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Jul 8 2023

Thumbs up. Fort Vilnius. Space Factories.

Jul 8, 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.
A technical problem ...: Yesterday, I noticed that I list a significant number of subscribers all of which appear to have unsubscribed to this newsletter at exactly the same time. As I normally lose (and gain) just a few subscribers every month at random times, I chalked up yesterday's timed mass unsubscriptions up to a malfunction of the Goodbits platform used to publish this newsletter and I re-subscribed those unsubscribed accounts. You may, though, have actually wanted to unsubscribe and, if you did, my apologies -- and please hit the unsub button at the bottom again. 

Thanks, as always, for reading, and enjoy your weekend.
Canada
B.C. port strike enters Day 7 with no end in sight
As the strike drags on, a growing number of business groups are calling for Parliament to be recalled and pass back-to-work legislation.  [Global]
A Saskatchewan court rules emoji is just as valid as a signature and orders a farmer to pay $61,442 for unfulfilled contract. [The Guardian]
Responding to a question about the WestJet CEO's complaints, Omar Alghabra admitted that there were staffing issues but said there were many factors behind the continued delays. [Global]
From the provinces
Helena Carson and Dina Kalouti are among nine women the government has helped return to Canada from camps for ISIS families. [Global]
The festival organizers said they were told by police they would need extra security if they allowed Russian culture to be showcased in the annual festival. [Global]
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Elsewhere
Agreement on the new spending target was one of the outstanding issues ahead of a two-day NATO summit on Tuesday and Wednesday next week in Vilnius. [Global]
NATO flexes muscle to protect Vilnius summit near Russia, Belarus
NATO has turned Vilnius into a fortress defended by advanced weaponry to protect U.S. President Joe Biden and other alliance leaders meeting next week only 32 km (20 miles) from Lithuania's razor-wire topped border fence with Russian ally Belarus. [Reuters]
Rutte said he and his coalition partners have different views on migration policy and it was determined Friday those differences "are irreconcilable." [Global]
Voter discontent with Germany's coalition government has reached a high point. The far-right populists are the only opposition party to benefit from this trend, according to the latest Deutschlandtrend survey. [Deutsche Welle]
Researchers hope their report will change the way local and national governments invest in community services. [The Guardian]
Media

In his journal, A.M. Rosenthal wrote that the Times was "involved in one of the biggest, most voluminous and probably one of the saddest and most damaging stories it has ever confronted journalistically." [Nieman Journalism Lab]
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Tech
In-space manufacturing startup aces pharma experiment in orbit
One more big test remains for Varda's first-of-its-kind "space factory." [Ars Technica]
Issued this day ...
... in 1996: Sc #1612a se-tenant horizontal strip of 5: Canadian Olympic Gold Medallists. Design: Mark Koudis
Issued to mark the centennial of the modern Olympics, this series features five of Canada’s gold medallists, from left: Sc 1610 Fanny Rosenfeld of Barrie ON, 400m relay in 1928; Sc 1611 Gerard Ouellette from Windsor, ON, smallbore rifle, prone, in 1956; Sc 1612 Percy Williams of Vancouver, 100m, 200m, in 1928; Sc 1609 Étienne Desmarteau of Montreal, 56 lb. weight throw, 1904; Sc 1608 Ethel Catherwood of Saskatoon, high jump in 1928

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