Wednesday Night #2213

As some of you know, I have been suffering from an attack of pseudo-gout (no, I had never heard of it either) in my left hand and wrist. It is very painful and anti-inflammatories are working slowly.
Meanwhile, the pills make me sleepy and less than sharp.
So, this week I will refrain from most commentary and simply point you in the direction of news and reviews while looking forward to your reactions – verbal or other.
I will be present at WN Zoom, but don’t expect much wit or original thought!

With the 2024 Paris Olympics now only a -mostly excellent- memory, most of the world is turning to the U.S. presidential campaign for excitement. And there is excitement.
Robert Reich The Trump crack-up His fragile ego can’t take it
Inflation cools — except on the campaign trail … Harris’ economic policy speech Friday in North Carolina isn’t expected to get very specific, it will signal a “reboot” from Biden’s emphasis on manufacturing jobs to a new intensity around bringing down the cost of living

Ukraine turns the tables on Russia
A bold Ukrainian operation in Kursk has humiliated Russian President Vladimir Putin and upended some of the logic of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.
Deflection and downplaying: Putin’s response to Kursk invasion off to a shaky start
The longer the incursion lasts, the harder it is for Russia’s president to brush it off as a hiccup in a successful war
Zelenskyy says Ukrainian offensive advancing as Belgorod declares emergency
The Ukrainian leader says 100 Russian soldiers captured since surprise incursion began, as Russia denies strategic impact.

Biden’s Gaza cease-fire plan teeters on brink ahead of high-stakes talks
Looming over the negotiations are threats by Iran and Hezbollah to strike back against Israel after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.
The warring parties all have incentives to upend the planned talks in Doha on Thursday, described by President Joe Biden’s aides as a “final stage” bid to end [the] war.

Nicolás Maduro’s refusal to quit raises a troubling question for Venezuela: what next?
On Sunday, the WSJ claimed the US had put “everything on the table” during secret talks and offered Maduro an amnesty from prosecution on drug-trafficking charges if he stood down, although a senior administration official later denied that claim.
Many believe the only institution capable of forcing Maduro’s hand is Venezuela’s military – but [Andrés Izarra, a former Hugo Chávez minister] was skeptical about the possibility of a split within its ranks or a mutiny similar to Hugo Chávez’s failed 1992 coup.
A Crackdown in the Making? Cartel Violence in Costa Rica
Historically a transit point, Costa Rica is now increasingly caught in the net of transnational drug trafficking operations due to escalating cartel violence amid an influx of support by international criminal organizations based in Mexico and Colombia.

Taliban celebrates three years of return to power in Afghanistan
Afghanistan’s rulers celebrate the anniversary of their return to power amid a worsening humanitarian crisis.

Japan’s Kishida announces he will not run in September, paving the way for a new prime minister. A new face is a chance for the party to show that it’s changing for the better, and Kishida said he will support the new leader.

Chris Neal has published an Invitation to join a McGill Community for Lifelong Learning Study Group – International Organizations in a Fragmented World “Starting September 12, 2024 at 12 noon, and for nine Thursdays at noon thereafter, I will moderate a study group, International Organizations in a Fragmented World, at the McGill Community for Lifelong Learning. For those with a keen interest in international affairs. Scroll down for more info.
MCLL’s Fall 2024 Program is now available for viewing on our website at mcgill.ca/mcll.
See Study Group Program
Fall registration opens on Tuesday, August 6, 2024 at 9 a.m.

A new global health emergency: What is mpox, where are the outbreaks and what is the WHO doing?

Google lost a big antitrust lawsuit. Now it might get broken up
The decision could also open the floodgates for more antitrust cases against Big Tech
Bloomberg US Considers a Rare Antitrust Move: Breaking Up Google
Antitrust enforcers soliciting input from outside companies
Judge ruled Alphabet unit monopolized online search, ads

Canadian Future Party launches, will field candidates in upcoming byelections
Party is billing itself as centrist option for ‘politically homeless’ voters

Jasper townsite to reopen Friday, but only to residents
Breaking News! Ottawa-style
Quebec suffering ‘extremely difficult’ wave of severe weather, minister says
Quebec is experiencing an “extremely difficult” period of climate-related disasters, Public Security Minister François Bonnardel said Wednesday, as residents across several regions cleaned up from another episode of severe rainfall.

Quebec directive on language in health care – the mind boggles!
Roberge pledges new health-care language directive after meeting anglo groups
But he said the existing directive will be in force until the updated version is ready. !!! The QCGN, which was not invited to the meeting until the last minute, countered that it “must be suspended immediately.”Health-care language directive fit for the shredder
André Pratte, chairperson of the Quebec Liberal Party’s policy committee
And then this from the QLP-
Quebec Liberals say province needs its own constitution to affirm ‘who we are‘
Really? Think again, Antoine Dionne Charest.

Varia
(This Day in History) 2003: Blackout hits Northeast United States
Fifty million people were affected, including residents of New York, Cleveland and Detroit, as well as Toronto and Ottawa.
Although power companies were able to resume some service in as little as two hours, power remained off in other places for more than a day.
secretive artist trying to raise a smile with pelicans, elephants, monkeys, wolf, goat and cat
For a week now, the streets of the capital have been ­populated by a string of unusual animal ­sightings, courtesy of Banksy, ­including ­pelicans, a goat and a trio of monkeys.
The artist’s vision is ­simple: the latest street art has been designed to cheer up the public ­during a period when the news headlines have been bleak, and light has often been harder to spot than shade.
Stonehenge’s ‘altar stone’ originally came from Scotland and not Wales, new research shows
The mysterious Altar Stone at Stonehenge might have been transported more than 700km from north east Scotland. Scientists have revealed the fascinating study about the stone circle but the revelation brings as many questions as it does answers.
The Goldilocks theory of out-of-office messages
Some workers use their vacation out-of-office message to make a big statement about their relationship to their job. But it’s okay to simply say you’ll be away.

Documentary videos
Inside the Mind of a Dog
Embark on a delightful journey into the world of dogs in this documentary that reveals scientific and emotional insights about our lovable BFFs
– a great improvement on exploring the mind and emotions of JD Vance Hillbilly Elegy

International Organizations: Fragmented World
McGill Community for Lifelong Learning
Fragmentation and multipolarity describe international relations today. Hot wars rage in Ukraine, Gaza and Africa. Action on climate change flags even as impacts worsen. Artificial intelligence, pandemics and migration pose new challenges. International organizations established to resolve conflict, manage crises and address political, economic, social and environmental challenges now seem weaker than ever. What happened? Can the UN and its agencies, IMF, World Bank, G7 and G20 be reformed? Moderator Christopher Neal draws on his international career experience to introduce internationalist ideas and history, after which participants will present on specific international organizations.
YCMS 597 (in person)/YCMS 598 (online)

Long reads/video
India Is Quietly Undermining China
China and India are locked in a battle of dominance over the Indo-Pacific. And it looks like India may be pulling ahead.
Cleo joins the ‘fine and funny folks from China Unscripted to discuss “the complex array of methods India is using to fight back against the PRC’s unrestricted warfare attacks. For example, apart from banning TikTok, WeChat and scores of other PRC apps (years ago), it is going after PRC tech firms for their money laundering, and completely redesigning the Indian military.
Also touch on how Western media covers India, why India is an existential threat to China, and how it can seem to some in India that the U.S. is creating minilateral relationships in the Indo-Pacific that ignore India.
We also try not to insults fans of new Star Trek (well, I do) and discuss – at length – the difference between the words condensation and condescension.”

Catalan Pimpernel (no link available at present)
By Gwynne Dyer
Carles Puigdemont, the self-exiled leader of the Catalan separatist movement, aspires to become the new Scarlet Pimpernel. Last week he left Belgium, where he has lived as an unwelcome guest since he led a failed attempt to secede from Spain seven years ago, and had himself smuggled back to Barcelona, the capital of the region of Catalonia.
He chose this moment because a new regional coalition government was coming to power that included one of the Catalan nationalist parties. In the eyes of hard-line separatists they were traitors, and Puigdemont’s duty, as he saw it, was to mock and humiliate them.
His plan was to appear suddenly in Barcelona on the day the new regional government took power. Collaborators got him safely to the city, and last Thursday Puigdemont showed up near the regional parliament building, surrounded by around forty people wearing Puigdemont masks.
He gave a short speech denouncing his various political enemies, disappeared back into the same crowd of Puigdemont look-alikes, then into a car and away. By Friday, he was back in Belgium.

Useful clarifications.
What ‘Seeing Combat,’ ‘Stolen Valor’ and ‘Abandoned His Troops’ Actually Mean
It can be hard to understand some of the accusations aimed at vice presidential candidates Tim Walz and JD Vance, so we asked a veteran to decode them.