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Jun 4 2023

Strait drama. Sargeant sacked. Space power.

Jun 4, 2023
David Akin's Roundup
Clippings of #cdnpoli, #media, and #tech content aimed at those with an interest in Canadian politics and policy. And sometimes Canadian postage stamps.
Elsewhere
Chinese warship nearly hits U.S. destroyer in Taiwan Strait during joint Canada-U.S. mission
Exclusive video by Global News captured the moment a Chinese warship came close to hitting an American destroyer in international waters of the South China Sea. [Global]
China’s defense minister has defended sailing a warship across the path of an American destroyer and Canadian frigate transiting the Taiwan Strait, telling a gathering of some of the world’s top defense officials in Singapore that such so-called “freedom of navigation” patrols are a provocation to China. Gen. Li Shangfu told the Shangri-La Dialogue on Sunday that China doesn’t have any problems with “innocent passage” but that “we must prevent attempts that try to use those freedom of navigation (patrols), that innocent passage, to exercise hegemony of navigation.” [AP]
Dogged by accusations of proximity to the Kremlin, Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party had hoped to clear its name by setting up a parliamentary inquiry to investigate foreign interference in French politics. But a draft report ... shows the move backfired spectacularly, finding instead that Le Pen's policy stances sometimes echo the "official language of Putin's regime." [France24]

The major oil-producing countries led by Saudi Arabia and Russia are deciding whether to make more cuts to the amount of crude they supply to the global economy. Previous cuts from the OPEC+ alliance have done little more than keep prices from falling, and international benchmark Brent crude is only trading around $75 per barrel. That's less than dominant OPEC oil cartel member Saudi Arabia would like. Russia, the leader of the non-OPEC allies, has indicated it doesn't see a need to change production levels. Oil ministers are meeting Sunday to discuss oil output at OPEC headquarters in Vienna. [AP]
Wealthy countries have pledged to contribute a combined $100 billion a year to help developing nations manage climate change. A Reuters review turned up at least $3 billion toward those efforts that was spent not on solar panels or wind farms but on coal-fired power, airports, crime-fighting or other programs that do little or nothing to ease the effects of climate change. [Reuters]
Canada
Christopher Ragan: A permanent decline in income spread across the country is bad enough but the impact of oil and gas phase-out would fall hardest on Alberta. [Globe and Mail]
When advise she was a target of foreign interference by China, it took less than a second for B.C. MP Jenny Kwan to decide that she wouldn't let Beijing weaken her resolve. [Global]
A 38-year-old sergeant in the Canadian Army was fined $3,000 and issued a severe reprimand after he made what a military judge described as 'utterly disgusting' anti-Jewish comments while conducting an infantry training course in 2021. [CTV]
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From the provinces
David Chartrand, president of the Manitoba Métis Federation, says a vote held online and in person on a self-government treaty was 'as extraordinary as the assembly itself.' [Global]
Media
YouTube says it will stop removing content that falsely claims the 2020 election and other past U.S. presidential elections were marred by widespread fraud, errors or glitches. The Google-owned video service said in a blog post Friday that it wanted to avoid the unintended effect of curtailing political speech without meaningfully reducing the risk of violence or other real-world harm.  [AP]
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman said Saturday that journalists from countries that Russia regards as unfriendly have been banned from covering this year’s economic forum in St. Petersburg, one of the country’s showpiece events. The move underlines the intensifying animosity between Russia and countries that have imposed sanctions connected to the fighting in Ukraine or that have criticized Moscow.  [AP]
Gannett has around 200 newsrooms, and editorial employees at around two dozen of those will go on strike. [Nieman Journalism Lab]
Tech
In a First, Caltech's Space Solar Power Demonstrator Wirelessly Transmits Power in Space
A space solar power testbed launched into orbit in January has transmitted energy wirelessly using fabric-like transmitting arrays. [CalTech]
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Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1958: Sc #378: La Vérendrye. Design: Gerald Mathew Trottier.

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