Ryan Dunch

In memory of Professor Murray Rubinstein [Obituary] Professor Murray A. Rubinstein Historian of Taiwan, Religion, and Identity Ph.D., New York University (1976) Professor Emeritus, Baruch College, City University of New York Senior Research…

Sharing this obituary on behalf of the European Association of Taiwan Studies as we remember Professor Murray Rubinstein in our own way and honour his profound contributions to Taiwan Studies and to our scholarly community: eats-taiwan.eu/news/in-memo...

picture of Alex Pretti

Alex Pretti was an ICU nurse serving veterans. He died trying to protect protestors being assaulted. A group of anonymous & masked men fired chemicals into his face, beat him, disarmed him, and shot him in broad daylight in front of witnesses. Then his government smeared him & defended his murder.

Cc. Award winning Canadian editorial cartoonist, @deadder.bsky.social

tldr: a predictable autocrat far away is preferential to an unpredictable one next door

With Trade Deal, Canada Bets on China For all its risks, Beijing has become a more predictable partner than the United States under Trump.

wrote on why the Canadian-Chinese deal makes sense in the age of Trump (had to update *while writing* which is just how the news is nowadays)

foreignpolicy.com/2026/01/20/c...

"Canada could become a clean energy powerhouse that harnesses our natural advantages in renewable energy and critical minerals. Doing so could also lift our manufacturing sector to unprecedented heights, creating hundreds of thousands of new, well-paid jobs for Canadian workers." #cdnpoli #climate

If my uncle gives me his Harvard diploma, does that mean I am a Harvard graduate? Asking for a friend.

Senior with influenza waited 90 hours in Edmonton emergency department, family says Patients are languishing for days in makeshift waiting areas to receive care

Haven’t been on here in ages… but today I’m back to share my family’s story about being stuck in the emergency dept at an Alberta hospital for more than 90 hours. The UCP is fiddling while the system burns.

@picardonhealth.bsky.social

www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/artic...

Deep down America's allies know that only Americans can put a stop to the madness.

The fact that they can't or won't is why the damage to our partnerships will last far beyond this President.

There's a long, miserable history of the US installing leader and being shocked, shocked that this leader (the agent) does not do exactly what the US (the principal) wants. Because, well, the agent has his/her own interests (again, shocking!) and those don't match up with what the US wants. 2/

Literally a publication for eight-year olds 40 years ago

Ask yourself: If Donald Trump was a Russian asset, what would he be doing differently?

If your answer is “nothing,” then ask yourself this:

If the US President is a Russian asset, what should *I* be doing differently?

Danielle Smith's comments about the judiciary are among the most worrying things she's said about Alberta democracy.

Conservatives need to stand up to her. Now.

open.substack.com/pub/drjaredw...

This is among the most democratically dangerous things Danielle Smith has said.

She wants to remove all checks and balances on her power and projects herself as the embodiment of "the people."

We have left the realm of liberal democracy in this province.

Calling this a “peace plan” is like calling a bank robbery a “balance adjustment.”

Or like telling a mugging victim:
“Good news! I’ve negotiated a settlement.
You keep the hospital bills, he keeps your wallet.”

Feet on a train seat? Yeah, okay, not good behaviour. But in no way should that merit the kind of aggressive response I saw today.

If you can't talk to a kid about obnoxious but non-violent behaviour without clearly being on the verge of snapping, you should not be trusted with public safety.

This is what's at stake.

The UCP is not only dodging its responsibility to explain how Bill 9 is in any way proportionate or justifiable in a free and democratic society.

They are putting children at far greater risk of suicide.

Alberta to invoke notwithstanding clause to shield 3 transgender bills from court challenges | CBC News The Alberta government has tabled legislation that seeks to invoke the notwithstanding clause to shield a suite of bills that affects transgender youth and adults from legal challenges.

I am pretty sure that when Merv Leitch and Peter Lougheed first created the notwithstanding clause, they didn’t mean it to be deployed to bully and oppress literal school children. #ableg #abpoli #TransRightsAreHumanRights #Alberta #notwithstandingclause

Populism, freedom, and democracy in Alberta (and beyond) Lessons from my grade fiver's homework assignment

The UCP has invoked the notwithstanding clause pre-emptively. Again. This time to strip the Charter rights of trans children and adults.

This is sadly and entirely predictable from a populist government bent on removing checks on its power. 🧵

drjaredwesley.substack.com/p/populism-f...

It’s worth remembering that the UCP aren’t just robbing Albertans of their charter rights…

Amery openly conceded that these laws also violate the Alberta Human Rights Act and the Alberta Bill of Rights.

That the UCP just rewrote.

#abpoli #ableg #cdnpoli

Ping Shan Heritage Trail - Wikipedia

It really depends what you want. You could easily spend 48 hours in just Kowloon and HK island. If you want to go further afield, a visit to the big Buddha on Lantau is worth it, and in 2018 we quite enjoyed a self-guided walking tour of Ping Shan Heritage trail, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ping_Sh...

Now do universities and colleges

An update on my column: Parliamentary committee drops most contentious parts of its demand for data on research funding. It now wants aggregated, not disaggregated data. www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...

Opinion: How much are MPs entitled to know about research grants? Not as much as they think A parliamentary committee is asking for academics’ private information on a strange anti-DEI crusade

How much are MPs entitled to know about research grants? Not as much as they think. A parliamentary committee is asking for researchers' personal information in what seems like an anti-DEI crusade, by @picardonhealth.bsky.social www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti... via @theglobeandmail.com

Sometimes questions are more revealing than answers.

The interview yesterday by Vassy Kapelos with Demetrios Nicolaides is one of those times.

Please enjoy these highlights.

Fabulous and inspiring effort -- well done to you and all the volunteers! #ForeverCanada

Today, I submitted 456,365 Albertans’ signatures to Elections Alberta, petitioning the Premier to do the right thing, avoid a divisive and economically harmful referendum, and allow MLAs to vote and reaffirm that Alberta’s future is in Canada.🇨🇦

Alberta is #ForeverCanadian

It just got 10% dumber.

Not a joke: Trump just imposed an additional 10 percent tariff on Canada because he still doesn't understand that Reagan was a vehement free trader. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

"Mate, I can't do anything but tell it to you straight. This Canada thing is literally the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The Canadians ran an advertisement showing Ronald Reagan being against tariffs. Guess what? Ronald Reagan was against tariffs."

Canada was caught, red handed, putting up a fraudulent advertisement on Ronald Reagan’s Speech on Tariffs. The Reagan Foundation said that they, “created an ad campaign using selective audio and video of President Ronald Reagan. The ad misrepresents the Presidential Radio Address,” and “did not seek nor receive permission to use and edit the remarks. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is reviewing its legal options in this matter.” The sole purpose of this FRAUD was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their “rescue” on Tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States. Now the United States is able to defend itself against high and overbearing Canadian Tariffs (and those from the rest of the World as well!). Ronald Reagan LOVED Tariffs for purposes of National Security and the Economy, but Canada said he didn’t! Their Advertisement was to be taken down, IMMEDIATELY, but they let it run last night during the World Series, knowing that it was a FRAUD. Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

The president announces an arbitrary price hike on Americans because his feelings are hurt by an ad accurately quoting Ronald Reagan’s criticism of tariffs