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Joly should resign over bureaucrat partying at Russian embassy
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:Jun 15, 2022 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • 44 Comments
If Melanie Joly truly believed that the buck stops with her, she would be resigning as foreign minister for embarrassing the government and all of Canada. This being the Trudeau government, she will simply say some nice words about responsibility and hope we all forget.
Joly is under fire over her department’s decision to send a diplomat to a garden party at the Russian embassy last week.
“I’m the minister and the buck stops here,” Joly told reporters outside the Commons on Monday.
“I share the frustration and the anger of Canadians regarding this issue.”
The issue arose after Yasemin Heinbecker, the deputy chief of protocol in Joly’s department, attended a party to celebrate Russia Day at Putin’s embassy in Ottawa. Nothing says standing up to a dictator who has invaded your ally like going to a garden party.
How foolish, how stupid, how politically incompetent do you need to be to think this was a good idea?
The Russians were quick to use Canada’s attendance as a victory. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress was less kind, calling the move appalling and offensive. Joly’s office initially defended Heinbecker’s attendance and then offered an apology after The Globe and Mail broke the story on Sunday.
This wasn’t a mistake. This is the deputy chief of protocol attending an even to celebrate Russia even as we lay sanctions and freeze assets of Russians while sending arms to Ukraine. The deputy chief of protocol should have known enough not to go to the party but Joly’s political staff knew Heinbecker was going and didn’t tell her not to.
Garry Keller served as Chief of Staff to John Baird when he was foreign minister in the Harper government from 2011 through 2015. Keller said that they had strict rules in place to ensure Canadian diplomats weren’t seen supporting the kinds of oppressive regimes we were at odds with.
“Every year, the department would seek Ministerial approval for which countries were on the naughty list for diplomatic events. This was also true for the big Canada Day bash that Foreign Affairs throws on July 1 at the Pearson Building,” Keller said in an interview Wednesday.
Keller said that list would normally include countries like Iran, North Korea and Syria but that Russia was added after their invasion of Crimea in 2014.
“Sometimes bureaucrats would push back and say we needed to engage in diplomacy by attending a national day, but we made it clear to the Deputy and other senior officials that if they ignored the Minister’s instructions, someone’s job was on the line,” Keller said.
Either that system of listing which countries diplomats should not socialize with isn’t in use anymore or the Trudeau government didn’t see an issue partying with Russia’s ambassador until they were caught.
“What value could anyone possibly see in attending a party at Russia’s embassy sipping cheap Russian champagne and noshing on caviar?” Keller asked.
The honest answer is that there was no value in Canada attending, not for us anyway. The Russians saw value in Heinbecker’s attendance though, making sure to not that Global Affairs Canada was there in a statement posted on social media.
Someone needs to be held to account for this mistake. If Joly means it when she says the buck stops with her, she will be filing her resignation letter with the prime minister any day now.
I won’t hold my breath though.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Brian Lilley
Publishing date:Jun 15, 2022 • 12 hours ago • 3 minute read • 44 Comments
If Melanie Joly truly believed that the buck stops with her, she would be resigning as foreign minister for embarrassing the government and all of Canada. This being the Trudeau government, she will simply say some nice words about responsibility and hope we all forget.
Joly is under fire over her department’s decision to send a diplomat to a garden party at the Russian embassy last week.
“I’m the minister and the buck stops here,” Joly told reporters outside the Commons on Monday.
“I share the frustration and the anger of Canadians regarding this issue.”
The issue arose after Yasemin Heinbecker, the deputy chief of protocol in Joly’s department, attended a party to celebrate Russia Day at Putin’s embassy in Ottawa. Nothing says standing up to a dictator who has invaded your ally like going to a garden party.
How foolish, how stupid, how politically incompetent do you need to be to think this was a good idea?
The Russians were quick to use Canada’s attendance as a victory. The Ukrainian Canadian Congress was less kind, calling the move appalling and offensive. Joly’s office initially defended Heinbecker’s attendance and then offered an apology after The Globe and Mail broke the story on Sunday.
This wasn’t a mistake. This is the deputy chief of protocol attending an even to celebrate Russia even as we lay sanctions and freeze assets of Russians while sending arms to Ukraine. The deputy chief of protocol should have known enough not to go to the party but Joly’s political staff knew Heinbecker was going and didn’t tell her not to.
Garry Keller served as Chief of Staff to John Baird when he was foreign minister in the Harper government from 2011 through 2015. Keller said that they had strict rules in place to ensure Canadian diplomats weren’t seen supporting the kinds of oppressive regimes we were at odds with.
“Every year, the department would seek Ministerial approval for which countries were on the naughty list for diplomatic events. This was also true for the big Canada Day bash that Foreign Affairs throws on July 1 at the Pearson Building,” Keller said in an interview Wednesday.
Keller said that list would normally include countries like Iran, North Korea and Syria but that Russia was added after their invasion of Crimea in 2014.
“Sometimes bureaucrats would push back and say we needed to engage in diplomacy by attending a national day, but we made it clear to the Deputy and other senior officials that if they ignored the Minister’s instructions, someone’s job was on the line,” Keller said.
Either that system of listing which countries diplomats should not socialize with isn’t in use anymore or the Trudeau government didn’t see an issue partying with Russia’s ambassador until they were caught.
“What value could anyone possibly see in attending a party at Russia’s embassy sipping cheap Russian champagne and noshing on caviar?” Keller asked.
The honest answer is that there was no value in Canada attending, not for us anyway. The Russians saw value in Heinbecker’s attendance though, making sure to not that Global Affairs Canada was there in a statement posted on social media.
Someone needs to be held to account for this mistake. If Joly means it when she says the buck stops with her, she will be filing her resignation letter with the prime minister any day now.
I won’t hold my breath though.
LILLEY: Joly should resign over bureaucrat partying at Russian embassy
Melanie Joly should be resigning as foreign minister for embarrassing the government and all of Canada.
Is the US involvement in Ukraine for the Ukraine people or to protect the Biden family assets in Ukraine?
They'll have to sink it to put out the fire.
Hard to say since the Russian's also bought the Bidens could be why he won't send long range rockets
Ukraine begins first trial of Russian soldier charged with rape
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Jun 23, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
KYIV — Ukraine on Thursday held a preliminary hearing in its first trial of a Russian soldier charged with raping a Ukrainian woman during Russia’s invasion, the first of what could be dozens of such cases.
The suspect, Mikhail Romanov, 32, who is not in Ukrainian custody and will be tried in absentia, is accused of murdering a civilian in the Kyiv capital region on March 9 and repeatedly raping the man’s wife, according to court files.
Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment, and Reuters was unable to reach the soldier. Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes.
Romanov is accused of raping a 33-year-old woman after he and another Russian soldier shot her husband Oleksiy at point blank in the village of Bohdanivka to the northeast of Kyiv.
The two soldiers then left and later returned twice more to rape her, the court files said. The identity of the second soldier had not been established.
The woman asked for the trial to be held behind closed doors as she wanted to avoid details about her and her family being publicized, Prosecutor Oksana Kalyus told reporters after the preliminary hearing in a Kyiv court.
Kalyus said that Ukrainian authorities believed Romanov was in Russia. While he could not be arrested there, he could be arrested in another country if he is found guilty, she said.
“If he crosses the border, he will be arrested and delivered to Ukraine,” she said.
A prosecutor working on sexual violence cases told Reuters that up to 50 such crimes were being investigated, but that the number of instances of sexual violence by Russian soldiers since Feb. 24 was likely to be substantially higher.
Officials, activists and doctors have said that many survivors are afraid or unwilling to come forward to the police and prosecutors with their cases, for fear of reprisals from Russia and stigma from their Ukrainian neighbors.
Ukraine says it is investigating thousands of potential war crimes committed during the Russian invasion, which began on Feb. 24. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told Reuters that many of the suspects are in Russia but that some have been taken captive by Ukraine as prisoners of war.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Reuters
Reuters
Publishing date:Jun 23, 2022 • 16 hours ago • 2 minute read • Join the conversation
KYIV — Ukraine on Thursday held a preliminary hearing in its first trial of a Russian soldier charged with raping a Ukrainian woman during Russia’s invasion, the first of what could be dozens of such cases.
The suspect, Mikhail Romanov, 32, who is not in Ukrainian custody and will be tried in absentia, is accused of murdering a civilian in the Kyiv capital region on March 9 and repeatedly raping the man’s wife, according to court files.
Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a written request for comment, and Reuters was unable to reach the soldier. Moscow has denied allegations of war crimes.
Romanov is accused of raping a 33-year-old woman after he and another Russian soldier shot her husband Oleksiy at point blank in the village of Bohdanivka to the northeast of Kyiv.
The two soldiers then left and later returned twice more to rape her, the court files said. The identity of the second soldier had not been established.
The woman asked for the trial to be held behind closed doors as she wanted to avoid details about her and her family being publicized, Prosecutor Oksana Kalyus told reporters after the preliminary hearing in a Kyiv court.
Kalyus said that Ukrainian authorities believed Romanov was in Russia. While he could not be arrested there, he could be arrested in another country if he is found guilty, she said.
“If he crosses the border, he will be arrested and delivered to Ukraine,” she said.
A prosecutor working on sexual violence cases told Reuters that up to 50 such crimes were being investigated, but that the number of instances of sexual violence by Russian soldiers since Feb. 24 was likely to be substantially higher.
Officials, activists and doctors have said that many survivors are afraid or unwilling to come forward to the police and prosecutors with their cases, for fear of reprisals from Russia and stigma from their Ukrainian neighbors.
Ukraine says it is investigating thousands of potential war crimes committed during the Russian invasion, which began on Feb. 24. Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told Reuters that many of the suspects are in Russia but that some have been taken captive by Ukraine as prisoners of war.
Ukraine begins first trial of Russian soldier charged with rape
The suspect, Mikhail Romanov, 32, who is not in Ukrainian custody and will be tried in absentia.
J.K. Rowling blasts ‘distasteful’ pranksters over faked call with Ukraine's president
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Publishing date:Jun 25, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
J.K. Rowling has branded Russian pranksters distasteful for tricking her into believing she was on a video call with embattled Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The 56-year-old writer’s public relations team detailed her rage after confirming she fell victim to a hoax that produced a 12-minute video in which she and the pranksters discussed characters in her Harry Potter books and how she could support Ukraine’s efforts on the ground against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bombardment of the nation.
Rebecca Salt from the PR team told Entertainment Tonight on Friday: “We can confirm that J.K. Rowling was a victim of a distasteful hoax video call by Russian pranksters, Vovan and Lexus, posing on camera as Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy.
“J.K. Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine through her charity Lumos, supporting children and families who have been affected by the current conflict in the region. The video, which has been edited, is a distorted representation of the conversation.”
In the Zoom call one of the pranksters brought up the lightning bolt scar born by Harry Potter on his forehead – which the pranksters said resembled a ‘Z.’
A similar sign has been carved and sprayed onto Russian military tanks and weapons in support of Putin’s invasion.
The pranksters asked Rowling if there was any way she could change the ‘Z’ symbol into a more pro-Ukraine marking, and the author said she would “look into that.”
Among other famous faces pranked by Vovan and Lexus are Elton John, the Duke of Sussex, Billie Eilish, Senator Bernie Sanders and former U.S. president George W. Bush.
etonline.com
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Bang Showbiz
Bang Showbiz
Publishing date:Jun 25, 2022 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • Join the conversation
J.K. Rowling has branded Russian pranksters distasteful for tricking her into believing she was on a video call with embattled Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The 56-year-old writer’s public relations team detailed her rage after confirming she fell victim to a hoax that produced a 12-minute video in which she and the pranksters discussed characters in her Harry Potter books and how she could support Ukraine’s efforts on the ground against Russian president Vladimir Putin’s bombardment of the nation.
Rebecca Salt from the PR team told Entertainment Tonight on Friday: “We can confirm that J.K. Rowling was a victim of a distasteful hoax video call by Russian pranksters, Vovan and Lexus, posing on camera as Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy.
“J.K. Rowling was approached to talk about her extensive charitable work in Ukraine through her charity Lumos, supporting children and families who have been affected by the current conflict in the region. The video, which has been edited, is a distorted representation of the conversation.”
In the Zoom call one of the pranksters brought up the lightning bolt scar born by Harry Potter on his forehead – which the pranksters said resembled a ‘Z.’
A similar sign has been carved and sprayed onto Russian military tanks and weapons in support of Putin’s invasion.
The pranksters asked Rowling if there was any way she could change the ‘Z’ symbol into a more pro-Ukraine marking, and the author said she would “look into that.”
Among other famous faces pranked by Vovan and Lexus are Elton John, the Duke of Sussex, Billie Eilish, Senator Bernie Sanders and former U.S. president George W. Bush.
J.K. Rowling Criticizes 'Distasteful Hoax' by Russian Pranksters
The 12-minute video prank comes on the heels of the 'Harry Potter' author's charity helping children and families in Ukraine.
etonline.com
J.K. Rowling blasts ‘distasteful’ pranksters over faked call with Ukraine's president
J.K. Rowling has branded pranksters distasteful for tricking her into believing she was on a video call with Ukraine's president.