The Evening: UK Visit, Mexico Tariffs, The Real Me and More

June 3, 2019

UK Visit

President Trump met Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on Monday, beginning three days of royal feting and carefully calibrated diplomacy, as the Washington Post’s By William Booth, Toluse Olorunnipa and Anne Gearan report.

Mexico Warns of Retaliation for U.S. Tariffs

Mexico is weighing its options to respond to the threat of U.S. tariffs on all of its exports, including possible retaliation, but would rather convince the Trump administration that a negotiated solution is in the best interest of both countries as the WSJ’s Anthony Harrup reports.

Dive Deeper: “Separation Anxiety,” by CSIS’s Bill Reinsch.

“Why Congress Cannot Allow the Trump Tariffs on Mexico to Stand,” by CFR’s Edward Alden.

Sudan Security Forces Open Fire at Protest Site

Gunfire erupted in the streets of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, early Monday as security forces opened fire on pro-democracy protesters outside the country’s military headquarters and killed at least 13 people, according to opposition groups and local media reports, as the NYT’s Declan Walsh reports.

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

7

China is home to seven of the world’s 10 largest construction companies and used more cement between 2011 and 2013 than the United States did during the entire 20th century.

Source: “Five myths about China’s Belt and Road Initiative,” by CSIS’s Jonathan Hillman for the Washington Post.

Critical Quote

“Russia has informed us that they have removed most of their people from Venezuela.”

— President Trump

iDeas Lab

Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections was part of a broader campaign to undermine confidence in democracy. Now, the Russian government is targeting the U.S. justice system. CSIS's Suzanne Spaulding explains what's happening with Russian disinformation. 

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: Alastair Grant/WPA Pool/Getty Images). Queen Elizabeth II poses for a photo with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump ahead of a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.

Recommended Reading

“Venezuela’s Two Presidents Collide,” by the New Yorker’s John Lee Anderson.

This Town Tomorrow

At 10:00 a.m., join CSIS for a discussion on the Trump administrations ambitious campaign - "Ending the HIV Epidemic: A Plan for the United States" - which seeks to accelerate diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of HIV.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., join the Wilson Center to hear about the steps Mexico has been taking to address the U.S.-Mexico migrant crisis, the links between the recent tariff threats, the prospects for the ratification of the USMCA, as well as the impact of these actions on the broader U.S.-Mexico bilateral relationship.

And, at 2:00 p.m., CSIS the Stimson Center will host a keynote address from former Chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin and former Undersecretary of the Army, Norman R. Augustine, followed by an expert panel discussion on balancing national security concerns with research competitiveness.

Video

Last week, Matthew Goodman, CSIS's Simon Chair in Political Economy, gave testimony covering economic diplomacy in the Indo-Pacific region before the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and International Cybersecurity Policy. Watch his testify video short here.

Podcasts

CSIS brings you a new podcast - AIDS 2020. In its inaugural episode, Steve Morrison and Andrew Schwartz speak with the San Francisco co-chair of the AIDS 2020 conference, Dr. Monica Gandhi, about the conference theme: "Resilience." 

Listen on SoundCloud.

Smiles

I can’t explain. If you read this space often you know that I am somewhat forbidden from teaching my teenage sons about rock and roll—they want to learn it on their own. And I respect that. My middle son told me this weekend that he is now “into” Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones. I just nodded my head and said “excellent,” without betraying a hint of the joy I felt.

I can explain Led Zep and the Stones to my boys but it would take longer and could be harder to explain The Who. There are so many theories, so many opinions. Did they measure up to the rest of the British Invasion or were they an afterthought? Or were they the first punk rock band? Maybe they were simply the most primal rock and rollers to ever take the stage. Intellectual or pretentious? Amazing musicians or garage rockers? 

I think about The Who all the time. To me they are iconic. Monumental. Cathartic. Sometimes I can’t believe the power their music holds over me. In some cases it’s the words, in others the music. Take the signature guitar and bass riffs of “The Real Me” from The Who’s “Quadrophenia” album, an opera about a young English Mod with four distinct personalities. The sonic attack of this song is mesmerizing.