"From far and wide", Canadians support Ukraine

Although there are some dissenters, the vast majority of Canadians support the Ukrainian resistance to the Russian invasion of their country. Support for a free Ukraine is visible "from coast to coast to coast", as witness this photo, sent to us by Agent 78, who was visiting the most famous town in Newfoundland.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Dildo in Canada's easternmost province, in the easterly part of the Avalon Peninsula. Agent 78 says the people there are very friendly and hospitable. The chief industries are fishing and sign-making.

And, having managed to avoid being swallowed up by Canada until 1949, they appreciate the Ukrainians' desire to keep their independence and the freedom to be who they are. God bless them, and God bless the Ukraine. Слава Україні!

VIDEO: Weep with us for these brave young men

Президент Володимир Зеленський узяв участь в урочистостях з нагоди відзначення 9-ї річниці Національної гвардії України й випуску офіцерів Національної академії НГУ та Київського інституту НГУ. 

Graduation ceremony in Kyiv. New officers, soon off to the war. In Ukrainian, but I think a translation is unnecessary. Just share the feeling. Weep with us, dear friends. And pray for these brave freedom fighters, many of whom will not return home. Pray that God will hear...and answer.

 

Many thanks to an old friend for sending us this link. And happy birthday to Agent 1, who has just today reached retirement age.

VIDEO: Country star Brad Praisley sings and talks about freedom with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

UNITED24 was launched by Volodymr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, as a venue for collecting charitable donations in support of Ukraine's fight for freedom from Russia. One of UNITED24's ambassadors is country music superstar Brad Paisley, who dropped "Same Here", the first single from his upcoming album, Son of the Mountains on Friday, February 24th.

The date is significant, marking as it does the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "Same Here" features a special appearance by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. In an appearance on NBC’s The Today Show, Brad Paisley said of President Zelenskyy, "I think he understands that art is how you reach the most people, especially in the heart. He can give as many speeches as he can give, but it's a lot easier to hear something with a melody."

The song doesn’t mention the Ukrainian war specifically, it ends with Paisley and the President in conversation, recorded during a video call. You'll hear President Zelenskyy talking about the Ukrainians' desire for freedom saying, "There is no distance between our two countries in such values."

Walt's comment: Lots of Americans and Canadians, maybe even some Europeans, also yearn for freedom from the tyranny of wokeism imposed on us by the liberal elites. Many thanks to Agent 5 for sharing this anthem of freedom!

Keep praying for Ukraine. God is listening!

In all the fuss over the midterms, Walt has not forgotten the war in Ukraine.

Listen to the prayers for Ukraine, for peace and freedom from the Russian invaders, during the Divine Liturgy at Saint Elias Ukrainian Greco-Catholic Church, Brampton (Ontario) Canada, 6/11/2022. 

The following week we received the good news of the liberation of Kherson from the Russian invaders. 

Glory be to God! Glory to Ukraine! To the heroes, glory!

Слава Богу! Слава Україні! Героям слава!

Russians losing war in Ukraine?

On 9/11, while Walt was thinking about other things (see three previous posts), the Telegraph reported that Ukrainian armed succeeded in retaking from the invading Russians over 2500 sq km of their country.

They punched a hole through thinly-guarded Russian front lines east of Kharkiv, and severing the Russian lines of logistics, forcing the withdrawal of large contingents of Russian soldiers from multiple locations, about as much territory as they gained since April. 

Most important, the Ukrainians retook the cities of Izyum and Kupyansk. Without them, Russia can no longer supply its forces in the north-east or east of Ukraine, so further collapses, withdrawals and surrenders of Russian forces are to be expected. 

The Telegraph predicts that the Ukrainians will keep control of what they have gained. The Russians are finding it hard to defend, let alone counterattack. They simply don't have the troops or the logistics. Worse (for them) their morale - that intangible essential in warfare - has hit a new rock bottom. 

Today we learn that frustration with Russia’s staggering losses in Ukraine has spilled over into the tightly controlled state media. Viewers have been warned by a war commentator that Vladimir Putin has been misled by advisers, and said Ukraine cannot be defeated. Amazing! Like watching one of CNN's never-Trumpers admit that the Democrats are going to get thrashed in the mid-terms!

Boris Nadezhdin, who for years played the token liberal on state television, appeared last weekend for the first time in months, calling for peace talks. "We're now at the point where we have to understand – it's absolutely impossible to defeat Ukraine, using the resources and colonial war methods that Russia is using to win this war."

It's not yet time to break out the best vodka, but the signs are encouraging.

Слава Україні! Героям слава!

VIDEO: Did Francis' consecration of Russia work?

Following the penitential service at Saint Peter's on the feast of Immaculate Conception, March 25th, Pope Francis performed an "act of entrustment and consecration'" of "all the people of the world, particularly Russia and Ukraine" to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Here is the video, so you can see for yourself what Francis actually did and, more important, said.

              

As Walt explained in "Notes and thoughts re Consecration of Russia & Ukraine" (WWW 16/3/22), this act of consecration was done in answer to a plea from the Catholic bishops of Ukraine that the request of Our Lady of Fatima be obeyed, by which means Russia would be converted and period of peace granted to the world.

Did it work? That is the question uppermost in the minds of traditional Catholics, particularly those who, like the late Father Nicholas Gruner, believed in the Message of Fatima and worked tirelessly for decades to make it known. 

A succession of post-Vatican II popes attempted a type of consecration, but not in the manner the Blessed Virgin requested. Did Francis, in his lengthy and convoluted prayer, say the right things, and did enough of the world's bishops join in spiritual union, to call down from Heaven the graces promised by Our Lady of Fatima?

So far, none of the commentators Walt follows has weighed in on the sufficiency of this latest act of consecration. To do so is difficult, because we really don't know exactly what is supposed to happen, and when. Certainly there has been no flash of heavenly light, no chorus of alleluias from the heavenly choir.

The Russian dictator has not fallen to his knees to beg forgiveness of God. Nor has he ordered his invading army to withdraw from Ukraine. He hasn't even agreed to a ceasefire. But it may be significant that, on the day of the Consecration, Western "military experts" reported signs that Putin had shifted his war aims to concentrate on only those parts of eastern Ukraine that he had claimed before the invasion began. Is that the start of a Russian retreat? Maybe.

There has been no startlingly positive result of the Consecration as yet, but nor has there has been any negative consequence. Mr Putin did not, so far as we know, fly into a towering rage and press the nuke button. Nor did the Orthodox churches, of whose wrath Vatican diplomats were terrified, hurl down anathemas on Francis and all who pray for the conversion of Russia.

In sum, not much has happened... yet.... But Heaven works in mysterious ways. God and His Blessed Mother will give us the peace and such other mercies and blessings as we deserve... in Their own good time.

Let us keep praying for a speedy resolution of the conflict in the Ukraine, for the restoration of peace and freedom to that troubled land, and for peace in the world geneerally. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

VIDEO: Europeans see through Justin Trudeau

A couple of days ago, the Rt. Hon. Justin Trudeau, by the Grace of Singh, Prime Minister of All Canuckistan, descended from the heavens [from an aging RCAF B767 actually. Ed.] to cast before the European parliament a few pearls anent the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In a particularly fulsome pastiche of pusillanimous platitudes, Mr Socks called on the Euroweenies to stand together, stay strong, and fight valiantly to preserve liberal democracy... just as he had done the previous month when he bravely stood up to the truckers and other harborers of "unacceptable views" who besieged the world's second-coldest capital in the Freedom Convoy.

The European Union Parliament comprises 705 elected members (MEPs) from the 27 EU member states. About 1/10th of them were on hand to hear M Trudeau congratulate himself. When he finished, a number of MEPs gave him what the Brits call a bollocking for violating the truckers' civil rights -- particularly freedom of speech -- when his Liberal government invoked the Emergencies Act for the first time in history.

The gist of their remarks is that, in giving police and other authorities extraordinary powers to disrupt the  peoples' protest, Prime Minister McBlackface behaved like a dictator. Here are some choice clips.

   

The CBC, Canada's state-owned broadcaster, had to report the story, since some of those video clips went viral in seconds, but they made sure to bury it "below the fold", as we say in the noozbiz. And they were careful to label the MEPs who dared to vilify Himself as far-right extremists, populists, and other pejoratives up to and including "neo-Nazi".

Croatian MEP Mislav Kolakušić described the Canuck PM as someone who "tramples" on fundamental human rights and freedoms. Canada once stood for civil rights, he said, but now seems more like a "dictatorship of the worst kind."

"Under your quasi-liberal boot in recent months," he went on, "we watched how you trample women with horses, how you block the bank accounts of single parents so that they can't even pay their children's education and medicine, that they can't pay utilities, mortgages for their homes." 

The CBC devoted more space to demonizing Mr Kolakušić than to his speech. "He has aligned himself with anti-vaccine voices inside and outside of the assembly," said the propagandists. And can you imagine, "Kolakušić had accused French President Emmanuel Macron of 'murdering citizens' though vaccine mandates and...claimed 'tens of thousands of' Europeans had died from vaccine side effects during the pandemic." As if we should believe such claims are ridiculous!

German MEP Christine Anderson, speaking for the Identity and Democracy parliamentary group (see below) through her party Alternativ für Deutschland (AfD), accused M Trudeau of civil rights violations during the Freedom Convoy protest, saying, "you are a disgrace for any democracy!" 

She minced no words, calling Mr Socks a dictator who treats citizens as "terrorists." Another AfD MEP, Bernhard Zimniok, accused Trudeau of "trampling on democratic rights" by cracking down on people for protesting "disproportionate" public health measures.  

The CBC's "report" says Alternativ für Deutschland has been "described by the BBC as a far-right political party that employs rhetoric 'tinged with Nazi overtones'." Aha, there's the "neo-Nazi" smear, but it the BBC that said it, so it must be true! 

But the CBC can't resist adding a bit more salt: "A German court ruled recently that the party is 'a suspected threat to democracy' after an administrative court in Cologne found that there are 'sufficient indications of anti-constitutional goals within the AfD.'" Sounds like M Trudeau's claim that the Freedom Convoy supporters were intent on overthrowing his government, doesn't it?

The CBC then makes sure we know what kind of evil populists the members of the ID (Identity and Democracy) group are. "With 63 members from 10 countries, it is the fifth-largest group in the assembly. Identity and Democracy is made up of domestic political parties opposed to the EU. They hold far-right positions on issues like immigration, EU membership and social welfare."

Convinced now? If not, just wait, there's more liberal labelling! "The ID group includes France's Rassemblement National party, which was founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen." How about that?!

I confess that until today I hadn't heard of the ID group. It seems there are more truly conservative, truly populist politicians in the European parliament than in that of Canada, or the American Congress. But just wait. The tide is turning. Mr Socks knows it. So does President Brandon. Stay tuned!

Why Ukraine matters

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has spurred Walt's agents -- Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian alike -- to send in material which the rest of the world should know. From Agent 6 comes a list of statistics showing why Ukraine matters, and deserves to be included in the European Union. 

1st in Europe in proven recoverable reserves of uranium ores

2nd place in Europe and 10th place in the world in terms of titanium ore reserves

2nd place in the world in terms of explored reserves of manganese ores (2.3 billion tons, or 12% of the world's reserves)

2nd largest iron ore reserves in the world (30 billion tons)

2nd place in Europe in terms of mercury ore reserves

3rd place in Europe (13th place in the world) in shale gas reserves (22 trillion cubic meters)

4th in the world by the total value of natural resources

7th place in the world in coal reserves (33.9 billion tons)

Ukraine is an agricultural country.

1st in Europe in terms of arable land area

3rd place in the world by the area of black soil (25% of world's volume)

1st place in the world in exports of sunflower and sunflower oil

2nd place in the world in barley production and 4th place in barley exports

3rd largest producer and 4th largest exporter of corn in the world

4th largest producer of potatoes in the world

5th largest rye producer in the world

5th place in the world in bee production (75,000 tons)

8th place in the world in wheat exports

9th place in the world in the production of chicken eggs

16th place in the world in cheese exports

Ukraine can meet the food needs of 600 million people.

Ukraine is an industrialized country.

1st in Europe in ammonia production

2nd place in Europe and 4th largest natural gas pipeline system in the world (142.5 bln cubic meters of gas throughput capacity in the EU)

3rd largest in Europe and 8th largest in the world in terms of installed capacity of nuclear power plants 3rd place in Europe and 11th in the world in terms of rail network length (21,700 km)

3rd place in the world (after the U.S. and France) in production of locators and locating equipment

3rd largest iron exporter in the world

4th largest exporter of turbines for nuclear power plants in the world

4th largest manufacturer of rocket launchers in the world

4th place in the world in clay exports

4th place in the world in titanium exports

8th place in the world in exports of ores and concentrates

9th place in the world in exports of defence industry products

10th largest steel producer in the world (32.4 million tons)

No wonder Putin wants to get his blood-stained hands on Ukraine! He must be stopped!!!

Source: Andriy Futey, Ukrainian Congress Committee of America Ukrainian World Congress - Свiтовий Конґрес Українців

Sign of the times in Ukraine

Agent 34 has sent us (for Walt's True Stuff department) a photo of new road signs appearing along the highways and byways of Ukraine.

For those who don't speak Ukrainian, the sign gives three suggestions involving sex and travel. Roughly translated, it says: "Go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself again. To Russia (where you can) fuck yourself." 

See also the video posted here on Friday: "Ukrainian border guards tell Russians 'Go fuck yourselves!'"

VIDEO: Ukrainian border guards tell Russians "Go fuck yourselves!"

A group of Ukrainian border guards were stationed on Snake Island, in the Black Sea south of Odessa, when a Russian warship ordered them to surrender under threat of attack.

Their response: "Russian warship, go fuck yourself."

They held their ground. All 13 were killed. pic.twitter.com/GMRsXQRSX0

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) February 25, 2022

Pope Francis more concerned with sucking up to Russia than with fate of Ukrainian Catholics

To understand the strife besetting Ukraine, one must understand that the state whose existence is now threatened by Vladimir Putin's Russia has never been truly united in matters of language, culture and even religion. The country is into western and eastern halves, more or less along the Dnieper River, which runs through Kiev, the capital.

The eastern part of Ukraine has over the centuries become more and more "Russified". That was official policy during the Soviet times, when the use of the Ukrainian language was suppressed in favour of Russian, and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church was subsumed into the Russian Orthodox Church.

The geographical division of Ukraine is reflected in the country's division by religion. The people of eastern Ukraine are predominantly Orthodox, members of one of the several autocephalous schismatic Orthodox churches of eastern Europe and the Middle East. Most Western Ukrainians, however, are Catholic. That doesn't mean they are all Roman Catholics. Most belong to the Ukrainian Catholic Church, of the Byzantine rite.

The Ukrainian Catholic Church, like the many other Eastern Churches, is in union with Rome -- thus part of the Catholic (i.e. Universal) Church -- and acknowledges the Pope as head of the Church. So you would expect the Pope to be more than a little concerned about the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, which targets the Ukrainian Church as the great protector of Ukrainian culture and independence. You would be wrong.

On February 20th, Pope Francis held separate audiences for the Ukrainian bishops of the Roman rite and those of the Byzantine rite, at the end of which all of the bishops received a written statement expressing the Pope's solidarity with the people affected by continued violence in Ukraine. Francis lamented the conflict that "continues to claim many innocent victims and to cause great suffering to the entire population." However, breaking from his prepared text, he said that he is pained by calls for the defeat of rebels or a victory for Ukrainian independence!

You might wonder, when the Pope deliberately stops short of condemning Russian-backed separatists, whose side he's on! Is he, too, so scared of Putin that he is afraid even to say a few words against the Russian tyrant? Walt is reminded of Josef Stalin's sarcastic remark to French Foreign Minister Pierre Laval, in May 1935, quoted in Winston Churchill's The Gathering Storm. In reply to Laval's suggestion that the Soviet Union should encourage Catholicism in order to propitiate the Pope and get the Church onside against the Nazis, Stalin is supposed to have said "The Pope? How many divisions has he got?"

Indeed the Pope has no army, and these days he does not even have the force of suasion, since no-one other than the kumbaya liberals and secular humanists pays any attention to the ramblings of an old man whose cheese is obviously slipping off his cracker. But still, could he not at least say a few words in support of the good Catholics of the Ukraine who look to him for leadership, but in vain.

The same thought was expressed [better! Ed.] on the day of the Pope's meeting with the Ukrainian bishops by noted Vaticanista Sandro Magister, in "Assaulted by Moscow and Abandoned by Rome". Here is the first part of Sig. Magister's article. The emphasis is mine.

He had a lot to be sorry about, Pope Francis, with the bishops of Ukraine who recently arrived in Rome for their periodic ad limina visit.

To these bishops and to their priests and faithful, when two weeks ago Jorge Mario Bergoglio had denounced to the world the war that is devastating their country, the words he had used had sounded terrible. "Fratricidal violence", the pope had called it, putting everyone on a par, aggressors and victims.

And it had been even worse when Francis had looked up from the text and added on his own, "When I hear the words ‘victory’ or ‘defeat’ I feel a great pain, a great sadness in my heart. Those are not the right word; the only right word is ‘peace.’ Think about it, this is a war among Christians! All of you have the same baptism. You are fighting among Christians. Think about this scandal."

The fact that Bergoglio has a soft spot for Russia had already been seen with the outbreak of war in Syria, when he called for a day of prayer and fasting to oppose the armed intervention of the United States and France against the regime of Damascus, and Vladimir Putin publicly praised him.

Then there is the influence of the ecumenical factor. Of the 200 million Orthodox Christians in the world, 150 million belong to the patriarchate of Moscow and "of all Rus’", and it is therefore with Moscow above all that the pope wants to cultivate good relations.

But the fact that the aggression of Russia against Ukraine, the armed occupation of its eastern border, the annexation of Crimea should have left the pope indifferent to "victory" or "defeat", was intolerable for the sentiments of Ukrainian Catholics. All the more so in that these words of Pope Francis promptly brought the applause of Moscow, this time not from Putin but from Orthodox patriarch Kirill, who also has jurisdiction over the Orthodox of Ukraine.

Слава Україні!

Шановні мешканці заходу!
Українці потребують вашої підтримки у боротьбі за свободу і демократію!

Допоможіть будь ласка! Слава Україні!