Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
Ukraine Missile Defense
Ukraine is being hit hard by Russian missiles being fired from land, sea and air. This weekend missiles slammed into Kyiv, trapping people in the rubble of an apartment building.
A 7 yr old girl was pulled from the aftermath alive, but her father died in the attack.
Ukraine surely has a right to defend itself from these attacks designed to destroy civilian infrastructure, so the U.S. move to supply medium to long range missile defense systems is welcome.
Ukrainian officials have asked for the missile defense system, known as a NASAMS system, that can hit targets more than 100 miles away targeting enemy aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicle and cruise missile threats.
Today President Zelenskiy will address the G7 leaders meeting in the Bavarian Alps asking for those systems to be delivered urgently, and more artillery and radar systems.
President Biden said that on Tuesday, members will move to ban imports of Russian gold, and negotiations are underway on an agreement to only purchase Russian oil at a massive discount, details still emerging.
Canada and Abortion Rights
When I was a young reporter I learned early on not to use the term ‘pro abortion’ covering demonstrations by people demanding access to health care.
The term that should be used is ‘pro choice’ vs ‘anti abortion or really anti choice’.
Canada does not criminalize abortion although abortions are not offered beyond 23 weeks and 6 days. The Canadian supreme court ruled in 1988 laws which restricted women’s rights to abortions unless they could prove their lives were in danger violated a woman's right to “life, liberty and security of the person” guaranteed under the Canadian Charter of Rights.
I had been a crime reporter covering Henry Mortgentaler, a Canadian doctor who set up abortion clinics across Canada and who became the target of anti abortionists.
I was on scene to report on the fire bombing aftermath of Mortgentaler’s abortion clinic in Toronto, which was later destroyed. In between the attacks the police raided the clinic and set in motion a case before the courts that would change Canadian law for decades.
As America’s Supreme Court has now struck down abortion laws largely based on a religious debate dividing society, and the Supreme Court bench, over the weekend internet searches for ‘how to move to Canada’ spiked.
Canada has stepped up and publicly announced it would protect women and allow them access to abortions if they cross the border.
Prime Minister Trudeau slammed the court’s recent 'horrific' decision while expressing his concern that more rights could be taken away.
“We know that this is an extremely, not just scary, but disheartening time for so many women.
“Women for generations have fought for more rights in the United States, to see this setback, to worry as well about how this can be expanded to more rights be taken away in the United States.”
Remember, like I said at the beginning, Canada is not pro abortion, but pro choice with a legal recognition that only a woman can make that choice about her own circumstance and her own body.
N. Ireland
In Britain today MP’s will vote on new legislation to scrap parts of the post-Brexit deal between the UK and the EU.
The government wants to change the Northern Ireland Protocol to make it easier for some goods to flow from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The problem is it also createFrom s problems with goods flowing from N. Ireland which is not in the EU, to Ireland which is.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he believed legislation on the deal could be passed by the end of the year. The EU is saying the N. Ireland protocol cannot be done away with and to do so breaches international law.
Other News
-Canadian News outlets are carrying reports, as well as the NYTimes that Canadian Special Forces are operating in Ukraine assisting Ukrainian troops. The Government of Canada has avoided commenting
-The Colorado Avalanche are Stanley Cup champions for the first time since 2001. The Avalanche tied an NHL record with their 10th come-from-behind victory of the playoffs to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in Game 6 Sunday night. Next year Leafs? :)
-A Columbia bull fight ended in tragedy when stands collapsed leaving 4 dead and hundreds injured. It happened near Bogota
-Around the world there are reports of Covid spikes as new variants take hold. In the UK cases up 43% in a week. In Ontario Canada the new variants will take over the majority of reported cases this week. In the U.S. BA.4 and BA.5, are now taking off and appear to evade immunity from either previous infection and vaccines
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Dana Lewis