David Webster
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dwebster.bsky.social
David Webster
@dwebster.bsky.social

Historian: Canada, Quebec, Asia, Timor-Leste, human rights, development. Latest book Challenge the Strong Wind https://www.ubcpress.ca/challenge-the-strong-wind . On unceded Abenaki land, maintenant connu sous le nom Estrie/Eastern Townships. .. more

Political science 38%
Sociology 22%
Pinned
Now available in print

EVERYDAY DIPLOMATS
The Global Solidarity Movement for Timor-Leste, 1975-99

Edited by Hannah Loney, Zelia Pereira, David Webster & Rui Graca Feijo

pressbooks.pub/everydaydipl...
Everyday Diplomats
Around the world, movements in support of East Timor (Timor-Leste) during the 24-year Indonesian occupation made a diplomatic difference. This book tells some of their stories.
pressbooks.pub

Truth. All prime ministers tend to visit China.
There's a lot funny about this WaPo editorial about Canada "cozying up" to China, but I laughed out loud at Carney being the "first prime minister to visit China since 2017."

So, the first PM since the last PM. And the PM before him, and the PM before him. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Canada will regret cozying up with China to troll Trump
But global trade is going to happen with or without the United States.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by David Webster

There's a lot funny about this WaPo editorial about Canada "cozying up" to China, but I laughed out loud at Carney being the "first prime minister to visit China since 2017."

So, the first PM since the last PM. And the PM before him, and the PM before him. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...
Opinion | Canada will regret cozying up with China to troll Trump
But global trade is going to happen with or without the United States.
www.washingtonpost.com

The days of easy relations between Canada and the USA are over, Lester Pearson famously said in 1951.

Maybe a Cdn govt will finally act on this knowledge?

There are multiple books written on this, it is a core concept in the history of Canadian foreign relations. Weird to see the term mocked.

Canada has used the term "middle power" since the 1940s.

When has a Canadian PM's action ever matched his rhetoric?

Nothing historians haven't said before, but good to see him speak the words.

Of course, he is wrong in saying Canada has pursued a values based foreign policy in the past.

Guest speaker Danny Beaton ( Mohawk) this week at @ubishops.bsky.social Sherbrooke Quebec.
1941

Reposted by David Webster

I guess it is time to start reading about Sudetenland

Want, but i just bought a Korean EV last year so can't

Plus ça change, plus c'est pareil. #cdnhist
The Nobel Prize museum in Oslo subtweeting the fuck out of Trump today.
🎉 Can you believe Wikipedia is 25 years old? 🎂

A quarter-century of free knowledge—built on a simple but powerful idea: show your sources. That commitment to citations is one of our favorite things about Wikipedia. ℹ️📚🔍
🧵⬇️ (1/5)

#Wikipedia25 #WikipediaDay @wikipedia.org

Action by Indonesia and Malaysia likely played a role too.

On remercie M Legault de ses services ;)

Reposted by David Webster

DERNIÈRE HEURE: François Legault annoncera sa démission aujourd’hui.

ici.radio-canada.ca/info/en-dire...
[Couverture en direct] François Legault annoncera sa démission
Le premier ministre du Québec tient un point de presse à 11 h pour annoncer sa démission.
ici.radio-canada.ca

"Canadian officials are likely overestimating the Trump admin’s ability to retaliate on Grok. If the admin wants to retaliate & engage in a de facto defence of non-consensual sexual images & child sexual abuse material, the best response is to let them." theconversation.com/why-canadas-... #BlokGrok
Why Canada’s reaction to the Grok scandal is so muted in the midst of a global outcry
Governments around the world are clamping down on Grok’s production of nonconsensual sexual images. Why does Canada seem to be missing in action?
theconversation.com

Is there any confirmation on the kid from a news outlet? cant find anything online

This still matters, too.
Fourth Palestinian baby freezes to death in Gaza since November https://aje.news/1ryphy

Follow Senators Pate and Simons!
I’ve decided to leave X/Twitter.

Thank you to @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social for her leadership and for continuing to educate the public about the harms enabled by the platform.

You can still find me on Instagram @kimpateonthehill and on Bluesky @kpateonthehill.bsky.social

Only Grok not X. Malaysia too.

Are there any conservatives left in America? I can only see Trump worshippers.

Reposted by David Webster

I’ve decided to leave X/Twitter.

Thank you to @senatorpaulasimons.bsky.social for her leadership and for continuing to educate the public about the harms enabled by the platform.

You can still find me on Instagram @kimpateonthehill and on Bluesky @kpateonthehill.bsky.social

Malaysia "issued notices to X and xAI this month to demand the implementation of effective ... safeguards. However, the responses it received relied mostly on user-initiated reporting mechanisms and failed to address the inherent risks posed by Grok..." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Malaysia blocks Elon Musk’s Grok AI over fake, sexualised images
Country follows Indonesia in restricting access after global outcry over X’s AI tool
www.theguardian.com

"The government sees non-consensual sexual deepfakes as a serious violation of human rights, dignity and the safety of citizens in the digital space," Indonesian Communication and Digital Affairs Minister Meutya Hafid said.

www.cbc.ca/news/busines...
Malaysia, Indonesia block Elon Musk's Grok over sexualized AI images | CBC News
Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk's company xAI, as concerns grew among global authorities that it was be...
www.cbc.ca

Indonesia's communications minister Meutya Hafid is, like Canada's Elon Solomon, a former journalist. But a much more courageous one.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meutya_...
Meutya Hafid - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org

Indonesia leads the way, Malaysia follows, as Canada refuses to act to block child sexual abuse materials #BlokGrok

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Indonesia blocks Musk’s Grok chatbot due to risk of pornographic content
Move comes after governments and regulators from Europe to Asia have condemned the AI tool and some have opened inquiries into sexualised content
www.theguardian.com

Tenured faculty generally use it to ignore precarious faculty tho