Section: National Post (Canada)
National Post View: TSO should stick to the music
On Monday, Ukrainian-born pianist Valentina Lisitsa took to Facebook to say that she had been booted from a series of scheduled performances with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO). A world renowned solo pianist, Lisitsa, who is ethnically Russian, is known as a vocal supporter of the Russian minority in Ukraine. Her musings on social media...
Ukraine gets access to Canadian satellite data that our own defence department can’t afford
Ottawa — The Conservative government says providing Ukraine with satellite imagery will have no adverse effects even though government documents show Canada faces difficulties in acquiring such surveillance data for its own use. Last year, Ukraine asked Ottawa for imagery from Canada’s Radarsat-2 satellite; in February Defence Minister...
Toronto symphony bans Ukrainian-born pianist over ‘provocative’ tweets denouncing Kyiv’s ‘neo-Nazis’
Courtesy of Barbora Krsek In a statement written by the pianist and posted on Facebook Monday, Valentina Lisitsa said she has been accused of “inciting hatred” on Twitter because of her comments on the conflict in Ukraine. Why Ukro-Nazis are so fond of torchlight marches? Mystery solved
Leonid Bershidsky: Prosperity, not theatrics, is the best antidote to Ukraine’s corruption
During a meeting of Ukraine’s cabinet Wednesday, the head of the country’s Emergency Situations Service and his deputy were handcuffed and led away in front of television cameras as a demonstration of the government’s seriousness about rooting out corruption. While a crackdown is sorely needed in Ukraine, the size of a...
‘Putin is behaving like a terrorist’: Cabinet minister’s speech on Ukraine sparks social media battle with Russia
Conservative cabinet minister Chris Alexander says the situation in Ukraine is the biggest security issue facing the world today, even as his government debates expanding its military actions in the Middle East. Alexander’s comments, made to Ukrainian Canadians during a speech in Toronto Feb. 22, are being shared on the internet as the...
Father Raymond J. de Souza: Violating nuclear arms treaties isn’t something the world takes seriously. Just ask Putin
The Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, told his Iranian counterpart that “the nuclear talks have reached the final sprint in the marathon.” Indeed, the negotiations between the “P5 + 1” — the permanent five members of the UN security council and Germany, Iran’s most important trading partner in terms of establishing its nuclear program —...
U.S. ‘Dragoon Ride’ convoy through eastern Europe seeks to reassure members that NATO is still a thing
WARSAW, Poland — A U.S. army infantry convoy is driving through eastern Europe seeking to provide reassurance to a region concerned that the conflict between Russian-backed rebels and government forces in Ukraine threatens its security. The U.S. “Dragoon Ride” convoy is attracting interest and greetings from people along its route. It started...
Russia continues to pour arms into Ukraine showing Putin has no intention of abiding ceasefire: NATO
Russia is still pouring heavy weapons into Ukraine, signalling that President Vladimir Putin has no intention of abiding by last month’s ceasefire agreement, NATO’s top military commander warned on Sunday. U.S. Air Force Gen. Philip Breedlove told an audience at the German Marshall Fund Brussels Forum that Moscow continues to ramp up...
Putin says ease of military action in Crimea was surprise, was ready for a nuclear standoff
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin personally directed his nation’s capture of Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula, he said in a documentary aired on Sunday, in which he offered details of his deep involvement in last year’s quick and effective takeover. Putin said that Russia had flooded the Black Sea peninsula with special...
Leonid Bershidsky: Russia is hacking your social media news feed
Now that most of our information — and the information that news organizations use as raw material — is delivered by technology platforms such as social networks, what we know about the world is potentially hackable. Propagandists no longer have to convince professional news organizations to spread their stories; they just have to embed them into...
