Latest news with #JosefStalin
Canada Standard
2 days ago
- Business
- Canada Standard
How Eurostack could offer Canada a route to digital independence from the United States
The contemporary internet has been with us since roughly 1995. Its current underlying economic model - surveillance capitalism - began in the early 2000s, when Google and then Facebook realized how much our personal information and online behaviour revealed about us and claimed it for themselves to sell to advertisers. Perhaps because of Canada's proximity to the United States, coupled with its positive shared history with the U.S. and their highly integrated economies, Canada went along for that consumerist ride. The experience was different on the other side of the Atlantic. The Stasi in the former East Germany and the KGB under Josef Stalin maintained files on hundreds of thousands of citizens to identify and prosecute dissidents. Having witnessed this invasion of privacy and its weaponization first-hand, Europe has been far ahead of North America in developing protections. These include the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive, with protection of personal data also listed in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Canada clearly took too much for granted in its relationship with the U.S. Suddenly, Canada is being threatened with tariffs and President Donald Trump's expressed desire to make Canada the 51st American state. This has fuelled the motivation of Canada both internally and in co-operation with western European governments to seek greater independence in trade and military preparedness by diversifying its relationships. Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun promoting "nation-building projects," but little attention has been paid to Canada's digital infrastructure. Read more: How Canadian nationalism is evolving with the times - and will continue to do so Three recent developments suggest Canada would be well-advised to start paying close attention: 1. The current U.S. administration has raised concerns about its reliability as a partner and friend to Canada. Most of the concerns raised in Canada have been economic. However, Curtis McCord, a former national security and technology researcher for the Canadian government, has said the current situation has created vulnerabilities for national security as well: "With Washington becoming an increasingly unreliable ally, Mr. Carney is right to look for ways to diversify away from the U.S. But if Canada wants to maintain its sovereignty and be responsible for its national security, this desire to diversify must extend to the U.S. domination of Canada's digital infrastructure." 2. Silicon Valley is exhibiting a newfound loyalty to Trump. The photo of the "broligarchy" at Trump's inauguration spoke volumes, as their apparent eagerness to appease the president brings the data gathered by the internet's surveillance-based economy under state control. 3. Trump's recent executive order entitled "Stopping waste, fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos" is alarming. The order became operational when the Trump administration contracted with Palantir, a company known for its surveillance software and data analytics in military contexts. Its job? To combine databases from both the state and federal levels into one massive database that includes every American citizen, and potentially any user of the internet. Combining multiple government databases is concerning. Combining them with all the personal data harvested by Silicon Valley and providing them to a government showing all the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime sounds like Big Brother has arrived. Civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Freedom Foundation, academics and even former Palantir employees have raised alarms about the possibilities for abuse, including the launch of all the vendettas Trump and his supporters have pledged to undertake. European governments have attempted to rein in Silicon Valley's excesses for years. Trump's re-election and his moves toward potentially weaponizing internet data have further boosted Europe's resolve to move away from the U.S.-led internet. One newer effort is Eurostack. A joint initiative involving academics, policymakers, companies and governments, it envisions an independent digital ecosystem that better reflects European values - democratic, sovereign, inclusive, transparent, respectful of personal privacy and innovation-driven. Spokesperson Francesca Bria explains the "stack" arises from the idea that a digitally sovereign internet needs to have European control from the ground up. That includes the acquisition of raw materials and manufacture and operation of the physical components that comprise computers and servers; the cloud infrastructure that has the processing power and storage to be operational at scale; the operating systems and applications that comprise the user interface; the AI models and algorithms that drive services and its policy and governance framework. Prospective gains to Europe are considerable. They include greater cybersecurity, promoting innovation, keeping high-end creative jobs in Europe, promoting collaboration on equitable terms and creating high-skilled employment opportunities. Canada receives no mention in the Eurostack proposal to date, but the project is still very much in the developmental phase. Investment so far is in the tens of millions instead of the billions it will require. Canada has a lot to offer and to gain from being part of the Eurostack initiative. With the project still taking shape, now is the perfect time to get on board.
Canada News.Net
2 days ago
- Business
- Canada News.Net
How Eurostack could offer Canada a route to digital independence from the United States
The contemporary internet has been with us since roughly 1995. Its current underlying economic model - surveillance capitalism - began in the early 2000s, when Google and then Facebook realized how much our personal information and online behaviour revealed about us and claimed it for themselves to sell to advertisers. Perhaps because of Canada's proximity to the United States, coupled with its positive shared history with the U.S. and their highly integrated economies, Canada went along for that consumerist ride. The experience was different on the other side of the Atlantic. The Stasi in the former East Germany and the KGB under Josef Stalin maintained files on hundreds of thousands of citizens to identify and prosecute dissidents. Having witnessed this invasion of privacy and its weaponization first-hand, Europe has been far ahead of North America in developing protections. These include the General Data Protection Regulation and the Law Enforcement Directive, with protection of personal data also listed in the European Union's Charter of Fundamental Rights. Canada clearly took too much for granted in its relationship with the U.S. Suddenly, Canada is being threatened with tariffs and President Donald Trump's expressed desire to make Canada the 51st American state. This has fuelled the motivation of Canada both internally and in co-operation with western European governments to seek greater independence in trade and military preparedness by diversifying its relationships. Prime Minister Mark Carney has begun promoting "nation-building projects," but little attention has been paid to Canada's digital infrastructure. Three recent developments suggest Canada would be well-advised to start paying close attention: 1. The current U.S. administration has raised concerns about its reliability as a partner and friend to Canada. Most of the concerns raised in Canada have been economic. However, Curtis McCord, a former national security and technology researcher for the Canadian government, has said the current situation has created vulnerabilities for national security as well: "With Washington becoming an increasingly unreliable ally, Mr. Carney is right to look for ways to diversify away from the U.S. But if Canada wants to maintain its sovereignty and be responsible for its national security, this desire to diversify must extend to the U.S. domination of Canada's digital infrastructure." 2. Silicon Valley is exhibiting a newfound loyalty to Trump. The photo of the "broligarchy" at Trump's inauguration spoke volumes, as their apparent eagerness to appease the president brings the data gathered by the internet's surveillance-based economy under state control. 3. Trump's recent executive order entitled " Stopping waste, fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos" is alarming. The order became operational when the Trump administration contracted with Palantir, a company known for its surveillance software and data analytics in military contexts. Its job? To combine databases from both the state and federal levels into one massive database that includes every American citizen, and potentially any user of the internet. Combining multiple government databases is concerning. Combining them with all the personal data harvested by Silicon Valley and providing them to a government showing all the hallmarks of an authoritarian regime sounds like Big Brother has arrived. Civil liberties groups such as the Electronic Freedom Foundation, academics and even former Palantir employees have raised alarms about the possibilities for abuse, including the launch of all the vendettas Trump and his supporters have pledged to undertake. European governments have attempted to rein in Silicon Valley's excesses for years. Trump's re-election and his moves toward potentially weaponizing internet data have further boosted Europe's resolve to move away from the U.S.-led internet. One newer effort is Eurostack. A joint initiative involving academics, policymakers, companies and governments, it envisions an independent digital ecosystem that better reflects European values - democratic, sovereign, inclusive, transparent, respectful of personal privacy and innovation-driven. Spokesperson Francesca Bria explains the "stack" arises from the idea that a digitally sovereign internet needs to have European control from the ground up. That includes the acquisition of raw materials and manufacture and operation of the physical components that comprise computers and servers; the cloud infrastructure that has the processing power and storage to be operational at scale; the operating systems and applications that comprise the user interface; the AI models and algorithms that drive services and its policy and governance framework. Prospective gains to Europe are considerable. They include greater cybersecurity, promoting innovation, keeping high-end creative jobs in Europe, promoting collaboration on equitable terms and creating high-skilled employment opportunities. Canada receives no mention in the Eurostack proposal to date, but the project is still very much in the developmental phase. Investment so far is in the tens of millions instead of the billions it will require. Canada has a lot to offer and to gain from being part of the Eurostack initiative. With the project still taking shape, now is the perfect time to get on board.
Economist
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Economist
Goodbye, Lenin, hello Putin
Statues commemorating the Soviet Union's long-dead leaders, who once ruled an empire stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, have had their ups and downs. A Moscow metro station recently unveiled a frieze glorifying Josef Stalin, now once again feted in Russia as a great leader. Shortly afterwards a gigantic statue of Vladimir Lenin, the Soviet Union's founding father, came toppling down in Kyrgyzstan, one of five former Soviet states in Central Asia. Yet it is still a staunch ally of the Kremlin.
The Independent
08-06-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Kyrgyzstan removes towering Lenin statue from second city
Authorities in the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, Osh, have removed a towering statue of Vladimir Lenin thought to be the tallest of the revolutionary Soviet leader in Central Asia. The 23-meter (75-foot) monument was erected in 1975 when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union. Photos appeared online Saturday showing the statue flat on the ground after being lowered by a crane. While many countries formerly part of the Soviet Union have moved to downplay their ties to Russia as part of efforts to reshape national identity, the monument was taken down with little public fanfare and officials in Osh framed the removal as routine city planning. In a statement, Osh City Hall called the move 'common practice' aimed at improving the 'architectural and aesthetic appearance' of the area. Officials also noted that Lenin monuments have been 'dismantled or moved to other places' in Russian cities including St Petersburg and Belgorod, and said that the issue 'should not be politicized.' The monument, they said, will be replaced by a flagpole, as was the case when a different Lenin statue was relocated in the capital, Bishkek. The move came a week after Kyrgyzstan's ally Russia unveiled a monument to brutal Soviet dictator Josef Stalin at one of Moscow's busiest subway stations.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Central Asia's tallest Lenin statue taken down
Kyrgyzstan has taken down a huge statue of the revolutionary Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin, which was thought to be the tallest in Central Asia. First erected when Kyrgyzstan was part of the Soviet Union, the 23m-tall monument towered over the city of Osh for 50 years before it was quietly removed this week. Photos emerged on Saturday showing the communist revolutionary - who features prominently in Soviet iconography - lying on his back on the ground, having been lowered by crane. Many former Soviet republics have recently sought to recast their national identities with less emphasis on their previous ties to Russia, though local officials downplayed the decision to move the statue. Authorities in Kyrgyzstan will be aware of the risk of offending its ally, Russia, a week after the latter unveiled a brand new statue of another Soviet figurehead, Josef Stalin, in Moscow. A statement from City Hall in Osh - the landlocked nation's second-largest city after the capital, Bishkek - said the figure would be relocated as part of "common practice" aimed at improving the "architectural and aesthetic appearance" of the city. It pointed to examples of Lenin statues previously being taken down in Russia. The statue will be replaced by a flagpole, as was the case when a different Lenin statue was relocated in Bishek, according to local media. Kyrgyzstan gained its independence 34 years ago when the Soviet Union collapsed. But reminders of its Soviet history can be found across the country, even where there are no statues. For instance, its second-tallest mountain is named Lenin Peak.
