Transnational Bodies

National Association of Scholars takes on Civics Education Proposal

June 21, 2021

Peter W. Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, which opposes the proposal, “Educating for American Democracy”, explains past initiatives for transforming civics education and how this current proposal’s framework, Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy, imposes a politically progressive program of instruction on almost all American students.
NATO Will Address Climate Change

June 14, 2021

NATO stated for the first time that it will address the issue of climate change by factoring in environmental concerns as part of the military alliance's activities, including conducting annual assessments on climate change.
Politico: Five Things That Could Stop a Global Tax Deal

June 09, 2021

As July 9th approaches, when Finance ministers from the world’s largest 20 economies will meet to create a plan on how to tax the world’s largest companies, Politico highlights five things that could potentially stop the deal.
BBC: Biden Expands on Trump's U.S. Investment Ban on Chinese Firms

June 07, 2021

US President Joe Biden is set to expand an order previously issued from former President Donald Trump, banning Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese tech and defense firms with alleged military ties.
NYPost: State Department Staffers Were Warned Against Probing COVID Origin

June 04, 2021

Former acting assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Arms Control, Verification, and Compliance, Thomas DiNanno, revealed that State Department staffers were warned against investigating the origin of COVID-19 because it would cause problems, opening up the possibility of a « cover-up ».
Tonkin: Australia is Becoming a Surveillance State

June 02, 2021

Casey Tonkin writing in ACS Information Age argues that Australia is increasingly giving power to law enforcement, citing the Surveillance Legislation Amendment (Identify and Disrupt) Bill 2020, which, if passed, will give extra power to the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC), allowing agencies to obtain warrants to modify and delete data, collect intelligence from online communities, and take over the online accounts of supposed criminals.
U.S. Orders Investigation into Covid-19 Lab Leak Theory

June 01, 2021

Politico reports that U.S. Representative McCaul is calling Covid-19’s origin the « worst cover-up in human history » as evidence mounts pointing to likely lab leak, as President Biden calls on U.S. intelligence agencies to conduct a 90-day investigation and a potential bipartisan congressional probe into the origins of the Coronavirus.
Butcher: The Battle for Civics Education and Preserving America’s Character

May 28, 2021

Jonathan Butcher, Will Skillman Fellow in Education at The Heritage Foundation, explores the new initiative called Educating for American Democracy that aims to improve civic education in schools by increasing federal spending and U.S. Department of Education activities.
Florida Governor Signs Bill Against ‘Censorship' on Social Media

May 26, 2021

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a law that would force tech companies to pay large fines if they remove political candidates off their social media platforms as well as giving Florida residents the ability to sue up to $100,000 if they feel they are being mistreated.
Totalitarian Surveillance States Struggle to Wean Itself Off the West

May 25, 2021

As advanced surveillance technology increasingly becomes part of the toolkit for authoritarian governments, many are reliant on components made by Western technology companies, creating a conundrum for Western politicians who talk about human rights abuses in Russia and China, but have Western companies involved in building the systems.