Back Story Newsletter
Good morning,
Russia Oil Ban
Europe is taking a step to ban most oil imports by the end of the year. This reins in Russia’s biggest export, and hammers Putin’s economy.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, hailed the deal as a “remarkable achievement”, after tweeting on Monday night that sanctions will immediately impact 75% of Russian oil imports, “cutting a huge source of financing for its war machine”.
There is criticism the ban doesn’t do far enough in so far Hungary, Slovakia, and Czech wouldn’t go for a 100% ban. They “blinked” some say but it does ban 90% by the end of the year.
It’s going to cost billions to the Russian economy and further destabilize Putins regime and his war machine. Will this push Putin to negotiate a cease fire? Doubtful but it increases pressure on the Kremlin without a doubt.
The EU deal also cancels access to Swift payments for Russia’s largest bank, Sberbank; banning three more Russian state-owned broadcasters; and further sanctions against “individuals responsible for war crimes in Ukraine”.
Canada Guns
The shooting of 19 children and 2 adults by an 18yr old man wielding 2 assault rifles, should prompt U.S. lawmakers to immediately ban certain weapons from sale in America.
It probably won’t, but it has stirred debate and action on gun laws in Canada where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced a virtual cap on handgun sales.
The Canadian Government has declared it will ban handguns sales.
"The day this legislation goes into effect it will no longer be possible to buy, sell, transfer or import handguns in Canada," Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told reporters.
Canada had already banned AR-15 assault rifles 2 years ago, and that ban included 1500 other models of rifles removed from sale to the public.
I’m Canadian and I can tell you most of us celebrate that legislation, because we don’t embrace a gun culture like Americans do south of our border. We don’t carry guns. Police don’t have to fear the same as their American colleagues, that every time they pull over a vehicle or approach a front door that most people own firearms and can likely outgun the police as in the U.S.
Most of us don’t believe we are being reined in by the Government plotting to suspend our civil rights, because there isn’t that distrust of government as there is in America.
And honestly most of us feel safer knowing the next crazy person to emerge from a basement isn’t able to buy and wield assault rifles to kill innocent children in our local school.
And where I live in London now, you also rarely hear about gun crime. Knife crime is an issue but thats another story. Most of Europe doesn’t allow gun sales. And most of Europe views mass killings in America as a bloody spectacle that should have led to bans on guns decades ago and now more than ever.
Bravo Canada.
I am only surprised that Bill C-21, that proposes that those involved in acts of domestic violence or criminal harassment, such as stalking, should have their firearms licences revoked wasn’t passed before now.
Other News…
-Taiwanese fighters scrambled to warn away 30 Chinese aircraft in the latest uptick in tensions. There are Increased tensions in the region after President Biden said America would defend Taiwan, and now a U.S. delegation is in Taiwan discussing trade and increased support
-US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday condemned "in the strongest terms" Friday's seizure of two Greek flagged vessels by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the State Department said
-British P.M. Boris Johnson has long broken the law here, throwing drinking party’s in Number 10 Downing St. during Covid lockdowns. He has been fined and widely criticized. Now it appears his own party losing popularity may throw him out as more than 54 MP’s have signed letters demanding he resign
-A French journalist is the latest casualty of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. "Frédéric Leclerc-Imhoff was in Ukraine to show the reality of war," French President Macron wrote on Twitter. The reporter for BFM-TV was shot in eastern Ukraine during coverage of evacuations of civilians
Have a good day everyone. And share this newsletter.
Dana Lewis