Why did you decide to create a game? We really wanted to build something that felt accessible, interesting, and reached out to new audiences who might not have realized how encryption was built into the gadgets, apps and websites they use. We asked ourselves how we could build a tool that’s educational and interactive and geared toward a broad audience. And how do we move the conversation away from just government surveillance and national security? How do we get people to think about how encryption helps them, along with vulnerable groups like domestic abuse survivors? A game seemed like a good… (Full Story)

Expand Migrants including asylum seekers in a dilapidated building in Borici camp, Bihac, Bosnia Herzegovina. November 19, 2018. © 2018 Human Rights Watch (Budapest) – Croatian police are pushing migrants and asylum seekers back to Bosnia and Herzegovina, in some cases violently, and without giving them the possibility to seek asylum, Human Rights Watch said. Human Rights Watch interviewed 20 people, including 11 heads of families and 1 unaccompanied boy, who said that Croatian police deported them to Bosnia and Herzegovina without due process after detaining them deep inside Croatian territory.… (Full Story)

The Canadian government's recent announcement that it will be providing more than CDN $600 million (USD $455 million) over the next five years to bail out the country's financially strapped media outlets -- as part of the fall fiscal update about the federal budget ahead of the 2019 federal election -- is not as innocent as it may seem. (Full Story)

According to what criteria and in whose eyes do we achieve success? Lévriers is a theatrical investigation led by director Sophie Gee and five others who, like her, have remade their lives in Montreal: a Dutch actress, a Québécois dancer, a Rwandan rugby player, an Antillian rapper, and a retired Jewish businessman. Over the course of a creative laboratory, they all look back on their journey and their culture for ways to define success.  (Full Story)

By Kim Lavi and Udi Deke

In the most recent escalation between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the message conveyed by both parties was that they are not interested in paying the price of a war that will ultimately return them to square one. At the same time, neither wants to allow the other to score success or to appear as if it is conducting negotiations with the enemy. Thus, in the Palestinian arena, Israel should give priority to its long term interests at the expense of its short term interests that focus on achieving calm in the area. It is preferable for Israel that the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip be conducted by means of the Palestinian Authority, so that the PA, and not Hamas, reaps the fruits of reconstruction in the eyes of the Palestinian public.  (Full Story)

The Tashme Project: The Living Archives is an award-winning verbatim theatre piece that has been crafted from over 70 hours of interviews with 20 Nisei (second generation Japanese Canadians) from Vancouver, Toronto, Hamilton, Kingston, Ottawa and Montreal. Show creators /performers Julie Tamiko Manning and Matt Miwa are proud to be part of Centaur Theatre’s Brave New Looks from Nov. 15-24, kicking off the national tour of this important show about the WW2 internment of Japanese Canadians. (Full Story)

By Daniel Shapiro and Eldad Shavit

The Democratic Party's success in regaining control of the House of Representatives is a sign of the American public's attitude toward the leadership of President Donald Trump. On the eve of the elections, the President himself stated explicitly that the results would constitute a referendum on his policy. In the American domestic arena, most legislative processes are likely to be paralyzed following the elections, but no conclusions about the 2020 presidential elections should be drawn. However, the results will require President Trump to begin preparing for the presidential race already in the coming months.  (Full Story)

Every year for several weeks before November 11, a field of scarlet poppies appears on coat lapels across Canada. This wearing of the poppy has a complex history ... (Full Story)

The Khashoggi affair, which is far from over, poses the most significant challenge to US-Saudi relations since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. Thus far, the administration’s response reflects uncertainty and ambivalence, given its understanding that Riyadh’s conduct demands a response, versus its hope that it will not be forced to acknowledge the failure of its Middle East policy, which assigns Saudi Arabia a critical role, particularly in the efforts to contain Iran. The recent events have intensified the internal unrest that has marked the kingdom for some time, against the background of the confrontational conduct of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. (Full Story)

The United Kingdom is an island nation which greatly relies on the flow of goods in and out of the country. A need for greater self-determination was the main purpose why British people voted in favour of leaving the E.U.; however, there is currently a lot of uncertainty about Brexit because London might not get any trade deal with the European Union. London and Brussels are currently negotiating the British exit from the E.U.; nevertheless, there has not been any clear outcome coming out of Brexit negotiations. Besides, there is a chance that no transition deal be signed between Britain and the E.U. We could expect unstable markets and a scarcity in goods in the event that no trade and customs deal be signed. For that reason, British people have just started to understand the scope of challenges they have to face in order to leave the European Union. As well, there might not be any deal signed between Brussels and London. (Full Story)

The Rialto Theatre on Parc Avenue in Montreal’s Mile End neighbourhood. The billboard reads "Greek movie theatre." Photo by Dr. Efie Gavaki (1988).

by Vanessa Bonneau

An international research project is exploring the experiences of Greek immigrants to Canada and will create a virtual museum to tell their stories, thanks to funding from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. (Full Story)

Certain aspects of an indigenous Sufi culture in Western Indonesia appear to protect it against radical Islamic ideology.

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By Pnina Sharvit Baruch
 
The discussion surrounding the Nation State Law has sparked a heated debate in Israeli society. One side claims that the law is a proper and necessary legislative anchor for the national character of the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people, against those who seek to deny the Jewish people’s right to a national home in its homeland. The other side argues that this is discriminatory legislation, which undermines the democratic nature of the State of Israel. In reviewing the Nation State Law, it is important to consider additional processes at the political and legal levels. An examination of the Law in the context of these processes indicates that it is too early to eulogize Israeli democracy. (Full Story)

NEW YORK—The detention of Southern Mongolian author Lhamjab A. Borjigin under expected charges of “separatism” and “sabotaging national unity” is an attack on both literary freedom and historical research, PEN America said today. (Full Story)

This Thursday, the Knesset passed the "Nation State" law. It enshrines Jewish supremacy in Israel and describes Jewish settlement as a "national value." It reserves National Self-Determination For Jews. This law passed by 62-55, with two abstentions. (Full Story)

Today I’m reaching out with this statement to share my views with all and explain the position I’ve taken on our production SLĀV. First, I would like to emphasize the fact that Betty Bonifassi, her singers, the Ex Machina team and I were aware from the beginning of the project that we were taking on a sensitive subject and that it was our responsibility to work to create this show with dilligence, respect, honesty and integrity. (Full Story)