David Harmes

María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, wins Nobel Peace Prize — The Washington Post The Nobel Prize committee recognized María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, for fighting for democracy in her country.

“In a world where democracy is in retreat…”

Keystone XL being back in the news is a reminder that no debate in Canadian politics ever really ends.

Tracked: Russia’s drone mothership causing mayhem around Europe — The Telegraph Tanker seized off France is believed to have been used for ‘hybrid war’ attacks in Denmark and Germany

“Experts have speculated that the ship was used to launch drones that caused mayhem by shutting down infrastructure, leading to increasing military patrols. The tactic represents a new front in Russia’s growing hybrid war against European allies of Ukraine.”

Nice to see “None” in a respectable 3rd place.

Ottawa launches Defence Investment Agency to streamline procurement New agency will oversee procurements valued at $100-million or more

“The goal of this new agency is to equip the Canadian Armed Forces at the “speed of relevancy”.

Hundreds of Generals Try to Keep a Straight Face — The Atlantic Pete Hegseth gathered commanders from around the globe to unveil new physical-fitness standards.

“It’s something I would expect from a captain or a major.”

U.S. Defence Secretary abruptly summons military commanders to Virginia meeting Hundreds of generals and admirals have been called to a meeting next week, though the directive did not offer a reason

“The directive did not offer a reason for the gathering next Tuesday of senior commanders of the one-star rank or higher and their top advisers at the Marine Corps base in Quantico.”

They're turning people away at packed Toronto launch event for @avilewis.ca for NDP leader campaign tonight at Tranzac club. Very encouraging. I've known and respected Avi for decades and he would make an excellent prime minister. An accomplished communicator with exciting ideas, how's his French?

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📢 How to Pitch to Independent Media!
🗓️ September 23, 12:00–1:00 p.m. EST (Zoom)

rabbleca is launching our school for rabble rousers! 🎓 First up: a workshop with editor Nick Seebruch on how to get published in independent media.

🔗 Register below! buff.ly/8CHoZeO

America Surrenders in the Global Information Wars — The Atlantic The U.S. is reorienting its foreign policy to protect governments that manipulate and suppress information.

“Foreign broadcasters and organizations that fight foreign propaganda are a bargain. They cost very little in comparison with the billions we spend on defense. They have the potential to produce huge benefits. So why cut them?”

The fellowship offers a $5,000 stipend, mentorship from rabbleca editors, and the chance to publish feature reporting on social justice.
✍️ Applications are now open for the 2025/26 Jack Layton Journalism for Change Fellowship. Deadline: Sept. 22, 2025.

#hiring
🔗 rabble.ca/general/jack...

Interesting report on media economics in Canada.

Opinion: Donald Trump is on the brink of becoming a dictator. Can he be stopped? As the guardrails of American democracy fall one by one, it is no longer a question of where the President is going, but how fast he will get there

A national General Strike may be one of the few tools left.

YouTube’s Sneaky AI ‘Experiment’ — The Atlantic The video platform is quietly using AI to “improve clarity” in uploaded content. Why?

“They’re training us, the audience, to get used to the AI look and eventually view it as normal.”

Carney suggests he's considering rescinding Online News Act — National Post Meta controversially banned news articles from its Canadian users in response to the legislation

“This government is a big believer in the value of … local news and the importance of ensuring that that is disseminated as widely and as quickly as possible. So, we will look for all avenues to do that.”

Why No One Knows What’s Happening Tonight — The Atlantic A love letter to music listings

“When listings began to disappear, many imagined that the internet would simply fill the void—that artists and their fans (as well as nonprofit institutions and their audiences) would find new ways to connect.”

Inside CBS’ ‘agonizing decision’ to cancel Colbert’s top-rated late-night show | CNN Business While “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert was on his usual mid-summer vacation earlier this month, CBS executives weighed the pros and cons of canceling the unique but unfortunately unprofitable show...

The bottom line, according to one person close to Stephen Colbert, is that "The Late Show" is a "casualty of the merger." Here's what that means: www.cnn.com/2025/07/18/m...

The Drone Factories Fueling Russia’s Unprecedented Assaults on Ukraine — The Wall Street Journal The latest assault included more drones in a single night than Russia used in an entire month last year

“Ukrainian officials say Russia is now producing more than 5,000 of the long-range drones and decoys each month, with some able to fly 2,500 kilometers to their target.”

Reminds me of the adage: To be pro-free speech is to stand-up for the viewpoints you don’t agree with. Otherwise you are just pro-your side.

What happens to the news business when people stop clicking? — The Logic If you use Google to search the internet these days, there’s a chance you won’t be served a list of links or news articles. Instead, you may be met with a chatbot’s attempts to answer your query direc...

“The proportion of news-related searches that don’t result in any click-throughs to publisher websites has jumped to nearly 69 per cent.”

Elon Musk says he has created a new US political party — AFP News Elon Musk, an ex-ally of US President Donald Trump, said Saturday he had launched a new political party in the United States to challenge what the tech billionaire described as the country's

Finally some good news. 🙌

Opinion: Suddenly, MPs are behaving like grown-ups — The Globe and Mail A mostly unreported handshake in the House of Commons was a moment of hope after a decade of rancour

“This is the Parliament that Canadians want to see, a place where MPs respect each other rather than erode the institution by turning into a content studio for creating snarky partisan social media posts and decontextualized attack ads.”

Doug Dynasty: A behind-the-curtain look at the insatiable political ambitions of Douglas R. Ford — Toronto Life Is Ontario’s pugnacious premier charting a course for Ottawa? He definitely isn’t not considering a run for prime minister. A long, hard look behind the curtain

“Following Poilievre’s disastrous showing on election night, there’s a crack at the top of the federal Conservatives and a minority Liberal government precariously holding power.”

Can’t wait! 😻

Carney commits Canada to biggest increase in military spending since Second World War, doubling budget by 2035 — The Globe and Mail Ottawa will allocate additional $50-billion in defence-related government spending every year under new NATO pledge

An industrial strategy for uncertain times.

Option A for sure. We need weekend service.

The Rob Ford Netflix documentary is extra surreal for me. Because I'm in it — Toronto Star I watched Ford like a hawk as the Star's city hall bureau chief. Reactions to “Trainwreck: Mayor of Mayhem” are as varied as evaluations of him as mayor, from martyred best-mayor-ever to a natural hum...

It’s a fair treatment. Definitely worth watching the documentary.

Might be useful as a teaching resource.

Same Sea, New Phish: Russian Government-Linked Social Engineering Targets App-Specific Passwords - The Citizen Lab Keir Giles, a prominent expert on Russia, was targeted with a new form of social-engineering attack that leverages App-Specific Passwords. Google links the operation to UNC6293, a Russian state-backed...

NEW REPORT: Russia's state-backed hackers have a new trick.

In collab w/ Google Threat Intelligence Group, we investigated an attack against prominent Russian expert
@keirgiles.bsky.social & uncovered an elaborate attack targeting App-Specific Passwords (ASPs).

citizenlab.ca/2025/06/russ...