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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, September 30, 2005
Friday afternoon tidbits
- John Ivision is reporting in the National Post today that the Grits intend to introduce balanced budget legislation at the federal level. Smart pre-election manoeuvre: move right and steal the Tories' ground. The Liberals have mastered this art and have done it again and again. That's why they always win!
-Interesting article in today's Globe Report on Business magazine on Allan Slaight, the proprietor of radio giant Standard Broadcasting. In a Q&A sidebar accompanying the article, Slaight admitted his current nighttime reading is Bernard Goldberg's 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America. Slaight is a known conservative, but that's courage! It also again shows that conservative media ownership doesn't necessarily mean a conservative editorial line: according to sources who listen regularly to Toronto's Slaight-owned CRFB, it has drifted to the left in recent months.
-Happy to see New York Times reporter Judith Miller is out of prison -- her source gave her permission to reveal his name. Read the remarks from her press conference today to understand why she is one of the profession's most principled practitioners.
- Is it worth $2.50 a week? Ummmm, ya, I think so.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:55 PM
Peter MacKay's dilemma
Seems everyone is talking about whether or not Peter MacKay should/will leave Ottawa to take up the Nova Scotia Premier's job. It's a tough choice: a choice between a certain thing (Premier of NS) and a maybe thing (deputy PM of Canada and maybe someday PM). Big prize vs. little prize. He could always come back to Ottawa later if he does leave, but then he'll have to endure never-ending comparisions to Robert Stanfield, and that won't help.
I personally don't care. I've never been a Peter MacKay fan. One thing that does surprise me is the number of comments I've seen today about how MacKay is an important "moderate" voice in the federal party. Somehow, MacKay has become the de facto leader of the Red Tories. The irony of this is that MacKay is a social conservative. He is pro-life, anti-gay marriage and pro-death penalty. So how he earned this reputation as a leading "moderate" is puzzling. Probably two factors: he came from the PC side and not the Alliance side in the merger, and he's seen as a possible heir to Harper.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:04 PM
André Boisclair underwhelms at Laval
PQ leadership front-runner André Boisclair spoke to a jam-packed hall of about 500 students at Laval University today. I was surprised because it was obvious that a fair number in attendance were not separatists, like myself, who had just come to see Boisclair in action. It was my third time seeing him speak live, and by far the worst.
Maybe he was just tired, but he didn't excite the crowd in any way at all. It was almost like he forgot his frothing-at-the-mouth separatist-young-and-eager crowd speech at home and brought with him his Gaspé Chamber of Commerce speech instead. He barely touched on youth issues at all. He kept talking about how he had "values" but never really said what they were. He railed against Ottawa, the fiscal imbalance, the Charest government and the "imperialist American giant" (his words).
It is obvious this man has a staggering level of support among young francophone Quebecers. He's sort of like a Quebec Ralph Nader. It is also obvious that the recent cocaine revelations did nothing to affect his popularity. But if the man I saw today is the André Boisclair that is going to lead Quebec into the next referendum, we can sleep a little better tonight.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:49 AM
Thursday, September 29, 2005
TSN and curling
Via Damian Penny comes this site to celebrate the 10th anniversary of TSN.ca, one of my more frequent online pitstops. I was glad to read in yesterday's Globe and Mail (go here and click to bypass the Globe's subscription firewall) that curling is returning to TSN this winter.
Last year, the Canadian Curling Association, which holds the dubious distinction of being the most incompetent governing body in all of sports, decided to give exclusive TV rights to the CBC. As expected the Mother Corp. bungled the coverage. Fans were furious because TSN had always done such an excellent job. This year, it's back to the old arrangement of TSN during the week and CBC on the weekends. What a relief! Can't wait to have the old TSN crew of Linda Moore, Ray Turnbull and Vic Rauter back.
In other curling news, I won't be penning the weekly curling column in the National Post this season. I loved writing it the last two years, but with school and the book I just can't give it the time it needs. I have offerred to do occasional pieces, so we'll see if that works out.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:31 PM
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Carol Jamieson update
She's out with a new website, and she can't even spell her own hero's name right (It's Joe Clark with no e.)
UPDATE, 10:45 pm: The typo is now gone, as is the name of at least one person on her list of "supporters" who didn't authorize his name to be on the list and whose title was wrong.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:40 PM
Foster on Thatcher
Peter Foster's Financial Post article today (free online) on Margaret Thatcher's upcoming 80th birthday is useful for two reasons: first, it's a well-written piece with a message Canadian conservatives need to hear right now. Second, he directs us to a website set up by a Canadian woman where you can send the Iron Lady birthday wishes.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:34 PM
Part four of six
Available now.
UPDATE: As was pointed out here and by others, I erred in part two by asserting that R. B. Bennett lost the 1930 election to Mackenzie King. Bennett won that election but lost to King in 1935. My bad. There's a correction in today's paper. Also, a friend claimed I made mistake today in claiming Stanfield proposed wage and price controls in 1972, and that he did so only in 1974. According to several sources, including Geoffrey Stevens' biography of the man, Stanfield first proposed the controls in the 1972 campaign. I admit, however, they were a much bigger issue in 1974.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:32 AM
The world needs more Joan Tintor (that kinda rhymes)
She's back with more and this time taking dead aim at locked-out CBC lefties. Keep it up Joan!
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:05 AM
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
More National Post series
Monday, September 26, 2005
Don't tell me conservatives aren't cool...
Superdad Paul Tuns took his 14-year-old son and his friend to see the Rolling Stones in TO tonight.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:57 PM
Second installment
Part two of six in the National Post series on the history of Canadian conservatism is up.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:59 AM
Saturday, September 24, 2005
The future of conservatism
Starting today, the National Post is running a six-day series on the future of conservatism in Canada. For each day I've written a short piece on conservatism's history, which will run along with a big piece from a columnist and some other small features each day. You can today's installment online here (subscription required.) Once the series is over I'll post all of the pieces on this site.
The Post series coincides with the pre-launch period of the book I've co-written with Tasha Kheiriddin, Rescuing Canada's Right (this is just a holder page under the real one is ready). The book is basically done and will soon be off to print for a November release from Wiley. Stay tuned for more on that.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:40 PM
Friday, September 23, 2005
God Bless Michael Walker
Found the September edition of Fraser Forum in the mailbox today and in it is a candid interview with Fraser's just-retired executive director Michael Walker. (PDF file) There are few people in this country for whom I have a greater amount of admiration than Michael Walker, who started the Fraser from nothing in 1974. The conservative movement in Canada would not be anywhere near where it is today without his tireless leadership.
The most interesting part of the interview is where Walker talks about what has surprised him over the past 30 years. I particularly like: "The lack of a sense of fairness on the part of lefties who regularly scheduled debates, radio programs, or coverage of events in which the representation of views was so skewed toward their side of the debate (and this from people whose battle cry was “fairness for all”). He also noted that he was surprised that both Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney knew nothing about economics.
The whole interview is worth reading. Great to hear Walker is staying on to head the Fraser Institute's foundation. This country needs him.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:32 PM
Thursday, September 22, 2005
The Carol Jamieson affair
Toronto "Conservative" activist Carol Jamieson's dump-Harper missive is -- shock and surprise -- getting tons of play in the liberal media. Carol is a Red Tory hack who worked in Ottawa during Joe Clark's disastrous nine-month premiership. She has never met a Tory leader she didn't like. For a fascinating insider take on this odd gadfly, read this, from the lovely and talented Joan Tintor, who has recently joined the blogosphere.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:45 PM
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Pettigrew's problems -- and hair isn't one of them
An unflattering take on Pierre Pettigrew by Louise Elliott and Paul Wells in the new issue of Macleans. The minister comes off as aloof, out of touch and searching desperately for a way to make his mark:
"When I think about him," one Canadian diplomat stationed overseas said last week, "two movie titles come to mind: the Invisible Man and Dead Man Walking."
This is sort of sad for a man who, as the piece says, has wanted the job of foreign affairs minister his entire life.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:50 PM
PQ leadership bombshell
This story is just now picking up speed in English Canada, but it has sent shockwaves around Quebec the last few days: Parti Québécois leadership frontrunner André Boisclair has admitted he used cocaine when he was a PQ cabinet minister. Not when he was a teenager, not when he was a university student, when he was serving in cabinet.
This raises serious questions about Boisclair's ability to lead. One of his campaign workers told me today that they don't think it will damage his chances of winning the leadership, but that it could hurt him with the electorate in a general election.
I have two questions:
1. What does this say about the way Boisclair deals with pressure?
2. Will charges be laid by the police?
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:11 AM
Friday, September 16, 2005
Bliss on Mulroney
Little to no blogging will be done this weekend, but check out Michael Bliss' retrospective on the Mulroney years. I think it is a bit too harsh, but assessing it through the lens of the wider historical context is useful.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:18 AM
Thursday, September 15, 2005
What a debate
Via Kate at The Shotgun, an audio achive of last night's debate on Iraq between leftwing hawk Christopher Hitchens and Saddam Hussein-supporting British MP George Galloway. My views haven't changed and I'll bet yours won't either. But I don't think I've ever seen a more lively exchange...no love between these two.
I should note that I think Hitchens is great on Iraq but little else. His years-long jihad against Mother Teresa was silly and I find particularly disgraceful his habit of writing hatchet job obituaries of people like Ronald Reagan and even Bob Hope days after they expire.
NOTE: The audio files are a bit screwy -- go straight to the third MP3 link for the full debate.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:05 PM
Wednesday, September 14, 2005
The latest twist on the Mulroney tapes
Peter C. Newman's book contains fabrications and inaccuracies, and was published in contravention of a signed agreement between the author and Mulroney, the former PM says today in a long article by his former speechwriter L. Ian MacDonald. An example:
Newman also writes that before the 1976 Conservative leadership convention, "Along with Ian MacDonald of the Montreal Gazette and Peter Desbarats of Global News, I attended one of Mulroney's final pre-convention strategy sessions at a cottage in Quebec's Eastern Townships, near Magog.
I don't know whether Desbarats was there, but I [L. Ian MacDonald] sure wasn't.
"Neither was Desbarats," says Mulroney.
Some may attribute this to fuzzy memory problems because of the time lapse. Others might surmise that it was done deliberately to, in that now-famous phrase, "sex up" the story. In any event, Mulroney is obviously fuming about this apparent breach of trust and friendship.
I repeat: never agree to be taped!
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:30 AM
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Kim Campbell lets loose
Just about everyone who is trashed by Mulroney in the new book is keeping mum -- except Kim Campbell. In today's Vancouver Sun, she responds to his criticisms of her thusly:
"In 1993, Brian Mulroney was the most unpopular prime minister in the history of Canadian polling and the Progressive Conservative Party was at historically low levels of support." "The question that begs asking is why he then gave me, as his successor, only 21/2 months to turn the party fortunes around before an election had to be called. "Brian Mulroney did not 'groom' or 'mentor' possible successors. As he puts it, 'I've been manoeuvring this thing for two years, to be succeeded by Campbell.' "Yet, by his own admission, he did not know me then and he does not know me now. "He suggests that we could have won by running on his record, but he lacked the courage to stay and fight an election when all the reasonable deadlines for stepping down had passed. "He waited until the last minute - using the resources of the prime ministership to travel the world in a 'farewell' tour of events that often seemed designed to help his post-political career - and then worked to ensure that the campaign would not criticize his record. "His use of vulgar language and willingness to credit baseless gossip are an unwelcome reminder of those times when he made cabinet colleagues like myself uncomfortable. "The effect of hearing Brian Mulroney in his own voice is, sadly, to remind Canadians of why they didn't like him and delay what he so clearly craves and feels he deserves - respect for the achievements of his government.
"What Brian Mulroney wanted in 1993 was not a successor who could actually have a chance to govern, but a scapegoat who would bear the electoral burden of his unpopularity, and allow him to retire 'undefeated' into the historical pantheon of which he is convinced he is a member."
Some of this is fair. But some of it isn't. What Campbell failed to mention was that when she called the election in 1993 she was actually ahead of the Chretien Liberals in the polls. She did run the most inept campaign in Canadian history. Senior strategist David McLaughlin in his book Poisoned Chalice admitted the Campbell team was making up policy on the fly at campaign stops. Campbell deserves her share of the blame for what happened to the Tories.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:13 AM
Monday, September 12, 2005
The Mulroney tapes...
...are all anyone is talking about right now. The Globe and Mail's excerpts are certainly, well, scintillating. My favourite tidbit:
Mr. Mulroney claims that then-British-prime-minister Margaret Thatcher once showed then-U.S.-president Ronald Reagan a copy of The Globe and Mail to show "what Brian has to put up with. Look at this disgrace. This is Canadian journalism. Look at this disgraceful, putrid newspaper."
Mulroney's own comments, especially about Joe Clark, Maureen McTeer and especially Trudeau are pretty much spot on. There is nothing particularly offensive about them, other than the crass language he used. But everyone has talked in that way at some point in their lives. And is it really a surprise that a former Prime Minister has a giant-sized ego? Come on!
A story out tonight quotes Mulroney as saying he feels "betrayed" and "devastated" by the book, but that he was "reckless" in speaking with Newman and that he doesn't challenge the authenticity of the comments. According to the story Mulroney didn't always know he was being taped and was supposed have "sneak peak" at the book before publication.
The lesson here for politicians is simple: don't ever agree to be taped! It has blown up in the faces of the only two I know who've done it, Mulroney and Richard Nixon. It's a dumb move.
UPDATE: Clips of the Newman tapes are now online. Pretty neat stuff. They also appear to confirm the old suspicion that Mulroney deliberately lowered his voice when speaking in public. His voice seems more high-pitched here.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:14 PM
We can all breathe easier
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Alberta has grown up
One of Alberta's brightest lights, Danielle Smith, has written a thought-provoking column on all the talk coming out of Central Canada about raiding Alberta's cash-infused treasury.
Making such bold statements as "Egalitarianism is killing the nation" and that "Alberta, in the sunrise of its next century, cannot sit back and wait to be victimized," Smith's piece is a good synopsis of a growing sentiment among rank-and-file Albertans. In short, they aren't going to take it anymore. Those who've been reluctant to pay attention to this issue should take heed of her thoughts, especially the article's last paragraph:
The first choice of most Albertans, including me, is to reform the federation and keep the country strong and united. However, Albertans are tired of this province being the national whipping boy, held in contempt by Ottawa mandarins, denied its proper share of political power and dismissed as greedy by those who envy its prosperity. Forty years of federal abuse is enough -- it's time for Alberta to play hardball.
We are going to be hearing a lot more out of Alberta in the coming months, especially if Ottawa tries in any way to steal its money. And if Alberta's very legitimate gripes (which go far beyond Canada's broken equalization regime) are not properly addressed soon, things could get ugly.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 5:49 PM
Friday, September 09, 2005
Mario Dumont to Ottawa?
The Conservative Party, and before it the Canadian Alliance, tried many times in the past to convince ADQ leader Mario Dumont to run federally. Dumont has always declined. But I note, without any basis in fact or special insider knowledge, that he may be becoming more open to making the jump.
I was looking at Dumont's travel schedule this year. In March, he ventured to Calgary and Vancouver for a speech and a policy briefing on healthcare issues. In two weeks' time he's going to Halifax to speak at an Atlantic Institute for Market Studies luncheon.
For all I know, these may just be little trips to network with Canadian conservatives and to raise money for the ADQ. Or maybe he just enjoys travelling to other parts of the country. On the other hand, there is no reason or political benefit for a Quebec provincial leader to be making policy speeches in other provinces.
This is why I wonder if Dumont may be looking for a way out. With Quebec separatism and a third referendum likely to be the debate of the 2007/2008 Quebec election, Dumont could find himself and his party frozen out. If that happens it would leave the party even weaker than it is now (they currently have five MNAs). ADQers have privately told me that if they cannot displace one of the two old-line parties in the next election, they will consider packing it in.
So perhaps Dumont is trying to keep his future options open. Personally, I hope he is.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:56 PM
Thursday, September 08, 2005
While I was away ...
... I obviously missed a lot of important stuff. Most of it is stale news now, so no point in rehashing it.
But I would draw your attention this piece, which one well-placed Washington friend called "one of the best articles ever written about Ahmad Chalabi." If you care even the slightest bit about what's going on in Iraq, this article will interest you. The Wall Street Journal's Robert Pollock ventured to the troubled land and reports on how crucial Chalabi has become in Iraq.
A few choice bits:
"Very personally courageous," "not afraid to make decisions," and a "hugely important figure in Iraq" are among the phrases I heard U.S. officers apply to him (Chalabi) during two weeks I spent in the country earlier this month. Another sums up the stakes thus: "Chalabi is there to talk about protecting strategic infrastructure so they can sell oil so they can fund their own security-force development."
........
The Chalabi treatment has confirmed that the CIA really can be as nasty and incompetent as its critics on the left used to claim. But what explains the gross political miscalculation by the Bush administration, which knew the CIA had major problems? Part of it, surely, has to do with influence of the foreign policy "realists," who didn't really believe in the regime-change mission and blamed Mr. Chalabi for luring the U.S. into Iraq. (The idea that Mr. Chalabi did so by passing faulty intelligence has been thoroughly discredited by the bipartisan Robb-Silberman commission.) Insofar as they had to go through the motions, the realists preferred Iraqi yes-men. "Get him back in his cage," Colin Powell is reported by the Washington Post to have demanded of Mr. Wolfowitz after Mr. Chalabi began pushing for the rapid restoration of sovereignty in late 2003. "I can't control him," Mr. Wolfowitz is said to have replied.
........
Finally, there was the matter of last year's U.N.-led exit strategy. It isn't a coincidence that the attacks on Mr. Chalabi really heated up with arrival in Baghdad of U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and a desperate play by the administration to foist responsibility for occupation on the international community. The trouble was, Mr. Chalabi had been busy showing that the U.N. had never really had Iraq's interests at heart. The Volcker Commission would likely never have been empanelled, and Oil for Food chief Benon Sevan's alleged corruption exposed, without the leads Mr. Chalabi provided based on information he obtained while serving as a member of the Governing Council.
Regular readers know the Chalabi story has been a longtime hobby horse. Great to see him continuing to confound his enemies -- in both Baghdad and Washington.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:23 PM
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
Back in action
Hope everyone had a fun and productive summer. Québec City has been great. No humidity; never got above 30c. Today was my first day of law school. So far, so good.
I can't add anything here to the Katrina story. We've seen an ugly side of America this past week and political consequences will surely follow, although there's no telling what they will be. David Brooks has a good article on this point.
I see Stephen Harper has gone through another round of firings in his office. (Apparently its only news when the Tories fire people. When the Liberals do, its a non-story.) What I don't understand is the strategy of spreading these firings out over a weeks-long period instead of doing them all in one clean shot. If Harper had handed out all the pink slips the same day it would have been one bad story instead of a series of five or six. But what do I know.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:53 PM
Thursday, September 01, 2005
Back soon
Just putting the finishing touches on the book manuscript, then starting law school next Tuesday. Blogging will resume in the coming days.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:59 AM
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