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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.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
A blow to curling in Toronto and Canada
I was very saddened to learn that one of Canadian curling's most venerable curling clubs, Avonlea, is shutting its doors for good.
Apparently the club was sold to developers a few years ago and they want to use the land for a more profitable purpose. That's their right, but it still sucks. Members apparently didn't see this coming and were shocked at the news. Plans were already being made for the upcoming season.
As a former Avonlea member and a die-hard partisan of curling, I hope the new owners will reconsider their decision. Aside from being the home club of Ed Werenich, I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) Avonlea is the last remaining 16-sheet facility in the world. (Another 16-sheeter in the Toronto area, Humber Highlands, closed a few years ago.) It was also a very accessible club financially. They were working hard to bring new people to the game, especially from Toronto's multicultural communities, which is an essential thing for curling to continue to grow.
This is a sad day.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:37 PM
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Lebanon and Israel
I've received a couple of emails asking why I haven't written on the situation in Israel and Lebanon. The simple answer is that a) I haven't had time to follow the story closely enough to write about it and b) I don't have much to add to what's already out there. The practice of this blog has always been to cede the floor to those who know what they're talking about.
It's a sad situation, to be sure, and there's plenty of blame to go around. That said, I cannot blame Israel for its response. The number one job of a government is to protect its citizens. If its citizens are under attack, it must take measures to eradicate the enemy. A full-out effort to take out Hezbollah was bound to occur at some point.
The main question I would like answered is why were that many "Canadians" in southern Lebanon up till this week? Kudos to Stephen Harper and his airlift, but maybe it's time Canadian dual-citizenship policies be re-examined. (Add it to the list with the five dozen other "first things to do" if the Tories win a majority next time.)
UPDATE (July 31): Check out Jack Granatstein on this.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:52 PM
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Buckley on Bush
Conservative circles here in Washington have been abuzz with William F. Buckley's admission to CBS News that he doesn't believe George W. Bush is a "conservative." That isn't exactly what he said, but the interview is worth checking out anyway. (CBS clearly did a cut-and-paste job with the piece, which was put together by former Global TV anchorwoman Thalia Assuras, so it may not be an accurate reflection of Buckley's feelings.)
Buckley's admission, if accurate, is not all that surprising. He's been hedging on Iraq and other Bush administration initiatives publicly for a little while now. Still, this is a significant development given that Buckley is the founder of the modern conservative movement, and that he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from GWB George HW Bush.
But Buckley is merely saying out loud what most people are saying privately. The grumbling I've been hearing around town for the past three weeks has been worrisome: it seems no one misses a chance to whack Bush over the head, whether it be over the handling of Hurricane Katrina, the Harriet Miers nomination, immigration reform, spending or the war in Iraq.
These are not good days for the President.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:27 AM
Monday, July 24, 2006
Atlantic City
This weekend I went to Atlantic City for the first time. While I had a lot of fun playing blackjack -- and came out ahead! -- I was pretty disappointed. I suppose those who have been there will know what I mean. Atlantic City is basically a shantytown with a few giant Trump hotels and outlet stores sandwiched in between. It is not the worst place I have ever seen, and it is certainly much closer for Easterners than Vegas, so it is convenient. But if you are going, don't expect to get "out on the town" much. You'll find yourself walking along the boardwalk maybe once, and spending the rest of the time inside your hotel/casino.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:09 PM
Saturday, July 22, 2006
Goodbye Jim Karygiannis
Joe Volpe's campaign manager has quit:
In a written statement released late Friday, Volpe said Jim Karygiannis, a controversial Toronto MP, "has left the campaign as a result of the position taken by the candidate on the current crisis in the Middle East.''
Volpe has been strongly supportive of Israel's bombardment of Lebanon, arguing that the Jewish state has a right to defend itself against attacks by Hezbollah guerillas based in southern Lebanon.
"One thousand missiles (fired) into Israel? That is an act of war,'' Volpe told a newspaper columnist earlier this week. In Friday's statement, Volpe said: "The position I took was based upon my true beliefs and values.'' "It's unfortunate that Mr. Karygiannis saw fit to leave the campaign over this issue,'' he added.
It was not immediately clear, however, whether Karygiannis resigned or was fired.
I hear Carolyn Parrish is available.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:09 AM
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The fun never stops
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Sidelining the neocons
Paul Tuns points to a great editorial here from The New York Sun which eloquently makes a point that has been made here several times: that the problems in the Middle East are not the result of listening to the neocons, but precisely because the neocons were ignored.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:13 PM
Friday, July 14, 2006
John Dean has lost his marbles
Tonight I went to a book talk by John Dean, President Nixon's White House counsel. It is pretty common knowledge that Dean has gone a bit weird in recent years (perhaps he's still going through a Watergate catharsis?) and has turned into one of these people who get lots of media attention simply because they constantly criticize their old party and friends.
I wouldn't normally have gone to this event because Dean's shtick is predictable and stale. But since arriving in Washington, I have been noticing some serious unease within conservative ranks at the state of the Republican Party, the Bush administration and where things are headed. People feel the party has lost its way. Perhaps its just a symptom of being in control of everything for too long, but I am encoutering a lot of discouraged and pessimistic people.
Dean's new book, Conservatives Without Conscience, is supposed to chronicle the "hijacking" of the Republican Party by the "hard right." (Interestingly, Dean claims he was going to co-write this book with the late great Sen. Barry Goldwater, but he died, making that impossible.)
I wasn't expecting much from this talk, and it proved even worse than I thought. Dean started rambling on about how he has studied personality tests and claims to be able to classify pople like Scooter Libby in the same "category" as Hitler, that Bush is leading America straight down the road to fascism, and so forth. He went on and on making silly statements like this. Anyway, don't waste your time or money on this hackneyed garbage. Nothing new here.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:10 AM
Wednesday, July 12, 2006
Wanna be a tailor?
(Disclaimer: This post is totally unpolitical in any way.)
One of my many hobbies is following the fashion business, particularly men's businesswear. I saw this today on a blog I frequent, maintained by one of Savile Row's best bespoke tailors, Tom Mahon, and thought it was fascinating. If you thought professions like medicine and the law have a long "pay your dues" period, try being a tailor! Mr. Mahon's criteria:
1. You would need to be young enough so that, when it comes time for me to retire, you would still have a good career still in front of you, with enough time to train your own apprentice. 2. You must be able to work legally in the United Kingdom. 3. You must be willing to live within commuting distance from Warwick Hall, Cumbria, where I have my main offices. 4. You must be willing to go through the same rigorous, politically incorrect, old-school training that I went through with Mr Halberry and others, until you are ready [It takes about 5 years of torment before the tailor will let you near a customer]. 5. You must be of the right temperament. A tailor's apprenticeship is certainly not for everybody. That being said, I don't care where you're from or what your background is, so long as you have the right attitude and can provide good references.
I do hope he gets some good applicants. It's a noble profession, and Mahon is to be commended for doing his part to ensure that London's custom-made suit tradition lives on. I think there was some concern in recent years that it was dying or would die, but the renewed interest in high-end men's wear will -- I hope -- ensure it continues.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:47 PM
The courting of Québec continues
Stephen Harper appears to still be aiming at 25+ seats in Quebec next time. And I'd say he's well on his way to doing it:
Asked if his French-first policy is aimed at bolstering Conservative support in Quebec, the prime minister would say only that he thinks the gesture is appreciated. "Westerners know I'm from here, English-speaking people know I'm an anglophone, so we have to remind the other part of the country that I'm their prime minister, too, and they seem to appreciate it." Harper also referred to French as Canada's first national language. "We have to remember that the original word 'Canadian' meant the French-speaking inhabitants of North America, so it's our first national language. So I say it first and then I say it in English." The only question is how many seats, if any, will this kind of talk cost him in the rest of the country?
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:43 AM
Saturday, July 08, 2006
Savage Washington
Luiza Savage, formerly of the National Post and The New York Sun and now the indefatigable Washington correspondent for Macleans, has started a blog. It's always interesting to get Canadian insights about the goings-on in DC, so check it out regularly.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:26 PM
Friday, July 07, 2006
Go go go Joe
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Gone fishin'
I'm a Quebecer in exile for the next few weeks; time permitting, I will be blogging regularly. Looks like Canadian politics continues to be more fun than America's. I'll miss Ralph Klein.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:26 PM
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Harsh words for the UN
Guess who had this to say about the current state of the United Nations:
"It's not a happy place right now, which isn't to say it's hopeless." "Canada strongly believes in the United Nations, and we think that working hard we can overcome these challenges. But right now it's in deep trouble." "We should have acted long before we did in Darfur. Needlessly, people died."
Some right-wing radio show host? Myron Thompson? Me?
Try again.
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 4:50 PM
Canada Day in Quebec City
Fully expecting to be joined by about 10 others, last night we went to the Canada Day festivities in Quebec City. I was quite surprised. Thousands of people got together on the Plains of Abraham for a concert followed by a huge fireworks display. It was nowhere near as big as the St. Jean Baptiste festivities, but nothing to scoff at either. Very pleasant event.
Earlier in the day, the annual anti-Canada Day protest led by separatist wingnut Pierre Falardeau only managed to get 50 people out, and Falardeau openly mused about giving up the practice starting next year.
Signs of the times?
# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:50 AM
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