Last week's invitation/agenda was full of juicy intellectual fodder from around the world, however the pungent odors of Gomery soup were irresistible and the evening's discussion centered on tasty morsels of political and electoral turmoil basted with tidbits of Gomery gossip/conjecture. See http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1208.asp

Thus, we will try to persuade you to voyage further afield on the eve of the British election, possibly guided by two of Montreal's Marco Polos -- Robert Travers (recently returned from China) and Cleo Paskal (home from India).

Pierre Pettigrew's not going to the OAS. Instead, José Miguel Insulza, Chile's interior minister, was elected secretary-general Traditionally, Canadians ignore events in Latin America, but this election may signal some important new developments and deserves attention.

On our perennial favorite topic of globalization, the 2005 A.T. Kearney/FOREIGN POLICY Globalization Index states that "global integration survived the turbulence of the Iraq war, a sharp economic downturn, and the failure of trade talks. Last year, Ireland and Switzerland [and Sweden] topped our ranking of political, economic, personal, and technological globalization in 62 countries ... the world is still coming together ... [and] even as the world economy slowed, Internet growth in poor countries and increased cross-border travel deepened global links. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/wwwboard/g-index.php It makes for fascinating reading and should provoke some interesting reactions.

In the aftermath of the George Bush/Prince Abdullah dance through the Texas bluebonnets, much commentary has centered on the Bush Administration's failure to produce an intelligent energy policy. Joe Klein's thoughtful essay in TIME, The Perils of Hands-On Diplomacy http://www.time.com/time/columnist/klein/article/0,9565,1056216,00.html makes some encouraging points. If only ....

What about the meeting between the Communist Party of China and the Taiwan-based Kuomintang ending in a pledge to seek a definitive end to hostilities and pursue economic integration? http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3930577&fsrc=nwl

The past week's news has not contained anything further on the Maurice Strong sidebar to the UN Food-for-oil programme, but for sure an intrepid investigative journalist will run with this, fuelled by the tangled web illustrated on http://debbyestratigacos.mu.nu/archives/cat_united_nations.html

Since last week, John Bolton's nomination as U.S. Ambassador to the UN looks shakier. We like Tom Friedman's suggestion that Dubya forget about Bolton and call in his father.

The French referendum on the EU Constitution will be a hot item until it is over on May 29. Note that Chirac has tried to convince voters that the referendum should not be seen as a vote of confidence in his government, but all polls still are negative. We have found good coverage on the BBC including an informative Q&A http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4496593.stm

Iraq - More car bombs, more deaths, more political strife and none other than Chalabi as oil minister. Can/will things get worse?

Finally, Canadian content: there are those who wonder about Air Canada's massive $6-billion (U.S.) seven-year fleet modernization program, based on Boeing's latest long-range wide-bodied aircraft. (Wasn't this a bankrupt company?) Few of us may have noted that this news came a week after the Canada-China air services pact was signed. Three more Chinese cities can be served directly, besides Beijing and Shanghai.

Lots to consider and talk about. And do check http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1209.asp for breaking news and required reading