Lawful Access: spyware for cops

By Jesse Brown - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 1:36 PM - 32 Comments

When I caution people about the coming Lawful Access spying laws, there’s often some confusion. Many assume that spying on the Internet is like putting a wiretap on a phone. So the police will be able to listen to my Skype calls and read my emails?

Sure. But it’s much worse than that.

Lawful Access does make traditional web surveillance easier, but it will also give the police access to your “basic information” without them having to get a warrant. “Basic information” covers your real name, your online identities, your email addresses, your I.P. address, your home address and your home phone number. If the police have one of these ingredients, they can use it to get the rest.

If you’re still not concerned, wait a bit…

Under Lawful Access, ISPs will have to build surveillance technology that stores this info and makes it available to the police. Right now, if cops go to your ISP and ask for your info (this happens all the time anyhow, often without a warrant) some human at your ISP will have to dig through your digital footprints to find it. Under Lawful Access, a police web portal will be built to automate the process.

This is hugely problematic.

First of all, what happens if (when) this portal gets hacked?  It won’t need to be a sophisticated hack, either.  If thousands of cops are assigned logins, how much do you want to bet that one of them will use “abc123″ as a password?

But let’s assume this somehow never happens. Warrantless data-tracking is still very scary, for reasons the police themselves likely haven’t considered. As anyone who compulsively checks their email knows, once you automate information requests, remove every obstacle, remove human communication from the process and throw it all online with a big shiny “search” button, usage skyrockets.

When Sprint built a similar portal for cops to track cell phone users’ GPS coordinates, usage shot up to 8 million pings in just over a year. In their idle time, police can just fish around, see where folks are at, see which avatar belongs to which human, and play the portal like a video game, hoping to stumble upon a lawbreaker.

The next step, of course, is for the police to get automated as well. With unfettered access to a massive dataset of “basic information”, why manually run hunt and peck searches when you could just write an algorithm that’ll mash it all up and spit out the names of those statistically likely to be up to no good?

Does that sound like paranoid sci-fi? Maybe, but it’s all possible with existing technology, and is really just an extension of current trends in data analysis into law enforcement. If data is accessible, machine-readable and has predictive value, someone will build an app for that. Everyone else is using “bots”, so why shouldn’t the police?

When RoboCop comes, he will look like a line of code.

Jesse Brown is the host of TVO.org’s Search Engine podcast. He is on Twitter @jessebrown.

Canada’s knowledge economy: not so much

By Paul Wells - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 1:20 PM - 95 Comments

It’s always good to compare hope against achievement. One of the first big things the Harper government did after it had delivered on (four of) its five election-year priorities in 2006 was to release, in 2007, its Science and Technology Strategy. Our text today comes from that document — especially this paragraph, which came in its own little box to show how important it was:

“At a time when Canada’s overall productivity gains are below those of other trading nations with whom we compete, the need to encourage greater private-sector S&T investment is a national priority.”

Got it. And how’s that working out? Today Industry Canada’s Science, Technology and Innovation Council released its second benchmarking report, two years after the first. This compares Canada’s performance on various research and innovation-related measures to global trends. And today’s report is pretty brutal. On the specific “national priority” I quoted above, here’s the tale of the tape:

“From 2006 to 2009…Canadian business expenditure on R&D declined in inflation-adjusted terms.”

But that’s just the beginning of it. As the Globe wrote this morning based on a leaked copy of the report (sigh), “Canada ranked worse or stagnated in 18 of 24 benchmarks tracked by the council since its 2008 report.” Here, through the magic of cut-and-paste, is what that looks like on paper:

There’s a second page of those down arrows in the report after this one. Continue…

The quiet cuts

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:39 PM - 3 Comments

Bill Curry finds more than two dozen jobs eliminated at Industry Canada.

But the timing of the news is being questioned given that many of the cuts stem from restraint plans launched more than a year ago – not the government cuts promised in the 2011 budget. “People didn’t know that these plans were in place, of course, until after the government was elected, so I find that whole thing rather distasteful,” said Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada. “People knew what was going to happen, but they saved announcements until after the election.”

Egyptian business mogul under fire over “offensive” tweet

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:09 PM - 5 Comments

Naguib Sawiris, one of the richest men in Egypt, has been accused of insulting Islam after tweeting a cartoon showing Mickey and Minnie Mouse dressed in Muslim clothing. The telecommunications mogul has become the focus of a boycott campaign and an official complaint launched by several Islamic lawyers in the country. Shares in Orascom, Sawiris’s company and Egypt’s largest private employer, have tumbled as a result of the controversy, which comes at a time of increased tension between Egypt’s Muslims and Coptic Christians. A champion of secularism, Sawiris has been an outspoken critic militant Islam and was one of the leading voices in the anti-Mubarak movement that toppled Egypt’s government this past spring. Sawiris apologized for tweeting the image, which showed Mickey dressed in an Islamic robe and sporting a full beard, alongside Minnie, who is wearing a niqab.

BBC News

Ottawa to sell Atomic Energy of Canada to SNC-Lavalin

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:07 PM - 0 Comments

The federal government will announce the sale of Crown corporation Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. to Montreal-based engineering firm SNC-Lavalin Group. According to sources close to the negotiations, the sale of AECL’s commercial division could come as early as next week. Critics of the move are skeptical that Canada’s nuclear program can survive without significant federal subsidies, given global resistance to the industry in the fallout of the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. They also say SNC-Lavelin will try to avoid risks by foregoing the construction of new reactors and simply refurbishing old ones. SNC-Lavalin has reportedly assured Ottawa that it can boost reactor sales and servicing. Company CEO Pierre Duhaime told The Globe and Mail he is optimistic that Canada’s nuclear program will be able to compete with industry heavyweights from France, Japan, South Korea, China and the U.S. Over the past two years, AECL has lost nearly $500 million.

The Globe and Mail

Asteroid passes between Earth and moon

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 12:02 PM - 3 Comments

An asteroid the size of a garbage truck sailed between the moon and Earth on Monday, passing harmlessly 12,000 kilometres over the Atlantic Ocean, according to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). The asteroid passed along the same trajectory predicted by scientists. According to the JPL, such an event occurs about once every six years. Even if the space rock, which measured between 5 and 20 metres in diameter, had entered the Earth’s atmosphere, a JPL spokesman said it would have likely burnt up and caused no damage.

Ottawa Citizen

Cormier takes the stand

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 11:59 AM - 7 Comments

Alleged kidnapper Romeo Jacques Cormier took the witness stand in a Moncton, N.B. courtroom on Monday. The 63-year-old pled innocent on all kidnapping charges, claiming instead that his accuser—a 55-year-old Moncton woman—actually hired him to murder her husband. Cormier says the woman was supposed to pay him $1000 upfront to stage a break-in at her residence on February 26 (the same night she claims Cormier kidnapped her) and murder her husband. The woman maintains Cormier kidnapped, confined, and sexually assaulted her between February 26 and March 24, 2010.

Montreal Gazette

Putting on the blitz in ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’

By Brian D. Johnson - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 11:55 AM - 1 Comment

Sentinel Prime and Optimus Prime in 'Transformers: Dark of the Moon'

I blame it on Federico Fellini. Before submitting to the epic assault of Transformers: Dark of the Moon, I spent a blissful hour or two previewing the new Fellini exhibit at the TIFF Bell Lightbox. Much of it consists of exquisite black and white photographs populated by the likes of Marcello Mastroianni, Anita Ekberg, Sophia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton… you get the gist. This gelato swirl of Roman time travel conjured a fresh-painted post-modernism, a delirium of sex, fashion, celebrity and art—that now looks like a lost world. Exit the Lightbox. Enter the Scotiabank multiplex just up the street. On with the 3D shades. A little more than two and a half hours later, I staggered out dazed, confused, and a bit dizzy.

The second Transformers sequel, which launches its six-day march to the holiday weekend in IMAX theatres tonight, is touted as the movie most likely to be the year’s top-grossing box-office champion. Now that I’ve seen it, I can understand why. I’ve never seen such a massive volume of stuff (the polite word for) thrown at the screen in all my life. It’s like a heavy-metal Jackson Pollack, an action painting on a gargantuan scale. Instead of paint, it’s machine flesh, a Shock and Awe blitzkrieg of robot body parts splatter the screen helter-skelter in relentless explosions of recombinant hardware. The graphic detail alone is staggering, as is the sheer wealth of firepower. After a while it’s like watching an endless loop of machines having violent, clumsy sex. And I have to admit Transformers 3 was hugely impressive. Or hugely something. It’s a bottomless pit of mechanical brushstrokes. But once the novelty wore off, there were very few moments in this orgy of mass destruction when I wasn’t thinking: get me out of here. Continue…

Riot police clash with protesters in Athens

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 11:48 AM - 0 Comments

Violence is erupting between anti-austerity demonstrators and riot police as thousands of protesters gathered outside the Greek parliament in Athens during a 48-hour general strike called to oppose the government’s proposed spending cuts and tax hikes. Although demonstrations started peacefully, some demonstrators started throwing stones and bottles at the police in the capital’s Syntagma Square. Police have responded with tear gas and stun grenades, according to the BBC. Protesters have also blockaded the port of Piraeus, located near Athens. The general strike and related demonstrations have disrupted transportation throughout the country. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou has said the austerity plan is necessary to prevent the country from defaulting on its debts. If his austerity package is rejected in parliament, Greece may not be able fulfill the next phase of its debt repayments due in mid-July. There are fears the financial crisis could spread throughout Europe and beyond if Papandreou’s austerity plan is rejected. The measures will be put to vote on Wednesday and Thursday.

BBC News

This bomb’s for you

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 10:42 AM - 29 Comments

John Baird leaves his mark in Libya.

In keeping with a long-held air force tradition, Baird signed a Canadian bomb destined for Gadhafi’s infrastructure with the message: “Free Libya. Democracy.”

Moving forward in Afghanistan

By Andrew Potter - Tuesday, June 28, 2011 at 7:22 AM - 3 Comments

This article was sent to me by Grant Kippen, and I’m posting it here with his permission. It is being published today in the Dari-language newspaper Hasht-e Sobh

****

Let’s all take, yet another, collective breath and agree to move forward

Grant Kippen

June 26, 2011

There were two momentous announcements concerning Afghanistan this past week that will in their own and interconnected way have a profound impact on the short and long term future of the country.

The first and most widely reported announcement occurred on Wednesday evening when President Obama in a nation‐wide address announced the start of the drawdown of US troops from Afghanistan. The President also used the address to reaffirm his commitment to reducing the number of US based troops serving in Afghanistan over time and that responsibility for security within the country would be handed over to the Afghanistan National Security Forces by 2014.

This announcement completely overshadowed another announcement coming from the Afghanistan capital Kabul on Thursday morning where the members of the Special Elections Court announced their investigative findings into allegations of electoral fraud during the 2010 Parliamentary elections last September. The Special Court announcement was the latest salvo in an ongoing power struggle between the Executive and Legislative branches of government following the fraud marred elections, and their findings recommended that 62 currently serving Members of Parliament be removed. To put this number in perspective that is one quarter of the seats in the 249 seat Wolesi Jirga. The controversy of electoral fraud that played out so vividly in the 2009 Presidential and Provincial Council elections unfortunately carried over to the Parliamentary elections last year. The one thing that most Afghans and internationals will agree on was that extensive electoral fraud that took place during the September 2010 elections.

Under the Constitution and Election Law the institutions legally responsible for the electoral process are the Independent Election Commission (IEC) and the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). At the time both the IEC and ECC were called upon to investigate many thousands of complaints filed regarding alleged fraudulent activities, and in the view of most informed Afghan and international observers of that process, these institutions discharged their responsibilities according to the laws, regulations and procedures that were in place.

The Special Elections Court was established by Presidential decree under the pretense that the IEC and ECC had not done their jobs properly. President Karzai condoned the creation of the Special Court notwithstanding that fact, according to legal experts, there appeared to be no basis in the law or under the Constitution for a mandate that allowed the overturning of final results as announced by the IEC. In reality though the Court was created only after senior IEC and ECC officials had refused to buckle to intense pressure being exerted on them by the Executive, including the threat of criminal prosecution by the Attorney‐General. The Houdiniesque slight of hand maneuvering and Khaddafi‐inspired logic creating the Special Elections Court was promptly dismissed by the Parliament, IEC, ECC and Afghan legal experts as illegal under the Constitution, a position that the international community agreed with from the start.

The Special Court’s decisions on Thursday clearly undermined the constitutional authority and independence of the IEC and the ECC. This is evidenced by the changes made to the vote totals by the Special Elections Court of sitting MPs and losing candidates and then reinstating 18 of 19 candidates disqualified by the ECC last fall; authorities only given to the IEC and ECC under the Electoral Law.

So, with the Special Elections Court announcement the Afghan people are at yet another crisis point in their ongoing struggle to re‐build the country after thirty years of war and civil conflict. For the vast majority of Afghans this situation just reinforces the hopelessness they feel towards the direction the re‐building effort has taken in general, and in particular about the effectiveness of their government to address the issues that matter most to them – a more secure environment in which to live and work, greater economic opportunity for themselves and their children, and some basic level of social assistance be it education or access to medical care. Clearly cooler heads need to prevail so that this latest crisis doesn’t escalate into something that all stakeholder groups – Afghan or international ‐ will come to regret in the future. It is time to put the interests of the Afghan people ahead of any personal feelings or perceived loss of face that has occurred over past events. The focus needs to be squarely on building for the future, while at the same time learning the important lessons of the past.

From an electoral perspective if action isn’t taken soon there will be no opportunity to correct those past mistakes. The status quo is an unacceptable situation not only for the citizens of Afghanistan but also for the taxpayers of those countries that are contributing funds so that elections can take place in an open and competitive manner. What we shouldn’t lose sight of are the millions of Afghans who turned out to vote in past elections and who are clearly committed to building a better future for themselves and their children. The immediate goal here is to ensure the 2014 Presidential elections are a significant improvement over efforts in 2009 and 2010. Electoral reform needs to begin immediately with the involvement of all domestic stakeholder groups supported by the international community. Building credible, legitimate and inclusive democratic institutions and processes is the only way forward for Afghanistan as a young, emerging and vibrant democracy.

The independence of the IEC and ECC needs to be respected, as does the role of Parliament in ensuring a proper check and balance on the actions of the Executive. The actions by the Special Elections Court only serves to undermine those key institutions that are established under the Constitution, namely the electoral bodies and the Legislature not to mention the independence of the judiciary. The existence and decisions of the Special Court only calls into question the respect that the Government itself has for the Constitution at a critical time when they are trying to reassure their own citizens that the Constitution will not be weakened through the reconciliation process. One has to wonder what message these same actions are sending to those insurgents the Government of Afghanistan hopes will re‐join Afghan society when the Government so clearly demonstrates its own unwillingness to respect the Constitution?

President Karzai has the perfect opportunity to step back from the current precipice and provide the leadership that is required to decisively match actions with the words he delivered in a speech to the NATO Summit in Lisbon last November: “Our Constitution, a harmonious blend of our Islamic values of justice and the universal principles of human rights, is our most important achievement of the last nine years … we need to enhance the checks and balances among the three branches of the state. … We are also committed to strengthening Parliament as an institution. I will work with the future Parliament to strengthen their constitutional role.”

Let’s not lose sight of the long‐term goal here, and that is to support the Afghan people as they rebuild their country. This will take time and there will be bumps along that road but let’s make sure that our combined efforts work to build a solid foundation for the future otherwise, we “will simply be putting mud in the water in order to cross the river”, according to an old Afghan proverb.

Grant Kippen is the former Chairman of the 2009 and 2005 Electoral Complaints Commission in Afghanistan and member of the National Democratic Institute’s Senior Experts Group that observed the 2010 Parliamentary Elections in Afghanistan.

Reading the documents: Notification, policy and concerns

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 4:32 PM - 5 Comments

The documents tabled last week can be viewed in their entirety here. Herein, a series of posts on some of the noteworthy files and disclosures contained therein.

Documents marked DFAIT36 through DFAIT116 cover the notification of the Red Cross (and later the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission) in regards to those detained and/or transferred by the Canadian Forces between June 2006 and May 2007.

DFAIT36 outlines concerns expressed by the International Committee of the Red Cross in June 2006 about delays in notification. DFAIT75 covers concerns expressed in December 2006. DFAIT145 covers concerns raised in May 2007.

In DFAIT126, dated September 2006, Richard Colvin suggests Canada should be doing its own monitoring of detainees in Afghan custody.

DFAIT141 covers a wide discussion of detainee policy, while DFAIT147 and DFAIT149, both from May 2007, are drafts of new policies.

DFAIT151 covers a number of issues and proposals raised in the wake of the Globe and Mail’s April 2007 reporting.

Photo gallery: Dancing Classrooms in NYC

By Zoran Milich - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 3:44 PM - 0 Comments

Nine teams of fourth and fifth graders demonstrated their ballroom dancing skills during the 15th annual Colors of the Rainbow Team Match Competition. The competition, held June 24, was part of the Dancing Classrooms program and the 2011 River to River Festival at the World Financial Center Winter Garden in New York City. Photographs by Zoran Milich/Sipa.

HMV Canada sold to restructuring firm

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 3:44 PM - 0 Comments

U.K.-based music retailer HMV announced on Monday it has sold its Canadian unit, HMV Canada, to a British restructuring firm. Hilco U.K. has acquired 121 stores in Canada for $3.2 million dollars, and will provide $25 million in funding to continue HMV Canada’s operations. The firm’s long-term business strategy is focused on increasing the brand’s digital presence. HMV posted revenues of $360 million in 2010.

CBC News

Not much of a spectator sport

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 3:11 PM - 0 Comments

Kathleen Petty signs off as host of CBC Radio’s The House with a few final thoughts.

Hugh Segal, with whom I spoke at the beginning of the show, once wrote an editorial in support of a set of rules we implemented on this program: no more personal attacks, people talking over each other, politicians being allowed to freely throw around talking points unchallenged. That set of guiding principles meant MP panels were few and far between. We reached out more often to individual federal politicians, but we interviewed fewer of them. In part, because fewer of them were willing to agree to in-depth, one-on-one interviews. We wanted more policy discussions instead of political discussions…

I didn’t think we were really asking for much. If, in response to a question, a politician hesitated, even a little, I was reasonably confident that the answer required some thought, instead of tired talking points that require none. That in Ottawa is a victory. And that is, in my view, a problem. We talk AT each other, not WITH each other. We keep score, assign penalties, and generally treat politics as a sport. But as sports go, politics might be a great a game for participants, but not spectators or listeners. I sense a great disconnect. Why don’t Canadians vote? Perhaps, because we’re not treating them as participants – but as spectators.

LulzSec quits via Twitter

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 1:24 PM - 0 Comments

LulzSec—the notorious hacking group responsible for breaching government and corporate security systems—called it quits on Saturday, PC World reports. The group relayed a message to its 281, 870 Twitter followers, saying that their hacking operations were finished, before releasing private data obtained in the last two months from the CIA, U.S. Senate, Sony, and AOL. LulzSec encouraged followers to shift their attention to former rival hackers, Anonymous, who are also implicated in the Sony PlayStation Service hack that occurred earlier this year.

PC World

The case for leaving as is

By Aaron Wherry - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 1:15 PM - 0 Comments

Matthew P. Harrington argues against the currently proposed Senate reforms.

At present, the Senate is regarded as a deferential body, confining itself largely to amending or revising legislation passed by the Commons, largely because senators lack democratic legitimacy.

Once members of the Senate are themselves elected, however, there is little justification for their continued deference to the House. After all, a senator elected by an entire province arguably has a stronger mandate to govern than members of the Commons, who are sent to Ottawa by relatively small segments of the electorate. This would create increased opportunity for gridlock as members of the Senate and Commons disagree over legislation.

Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall wonders about party discipline in an elected Senate. B.C. Premier Christy Clark says the Senate should be abolished, but if not, her province will need more seats.

Same-sex marriage legal in New York

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 1:08 PM - 0 Comments

On Friday New York became the seventh, and largest state in the U.S. to legalize same-sex marriage. Gay rights groups hope this landmark moment will give way to many others, as advocates in neighbouring states lobby for similar legal reform. Same-sex marriage is now legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and Rhode Island. The state’s new law will go into effect next month, at which point twice as many Americans will live in gay-marriage friendly jurisdictions. Marriage reform across the country, however, may not come so easy, as 29 states have constitutional bans on same-sex marriage and 12 have laws against it.

Sydney Morning Herald

Study finds widespread corruption in Quebec construction industry

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 1:03 PM - 0 Comments

A poll conducted for Quebec’s Construction Commission and obtained by La Presse found that a quarter of the province’s construction workers had witnessed collusion or corruption. The study, which surveyed 9,000 respondents in April, also found 76 per cent of employers and 70 per cent of workers are concerned about corruption in the industry. On the subject of work performed under the table, 49 per cent of construction workers and 43 per cent of employers said undocumented (and untaxed) work makes up about 30 per cent of the total industry; Quebec’s Labour Ministry recently put the figure at 14 per cent. Diane Lemieux, the head of the commission, says the poll shows the industry’s “lucidity and maturity” with respect to the challenges ahead.

La Presse

Soldier death suspected suicide

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 1:00 PM - 0 Comments

Canadian military officials suspect the death of a soldier in Afghanistan early Saturday was a suicide. Master Cpl. Francis Roy, a logistician with the special forces regiment, was found dead at a forward operating base in Kandahar city. Although military police are still investigating his death, enemy action has been ruled out. If officials rule the 32-year-old’s death a suicide, it will be the second in one month for the army. Roy, who was on his first deployment with the special forces, is the 157th soldier to die during Canada’s military engagement in Afghanistan.

Chronicle Herald

Leadership moments in New York

By John Parisella - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 12:59 PM - 0 Comments

Back in September 2010, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a position in favour of building a mosque near Ground Zero and, in so doing, joined a highly emotional debate that swept the nation. He didn’t back away when the controversy became a national one, taking a principled stance as mayor of the city that was the subject of an unspeakable terrorist attack. This was a leadership moment.

Since January 2011, New Yorkers statewide have been treated to a similar series of leadership moments by recently elected Governor Andrew Cuomo, particularly with respect to his negotiations with the state’s unionized employees.  Continue…

Protesters to greet Will and Kate

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 12:51 PM - 0 Comments

A Quebec-based resistance group says it will protest the royal couple’s upcoming visit to Canada. Members of the Quebecois Network of Resistance will demonstrate at Quebec City Hall over the cost of Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge’s visit and the political message they say it sends. Resistance group members say the visit offends and humiliates Quebec separatists. Security is expected to be high during the royal couple’s cross-Canada trip, which will be their first international tour together.

Ottawa Sun

French banks ready to roll over loans to Greece

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 12:40 PM - 0 Comments

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced that France’s banks are ready to give Greece 30 years in which to pay off its debt; a figure that now exceeds 110 billion euro. Greece is waiting to receive more rescue loans, estimated to reach 120 billion euro. The German government plans to bail out Greece by way of private-sector and bank loans, in order to avoid massive government lending. International bankers and eurozone officials are meeting in Rome to evaluate the crisis, while protesters rally on the streets of Greece in preparation for a national strike that begins tomorrow.

BBC News

ICC issues arrest warrant for Gadhafi

By macleans.ca - Monday, June 27, 2011 at 12:10 PM - 0 Comments

The International Criminal Court has issued arrest warrants for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam and intelligence chief Abdullah al-Sanussi. All three have been accused of crimes against humanity associated with the Libyan government’s crackdown on civilians during the country’s ongoing conflict with rebel forces. A spokesman for the Libyan government rejected the warrants Sunday, saying the ICC only targets African leaders, ignores crimes committed by NATO members and therefore has “no legitimacy whatsoever.” Meanwhile, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird met with Libyan rebel leaders Monday on a visit to the opposition stronghold of Benghazi. Baird said he wanted to ascertain whether the rebel leaders of the National Transitional Council are capable of leading the country when and if Gadhafi’s Tripoli-based government falls. He also traveled to Sicily to meet with Canadian troops participating in the NATO-led bombing of Libya. The campaign originally designated to protect civilians began just over 100 days ago.

BBC News
CTV News