Wednesday Night #2242

Ramadan, Lent, Leap Forward (DST), Liberal Leadership, pale in the shadow of Trump tariffs, DOGE  offenses, Israel-Gaza-peace plan(s), Putin-Trump-Ukraine …
We will forego the detailed examination of Trump’s excessively long (1 hr,40 mins), unwieldy and frequently factually flawed address (President Donald Trump distorted the facts on fraud, immigration, aid to Ukraine, the economy, autism and more – FactChecking Trump’s Address to Congress)  to Congress aka State of the Nation. If you crave punishment see Long reads below.

Ukraine-US-Russia-Europe
While most of us were expressing our rage over the disgraceful treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’ by Trump and Vance in the Oval Office (see Long reads The Rise of the Brutal American),  in full view of the television audience, the Europeans were meeting to develop a peace plan to present to the US. UK’s Starmer says Europe is at ‘crossroads in history’ as leaders agree to steps to Ukraine peace Exactly how this plan (Britain, France refine Ukraine peace plan with new Washington trip in mind) meshes with the minerals deal (below) is not clear.
In response, Vance Ignites Outrage in Britain With ‘Random Country’ Comment
The vice president denied that he was talking about Britain and France when he downplayed “20,000 troops from some random country” protecting Ukraine. No other countries have pledged troops.
For the past few weeks I have been steeped in accounts of British intelligence operations during WW II, biographies of some of the extraordinary people of SOE, and the relationship between the two Bills – (American) Donovan of OSS and (Canadian) Stephenson aka ‘Intrepid’ of British Security Co-ordination (BSC). Vance’s comments are particularly offensive to anyone familiar with the heroism of these individuals and their allies of the French Resistance.
Once again, President Zelenskiy has proven himself to be an extraordinary patriot, swallowing his pride and signalling that Ukraine was ready to sign the critical minerals deal and talk peace, describing the Oval Office meeting last week after which it was put on hold “regrettable.”
But despite these gestures, US cuts intelligence for Ukraine, adding pressure for peace deal

Arab leaders adopt Egypt’s Gaza reconstruction plan
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi’s plan for Gaza counters the US proposal to take over the enclave.
An Arab summit convened in Cairo has adopted an Egyptian plan for the reconstruction of Gaza, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.
The plan aims to counter President Donald Trump’s proposals for a “Middle East Riviera” by presenting a scheme for rebuilding the devastated strip without displacing its population.

Trudeau meets with King Charles, says Canada’s sovereignty was discussed

Crypto strategic reserve?
Trump sends crypto prices on a short-lived surge after announcement of strategic government reserve short-lived is the operative adjective as Trump’s Crypto Reserve Plan Raises Doubts. The prospect of using taxpayer money to stockpile cryptocurrencies in a national reserve has drawn criticism from lawmakers and investors; plus Trump’s Crypto Reserve Hit With Unexpected Backlash From Billionaire Allies.

Trump Tariff Tuesday and Mixed Message Wednesday
Trudeau and Trump talk ‘trade and fentanyl’ in first call since tariffs launched
White House announces temporary exemption for carmakers
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrapped up a call with his U.S. counterpart midday Wednesday, and there are expected to be more discussions between the two leaders’ teams throughout the afternoon.
Trump may meet Canada, Mexico ‘in the middle’ on tariffs Wednesday: Lutnick
By late afternoon Tuesday, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox News Trump will “work something out with them” and on Wednesday morning, he sort-of confirmed to Bloomberg, but insisted that “this is not a trade war, it’s a drug war” – about fentanyl. See Trump to Decide on Canada, Mexico Relief Today, Lutnick Says
Pick your favorite comprehensive coverage, but DO NOT MISS PM Trudeau’s outstanding performance on Tuesday morning.
Watch Trudeau speak directly to Trump during blistering speech
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau outlined how his country will respond to the blanket 25 percent tariffs President Trump imposed on Canada and Mexico.
Byron Haskins comments:
Mr. Putin has finally got his revenge for the Ukraine War sanctions from the USA and Canada through the Trump Tariffs. The only country in the world that benefits from the tariffs is Russia. This brings our booming economies down to the disastrous level of Russia’s. It weakens the Euro as well. It destroys all progress made at the southern border with Mexico and beyond. This is socio-political murder-suicide. The headlines of all the newspapers tomorrow should display the words: “Putin wins”, and say why. The Trump economic team are all Russian assets. Trump is Putin’s poison pill.
Trudeau to Trump: You’re a smart guy. But this is a ‘very dumb’ thing to do.’
You heard it first at Wednesday Night!
How tariffs could upend the auto industry and add thousands to car prices
From raw metal to engines, components travel all over North America before they’re put into cars. What happens if they’re taxed at every stop?
Our esteemed Professor Frise is quoted in the Washington Post
While understandably preoccupied with the tariffs that affect Canada and Mexico, do not neglet developments in China where Premier Li Qiang delivered a state-of-the-union-type address to the National People’s Congress.
“An increasingly complex and severe external environment may exert a greater impact on China in areas such as trade, science, and technology,” he said.

Andrew Caddell notes that this week’s column Trudeau top 10 list—of failure was written last week for a Monday deadline, before the PM found his voice. After 9+ years.
A Trudeau top 10 list—of failure
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent without consideration for the public purse, failed to encourage greater unity, and was ineffective in governing.

Canadian non(or only marginally)-tariff- news
Is the Liberal leadership race a bit too clubby?
Freeland says she’d invite Carney to be finance minister if she wins Liberal leadership
Former deputy PM says Liberals should choose a ‘proven political leader’
Ottawa files notice to intervene in Supreme Court hearing on Quebec’s secularism bill
Bill 21 prohibits civil servants in positions of authority from wearing religious symbols to work
The top court announced in January it had granted leave to appeal to several groups that oppose the law, though no date has been set for the hearing.
Lumber tariffs could have severe impact on B.C.’s softwood industry
The U.S. Department of Commerce issued a preliminary anti-dumping rate of 20.07 per cent, up from 7.66 per cent set three years ago, which is in addition to countervailing duties of 6.74 per cent.
That brings the total for potential levies to almost 27 per cent, and with the addition of the 25 per cent tariffs that went into effect on Tuesday, that means the total tariffs would be 52 per cent in terms of the combined duties and tariffs later this year.
Accomplir l’impossible grâce aux tarifs de Trump: Faire aimer le Canada au Québec
Rien de mieux qu’une guerre commerciale pour unifier le pays
by Toula Drimonis
Translated by Kim Lan Dô-Chastenay
Si le Québec et le Canada cherchent à répliquer aux attaques de Donald Trump, il existe une occasion en or.
Une occasion encore plus satisfaisante que de taxer le jus d’orange de la Floride ou le Jack Daniel’s du Tennessee. Une occasion, surtout, qui engendrerait de formidables répercussions à long terme chez nous, sans nous priver de rien.
Je parle d’attirer ici les meilleurs cerveaux installés aux États-Unis, qu’ils soient canadiens, américains ou étrangers.
Quebec announces student allocations for its universities
These educational institutions will now be limited as to how many new international students they can accept, via the announced caps on study permit applications.

Varia
Canada goose fights off bald eagle in rare, symbolism-laden battle on ice
Photographer captures 20-minute clash between birds emblematic of Canada and US amid high trade tensions
Despite multiple attacks by the eagle, the goose remained unbowed. The raptor, defeated, flew off.
What to know about Lesotho, the country Trump said ‘nobody has ever heard of’
In his Tuesday night address to Congress, President Trump defended his administration’s humanitarian aid cuts to countries around the globe, including one nation he joked “nobody has ever heard of” -the southern African nation of Lesotho.
We well remember when Sam Stein undertook his first ICAO consulting assignment to Lesotho (and we had not heard of the country).
How ‘wearables for wildlife’ are unlocking the secret knowledge of animals
By placing trackers on animals around the world, scientists are discovering what they know
For generations, goat herders in the Mount Etna area have noticed that goats act differently before a volcanic eruption. By tracking the goats’ locations with transmitter tags, scientists have measured specific movements that can accurately predict a volcanic eruption — up to 14 hours in advance.

Media
At a time when relations between the White House and mainstream media are fraught, a new film “Becoming Katharine Graham: The Only Woman in the Room” — premiered Sunday night at the Kennedy Center. Documenting the courage of Katharine Graham shows how she empowered The Washington Post to pursue and publish journalism that changed the world.
We are betting that Jeff Bezos was not present. (See Long reads)

Last week Marie Cormier joined us from the cruise that would take her through the Panama Canal. hence we are doubly interested in this story. Wondering if any of her shipmates are aware?
Hong Kong firm to sell stake in Panama Canal ports
Trump threatened to take back the canal because of what he called Chinese influence. CK Hutchison, a Hong Kong company, is selling its control in a firm that ran two ports on the canal.
CK Hutchison said the proposed sale was part of a bigger deal in which the consortium led by New York-based BlackRock Inc. would also acquire an 80 percent interest in its units that owned, operated and developed 43 other ports in 23 countries. The value of the entire deal is $22.8 billion, the companies said.
CK Hutchison had held 90 percent control of the Panama Ports Company, which owns and operates the ports of Balboa and Cristobal on either end of the canal. Companies from the United States, Taiwan and Singapore operate other ports at the canal.
(Reuters) The sale of Panama Ports licenses held by the unit of billionaire Li Ka-shing’s conglomerate to a consortium that includes BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners and Terminal Investment will give it control of an 80% interest in Hutchison Ports for an equity value of $14.21 billion.

Long reads
A very, very, very, very long read
Full Transcript of President Trump’s Speech to Congress
In a speech to Congress in his first weeks in office, the president laid out his vision to remake U.S. policy on the military, trade, immigration and foreign aid.

Andrew Coyne: Donald Trump is trying to destroy Canada
“What he wants is to see a total collapse of the Canadian economy, because that will make it easier to annex us.”
After all the pretexts, after all the fake grievances – migrants, fentanyl, trade deficits, banks – there is no longer any doubt. After months of attempting to mollify Donald Trump, only to be struck by the same 25-per-cent, across-the-board tariff first announced in November, the Prime Minister at last saw no reason not to lay out the reality of our situation in the starkest possible terms.
The President of the United States is trying to destroy us.

A very long -and painful- read
Where Jeff Bezos Went Wrong With The Washington Post
The billionaire handled his ownership admirably for more than a decade. But his courage failed him when he needed it most.

The global right learns that all populism is local
Donald Trump has supercharged the international right, serving as an inspiration to right-leaning populist movements across the globe.
Yet Trump’s embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin, his rough treatment of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his suspension of aid to the embattled nation fighting off a Russian invasion is revealing the seams in the burgeoning global alliance.
Among Trump’s European fellow travelers, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has long been a staunch supporter of Ukraine aid and Marine LePen, the leader of the National Rally in France, strongly condemned Trump’s decision to cut off support to Ukraine calling it “reprehensible and cruel” in a newspaper interview on Tuesday.

No One Wins a Trade War
Protective tariffs risk triggering a cycle of escalation that ends well for no one.
Donald Trump is fond of saying that trade wars are easy to win. Among the litany of patently false Trumpisms, this may well prove one of the most disastrous.
Last week, Trump claimed that his threatened—and deferred—25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada will finally go into effect tomorrow. He also said that existing 10 percent tariffs on Chinese goods will double. Whether he’s bluffing is anyone’s guess.

The Rise of the Brutal American
This is how the bad guys act.
By Anne Applebaum
I happened to be at gatherings in three European cities over the past several days, and everywhere I went, everyone wanted to talk about the Oval Office performance last Friday. Europeans needed some time to process this event, not just because of what it told them about the war in Ukraine, but because of what it told them about America, a country they thought they knew well. In just a few minutes, the behavior of Donald Trump and J. D. Vance created a brand-new stereotype for America: not the quiet American, not the ugly American, but the brutal American.

Jeffrey Simpson: Trump
(National Newswatch) “Today’s Trump bewildering administration reflects social, political, cultural and judicial trends that have been coursing through the veins of the United States for many years. It would be to misunderstand the depth of these trends to imagine that they will disappear soon. Yes, Donald Trump might die in office for he is 78 years old. But even if he survives this term, it is inconceivable that a man so consequential and egotistical could remain silent. Self-admiration, after all, has been his trademark, and that will only end at the grave. Thereafter, what he has done to his party and his country will long endure, especially the fixed idea of the U.S. as a self-pitying colossus, preyed upon by others.”

Thank you, Peter Frise and Doug Sweet, for Average Joes We are Canadian, uncharacteristic boosterism we all need!