Wednesday Night #2252

Carney’s Canada – so far so good
It has been an epic week!
As he continued to receive accolades for his handling of the White House visit, the new PM immediately consulted the premiers with whom it was agreed that focus must be on launching big nation-building projects, removing internal trade barriers, and building one Canadian economy. They will hold a physical meeting on June 2nd.
CBC Radio Daybreak‘s Sean Henry speaks with Carney’s ‘energizer bunny’, François-Philippe Champagne, Canada’s newly-minted finance minister. What are his priorities for this new portfolio?
With the changing of the guard at Global Affairs, it is to be profoundly hoped that Carney’s promise to revamp Canada’s foreign service will be carried out efficiently and -relatively- swiftly, with attention paid to restoring some of Canada’s soft power programs.
The revealing of the members of his Cabinet (A look at the ministers who are in and who is out) at their swearing-in on Tuesday was generally greeted with approval, although one surprise, as Thomas Mulcair notes, is the absence of Carlos Leitao. The Hub considered that he might prove “to be the most consequential member of the Carney government besides the prime minister himself.” [A potential star for Carney’s cabinet] and we agree. So why not replace the less-than impressive Steven Guilbeault with Leitao?
Is there something else in store for the former Quebec finance minister?

China Called Trump’s Bluff
There is a lesson here for everybody Trump threatens, whether countries or businesses or universities.
Trump claims ‘total reset’ of US-China ties as 90-day pause to trade war agreed
Markets rally after Washington and Beijing agree to drastically cut reciprocal tariffs as US treasury secretary says ‘neither side wants a decoupling’
The US president, who has claimed for months that tariffs could raise trillions of dollars for the US federal government, appeared to change tack on Monday. “The biggest thing to me is the opening up,” he said of China. “I think it would be fantastic for our businesses if we could go in and compete.”
…Trump signaled he may now turn his focus to the European Union, which he claimed had been “nastier” than China.
Tariff Truce With China Demonstrates the Limits of Trump’s Aggression
President Trump’s triple-digit tariffs on Chinese products disrupted global trade — but haven’t appeared to result in major concessions from Beijing.

Gloria Calhoun advises that she is “on the final chapter of my dissertation and plan to resume a more normal life around the end of June. (It’s truly amazing what some people will do for academic library privileges!)” and before rejoining WN, made sure we did not miss David Frum, who compares the Trump tariffs to a game of three-card monte. The Ultimate Bait and Switch of Trump’s Tariffs – How to understand the phony trade deals with Britain and China

Trump in the Middle East
In Saudi Arabia speech…Prioritizing peace and lucrative deals, the president laid out a new U.S. approach to the Middle East.
President Donald Trump lifted sanctions on Syria on Tuesday and dangled a similar enticement to Iran during a speech in Saudi Arabia, offering himself up as a historic peacemaker and outlining a transactional vision for future cooperation in the Middle East based on “commerce, not chaos.”
Trump tells Gulf leaders Iran must cease support of proxy groups as part of any nuclear deal
President Donald Trump said Wednesday he urgently wants “to make a deal” with Iran to wind down its nuclear program but Tehran must end its support of proxy groups throughout the Mideast as part of any potential agreement.
Reversal of Syria policy
Trump meets Syria’s ‘attractive, tough’ president after lifting US sanctions
Donald Trump has met Syria’s president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, in Saudi Arabia, telling the former jihadist he had an “extraordinary opportunity”, and said Washington is exploring normalising ties with Damascus.
Meanwhile, at home: Trump’s Plan to Take Jet From Qatar Heightens Corruption Concerns
The second Trump administration is blowing through limits on the mixing of public office and personal benefits.
Heather Cox Richardson writes: Reality will trip up Trump’s plan to take possession of the Qatari gift. …retrofitting the luxury plane with the defense capabilities and security protections necessary for Air Force One will take years, not months.

All well and good – depending on your viewpoint, but what of Israel/Gaza? which Trump and his minions appear to be ignoring? Wednesday’s news is not good.
Israeli bombing wave kills dozens in Gaza including at least 22 children, say reports
Bombardment signals new escalation after Netanyahu said Israel would ‘go in with full force to complete the operation’

As the Trump royal procession through the Middle East absorbs our time, energy, and challenges credulity, it also diverts our attention from India-Pakistan
What did India and Pakistan gain – and lose – in their military standoff?
As the archrivals halt hostilities after a dramatic four days of fighting, analysts discuss whether either gained an upper hand.
One casualty in the Indo-Pakistan fighting: The truth
The ceasefire might be holding, but the war of misinformation and censorship continues.

Putin’s War
Russia, Ukraine set for first direct talks since war began with U.S. present
The new round of negotiations comes amid a long history of delaying tactics by the Russian side as the fighting in Ukraine grinds on.
It appears that Trump is increasingly disenchanted with the role of peacemaker in Putin’s War.
[Trump Promised to End Two Wars Quickly. In Private, He Admits He’s Frustrated.
The president has told donors resolving the conflicts has been more difficult than he thought]
So he pursues his Middle East tour while ceasefire talks are scheduled for Thursday. Ukraine’s Zelenskiy having insisted on face-to-face talks with Putin in Istanbul is on his way, but all indications are that Putin will be a no-show. The planned talks have become the main focus of peace efforts led by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said he would send Secretary of State Marco Rubio and also senior envoys Steve Witkoff and Keith Kellogg.
Zelenskiy said he wanted to negotiate an unconditional 30-day ceasefire as a step toward ending the war, and that Putin should take part in talks because “absolutely everything in Russia” depends on him.

A humanitarian crisis is transpiring in Sudan and Chad, thanks in part to the Trump administration’s devastating cuts to foreign aid. only a skeleton staff of international humanitarian workers are on hand to receive the refugees from Sudan. There are shortages of food, water, medicine, and shelter in Tiné, and few resources to move people anywhere else.
The U.S. is prioritizing South African ‘refugees’ arriving in the United States – The decision to admit the Afrikaners also has raised questions from refugee advocates about why they were admitted when the Trump administration has suspended efforts to resettle people fleeing war and persecution who have gone through years of vetting.

The Montreal Institute for Global Security (MIGS) is growing with the addition of Chris Alexander as Senior Distinguished Fellow.
Kyle Matthews notes that his appointment marks a major step in positioning the Institute as a leading voice in shaping policy and strategy in an increasingly turbulent world.

Andy Nulman recently announced that he has been working with Stephen Bronfman on PACT!, his wide-reaching, inclusive, anti-hate, radical-goodness initiative with an immodest, transformative mission: Make all forms of hate socially unacceptable.
PACT! stands for The Power to Act. Its difference, says Andy, is in its secret sauce–a subversive attitude that draws boldly from the tactics of “the bad guys” …but uses them for good.
On Wednesday, MAY 21, at C2MTL, Stephen (Founder) and Andy (CEO) will reveal a whole lot more about PACT!…
In our view, anything Andy Nulman is involved in is worth supporting.

Varia
Trump’s Tactical Burger Unit Is Beyond Parody
Happy Meal Team Six
… We now inhabit a world beyond parody, where the pixels of reality seem to glitch and flicker. Consider the following report from Trump’s state visit to Saudi Arabia this week, posted by the foreign-affairs journalist Olga Nesterova: “As part of the red-carpet treatment, Saudi officials arranged for a fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit to accompany President Trump during his stay.” A skeptical news consumer might be inclined to pause for a moment at the phrase fully operational mobile McDonald’s unit, their brain left to conjure what those words could possibly mean.

More alternatives to knee replacement surgery are emerging
Physicians caution that the treatments aren’t permanent fixes, but they may work well for some.
The alternatives include procedures that target and at least temporarily silence the nerves that transmit pain signals emanating from the knee.

Pro-Canada Vermonters come to Montreal to say ‘sorry’ for Trump and spend at par

AP names a new AP Stylebook editor and Standards manager
At a moment of heightened political polarization in the U.S. and around the world, it’s more important than ever that AP journalism is fact-based and nonpartisan. Our customers and audiences around the world rely on us because of our high standards. Anna Jo Bratton is taking on the role of AP Stylebook editor and Rob Rossi is our newest Standards manager.
At apstylebook.com, you can access Ask the Editor, where we tackle tricky questions. Follow AP Stylebook accounts on X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky and LinkedIn, where we share tips on subjects in the news. You can subscribe to our free newsletter to keep up on what’s new in AP style, including changes and additions to entries and product news.
We hope that among other thorny questions someone will tackle: me v. I; both v. two; myself v. me/I; forbid from; substitute(s) for ‘iconic’, etc.

Horrors!
‘We’re in the Hamptons of England’: Trump sends wealthy Americans fleeing to the Cotswolds
Upmarket bucolic area notes big rise in number of US citizens scoping a plan B away from the States

Long reads
World’s scourge: Fascism then, terrorism now
Commodore Chitrapu Uday Bhaskar
As jihadi terrorism and fascism share some traits, it’s helpful to see how the world allied to tackle that menace to evaluate how India can spearhead the battle at hand

The Once and Future Transatlantic Alliance
Many European leaders now believe they have no choice but to declare strategic independence from the United States and launch a crash program to defend their continent alone. But they should not. …
Instead, Europeans must try to save the alliance. They can do more to defend their continent so that the burden does not fall disproportionately on the United States—an obligation that European leaders now widely acknowledge and accept. Actually shouldering their part of the burden will require demonstrating a clear commitment to ensuring Ukraine’s security and independence after a cease-fire.

In Court, Trump Is Losing More Than He’s Winning
President Donald Trump’s expansive use of executive power faced at least 328 lawsuits as of May 1 — with judges halting his policies far more often than they allowed them.
Courts entered more than 200 orders stopping the administration’s actions in 128 cases, with judges sometimes ruling at multiple stages of the legal fights. Judges had allowed contested policies to go ahead in 43 cases, and hadn’t ruled yet in more than 140 others. Most cases are in the early stages, and new ones are being filed daily.