Wednesday Night #2012

In case anyone has been living in an isolated, soundproof environment for the last month.
Vice-presidential debate: Wednesday, Oct. 7
Location: The University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Time: 9-10:30 p.m. Eastern
Where to watch: It will also be carried on most major news stations.
Moderator: Susan Page, Washington bureau chief, USA Today
Details: The debate will be 90 minutes long and have no commercial breaks. It will be divided into nine segments of 10 minutes each that the moderator gets to choose.
Harris and Pence Represent Two Different Americas
Ticket-balancing is not a new practice. But the polarization of America’s parties, combined with the peculiar and antithetical balancing needs of Biden and Trump, have brought us the most ideologically and culturally disparate pair of major-party vice-presidential nominees in U.S. history.

As the U.S. undergoes the October surprise, Quebec remembers the October Crisis of 1970, which began on the morning of the 5th of October when British trade commissioner James Richard Cross was kidnapped by four members of the FLQ.
Andrew Caddell‘s weekly column for the Hill Times, Let’s set the record straight about October 1970,  debunks the myth that Pierre Trudeau unilaterally invoked the War Measures Act (WMA). “In fact, Trudeau was reluctant to invoke the Act, given it could only be applied in a state of war or insurrection, real or apprehended. It was done at the insistence of Montreal Mayor Jean Drapeau and Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa.”
D’Arcy Jenish supports this view in his Globe & Mail piece, For the Bloc Québécois, the October Crisis is a modern-day political weapon. Don’t waste your time reading Konrad Yakabuski Will Justin Trudeau apologize for his father’s October Crisis ‘sins’?
Marian Scott’s perceptive Truth and myth: Tracing the roots of the October Crisis, is a must-read. For part of it she relies on the recent documentary by Félix Rose, the son of the late Paul Rose. His film Les Rose, featuring rare interviews with his uncle, Jacques Rose, on the events of October 1970, came out in August and  can be viewed for free.
Her follow-up piece October Crisis: Paul Rose wanted to kill James Cross, fellow kidnapper says is based on the the podcast “Pour l’avoir vécu” by journalists Marc Laurendeau and Anne-Marie Dussault.

Ever since it was announced the Donald Trump had tested positive and was headed to Walter Reed, social media and the MSM commentariat have been in a frenzy. Then, after one of the shortest possible stays at Walter Reed and confusing statements from doctors, he returned to the White House for a dramatic -if not reassuring- appearance on the balcony where he appeared to have great difficulty breathing.
At the White House, Trump Takes Off His Mask and Sends a Dangerous Message — On Monday, the President, out of the hospital and possibly still contagious with the coronavirus, announced, “Don’t be afraid of it! You’re gonna beat it!”
And on Wednesday afternoon – this!
The COVID-19-infected president has left isolation, returned to Oval Office
The White House claims he is being briefed on the status of the stimulus talks and Hurricane Delta. It has been six days since Trump tested positive.
Bloomberg’s Josh Wingrove adds that, “Trump entered the Oval through the outer door to minimize risk for staff, per an official familiar. Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is the only person in with him continuously, while Dan Scavino is coming in and out of the room, per the official. Staff who see him are in ‘full PPE.’”

From the moment news of his hospitalization became public, speculation has focused on the 25th Amendment, what it says and what it does not say, especially about involuntary measures to declare the president incapacitated. Observers are alarmed that he is being treated with dexamethasone whose side effects according to Joe Schwarcz, Director, McGill University Office for Science and Society, include: Aggression, agitation, anxiety, irritability, trouble thinking, speaking, or walking, mental depression and mood changes.

Matthew Cope notes that on Trump’s way down the steps at Walter Reed he was tapping the handrail lightly with his hand and believes that he may be suffering from proprioception impairment which originates in the brain. He adds “I’ve noticed it with him before on other staircases and ramps. I think he may have had a small stroke at some time.”

Jeremy Kinsman and Larry Haas devoted Tuesday’s entire Diplomatic Community to Trump’s physical/mental state of health and the U.S. campaign, concurring that Wednesday’s Pence-Harris debate takes on heightened importance, given the ages of Trump and Biden – plus Trump’s COVID diagnosis. Their prediction? Kamala Harris will run rings around Mike Pence.

So, no comment from Jeremy on the news that Ralph Goodale is being tapped as the next Canadian High Commissioner to the UK, with  responsibility  for charting a path forward on a bilateral trade deal.

Congratulations to Annamie Paul, the new leader of the Green Party! There is a Town Hall tonight at 7 with Elizabeth May where Annamie will be launching her campaign to represent Toronto Centre and answering questions about her vision for the riding and the country! The timing seems unfortunate – could they not have waited one more day, as so many will be focused on preparing to watch the VP debate?

In the no-good-deed-goes-unpunished category: Minister Jonathan Wilkinson has announced that Ottawa will ban some single-use plastics, such as straws and grocery bags, next year. Ottawa is also proposing to ban stir sticks, six-pack rings, plastic cutlery and food takeout containers made from hard-to-recycle plastics. The government said it chose the six items based on criteria that they are often not recycled, end up in nature and have readily available alternatives.
Politico reports that “Lobbyists for the American plastics industry, who’ve had some success delaying and blocking bag bans across the United States, have now set their sights on Canada.
— Softwood lumber, aluminum … plastics: In a recent letter sent to International Trade Minister Mary Ng and several other federal ministers and obtained by Corridors, nearly 70 American industry groups claim that any ban on plastic products manufactured in the U.S. “clearly meets the definition of a non-tariff barrier” and could violate Canada’s obligations under the USMCA and the World Trade Organization.”

Azeris and Armenians say civilian areas attacked, NATO seeks ceasefire
The fighting has raised international concern about stability in the South Caucasus, where pipelines carry Azeri oil and gas to world markets, and about the possibility other regional powers being dragged in – Azerbaijan is supported by Turkey, and Armenia has a defence pact with Russia.
Canada is suspending arms exports to Turkey while it investigates claims that drone-sensor technology created by an Ontario company is being improperly used in renewed fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
For more background on the dispute which you may have overlooked thanks to the Washington circus, see NPR’s thorough summary Nagorno-Karabakh: Turkey’s Support For Azerbaijan Challenges Russian Leverage and Foreign Affairs Why Armenia and Azerbaijan Are on the Brink of War.

A well-deserved tribute to our friend Irwin Cotler
For Irwin Cotler, neither a pandemic nor retirement from politics can slow his fight for human rights

It is Nobel Time and today it was announced that This Year’s Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honors a Revolution
Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna may have made the most important biological advance since the discovery of the structure of DNA
With Crispr, two scientists turned a curiosity of nature into an invention that will transform the human race.