China thinks it can arbitrarily detain anyone. It is time for change | Michael Caster

The lack of global outcry over the detention of two Canadians virtually guarantees the next such case

Canada’s foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, has called China’s detention of Canadian citizens Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor a “worrying precedent” but for many China watchers it is all too familiar.

It reminds us of the detentions of other foreign citizens, such as Canadian Kevin Garratt, Briton Peter Humphrey, Sweden’s Gui Minhai, or Taiwanese Lee Ming-che, and that over the years China has institutionalised arbitrary and secret detention affecting innumerable Chinese citizens, and with little international consequence.

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‘There’s no major city like it’: Toronto’s unique ravine system under threat

Without urgent action against environmental degradation, the forest ravines covering 20% of the city could be reduced to sterile valleys within decades

It can be difficult to keep up with Lawrence Warriner while walking; running, it’s next to impossible. Many of the trails that weave through the ravines near his house in Toronto are well groomed, but for Warriner – a decorated trail runner and coach – the more exciting ones are off the beaten path, tracks only faintly visible to the eye.

He has come to these forests, which rise along the sides of the river valleys that snake through the city, ever since he was a child. He has discovered a secret communal stone grill next to a sandy beach, hidden by trees; he has watched awestruck as a dozen white-tail deer crossed a bridge. He has also seen things he can’t explain, such as a parade of men, women and children, clad in period clothing, walking the woods at dusk with antique rifles slung over their shoulders.

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On Huawei, Trudeau fails to assert the Canadian values he touts

Either that, or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau does get it, and he's desperately afraid that the rest of us are going to figure it out. Either way, his evasions, elisions, dodges and deflections in response to the detention of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wangzhou on a U.S. extradition warrant earlier this month betray his preference to cringe and cower rather than stand up to Xi Jinping's increasingly bellicose police state in Beijing.

Spain’s premier to break ice in Cuba after three decades

Spanish premier Pedro Sanchez will embark on the first official bilateral visit by a Spanish leader to Cuba in 32 years on Thursday, at a time when the Communist-run island is looking towards Europe as its ties with the United States fester. Sanchez, who is traveling with two senior ministers and executives from two dozen companies, aims to deepen strong commercial relations and bring political ones up to par with them, according to his government.

Canada now world’s largest legal marijuana marketplace

And there was more good news for pot aficionados: Hours before a handful of retail outlets opened in the country's easternmost province a federal official told The Associated Press that Canada will pardon all those with convictions for possessing up to 30 grams of marijuana, the now-legal threshold. A formal announcement was planned for later Wednesday.

Ten must-see Usda Fas reports

As the global produce community comes together in Orlando at the Produce Marketing Association's Fresh Summit, let me rank the top ten reports from the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service this year. If you are not familiar with the USDA FAS, the agency issues Global Agricultural Information Network reports that provide market intelligence from global growing regions and U.S. export markets.

Sexual assault crisis lines report spike in calls in wake of Kavanaugh nomination

Vancouver crisis centres say they've experienced a spike in calls about sexual assault and trauma in the wake of ongoing discussions about whether Brett Kavanaugh, who has been accused of sexual assault, will be appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Christine Blasey Ford is sworn in before testifying during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to be an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

Supreme Court rejects billionaire’s 10-year plea to cut beach access

A drawn-out beach battle has finally come to a close: on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court announced it will not hear tech billionaire's Vinod Khosla's appeal to overturn an earlier ruling giving the public access to a popular California beach running through his property. A venture capitalist who rose to prominence during the 1980s, Khosla, the Sun Microsystems founder, has spent almost a decade fighting to close a path that allowed the public access to Martin's Beach, a beloved surfing destination.

Canadaa s Wannabe Trump Comes Up Short

There are big things happening in Canadian conservative politics: Mad Max is on the scene. That would be Quebec member of parliament Maxime Bernier, who recently parted ways with Canada's Conservative Party over his more restrictionist views on immigration and his more libertarian position on ongoing trade disputes with the United States.

Canada and US reach free trade deal with Mexico

Agreement, reached just before a midnight deadline, replaces the 24-year-old North American Free Trade Agreement, which President Donald Trump had called a job-killing disaster Prime Minister Justin Trudeau leaves the Office of the Prime Minister and Privy Council after an agreement was reached in the NAFTA negotiations in Ottawa, Ontario, Sept. 30, 2018.

Loosen grip on dairy sector to help NAFTA talks, New York Republican says

The pressure on the Liberals to loosen protections around Canada's dairy sector took new focus on Sunday as the key stumbling block in North American Free Trade Agreement talks came under scrutiny and spin on political talk shows on both sides of the border. A member of an influential Congressional panel - and a Donald Trump supporter - said in a Canadian interview that providing American dairy farmers with more access to the Canadian market may appease the president.

Vancouver Port Celebrates Completion of Freight Rail Project

A tugboat maneuvers through waiting freighters on the Columbia River near the Port of Vancouver in Vancouver, Wash. Port of Vancouver administrators, along with political and industry leaders, stood atop a small stage in a largely vacant marine terminal the morning of July 31 to celebrate the completion of the $251 million West Vancouver Freight Access project.

Man Claims to Be Woman to Get Insurance Discount; Canadian Government Complies

Via Allahpundit on Twitter comes this story that well illustrates the way that people can manipulate a "choose your own gender" society to their advantage: A Canadian man in his early 20s was unhappy with the high quote he got from his car insurance company, so he decided to do something about it: legally switch his gender from male to female. The cunning 24-year-old resident of Alberta, Canada, first detailed his insurance stratagem on Reddit back in April, boasting that changing his gender on paper saved him nearly $1,100 a year.