News from Canada, Thailand and Russia

Tuesday's World Events   —   Posted on May 10, 2016

CANADA – Massive Fort McMurray wildfire in Canada could last months, but rain brings hope

(CBS News) FORT MCMURRAY, Alberta – The Fort McMurray wildfire in Alberta, Canada has destroyed about 620 square miles, nearly the size of Houston. Thanks to much cooler weather and even a few raindrops, however, firefighters say they are finally making some progress. …

This fire has now been nicknamed “The Beast.”… Walls of flame continue to turn trees into torches while air tankers overhead do their best to keep up.

“For us, this is great firefighting weather. We can really get in there and really get a handle on this fire and really get a death grip on it,” Alberta wildfire manager Chad Morrison said.

The fires are so large and in such rugged terrain that the firefight is mainly taking place in the sky. More than 100 water-dropping helicopters are now flying in Alberta.

The fire is still expected to takes months to extinguish and has shut down most of Alberta’s vast oil production. However, it is now burning mainly in the forest and away from towns that were once in its path. In burned-out Fort McMurray, there is no electricity, gas lines have been turned off, and the water is not drinkable. From above you can see many neighborhoods have burned but many others were spared.

“It’s like an eye of a tornado, I mean, you see devastation all around you, but in the center, it’s calm, there’s no devastation as far as downtown goes,” Canadian parliament member David Yurdiga said.

The government says it could be weeks or months before people are allowed to return. Nearly 90,000 evacuees face a long wait to go home.

Residents evacuate ahead of wildfire.

“I’m terrified of what the drive is going to be going back into Fort McMurry,” Christine Cook said.

Cook fled Fort McMurray last week as the fire tore through the town. An evacuation center and the donations from strangers are a lifeline for her and her two daughters…. “I’m thankful I have my family and I have a roof over my head. I have all that I need,” Cook said.

The 25,000 people who originally fled north of Fort McMurray after Tuesday’s mandatory evacuation, only to find the fire headed towards them, have now been safely moved south of town to evacuation centers.

More than 80,000 people have left Fort McMurray in the heart of Canada’ oil sands, where the fire has torched 1,600 homes and other buildings. Gas has been turned off, the power grid is damaged and water is not drinkable. Officials said there is no timeline to return residents to the city, but the Alberta government has begun preliminary planning, though it stresses fighting the fire is still the first priority.

Syncrude, a major oil sands mining company, also shut down operations and evacuated. The company said in a statement that while there is no imminent threat from fire, smoke has reached its Mildred Lake site.

The 494,211 acres size estimate for the fire includes burned areas and those areas still in flames. The fire started last Sunday (May 1) and has destroyed about than 772 miles of northern Alberta forest.

THAILAND – Government bans ‘rude’ opinions ahead of crucial referendum

(Reuters) BANGKOK – From the question of Britain’s place in Europe to the choice of New Zealand’s flag, referendums worldwide are usually preceded by unbridled debate. Not so under Thailand’s junta.

Many Thais are chafing under strict new regulations governing discussion ahead of an Aug. 7 referendum on a constitution written by the ruling military junta.

The junta that seized power in a May 2014 coup has already threatened to jail anyone campaigning for or against the constitution, which critics say firmly establishes the military’s political influence.

The 14 rules, which were issued by the Election Commission and formally became law last Monday, make even well-meaning discussion risky, say academics and experts.

Under the regulations, Thais must express their opinions with “polite words … without distorting the facts.”

“Rude, aggressive, or intimidating” interviews with the media are banned. So is organizing a panel discussion “with intent to incite political unrest.” Also forbidden are “T-shirts, pins and ribbons” that encourage others to campaign.

Violators can be jailed for up to 10 years. Dissenters in military-run Thailand often receive lengthy prison sentences under draconian laws on computer crime and royal defamation.

The referendum will be a test of the junta’s popularity and a potential flashpoint in a turbulent political scene, say analysts. The military government has promised an election by mid-2017, even if the constitution is rejected.

Groups of all political stripes have denounced the draft constitution as undemocratic, with one major political party urging supporters to vote “no”.

Thailand Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha.

“To express opinions using reason. Is that so hard to understand?” Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha [former Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Army] snapped at a reporter who asked about the new rules on Tuesday.

Prayuth has ruled largely unchallenged but anti-junta activists have recently staged small but frequent protests.

Nine activists were jailed last week on charges of sedition and computer crimes. Two face additional charges of insulting the monarchy.

Phubed Pisanaka, a recent law graduate who comments on the government on his Facebook account, said the rules would make him more careful. “I have to think twice about what I post and share now,” he said.

Others remain defiant. “I’ll keep expressing my opinion even though I could be criminalized,” said Kornkritch Somjittranukit, a contributor to Thailand’s online publication Prachatai. “If thinking differently is a crime, living inside or outside of jail is practically the same,” he said.

RUSSIA – Russia’s VE Day

(from RealClearDefense .com) On Monday, Russia celebrated the 71st anniversary of the end of World War II – known there as The Great Patriotic War – with its annual Victory Day celebrations and parade.

More than just a commemoration of Russian sacrifices during the war, since Soviet times the celebration is part of a carefully crafted military spectacle intended to tell the U.S. and the West that Russia is a world power worthy of respect – and even fear.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, center, stands with WWII veterans during the Victory Day military parade marking 71 years after the victory in WWII in Red Square in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 9, 2016. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

That’s a message that Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin wants the United States to hear loud and clear.

“The Victory Day parade, with all its loudly trumpeted pomp and technology, is also a clear message to Russia’s perceived threats and enemies that Russia is not to be trifled with militarily,” Peter Zwack, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general and former U.S. military attaché to Russia said.

“The 71st anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany is the underlying theme, but in reality these recent parades are a robust display to the world and also Russia’s domestic population of Russia’s modern military might,” Zwack said.  “While initially there are vehicles and troops in commemorative World War II battle dress, overwhelmingly this is an aggressive assertion of today’s Russian military which has had recent, widely publicized successes in Syria.”

[President Putin revived the Soviet-style tank parade in 2008, seeing the day as a way to rally citizens around the flag.] Russia holds the impressive parade in Moscow’s Red Square. Traditionally, the parade is in three parts: a procession of the Ground Forces, the “military hardware demonstration” that showcases weapons systems new and old, and the “fly-by of the air forces.”

One of the ways Russia asserts its might is the tradition of rolling out new hardware for the entire world to see. This year’s parade and aerial flybys were no different – and the Kremlin uses its Twitter and Instagram presence to gain maximum publicity.

Russia’s new highly automated T-14 Armata tank is replacing older models.

Zwack said that in recent years Putin revived much of the Soviet-era pomp associated with the celebration as part of a carefully orchestrated campaign to bolster Russian pride. But not only will rolling tanks and soaring aircraft be on display – so will the Russian political leadership.

“Vladimir Putin is always front and center of the Victory Day parade with his defense minister, Sergey Shoigu,” Zwack said “He is clearly the ‘Alpha Leader’ in charge, and he conveys that he will at all costs and any sacrifice protect and defend the Russian populace against all threats. In his mind he benefits internationally, and most importantly, domestically from this full blown display and resurgence of Russia’s military capability and competence.”

(The news briefs above are from wire reports and staff reports posted at CBS News on May 9 and a May 8 report, Reuters on May 5 and RealClearDefense on May 9.)