Wednesday Night #2315

R.I.P.
Roger Warren, internationally recognized expert on hydroelectric power and distribution, he was a dear friend. We extend our deepest sympathy to his wife Margaret Cuddihy and his family. A memorial in Montreal is planned for later this year.
Brownstein: Oliver Jones, jazz pianist nonpareil, was truly one of a kind
Little Burgundy native died [night of 22 July] at 91 after a lengthy illness.
Elmer MacKay, longtime Progressive Conservative MP for Nova Scotia, dead at 89
In 1983, MacKay gave up his seat to allow new Progressive Conservative leader Brian Mulroney to run in a byelection. MacKay was re-elected in 1984. In a post on social media Friday, Mulroney’s son Mark Mulroney said that decision was “an extraordinary act of generosity that changed the course of our family’s life and helped shape the course of Canadian history.”
No tears for Senator Lindsey Graham, once a great friend to Senators John McCain and Joe Lieberman, later a notorious Trump ally, but note that his funeral on Tuesday, at which Trump gave the eulogy, was a Glimpse Into Power in Trump’s Washington. Israeli PM Netanyahu and President Zelensky of Ukraine were present. Both of them relied on Mr. Graham to lobby for their wartime causes with Mr. Trump and both had private meetings with Trump prior to the funeral (Behind Closed Doors, Trump Huddles With Netanyahu and Zelensky).

Trump’s Wars continue, notably the U.S.-Iran/Gulf III War, or The Whiplash War – War. Cease-fire. Somewhere in between. The United States and Iran can’t stop cycling between conflict and negotiation.
Gulf War III — expansion and geopolitical ramifications
The scope of the war in the Middle East widened on Wednesday, as American and Saudi fighter jets attacked Iran-allied militias in Iraq, Iran fired missiles at bases in Jordan used by U.S. forces, and an American-owned tanker in an Egyptian port was set on fire in an apparent drone strike.
The spate of attacks ended a pause in direct fighting between the United States and Iran. Since the collapse of a cease-fire between the United States and Iran this month, Iran-linked groups across the region have opened new fronts and reopened old ones, embroiling forces in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan in the war that until recently had been contained to countries along the Persian Gulf. Saudi Arabia seeks international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthis, sources say
Ukraine’s Strike on an Iranian Ship Could Bring Two Wars Closer
The attack in the Caspian Sea was an unusually direct encounter between two countries that have been on opposite sides for years.

John Evdokias has recently issued several daily Strategic Intelligence Briefings, “13 Developments That Matter Today”, with links to relevant stories. The 29 July 2026 iteration includes: Hormuz Governance Crisis Deepens; Red Sea Security Environment Deteriorates; Suez Corridor Risk Continues to Rise; and notes The Great Rerouting Accelerates:
Disruptions are no longer confined to maritime chokepoints themselves. The risk is spreading to terminals, ports, logistics infrastructure, and energy-export facilities, reinforcing global diversification of transportation routes.
Another point is Railways Emerge as Strategic Winners: North American rail networks, particularly CN and CPKC, remain positioned to benefit from longer-term diversification of trade routes, intermodal freight growth, and supply-chain resilience initiatives.
Was the Carney government listening? Feds announce almost $2B for 45 hybrid battery-diesel Via Rail passenger locomotives36 hybrid-powered passenger trains to be assembled in Canada

Canada-U.S.
After all the bickering, the Gordie Howe bridge opened on Monday to cars [and trucks]. The Howe family were the first to cross and minutes later, came the first commercial truck, a vehicle from a trucking company in Tecumseh, Ont., that was carrying auto parts to Michigan.
New Tariffs as Old Ones Expire: The Latest on Trump’s Trade War
The president has unveiled a complicated system to forge ahead with his trade war, after the Supreme Court struck down his original levies.
Andrew Coyne reacts: There is no appeasing Donald Trump, or deterring him
… The tariffs…would impose massive additional costs on American industry and consumers, just as Americans prepare to vote in the 2026 mid-term elections. They’re not just economically suicidal, but politically. …
If there’s nothing we can do – if we lose no matter what – then we might as well do what we want. When nothing you can do will improve your fortunes, when the outcome is the same regardless of which option you choose, the stakes converge on zero.
Doug Sweet recommends -and we concur- Chrystia Freeland’s op-ed in the NYT ‘You Aren’t Going to Like What Comes After America’ (See Long reads)
Also of interest is her piece What Ukraine’s Success Means for the West on Project Syndicate
There are several reasons why Ukraine has been able to stymie its much larger aggressor. For the world’s democracies, the most important lesson to draw from Ukrainians’ doggedness and brilliant innovations and improvisations may be that we should not be so surprised.
The changing face of the battle for Ukraine has taken much of the world by surprise, both in terms of the horrific scale of casualties that Russia is enduring—nearly 40,000 last month, according to Ukrainian officials—and the dynamism and sheer chutzpah that has characterized Ukraine’s war effort.

Heather Cox Richardson Letters from an American July 23, 2026
In mid-April [1953], [President]Eisenhower warned of diverting the nation’s tax dollars to war at the expense of the people.
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed,” he said. “This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.”
Eisenhower’s speech has been on my mind as the Trump administration slashes Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, foreign aid, scientific and medical research, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and yet is demanding more money for the Defense Department, bled out by Trump’s foreign adventures in Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Syria, Yemen, the Caribbean, Venezuela, and, of course, Iran.

Wildfires and AI, Chatbots, Society & Technology
Amidst the terrifying and destructive wildfires in Canada and Europe, experts sound a warning: Artificial intelligence and the data centers they require use growing amounts of energy and are water hogs — and AI companies aren’t transparent about how much of those resources they use, experts said. So each time you turn to the internet and seek an AI-fueled response, it’s gobbling up precious resources. “AI is going in the opposite direction to decarbonization efforts,” said cognitive computer scientist Sasha Luccioni, co-founder and chief scientific officer of the Sustainable AI Group. “We should be thinking about where we are going towards (sic). If you’re recycling and a vegan but then you’re using ChatGPT to do your multiplication for you, well that’s kind of against the trend.”
In other AI news, Elon Musk’s vision of the future – The world’s richest man sits down with The Economist for a revealing -and scary- interview. Meanwhile, OpenAI disclosed  that it had inadvertently allowed its AI models to escape their sandbox during an evaluation exercise — and that those models then hacked another company, a situation described as the most worrying AI mishap yet; and Brian Judge discusses The AI Threat to Financial Stability

Jeremy Kinsman’s assessment of the Ankara G7 Summit, Unpacking Ankara: Can the New ‘Hour of Europe’ Forestall a New Age of War? is a must-read. “…diplomacy has long been recognized as the civilized alternative to war as a means of settling disputes between nations. But in today’s de-globalizing and multipolar world driven by competitive nationalistic great powers, diplomacy is being marginalized. In this new security context, transformed by America’s evident capture as a hugely consequential candidate for the next country to shift from democracy to autocracy, what happened in Ankara at this year’s NATO Summit was less diplomacy than multilateral disaster brokerage.” (See Long reads)

In his recent article in La Presse Une décision cruciale reste à prendre Kyle Matthews argues convincingly that Prime Minister Mark Carney must choose Montreal as the Canadian city to host the new Multilateral Bank for Defence, Security and Resilience.

We are pleasantly astonished by the news that the IATA Board Appoints Saadia Zahidi as Director General
Zahidi will be IATA’s ninth Director General and the first woman appointed to hold the position. She joins IATA from the World Economic Forum (WEF) where she is a Managing Director and Member of the Managing Board. She has no airline experience (neither did our friend Knut Hammerskjold), but great work experience with WEF and certainly a better education than any of the DGs we have known or known of. It will be a pleasure to welcome her to Montreal – and Canada!

Varia
Once again, we are delighted to draw your attention to the accomplishments of one of the amazing group of young leaders who participated in the Sauvé Scholars Program. This time it is Alia Whitney-Johnson, whose unflagging commitment to the young Sri Lankan survivors of abuse has been rewarded by remarkable success. Afdhel Aziz tells the inspiring story of Alia and Emerge in Forbes How Emerge Is Pioneering New Models To Help Survivors Find Independence

UN human rights chief wins second term despite opposition from US, Israel and Russia
U.N. human rights chief Volker Türk won a second term Friday… Türk’s job…requires speaking out against rights violations by the governments of the countries that make up the membership of the world body. [He] has sharply criticized Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine [and he] has faced opposition from critics and some countries for his criticism of Israel’s attacks in Gaza and his approach to China’s crackdown on its Uyghur minority.
UNESCO adds France’s D-Day landing beaches, Greece’s Mount Olympus to World Heritage List
UNESCO added a host of historic landmarks to its World Heritage List on Sunday. Among the sites chosen were Greece’s Mount Olympus, just in time for The Odyssey’s revival; five World War II landing beaches in Normandy, France; South Sudan’s Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape, home to one of the world’s largest land mammal migrations; and the ancient Japanese capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, which cover 19 archaeological sites. Receiving a UNESCO designation gives these sites protected status and honors their historical and cultural significance.
After 160 Years, Sagrada Família Is Still Shaping Barcelona
In June, the Sagrada Familia reached a milestone with the completion of the Tower of Jesus Christ, an engineering marvel that’s made the church the tallest in the world. … But there’s still one piece missing — with construction of the Glory facade grand entrance for the basilica…that would extend…onto a neighboring city block currently occupied by homes and retail shops and displacing some 3,000 Barcelona residents.
Upstairs, Downstairs, in a House Full of Spies
A new museum reveals how Britain’s intelligence secretly wiretapped Nazi commanders in a stately London mansion — and how a team of German Jewish refugees helped turn the tide of World War II.
The German generals were chatting freely, exchanging tidbits about the V-2 rocket, the world’s first long-range ballistic missile that the Nazis were developing. It was May 1943, and the soldiers, prisoners of war captured in North Africa, were living…a life of ease in the spacious mansion set amid 400 acres of parkland. … What they didn’t know was that they were part of an audacious, improbable and brilliantly successful strategy for extracting information that would play a major role in the Allies’ World War II victory.

FIFA World Cup – the aftermath
Just as we thought we could bask in happy contemplation of the successful event, we learned that Fifa president Gianni Infantino [has been]called to appear before Congress over Trump ties, immediately followed by the outrageous
FIFA plan for Kushner-backed $20 billion operation to run World Cup meets fury from Europe’s UEFA
On the bright side:
Canada’s World Cup Window (See Long reads)
…“In just two months, the share of Canadian adults with at least some interest in soccer rose six points, from 48% in May to 54% following the FIFA World Cup…That represents nearly two million additional Canadians and brings the total adult audience interested in soccer to almost 18 million people.”

Long reads
Jeremy Kinsman: Unpacking Ankara: Can the New ‘Hour of Europe’ Forestall a New Age of War? – The “hour of Europe” has been rung before with little effect. This time, the stakes are much higher.

Chrystia Freeland ‘You Aren’t Going to Like What Comes After America’
Would-be future American leaders who recognize the value of allies and think all will be forgiven when the White House has a new occupant need to appreciate the depth of the damage being done by its current resident. They can limit the harm and create the option for the United States to make a different choice in the future by speaking out now.

How Trump Became ‘Grifter-in-Chief’: Let Us Count the Ways
Donald Trump and his family are setting a new standard for how to profit off a presidency.

Canada’s World Cup Window
soccer is now Canada’s second-favourite sport to watch or play, jumping ahead of baseball into the slot right behind hockey.