Kushner Asked to His Face Why Anyone Should ‘Have Any Confidence’ In His Negotiations

Excerpted from MEDIAite article Alex Griffing Sep 7th, 2026

Two roving US foreign envoys as seen by the Observer Status studio

NBC News Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel grilled President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and foreign policy envoy, Jared Kushner, during a press conference in Ukraine over the weekend, asking why anyone should have confidence in him, given his track record.

“This is for Mr. Witkoff and Jared Kushner. You have been involved in numerous negotiations around the world. Why should people have any confidence in your capacity to succeed here?” Engel began, adding:

You were involved in the Gaza negotiations, but Gaza remains a wasteland. There’s been really no progress there. Iran, you were involved in those negotiations. The war is still going on. You’ve been involved in several rounds of negotiations in this conflict. It’s only getting more intense. So you’re relaunching negotiations now. What’s the likelihood they will succeed, when other negotiations you’ve been involved in have not?

“These are some of the hardest problem sets in the world, and I think that you have to try and you have to bring to it. Obviously, Steve and I bring different approaches to these things, but we work very well together as partners. But we’re not bringing our approaches. We’re really representing President Trump, and we’re doing it the way that he wants to see these things done,” Kushner replied after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday and Vladimir Putin on Saturday.

The Russian State Museum of Honorary Art home to the finest collection of friends of Russia; immediately commissioned a grand painting of two roving US foreign envoys. The work was officially unveiled by President Putin.

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Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon supervising installation of government commissioned Swarm Storm variations.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/politics/article/why-federal-guidelines-for-ai-data-centres-are-facing-pushback

Excerpted from CTV News Sept 7/26

OTTAWA — Ottawa’s new framework for guiding the development of artificial intelligence data centres is failing to win over critics.

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Variation on Swarm Storm

The federal government unveiled five principles Thursday aimed at addressing growing concerns about the centres, including a duty to minimize water use and environmental harm, a pledge to ensure electricity costs aren’t passed on to Canadians, and a commitment to be transparent about projects.

But the framework has no legal force, and critics say there is little to stop companies from ignoring the principles.

Variation on Swarm Storm

“With most of these items, if the data centre companies decide to renege on any of these commitments, what will be the consequences? As far as I can tell, there’ll be no consequences at all from the federal government,” said Dru Jay, executive director of the Council of Canadians.

“I think we need to be clear that this is the federal government passing the buck and saying we’re not going to do anything to enforce standards. We’re not going to enforce any standards of transparency. We’re not going to enforce any standards of environmental impact.”

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Variation on Swarm Storm

Swarm Storm variation in preparation for installation.

Artificial Intelligence and Digital Innovation Minister Evan Solomon supervising installation of government commissioned Swarm Storm variations.

This artist agrees to standing in the back of the room of world events, with no seat at the table other than casting an eye, pointing a finger and painting a picture.

https://www.nationalobserver.com/2026/09/03/opinion/donald-trumps-trade-war-accelerating-canadas-retreat-climate-policy

Excerpted from National Observer: Linda Solomon Wood  Opinion 26/09/03

Donald Trump’s trade war is accelerating Canada’s retreat from climate policy.

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When trade talks between Canada and the United States broke down on August 22 and Trump imposed tariffs of 50 per cent on almost $30 billion of Canadian goods, Canada had to respond.

And it is responding. Prime Minister Mark Carney is standing up to Trump. I admire him for that. Canada cannot allow an American president to threaten our economy every time he doesn’t get what he wants. We need new markets, new trading partners and far less dependence on the United States.

But something else is happening in the rush to protect ourselves.

Climate policy is getting trounced.

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When building more fossil-fuel infrastructure is framed as standing up for Canada, opposing it becomes politically harder. When weakening climate rules is framed as protecting Canadian jobs and sovereignty, climate policy starts to look like something we can no longer afford.

Economic sovereignty and climate policy must not be presented as opposing choices. Just as we need to tackle housing costs and public health, we need to keep both climate action and economic independence on our list of priorities. Otherwise, we are solving one massive challenge by making another harder.

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Digital collages from Boreal Smouldering Series/2026 ,Allan Harding MacKay

OBSERVER STATUS…the newly minted series

Compiler of this new series of posts , AHM has been granted observer status by a well-placed, anonymous source. Future posts will be published under the “Observer Status” designation. Please note that all artwork and illustrations are created using digital tools & techniques however are not AI prompted and generated. Text sources are acknowledged where appropriate. Archives of the Court Painter series will remain available on the site.

With the observer status designation, this artist agrees to standing in the back of the room of world events, with no seat at the table other than casting an eye, pointing a finger and painting a picture.

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