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Blog of Adam Daifallah -- author, journalist, law student. Lover of politics, writing, golf, curling, fitness, fashion, bacon and maple products -- not necessarily (but probably) in that order. Partisan of the Anglosphere. Contact me via email at adam@daifallah.com. This summer I am joined by Keir Wilmut and Omar Soliman.
Friday, April 30, 2004
Another day, another outrage. Volume XII, No. 3
Yesterday we learned that Ottawa's secret National Unity Reserve was actually much bigger than originally dislcosed. About $65 million/year (not the previously stated $40 million) was used to fund everything from the “Canadian Irish Studies Foundation” to the sponsorship program. All of the money was at the discretion of the Prime Minister. It's painfully clear that the rot in the Chretien years, given this and the laundry list of other revelations, was way worse than we thought. As always, there will be little anger among regular Canadians. But Paul Martin’s government should, at least, be complimented for axing this slush fund: his officials reportedly called it a “honey pot…not consistent with the values of sound fiscal management." True. Very true. But even though the program has been “terminated” why is it still going? $49 million in FY2004-05 and $16.2 million in 05/06. Reg Alock, the treasury board prez, says it would be unfair to cancel previously promised money. Huh.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:28 AM
Thursday, April 29, 2004
Brahimis are everywhere
Maybe I just missed this, but it doesn’t seem to have gotten a lot of play. CNN’s (now ex, she resigned last week) reporter in Amman and Baghdad, Rym Brahimi, is engaged to be married to a Jordanian Prince. The Hashemite Prince is a half brother of King Abdullah and son of the late King Hussein. Not only that, but Rym is actually the daughter of Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.’s man in Baghdad who’s leading the process of creating the interim Iraqi government. Arab chatter classes = very small world.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:08 PM
Don Cherry's swan song?
So it looks like hockey loudmouth Don Cherry might have to hang up his skates. The CBC is said to be leaning against renewing his contract for the "Coach's Corner" segment on Hockey Night in Canada. I do not look forward to the day when this news is made official. There will be riots in the streets. I still can't think of a single event -- not even the federal sponsorship scandal -- that rivalled the outrage in Canada surrounding the near-failure to renew HNIC host Ron MacLean's contract. This country loves its hockey, and they love Don Cherry.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:58 AM
Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Specter squeaks by
Movement conservatives in the U.S. are aghast this morning with the news that liberal Senator Arlen Specter won the Pennsylvania Republican Senate primary against his conservative challenger, Rep. Pat Toomey by a margin fo 51-49%, or about 15,000 votes. I don’t think even Toomey’s boosters were expecting the race to be that close. And there are a lot of people who are dispapointed this morning with two supposed friends of conservatism -- President Bush, and Pennsylvania’s other senator, Rick Santorum -- for their endorsement of Sen. Specter. These endorsements might have made the difference for Specter. This is really too bad.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:38 AM
Tuesday, April 27, 2004
I never thought I'd see the day...
...when Sen. Marjory LeBreton would be out trashing Joe Clark. (See Roger Smith's video report).
Said LeBreton about Joe's recent shenanigans: "I don't think many people care what Joe Clark says and I think that's the saddest commentary of all."
Hear, hear Senator.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:56 AM
Monday, April 26, 2004
Is Joe tinting his hair?
On the left, Joe Clark circa the 2000 election.
On the right, Joe Clark in the House of Commons sometime last year. Hmmmmm....gotta wonder.
 
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:36 PM
Sunday, April 25, 2004
Russert grills Bandar
If anything good has come out of Bob Woodward's new book, Plan of Attack, it's that it's forced the Saudi Ambassador to the U.S., Prince Bandar bin Sultan, out from under his rock. Bandar is normally quite reclusive; he won't talk to the press (at least not on the record), leaving that job up to flaks like the ubiquitous Adel al-Jubeir, his brother Nail, or the Saudi embassy's lavishly-paid spin doctors at Qorvis Communications. But because of the allegations in Woodward's book -- the most serious being that there is a "secret deal" to lower oil prices before the November election to help Bush's re-election -- Bandar has been making the rounds. And he's been everywhere, even calling into the Larry King Live show last week when King was interviewing Woodward.
Most of the Bandar interviews have been pretty boring -- until today. Tim Russert's interview with the ambassador on Meet the Press was the best skewering I've seen on TV in a very long time. When it comes to asking real questions to an interviewee, Russert really has no equal. He also has a crackerjack research team. If you haven't seen this on TV, I urge you to read the transcript. Bandar was blown out of the water, and Russert refused to let up. My favourite passage:
MR. RUSSERT: Prince, the former general consul to the Department of Treasury, David Aufhauser...
PRINCE BANDAR: Yeah.
MR. RUSSERT: ...a professional, a lawyer, testifying under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Question: "With regard to the trail of money ... and whether it leads in some cases to Saudi Arabia?" Aufhauser: "In many cases it is the epicenter." Question: "And does that trail of money also show money going to al Qaeda?" Aufhauser: "Yes." "Is the money from Saudi Arabia a significant source of funding for terrorism generally?" Aufhauser: "Yes. Principally al Qaeda but many other recipients as well."
This was the scene in April 2002, when your king, a state-sponsored telethon--and look at these pictures--raised over $92 million and the money was "for Palestinian martyrs"...
PRINCE BANDAR: Right.
MR. RUSSERT: ...suicide bombers who blew up Israeli children, school buses, restaurants. Here's the Treasury Department of the United States saying that Saudi money is funding al-Qaeda. You're having telethons raising money for Palestine suicide bombers, and you sit here and say, "How could people say these terrible things about us?"
PRINCE BANDAR: Yes, I say that very easily because nothing stands still. If you are saying before 9/11 we didn't have our thing together, yes, but nor did you. Look what 9/11 is showing. However, since...
MR. RUSSERT: This was April of 2003.
PRINCE BANDAR: I understand. Since then, since 9/11, when after we recovered from the shock, we looked at all our procedures, and we have come through and we're proud of it. And listen to--you read to me a quote. Let me read to you the same man you quoted in a hearing afterward said exactly the opposite to this. Secretary Snow in public, in Saudi Arabia, and in a briefing here, says the opposite to that. And the Financial Action Task Force of the Organization of the Economic Cooperation and Development--the OECD--just came out with a report in March. It says: "In the area of charitable giving, new regulations to crack down on abusers at Saudi Arabian-based charities probably go further than any country in the world." This is done by the G-7.
Please. Given the magnitude of the rot in the Kingdom, they have done precious little to curb terrorism or terrorist funding. Their "new regulations" on charities amount to having these entities submit an annual report.
President Bush's relationship with Saudi Arabia is being examined more closely all the time. I think it could become a real liability for him in the November election.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:08 PM
Curling season's over
The World Curling Championships in Sweden are over. Canada's Colleen Jones won gold on the women's side; Mark Dacey took home a bronze in the men's event.
Pretty good performance, but it won't satisfy Canadian curling fans. There is an implicit expectation that both Canadian teams will win gold every year. So Dacey will doubtless be disappointed. Jones has struggled a lot in the past at the world level -- this is her second win in six trips.
One interesting lesson from this, which probably applies to most sports, is the need to lose during the round-robin. The logic seems peculiar, but statisically speaking, you will eventually lose. Dacey went 9-0 in the round-robin, and lost when it mattered in Saturday's semi-final. Jones went 9-0 last year in the round-robin and lost the final to the U.S. This year Jones went 6-3 in the round-robin and won the final. Better to get a loss or two or three out of your system early on.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 4:14 PM
Friday, April 23, 2004
Why isn't this getting more press?
The new Conservative party has rejected the candidacy of a Bloc MP who lost her nomination. (Sorry, link is in French; I haven't yet seen this reported in any English media.) Jocelyn Girard-Bujold, the MP for Jonquiere, offered to run for the Tories but they said no. Amazing to think that the Liberals are cozying up to the nationalist/separatist gang more than the Conservatives are.
(Hat tip: Laurent Moss at The Shotgun)
UPDATE: Hat tip should have gone to "P.A." at Rightwing.ca. I repent! I repent!
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:39 PM
Thursday, April 22, 2004
Fabulous news
One of the greatest female golfers ever to play the game, Toronto's Marlene Stewart Streit, has been inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame. She becomes the first Canadian ever to be so honoured. Said Streit today:
"I played golf all my life for the love of the game. This is very huge for Canada, and I'm just proud. My greatest thrill in golf has been playing for my country."
She has won so many international tournaments its tough to count them. She is the only golfer to have won the Canadian (11 in total), Australian, British, and U.S. women's amateur championships.
To give you an idea of how incredible this woman is: when most golfers enter the seniors ranks at age 50, they only last for a few years or so and then they start to fade. Steit has not only completely defied that conventional wisdom, she has turned it on its head. Since becoming eligible for senior play, she has won the U.S. Senior Women's amateur three times -- in three different decades! 1985, 1994 and last year, 2003, at the age of 69! Absolutely incredible. This is a proud day for Canada and amateur golf in this country.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:14 PM
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
El Rushbo
I was going to write up something on Bob Woodward's new book, but then I read this. Nothing more needs to be said.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:13 PM
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Specter coddles dictators and terrorists
A few weeks ago I blogged about how Arlen Specter, the "Republican" senator from Pennsylvania currently fighting a primary challenge, has unsuccessfully tried numerous times to placate the dictator at Damascus, Bashar al-Assad. Well, Bashar's not the only tyrant Specter cozies up to.
Arm-in-arm with Arafat
"Reasoning" with Castro.
If any registered Republicans in Pennsylvania are reading this, vote Pat Toomey.
(Thanks to T.C. for passing on the pics)
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:06 PM
Cheeky
Only David Horowitz and Front Page Magazine could print a half-hearted correction as funny as this.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:58 PM
Monday, April 19, 2004
Quote of the day
Colleen Jones, currently curling for Canada in the world championships in Sweden, on why making the men's and women's worlds separate events won't work well:
"I think the women are going to have to curl naked in order to get people out there. I'm not kidding. You're going to have to hope for an Anna Kournikova to come along to really jazz it up."
Doesn't speak too well of the state of women's curling, but I think she might be right.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:43 PM
Golf is in decline?
I had no idea. In this fascinating article on golf in The Wall Street Journal today (sub. required), I learned that golf's popularity might be waning. I thought it was expanding?
Modern golf courses, more often than not, are built and groomed to impress very good players, not help average golfers. They are often difficult. Play slows down. Golfers find themselves waiting between shots. They stew (in the electric carts the course requires them to rent) about getting no exercise. They ask themselves whether the $60 or $120 or more they paid for this five-hour ordeal was money well spent. Some conclude it wasn't. They feel vaguely fleeced. They play less -- or quit.
Nearly three million of the 26 million adult golfers in the U.S. quit each year, says the National Golf Foundation, an industry research group. Why? Health, job and family obligations, and other spare-time attractions are some of the reasons. But underlying those, dropouts say in surveys, is this: The game is too difficult, too time-consuming and too expensive.
Who would have known. I can't believe almost as many people quit each year as start. There might be a real opening in the market for lower-scale public courses that aren't so tough. Hmmmm..... (Thanks to Tamara G. for forwarding this)
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:12 PM
Oil-for-Food malfeasance
Claudia Rosett continues to distinguish herself as the most important writer today on the U.N. and especially the corrupt Oil-for-Food program. I certainly hope the Pulitzer Committee is reading her stuff.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:50 AM
Saturday, April 17, 2004
U.N. in Iraq
Nice summation here by two former Justice Department lawyers about why giving political control of Iraq to the U.N. is a terrible idea. In short, the U.N. has shown itself to be wholly unreliable and untrustworthy in these situations. I'm surprised more fuss isn't being made by the conservatives in the Bush administration about this, particularly given the personal history of Lakhdar Brahami, Kofi Annan's envoy in Iraq. Brahimi is an old guard Arabist type who was a top official of the Middle East Dictator Society, um, I mean Arab League. Brahimi won't put in place the kind of caretaker government in Iraq that is needed if real democracy and freedom is to take root there.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:03 PM
Sober second thoughts on Svend
I decided not to write anything substantive about the Svend Robinson bombshell until I had a chance to think about it. I didn't want to say anything rash or regrettable. Well, it's been two days, and I still don't have much to say. Svend Robinson is one of my least favourite MPs. I think he has done a great deal of damage to Canada and has hurt our image abroad. Jonathan Kay had it right: Svend is a total narcissist. I also think he is a shamelss sympathy hound: he did not have to do a press conference with the sobbing and the melodrama. He could have just released a written statement announcing his intention to not seek re-election. He could have, just this once, decided not to look for pity by playing the victim card. But no. Svend has to be the story, and the media eats it up.
If he really does have stress problems, fine. I do hope he gets better. But is it really possible that stress from a hiking accident that occured way back in 1997 -- yes, that is seven years ago -- caused him to steal a piece of expensive jewelry? I find it hard to believe.
Anyway, I'm sure he'll be back running in the 2008 election.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:44 PM
Friday, April 16, 2004
More Svend
(Via CBC News)
Uh, no comment.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:19 AM
Thursday, April 15, 2004
Oh, this is just too rich
Svend Robinson's reason for not running in the next election is that he shoplifted some jewellry. I guess he is crying out for help. Canada's most discredited MP has just become a little more discredited.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:22 PM
Wednesday, April 14, 2004
The head terrorist at Tehran, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, annual has launched a website. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing, the mad mullah's decrees and fatwas page appears empty. Looking forward to seeing some online content there soon.
A few nuggets from his scintillating Friday sermon:
Commenting on the Zionist regime's policy of assassinating Palestinian leaders, Ayatollah Khamenei noted that the U.S. government, which is using its so-called campaign against terrorism as a pretext to exercise force and power, approves such acts through its overt and official support of the Zionist leaders' crimes.
...
He referred to the occupation of Iraq and the oppression of the Iraqi nation as an international crime and said that the occupiers justify their act by saying it is in defense of human rights, democracy, and freedom.
...
Stressing that the U.S. threats backed by the Zionist capitalists target the entire Islamic world and the vast wealth of the region, he said that the greater Middle East initiative was also formulated within the framework of that objective.
This is what we are up against.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 1:51 PM
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
National Post hits the blogosphere
Today the National Post, my newspaper of employment, becomes the first Canadian daily to go live with a blog. It is now up here. Check it out. I'll be splitting my time between here and there from now on.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:20 PM
Monday, April 12, 2004
On the Masters
My piece regarding the Masters is up now at NRO. The theme is that it was a week of emtional extremes -- from the death of caddy Bruce Edwards, to the retirement of Arnold Palmer to Mickelson's big win.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:00 AM
The picture says it all
Congratulations, Phil Mickelson.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:03 AM
Sunday, April 11, 2004
Farewell to the King
I've decided to essentially avoid all hard news this whole weekend and focus entirely on golf and relaxing. (I even hit a few range balls Friday before going home to Peterborough for the weekend.) One of the most emotional moments in modern golf history happened Friday, when Arnold Palmer walked up the 18th fairway at Augusta for the last time at the Masters. So far this tournament has been one of emotional extremes, and if Phil Mickelson wins today it will truly be the icing on the cake. I'll have more to say about the Masters in a planned piece for NRO tomorrow morning.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:59 PM
Friday, April 09, 2004
Bruce Edwards, RIP
By reading the inimitable Lorne Rubenstein's golf column in this morning's Globe and Mail, I learned of the death of Bruce Edwards, the long-time trusty caddy of legend Tom Watson. Edwards had been struggling with Lou Gehrig's disease and finally succumbed to this terrible illness Wednesday night. Amazingly, Watson managed to play yesterday. I got teary-eyed watching Bruce on Watson's bag last year as Watson nearly won the U.S. Senior Open. Diseases like Gehrig's are so sad because you see the person physically deteriorate right in front of you and there is absolutely nothing that can be done. There will be a dark cloud over Augusta this weekend because of the loss of Bruce Edwards. (A new book has just been released on his life, which I'm going to pick up.)
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:27 PM
Terrorists 'R Us
If this isn't what's wrong with Canada in the post-9/11 reality I don't know what is. The Khadr family are avowed terrorist supporters. So here is a group of people who have ties to bin Laden and openly express support for his aims, but, as it was it was explained to me, they have not committed any crime under Canadian law and are therefore not punishable or deportable. This doesn't make sense to me.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:06 PM
Damn, these guys are good
Four -- count 'em, 4 -- holes-in-one at Augusta during Wednesday's Par-3 course contest.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 1:28 PM
Thursday, April 08, 2004
Wish I were there, but TV will have to do
I'll be doing some blogging this weekend in the spare moments I have when not fixated on the tube watching my favourite golf tournament of the year. Happy Easter and happy belated Passover.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:32 PM
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
Rosett's boldness
Check out this important oped today by the Wall Street Journal's scrappy Claudia Rosett on Libyan dissident Fathi Eljahmi. Mr. Eljahmi has been "missing" since March 26 and no one can find him. Rosett actually publishes the man's phone numbers, asking readers to call him and see for themselves that he's not picking up. If you are interested, the numbers are:
Home: +011-218-21-360-8921
Mobile: +011-218-91-371-9129
Some would call the printing of the phone numbers questionable journalism. I say it's great and Rosett is doing a great service pushing her ideals through her writing. We need more "activist" or "civic" journalism on the Right. It should be the sole property of the Left.
Rosett's point here is that there is still a long way to go in Libya, despite progress on some fronts like its WMD program. Of course, she's right.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:44 AM
Tuesday, April 06, 2004
Wither charity spiels?
Check out my latest National Post curling column on the recent decline of some of the country's big charity bonspiels.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:20 PM
That Palestinian Arab democrat...
A nice piece by Nir Boms and Erick Stackelbeck at National Review Online. I kinda like the topic myself. Let's keep hope alive, gents.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:09 PM
Moqtada al-Sadr: Iraq's Howard Dean
Who is this man? The mysterious Moqtada, this crazy cleric (and apparent murderer) wreaking havoc in Shiite Iraq? Well, the guy is basically the Howard Dean of Shiite politics. He's a real zealot. Below are two pictures I took while in Baghdad last May. As you can see, even back then he and his followers were whipping up anti-US setiment. What I remember is that his supporters are young, radical, zealous men -- Islamist idealists in their 20s. Now, these pictures were taken almost a year ago. So, you get a sense of how long Sadr has been working on stirring up the masses. What's happening now in Iraq is a product of a year's worth of effort.
Young Iraqis holding a pro-Sadr sign, downtown Baghdad, May 2003
Men gathering in downtown Baghdad for a pro-Sadr/anti-US occupation march, May 2003
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:00 AM
Monday, April 05, 2004
2004 Pulitzer Prize winners...
...have been announced. And at first glance I know they've made at least one good choice: the prize for general non-fiction has gone to Washington Post writer Anne Applebaum for her monumental tome Gulag: A History. Nice to see the Pulitzer Committee reward this work, which is quickly becoming the definitive exposé of Communism's horrors.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:16 PM
Sunday, April 04, 2004
Rubin on America's wrong-headed even-handedness
Absolutely must-read piece by former CPA staffer Michael Rubin in the Los Angeles Times today (subscription required) highlighting the senselessness of America's policy of not taking sides in post-war Iraqi politics. As Rubin notes, in a society as conspiracy-minded as Iraq's, NOT openly bolstering liberal secularists in the post-war power struggle appears to Iraqis like de-facto support for the Islamist, Iranian-backed or Gulf-state supported bad people. Wake up America -- the people being supported by the region's other countries are not the kind of leaders who will champion Western-style democratic values in Iraq. (Note: Rubin's credibility is pretty unimpeachable. He has just returned from several months of work in Iraq where spent his time roaming the country talking to real people, not hiding behind the US-fortified "Green Zone" with the rest of the CPA mandarins.)
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:07 PM
Saudis continuing to fund terror
Michael Isikoff of Newsweek is one of Washington's best investigative reporters -- if not the best. Story after story, he digs up the dirt on the House of Saud and their shady financial dealings. An FBI probe into the bank accounts of the Saudi Embassy in Washington has found more than US$27-million in "suspicious" transactions -- including money to charities, clerics and students. According to this report, Riggs Bank has dropped the Saudis as a client because they were "unable to provide an explanation that was satisfying" about where this money was going. Good for Riggs.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:52 PM
Saturday, April 03, 2004
What is wrong with our country and why the rot in Ottawa must be eradicated
OR
Got a half hour to read something really interesting and important?
> > Standing Committee on Public Accounts
> > Comité permanent des comptes publics
> > COMMITTEE EVIDENCE number 64, Témoignages du comité numéro 64
> > 2002-07-09
> > Note: The unedited transcript of this in camera meeting is made public
> pursuant to Committee Order made on April 1st, 2004 (37th Parliament, 3rd
> Session, Meeting No. 19).
> > * (1600)
> > The Chair (Mr. John Williams (St. Albert, Canadian Alliance)): I
> think everybody is gone, except staff, switching, and translation, and so
> on.
> > Now, ladies, and gentlemen, I am going to call this meeting to
> order.
> > Today, it is in camera, with audio recording, with interpretation,
> with switching, and transcription.
> > The order of the day are, pursuant to Standing Order 108(3)(e),
> consideration of the Report of the Auditor General of Canada, of May 8,
> 2002, on Groupaction Communications.
> > Our witnesses today are, from the Office of the Auditor General, Ms.
> Sheila Fraser, the Auditor General of Canada. Assisting her is Mr. Shahid
> Minto, who is Assistant Auditor General, and Mr. Ronny Campbell, the
> Principal of the Office of the Auditor General.
> > As an individual is Mr. Charles Guité, Former Executive Director,
> Communications Coordination Services, Department of Public Works and
> Government Services.
To continue reading the testimony of Mr. Guité, go here......
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:03 AM
Friday, April 02, 2004
BREAKING NEWS: COLFORD NOT RUNNING
The sure-to-be-internecine battle for the federal Conservative party nomination in the leftwing riding of Toronto Danforth has one less participant today: Blogger Jonathan Colford has unexpectedly and without warning withdrawn his candidacy. It seems to have been a gut-wrenching decision. But in the end, it must be respected. Being the designated "take a hit for the team" guy in an unwinnable riding like that is not an enviable job (even though Colford seemed convinced he would come out on top in the race against Dennis Mills and Jack Layton).
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:57 PM
Hey big spender
Can someone please explain how former House speaker and now "Ambassador for the Environment" Gilbert Parent racked up more than $20,000 in travel-related expenses in just the last few months?
Actually, can someone please explain why we even need an "Ambassador for the Environment?" If memory serves, it was a retirement sinecure created just for Parent by then-Prime Minister Chretien. Another day, another outrage.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:43 PM
Thursday, April 01, 2004
Curling pic
Yours truly tossing the stone at the recent Bobcat Donspiel curling event for charity.
L to R: Daren Millard from Rogers SportsNet, me, World champs Graeme McCarrel and Wayne Middaugh
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:44 PM
Colford's flight of fancy
Tory wunderkid and reader of this site Jonathan Colford is planning to carry his party's banner in the urban riding of Toronto Danforth in the upcoming election. The seat is currently held by Liberal MP Dennis Mills, and will soon be held by NDP Leader Jack Layton.
According to Colford, he's poised to "get at least 35 per cent and win with the left wing split."
Jonathan, your innocence and optimism are laudable, but at the same time, laughable.
In the 2000 election, the Alliance and Tory totals combined for about 15% of the vote in the riding, and that was without a party leader running for the NDP.
As Colford will (or at least, should) know, Canadian voters have a remarkable propensity to defer to party leaders in elections. For instance, despite the Liberals being out of favour in most of the West, then-Liberal leader John Turner won Vancouver Quadra in 1984. In the 2000 election, Joe Clark won Calgary Centre in the middle of the Canadian Alliance heartland. It was his party's only seat west of Manitoba.
There will be no left wing vote split in this race -- it will be a Layton romp. If I were putting money on it, I would guess Layton will rake in around 60%, Mills 30-35 and the Tories (presumably Colford, if he wins the nomination on Monday) 5-10.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:32 AM
"MARTIN TO ABOLISH GST"
So says the headline on Pierre Bourque's Web site. Uh, what day is it again? Oh ya.
He does this every year, and every year people are made to look foolish.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:22 AM
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