Wednesday Night #2290

Let us hope they are right!
Canada’s famous prognosticating rodents are predicting an early spring.
Wiarton Willie in Ontario’s Bruce County and Fred la Marmotte in Gaspésie reportedly did not see their shadows on Monday morning, which is good news for people tired of wintry weather. According to legend, there will be six more weeks of winter if a groundhog sees their shadow, and an early spring if they don’t.

Space – Artemis II
NASA document reveals new Artemis II moon mission target launch dates for March
NASA quietly updated its potential launch windows for its delayed moon mission. The agency is apparently now targeting March 6 to 11
NASA’s Artemis mission nears launch in first crewed return to the Moon since 1972
NASA prepared for a possible Sunday launch as the Artemis crew, including Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen, completes key rehearsals.

Catherine O’Hara, ‘Home Alone’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Actress, Dies at 71
An Emmy-winning comedian with oddball charm, she got her start with the influential Canadian sketch comedy series “SCTV.”
‘She Works on Levels That People Don’t Even Know’– The late Catherine O’Hara had an uncanny ability to find the eccentric in anyone.
The Atlantic‘s Shirley Li offers a warm tribute to Catherine O’Hara and a delightful analysis of her comedic talents illustrated with examples from Home Alone

For Israel and Russia “Ceasefire” has no meaning
Israeli attacks on Gaza kill 23 in one of deadliest days since ‘ceasefire’
Shelling kills 14 Palestinians in north, attacks on tents kill six in south as medical evacuations through Rafah crossing suspended.
Russia breaks Trump-brokered energy ceasefire
Kremlin bombs Ukrainian power plants and energy infrastructure right before latest round of peace talks begin in Abu Dhabi.

Iran
Talks between Iran and the U.S. have been on-again-off-again. Seems they are now on for Friday in Oman.
Meanwhile, the estimated death toll in Iran is 35.000
Killing on a mass scale: piecing together the full picture of Iran’s brutal crackdown

US and Iran talks brought back from the brink after White House relents on move to Oman
Talks that had been scheduled in Turkey salvaged after Arab states convince White House not to walk away from negotiation

Iran’s president seeks ‘fair and equitable’ negotiations, while US shoots down drone
(AP) — Iran’s president said Tuesday he instructed the country’s foreign minister to “pursue fair and equitable negotiations” with the United States, the first clear sign from Tehran it wants to try to negotiate as tensions remain high with Washington after the Mideast country’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests last month.

Global system of human rights in ‘peril’, warns HRW in its annual report
The NGO warns that the rules-based order is being crushed under relentless pressure from the US, China and Russia.Human Rights Watch (HRW) has released its annual World Report 2026, warning that the global system of human rights is in “peril”, with 72 percent of the world’s population now living under “autocracy”.
In the report published on Wednesday, the rights body warned that the United States, China and Russia are “led by leaders who share open disdain for norms”, and “wield considerable economic, military, and diplomatic power”.
“Under relentless pressure from US President Donald Trump, and persistently undermined by China and Russia, the rules-based international order is being crushed, threatening to take with it the architecture human rights defenders have come to rely on to advance norms and protect freedoms,” Philippe Bolopion, executive director at HRW, said in a statement.

India
While Trump threatens 100% tariff on Canada if it makes a trade deal with China (NOT happening according to Mr. Carney and ministers), it seems to us that the real winner at present is India – many nations are scrambling to sign up with the 4th largest economy in the world, i.e. EU and India conclude landmark Free Trade Agreement; the Canada-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA); EFTA-India Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement

Trump, DHS, ICE and Minneapolis
It appears that the administration is in retreat in Minneapolis. President Says He Ordered 700 Agents to Leave Minnesota. We suspect that the decision is not only related to the public reaction to the murder of two civilians by the DHS storm troopers, but also to events in Congress where Senate Democrats said on Wednesday that they would put forth legislation by Thursday to codify their conditions for continuing to fund the Department of Homeland Security, moving quickly to lay out their demands for new restrictions on federal agents carrying out President Trump’s immigration crackdown.
See Robert Reich: Reining in ICE –Conditioning funding on obeying court orders

Events
This is one weekend when many won’t care if it’s very, very cold.
It is prime viewing time.
Friday – the Olympics Opening Ceremony
The official start of the 2026 Winter Olympics will take place at Milan’s San Siro Stadium. An inclusive theme is planned, featuring a show inside the venue as well as “satellite events” in Olympic territories. The star-studded entertainment includes performances planned by Mariah Carey, Laura Pausini, Andrea Bocelli and Sabrina Impacciatore of the HBO show, “White Lotus.”
Sunday – the Super Bowl – and the new ad for Budweiser!

Varia
Catherine O’Hara, Star of ‘Best in Show,’ Honored in Westminster Tribute
Fans remembered the actress, who died last week at 71, for her role as the doting owner of a Norwich terrier destined for glory in the movie, a sendup of dog show culture.
Toronto pooch wins the 150th Westminster Dog Show
A Toronto Doberman pinscher is the latest queen of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show — where she competed against 2,500 dogs and more than 200 breeds. CBC’s Ali Chiasson spoke with Penny and her human about winning ‘Best in Show.’
7 Unforgettable Dogs at Westminster
Antenna ears, floofy coats, glittery barrettes and more.
How Miss Piggy Went From Minor Muppet to TV’s Top Hog
Miss Piggy began as a bit player, but a sassy attitude and a karate chop carried her to the pinnacle of pop culture. A new Muppets special premieres on Wednesday.
Jennifer Lawrence, Emma Stone and Cole Escola (“Oh, Mary!”) are currently developing a movie for the character. And a new “Muppet Show” special will premiere on Disney+ and ABC on Wednesday. Piggy is front and center in that special, making snidely aristocratic remarks in a Regency-era sketch, hijacking Kermit’s duet with Sabrina Carpenter and “giving the people what they truly want: Moi.”
Canadian company says Virginia warehouse sale to ICE won’t proceed
The pending sale by Vancouver-based Jim Pattison Developments had been subject to intense criticism during an immigration crackdown in the United States. Two U.S. citizens were shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis this month, prompting widespread protests.
“The transaction to sell our industrial building in Ashland, Virginia will not be proceeding,” said the one-line statement posted online by the firm owned by Canadian billionaire Jimmy Pattison.
The company said earlier this week it was not aware of the final owner or their intended use of the site when it accepted a purchase offer from a U.S. federal contractor.

Is this how Jeff Bezos pays for the Melania movie? Disgusting!
Washington Post Lays Off More Than 300 Journalists
The layoffs cut into The Post’s local, international and sports coverage, and reduced its entire work force by about 30 percent.

Cultural(?) news from Washington
Trump wants to build a 250-foot-tall arch, dwarfing the Lincoln Memorial
The president is eyeing a plot of land near Memorial Bridge. The art critic who proposed the idea called for a smaller arch or for Trump to pick a new site.
The planned Independence Arch is intended to commemorate the United States’ 250th anniversary. Built to Trump’s specifications, it would transform a small plot of land between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery into a dominant new monument, reshaping the relationship between the two memorials and obstructing pedestrians’ views.
Be alarmed – very alarmed!
Trump won’t raze Kennedy Center as part of $200 million overhaul
“I’m not ripping it down,” Trump said of the Kennedy Center. “I’ll be using the steel. So we’re using the structure. We’re using some of the marble.”
Trump Says Kennedy Center Will Close for 2-Year Reconstruction Project
Mr. Trump’s announcement came after a major backlash by performers, contributors and audience members and amounted to a sudden change in direction for what has been a high visibility initiative of his second term.
…he presented it as his latest effort to rebuild part of Washington — following the demolition of the East Wing of the White House and his proposal to build a towering arch across from the Washington Monument.
From his first weeks in office, Mr. Trump set out to remake the center in his image. But…there had been no public discussion of anything as drastic as a full two-year shutdown.
In recent months, Mr. Trump had attached his name to the center, installed loyalists to run it, including Richard Grenell, the center’s president, and called for changing the programming there to make it more in line with what he said was widespread American tastes and sensibilities: more “Les Miz” and less “Hamilton,” as he put it on one visit to the center.

Hard to believe: ‘Melania’ Arrives With Strong Box Office Showing for a Documentary
We don’t suspect that any Wednesday Nighters are planning to view Melania (the film), especially if they have read any of the devastating reviews. Notable is Robert Reich’s condemnation of Jeff Bezos: Melania: The Movie. The Bribe. The Shame. -Bezos’s illegal payoff.

Long reads
The Iranian Hedgehog vs. the American Fox
The American and Iranian leaders are complete enigmas to each other—and the asymmetry in their beliefs is driving the crisis between their countries.
By Karim Sadjadpour
Is MAGA weaponizing Alberta separatism? – Transcript
(CBC Front Burner) In an interview last week, as tensions ratcheted up between the U.S. administration and Canada after Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at Davos, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Besson weighed in on separatism in Alberta.
Europe begins its slow retreat from US dependence
The EU aims to reduce reliance on America in areas such as technology, energy, payments and defense. That will take some time.
CNN A separatist group is asking for Trump’s help to split from Canada. Here’s what we know
Heather Cox Richardson February 3, 2026<
Yesterday, the day before Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s termination of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation, U.S. District Court Judge Ana C. Reyes stopped that termination until a pending court case worked its way through the courts.
Trump Made a Bad Bet on the Kennedy Center
The president’s temporary closure of the institution is an acknowledgment that his initial makeover strategy was a failure.