Canadian intelligence’s antenna in Quebec is too white for their bosses’ liking. They want to quickly recruit spies from a variety of backgrounds to hone their agency in specific communities at a time when interference from foreign powers like China is increasingly preoccupying them.

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Government agencies and other employers often speak of the need to increase diversity in their teams by promoting the principle of equal opportunity in access to employment. This is also the case with the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS).

But within the organization tasked with protecting national security, another aspect comes into play: operational effectiveness on the ground.

CSIS secret agents learn to hide in the background to track down foreign spies on Canadian soil, combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, or spot potential terrorists. And in order not to fade into the background, it is better to be able to count on a pool of agents whose appearance is representative of the reality of the country in 2022. Despite notable progress in recent years, the organization recognizes that it still has a long way to go, particularly with regard to its Quebec workforce.

The CSIS emphasizes that this is a very specific question of visibility in surveillance or infiltration operations, but also a question of cultural skills.

Mandarin particularly in demand

“You have to be able to mingle with a diverse population. For the Quebec region, we are currently looking for people from racist groups and diversity,” CSIS’ director general for the Quebec region said during a briefing with La Presse this week. Given the highly confidential nature of many of her duties, the manager had to speak without her name.

For its Montreal office, CSIS is looking for Secret Service agents, surveillance agents and analysts who are able to decipher conversations in foreign languages. Current job postings for the latter position highlight Arabic, Somali, Farsi, Kurdish, Sorani, Russian, Punjabi, Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Spanish language requirements. But those in charge of the organization make no secret of the fact that Mandarin is particularly in demand.

PHOTO ADRIAN WYLD, THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVE

Michelle Tessier, CSIS Deputy Chief of Operations, visited the State of Emergency Commission in Ottawa on November 21

CSIS Deputy Chief of Operations Michelle Tessier told a House of Commons committee last month that Canadian intelligence agencies are “increasingly concerned” about China’s efforts to influence Canadian politics.

They are actors of foreign interference and we have said publicly that we are concerned about activities related to threats to Canada’s security, including foreign interference by the Chinese Communist Party.

Michelle Tessier, deputy operations manager at CSIS, before a House of Commons committee last month

CSIS chief David Vigneault has also spoken publicly about China’s attempts to steal technological secrets and intimidate dissidents who oppose the Chinese regime on Canadian soil. Other foreign countries are involved in the same type of activities, he said.

Same threats in Quebec

Threats are the same in Quebec as elsewhere in Canada, CSIS officials say. During the briefing with La Presse, they emphasized that foreign interference and espionage are part of their “daily bread”, like for their colleagues from other regions.

Hiring agents from diverse backgrounds and agents who speak multiple languages ​​can also help maintain better relationships with communities likely to be targets of influence or intimidation campaigns by foreign powers, as well as the threat posed by far-right groups, CSIS believes.

But the competition is strong to recruit the rare pearls in the field. Other organizations have similar requirements.

Last month, during the bail hearing of Yuesheng Wang, a Chinese man accused of industrial espionage in Hydro-Quebec, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer impressed several listeners when he was suddenly spoken to in Mandarin through an interpreter present at the courthouse. Investigator Stacy Gagné explained that during the investigation into espionage in Hydro-Québec, she had to translate many documents into Mandarin. To the uninitiated, his accent sounded pretty fluid. However, he explained that even after years of studying, he still found it difficult to converse in this language orally.

Ukrainian police on Friday arrested eight people who cut out a mural by graffiti artist Banksy painted on a yellow battle-scarred wall in Kyiv.

The group managed to cut part of the mural out of cardboard and plaster, which depicts a woman in a gas mask and dressing gown holding a fire extinguisher.

Her motive was unclear. Portal news agency suggested they were attempting to steal the artwork.

What happened to the mural?

The group of eight was spotted in Hostomel, on the northwestern outskirts of the Ukrainian capital.

The police confiscated the mural at the crime scene and took it under their protection. The Ministry of Culture was convened to decide his fate.

“After all, these images are symbols of our fight against the enemy… We will do everything we can to preserve these street artworks as a symbol of our victory,” Kyiv Governor Oleksiy Kuleba said in a statement.

The wall in Hostomel after the police took the Banksy muralImage: National Police of Kyiv Region Andrii Nebytov via Telegram/Handout via Portal

Banksy in Kyiv

The renowned but anonymous British artist’s work can sell for millions of dollars, making him one of the most famous living street artists.

He confirmed painting seven murals across Kyiv in the past month. He visited areas hit by heavy fighting since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

A mural painted on a badly damaged wall shows a girl doing a handstand over a piece of debris. Another shows a young boy flipping a black-belt grown man who appears to resemble Russian President Vladimir Putin, known for his appreciation of martial arts.

Banksy’s largely political art, notable for its stenciling technique, can be found around the world, including in some conflict zones.

Murals by elusive artist Banksy discovered in Ukraine

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rmt/sms (dpa, Portal)

Fifteen days after announcing his candidacy for the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump, whose speeches and actions appear to be becoming increasingly radical, depressed on Thursday evening, January 1 in Washington, January 6, 2021, several American media outlets, including the New York Times, report and the Washington Post.

“People have been treated unconstitutionally and very, very unfairly in my view and we are going to get to the bottom of this. It is the militarization of the Justice Department and we cannot allow this to happen in our country,” the former President of the United States says in a video (not accessible from France) in support of the Patriot Freedom Project. This fundraiser was created to help rioters trying to use force to oppose then-Vice President Mike Pence’s ratification of Joe Biden’s victory.

“The men and women who campaigned for what they believed to be fraudulent elections are now suffering greatly from political persecution. Women and children are at risk from the unjust imprisonment of their husbands. As Americans, we must stand with these families and help them today,” the fundraising website reads. In that case, nearly 900 people were arrested, of whom at least 100 were sentenced to prison, including two for sedition.

bulky guests

Donald Trump had already promised in September to pardon them and apologize to them on behalf of the United States if he was re-elected in 2024. He himself is the subject of an investigation into the attack on the Capitol and another into the White House archives.

Also Read: United States: Attorney General Appoints Special Attorney to Oversee Investigation into Donald Trump

“Our nation has used law enforcement against the opposition party like never before,” he said ahead of the November midterm elections at a rally in Ohio, where he played a tune very close to the anthem of the far-right conspiracy movement QAnon, which his supporters chorused about. More recently, it was his dinner with Kanye West – now nicknamed “Ye” – that made headlines.

Also read: Article reserved for our subscribers Kanye West praises Hitler and embarrasses the Republican Party

The rapper, meanwhile a supposed supporter of anti-Semitic theses, who once again stood out for his admiration for Adolf Hitler, was accompanied by the white racist Nick Fuentes. Author of a podcast entitled “America First”, in which he particularly questioned the reality of the Holocaust, the latter came to prominence in 2017 during the violence of far-right activists in Charlottesville, Virginia. He is also the leader of the “Groypers”, a group of racist, homophobic and sexist “trolls”. It was finally shot, with a megaphone in hand, on January 6, 2021 in front of the Capitol.

Read the decryption: Article reserved for our subscribers The Oath Keepers, far-right militia who led attack on Capitol, face charges of “conspiracy to sedition”.

The former White House tenant tried to defuse the controversy sparked by this dinner organized at his mansion in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, assuring that it was “quick” and “without incident”. be. “We got along very well, he didn’t say anything anti-Semitic, and I appreciated all the nice things he said about me (…). Why shouldn’t I agree to meet him? ‘ he wrote of the singer on his network Truth Social. As for Nick Fuentes, Trump assures that he knew nothing about him before this visit.

An ally of Israel

It particularly aroused the outrage of the Zionist Organization of America, which called on the former president to “condemn in the strongest possible terms Kanye West, who hates Jews, and Nick Fuentes, the Holocaust revisionist and avowed racist.

Nevertheless, 15 days earlier, the same organization had awarded the former head of state the Theodor Herzl Medal “for his unparalleled services to the benefit of Israel and the American Jewish community,” thanking him for Abraham’s agreements between Israel and the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, which Relocation of the American embassy to Jerusalem, recognition of Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal and the end of transfer funds to the Palestinians. The award was given to just a handful of leaders, including former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, former US President Harry Truman, Israeli Prime Ministers David Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir.

“The United States and Israel are allies not only militarily, but also economically and politically. We are also morally, culturally and spiritually allies and always will be – at least if I may express my opinion on that,” said Donald Trump at the awards ceremony.

In the video uploaded Thursday night, he makes it clear that supporting the Jan. 6, 2021 rioters will be a key theme in his campaign to retake the White House. “We will, as you know, think about it and talk about it very, very heavily in the coming weeks, the coming months (…) during the election campaign,” he promised.

Jean Philippe Lefief

Details Written by Prensa Latina Published: December 03, 2022 Views: 32

MOSCOW.- US warships could dump dangerous chemicals into the northern sea lane in a bid to indict Russia, the Russian Defense Ministry reported today.

According to the military authority, intentional contamination of the sea, for example by dumping fuel or other dangerous chemical substances of Russian origin, cannot be ruled out, the magazine “Voennaya Misl” reported on Saturday.

The Northern Sea Route, which skirts the Russian coast in the Arctic Ocean, is the shortest shipping route between Europe and the Asia-Pacific region and is an important alternative to others connecting these regions.

Targeted provocations in the Barents Sea are also to be expected from the USA, the publication continues.

The US ships could conduct their false flag operations near Wrangel Island, the New Zemlia Archipelago and Franz Josef Land, the media warned.