The Evening: Secret Mexico Deal, Raytheon-UTC Merger, Dr. John’s Last Waltz and More
June 11, 2019
Secret Deal with Mexico
President Trump on Tuesday waved a piece of paper that he said was part of a “very long and very good” secret agreement with Mexico, refusing to describe it but vowing that it will go into effect whenever he wants it to, as the NYT’s Michael Shear reports.
Dive Deeper: “Critical Questions: The U.S.-Mexico Tariff Threat Has Passed, for Now,” by CSIS’s Bill Reinsch and Jack Caporal.
United States: Iran in Breach of Nuke Deal
The United States said on Tuesday that Iran’s work with advanced centrifuges is a breach of the nuclear deal Washington has already pulled out of, expressing its concern while repeating that it is open to holding talks with Tehran, as Reuters reports.
Dive Deeper: “The United States’ Soft War with Iran,” by CSIS’s Seth Jones and Danika Newlee.
Defense Contractors Join Forces
The biggest aerospace-and-defense merger ever, United Technologies and Raytheon, spotlights an industry that is reorganizing in anticipation of slower growth in Pentagon spending and new priorities such as space systems and hypersonic missiles, as the WSJ’s Doug Cameron and Ben Kesling report.
Dive Deeper: “What Comes after the ‘Last Supper’?” by CSIS’s Andrew Hunter and Rhys McCormick.
Enroll for Fall
Now enrolling for the Fall, CSIS & Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs offer a new Executive Master's in International Relations. Information here.
Video Shorts
Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Testify” and “High Resolution.” In under 90 seconds, CSIS experts tell you what they told Congress in testimony, or use high-resolution satellite images and advanced mapping to break down national security issues. And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!
In That Number
2.9%
World-wide demand for energy grew 2.9% in 2018, its fastest rate since 2010. Carbon emissions from energy use rose by 2%.
Source: “BP Statistical Review of World Energy”
Critical Quote
“The United States calls on Iran to return to compliance without delay.”
— Ambassador Jackie Wolcott, representative of the United States to the International Atomic Energy Agency
iDeas Lab
A new brief from CSIS's Transnational Threats Project explores Iran's attempts to influence populations across the globe through media, cultural centers, and charitable foundations. While there has been considerable focus on Iran’s military capabilities, there has been far less attention devoted to Iran’s “soft power.”
The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and video.
Optics
(Photo credit: Zach Gibson/Getty Images). Former Daily Show host Jon Stewart is sworn in before testifying during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on reauthorization of the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund today on Capitol Hill.
Recommended Reading
“Africa's Democratic Moment,” by CSIS's Judd Devermont and Freedom House's Jon Temin for Foreign Affairs.
This Town Tomorrow
At 1:00 p.m., join CSIS for a conversation with former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter who will discuss his more than three decades of experience at the Pentagon.
Later, at 2:00 p.m., CSIS will host a discussion on U.S.-Taiwan economic relations and Taiwan's New Southbound Policy, featuring welcoming remarks by John Deng, Taiwan's minister without portfolio.
And, at 8:30 a.m., the Atlantic Council will host an event on the economic rationale for avoiding tariffs on Mexico, featuring remarks from Senators Tom Carper (D-DE) and Ron Johnson (R-WI).
Video
CSIS today hosted Dr. Lawrence Haddad, executive director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, for a conversation on the importance of public-private engagement in efforts to provide nutrition to all. Watch the event here.
Podcasts
In the latest episode of Take as Directed, Sara Allinder is joined by special guest host Haim Malka, deputy director and senior fellow of the CSIS Middle East Program, to discuss the future of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
Listen on SoundCloud & Apple Podcasts.
Smiles
A few weeks ago I was down in New Orleans with my brother-in-law, Chef Douglas Katz, a recent James Beard Foundation nominee for best chef of the Great Lakes Region. Chef Doug and his team are opening up a new Israeli fusion restaurant in Cleveland, and they wanted to check out one of the great mecca’s of Israeli cooking in the United States—New Orleans. Food culture in New Orleans is evolving all the time and right now, Israeli food in the Crescent City is hot, thanks to Chef Alon Shaya.
Chef Shaya’s new restaurant, Saba, which means grandfather in Hebrew, is amazing. It features the flavors of Bulgaria, Yemen, Syria, Morocco, Turkey, Palestine, and Greece to name a few. And this is located in Uptown New Orleans down the street from places where you put ketchup and Crystal Hot Sauce on your dressed oyster po-boy.
When you eat at an interesting restaurant with a bunch of chefs like my brother-in-law, it is a lengthy affair. You get to talking about all kinds of things. One of the chefs with us asked me what my top three live music experiences were. Where to begin! I said that many of my best were in New Orleans in small venues. Like the time in the late 1980s when I walked down the street to Tipitina’s to find a candlelit stage and a locals only crowd hushed and almost in a trance watching Dr. John perform his standards.
Another of my favorite live performances also featured Dr. John. It was during the Inaugural festivities in 1993 for Bill Clinton. The hottest ticket in town was the "Absolutely Unofficial Blue Jean Bash" at the National Building Museum. The young, cool kids always get tickets to these kinds of exclusive things because they make it a hip scene for the oldsters to attend. I guess I was one of the cool kids back then because I sure as heck don’t get invited to things now because I have good hair.
The music at the Blue Jean Bash can only be compared to The Last Waltz, The Band’s final live performance in 1976 captured on film by Martin Scorsese. It’s comparable because Dr. John performed at the Blue Jean with Levon Helm, Rick Danko, and Garth Hudson of The Band…and Bob Dylan! It wasn’t exactly The Last Waltz, but it was electrifying in its own way. There’s no existing video that I know that captured the Blue Jean Bash. But this clip of Dr. John and The Band at The Last Waltz is unforgettable too.