While most large Canadian cities' mayoral contests revolve around issues of cost of living and housing affordability, Brampton's race is considerably different.Following his high-profile ejection from the federal Conservative leadership campaign, the controversial incumbent, Patrick Brown, is facing a race that is virtually a vote on his integrity as mayor and the instability at Brampton City HallBut why should Brampton be important to readers across the country?According to the 2021 census findings, Brampton is Canada's fastest growing major city, with a population surpassing 700,000. As a prominent city in the Greater Toronto Area, Brampton politics have a disproportionate impact on the region's general political culture, and, for better or worse, they influence the GTA's reputation as a destination for global talent and investment.Notably, Brown has managed to become one of the most well-known big city mayors in the country. This implies that Brampton City Hall receives more national exposure than would otherwise be the case.And the attention it is receiving has not been positive. Brown's opponents in the current mayoral election, as well as the majority of his city council colleagues, have been accused of corruption, misbehavior involving critical municipal contracts, and cover-ups made possible by rushed council votes.However, this should not be a Brampton-related story. This is a story about Patrick Brown.Brown's political career has been fraught with controversy from the start, including his stint as leader of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party, his more recent effort to lead the Conservative Party of Canada, and, of course, his time as mayor of Brampton.
Patrick Brown has been able to avoid his political
transgressions by moving from one level of government to another for one reason or another (or many). To now, the electorate has not fully penalized him.However, the contest for Brampton's top post should not be so easily won by a man who has repeatedly demonstrated that he lacks the moral integrity required for government.Fortunately, this election provides Bramptonians with numerous intriguing choices to Brown as they examine the leadership of their city. Nikki Kaur appears to be the candidate attracting the most attention.Kaur is a former Conservative Party of Canada candidate and, more recently, a Brampton City employee who made news by publicly alleging corruption at City Hall.Although many of us may not have a direct stake in this election, we must value the integrity of our city governments and the critical responsibilities they play. In particular, Canada's major cities have a significant impact on our country's reputation, and we must not allow a lack of integrity to become the standard in any City Hall across the countryThe US, NATO, and many other Western countries have provided Ukraine with military training and weapons, including long-range artillery such as the HIMARS precision-guided rocket strike system. It has had tremendous success on the battlefield against Russian forces, although both countries' militaries are in poor condition. Russia estimates 80,000 dead and injured, and it may have lost half of its contemporary frontline main battle tanks.Ukrainian losses are reported to be between 35,000 and 40,000 dead and injured soldiers, with many civilian casualties and major areas of the country destroyed by Russian forces. Ukrainian forces are battling well and appear to be exhausted, but morale remains high. NATO constantly re-equips and trains them. The country has completely mobilized its war effort.
With this invasion and war with Ukrain
all of Russia's historical faults have been exposed. Russian forces look to have low morale both in front of and behind the front lines. Russia has just recently begun to mobilize for a conflict in which its full military numerical advantage can be used, and it has thus far eschewed using chemical and nuclear weapons to achieve its total war goal of seizing all of Ukraine. We are also seeing evidence of a Putin-ordered cleansing of his national security infrastructure both at home and abroad, similar to Joseph Stalin's.Putin has spent the majority of his life immersed in grand strategy, national security, and war, but he appears to be outmatched by Volodymyr Zelenskyy, a career comedian and actor. If you're Vladimir Putin, frustration and desperation are high.As the fight continues, a few details become known. Ukraine will survive and possibly improve its current condition without achieving its strategic war goal, as long as it remains in the Western news and continues to get NATO training and heavy military weaponry. Most crucial, if the United States and the West remain focused. Even so, it must avoid "bleeding itself white" in a southern counter-offensive in Kherson, Kharkiv, Luhansk, and Donetsk Oblast, leaving it susceptible elsewhere to a Russian counter-offensive with large numbers of conscript troops in the coming months and winter.Russia appears to retain the trust of its national security and economic elites, as well as Russian society at large. Economic sanctions have been severe and destructive to Russian interests, but they have not yet changed the game. Russia is engaged in high-level economic, energy, and food security warfare, successfully causing fissures in the EU, NATO, and the United Nations. Russia appears to have settled into a long-term war of attrition and is unlikely to abandon its current positions in Ukraine.
Russia will not be able to achieve its war objectives
with its existing approach and without fully mobilizing for war, unless the United States and NATO are distracted by China and Taiwan, North Korea, or Iran. Or until North Korea deploys its 100,000 troops to support Russia's military effort. These might be wild card game changers. Ukraine cannot bleed itself white in the south at Kherson or Kharkiv, and Russia must avoid doing the same in its Donetsk onslaught. This war of attrition continues, with no end or clear victory in sight.Russia's terrible eight-year war of aggression against Ukraine has acted as the backdrop for the Free World's fight against the current axis of wicked rulers. The war has devolved into a war of attrition, with each side effectively halted on the battlefield, hoping for a strategic miracle that has yet to materialize.In war, a belligerent party or state wins when it meets and achieves its stated military objectives and war goals. Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with the strategic goal of conquering the entire country. Ukraine's war goal has remained the same since Russia's 2014 invasion: liberation of all seized Ukrainian territory, including Russian-annexed Crimea. Neither state is close to accomplishing its claimed strategic war goals.
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