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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, October 28, 2005
Technical problems
I'm aware that some people are having problems loading this page properly. I'm sorry. I hope to have it fixed by the end of the weekend.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:16 PM
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Back in action
Testing new webhost...
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:38 PM
Friday, October 14, 2005
Simpson on media bias
Yesterday Toronto Star media writer Antonia Zerbisias complained that she heard few shouts of protest about Jeffrey Simpson's Wednesday Globe column, in which he attempted to show the Canadian press has no liberal bias. I read the column and was going to post something but didn't have time.
Simpson raises the same points that have been made dozens of times already, namely that because of the National Post and the roster of conservative-minded columnists at the Sun chain, there's no real slant.
This is such a lame argument. Before his next column on bias, maybe Simpson should talk to some conservatives. We are aware that right-wingers populate editorial and comment pages! No one complains about that. It is the news coverage that aggrieves us! The reporting from Ottawa, the way stories are chosen, the way stories are presented, the way debates are framed.
This is the problem that Simpson or Zerb or others of the centre-left or left will never grasp. They just cannot fathom the possibility that any sane, thinking person might see the world through a fundamentally different lens than they do. Hence, what they see as "straight down the middle" is actually tilted to the left. This problem will never be resolved because, as Simpson correctly points out, bias is in the eye of the beholder.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:46 AM
Happy 80th Birthday Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher celebrated her 80th birthday last night in London with the Queen, Tony Blair, Joan Collins and many others paying her tribute. She looked really old -- but healthy -- in the few pictures I saw.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:39 AM
Sunday, October 09, 2005
Gwynne Dyer talks toTories?
Saturday, October 08, 2005
History of Canadian conservatism
I have posted my six-part series on the history of Canadian conservatism from the National Post.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:44 PM
Buckley turns 80
Friday, October 07, 2005
Nobel Prize
Through Bourque comes news that Mohammed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency have been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Given the ham-handed way the IAEA has handled the Iranian nuclear proliferation issue, this isn't surprising. The Nobel Prize can no longer be taken seriously. Last year the prize went to Wangari Muta Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist who has done little to nothing in the realm of peace promotion. The year before it went to Shirin Ebadi, an Iranian lawyer who barely speaks out against her own government. And then there was Jimmy Carter ...
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:26 AM
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
The Mulroney tapes rush job
Last week my copy of Peter Newman's The Secret Mulroney Tapes arrived in the mail. It is interesting, and I recommend it to political junkies.
But Peter C. Newman is full of s!$t when he says this book was not rushed to press and that publishing schedules are set two years in advance. (I forgot where he said this and can't find a link online, but I'm positive he did.)
Each chapter of this book has a short essay by Newman, followed by a long list of direct quotes pulled from taped interviews. "Mulroney on the failure of Meech: yada yada yada", "Marjory LeBreton on Maureen McTeer: bla bla bla" and "Peter White on Ottawa life: bla bla bla" and so on. It also has no index.
Having just been through this process myself, I can say with relative certainly that aside from the lengthly process of transcription, this book could not have taken that long to write. It is also false that production schedules are set two years ahead. Our publisher has been toying with the release date of our book right up until this month.
So I think we have give credence to Mila's theory that Newman timed this book's release to coincide with Mulroney's illness and possible death. If so, shame on him. Some "friend."
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:20 PM
Variety on this blog
A friendly note from a reader suggested this blog has become too one-dimensional since my move to Quebec City. I think it's a good point, so I'll try to diversify and get back to the U.S. and Middle East more often. But I think all blogs are bound to be coloured by their surroundings, and I thought it would be interesting to offer the perspective of an Anglophone living in la capitale nationale on Quebec affairs. Anyway, I'll try to mix it up.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 2:51 PM
Monday, October 03, 2005
Harper bashing from the left
I hate to sound like a broken record, but this blog cannot get enough of the lovely and talented Joan Tintor's musings. The woman was born to blog. Today she is out with a blistering dissection of a new article by former Joe Clark chief of staff Graham Fox. Go read ...
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:16 PM
Buy the book
Young Liberals and the Charter
Don't accuse these kids of not having courage! The federal Liberal party's Quebec youth wing deserves a lot of credit. I disagree with almost everything they stand for (unlike most Liberals, they do actually stand for things) but in the area of attention-getting and communications strategies, you can't top them.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:23 AM
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