Good news out of Britain: Former Russian double agent, Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, apparently poisoned in Salisbury a little more than a month ago, are still alive. Sergei is said to be in critical but stable condition still, and it seems Yulia is strong enough to speak, though is as yet being held incommunicado.
While being of particular relief to the friends and families of the stricken, the recovery of the three provides too much needed diplomatic space for a thus far vitriolic Prime Minister Theresa May to climb down from her government’s vilification campaign against Russia – at least long enough to ascertain why the Skripal’s fell sick in the first place, and then determine the provenance, if any, of alleged agents, chemical and otherwise involved.
After all, no-one wants to create an international incident of it – do they?
Michael Jabara Carley is an author, educator, and essayist. A professor of history at the Université de Montréal, his research and writing focuses on relations between Russia, the USSR, and the “West”. His book titles include: ‘Revolution and Intervention: The French Government and the Russian Civil War, 1917-1919’, ‘1939: The Alliance That Never Was and the Coming of World War II’, and his latest, ‘Silent Conflict: A Hidden History of Early Soviet-Western Relations,’ and he’s in the process of writing a book chronicling the “serendipitous” creation of the “Grand Alliance,” key to the defeat of Hitler in World War II.
His articles can be found online at Voltaire Net.org, Global Research, and the Strategic Culture Foundation, where I discovered his article, ‘Why Canada Defends Ukrainian Fascism‘.
Michael Jabara Carley in the first half.
And; it’s said, “Success has many fathers, but failure is an orphan” and no axiom fits more aptly the situation with Cannabis in Canada today. While Johnnie-come-lately former police officials and politicians join the boards of newly formed weed corporations, hitching their wagons to the shooting star of profitability legal access affords, the people who fought the law to help the sick watch on. But not to be sidelined, in its 23rd year, the Vancouver Island Cannabis Buyer’s Club is still going strong and ready to continue the fight for truly unfettered access.
Ted Smith founded the Vancouver Island Cannabis Buyer’s Club to provide cannabis-based products to people with terminal and incurable medical conditions. He faced harassment and arrest, and took his case all the way to Canada’s Supreme Court – and won!
Ted Smith and Canada’s new legal understanding of cannabis in the second half.
And; long-time Victoria activist and CFUV Radio broadcaster at-large, Janine Bandcroft will join us at the bottom of the hour to bring us up to speed with some of what’s good to get up to in and around Victoria in the coming week. But first, Michael Jabara Carley and stoking a hotter Cold War 2.0 with Russia.
Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing live every Thursday between 11-Noon Pacific Time. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: http://cfuv.uvic.ca. He also serves as a contributing editor to the web news site, http://www.pacificfreepress.com. Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.ca/