Michael Byers π¨π¦
@michael-byers.bsky.social
Co-director, Outer Space Institute
Chair, Salt Spring Forum
UBC Professor
Author, citizen, troublemaker
He/him
Michael Byers is a Canadian legal scholar and non-fiction author.
Source: Wikipedia
Political science
60%
Physics
18%
Tottenham lost to Liverpool on Saturday, which was bad news for my PhD student Ewan Wright. But he's a good sport, and I tried hard not to celebrate.
At least one part of the U.S. campaign against Venezuela makes sense: taking on the βdark fleetβ
Amid debatably legal efforts to remove Nicolas Maduro, including a new blockade, the U.S. did show leadership on the world stage when it seized a falsely registered βdark fleetβ oil tanker
www.theglobeandmail.com
Can you name one good thing that Donald Trump has done?
I played that game in today's Globe and Mail.
Gift article here:
I played that game in today's Globe and Mail.
Gift article here:
My "fun" evening: Frantically rewriting a newspaper op-ed minutes before publication in response to a major policy announcement on social media by Donald Trump.
SACPA to host double-header
Joe Manio Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) will be hosting a double-header at
lethbridgeherald.com
If you're in frigid Lethbridge tonight, let me raise your temperature with some frank thoughts on Canada and Donald Trump:
Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs
Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs was founded in 1967. It is an independent forum, moderated by volunteers, debating issues of concern to the residents of Lethbridge and Southern Alberta.
www.sacpa.ca
"Elbows Up, Elbows Down? Donald Trump and the future of Canada"
That's the topic of my presentation in Lethbridge this Thursday night. All welcome!
That's the topic of my presentation in Lethbridge this Thursday night. All welcome!
The Weird Spectacle of the World Cup Draw
At the event, the matchups seemed beside the point, eclipsed by FIFAβs bizarre Peace Prize ceremony for Donald Trump and other cringey moments.
www.newyorker.com
I'm a serious football (soccer) fan, but Gianni Infantino has perverted himself and FIFA so very badly that I've decided to boycott the World Cup.
Angela Rasmussen - College of Medicine - Medicine
Angela Rasmussen
medicine.usask.ca
Angela Rasmussen gave a master class in virology to the Salt Spring Forum last night.
From polio to COVID19 to bird flu -- why we should worry, and what we can all do (starting with updated vaccinations for COVID and flu).
From polio to COVID19 to bird flu -- why we should worry, and what we can all do (starting with updated vaccinations for COVID and flu).
World Cup 2026 draw updates: England to meet Croatia, Brazil await Scotland, USA will face Australia β live
Join our writers for updates from the draw in Washington DC for the 48-team tournament next summer
www.theguardian.com
What a coincidence! The three host countries all have easy runs through the group stage.
"Donald Trump with the First Annual Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence." - Guardian photo caption says it all!
ICC judge speaks out on impact of US sanctions
Canadian ICC Judge Kimberly Prost has told Al Jazeera that US sanctions have had a βcrippling effectβ on her life.
www.aljazeera.com
Want to see courage? Watch this short interview with Kimberly Prost, the Canadian judge on the International Criminal Court.
Why the disastrous 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill looms large over northern pipeline debate | CBC News
The Exxon Valdez disaster happened more than 36 years ago off Alaska's coast, but the catastrophic oil spill still looms over plans for a pipeline from Alberta to the northern British Columbia coast.
www.cbc.ca
"It's spectacularly dangerous to conceive of putting a pipeline to northern B.C. and hauling that oil across the Gulf of Alaska to Asian markets."
The Canadian prime minister knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing. This National Geographic photo is from the Great Bear Rainforest, through which Mark Carney's new pipeline for heavy oil would pass.
Inconvenient Indian author Thomas King says he is not part Cherokee
Writer βstill in shockβ after a whistle-blowing organization showed him genealogical evidence that he wasnβt part Indigenous as he originally assumed
www.theglobeandmail.com
I grew up with a family rumour about Indigenous ancestry. As a young adult, I checked it out with genealogical research and DNA testing. I am not Indigenous. Neither, it turns out, is Thomas King.
Reposted by Michael Byers
Alex Neve
@alexneve.bsky.social
Β· Nov 24
Minister βCanβt Confirmβ If Canadian Officers Went To Israeli Seminar
The seminar reportedly focused on Israelβs experiences in waging its genocidal war on Gaza.
www.readthemaple.com
Minister McGuinty, what gives? Surely the Canadian military has no interest in learning IDF lessons about waging genocide. We need confirmation no Canadian soldiers took part. And if they did, a whole lot of explaining & accountability.
No more feminist foreign policy, Carney says
Prime Minister, who made the comments at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, has placed less emphasis on feminist policies than the Trudeau government
www.theglobeandmail.com
Mark Carney continues to distance himself from Justin Trudeau. But if there's a political calculation here, I can't see it.
The Crisis of Canadian Democracy - Sutherland House Publishing
Andrew Coyne, one of Canadaβs most esteemed political thinkers, delivers a powerful exposΓ© of the nationβs crumbling democratic institutions.Β With characteristic wit, insight, and rigor, Coyne disma...
sutherlandhousebooks.com
Andrew Coyne is visiting the Salt Spring Forum tonight -- for a community discussion about Canadian democracy, the topic of his new book.
Reposted by Michael Byers
On this Trans Day of Remembrance, I hope Albertans will remember that trans kids and teens are living breathing humans who just want to be themselves, without fear of hate and discrimination. Demonizing kids merely to score political points in some weird culture war is craven and cruel.
Top military lawyer raised legal concerns about boat strikes
The lawyer at U.S. Southern Command, which oversees the operations against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Venezuela, disagreed that the strikes are legal and was overruled, according to six sources...
www.nbcnews.com
Political appointees overruled a senior U.S. military lawyer who was concerned the strikes "could amount to extrajudicial killings."
Russian spy ship enters British waters and shines lasers at military pilots
Defence secretary reveals details of recent incursions as he warns UK is facing βnew era of threatβ from hostile countries
www.theguardian.com
Sloppy reporting by @theguardian.com, which should have made clear that foreign vessels are free to enter the 200 nautical mile exclusive economic zone, which is different from the 12 nautical mile territorial sea.
Turns out that Russian officials weren't the only ones reading my op-eds in the Globe and Mail about their war crimes and crimes against humanity.
I remain in awe of the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people.
I remain in awe of the courage and perseverance of the Ukrainian people.
Reposted by Amir Attaran
Memo Approving Boat Strikes Is Said to Rely on Trumpβs Claims About Cartels
www.nytimes.com
In 2002, political hacks in the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel produced the notorious "torture memos".
They're at it again now, trying to excuse extrajudicial killings on the most implausible of legal grounds.
They're at it again now, trying to excuse extrajudicial killings on the most implausible of legal grounds.
Prominent legal scholar detained at Canadian border while on his way to a conference on Palestine | CBC News
A well-known academic and former UN special rapporteur says he was detained by customs agents in Toronto while on his way to speak at a conference on human rights violations against Palestinians.
www.cbc.ca
95-year-old Richard Falk detained by Canadian border officials, questioned as possible "national security threat".
Canada should pull out of refugee pact with U.S. over Trump policies, says former Liberal foreign minister
Lloyd Axworthy says the U.S. should no longer be considered a safe country for Canada to return asylum seekers to
www.theglobeandmail.com
Lloyd Axworthy is right: Canada needs to do the right thing, especially when the U.S. is not.
2025 Conference | ccil (English)
SAVE THE DATE: 54th Annual Conference of the CCIL. November 13 and 14, 2025 in Ottawa. Theme: "Friends, Enemies and Frenemies: Engagement and Retaliation in International Law". Please stay tuned for ...
www.ccil-ccdi.ca
What is Canadaβs Role in Upholding the Rule of Law and Multilateralism?
That's the title of Sabine Nolke, Stephen Toope, Kristen Boon and my panel at the Canadian Council of International Law annual conference next Friday in Ottawa.
That's the title of Sabine Nolke, Stephen Toope, Kristen Boon and my panel at the Canadian Council of International Law annual conference next Friday in Ottawa.
Sudanese fighters accused of massacres use Canadian-made rifles | CBC News
The Rapid Support Forces in Sudan, accused of civilian massacres, have posted numerous images posing with rifles bearing the logo of a small B.C. manufacturer called Sterling Cross Defense Systems. Ex...
www.cbc.ca
βCanada exports millions of dollarsβ worth of weapons and systems to the U.A.E., which supplies the RSF" -- the militia that's presently committing what looks like genocide.
Reposted by Michael Byers
CIPS / CΓPI
@cepi-cips.bsky.social
Β· Nov 7
Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0 - YouTube
October 24, 2025 Presented by the Canadian Pugwash Group (CPG), the Centre for International Policy Studies (CIPS) and the Outer Space Institute (OSI) Canada...
youtube.com
Did you miss the October 24th event titled "Canadian Security Interests and Trump 2.0"?
@michael-byers.bsky.social @mattkorda.bsky.social @brankamarijan.bsky.social
@kerrybuck.bsky.social
π½οΈ Watch all 6 panels here β¬οΈ
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
@michael-byers.bsky.social @mattkorda.bsky.social @brankamarijan.bsky.social
@kerrybuck.bsky.social
π½οΈ Watch all 6 panels here β¬οΈ
youtube.com/playlist?lis...
Canada risks complicity in the high-seas killings committed by the U.S.
Canadian technology is being used to target boats off the coast of Venezuela
www.theglobeandmail.com
"The Canadian military should stay home β far away from Donald Trumpβs latest illegalities."
My latest (as a gift article):
My latest (as a gift article):
Trump threatens to go into Nigeria βguns-a-blazingβ over attacks on Christians
US president says he ordered Pentagon to begin planning for action, without mentioning Muslim persecution
www.theguardian.com
The US president is sundowning. Would someone please tuck the poor man into bed?