Wednesday Night #2061

A full week since last Wednesday!

The 20th anniversary of 9/11 brought global coverage and commentary and we each, no doubt, have our own favorite references.
Heather Cox Richardson chose to focus on former president George W. Bush’s words at the Pennsylvania memorial for the passengers of United Airlines Flight 93 and to reflect on the immediate and long-term aftermath of the effect of the 9/11 tragedy on the U.S.
Thanks to Lisa Napoli, we learned of the extraordinary footage of the CNN Newsroom and Control Room at CNN HQ in Atlanta, CNN Center. Sept 11, 2001.
One comment: “It’s interesting seeing these guys more focused on covering the story over having a quiet or noisy meltdown. That’s professionalism, I guess..”

Any discussion of 9/11 leads to recent event in Afghanistan. Jeremy Kinsman and Larry Haas deplore the chaotic departure of the U.S. before turning to how to deal with the Taliban government, including the critical need for humanitarian assistance, and whether the recognition of the new government can give some leverage to western nations and the multinational community.

On Monday, Montrealers commemorated the 15th anniversary of the Dawson College shooting and used the occasion to urge voters not to vote for the Conservatives because of their stance on gun control.

With only 5 days until Canada goes to the polls in the most un-wanted election in recent memory, the bitterness and culminating in violence surrounding the campaign is shocking. Accompanied by the -to most of us inexplicable- protests by anti-vaxxers, led by nurses!, who are now concentrating protests at hospitals and healthcare facilities, the mood of the country is far from the image that we normally enjoy.
Politicians, health workers denounce ‘reckless’ COVID-measure protests outside hospitals. Equally inexplicable: Facing possible suspension, 20,000 Quebec health workers still not vaccinated

Tuesday’s Leger poll indicates that The 2021 Federal Election: O’Toole and Trudeau are Tied, to which Christian Bourque, Executive Vice-President, adds:
“Our last two surveys over the past 10 days have shown the Liberals and Conservatives in a tie. However, there is more to the story. Today’s survey reveals that the PPC has gained 2 points and the Maverick Party is now at 5% in Alberta, eating at Conservative support. The Bloc is up 3 points in Quebec after the events of last Thursday’s debate, showing little hope for the Tories in Quebec and threatening the potential for Liberal seat gains. Finally, at 20%, the NDP is trending slightly downwards. This survey is further evidence that next Monday night will likely be a nail-biter regardless of stripe.”

Meanwhile, in Quebec,
On September 9, 13, 14, 15 and 17, QCGN is hosting hearings on Bill 96. The five-day virtual public consultation event which is hearing from a wide cross-section of Quebecers is being held prior to the National Assembly’s public hearings in mid-September to send a clear message to the government that Bill 96 requires considerable revisions, and more thought needs to be given to safeguarding the fundamental rights of all Quebecers.
QCGN Public Hearings on Bill 96: Day 3
On Tuesday, Wednesday Nighters Chris Neal and Andrew Caddell presented compelling briefs. Chris (start at 29:59) led the presentations of the the Quebec Writers’ Federation (QWF), the English-Language Arts Network (ELAN), and the Quebec Drama Federation (QDF). See also the op-ed We write in English and are allies of the French language by Chris and Julie Barlow. Andrew (2:15:47) followed the detailed legal analysis of Colin Standish with a more personal argument on behalf of the Task Force on Linguistic Policy.
QCGN Public Hearings on Bill 96: Day 4, moderated by former Senator Joan Fraser, began with Julius Grey‘s presentation (in French), starting at 4:24

A few thoughts on the economy:
On Wednesday StatsCan confirmed what many of us have already noticed as we make our purchases: Inflation rate spikes to 4.1% in August, highest since 2003
Ron Meisels‘ Phases & Cycles: Market Comment: our view [is] that the current market is still at its strongest phase; that the Bull market is alive and could continue for a number of years
(previous bull markets all lasted longer than 12 years).
Peter Berezin’s weekly report touches on:
• A decline in the marginal propensity to spend out of both income and wealth over the past few decades generated a flood of excess savings.
• Facing a chronic shortfall of aggregate demand, central banks had no choice but to cut interest rates. This inflated asset prices.
• Looking out, the marginal propensity to spend should rise as household deleveraging pressures abate, retiring baby boomers shift from being savers to dissavers, and labor’s share of income increases.
• While rising bond yields will be a headwind to equities, continued above-trend global growth, upward earnings revisions, forthcoming Chinese fiscal stimulus, and a cresting in the number of new Delta variant cases all justify overweighting stocks on a 12-month horizon.
• A more cautious stance towards equities will be appropriate in two years’ time once stagflationary forces begin to assert themselves.
A propos China, see Bloomberg: China’s Economy Weakens on Delta Outbreak and Wary Consumers
Unlike Europe or the U.S., China is sticking to a Covid-zero strategy, meaning it grinds travel and other social activities to a halt as soon as a few virus cases emerge in a region. …
The other dynamic in play is more lasting. China is undergoing a regulatory shake up on everything from lay-about teens to giant internet platforms to excessive debt in the real estate sector. And there’s increasing evidence the property crackdown is beginning to drag on the economy.
The Global Times has a somewhat different view: China’s economic activity slows in August with consumption and factory production held up by COVID-19, floods

Good news for Bombardier and Quebec:
Bombardier Unveils the New Challenger 3500 to Shake Up the Super-Midsize Jet Category
Luc Sirois was present at the launch and writes: Bombardier nous a rendus très, très fiers d’être québécois et québécoises aujourd’hui. Le lancement du Challenger 3500, une nouvelle version de l’avion d’affaire le plus populaire au monde, issue du talent de centaines d’artisans, de technologues, d’ingénieur.e.s et d’employé.e.s d’ici, assemblé entièrement ici, oui.
Mais aussi un lancement fait au Québec devant les leaders de la recherche, de l’innovation et de l’économie québécoise, et en virtuel devant plus de 8500 experts et passionnés répartis aux quatre coins du monde… le tout majoritairement en français!!!

Varia
Amidst gloom and doom of sad commemorations, campaign follies, etc. we can at least rejoice in
‘A gift to Tennis’: Sports world reacts to historic Fernandez-Raducanu final

Good dogs excel at new trick of Covid detection at Miami airport
Rachel Maddow reports on a new program at Miami International Airport that uses dogs trained to sniff out Covid infection as a preliminary check of airport staff arriving to work.
And for the first time that we know of, a federal leader has inserted animal welfare into his program:
Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole to ban puppy mills, protect animal welfare
We missed this announcement on 30 August. While some commentators may consider it frivolous, the fact that Mr. O’Toole has tied animal welfare to domestic violence issues is important. “We also know that there is a link between cruelty to animals and violence towards people,” said O’Toole. “Canada’s Conservatives will add animal cruelty as an aggravating factor in domestic violence prosecutions….”

Political correctness trumped by facts? We wish!
Lynn McDonald: The historical record vindicates Egerton Ryerson
The university has failed utterly to acquaint students with who Egerton Ryerson was and what he did that was so positive for Indigenous peoples
In a university, academic standards and respect for primary sources should be paramount. But they have been missing from action throughout these discussions at Ryerson.
The university has failed utterly to acquaint its students with who Egerton Ryerson was and what he did that was so positive for Indigenous peoples. Nor has it addressed the distress described by Indigenous students evidently persuaded by false information that he was responsible for the school system that causes them such pain.

Just for your pleasure
Amazing Architecture
House under the hill in Nashtarood, Iran by mrk office / Mohammad Reza Kohzadi
Sky Point Villa in Bedford Hills, New York, USA designed by Reza Mohtashami

Long reads
This is perhaps one of the strangest stories we have read, definitely entertaining for those who may delight in the dashing of Libertarian dreams:
The disastrous voyage of Satoshi, the world’s first cryptocurrency cruise ship
Last year, three cryptocurrency enthusiasts bought a cruise ship. They named it the Satoshi, and dreamed of starting a floating libertarian utopia. It didn’t work out
Back to more serious matters
Twenty years on, the cultural fault-line remains
For the west, there are no “forever wars”. For the Islamists, war is indeed forever