Wednesday Night #2323

All Things Trump
Starting with the media relations rupture which, according to CNN  started when Natalie Harp showed Trump coverage clips before he issued the ban on CNN, Politico and MSNow that has provoked extensive international coverage and a surprising solidarity in the American news media (Trump Went So Far This Time That Even Fox News Won’t Stand for It –The president’s latest attack on journalism has united much of the media in opposition.
Judge Appears Skeptical of Trump’s Ban on 3 Media Outlets
CNN, MS NOW and Politico argued in court that the president’s effort to block them from the White House complex violated their First Amendment rights. The judge promised to rule soon.
Politics Chat, September 22 Heather Cox Richardson sums up recent developments:
The White House revoked press credentials for CNN, Politico, and MS NOW after aide Natalie Harp reportedly showed Trump stories that angered him. In a UN speech, Trump suggested he might annihilate Iran and declared the United States would dominate the Western Hemisphere. Trump also attacked the International Criminal Court, which has indicted Vladimir Putin. The administration is moving to remove more than a million people from the Affordable Care Act, alleging fraud. In Texas, a Venezuelan man legally in the country was shot in the back by immigration agents and later discharged from the hospital with the bullet still in him as officials sought his deportation. ProPublica reported that the FBI had evidence Senator Susan Collins participated in a pay-to-play scheme, and that the investigation was shut down after Trump took office. Trump’s approval rating has fallen below 30 percent, with his rating on the economy in the 20s. Illinois Governor JB Pritzker publicly warned Trump that the state has not forgotten last year’s immigration raids and intends to pursue accountability.
On a happier note: this from North Carolina AG (and Andrew Caddell’s cousin) Jeff Jackson 
Big news: $590m for NC -Largest environmental payment ever
Two weeks ago, we settled against Meta (owner of Facebook and Instagram) for a guaranteed minimum of $451 million for our state.
It was part of the largest Big Tech settlement in American history.
Well, time for more big news.
We just reached a settlement worth nearly $600 million for North Carolina – the largest environmental damage payment in state history.

Jeremy Kinsman writes in Policy Trump is Failing at Both War and Peace
As with so many American blunders rationalized by Donald Trump’s inexperience and volatility, the U.S. undertook the massive attack on Iran with no immediate rationale, no coherent plan, no exit strategy, and a coalition of two — itself and Israel.

US-China
On September 24, President Trump will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington.
In What Xi Really Wants From Trump (see Long reads), Project Syndicate’s Steve Tsang warns “American policymakers must not underestimate China’s ambitions. Under Xi, its foreign policy is focused on securing the support of the Global South while pursuing the long-term goal of seizing Taiwan and achieving global preeminence. Xi is both a disciplinarian and an ideologue. He requires China’s foreign-policy establishment to pursue a global strategy based on the principles of “Xi Jinping Thought,” which shape how China assesses its national interests and responds to pressure from the US. Chief among these principles is that preserving Xi’s leadership and Communist Party rule takes precedence over all other national interests.” Trump’s transactional approach to international relations is likely not a good match.

UN General Assembly
Superpowers cannot solve world’s problems, UN chief says in final general assembly address
António Guterres says humanity faces unprecedented convergence of threats but mechanisms for collective action are under growing strain
Leaders of member nations -great and small- all have their moment – From Donald Trump (below) to his volatile ally president Javier Milei who threatens Argentina will take ‘matters into our own hands’ on Falklands;
Responding to Donald Trump’s speech ( Trump’s UN speech was delusional and dangerous – see long reads) Tuesday in which he said the US would “annihilate” the Islamic Republic, Iran’s president Masoud Pezeshkian says Iran us “ready for dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiations without accepting the language of force”, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio tells reporters in New York that the US president “has a number of options available, including military options”. Meanwhile, Iranian and US officials held their first known indirect talks on Tuesday ‌since a ceasefire ⁠collapsed in July, with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicating through mediators.

Canada
Mark Carney gets to work on the plumbing (See Long reads)
This week, we saw Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government take a second swing at big, ostensibly game-changing economic legislation. This time, Mr. Carney actually went in to work on the plumbing.
Parliament is back and for those who thought that the summer was all about Mr. Carney’s international blitz, it was immediately evident that intensive work was carried out on the just-tabled omnibus Bill C-39, Building Canada Strong Act, which is generating some push-back, notably from Labour (Unions call Bill C-39 an attack on labour, Charter Rights) and the AFN (AFN chief warns Carney against ‘abusing’ majority to pass new major projects bill – Woodhouse Nepinak calls on Carney to allow First Nations to bring amendments).

Canada-EU
While parliamentarians and their staffers examine the nuts and bolts of Bill C-39, geopolitical and mulilateralist wonks are more interested in how Canada’s evolving relationship with the EU might work. Among them, Wednesday Night’s Andrew Caddell whose column for The Hill Times Memorandum re: EU “Associate Status” is in the form of a policy brief addressed to the Canadian public, and Ian Bremmer who asks Can Mark Carney build a new middle power alliance? (see Long reads)

PQ inches toward majority territory in new Quebec poll
A new Léger-Québecor poll shows the Parti Québécois maintaining its lead with 29 per cent support as the election approaches, while the Liberals sit second at 23 per cent and the CAQ has slipped to 20 per cent. The PQ has a strong advantage among francophone voters, with 37 per cent support compared with 24 per cent for the CAQ, bringing the party closer to majority-government territory. The Conservatives have 17 per cent overall and lead in the Quebec City region, while Québec solidaire stands at 10 per cent. Pollster Jean-Marc Léger says the split between Liberal and CAQ voters is benefiting the PQ, which also has the most committed voter base, with 68 per cent of its supporters saying their choice is definitive.
Quebec’s major party leaders gear up for 3rd and final debate with election looming
Debate starts at 8 p.m. ET

B.C. Premier David Eby has called a snap provincial election two years ahead of schedule, saying he needs a strong mandate to meet the “existential moment” brought on by U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war. The timing of the call has fuelled accusations of political opportunism …. See Gary Mason’s prescient column Is David Eby about to gamble away his government? (Long reads)
PQ leads as election day approaches, but race tightens for 2nd place: new poll
Liberal support in the Eastern Townships, traditionally a party stronghold, appears to slip
A new Segma Research poll conducted between Sept. 8 and 17, found that 29 per cent of respondents would vote for the Parti Québécois, led by Paul St-Pierre Plamondon …

Middle East & Arab world
It sounds too good -and reasonable to be true
Axios announces a Scoop: Trump’s Board of Peace to unveil $2.45 billion Gaza recovery plan
President Trump’s Board of Peace will unveil a six-month, $2.45 billion recovery plan for Gaza at a meeting of its members on Wednesday.
Why it matters: The 66-project proposal offers one of the most comprehensive roadmaps yet for what the early months of post-war reconstruction and governance in Gaza would look like.
We had missed this 4 September related piece from Axios Scoop: Trump administration drafting post-war Middle East plan
(Axios) The Trump administration is working on a post-war strategy focused on a regional effort to contain Iran and expand normalization of relations between Israel and its neighbors, according to two U.S. officials and two other sources with knowledge of the issue.

AI Artificial Intelligence
As the debate intensifies, Doug Sweet urges consideration of Thomas Friedman’s It’s Time to Cry Wolf Over A.I in which he argues convincingly that “We need a way to get A.I.’s best and cushion against its worst — and we do not have that today. Until there is a U.S.-China agreement to ensure that the A.I. agents that the world’s two A.I. superpowers are developing will operate only in ways that are consonant with human flourishing, and be kept that way, I am in the slow-this-thing-down-until-we-are-sure-we-can-control-it camp. I’m in it for the same reason that the Stanford political theorist Francis Fukuyama argued in the Substack publication Persuasion on Monday: “A.I. is a tool that can be used for good or bad purposes — and at the moment we have few mechanisms for regulating the bad uses other than the good intentions of the people creating the technology.”
“The last time we trusted the good intentions of the tech bros of Silicon Valley, when they told us to “move fast and break things” — regulations be damned — we unleashed social networks that helped fracture our society. I do not trust for one second that these people will put the national interest ahead of their own on A.I.” …

Varia
Ancient wall found beneath Paris could confirm site of first settlement
Discovery of Gallo-Roman period structure hailed as ‘major breakthrough’ by French culture ministry
An ancient wall discovered beneath Paris has been described as a “major breakthrough” by France’s culture ministry, with the archaeological find possibly confirming the location of the city’s original settlement.
A roughly 20-metre (65ft) stretch of wall dating from the Gallo-Roman period was discovered in Paris this summer beneath a building on the Île de la Cité, near Notre Dame Cathedral in the heart of the French capital.
The stone-and-wood structure is thought to be a fragment of the ramparts of Lutetia – the ancient name for Paris – built by the Gallic Parisii tribe who lived along the River Seine in the iron age.
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Long reads/videos
Kenneth Roth: Trump’s UN speech was delusional and dangerous
It is sad and dangerous that at such a perilous moment, the United States is saddled with a president like Trump

What Xi Really Wants From Trump
preserving Xi’s leadership and Communist Party rule takes precedence over all other national interests
Mark Carney gets to work on the plumbing

Ian Bremmer: Can Mark Carney build a new middle power alliance?

Andrew Caddell: A memorandum of our understanding on ‘associate’ status with the EU
A note to Canadian to clarify misconceptions pertaining to the European Commission president’s invitation for Canada to have ‘associate European Union membership.’

B.C. Premier David Eby has called a snap provincial election
Gary Mason: Is David Eby about to gamble away his government?