Wednesday Night #1684

As many of you already know, we are moving to a larger apartment on the 4^th floor of our building. The move is now set for Monday, June 23, giving us less than two weeks to weed, sort and transport all small items + paintings, pictures, etc. upstairs in anticipation of the arrival of the big furniture pieces and communications tools (aka weapons of mass communication)

It is a bit of a scramble, therefore the WN Preludes, as Stephen Kinsman calls them,  will be abbreviated/truncated until we are once again settled.
Wednesday Night will CONTINUE UNABATED, ALBEIT WITH SOMEWHAT MORE SPARTAN SURROUNDINGS.
However, lest you think that we are neglecting our duties as stimulators of thoughtful debate, we offer the following items for your consideration.

Diana’s personal collection of commentary on D-Day + 70 – by no means exhaustive – but offered in the hope that some items may intrigue you.

Andrew Coyne’s blistering article: We once had to wait weeks for a new Harper abuse of power. Now we’re getting them two or three a day – we doubt that Mr. Harper is losing any sleep over the vitriol, as he has been basking in the (fawning) admiration of none other than kindred soul Tony Abbott Australian PM calls Harper ‘a beacon’ for Conservative leaders while announcing steadfast opposition to a carbon tax Stephen Harper and Australia’s Tony Abbott won’t let climate policies kill jobs
“It’s not that we don’t seek to deal with climate change,” said Harper. “But we seek to deal with it in a way that will protect and enhance our ability to create jobs and growth. Not destroy jobs and growth in our countries.”. They may find themselves at odds with Christine Lagarde, who endorsed — cautiously and conditionally — the notion of a carbon tax or a cap and trade system in her speech at Monday’s opening of the Conférence de Montréal. While on the topic of the Conférence, take a look at Rudy Lecours’ Accord Canada-UE: Montréal comme porte d’entrée du continent and to add to your feeling of wellbeing, dip into the new Gazette series, So much to celebrate about living in Montreal

As we watch the death throes of the Ontario election campaign (Jostling, fear-mongering, meddling mark dying days on Ontario election campaign), we can add another reason to be thankful we live here (though for some, that’s a pretty recent feeling).

Elections in Egypt and Syria are over and there were no surprises. The only surprise would be if anything changed, despite the pious words pronounced by the leaders. (Egypt’s new President vows to ‘correct the mistakes of the past’ — Syria’s Assad grants amnesty after re-election

Meanwhile the situation in Iraq continues to deteriorate as militants seize Mosul, causing thousands to flee; and Pakistan has suffered two attacks on the Karachi airport in 24 hours – both claimed by the Taliban. Not good for badly-needed economic recovery.

From Haaretz (via John Buchanan)
Horrors of the occupation go way beyond the settlements
Every decent citizen, both in Israel and around the world, must cry out against the many horrors of the Israeli occupation- which have little to do with any West Bank construction
Much as we would like to believe in the efficacy of prayer, we must sadly confess that we are dubious about the results of the Pope’s efforts to bring the Israeli and Palestinian leaders together. Pope Francis hosts Israeli and Palestinian presidents for peace prayers especially now that Israel has selected the right-wing Reuven Rivlin as its next (10^th) president

On the eve of the first match of the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, FIFA is finding itself less popular than ever (we wondered if that could be possible). Summing up the sad, sordid story is the brilliant rant from comedian John Oliver. If you haven’t seen it, Watch John Oliver tear FIFA to shreds ahead of World Cup