For those coming to #ISA2023, welcome to Montreal!
I called the city home until recently, so put together this 🧵 on things you can do. Hope it's helpful.
The city has tons to offer – especially beyond the trap of conference halls and Ste. Catherine’s street!
MTL is a city of neighbourhoods.
Explore them!
Three I recommend are Verdun, Little Italy, & the Plateau (esp Mont Royal street). All have great, quirky bars, some of the best restaurants in Canada, and are just plain beautiful and fun.
A visit to MTL is not complete without heading up Mont Royal (that big bump in the middle of the city).
From the conference, your best bet is to head up and through McGill, so you can check out the university.
The mountain has a ton to offer, with lots of great trails that are easily accessible, great to run, x-country ski, or just merrily stumble up with friends.
If you get hungry or thirsty, there’s a great cantina a Beaver Lake, on your way up (or down).
If you head up, make sure to check out the view of MTL from the Kondiaronk Belvedere: montreal.ca/lieux/belveder…
You can’t see Alaska, but you can see pretty far!
You can also go to the cemetery on the mountain, & visit the grave of Mordechai Richler, the city’s beloved novelist.
Now, if you’re feeling really adventurous & want to see what a spaceship stuck in the ground looks like, check out the Olympic Stadium.
It’s my favourite building city (an unpopular take) & 100% worth a visit. If you get out there, you can also check out the biodome!
McGill’s campus is worth checking out. And it’s changing.
You won’t actually see a statue of its founder James McGill, as the university and its student body is grappling with the fact that McGill enslaved Indigenous and Black people. More on that here: montreal.ctvnews.ca/researchers-pi…
For those interested in art, the Musée des Beaux Arts is a walk away.
If you’re feeling like throwing down cash to get some new art, I highly recommend La Guilde: laguilde.com/en
It’s been around since 1906 and has a stunning collection of genuine Indigenous art.
On the theme of Indigenous peoples, remember: you are on unceded Indigenous land of the Kanien’kehà:ka. Learn about them: kahnawake.com/community/hist…
We are guests here and must take that seriously.
And if you're planning to do a land acknowledgement at #ISA2023, be sure to make it meaningful. Don’t make it a performative moment or akin to “please turn off your cellphones”.
Of course, and I’m sure everyone coming knows this – the Old Port is stunning. Do check it out but remember: it can also be a tourist trap.
And if find yourself down there and fancy a cocktail, check out Cold Room: thecoldroommtl.com
Speaking of cocktails, Montreal is a cocktail heaven.
Some of my favourite, special spots are Big in Japan on St Laurent and the Cloakroom on Rue de la Montagne.
They’re both a bit secret too, so you’ll feel special when you go. But also: sshhhh
For food, you don’t need me. There are so many phenomenal restaurants here. But if you have a couple of spare hours, do make sure to check out two of Montreal’s best markets: Jean Talon and Atwater: marchespublics-mtl.com/en/marches/atw…
They’re both gems.
For sports lovers, this is a rough time for Montreal.
Their hockey team is doing terribly. They’ll also never be as great as the Ottawa Senators, which you should 100% tell every Montreal Canadiens fan you see. Expect hugs.
But the Habs doing badly might just mean you can score some tickets cheap.
Bonus: the arena is a short walk away from the conference hotels.
Again, welcome to Montreal!
Please do take some time to explore this city and what it has to offer. It’s a cultural mecca, and super easy to get around via bus, metro or on foot (so long as there’s no blizzard). Avoid Uber though - it's super unreliable here. #protip
I hope other Montrealers and regulars can share other great things about the city in the thread.
Have fun, have a great #ISA2023, and don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions! ✌️
A lot of folks have (understandably) criticized the #ICC Prosecutor's office for not acting on the situation in Palestine sooner.
A brief 🧵 to put the timing and duration of ICC decision-making into a bit of context.
Firstly, the ICC is not known for being especially quick to act. With very few exceptions (e.g. Libya for Gaddafi), it typically takes the Prosecutor years to issue warrants.
The Prosecutor moves more quickly where high levels of cooperation is available to investigators.
The most common comparison for 🇵🇸 is to 🇺🇦. Many say the ICC acted quickly in Ukraine, but has yet to do so in the situation in Palestine.
This is not quite true, and however understandable comparisons can sometimes fail.
New 🧵 on the additional questions around the #ICC's investigation into the situation in Palestine.
Lots of misinformation out there, so hope to clear a few things up:
✅Palestinian statehood before the ICC
✅Jurisdiction over Hamas and Israeli authorities
✅Complementarity
This thread follows the one I posted yesterday, where I covered reports that Israeli authorities are holding emergency meetings over concerns that the ICC will issue warrants shortly, including against PM Netanyahu.
A short(ish) 🧵 on reports that Netanyahu and his government are in emergency talks over credible "information" they have received that the #ICC plans to issue warrants against senior figures in the Israeli government, including Netanyahu.
First of all, on the veracity of the information:
It's possible that it's wrong. The ICC Office of the Prosecutor is unlikely to share news of warrants unless it was imminent (1-2 days before).
But I very much doubt meetings would be held if the information was complete bunk.
The #ICC is not immune to intelligence operations and espionage - and Israel is good at those things. So too are its allies. They'll be aware of developments before they happen.
If the #ICJ issues provisional measures - an end to military ops in Gaza, an end to expulsions, allowing food & aid in, giving access to a fact-finding mission - what happens next?
The ICJ's orders are binding, but there's no enforcement mechanism. So what's the point?
Brief 🧵
To be sure, the lack of enforcement is a real challenge.
Legally, the UN Security Council can enforce ICJ orders. But w the 🇺🇸 sitting on the Council w a veto, there's no chance that it do so will in this case. This pic from the UNSC's ceasefire vote on 9 December says it all.
And we've seen this before: in the Ukraine-Russia case over alleged genocide in Ukraine, the ICJ ordered Russia to immediately suspend military ops.
That was in 2022. It obviously did not happen: Russia has continued to attack Ukraine and commit atrocities against civilians.
Having worked w diplomats from dozens of states, I can emphatically say that we should be suspicious of any foreign affairs advice from Stephen Harper. He did our reputation💥 damage & did little to prepare Canada for this harsh new global order. #cdnpolitheglobeandmail.com/politics/artic…
There is every reason to believe that the content and timing of Harper’s comments on Chinese interference are intended not to be helpful to Canadians but to bolster Pierre Poilievre’s toxic politics.
If I had a penny for every time I heard over the years from diplomats and staff working at international organizations things like “what is wrong with Harper?”, “What happened to Canada?”, “Where did Canada go?”, “You’re harder to work with than the Americans”, etc. I’d be rich.