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Sep 24 2023

US intelligence. Manitoba history. Nuclear maintenance. The Roundup

Sep 24, 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.
Canada
U.S. Provided Canada With Intelligence on Killing of Sikh Leader
American intelligence gave assistance, but communications intercepted by Canada were more definitive in linking India to the killing of Hardeep Singh Nijjar. [NYT]

Two groups in the Canadian Sikh diaspora are calling for Canada's political parties to "present a united front" on India after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a "potential link" between the shooting death of a local leader and the Indian government. [CP]
B.C. Premier David Eby said he suspects that the federal government is holding back information that could help the province protect residents who have connections to India. [Global]
Donald Wright: Culture wars are tiring, divisive and ultimately destructive. We deserve an honest recognition that history is complicated. [Ott Citizen]
Comparing recent special government programs for Ukrainians, Afghans and Syrians, data overwhelmingly show more Ukrainians are being helped, support matched by widespread support from civil society. The presence and mobilization of a vast and well-organized Ukrainian diaspora in Canada, as well as the relative absence of securitization concerns in relation to Ukrainians, have shaped the very warm welcome they have received. [Canadian Foreign Policy Journal]
Indigenous veterans in Ottawa held a cleansing ceremony at the Aboriginal Veterans Memorial after a Nazi flag was draped over it. [APTN]
From the provinces
Manitoba could make history by electing first First Nations premier to lead province
 A First Nations premier would head a province for the first time in Canadian history if the New Democrats win the Oct. 3 Manitoba election, and the significance is not lost on party leader Wab Kinew. [CP]
Premier Heather Stefanson and her Progressive Conservatives have staked their political lives on tackling crime and boosting public safety. It turns out Manitoba voters think Wab Kinew and the NDP could do just as good of a job. [Wpg Free Press]
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Elsewhere
India’s Clash With Canada Over Killing Follows New Wave of Calls for Sikh Homeland
Prime Minister Narendra Modi aired security concerns to Western leaders in the months before the killing of a Canadian Sikh activist. [WSJ]
The escalating campaign — led by Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other Republicans — has cast a pall over programs that study not just political disinformation but also the quality of medical information online. [WaPo]
With social-media platforms pulling back from policing false political claims, and Trump gearing up for a fight, Biden’s 2024 campaign is rebooting its online defenses. [Politico]

Americans’ views of politics and elected officials are unrelentingly negative, with little hope of improvement on the horizon. 65% of Americans say they always or often feel exhausted when thinking about politics. By contrast, just 10% say they always or often feel hopeful about politics. [Pew Research]
Minsk, with the aid of the Belarusian Red Cross, has brought more than 2,150 minors into its territory since the invasion of Ukraine, claiming to be offering them 'respite'. [Le Monde]
Norway and China are among the top countries scaling electric vehicles at rates needed to meet international climate goals. [World Resources Institute]
Media
As Rupert Murdoch plans to step down as chair of Fox and News Corp, his son Lachlan brings a different leadership style. [WSJ]
Echoes across the airwaves
With little content moderation or oversight, podcasting is fertile ground for the spread of unsubstantiated claims, such as conspiracies about Ukrainian Nazis or bioweapons. Jessica Brandt, Bret Schafer, Valerie Wirtschafter, and Peter Benzoni look at whether and how Kremlin narratives spread across popular American podcasts, highlighting the complex ways that Russian propaganda interacts with U.S. domestic political discourse. [Brookings Institution]
The hidden message behind "fake" Latin filler text. [Priceonomics]
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Sci/Tech
Inside the delicate art of maintaining America's aging nuclear weapons
The U.S. will spend more than $750 billion over the next decade to overhaul nearly every part of its nuclear defenses and replace systems that in some cases are more than 50 years old. [AP]
A Saskatchewan-based tech company has developed a first of its kind app that helps farmers in grading grain quality. The new app counts grain kernels and checks for quality within seconds.  [Global]
Lanza also believes that multiple universes can exist simultaneously.  In one universe, the body can be dead. And in another it continues to exist, absorbing consciousness which migrated into this universe. [Science Natures]
Issued this day ...
Issued this day in 1999: Scott # 1810: Frontier College. Design: Renata Chubb, Glenda Rissman, Peter D.K. Scott.
Issued to mark the centennial of Frontier College, founded in Toronto in 1899. The college changed its name to United For Literacy in 2022. Whatever the name, the organization’s purpose has remained the same: to provide education and literacy training to those who seek it  and have been overlooked or left behind by the formal educational system. 

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