Wednesday Night #2245

As expected, Liberal Leader Mark Carney called an April 28th federal election — and in the face of Donald Trump’s continuing threats to make Canada a 51st American state, the world is taking an unusual interest.
So far, ever since his and the new Cabinet’s swearing-in, his declarations and  actions  have been impressively on-target, starting with the quick visit to France and England (cordial meeting with King Charles included), and on the return leg a stopover at Iqaluit to give some major undertakings for northern development and security including Canada’s partnership with Australia on an over-the-horizon radar system. His promises while campaigning in Newfoundland (closer look at the department of Fisheries and Oceans, with the goal of creating a sustainable fishery and potentially restructuring the department) and Nova Scotia (military investment plan) indicated a good understanding (good staff work?) of local issues and needs, while on the international level, his warnings about the effect of the Signal scandal on the Five Eyes, were appropriate and responsible (US war plans leak shows Five Eyes allies must ‘look out for ourselves’), as was his nonconfrontational statement that Trump is likely waiting to see who becomes prime minister before agreeing to talk
The Tariff War is on.
Wednesday afternoon brought the not unexpected major challenge as Trump announced 25 per cent tariff on all auto imports to the U.S. Describing Trump’s tariff as a ‘direct attack’ on Canada’s auto sector, Carney says he is waiting to see the details of the executive order and he will convene the Canada-U.S. cabinet tomorrow to discuss trade options. Earlier he announced during a campaign stop in Windsor, Ont. a $2 billion “strategic jobs fund” to help the auto sector.

U.S.-Russia-Ukraine
Russia Is Winning Concessions and Buying Time in Cease-fire Talks
Moscow’s demands are slowing the process and giving it the advantage in talks with a deal-hungry United States, experts said.
Ukraine thought it had a deal in place to suspend the fighting in the Black Sea immediately. Russia said economic sanctions would need to be lifted first. And the United States didn’t address the question of timing at all, merely repeating President Trump’s broad demand that the killing stop.
The conflicting statements released this week after midlevel cease-fire negotiations in Saudi Arabia were the latest sign of a chaotic process in which, analysts and experts said, the Kremlin appears to be playing for time and getting the upper hand.

In The end of the transatlantic relationship as we know it Ian Bremmer analyses how U.S. allies will eventually react to Trump’s demands and hope for a reset after he’s gone (he includes Canada and Mexico in this assessment). But, he states, Europe is different. It possesses both the collective heft to resist Trump’s demands and the existential imperative to do so.

‘We have to have it’: Trump ups the pressure on Greenland
While continuing to eye 51st state status for Canada, the Trump regime maintains that it must ‘have’ Greenland and to that end planned a mini-invasion headed by Second Lady Usha Vance. Infuriated Greenlanders and Danes managed to limit the visit to a quick stop at the US base, Pituffik. (Denmark welcomes US plan to scale back unsolicited Greenland visit. All of this is an indication of the increasing importance of the Arctic to not only the US.

While we worry about Russia-Ukraine, the (non)invasion of Greenland by US politicians, and the end of the transatlantic relationship, don’t forget to keep an eye on Bibi many of whose actions mirror his friend Donald’s:
Netanyahu Takes Desperate Measures
In a little more than a week, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has reignited the war in Gaza, dismissed the head of Israel’s internal security agency, and moved to fire its highest legal official—all while pushing toward a political takeover of the judicial branch. That Netanyahu is taking all of these actions at once is not a coincidence: He knows he faces immediate threats to his hold on power, and so he is taking desperate measures, regardless of the cost in lives and the risk to Israeli democracy. The situation in Gaza remains critical as hundreds of Palestinians joined protests against Hamas, demanding the end of the war.

Last week, Ali brought up Trump’s letter to Iran included 2-month deadline for new nuclear deal
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a briefing with reporters earlier this week that Trump’s letter is still being studied and Iran’s response is being drafted.
CNN reports that Iran is currently mulling over…Trump’s offer for talks on a new nuclear deal. Its answer will hinge on one key factor: Whether it believes that it can come out of it undefeated.
Trump said on Monday that the U.S. will consider any further attacks by the Houthis in Yemen as emanating from Iran and threatened the Iranian government with “dire consequences.” Iran has said it doesn’t control the Houthis.

Signal Group Chat Leak
On 15 March, Trump launched large-scale strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, at least 31 killed. Probably none of us paid much attention to what was to prove a fateful date until The Atlantic‘s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed on Monday that The Trump Administration Accidentally Texted Me Its War Plans. With that headline, the ‘Signal scandal’ entered the public domain as a perfect illustration of the incompetence -and insouciance?- of the senior Trump national-security-intelligence-defence team. If the consequences were not potentially so dire, it would be a truly laughable situation. Amateur Hour in the extreme.

Trump team accidentally texts Canadian invasion plans to Ian Hanomansing
(The Beaverton) Echoing a recent scandal where senior Trump officials included Jeffrey Goldberg, EIC of The Atlantic, on a Signal thread to plan strikes in Yemen, the latest self-inflicted leak includes CBC’s Ian Hanomansing. In an unsecured Signal thread, titled “Hegseth and The Squad Sucker Punch Canucks!!!”, Trump officials discuss plans for an economic and military invasion of Canada by US forces. The thread, which Hanomansing was added to late last night, includes tactical strategy, propaganda messaging, John Wick gifs, and numerous links to Joe Rogan podcasts.

If you have been wondering what Kyle Matthews and Marie Lamensch were up to following the closing down of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights (MIGS), here is Kyle’s latest:
Welcome to the official company/organization page of the Montreal Institute for Global Security, a non-partisan think tank and Canada’s leading source of actionable research and analysis on global conflicts, emerging technologies, and human rights.
“I am happy to share the website for the Montreal Institute for Global Security, a new independent think tank dedicated to strengthening democratic resilience against authoritarian actors.
At a time when human rights and democracy are under threat—globally and here in Canada—we need bold strategies to bind democratic allies together to counter authoritarianism and geopolitical coercion.
Our team will provide advisory services to governments and the private sector to navigate these challenges. As shifting global power dynamics, including troubling signals from the U.S., test Canada’s security and sovereignty, our work has never been timelier and more urgent.
I invite my network in Canada and abroad to connect, collaborate, and support our mission. Let’s work together to safeguard our values and security in these turbulent times.”

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House
US decision to limit Canadian access to border-straddling library prompts outpouring of emotion
A symbol of the pettiness of Trump officials and the reaction of good neighbours on both sides of the border
Border-straddling library raises $140K for renovations after U.S. limits Canadian access
Best-selling novelist Louise Penny donated $50K for the project
Library officials in Stanstead, Que., are full of gratitude after receiving more than $140,000 in donations — including from celebrated author Louise Penny — to help renovate the entrance to the library that straddles the border with the United States.
“It is crazy. It’s overwhelming …I have contractors starting working,” said Sylvie Boudreau, president of the library’s board of trustees.
Built in 1904, the Haskell Free Library and Opera House needs to renovate an emergency exit to become an accessible main entrance for Canadians after the U.S. government announced it is limiting access to that entrance, which is located steps into Derby Line, Vt.
U.S. limits Canadian access to iconic Stanstead, Que., border-straddling library
Mayor of Quebec town says move undermines the spirit of cross-border collaboration

Not all stories of cruel and stupid acts by the Trump regime have such happy endings.
We invite you to check out our pages on U.S. Immigration and Education (The Trump administration issued an executive order calling for the elimination of the U.S. Department of Education) and SCOTUS, US judiciary & legal community– Law firms refuse to represent Trump opponents in the wake of his attacks,  which  offer some detail about the horrendous applications of Executive Orders and explain why experts are advising Don’t visit the US – it just isn’t worth the risks right now

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!
The Red Passport Podcast
Two important podcasts,especially the one with Joe Clark
Whose Side Is Trump On Anyway? (podcast)
An unfiltered discussion with Louise Blais, Jeremy Kinsman and Peter Donolo about treading water in the Trump Tsunami – from Africa to the UN to the G7. Trump is upending decades of alliances, turning on his friends and cutting loose the most vulnerable populations in the world. What are the real-life implications, and how is the new Canadian PM dealing with it?
6 March
Special Guest Joe Clark on Canada’s Lost Influence & the Path Forward
Former Prime Minister Joe Clark joins The Red Passport Podcast for an unfiltered conversation on Canada’s shifting role in global affairs. From dismantling apartheid to shaping the end of the Cold War, he was at the forefront of historic diplomacy. But today, as nationalism rises and global alliances falter, has Canada lost its voice? Clark, alongside hosts Jeremy Kinsman and Louise Blais, reflects on past successes, critiques today’s challenges, and offers a bold vision for Canada’s future on the world stage. A must-listen for anyone invested in Canada’s global impact.

Good reads

Our thanks to Byron Haskins for introducing us to Second Rough Draft, Richard J. Tofel’s newsletter about journalism in our time, how it (often its business) is evolving, and the challenges it faces. The most recent essay How Journalism Should Cover a World with the U.S. No Longer at its Center
Reporting after the end of American Exceptionalism – a keeper!

“Careless People” is a brilliant title for the new exposé by former Facebook executive Sarah Wynn-Williams.
The book, subtitled “A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism,” reads like a spicy office memoir if your office mates travel by private jet and your boss asks for a rally of 1 million people. Wynn-Williams recounts her seven years in the social media empire now called Meta. Beginning in 2011, she worked as an adviser to Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg “as they were inventing how the company would deal with governments around the world.”
Meta scrambled to silence a tell-all book. Now it’s a bestseller.
An arbitration ruling bars author Sarah Wynn-Williams from promoting her memoir tarnishing Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg with what the social media giant says are lies.
Wynn-Williams’s book is getting the kind of news coverage and social media chatter that many first-time authors can only dream of, having debuted at No. 1 earlier this month on the New York Times bestseller list for nonfiction and sold well ever since.