Wars and rumours of war, plus some Canada news, and predictions of a sad World Cup

It seems like its been a while since I've updated on today's wars, so here are a few recent posts and comments that I found illuminating: 

Iran War update 

Tonight the New York Times is reporting that the US and Israel thought back in February that they could end the war in a few days by replacing Iran's leadership with a cooperative stooge, easy peasy.
What were they smoking?

...It turns out that the United States and Israel [gift link] went into the conflict with a particular and very surprising someone in mind: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the former Iranian president known for his hard-line, anti-Israel and anti-American views.
But the audacious plan, developed by the Israelis and which Mr. Ahmadinejad had been consulted about, quickly went awry, according to the U.S. officials who were briefed on it.
Mr. Ahmadinejad was injured on the war’s first day by an Israeli strike at his home in Tehran that had been designed to free him from house arrest, the American officials and an associate of Mr. Ahmadinejad said. He survived the strike, they said, but after the near miss he became disillusioned with the regime change plan.
He has not been seen publicly since then and his current whereabouts and condition are unknown....
... Israel envisioned the war unfolding in several phases, starting with air assaults by the United States and Israel plus the killing of Iran’s supreme leaders and the mobilization of Kurds to fight Iranian forces, according to two Israeli defense officials familiar with the operational planning.
Then, the Israeli plan foresaw a combination of influence campaigns carried out by Israel and the Kurdish invasion creating political instability in Iran and a sense that the regime was losing control. In a third stage, the regime, under intense political pressure and the weight of damage to key infrastructure like electricity, would collapse, allowing for what the Israelis referred to as an “alternative government” to be established.
Other than the air campaign and the killing of the supreme leader, little of the plan played out as the Israelis had hoped, and much of it appears in retrospect to have profoundly misjudged Iran’s resilience and the capacity of the United States and Israel to exert their will...

The Iran War "strategy" looks even crazier: The @nytimes reports that the US plan was to put Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in as leader -- yes, the same Ahmadinejad who was both extremist and a bit crazy. I interviewed Ahmadinejad when he was Iran's president and can't imagine the why the…

— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) May 19, 2026

Olé Olé Olé! Habs win it in overtime. Plus, more about the Alberta voter ID app scandal

What an outstanding win

Carrier’s side switch grants Newhook a cushion on entry, and the forward makes no mistake to send the Habs to the ECF. The second replay gives us a closer look at the game-winning knuckler:

- Vinh Cao

Read on Substack

Alex Newhook is from St. John's, NFLD, by the way, and he scored the game-winner against Tampa in Game 7 of that series too.

Tabarnak!!! Plus, Sunday Funday with funny-odd and funny-haha posts, Hating AI, Carney Hat Trick, TrumpWatch, and Animal Crackers

Oh, tabarnak! The Habs lose tonight - On to Monday!
The video low-lights of Saturday's game are here. I'm not posting the clip because I don't really want to watch it again.
This is a pretty good game review on the Raw NHL website, from Sabres writer Matthew Fairburn

Canadiens fans were ready to party on Saturday night. The holiday weekend brought even more people into the city. Thousands of fans were outside the Bell Centre watching the game, and the 20,962 fans filled the arena with ear-splitting noise before puck drop. Montreal police warned fans outside the building not to bring any pyrotechnics or fireworks, concerned about the kind of scene a Game 6 win would create in the city’s streets.
But the Sabres, who came into this game 4-1 on the road in the playoffs, scored seven unanswered goals to thwart that party and keep their season alive with another road win to bring the series back home for Game 7.
“Well we’re in the process of seeing if we can play here on Monday,” Ruff quipped.
...“It’s probably the worst game we’ve played, so we’re only going up,” Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki said. “It’s going to be important for guys to look themselves in the mirror and say that we’ve got an opportunity to win one game and move on to the third round. So we’ll take that any time.”...

The Carney and Smith announcement, plus a note on Trump's crazy language

It was a big announcement today in Alberta:

Canada and Alberta Strike Landmark Implementation Agreement on Energy, Emissions, and Export Diversification By Annie Koshy Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a landmark Implementation Agreement in Calgary today, delivering on the core commitments of the Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding signed last November. The agreement moves on three fronts simultaneously: strengthening carbon markets, building clean electricity infrastructure, and opening a new pipeline corridor to Asian markets. The carbon market framework carries the broadest national implications. Canada and Alberta have agreed to an effective carbon price of $115 per tonne by 2030, $130 by 2035, and $140 by 2040. Alberta commits to a minimum floor price for carbon credits beginning in 2030, preventing market collapse and providing investment certainty. Canada and Alberta will jointly issue 75 million tonnes of Carbon Contracts for Difference to support emissions reduction projects, with costs shared equally. The ambition extends beyond Alberta: a credible, high-price carbon market in Canada’s largest emitting province creates the foundation for a scalable national carbon credit market across provinces. On electricity, both governments have committed to doubling Alberta’s grid by 2050 across nuclear, wind, solar, geothermal, and lower-carbon generation. A joint Electricity Working Group will identify the investments required to achieve net-zero emissions in Alberta’s electricity sector by 2050. The federal government will add major high-voltage intra-provincial transmission to the Clean Electricity Investment Tax Credit, directly addressing one of the most persistent bottlenecks in Alberta’s renewable buildout. The pipeline commitment is the most politically consequential element. Alberta will submit a comprehensive proposal for a bitumen pipeline to Asian markets to the Major Projects Office by July 1. Canada will pursue its designation as a project of national interest by October 1, fully consistent with the duty to consult Indigenous peoples. The pipeline would transport at least one million barrels of low-emission Alberta bitumen per day and is contingent on the Pathways Project, the world’s largest carbon capture and storage initiative, targeting 16 million tonnes of annual emissions reductions and up to 43,000 jobs annually. Both governments have concluded that the cost of continued regulatory conflict is higher than the cost of compromise. Alberta gets pipeline access, investment certainty, and jurisdictional control. Canada gets a credible carbon market foundation and a nation-building project that advances its export diversification agenda. Whether the pipeline can be approved by October 1 while fully meeting Indigenous consultation requirements will be the first real test of the timelines committed to today. https://www.pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2026/05/15/canada-and-alberta-strike-agreement-diversify-our-exports-reduce

- Annie Koshy

Read on Substack

Here is an excerpt from PM Carney's press conference following the announcement:
shorts

Today's News: Habs Rule (almost)! Plus a round-up of comments on the Alberta separatist referendum, and a smattering of Trump/China

Habs Rule (almost)!

Montreal wins 6-3 over Buffalo, and will be going home with hopes to take it all on Saturday night's game 6
 

Montreal will be rocking!
They stick together don't they

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Some additional detail about that crucial decision to leave Dobeš in after the Sabres scored three on him, and about the goal coach who made it, is in this NHL article here.

Some good Venn diagrams, plus some good news updates

Starting with a few Venn diagrams:

Today's News: We just need the next 2 out of 3. Plus Trump leaves for China, and some "Strait of Hormuz Blues"

Next two out of three
A crazy game and unfortunate loss, Sabres 3 to Canadiens 2:

At Sportsnet, Eric Engels writes:

In a game the Montreal Canadiens lost by one goal, it would be easy to suggest the puck bouncing off the stanchion by the Bell Centre’s Zamboni door before caroming off Jakub Dobes’ pad was the difference.
But there was more to why the Canadiens finished Tuesday night down 3-2 in the game and tied 2-2 in their series with the Buffalo Sabres, and they’ll have to properly evaluate that before the action resumes at KeyBank Center on Thursday.
For a team that prides itself on honest self-assessment, a reality check awaits in the video room.
The Canadiens had seven power plays but scored on only one. And even if Cole Caufield, who scored that goal and said afterward that he and his teammates broke down the Sabres “a bunch” and were only thwarted by great saves Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, they mismanaged the puck enough to squander those other six opportunities....

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - from Habs Rule to America Chaos

For some reason I am seeing a lot of just two kinds of posts. 

Positive ones about the Habs victory on Sunday, and negative ones about Trump's America causing chaos in the world. 

So they seem to fall into a sort of oddball "two cities" theme, really. Here they are

Habs Rule!
The playoff standings as of Monday night are here
Canadiens-Sabres Game 3 recap

Some good posts about this game:
Classic sports photo here

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Sunday Funday: Funny posts about Canada, ETTD, sports, academics, and more, plus Carney hat-trick TrumpWatch, Animal Crackers

First, good items about Canada 

Todd Maffin does a "heritage minute" about Heritage Minutes


All of the Minutes are saved here: https://www.historicacanada.ca/productions/minutes 

This is my favourite:

Good for the Habs! Plus today's Canada news - from Obama to a pink Barbie Jeep

Habs win!

So the series is tied as they head to Montreal for the next two games.


When it got to 4-1, that was really the end for Buffalo

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Today's News: Poilievre Put-downs, Responding to Wexit, China gives Trump the finger, and a Hantavirus Cruise Ship Update

Poilievre Put-downs

I think I need to start a regular feature about the comments and cartoons I see on our opposition leader Pierre Poilievre. I must admit, I seldom actually follow much of what he talks about, so I rely on these social media zingers to keep up with what he is doing. Enjoy!

From MP Peter Schiefke:

@globalnews.ca

Liberal MP turns to poetry to poke at Pierre Poilievre in House of Commons

♬ original sound - Globalnews.ca

Today's News: Some comments worth sharing on Iran, Alberta, ICE and rich bros, plus some updates on Canada good news, that hantavirus cruise ship and Epstein-gate. Finally, DAMN!

Some comments worth sharing

Black Cloud Six on the Iran War
A great piece here from Black Cloud Six, on how the American way of war is failing again. This is how he begins:

....Generally speaking, American employment of military power is characterized by a number of traits that can trace themselves back to the Second World War: unparalleled industrial capability, incredible logistics, the use of airpower as a panacea, allies as a tool rather than a partner, cultural isolation, technological solutionism, firepower as the first solution to tactical problems, and not a little amount of hubris and exceptionalism. We see all these being applied now during Trump’s war against Iran, but their threads run through most US military actions since 1945, including during “my” war in Afghanistan. In many ways, the United States is still attempting to apply the lessons learned during World War II to conflicts that are dramatically different in nature or scale....

The whole piece is well worth reading, but I particularly appreciated this part:

...We see all of this in full display right now, with Trump’s war with Iran. The United States launched extensive airstrikes against Iranian infrastructure and decapitation strikes against its leadership. Conventional Iranian military capabilities were wiped out and Trump himself was quick to claim a resounding victory. Yet the enemy has a vote and the American way of war was ill-suited to bring Iran to heel without an extensive, risky, and potentially expensive ground operation. Hubris and exceptionalism, personified by a strutting Pete Hegseth, waded in and failed to account for the Iranian regime’s resilience and ability to conduct unconventional warfare. Consequences and second- and third-order effects were obviously disregarded as Trump watched video of airstrike after airstrike. Today, though, “victory” seems far off.
This is because US strategy cannot work. Bombing alone has rarely, if ever, produced the clean political surrender American planners seem to expect from it, and the United States seems to have developed few other options. Iran has become the master at creating unintended consequences, both with its drone and missile strikes and with small-scale operations in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States has alienated its usual allies — allies that possess minesweeping capabilities beyond those possessed by the US Navy — and is left virtually alone confronting Iran....

Today's News: Go Habs Go! Welcoming our new Governor General. And marking Red Dress Day

Go Habs Go!

We're all getting set for Wednesday night!

The Montreal Canadiens are set to start their series against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. To win this series, the Habs will need Cole Caufield to step up and be an X-factor. thesickpodcast.com/habs-round-2...

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— Nick (@nicklariviere25.bsky.social) May 5, 2026 at 6:27 PM

"May the Force be with you" and all the other stuff happening around Star Wars Day: Carney in Armenia, the PBO assessment, ICE on Canadians, Iran War, Met Gala, Star Wars, Kent State, Gordon Lightfoot, Habs Rule!

I hadn't realized so much was happening in the first few days of May: 

Carney is in Armenia

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Carney's speech:


TL,DW: DRM News reports "Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney addresses the European Political Community Summit in Armenia, highlighting Canada-Europe strategic ties, support for Ukraine, and a shifting global order. He emphasizes “strategic autonomy,” critical minerals, and defense cooperation, while warning that the international system is being reshaped by geopolitical and economic disruptions."

 

Sunday Funday: Sports Update, Wrapping up the Royal Visit, a bunch of good and funny posts. Plus NSFW, Getting Old(er), Carney Hat-Trick, TrumpWatch and Animal Crackers

Go Habs!  Go Raptors!

But win or lose, you both do Canada proud.

Sports Update

Outstanding!

RJ BARRETT "CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?"

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— CJ Fogler (@cjzero.bsky.social) May 1, 2026 at 8:29 PM

Canadians were really touched on Tuesday night when the Buffalo crowd sang our national anthem.

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