Canadian leading cyber sleuth, Ron Deibert, discusses the use of technology to censor, hack and spy. Trevor Cole for The Globe & Mail.
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Rights lawyer Xie Yang’s trial postponed
The trial of Chinese rights lawyer, Xie Yang, who is facing charges for inciting subversion and disrupting court order, was postponed this week after a crowd of supporters, including diplomats, gathered outside the courtroom. China Digital Times reports on Xie’s case – a case which drew international attention after Xie’s account of torture was circulated via worldwide news outlets.
China pressures Trump to keep Obama’s global warming pledge
China has a good reason for pushing compliance with the Paris agreement — they don’t have to make any emissions cuts. The Daily Caller quotes Probe International’s Patricia Adams for this report on China’s new “leader” stance in the fight against global warming.
Why overthrowing Assad won’t solve Syria’s crisis
The Western goal of keeping Syria whole, with its devout Muslims harmoniously living side by side with Alawite tribes they consider heretical, as well as with Syria’s pro-Assad Christian minority, is delusional and guaranteed to fail.
Leaked records show Shell’s complicity in massive oil corruption scandal
On the heels of the U.S. reversing an anti-corruption “resource extraction rule,” new revelations concerning Shell’s complicity in one of the largest corruption scandals in Big Oil’s history illustrate how resource-rich countries fall victim to the “resource curse” – corrupt officials making off with the revenue from sales of natural resources at the expense of the masses. Foreign Policy reports.
The knee-jerk reaction against protectionism isn’t justified, just look at the military
Where do the benefits of free trade and free markets begin? These questions are — in our ideologically driven world — too rarely asked.
Green groups condemn UN plan to use $136m from climate fund for large dams
An alliance of green groups have called out plans for UN-backed hydro projects in Nepal, Tajikistan and the Solomon Islands, saying they will have “tremendous negative impacts” on ecosystems and indigenous people. Touted as a renewable energy source, large dams account for up to a billion tonnes of greenhouse gases a year due to rotting vegetation in the water, say critics. The Guardian U.K. reports.
Why Dalai Lama’s visit to Arunachal has India asserting itself to China
While guest of honour at the Namami Brahmaputra river festival, the Dalai Lama spoke of the spiritual link to the Brahmaputra, which originates in his homeland Tibet. China’s blocking of a tributary of the Brahmaputra for the construction of a hydropower project has long been a sore spot in India-China relations. CNN-News18 reports.
Canada deports hundreds to China each year with no treatment guarantee
The lack of a formal extradition treaty has not stopped Canada from expelling people to China without assurances they will not be tortured or otherwise mistreated, according to statistics obtained by The Globe and Mail. Former Canadian ambassador to China, David Mulroney, told the newspaper that the “murky and worrisome” justice system people were returning to meant that Canada might be enabling unfair prosecutions.
All options are on the table with North Korea. But for China and the U.S., all the options are bad
Trump’s demand that China squeeze North Korea into submission won’t work on Kim Jong-un.
Bombardier nabbed $3.7B in subsidies, yet the mob demands we punish its executives
The current exec pay hooha is a timely reminder about the real scandal here: the willingness of politicians to hand over billions of dollars in subsidies to a few favoured companies. What is Bombardier really selling? Itself as a recipient for government funds. As for planes, “it is selling the making of planes, or more particularly conspicuous government support for the making of planes, or perhaps just the idea of making planes,” writes Andrew Coyne, tongue firmly in cheek, for the National Post.
Have you heard about the Yazidi people?
The Yazidi crisis is not as familiar to people as the crisis in Syria, if people know who the Yazidis are at all. Yet, everyone has heard of ISIS, so why then has one of their most brutal atrocities gained such little public attention?
The Induced Earthquakes Database
Mining-related activity accounts for the most frequent cause of human induced seismicity, followed by water reservoir impoundment, according to The Induced Earthquakes Database – a comprehensive global review of all human-induced earthquakes.
Trump and Brexit make the EU more irrelevant than ever—and Europeans have had enough
Without the U.K., the EU becomes a socialistic economy indulging weaker, poorer members.
China is desperately trying to control what information the public can get about pollution
Quartz news reports local weather bureaus in China can no longer issue smog warnings to the public. But they can still alert citizens to the “pollution scapegoat” fog.
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