Wednesday (Thursday) Night #2232

In view of the unusual coincidence of Hanukkah and Christmas this Wednesday, 25 December, it was decided by democratic vote, and without foreign intervention, that for this occasion ONLY, Wednesday Night would be held on Thursday, 26 December -or Friday a.m. if you live in Singapore.

We have selected a few random -not all jolly- items for what we expect to be a brief session.

U.S. Government & governance
Underlining the extraordinary events surrounding the passage of the U.S. government funding bill (See Biden signs bill that averts a government shutdown and brings a close to days of Washington upheaval): A very special view of Washington from Jeff Jackson, retiring Representative from North Carolina and in-coming N.C. Attorney General.
My last email from D.C. And a trip to the National Archives. We wish Jeff well in his new role.
We remain convinced that the Elon Musk/Trump duopoly is doomed for failure by clash of egos. We worry that Vance is standing in the wings quietly calculating his path to glory…

Canada Government & governance
Not to be left out of the news, Canada has continued its own imbroglio, generated by Chrystia Freeland’s resignation.
(Related over-the-holidays reading “Chrystia: From Peace River to Parliament Hill,” the unauthorized biography, written by Toronto-based journalist Catherine Tsalikis and released early by House of Anansi Press.)
The Cabinet shuffle introduced 8 new members, including our friend Rachel Bendayan, the new Minister of Official Languages, who has never to our knowledge, said one word on behalf of the linguistic minority (English-speaking) of Quebec.
As the Prime Minister reflects on his future, NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh dropped a letter declaring his party will be moving a motion of non-confidence in the new year, and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre wrote to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon pushing for her to talk to Trudeau about recalling the House for a confidence vote.
Meantime, who will form Team Canada for the face-off on Trump tariffs?

Romania gets a new government
Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu secured a parliamentary vote of confidence on Monday, cementing a new coalition government amid the country’s worst political crisis in decades. Lawmakers voted 240-143 to back Ciolacu, who served as Prime Minister since June 2023. He will govern with a pro-EU alliance of Social Democrats, Liberals, ethnic Hungarians, and minority groups. The vote puts a pause – for now – on the political drama that ensued following the first round of presidential elections December 1.

Syria so far so good?
UN investigative team says Syria’s new authorities ‘very receptive’ to probe of Assad war crimes
The U.N. organization assisting in investigating the most serious crimes in Syria said Monday the country’s new authorities were “very receptive” to its request for cooperation during a just-concluded visit to Damascus, and it is preparing to deploy.
Syria says ex-rebel groups agree to integrate under Defence Ministry
De facto Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa says factions agreed to disband following a meeting with the heads of the groups.
However, the Kurdish-led and United States-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) group in northeastern Syria is not part of the deal just announced.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir had said last week that the ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Bashar al-Assad’s army.
What will Syria’s future look like? The answer could lie in other Arab countries’ recent pasts

But Israel continues to bring problems. A consensus is emerging: Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.
On 5 December, Amnesty International concluded after an investigation that “Israel has committed and is continuing to commit genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip”. A few days later, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) stated that after research and analysis, it concluded that “there is a legally sound argument that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza”.
A few days after that, Human Rights Watch (HRW) declared that “Israeli authorities are responsible for the crime against humanity of extermination and for acts of genocide”, and Médecins Sans Frontières reported that its medical “teams in the north of Gaza are seeing clear signs of ethnic cleansing”. Earlier in November, HRW also concluded that Israel’s actions in Gaza amounted to “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity”, and appeared to “also meet the definition of ethnic cleansing”.
Holy Fascism – An Essay for Christmas

Celebrating Wednesday Night’s automotive expert
Potential Honda-Nissan merger could be the first of many as carmakers try to challenge China
(CBC) … Together, Honda and Nissan would bring “collective muscle and size and scale to meet the challenges of the Chinese automakers like BYD, and Tesla, the other big electric player in the marketplace,” said Peter Frise, a professor of engineering at the University of Windsor.
… Even the world’s largest auto companies have fallen behind in developing new motors, controllers, batteries and charging systems that can be re-engineered into a viable electric vehicle product, according to Frise, the engineering professor.
Smaller companies have always struggled with “shouldering the burden of developing these incredibly expensive programs to bring electric vehicles forward,” said Frise. “So there are a lot of partnerships in the auto industry that people don’t know about.” For example, Ford and General Motors worked together years ago to build an automatic transmission, he said.
Honda being the likely “senior partner” in a merger with Nissan is good news for Canadian manufacturing, added Frise, because of Honda Canada’s high standing within the company’s global operations: “I think we can feel reasonably good that the Honda Canada operations will do well within this merged company if it does come to pass.”

A rival for Notre-Dame de Paris?
‘It’s pure beauty’ – Italy’s largest medieval mosaics restored
1.1 million: The stunning mosaics of Monreale Cathedral in Sicily have completed a $1.1 million restoration, bringing them back to a resplendent golden shine nearly nine centuries after they were first created — just in time for Christmas mass. Built by Sicilian artisans for their new Norman overlords, they are the largest Byzantine artworks outside of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (then Constantinople), and among the best-preserved artefacts of the early medieval Mediterranean.

The end of a 55-year era
Inside ‘Sesame Street’ as it fights to survive
With a lucrative HBO deal ending, the show tackles emotional well-being and remakes itself to win over a new generation.
“Sesame Street,” is facing significant business and creative hurdles as it enters its 55th season. HBO, where episodes have debuted since 2016, told Sesame Workshop at least nine months ago that it was not renewing its contract, and the show has not yet found a new streaming service to replace that critical revenue. The audience for the show has shrunk as competition has grown. And the street is filled with Muppets — so many that some fear it’s tough for kids to form strong connections with any of them.

In conclusion
For those who do not observe Christmas or Hanukkah, we offer A full list of December holidays and observances in 2024 that embraces sublime and ridiculous (many more of the latter).

Designed by Eva Prager some 40 years ago +/- 2000

We are also thrilled to share this charming card, thanks to Eva’s son, Vincent. Such a talent!

John Evdokias sums-up our sentiments: “It’s not what’s under the Christmas tree but who’s around it”. We call on all Wednesday-Nighters -past and present- to gather around our virtual tree in thought and spirit!
I treasure you each and every one, and our unique friendships.
Meanwhile, as we wish one another a joyous Hanukah and blessed Christmas filled with light, love and laughter, we pause to remember those near and dear to us who have left during the past year for the great Wednesday Night in The Cloud with Chairman David, including André Audet, Albert Sévigny, my very dear friend from Georgetown days Jim Heffernan, and most recently, Herb Bercovitz, pillar of the earlier Wednesday Nights, and Tony Shine, architect, wit and great friend.
Before we sign off, some gentle Christmas humour, starting with the 2020 Message from then-Minister of Transport Marc Garneau clears Santa for take-off in Canadian airspace for Christmas 2020! eminently appropriate as Covid rears its ugly head again.
I Hope The Roof Does Not Cave In
Randy Vancourt wrote this song a couple of years ago, pre-pandemic, when it was still permissible to make jokes about the people who only ever enter a church on Christmas Eve. Seems ironic now?
And finally, for our 4-footed companions:
Martin Clunes reads The Night Before Christmas to Rocky the Underdog a specially adapted version for reading prior to the dogs getting tucked in for the night. His audience is a (mostly) attentive brindle Greyhound.

Merry Christmas to all and to all, a good night!