April 2018 – Ted Campbell's Point of View … an old soldier's thoughts on shoes and ships and sealing wax and many other things. I self describe as a classical liberal ~ which means, in 21st century Canada, that I’m a Conservative. I believe in four fundamental rights for each and every individual: Life, Liberty and Property, as described by John Locke in 17th century England, and Privacy, as defined by Brandeis and Warren in 19th century America. Your comments are welcome, but my views (and obvious biases) are pretty well established after 75+ years.

Grand strategy: A new approach to Russia?

Dr. Emma Ashford, of the (generally conservative) Cato Institute, proposes that we, in the US led West, should reconsider what she calls our “reflexive hostility” towards Russia. Her remarks are addressed, in the main, towards US leaders but, of course, many in the chattering classes, which includes me, to be sure, are equally prone to take Continue reading “Grand strategy: A new approach to Russia?”

BZ for Justin Trudeau

It’s a small thing, maybe a very small thing, but, CBC News reports, “The Canadian military is joining Britain, the U.S. and Australia in a new surveillance mission to monitor ship-to-ship transfers of oil and other goods to and from North Korea in violation of UN sanctions … [and] … Canada is sending about 40Continue reading “BZ for Justin Trudeau”

Failure after failure

There is a rather length article in L’actualité by Jocelyn Coulon, excerpted from his book “Un selfie avec Justin Trudeau” I think. It is headlined: “The day Trudeau disappointed the UN.“ A friend on Army.ca has provided a translation. The crux of M. Coulon’s thesis is that “Canada’s contribution to peacekeeping announced in Vancouver doesContinue reading “Failure after failure”

The gift that keeps on giving (2)

Just when one thought that the Trudeau Liberals may have gone a week or so without being a major embarrassment to those who voted fo them, the CBC News reports that “As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau continues to vow that the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion “will be built,” his government’s summer jobs program is funding aContinue reading “The gift that keeps on giving (2)”

No matter …

No matter what else may happen, no matter why things are happening, this … … represents an enormous step forwards, it’s almost another “giant leap for mankind,” and it makes the sacrifices, including Canada’s. worthwhile.

Annoying China

This is the second of two article about China, today, and this one is very specifically about Sino-Canadian relations. The South China Morning Post reports that “A motion [in the Senate of Canada moved by Conservative Senator Thanh Hai Ngo] against Chinese military actions in the disputed South China Sea has been slammed by China,Continue reading “Annoying China”

South China Seas, again

This is the first of two articles, each with some Canadian flavour, today about something upon which I have not commented for some months, but two article caught my eyes: First, the Australian Lowy Institute reports that “China challenged Australian warships in the course of transiting the South China Sea, on their way from SubicContinue reading “South China Seas, again”

In other news …

The CBC, somewhat breathlessly, reports that “Five months after a Radio-Canada/CBC investigation revealed that the country’s major mobile networks are vulnerable to hacking and fraud, documents obtained through Access to Information show that the agency responsible for the security of the federal government’s networks withheld some information from the public at the time.” That agency responsible forContinue reading “In other news …”

Kapyong

Today we remember the soldiers of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade who, in April 1951, as their allies collapsed under Chinese pressure, help the vital Kapyong Valley in Korea. Eventually even the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment had to pull back leaving only the 2nd Battalion of the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry to holdContinue reading “Kapyong”

Is this why?

The South China Morning Post is reporting that “North Korea’s mountain nuclear test site has collapsed, putting China and other nearby nations at unprecedented risk of radioactive exposure, two separate groups of Chinese scientists studying the issue have confirmed … [and] … The collapse after five nuclear blasts may be why North Korean leader KimContinue reading “Is this why?”