Wednesday Night #2271

OUTRAGE is the predominant colour for this week’s U.S  news.

Starting with the on-again-off-again Jimmy Kimmel suspension by ABC; followed by Trump’s and Bibi’s reaction to the recognition of the Palestinian State by Canada, France, the UK and others (see Long reads);
CBC News Network’s Aarti Pole speaks with Form. Amb. Jeremy Kinsman about the Palestinian statehood while C Uday Bhaskar writes
Belated European recognition for Palestinian statehood is a response to popular empathy but lacks teeth – The UK and France have taken the lead to diverge from the US position on Palestinian statehood. But on their own, there’s little they can do to bring about a viable Palestinian state. As for India, it’s possible to do better in balancing strategic interests with a humanitarian impulse
Then came the opinion pieces decrying Trump’s attempts at suppression of free speech, along with his admission during his Charlie Kirk rant & ramble that he hates his opponents. His appearance at the UN was apparently marred by an escalator mishap, and then one with his teleprompter, prompting outraged accusations and demands Trump White House wants investigation into stopped escalator at UN, although it seems that the mishaps were due to members of Trump’s entourage. UN says Trump’s team to blame for nonworking escalator and teleprompter
All of which led up to Trump’s very unpresidential declarations to UNGA ‘Your countries are going to hell’: Trump bashes United Nations, world leaders in speech

There was also considerable (unjustifiable?) outrage on the part of FBI Director Kash (unfortunate first name!) Patel during his Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.
5 fiery moments from Kash Patel’s explosive Senate hearing

Oh yes, there is the Golden Visa story following the ICE raid on the Hyundai complex in southeastern Georgia (See Long reads ‘America Is Not a Safe Place to Work’) that caused instant outrage among nations, especially South Korea and India, along with a number of companies, although the latter are calming a bit after officials clarified the fee wouldn’t apply to existing visa holders or renewals.Corporate America Waits to See What Happens With H-1Bs

And finally (well, not really), Trump makes unproven link between autism and Tylenol which provoked instantaneous and serious responses. The US president claimed on Monday that taking Tylenol, known as paracetamol elsewhere, “is no good” and that pregnant women should “fight like hell” to only take it in cases of extreme fever.Medical experts have strongly pushed back on the claims, with some calling the president’s comments dangerous.
What we know about rising autism rates and Trump’s unproven Tylenol link

News and Social Media matters
Jimmy Kimmel’s return will not be the end of the story
The comedian gave an impassioned speech on a platform he knows he might not have for long.
“They want to pick and choose what the news is,” Jimmy Kimmel said Tuesday night in his much-anticipated return to the airwaves after Disney suspended his show last week.
It was not a timid sally. Nor was it timidly received by an enthusiastic audience that welcomed him back with a standing ovation.
The embattled late-night host was discussing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s shocking new initiative, which requires credentialed journalists covering the Pentagon to sign a “pledge” to not report on — that is, keep from the American public — information the administration hasn’t specifically authorized for release. Even if it’s unclassified. “I know that’s not as interesting as muzzling a comedian, but it’s so important to have a free press, and it is nuts that we aren’t paying more attention to it,” he said.
Jimmy Kimmel’s comeback: Tylenol quip and remarks on Trump
Jimmy Kimmel addressed his suspension, Donald Trump, and the importance of free speech
Taking direct aim at Trump, Kimmel declared: “You almost have to feel sorry for him. He tried his best to cancel me. Instead, he forced millions of people to watch the show. That backfired bigly. He might have to release the Epstein files to distract us from this.”
Though Disney and ABC reinstated the show, major affiliate groups including Sinclair and Nexstar have continued to preempt Jimmy Kimmel Live!, with FCC chair Brendan Carr praising their decision.
While the Trump administration continues to attack free speech, criminalize adversaries and attempt to crush liberal foundations, conservative billionaires have acquired Paramount and CBS, stand in line to own Warner Bros. Discovery and are positioned to extend right-wing control of social media platforms well beyond Elon Musk’s X. (See Long reads ‘They Cheated Like Dogs, but We Got Them Back’)

NATO Allies at Odds Over How to Respond to Russia’s Threats
Beyond the disastrous events in -or caused by- the U.S. , there is still much to worry about, especially the recent Russian incursions into the airspace of NATO allies Poland, Romania and Estonia. Taken together, they increase pressure on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to formulate a convincing response. Without a clear plan of how to react, the alliance will struggle to maintain a credible deterrence. …
Trump added his weight to the debate during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. When asked by a reporter if he backed NATO allies taking down Russian aircraft, he responded “Yes, I do.”
But the US position is still murky. Trump declined to say whether the White House would support NATO if it engaged Russian planes over its airspace, saying it “depends on the circumstance” but that “we’re very strong toward NATO.” – a welcome statement, even if reversible in nano seconds.
Another outcome from the meeting: ‘Ukraine is in a position to fight and win all of Ukraine back’ — Trump says following meeting with Zelensky Writing in The Hill, Alex Gangitano and Al Weaver reflect: Trump’s abrupt Ukraine shift exposes fresh frustrations with Putin

We applaud the Carney outreach to President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico, resulting in what may prove to be a viable alternative to the formerly-known-as-NAFTA pact.
Carney, Sheinbaum sign deal to deepen economic ties between Canada and Mexico
We are happy we live in Mark Carney’s Canada where the government(s) can take advantage of all of Trump’s missteps, and where the rule of law prevails.
Ottawa signs trade agreement with Indonesia in bid to diversify non-US trade

Andrew Caddell writes that his Task Force has been accepted as an intervener in the challenge, jiining the EMSB and the federal government.
Next stop for me, the feds and many others: The Supreme Court
If the Charter of Rights and Freedoms doesn’t protect us, the anglophone community’s very role in Quebec society is threatened.
(Hill Times) The Carney government is getting its share of notice for inviting itself to the Supreme Court appeal of Quebec’s Bill 21 “An Act respecting the laicity of the State.” It will not be challenging the law itself, but rather wants some answers on the frequent and pre-emptive use of Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, known by its nickname, ‘The Notwithstanding Clause.”
No one knows when the case will be heard, but speculation is spring of 2026. The original case pitted the English Montreal School Board (EMSB) against the Quebec government over Bill 21’s prohibition of the wearing of religious symbols by teachers. As the Legault government applied Section 33 when Bill 21 was passed, and renewed it in 2024, it has become the focal point of the case. The EMSB has now been joined by dozens of other interveners, as well as the federal government.
This includes the organization I lead, the Task Force on Linguistic Policy, which submitted a brief, or factum as an intervener. It is a novel approach, focusing on the Notwithstanding Clause: the factum argues the rights and freedoms in Canada are to be interpreted as they existed before the patriation of the Constitution in 1982.
If our arguments are accepted by the Supreme Court, no Canadian legislature could ever use the “Notwithstanding Clause” to abolish rights and freedoms

Westmount election November 2
Lynne Casgrain‘s website is up and running and many Wednesday Nighters are gathered around her campaign
Our recent returnee -with daughter Juliet- to Wednesday Night, Jeremy Jonas has announced that he is running for the District 6 seat on Westmount’s City Council.
See more at
 https://www.jeremyforwestmount.ca/building-together
He is an excellent candidate and we wish him the best of luck!

Long reads
‘America Is Not a Safe Place to Work’: Koreans Describe Georgia Raid
​They thought they were the kind of highly skilled engineers ​who could help fulfill President Trump’s goal of reviving American​ manufacturing.

Britain, Australia, Canada and Portugal Recognize a Palestinian State
The moves came just before the annual U.N. General Assembly, increasing pressure on Israel and putting key allies at odds with the Trump administration.

‘They Cheated Like Dogs, but We Got Them Back’
Larry Ellison, the multibillionaire who founded Oracle — together with his son David — is building a media empire rivaling that of Rupert Murdoch and his son Lachlan. This gives the Ellisons extraordinary power to shape the nation’s politics and culture, just as the Murdochs have for decades through Fox News, News Corp, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Post.

Timothy Snyder: Trump’s Show of Force
In the nine months since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, the overall goals of his agenda have become clear enough: weaken the United States abroad to create an environment friendly to dictators, while using the US government and armed forces to establish a dictatorship at home. Will it work?