Canadian Convulsions > Trudeau Manages to Offend more Allies - At least there is something he is good at!

 

Canada's astonishingly arrogant Prime Minister has an unparalleled talent for offending world leaders. His comments criticizing Israel reveal just how little he knows about the Hamas war, and yet, he is willing to open his mouth as if he were an expert. Can I apologize to the world on behalf of Canadians for this buffoon?

Trudeau slams Israel, Netanyahu responds:

 ‘It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians

but Hamas’

NOV 15, 2023 1:00 PM BY ROBERT SPENCER

The Leftist narrative encounters the facts.

Netanyahu slams Trudeau over Gaza accusations

JNS, November 15, 2023:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday night fired back at accusations by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau that Israel is killing civilians in Gaza.

“I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint. The world is watching, on TV, on social media—we’re hearing the testimonies of doctors, family members, survivors, kids who have lost their parents,” said Trudeau during a press conference in British Columbia on Tuesday.

“The world is witnessing this killing of women, of children, of babies. This has to stop,” he continued.

Tagging Trudeau in a tweet on Tuesday night, Netanyahu wrote:

“It is not Israel that is deliberately targeting civilians but Hamas that beheaded, burned and massacred civilians in the worst horrors perpetrated on Jews since the Holocaust.

“While Israel is doing everything to keep civilians out of harm’s way, Hamas is doing everything to keep them in harm’s way.

“Israel provides civilians in Gaza humanitarian corridors and safe zones, Hamas prevents them from leaving at gunpoint.

“It is Hamas not Israel that should be held accountable for committing a double war crime—targeting civilians while hiding behind civilians.

“The forces of civilization must back Israel in defeating Hamas barbarism.”

 ========================

Germany’s Olaf Scholz Offers Best Response to Canada’s Justin Trudeau

By

 Hana Levi Julian

 -

 2 Kislev 5784 – November 15, 2023

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has offered the best response thus far to a vicious statement by Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, accusing Israel of deliberately targeting civilians — women, children, babies — during its military operations to root out from Gaza the Iranian-backed Hamas barbarians who slaughtered, tortured and abducted more than a thousand Israeli and dual citizens during their October 7 invasion of the Jewish State.

“Israel is a democracy; this has to be said very clearly,” Scholz said in remarks posted on X late Tuesday (Nov. 14) by the German DW news outlet. “There is no doubt about this. And we will emphasize in every conversation and at every opportunity that this is our view.

“Israel is a country that is committed to human rights and international law and acts accordingly. And that is why the accusations being made against Israel are absurd, and there can be no doubt about this,” Scholz emphasized.

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European Politics > Baltics want more NATO; Moscow's patience running thin; US accuses Russia of preparing false flag op in Ukraine; Russia responds

..

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania want to increase deterrence

against possible Russian military action

FILE PHOTO. © Getty Images / Sean Gallup

The Baltic states have begun discussions to increase the number of NATO soldiers on their territories, due to a perceived threat posed by Russia, the Prime Minister of Estonia revealed on Wednesday.

Speaking to news agency Reuters, Kaja Kallas explained that her nation has serious concerns and wants to have extra troops on the ground as a means of deterrence. Alongside Latvia and Lithuania, the three Baltic nations are former Soviet republics, and each shares a border with Russia.

“Of course, we are discussing with our allies to increase their presence here to act as a deterrent,” Kallas told Reuters. “If you look at the map, the Baltic states are a NATO peninsula and, therefore, we have our worries.”

The Baltic state’s request comes as tensions between NATO and Russia remain high. Worries over possible conflict have risen in recent months, with Moscow being accused of placing around 100,000 troops on its Western border, near Ukraine. Some NATO leaders believe Russia is preparing for war.

According to Reuters, the Baltic states laid out their demands at a meeting of the bloc in Brussels on Wednesday.

“If Russia once again uses force against Ukraine and further invades Ukraine, then we have to seriously look into the need to further increase our presence in the eastern part of the alliance,” said Jens Stoltenberg, the Secretary-General of the US-led bloc.

NATO initially boosted its troop presence in Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, and Poland in 2014, following Russia’s reabsorption of Crimea.

Earlier this week, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov met with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman to discuss a potential security deal. Moscow wants American diplomats to sign a legally-binding document promising that NATO will not further expand eastwards towards the Russian border, which would formally rule out admitting both Ukraine and Georgia, two countries that both wish to join the bloc.

Patience with West has come to an end – Moscow

Russia’s ability to keep calm is waning, foreign minister indicates

By Layla Guest

FILE PHOTO. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. © RIA / Mikhail Voskresensky

Russia is becoming increasingly weary with the actions of Western powers, Moscow’s top diplomat has warned, following negotiations this week with Washington and NATO on European security concerns.

Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stressed that Moscow’s “patience has come to an end. We are very patient…we have been harnessing [burdens] for a very long time, and now it’s time for us to go.”

According to the veteran official, the Russian side is waiting for the West to give “a concrete answer” to its security proposals.

Lavrov also slammed Washington’s recent demands, that Russia send its troops allegedly poised at the Ukrainian border back to their barracks, as “barking up the wrong tree.” According to him, “the time that this has been chosen [to be discussed] simply reflects a period when the West gets mad, let’s be frank.”

“We categorically cannot be satisfied with this – these are unacceptable approaches,” he remarked.

The diplomat also took aim at Brussels, claiming that the EU is “now actively promoting their plans to send a military coaching mission to Ukraine.” He accused the bloc of wanting to “contribute to the training of…anti-Russian units.”

Lavrov’s remarks come amid increasingly strained relations between East and West. On Wednesday, NATO representatives and Russian diplomats met to discuss security on the European continent, which was preceded by talks between officials from Washington and Moscow.

The US-led military bloc’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said on Wednesday that the organization was ready to schedule “a series of meetings on various topics, including restrictions on missile weapons in Europe,” with the Russian side. However, he made it clear NATO would not would not back down, and compromise on what it considers to be its core values, to meet Moscow’s demands.

Stoltenberg insisted that “only Ukraine and 30 allies can decide when Ukraine becomes a member ... Russia does not have a veto,” referring to one of its requests to guarantee that Kiev will not join NATO’s ranks.

Last month, Moscow handed over two draft treaties – one to Washington and the other to NATO – which included a request for assurances from NATO concerning the movement of military personnel and hardware, as well as calls on the organization to refrain from further enlargement close to Russia’s borders.

Russia ‘fabricating a pretext for invasion’ of Ukraine – White House

Washington believes Moscow could stage a fake incident to justify military action

FILE PHOTO. © Sputnik / Konstantin Mihalchevskiy

The Kremlin is laying the groundwork to fabricate a reason for invading Ukraine, including possible sabotage activities and information operations, a senior White House official claimed on Thursday.

Speaking to the press, United States National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that the American intelligence community believes Moscow is planning a scenario where it can justify a military incursion into Ukraine, noting that more information will be published “over the course of the next 24 hours.”

“Russia is laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for an invasion, including through sabotage activities and information operations, by accusing Ukraine of preparing an imminent attack against Russian forces in Eastern Ukraine,” Sullivan said, accusing Russia of using similar tactics in 2014.

The accusation follows months of suggestions in American media that Russia is allegedly planning an invasion of Ukraine, with intelligence reports stating that Moscow has placed 100,000 troops on the border. Plans for military action have been repeatedly denied by the Kremlin, which says it is simply moving its own troops on its territory.

Earlier this week, Wendy Sherman, the US deputy secretary of state, held talks with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov in Geneva to discuss potential solutions to the current European security crisis. Following the bilateral meeting, Sherman told reporters that Washington was prepared to impose severe costs on Moscow if it invades Ukraine.

“We are more than ready and totally in line with our partners and allies on the need to impose severe costs on Russia through financial sanctions, export controls that target key industries, enhancements of NATO force posture on Allied territory, and increased security assistance to Ukraine,” she said.

Russia responds to US ‘false flag’ claims

The Kremlin says there is no evidence for ‘hearsay’ accusations

of Russian ‘operatives’ set to frame Ukraine

FILE PHOTO. The Kremlin, Moscow © Getty Images / Mlenny

After Western media carried reports, on Friday, citing unnamed US officials, claiming that Russia is preparing a “false flag” incident in order to invade Ukraine, the Kremlin has dismissed them as baseless and unfounded rumors.

“So far, all these statements have been unsubstantiated and not backed up by anything,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told TASS news agency, when asked about the stories making the rounds.

Earlier in the day, anonymous US officials echoed claims from Kiev that Russia had sent “operatives” into the disputed regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, to prepare a “provocation” that could trigger an “invasion.”

CNN was the first to report the assertion, followed by the Guardian, Washington Post, Reuters, AFP and Bloomberg.

Washington has accused Moscow of planning to invade Ukraine for weeks now, though the Kremlin rejected this as “fake news.” Similar warnings have been publicized in US media every year since 2015, always based on anonymous sources, and have never come to pass.

The quotes from an anonymous US official apparently dovetailed with insinuations by US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan about Russia “laying the groundwork to have the option of fabricating a pretext for an invasion,” brought up at Thursday’s White House press briefing. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby referred to these claims at his own briefing on Friday, but then added the US assessment is that Russia hasn’t yet decided whether to invade.

Washington’s claims come after a week of high-level talks with Russia, NATO and the OSCE to discuss Moscow’s proposals for improving collective security in Europe. The US and its allies rejected Russia’s key proposals out of hand.

Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat to Depart in January After Corruption/Murder Scandal

By Allen Cone

(UPI) -- Joseph Muscat announced Sunday he will leave as Malta's prime minister and Labour Party chief in January amid an investigation of a murdered journalist investigating corruption.

Muscat, who has been in power since March 11, 2013, said on national television in the central Mediterranean nation he will ask the ruling party to choose his successor on Jan. 12. His second term was to end in 2021.

"Malta needs to start a new chapter and only I can give that signal," Muscat said during the address, which included a recitation of the government's achievements over the past 6 1/2 years.

He had met for four hours with Labour's parliamentary group during which they gave "unanimous support to all decisions which the prime minister will be taking."

In the capital, Valletta, protesters gathered to demand Muscat's immediate resignation.

Demands for his departure grew after businessman Yorgen Fenech was charged Saturday with complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Fenech denies the allegations. In 2017, Galiza was killed by a car bomb as she investigated corruption among Malta's business and political elite.

Fenech was identified in 2016 as the owner of Dubai-registered 17 Black in the Panama Papers, a collection of leaked confidential documents showing how wealthy and powerful companies around the world use tax havens to get around the law.

Muscat's chief of staff Keith Schembri and acting tourism minister Konrad Mizzi resigned Tuesday. They have denied any wrongdoing though they had been accused of corruption by the journalist.

Brothers Alfred and George Degiorgio and their friend Vincent Muscat have been charged with triggering the bomb. They have pleaded not guilty in pre-trial proceedings.

Members of her family have said the prime minister should resign because he had failed to take action to clean up politics in Malta.

Muscat said investigations were ongoing and insisted "no one is above the law."

"It is not right that a person, with her good and bad, who contributed to democracy had to be killed this way... The anger and disappointment are understandable and it is never justified to somehow justify the murder. But neither can disorder and violence be justified under the guise of protest," Muscat said.

Stolen Donations, Tax Fraud, Abusive Priests: Lawsuit Alleges Corruption Among Greek Orthodox Church Leaders

Corruption is Everywhere

 - even the Greek Orthodox Church in Toronto?

By Lauren Pelley, CBC News 

Sotirios Athanassoulas has been Metropolitan, or archbishop, of the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto since 1996.

(Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto website)

A civil lawsuit filed against some of the most powerful members of Canada's Greek Orthodox community includes allegations of verbal and physical abuse by priests, money for a sick baby stolen from a church fundraiser, and sex offenders placed in Toronto churches — a controversy some say is part of an ongoing Greek "turf war."

The board of directors for the Greek Community of Toronto (GCT), a non-profit charity representing more than 150,000 Greek Canadians, filed the lawsuit against the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Toronto, its metropolitan — the Greek Orthodox equivalent of an archbishop — as well as four priests, several members of one priest's family, and other individuals connected with the church community.

It's the latest chapter in a complicated, years-long dispute between the GCT and the four Toronto churches it owns, which are staffed by priests appointed by the metropolis.

The GCT, which has roughly 6,000 paid members, has strived to ensure financial accountability and transparency surrounding donations made at those churches "with very little success" over three years of mediation efforts, said spokesperson Gina Tassopoulos.

"That's led us to believe the funds are being misappropriated."

In the statement of claim, the GCT alleges the Greek Orthodox Metropolis and Metropolitan Sotirios Athanassoulas have personally benefited from a share of church donations, without declaring the money "as a taxable benefit or income to the Canada Revenue Agency."

The Greek Community of Toronto, which has roughly 6,000 paid members, believes church funds 'are being misappropriated,' says spokesperson Gina Tassopoulos.

(Jon Castell/CBC News)

Allegations 'wholly without merit,' says lawyer

Also in the statement, filed on Oct. 18, the GCT alleges that thousands of dollars in money raised through a 2012 fundraiser for a baby with a serious heart condition may not have reached the child's family. Donations totalled well over $50,000, the GCT alleges.

Fundraising efforts for Baby Alexander made headlines that year; the eight-month-old needed urgent transportation from Greece to Toronto for heart surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children. 

The GCT alleges the metropolis announced that $10,000 was being sent to the charity Global Angel on behalf of the child's family, without disclosing the "actual total amount of the collected donations."

"In fact, Global Angel only received the paltry sum of $1,450," continues the statement of claim, which alleges the metropolis "unlawfully and fraudulently" used the remaining portion of the donations for their personal benefit or the benefit of other charities.

But Gail Courneyea, founder of Global Angel, told CBC Toronto the charity's records show it did indeed receive $10,000 from the Metropolis. 

"I really don't know where the numbers are coming from ... We were surprised that was mentioned, that we didn't get it," she said.

The civil lawsuit's statement of claim alleges a priest at St. Irene Chrisovalantou Greek Orthodox Church, just north of Danforth Avenue in the heart of Toronto's Greek community, would regularly 'verbally abuse and physically assault' members of a women's group at the church.

(Jon Castell/CBC News)

The statement of claim also alleges a priest at St. Irene Chrisovalantou Greek Orthodox Church, just north of Danforth Avenue in the heart of the city's Greek community, would regularly "verbally abuse and physically assault" members of a women's group at the church. The GCT would not elaborate on the nature of the alleged abuse.

Along with St. Irene, the GCT owns the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral Church in Parkdale, St. Demetrios Greek Orthodox Church in Thorncliffe, and St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox church in Scarborough.

Within some of the churches, the GCT alleges there is a "history of inappropriate conduct by priests negligently appointed by the Metropolitan or the Metropolis."

In 2015, for instance, a priest at St. John helped place a Romanian Orthodox Priest, Ioan Pop, at the church, the statement of claim alleges. Athanassoulas knew that Pop "was a sex offender on bail, at that time," it alleges.

George Karayannides, lawyer representing Athanassoulas and the metropolis, told CBC Toronto that both are aware of the lawsuit but have yet to file a statement of defence. 

The allegations in the statement of claim are "wholly without merit and the claim will be zealously defended," Karayannides said.   

Terry Maropoulos, a staff member with the metropolis, told CBC Toronto that the organization won't comment.

None of the allegations in the lawsuit have been proven in court.

In the statement of claim, the GCT alleges that thousands of dollars collected in a 2012 fundraiser for an infant with a serious heart condition may not have reached the family of Baby Alexander. (Global Angel website)

GCT, Metropolis tension goes back 40 years

"The GCT is simply seeking to uphold the recognized principles of transparency, accountability, responsibility and governance and to ensure compliance with the Charities Act, Canada Revenue Agency regulations and other laws and regulations of Canada," reads a statement from the organization.

"This is a fair and reasonable expectation."

George Gekas — a former president of the GCT who says he left the post within weeks — feels the situation is less clear cut.

He believes the lawsuit is part of an ongoing "turf war" between the community organization and the church, two interconnected groups both woven into the fabric of Greek Orthodox life. 

"The relations between the [archbishop] and the Greek community of Toronto has been, at best, problematical at times," he said, adding the religious organization often encroaches on the community organization, and vice versa.

Tassopoulos said issues between the GCT and the metropolis go back decades, and she hopes the lawsuit leads to a settlement and "some sort of peace." 

"It would put a lot of things to rest that have happened over the last 40 years, hopefully," she said.

After Partial Recount of Ballots, Ecuador Still has Left-Leaning Government

Lenín Moreno declared winner after Ecuador election recount

By Andrew V. Pestano  

Lenín Moreno has once again been declared the winner of Ecuador's 2017 presidential election following a

recount of nearly 1.3 million votes, the South American country's National Electoral Council said in a statement.

Photo courtesy of Lenín Moreno

UPI -- Following a recount of nearly 1.3 million presidential votes, Ecuador's National Electoral Council once again declared Lenín Moreno the winner of the election, this time by a slightly wider margin.

In the recount results, the electoral council, or CNE, said Moreno's Alianza PAIS movement received 5,062,018 votes, or 51.16 percent of the total. Moreno's competitor, Guillermo Lasso, and his CREO-SUMA political coalition received 4,833,389 votes, or 48.84 percent of the total.

"Thank you for showing us that we are an honest society," CNE President Juan Pablo Pozo Bahamonde said in a statement Tuesday. "As I said before, elections are not won with speculation. They are won with votes."

In the initial results following the April 2 election, Moreno received 5,060,424, or 51.15 percent, whereas Lasso received 4,833,828, or 48.85 percent. The CNE recounted 1,275,450 votes.

"After the recount of 1.2 million votes, it ratifies victory of Alianza PAIS. Thanks, we will not let you down! Ecuador expects peace and work," Moreno said in a statement. "It is time for agreements for major national goals. Democracy is strengthened, we look forward. The future never stops!"

Members of the opposition have been protesting for weeks after the CNE announced Moreno won, saying electoral fraud occurred.

Lasso has repeatedly rejected a partial recount, instead calling for a full recount in the election.

"This recount of the CNE, rather than making the results transparent, will reveal the accomplices of this fraudulent process," Lasso said in a statement on Tuesday.

Moreno served as leftist outgoing President Rafael Correa's vice president from 2007-13 before serving as U.N. Special Envoy on Disability and Accessibility. He became paraplegic after being shot in the back in 1998.

Lasso, a center-right former banker who had the support of other opposition parties, ran on an economic platform in which he promised to create 1 million new jobs within four years. He is a conservative who vowed to reduce government spending and taxes.

Aylan Kurdi's Tragedy Just Got Worse

Alan Kurdi’s father worked with human smuggler and captained boat that capsized, survivor says

The Canadian Press

Zeinab Abbas, the mother of Haidar and Zainab, two Iraqi children who died during a trip from Turkey to Greece when a boat carrying illegal immigrants sank off Turkey earlier this month, mourns following the return of their bodies to Baghdad. EAHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP / Getty Images

The father of a three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on a Turkish beach is denying allegations that he was the captain of the vessel that capsized killing at least 12 people, including his family.

An Iraqi couple who lost two of their three children in the tragedy have alleged that after the accident, Abdullah Kurdi begged them not to tell Turkish police that he was operating the boat.

Abdullah Kurdi stands in Alan's room on Sept. 6, 2015 in Kobane.

Zainab Abbas and Ahmad Hadi shared their story with reporters at Baghdad’s airport, where they arrived earlier this week carrying the small coffins of their dead children, aged 10 and 11.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the family had travelled to the Turkish coastal city of Bodrum from Iraq hoping to find smugglers who could take them into Europe.

They told the newspaper they almost changed their minds about the voyage when they looked at the 4.5-metre rubber boat, but a smuggler reassured them the vessel was safe. The smuggler also introduced them to Kurdi, who was described to them as the boat’s captain.

Kurdi’s wife and children would also be aboard, the smuggler told them. Which is a reasonable thing to say when you are trying to convince someone that they will be safe.

Only minutes after departing the coast, the boat began to take on water, the couple told the newspaper. One of Kurdi’s sons started to cry, distracting his father just before the boat smashed into a wave, they said.

Kurdi, who lost his two sons — Alan, 3, and five-year-old Ghalib — and his wife Rehanna in the tragedy, has maintained that he paid smugglers 4,000 euros for the deadly voyage.

Western media insist on calling him 'Alan' while eastern media have called him 'Aylan' from the beginning.

There is not much reason for Abbas and Hadi to make up a story like that unless they were jealous of the publicity Aylan was getting and their children were not. Still, it's an unlikely story to fabricate. If it is not true, it adds another layer of suffering on a man already grieving terribly. If it is true, and he is responsible for the drownings of several people including his own family, it becomes an even worse tragedy.

One can speculate that Abdullah negotiated a deal with the smugglers for a discount for captaining the boat. But, we may never know what really happened.

In a telephone interview with the Wall Street Journal from Syria, where he returned to bury his family, Kurdi disputed the Iraqi family’s account of events. He said the boat had a Turkish captain who jumped into the water and abandoned the vessel shortly after the engine stalled. This account seems pretty far-fetched.

“I lost my family, I lost my life, I lost everything, so let them say whatever they want,” he told the newspaper.

 Paramilitary police officer carries the lifeless body of Alan Kurdi, 3,
after he died trying to reach the Greek island of Kos AP Photo/DHAA

Kurdi’s brother-in-law, who lives in Coquitlam, B.C., with Kurdi’s sister, Tima, called the Iraqi family’s claims “simply untrue and made up.”

“My wife spoke to Abdullah earlier this morning and can’t understand why anyone would make up such a story,” Rocco Logozzo told The Canadian Press in an email.

“We certainly feel for the woman on the boat, who also lost her children. We hope people help her with her plight and help her leave Iraq. She and her family did not deserve this tragedy.”

Abdullah Kurdi has blamed the Canadian government for the tragedy, saying authorities had denied his application for asylum, although Citizenship and Immigration Canada has said they received no such application.

This simply looks disingenuous now.

Tima Kurdi has said that she only submitted an application for her other brother, Mohammed. She intended to sponsor him first, and subsequently to apply to sponsor Abdullah and his young family as well.

In the meantime, she said, she also sent Abdullah Kurdi money to pay for the perilous maritime journey from Turkey to Greece.

Although no official application was made for Abdullah, Tima Kurdi said his plight was brought to the attention of Immigration Minister Chris Alexander when her local NDP MP handed over a letter to him in the House of Commons earlier this year.

The photo of a drowned Alan — wearing a bright-red T-shirt and blue shorts — has put a heartbreaking human face to the humanitarian crisis, both globally and in Canada.