Wednesday Night #2246

“Liberation Day” / Trump Tariff Day
Red, white and bruised: World braces for battery of Trump tariffs on Wednesday
During the run-up to Trump’s 4pm announcement, it was emphasized that “Exactly how he plans to structure the new tariffs is not yet clear. Several people familiar with the discussions said that the White House appeared to be leaning toward double-digit tariffs on many trading partners, but said some countries might receive a reprieve through deals or exemptions. The White House press secretary said Tuesday afternoon that Mr. Trump had decided on a course of action and that the new tariffs would go into effect immediately, but that he and his trade advisers were continuing to hash out details.”
Trump Says Global Trade Is Unfair. Does He Have a Point?
President Trump says that countries have been ripping off the United States for decades. There is some truth to that argument — but also a lot of hypocrisy.
Around the world, governments have been preparing for any number of alternatives. Canada’s Mark Carney left the campaign trail to return to Ottawa on Wednesday to hold a virtual meeting at 3 p.m. of the Council on Canada-U.S. Relations, comprising business, labour leaders, and prominent Canadians who have been advising the federal government on how to respond to Trump’s trade war against Canada. Then at 5:30, following the tariff announcement, he chaired a meeting of the cabinet committee on Canada-U.S. Relations and National Security to discuss what countermeasures Ottawa should impose on the United States.
Trump Left Canada, Mexico Out of Latest Tariff Round.
After saying that President Trump’s tariffs will “fundamentally change the international trading system,” Prime Minister Mark Carney acknowledged that the exemption of Canada from reciprocal tariffs “preserved a number of important elements of our relationship.” Nevertheless, Carney, apparently referring to other measures including tariffs on autos, steel and aluminum, said Trump’s policies “will directly affect millions of Canadians. We are going to fight these tariffs with countermeasures.” Carney will meet with all of Canada’s premiers on Thursday before finalizing Canada’s retaliation.
On Tuesday, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said the tariffs would snap into effect immediately following the announcement.
How, we wonder, are the various U.S. departments and agencies-many of which have been decapitated and decimated and have not been privy to Trump’s plans-  able to enforce the tariffs ‘immediately’? Policies affecting the global community -and especially trade- require enforcement at multiple levels. How prepared is the US government? Could this be another disaster pinpointing the current regime’s lack of experience and of understanding of government structures and procedures?

Trump Tells Inner Circle That Musk Will Leave Soon
The president is pleased with Elon Musk, but the decision comes as the tech mogul increasingly looks like a political liability.
‘Loser’: Musk endures wave of gloating on X after liberal judge wins Wisconsin race
Democrats seize on result as a referendum on Musk and an emphatic repudiation of Trump’s richest supporter and ally … Although Republicans won both special elections to fill vacant Florida congressional seats, both winning candidates earned about 20 percent fewer votes than Trump did in those same districts in November. Of note: In the ruby-red Florida panhandle, Escambia County went Democratic for the first time in any national election since 1992—a result, many political observers have said, of the Trump administration’s cuts to Veterans Affairs programs in a region with many military families.

Dare we hope?
As Trump mayhem spreads, MAGA unity cracks
From the Wall Street Journal editorial board to Fox News, capitulation is on the way out.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced, in her briefing and in a social media post, from a news outlet that doesn’t “care … about the truth” and is instead “running these lies,” which are “absolutely false” and “erroneous.”
The only unusual thing this time was that the diatribe was directed at the Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal. And not just any part of the Journal but its editorial board

Around the world
The death toll from the earthquake in Myanmar rose to 3,003, and more than 4,500 were injured, MRTV reported late on Wednesday.
The United Nations said more than 28 million people in the six regions were affected by the earthquake and that it put in place $12m in emergency funding for food, shelter, water, sanitation, mental health support and other services.
Myanmar military announces temporary truce as quake death toll passes 3,000
Myanmar’s ruling military announces a temporary ceasefire to facilitate rescue efforts, days after the magnitude 7.7 quake.
Trump’s USAID cuts will cause even more unnecessary deaths
Unusually for the isolationist military juntas of Myanmar, its leader, Min Aung Hlaing, immediately issued a call for international assistance.
…the Trump administration has decimated the US Agency for International Development (USAID) activities in the country. This will make it far more challenging to determine the areas most in need and distribute any aid on the ground.

Israel, Palestine, Gaza, West Bank
Israel is ‘seizing territory’ and will ‘divide up’ Gaza, Netanyahu says
Prime minister says Israel will build a new security corridor to isolate parts of the strip in major escalation
Netanyahu Takes Desperate Measures
Israel may be paying the price for its prime minister’s political survival.
In a little more than a week, Israeli Prime Minister 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.
No further news on ceasefire talks in more than a week.
NEVER AGAIN FOR WHOM? A RECKONING IN GAZA
Rafah is burning. Gaza is dying. And the world, once again, is failing the test of its own humanity.

Trump, Iran trade nuclear barbs as U.S. sends bombers and warships to region
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said Iran will “move toward” a nuclear weapon if attacked by the U.S. or Israel, just a day after President Donald Trump threatened to bomb the country.

After First Vice President Riek Machar was placed under house arrest last week, African Union mediators arrive in South Sudan to try to rescue peace deal
Machar’s detention last Wednesday followed weeks of fighting in the northern Upper Nile state between the military and the White Army militia.
The siege of Khartoum has lifted. Left behind are scenes of unimaginable horror
Sudan’s capital has been hollowed out and stripped for parts, its people trampled beneath a conflict that is far from over

Writing in the Globe & Mail, independent writer and editor Adnan R. Khan describes how Turkey has descended into authoritarianism, gradually and then all at once
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s transition from being among the first modern illiberal democrats to full-blown autocrat was inevitable

Marine Le Pen Falls to the Rule of Law and a Great Battle Looms
A court’s conviction of the far-right leader for embezzlement and its ban on her running for office have set off a new crisis for France.

Thomas Friedman: I Just Saw the Future. It Was Not in America.
Trump’s “Liberation Day” strategy is to double down on tariffs while gutting our national scientific institutions and work force that spur U.S. innovation. China’s liberation strategy is to open more research campuses and double down on A.I.-driven innovation to be permanently liberated from Trump’s tariffs.

Europe thought it had a way past Trump’s tariffs. He didn’t care.
EU officials had hoped to catch Trump’s interest with offers to buy more American gas. Here’s how they hit a wall of bureaucracy and disinterest.
Donald Trump had a simple warning for Europe: Buy more American gas or I’ll hit you with crippling tariffs. Great, Europe said. Let’s talk.
Then Trump imposed the tariffs anyway.

Heather Cox Richardson’s recent Facebook posts have been erased. Was she hacked? Facebook being overly censorious? Glitch or evil doer(s)? Whatever the explanation, we are pleased to link to Letters from an American March 27, 2025
“The craziness going on around us in the first two months of the second Trump administration makes a lot more sense if you remember that the goal of those currently in power was never simply to change the policies or the personnel of the U.S. government. Their goal is to dismantle the central pillars of the United States of America—government, law, business, education, culture, and so on—because they believe the very shape of those institutions serves what they call “the Left.”
and
March 30, 2025
on which she reviews the poor performance of the Trump regime over the past week and the ignorance of senior officials regarding Trump’s economic policies…

US politics
Good news!
Liberal Wins Wisconsin Court Race, Despite Musk’s Millions
Susan Crawford defeated Brad Schimel for a State Supreme Court seat in a race that shattered spending records and maintained a liberal majority on the court.
The anticipated  Florida victories were nonetheless by much narrower margins than previously.
G.O.P. Bolsters House Majority by Retaining Two Seats in Florida
The Republicans who were elected on Tuesday to fill seats left empty by Matt Gaetz and Michael Waltz had President Trump’s backing.
An amazing performance
Cory Booker Condemns Trump’s Policies in Longest Senate Speech on Record
The New Jersey senator spent much of his speech, which ended after more than 25 hours, assailing the Trump administration.
At one point, Mr. Booker spent some 30 minutes reading an account by a Canadian citizen, Jasmine Mooney, detailing her detention in the United States by immigration enforcement officers.
Local Governments Vie for Fired Federal Workers
State, county and city governments are eager to hire former federal agency staffers targeted in DOGE cuts.
States, counties and cities are holding job fairs and directing hiring ads at former federal workers, whose expertise can be particularly valuable to them. The nonprofit Work for America has also seen a surge in signups for their program connecting civil servants to jobs at the local level.
FEMA blocks $10B in disaster aid over immigration concerns
The move is part of a wholesale review of 56 FEMA programs to ensure they meet President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts.
FEMA is reviewing the funding to determine whether it helps migrants in violation of a Feb. 6 executive order by President Donald Trump to “stop funding NGOs that undermine the national interest.” The review is part of Trump’s broader crackdown on immigration and other programs that focus on climate change or diversity.
The Strategy Behind Trump’s Repeated Musings About a Third Term
The president’s comments deflect attention from other controversies. And they freeze the field of potential successors who might steal the spotlight from a lame duck.

Quebec and Canada
Mulcair: Karl Blackburn set to ignite Quebec Liberal race
Karl Blackburn, former Liberal MNA and chief organizer for the party, is set to enter the race, injecting much-needed vitality.
Quebec Bill 94 – draconian and odious- goal is to bar anyone who has contact with students from wearing religious symbols.
Allison Hanes: Quebec’s school secularism bill teaches students the wrong lessons

U.S. trade complaints target Quebec’s Bill 96
The annual report on trade barriers published Monday names Bill 96 as a “technical barrier to trade” because it would require generic terms and product descriptions that are part of trademarks to be translated into French.
Quebec Premier François Legault said he won’t give an inch on the language law. “There may be some compromises we can make on certain products, like aluminum … but there’s no compromising on French,” he said. “It’s not negotiable.” Federal political leaders also condemned the language law’s inclusion on the list, which also described Canada’s supply management system for certain agricultural products as a barrier to trade.

Hanes: CAQ government’s Stablex law allowing expansion of hazardous-waste dump sets bad precedent
There are so many things wrong with the way the government of Premier François Legault rammed through a law to expand a hazardous-waste dump in Blainville that it’s hard to know where to begin. For starters, they signed off on the company Stablex mowing down 58 hectares of forest that is habitat for birds and backfilling nine hectares of wetlands where beavers thrive to expand its operations burying dangerous materials encased in concrete.

Wednesday Night’s resident automotive expert, Peter Frise, is featured in yet another interview – this one is CBC. Trump fact-check: No such thing as ‘Canadian’ or ‘American’ cars, experts say
‘Some of the things that he is using in his narrative are simply not correct,’ one expert says (guess who?)
Trump says he ‘couldn’t care less’ if auto prices rise because of his tariffs
He expressed confidence that the policy would prompt more Americans to buy cars and trucks made in the U.S.

Trump wants to tariff Canadian-made drugs. Experts warn U.S. patients could pay the price
Antidepressants, antibiotics among Canadian manufactured drugs that end up in the U.S. market
Prescription drugs have been exempt from tariffs in the past. But Donald Trump looks poised to change that as early as April 2. That could result in shortages for critical drugs for Americans, warn experts.
… Dozens of those drugs are only, or predominantly, manufactured in Canada, say the authors.

Canada Federal (Carney) Liberals and election campaign

In Rural Quebec, the wave looks red
Andrew Caddell devotes this week’s Hill Times column to the three lower St Lawrence rural federal ridings in his neighborhood. “This region is not that influential in terms of policy, but its role as a bellwether is significant. Going as far back as the Quebec referendums of 1980 and 1995, the votes were almost exactly those across the province: 60/40 “Non” and 52/48 “Non” respectively.”
He concludes “at this writing, Carney is the Teflon man, which could mean prominent Liberal Glenn O’Farrell winning in Bellechasse, Environmentalist Alex Reford in Rimouski, and former Rimouski MP Remi Massé in Cote-du-Sud.”

Andrew Coyne: As the Paul Chiang scandal shows, the shadow of foreign interference hangs over this election
This isn’t just about a single candidate, or a stray remark. This is another in a series of incidents involving attempts by China and other powers to interfere in the Canadian political process.
The whole election, indeed, is taking place in the shadow of one particular foreign interference campaign, stemming from the unlikely quarters of the United States. Donald Trump’s declaration of economic war on this country had already turned the election upside down, even before he started talking about annexing us. …
Beijing’s efforts, over multiple elections, to promote some candidates and destroy others will no doubt continue, undeterred by any significant strengthening of Canada’s defences, even after the recent report of the public inquiry on foreign interference led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue. For all we know, so will China’s efforts to sway and subvert local nomination races, the parties having taken no serious action to prevent it.
And not only China – or only nomination races. The news that India attempted to interfere in the last Conservative leadership race on behalf of Pierre Poilievre – apparently without decisive impact, and without the knowledge of its intended beneficiary – has lost none of its power to shock. That a candidate in the recent Liberal leadership race was disqualified on suspicion of ties to New Delhi is likewise unsettling, the more so since the party has disclosed so little about it.
How disinformation, fake news and foreign interference threaten Canadian election
By T’Cha Dunlevy
How is this election different? “There’s a lot that is different about this election,” said Aengus Bridgman, an assistant professor at McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy who heads the Media Ecosystem Observatory and the Canadian Digital Media Research Network. He cites an evolving geopolitical landscape, a reduction of safeguards by the main social media platforms and the advent of generative AI as game changers in the lead-up to election day on April 28.

Carney unveils signature housing plan he says will double pace of home building in Canada
‘We solved a housing crisis before in our past, we can solve the housing crisis now,’ said Liberal leader

Caroline Mulroney defies Ford and endorses Poilievre at his morning speech in Toronto, endorsing his run for prime minister. Mulroney repeatedly invoked her father, the late prime minister Brian Mulroney, saying that both he and Poilievre understood the importance of standing up for Canada.
We cannot imagine Brian M. liking PP personally or politically.
Lord Tubby weighs in. As we do not have a subscription to the National Post, we must rely on one of his fans (if he still has some) to explain his argument.
Conrad Black: Mark Carney has poor values
–Canadians cannot possibly support his plans for global climate policy

Varia
Dogs with backpacks revive forests in Chile devastated by wildfires
In Chile, three Border Collies named Das, Summer, and Olivia have been trained to help reforest areas devastated by wildfires. Equipped with special backpacks filled with native plant seeds, the dogs released them as they ran through the affected landscapes, mimicking natural seed dispersal.
In case you were planning a trip …
Venice says it will host Bezos wedding and denies reports of possible disruptions for the city

Long reads
Opinion: Now’s our chance to recruit top researchers from the U.S.
Kim Brooks is a professor in tax law and policy who serves as the president and vice-chancellor of Dalhousie University; Kimberley Manning is a professor of Chinese politics and women’s studies at Concordia University
Three esteemed Yale University professors recently announced their decision to join the University of Toronto. This high-profile move could be part of a larger pattern: top-tier scholars seeking refuge in countries where academic freedom and research integrity are safeguarded. Canada can and should be that haven. We propose three immediate actions: First, increase investment in research and innovation to help attract top talent. …. Second, remove barriers for U.S. students, especially graduate students, to relocate to Canada. … Third, leverage public-private partnerships to advance a Canadian research agenda.

Yes, America absolutely should annex Greenland and Canada. Here’s why
…it’s proper to note that the influence exerted by annexed lands is a two-way street.
And that’s why the U.S. should annex — needs to annex — both Greenland and Canada. Let’s start the process without delay.
The principal gain for Americans from making both countries part of the U.S. comes from their social policies. In both countries, they’re better than America’s in many respects. They cover more residents, provide greater benefits and have more support from political leaders across the partisan spectrum.

What Frank Lloyd Wright Learned From the Desert
With Taliesin West and other building designs in central Arizona, the architect adopted survival strategies from desert life long before sustainability was a trend.

How Trump can deport all those migrant predators at the National Zoo
The National Zoo can easily be converted into a symbol of American Greatness.
Dana Milbank

Biden world braces for book storm
By Adam Wren
(Politico Playbook) The former president’s extended orbit is bracing for a steady march of no fewer than four books dropping over the next few months that promise to excavate and relitigate not only the historic 2024 presidential campaign but the former president’s own physical and mental condition before dropping out.
… Dozens of former and current Biden aides have engaged on the books, according to a person with visibility into the process. Biden allies seem to be defining a satisfactory fact-checking process as one that includes readouts of dates, people, memos and meetings mentioned and a chance for Biden world to respond, item by item.
Starting Tuesday [1 April], the crush of books will begin with Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes’ “Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House”. (HuffPost review: New Biden Book Makes Brutal Claims Of ‘Death-Pool Roster’ And ‘Bread Crumbs’ Trail -“Fight: Inside the Wildest Battle for the White House” spilled tea on the ex-president’s crumbling run for reelection.)