a unit with neo-Nazi members that’s operating with Ukraine’s forces — a move that raises questions about what safeguards Canada has to ensure it doesn’t help extremist groups. Canadian soldiers from Petawawa Garrison in the Ottawa Valley are preparing to head to...
Russia’s $400-billion military modernization plan in jeopardy due to Western sanctions and lower oil prices
NIZHNY TAGIL, Russia — It has a remote-controlled turret, it bristles with state-of-the-art defence systems and its computerized controls make driving it feel “like playing a video game.” Russia’s Armata tank, which its creator says can be turned into a fully robotic combat vehicle, is the crowning glory of a sweeping military modernization...
Leonid Bershidsky: Relax, western world, Putin is no Goldfinger. He’s not even Bloefeld
Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on foreign-language propaganda, all that President Vladimir Putin has achieved outside Russia is the status of a Bond movie villain. He may enjoy it, especially since there’s no 007 in sight to tackle him, but his variety of pop stardom is growing into a problem for his country: He is seen as...
Harper gets exactly what he wants when Russians trail visit to HMCS Fredericton
ANALYSIS GDYNIA, Poland — Prime Minister Stephen Harper may have got exactly what he wanted from his trip on HMCS Fredericton when two Russian warships tracked the Canadian frigate, approaching within seven nautical miles Wednesday in the Baltic Sea. “It’s normal and expected for them to be operating in the Baltic Sea,” Cmdr. Jeff Murray,...
National Post View: Ottawa deserves credit for its continued commitment to Ukraine
Few Canadian prime ministers have ever spoken of a fellow leader in the terms Stephen Harper reserves for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In referring to the Russian autocrat, Harper tosses diplomacy aside and speaks with a brusqueness and intensity that reflects what is evidently a deeply-held distaste for the man and the system he represents....
Harper catches a break when G7 discussion on climate change reduced to half an hour, ISIL discussed instead
Prime Minister Stephen Harper caught a break Monday at the G7 summit when a discussion on climate change was cut to half an hour so the leaders could devote more time to Harper’s favourite international subject, global security. Europeans have been sharply critical of Harper’s environmental policies. Freed of potentially embarrassing...
Matthew Fisher: Mere hours into the G7 summit, Stephen Harper may have already got what he wanted
Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany — Prime Minister Stephen Harper may already get what he wanted most from the G7 summit only hours after the two-day meeting began Sunday in the Bavarian Alps. The West’s two most powerful leaders, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, agreed Sunday to continue supporting the...
