While National Newswatch does not keep an archive of external articles for longer than 6 months, we do keep all articles written by contributors who post directly to our site. Here you will find all of the contributed and linked external articles from Steven Staples.
Is it time I admit defeat, pull up my tent and go home? For 30 years I have advocated for reductions to Canada’s military spending, and it keeps rising and rising. Now it’s reached the point where Canada is the 6th highest in actual dollars within NATO (after USA, Germany, UK, France, Poland). Responding to expensive plans to increase military...
Some alarming news has come to light this week in the Russia-Ukraine war that has far-reaching implications – potentially leading to the use of nuclear weapons.
Israel’s far-right Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a secret plan for Gaza as his defence forces continue to bomb, displace and now starve its more than 2 million inhabitants. Haaretz journalist Noa Landau says that despite never admitting it, Netanyahu has a “day after” scheme for Gaza that looks remarkably like the way the United States devastated Iraq following the...
If you or someone you know has been active in the pro-Palestinian movement, you may have noticed this trend.There is a growing frustration among those trying to stop the terrible violence and bloodshed in Gaza from Israel’s wonton bombings, launched in response to the October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas fighters on Israeli civilians and soldiers.
The prospect for peace in the Middle East is farther away than ever, with both Palestinians and Israelis convinced their attacks on the other are justified by past grievances. As the first anniversary of the surprise attack by Hamas on civilians and troops inside Israel on October 7 nears, which prompted massive attacks by Israel killing tens of thousands, a...
What does the now-defunct Liberal-NDP cooperation agreement teach us about politics? Can politicians rise above partisanship for the common good?I’ve witnessed toxic “hyper-partisan” politics firsthand during my years in Ottawa. It can get pretty ugly. The Conservatives once shut down my presentation to the all-party National Defence Committee practically mid-sentence!
It’s counter-intuitive, but Ukraine’s surprising incursion into Russia this month may mean that Ukraine is seeking a way to end the war, not expand it. As PeaceQuest readers will know, the conflict war between Ukraine and Russia has become what is known as “a war of attrition,” where each side is unable to make significant territorial games and both resort...
A potential regional war looming, over two hundred citizens taken hostage and 1200 killed during a preventable massacre, and international condemnation over potential war crimes, yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s political support has increased recently, according to a new public opinion poll.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s fate may have been sealed when, in front of dozens of world leaders at the NATO 75th anniversary meeting, he introduced Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.” There was an audible gasp in the room.Biden immediately corrected himself after conflating the arch
While Canadian media outlets joined with U.S. lawmakers in haranguing Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over Canada’s military spending, the Wall Street Journal just came right out and said it.Americans think Canada spends too much on social programs and not enough on the military.
The future looks pretty dire for progressive voters in the United States and Canada. Right-leaning parties seem to be poised for big electoral success on both sides of the border.By the time Remembrance Day comes around next year, Donald Trump’s Republicans and Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives could be in power in Washington, D.C. and Ottawa.
Are international arrest warrants for Israel’s Netanyahu and Hamas’ Sinwar and others one step closer?The criminal case against the leaders of Israel and Hamas got a boost last week from a new UN report exposing damning evidence of war crimes committed by each side’s forces.
With “all eyes on Rafah” following the horrifying deaths of Palestinian civilians in fiery airstrikes by Israel on Gaza, hardly anyone is noticing that the U.S. and NATO nuclear powers are pushing the world closer to a nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine. Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Ukraine’s President, is growing desperate as Russia makes advances on the battlefield, and he has been pleading...
Both sides of the Gaza war objected strongly when the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) accused their leaders of war crimes this week.Hamas and the Israeli government said their respective leaders are not “moral equivalents,” and that only the other side is guilty of such heinous crimes.
Good morning — here is your Saturday newsletter. I have recorded an article voiceover, if you prefer to listen.This week I am adding something new! PeaceQuest classifieds from our friends to keep you informed about opportunities to attend events, join campaigns, and more.In peace,
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre’s roadside chat with protesters in the Maritimes this week has raised plenty of questions about the party’s political game plan. As Press Progress editor Luke Lebrun described the meeting, “Poilievre told a sovereign citizen convoy group camped out at the Nova Scotia - New Brunswick [border] that he saw them on the side of the...
Pro-Palestine encampments are springing up on campuses across the United States.But university administrators are responding with heavy-handed tactics, calling in the police mounted on horseback and motorcycles. Over 100 students were arrested at Columbia University in New York.
“Bring us more targets!” the Israel Defence Force (IDF) commanders shouted at intelligence officers. The commanders were directing the artillery and airstrikes in Gaza and demanded a “continuous pipeline of targets.”The intelligence officers sending them targets turned to a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) program called Lavender, which the IDF devised to track and identify Hamas fighters.
There is a new political force growing inside Israel, and it may offer the best chance to end the terrible bloodshed in Gaza. Last weekend, tens of thousands of people rallied in Israeli cities, calling on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to do more to secure the release of hostages still in the hands of Hamas. Nobody knows where they...
Monday was a day of high political drama in Ottawa, but the outcome left many unsatisfied.After hours of negotiations that went down to the wire, Parliament voted in favour of an NDP motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza and the end of arms shipments from Canada to Israel. A rare achievement for an opposition party.
Canadian peace research group Project Ploughshares says statements by Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly about arms exports to Israel are misleading, and remarks by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau are “patently false.” Trudeau told Parliament on February 14, 2024, that no export permits have been issued for Canadian arms transfers to Israel since October 7, 2023, the day Hamas killed over a...
Some commentators are raising the alarm that Canada’s military can’t seem to hire enough soldiers, leaving a big gap in Canada’s ability to send troops to Eastern Europe and elsewhere around the world.But what’s the reason? Is it plentiful jobs that are available to young people, or are they rejecting war and the military?
Ottawa is buzzing with anticipation of the introduction of the Canada Pharmacare Act and other measures, expected on Thursday, February 29. Details of the Liberal’s pharmacare program have been leaking out slowly since NDP leader Jagmeet Singh announced that his party was satisfied with the Liberal plan last Friday, securing his party’s support for the minority Liberal government for another...
The man with a pretty good shot at being the next U.S. President sent shockwaves through NATO headquarters this week.At a political rally, Donald Trump told supporters he would “encourage” Russia to attack any of the U.S.’s NATO allies whom he considers to have not met their financial obligations.
There is growing pressure on Israel’s allies to convince the Netanyahu government to reign-in, or even end its devastating and indiscriminate military bombardment of Gaza sparked by Hamas’ surprise cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. Peace and human rights groups issued an open letter this week calling on the government to end weapons exports to Israel in protest of its...
Despite the government’s best efforts to avoid it, the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in recent Canadian elections is underway in Ottawa. Not surprisingly, its main focus is China and Russia, with India added late to the list. But some are saying one major threat to our democracy is missing: Big Foreign Oil. In an article published in Policy Options...
Yesterday the World Court handed down its anticipated initial ruling on South Africa’s case of genocide against Israel over its conduct in Gaza. The court ordered that Israel must “take all measures within its power to prevent” any acts of killing or hardships in Gaza that would violate its obligations under the Genocide Convention, which was introduced in 1948 in...