Wednesday Night #2212

It has been a very good week in US politics for non-Trumpers.

Last Thursday, the US and Russia completed the biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history, freeing WSJ journalist Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and Russian British journalist and Kremlin opponent Vladimir Kara-Murza. The 24-person deal required significant concessions from European allies, including the release of a Russian assassin, and secured freedom for a cluster of journalists, suspected spies, political prisoners and others. An incredible achievement, but now, as CNN reporter Ashley R. Williams describes, those freed in the historic swap face a challenging road ahead. (see Long reads below)

Heather Cox Richardson was one of the first public commentators ( July 29, 2024) to point out that  One of the advantages of refusing the Democratic nomination for president is that his decision to do that has left President Joe Biden in the position of being above the political fray and being able to act for the good of the whole country. Jennifer Rubin recently struck the same note when detailing the elaborate and complicated negotiations involved in the hostage swap. President Biden was deeply engaged every step of the way
Biden’s candidacy is over, but Biden’s presidency still excels
Governing is different than campaigning.

Conjecture over and bets are off the table. It is Tim Walz for Vice President! -or, as The Atlantic Daily puts it, Tim Walz joins the anti-weirdness ticket. Pretty much everyone agrees -though with a few caveats- that the choice makes sense. The pervasive argument is that he is an authentic rural voice with an impressive list of legislative achievements. Robert Reich notes “He’s as close to Jimmy Stewart as the Democrats have come in many years”.
It seems everyone has a list of Things to Know About Tim Walz, but so far Politico’s 55 Things is by far the most comprehensive – if you have the patience to read to the end.
Harris Introduces a Beaming Walz at Thunderous Philadelphia Rally Hours after announcing the Minnesota governor would be her running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz made their debut together before a jubilant crowd.
Robert Reich again: “Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are bringing back the politics of joy.”
It is so good to see such happy faces- both candidates’ and audiences’
The Atlantic‘s Tom Nichols is enthusiastic and for a couple of not immediately obvious reasons.
“I admit that to write about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, I had to overcome two biases. One is that he has both a cat and a dog”…
See more Democrats/progressives 2024 election 21 July-

While preoccupied with US politics, rising fears of Iran-Israel-Lebanon confrontation/war; Venezuela’s version of Trump; Bangladesh upheavals … , many of us have not been paying attention to the riots in Britain and fearsome anti-immigrant sentiment.
Is it any wonder the Brits are rioting? They’ve been fed an anti-immigrant diet for years

A study in governance contrasts.
The turmoil in Venezuela continues. Analyses indicate Nicolás Maduro lost the presidential election, but shows no signs of stepping aside. He declared -and continues to maintain- a disputed victory, recognized only by allies China, Russia and Iran. The opposition, led by Edmundo González and María Corina Machado, has collected thousands of receipts – printed voting tallies – that point to what could be the largest electoral fraud Venezuela has ever seen.
While the international community dithers, a workable solution could start with a proposal put forward by the U.S. the Democratic Transition Framework for Venezuela, the plan contemplated the creation of a Council of State, a body that would have representation from various parties and serve as the executive branch while new elections were organized (A Deal That Could Save Venezuela)
Meanwhile, the president of Bangladesh shows the world how things should be done. Nobel Laureate [Muhammad Yunus] Tapped to Lead Interim Government in Bangladesh
The new government was formed a day after Bangladesh’s longtime leader, facing fierce protests, fled the country. The president of Bangladesh on Tuesday appointed Muhammad Yunus, a pioneer in microfinance who is a Nobel laureate, to oversee an interim government, accommodating demands by protesters and offering a reprieve for a country scarred by violence.
Even Hamas manages to organize transition in an orderly and civil manner; following the assassination of political chief Ismail Haniyeh; after two days of consultation the selection of Yahya Sinwar as new leader was announced. Sinwar to replace Haniyeh as Hamas political leader
But do not take comfort from that fact
“Choosing a new leader for the political wing of Hamas would normally take months, and different segments of the group, including prisoners detained in Israel, would be consulted, according to Ibrahim Dalalsha, founder of the Horizon Center for Political Studies and Media Outreach, a research organization based in the West Bank. But Hamas made the decision quickly in order to send a message”

Sinwar is the ‘primary decider’ in any cease-fire, Blinken says.
This appointment does not bode well for peace talks.
Hamas’s decision to name Yahya Sinwar, its hard-line leader in Gaza and a key planner of the Oct. 7 attacks, to head its political wing could complicate prospects for a cease-fire deal by further empowering him in the troubled negotiations, political analysts said on Wednesday.
It could also make Hamas more impervious to pressure from nations like Qatar that have helped mediate the talks, given that Mr. Sinwar, unlike other leaders of the group, has remained in Gaza since the war started 10 months ago, the analysts said. See more

 On Monday Shares in New York and London tumbled on fears of US recession  Cooler heads (Robert Reich: The United States is not facing an imminent recession. This is nonsense) prevailed on Tuesday. At the close of trading in New York, all major groups in the S&P 500 rose, with the gauge finishing 1% higher. As for all that wishful Wall Street thinking about an emergency rate cut, none other than Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer David Solomon advised everyone to cool their jets: No, the Fed won’t do it, and no, there probably won’t be a recession.
Ron Meisels‘ message is: “NO, WE ARE NOT IN A BEAR MARKET!
The recent over 1,000 points drop by the Dow was caused by two actions:
1, the recent buying panic,
2, Mr. Buffett sold half of his Apple holdings.
The logical move suggests a one-third or a one-half correction of the rise since last October.

Maybe not such a great week for Google (Google’s antitrust loss puts a quarter of its search revenue at stake); although the consequences of Judge Mehta’s ruling may not be felt for years, it is a major vindication for the bipartisan fight against the dominance of a handful of large tech companies and the federal government has more lawsuits in the pipeline trying to rein in the tech giants After Google Antitrust Ruling, Here’s Where Other Big Tech Cases Stand.
Leading the list of targets: Nvidia, which has become the third-most-valuable company in the world just behind Apple and Microsoft. By one estimate, Nvidia now controls 80% of the market for AI-grade chips and data centers, far ahead of rivals AMD and Intel. All antitrust eyes are on Nvidia.

Canada/Quebec
While regional and community populations battle wildfires, mudslides and other natural disaster catastrophes (Smoke, wild weather poses challenge to air crews battling Jasper fire, says minister), the federal politicians are quietly enjoying summer recess.
Federal minister Pablo Rodriguez mulls run for leadership of Quebec Liberals – Currently the Trudeau government’s Quebec lieutenant, he was a member of the provincial Liberals’ youth wing in the 1990s.
I find this suggestion offensive. Like the other Montreal members of the Trudeau cabinet, he has done NOTHING to support/assist our beleaguered community and institutions.
Meanwhile:
Andrew Caddell celebrates the Scarlet Pimpernel of Quebec’s linguistic wars in his column Bonjour-Hi’ signs driving Quebec nationalists to distraction
“In the latest chapter of the language wars in Quebec, a brave soul known only as “The Artist” has literally made his mark with the words “Bonjour-Hi!” accompanied by a smiley face. And like Baroness Orczy’s Scarlet Pimpernel, he’s eluded Montreal authorities at every turn, providing needed comic relief to the summer’s increasingly heated politics of language.
In the west-end Montreal borough of Cote-des-Neiges/Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CDN-NDG), the neatly stencilled bilingual greetings have popped up on sidewalks, boutiques, walls, and liquor stores. And as quickly as Montreal city workers can wash them away, they appear elsewhere. Meanwhile, years-old scatological graffiti in the borough is ignored.”
He concludes “I think ‘The Artist’ should offer his stencils to the public to allow everyone to join in. Then someone could paint a “Bonjour-Hi” on the sidewalk in front of Legault’s downtown office, or at the OQLF. Many fair-minded Quebecers would be happy to hold the can of spray paint.”
AMEN! Perhaps we should establish a Bonjour-Hi Foundation?

Paris Olympics
We are now at overload, with each of us following sports and/or teams of special interest.
Some of the huge headliners have been and gone, i.e. After 24 Grand Slams, Novak Djokovic calls Olympic gold medal ‘the biggest’; Improbable journey in women’s soccer ends with heartbreak for Canada; the astonishing Summer McIntosh winning 4 of Canada’s 8 swimming medals; and the equestrian events’ magnificent venue of Versailles
And still there are surprises: Sandy W says “If you want to be surprised by an Olympic sport, check out Doubles Badminton. (My Nephew texted me and now I’m hooked.)”; She also was captivated by Armando Duplantis- “who made me a pole vault fan for one day”; Polish speed climber Aleksandra Miroslaw, who broke her world record twice en route to gold; Alysha Newman sets Canadian record to capture women’s pole vault bronze medal; Boxer Cindy Ngamba who won the Refugee Olympic Team a first Games medal, and her valiant teammate, Dominic Lobalu.
But our favorite story is:
The unsung hero of the Olympic-champion US women’s gymnastics team is a very good boy — Beacon, a golden retriever therapy dog, was a crucial part of the Americans’ preparations for the Olympics as he helped soothe athletes’ nerves.

Long reads
Inside the Secret Negotiations to Free Evan Gershkovich
(WSJ) The effort to bring home The Wall Street Journal reporter and others unfolded on three continents, involving spy agencies, billionaires, political power players and his fiercest advocate—his mother.
After emotional family reunions, the 3 Americans freed in a historic prisoner swap face a challenging road ahead
Tom Nichols: Tim Walz Joins the Anti-weirdness Ticket
If Harris’s goal was to add ideological centrism to the ticket, Walz is a risk. If, however, Harris is trying to appeal to millions of ordinary Americans by adding a man who lives and sounds like the people she is trying to reach, then Walz was a solid choice.