Mid-Week Updates, No 23

The collapsed dam, China in Canada and a few farewells

Towards the end of the Second World War during the infamous and bitterly cold winter of 1944-45 it was quite apparent that Nazi Germany was on the losing side of events. As desperation set in, Germany began flooding occupied areas as a last way of defence against the advancing allies. At the same time it was more deliberate terror inflicted on citizens who didn’t love the Nazis to begin with and now had to suffer through one more dreadful experience: evacuation with all its concurrent losses. There is actually a recent movie that describes the war in the flooded area of the Schelde estuary, The Forgotten Battle, which I really recommend.

All of this gives us some context following yesterday’s destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam in Ukraine. The parallels with WWII could not be clearer: Russia is beginning to get desperate, anything to defend against the Ukrainian summer (note I stopped calling it spring) offensive is allowed, while another deep blow against already suffering civilians is delivered without any compunction. And not only that, the damage will severely impact water supplies and food production, the operation of the nearby hydro plant, but it may also impact the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. Both power generating facilities are dependent on cooling water that may not be available now.

Of course, the working assumption is that Russia is behind this, but not everyone seems to think so and Tucker Carlson launched on Twitter last night making the counter argument. Note that there is not yet any conclusive evidence available as to who did it. What we do know is that many Ukrainians now have to vacate their homes and may not be able to return home for a very long time. If you want to help, the $1k project that I mentioned at the beginning of the war is raising funds again with a focus on families with three or more children that are now affected by the latest drama. You can contribute any amount you like and remember: what we are witnessing are war crimes. We may not end up in Nuremberg to take Putin and his henchmen to court, but we can help the victims.

China in Canada

The saga of Chinese influence in Canada is continuing with parliamentarians questioning the government’s (read Trudeau’s) special rapporteur on foreign interference, David Johnston. Not only did Canada’s conservatives question the rapporteur’s suitability given his lack of independence and close ties to Trudeau, the left-leaning NDP party joined the Conservatives in a motion to force Johnston step aside. The motion was ignored by the government as expected. But what made it so worthwhile to note was that the NDP’s support for it no doubt was informed by the fact that one of their own MPs, Jenny Kwan, has equally been targeted by China, much like the Conservative MP Michael Chong. Yet we live in a universe where the sitting Liberal government, which benefitted during the most recent elections from Beijing’s hardcore intimidation, continues to downplay this affair. Let me clarify: it is one grave breach of Canada’s sovereignty, security and democratic integrity and no free society should let this pass.

In Memoriam

It may not be a bad idea to get this weekly section going as so many that have shaped us are departing on a regular basis. On Monday we lost Astrud Gilberto, she who became famous with the worldwide hit ‘The Girl from Ipanema’. I remember the ‘Bossa Nova’ sound vividly, it was never my favourite but it was a mandatory piece of my parents’ musical journey and it was hard not to listen to it growing up. An equal big cultural part of my upbringing was Picasso and this was one that I did like and hugely impacted me. My first encounter with his art was in the Picasso Museum in Antibes in 1973, coincidentally not long after the painter died. He was back in the news as yesterday one of his lovers, Françoise Gilot, passed away at the tender age of 101. And yes that means when she had her affair with Picasso he was in his sixties and she in her twenties. She lived on to become a successful painter in her own right, but of course her ten year relationship with the old master and giving birth to his two kids Paloma and Claude is probably what most people will remember her for. Reading up on her and her years with Picasso was another worthwhile journey into the 20th century, an age which is now rapidly dying on us my friends.

Photo: Picasso’s painting of Gilot called ‘seated Françoise with blue dress’ (1949).