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 29, 2006

Best article ever written?

I have been patiently waiting for the Western Standard magazine to post Mark Steyn's latest column online, because I feel it is quite possibly the best op-ed I've ever read. A teaser:

There's always been a market for self-loathing in free societies: after all, the most effectively anti-western idea of all was itself an invention of the West, cooked up by Karl Marx while sitting in the Reading Room of the British Library. The obvious defect in communism is that it's decrepit and joyless and therefore of limited appeal. Fascism, likewise, had many takers in those parts of the cultural West that were politically deficient--i.e., continental Europe--but it had minimal support in the heart of the political West--i.e., the English-speaking world. So the counter-tribalists came up with something subtler and suppler than communism and fascism--the slipperiest ism of all. The great strength of "multiculturalism" is not that it's an argument against the West but that it short-circuits the possibility of argument. If there's no difference between English Common Law and native healing circles and Tamil Tiger fundraisers and gay marriage and sharia, then what's to discuss? Even to want to debate the merits is to find oneself on the wrong side--for, if the core belief of multiculturalism is that there's nothing to discuss and everything's equally nice and fluffy, then to favour honest argument puts you, by definition, on the extremist side.

No other writer alive has the ability to put things in perspective with such moral clarity -- and humour! -- as this man.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:56 AM

  

Thursday, September 28, 2006

That "leaked" Tory memo

I can't remember a week when there's been so much news to write about. Can't possibly get to it all. I see Paul Wells has already picked up on this -- which I was planning to write about:

Toronto MP Michael Ignatieff is the Liberal leadership candidate the Conservatives would fear fighting the most in the next federal election. And, of the top contenders, the Tories would most like to take on former NDP premier Bob Rae.

The conclusions are contained in a confidential memo obtained by the Toronto Star, and written by Conservative national campaign chief Doug Finley.

Addressed to the CPG, or Campaign Planning Group, the memo assesses the Liberal leadership race from a Conservative campaign perspective to determine "which leadership candidate would be most formidible." It came after extensive polling and focus groups conducted by the party during July and August, including surveys of both the general public and so-called election "switchers," who could change their vote to the Tories.

Finley, a key Tory war-room strategist in the last federal election, says Ignatieff (Etobicoke-Lakeshore) "worries me most." However, a hand-written margin note by an unknown person adds: "Puts his foot in his mouth too much. Will be problematic (for Ignatieff)."

Wells, as usual, is right: no one ever leaks such a document without a pre-determined agenda to get a message out. In this case, the recipients of the goodies were the Toronto Star and Le Devoir in Québec. (Yes, I know, it's amazing: two reporters from two key papers got a leaked memo -- at the same time!)

If I could hazard a guess as to what's going on -- and I could be totally wrong here -- it's that the Finley group actually wants Igantieff to win. Does that make sense?

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:46 PM

  

Talk about two solitudes

Tonight on CBC: Canada/Russia '72.

Tonight on Radio-Canada: René.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:08 PM

  

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Requisite Belinda post (sort of)

I really, really, really, really didn't want to write about Belinda and Tie Domi.

And I'm not going to.

Instead, I'm going to point you here -- and implore you to click on the link and head over to Joan Tintor's blog to read what she wrote.

No one could have said it better. This is one of the finest blog posts I've read.

Joan is truly inimitable.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:17 PM

  

I need a better quality phone

I did an interview with Greg Staples tonight on The Spending Cuts. You can listen to it here.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:57 PM

  

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Favourite sports updates

Great news from the curling world: the Grand Slam of Curling, dropped by Rogers SportsNet last year from its TV lineup, will continue to be broadcast next year, this time by the CBC. I'm no fan of the CBC's curling coverage, but this is great for the sport. More exposure for the World Curling Tour, too.

And sad news from the golf world: Byron Nelson has died. Nelson was a true legend (not to mention a strong Republican) and I have always marvelled at his accomplishments. His scoring average of 68.33 from the 1945 season is a record that still stands. Think about that, all you golfers out there. THAT WAS IN 1945! Way before the advent of titanium heads, graphite shafts, wound golf balls and cast irons! That is absolutely incredible!

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:18 PM

  

La faiblesse conservatrice au Québec

Chronique fort intéressante hier de la part de Michel C. Auger dans Le Soleil, qui constate que la chute dans les sondages du Parti conservateur au Québec s'explique, entre autre, par un sérieux manque de leadership dans la province. Les ministres québécois ne font pas le travail en ce qui concerne la défense de la mission canadienne en Afghanistan, personne ne défend le plan de Harper pour la réforme du sénat et aucune personne ne veut défendre la politique conservatrice face au registre aux armes à feu. Cette situation pitoyable mène M. Auger à déclarer que ce cabinet fédéral actuel est le pire depuis celui de Joe Clark:

Quand la voix la plus éloquente qu’ont ait entendu, en français, pour expliquer les raisons de l’engagement canadien en Afghanistan est celle de la Gouverneure-générale – dont, soit dit en passant, ce n’est pas le mandat – c’est qu’il y a des ministres qui ne font pas leur travail.

Force est donc de constater que la représentation québécoise au sein du Cabinet fédéral est la plus faible que l’on ait connue depuis l’éphémère gouvernement de Joe Clark, en 1979.

Ayant été toujours fidèle à l’idée que du leadership peut faire changer l'opinion publique, je suis tout à fait d’accord avec les propos de M. Auger. Je continue à croire que le problème le plus sérieux pour le mouvement et le parti conservateur au Québec demeure le manque de voix crédibles et respectées pour défendre nos idées dans le débat public.

Il faut changer ça au Québec.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:55 AM

  

Volpe and Gagliano

Joe Volpe's latest excuse as to why his leadership bid is a failure (as well as an attempt to deflect the small issue of his organization signing up DEAD people):

Still, Volpe, hinted at an ethnic smear campaign, saying he is not the choice of the party “establishment.”

Volpe, an Italian-Canadian, also insisted he had been warned when he entered the race that he might be seen as an "outsider" or "not Canadian enough."

He got some backup on that point from disgraced former Liberal minister Alfonso Gagliano, the central figure in the sponsorship scandal who is flogging his new autobiography.

"I felt the same thing," Gagliano told reporters at his Montreal book launch. "There is a pattern here."

He said Volpe is "another good Italian-Canadian who is trying to get to the top of the Liberal party and we want to bring him down."

Liberals playing the race card? Never.

UPDATE: The National Post editorial board sums it up nicely: "Like Mr. Gagliano, Mr. Volpe is an outsider in the Liberal party not because of his ancestry, but because his sleazy fundraising activities remind everyone of the reasons his party was kicked out of power in January. And his thinly veiled claims of racism are an insult to those Canadians who have felt the sting of genuine discrimination."

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:04 AM

  

Monday, September 25, 2006

A glorious day for Canadian conservatism

John Baird and the Harper government have today shown the fortitude to cut one of the worst anti-conservative government initiatives in Confederation's history: the Court Challenges Program. This is a huge victory for freedom in Canada -- the biggest, frankly, since the Liberals were turfed from office.

Bring on the next billion.

UPDATE: There's more! Government-funded "think-tank" Canadian Policy Research Networks also got the axe. I am in awe.

UPDATE II: Not sure why the link to the government's website no longer works. Here's the CCP's site, and check out Lorne Gunter's recent column or my book for info on the program.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 5:23 PM

  

A tale of two leaderships

Leadership contender number one: momentum.

Leadership "contender" number two: un-momentum.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 5:11 PM

  

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Must reading of the day

Andrew Coyne on dual citizenship:

Here's a statistic guaranteed to set your teeth on edge: Of the 15,000 Lebanese citizens evacuated from Beirut by Canadian Forces during last month's war -- the largest such operation this country has mounted since the Second World War, at a cost of $85-million -- some 7,000 are reported to have returned home. Home, as in Lebanon.

Crazy.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:03 PM

  

Friday, September 22, 2006

Canada can be proud again

Those of you looking for some good political reading may want to skim the Prime Minister's speech to the UN General Assembly and to the Economic Club of New York from this week. What struck me about both is their clarity and straightforwardness. Pretty neat for a Canadian PM to be talking this way. It's been a while.

Enjoy the week-end. Lots of schoolwork here, book reading (for a review) and yes, I'll squeeze in some leisure time.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:36 AM

  

Thursday, September 21, 2006

The Jan Wong thing won't go away

The Prime Minister has now weighed in with an article published in today's Globe (read it here). I understand the point of this, but he's a little late to the game. If he had written to the Globe on the weekend and had been out in front of this before Charest, it would have really made an impact. Better late than never, I suppose.

Also today, the Globe weighs in with an editorial on the Wong hubbub. I've read it twice now and still can't figure out the point it's trying to make.

UPDATE: Paul Wells has similar thoughts.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:39 AM

  

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Anybody out there still take the UN seriously?

Macleans scores another

A shout out to Adam Radwanski, my former colleague at the National Post, who is joining staff at Macleans as managing editor of its new, beefed-up website. Another coup for the magazine, which has been steadily beefing up staff and talent since Ken Whyte's arrival as publisher/editor.

This is a great fit for Adam as he was somewhat of a pioneer in Canadian web journalism, having founded the online mag Pundit several years ago. Congrats to Adam.

(As an aside, it's not often we agree with each other -- politically, at least -- but I heartily endorse his parting comments.)

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:11 AM

  

Hope for the Globe?

I don't normally read letters to the editor, but a friend pointed me to this gem from the Globe from reader Nick Sopinka referring to the new Adrienne Clarkson memoirs:

Kimberley, Ont. -- Margaret Wente is typically enlightening and entertaining. According to our former G-G in her memoirs, Heart Matters, "I had always envisaged that John and I would live like Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir." This is a startling admission for a former head of state.

First, Simone was one of Sartre's mistresses and procured women for him. Secondly, Jean-Paul was an avowed communist, enamoured of an ideology that claimed millions of victims. Some intellectuals. Some role models.

The Globe and Mail may not make for lively reading, (except for the occasional Wente column, such as this one, and Rex Murphy) but some of its readers seem to know how to write.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:24 AM

  

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Jan Wong's delusions

Oh, great. Another controversy involving ex-Maoist Jan Wong. Wong's Saturday Globe article reported on the Dawson shootings. And she wrote this:

What many outsiders don't realize is how alienating the decades-long linguistic struggle has been in the once-cosmopolitan city. It hasn't just taken a toll on long-time anglophones, it's affected immigrants, too. To be sure, the shootings in all three cases were carried out by mentally disturbed individuals. But what is also true is that in all three cases, the perpetrator was not pure laine, the argot for a “pure” francophone. Elsewhere, to talk of racial “purity” is repugnant. Not in Quebec.

...

It isn't known when Mr. Gill's family arrived in Canada. But he attended English elementary and high schools in Montreal. That means he wasn't a first-generation Canadian. Under the restrictions of Bill 101, the province's infamous language law, that means at least one of his parents must have been educated in English elementary or high schools in Canada. To be sure, Mr. Lepine hated women, Mr. Fabrikant hated his engineering colleagues and Mr. Gill hated everyone. But all of them had been marginalized, in a society that valued pure laine.

The article has earned the fury of many Quebecers and now Le Devoir has taken notice. It was a pretty sophomoric analysis.

UPDATE: You had to know this was coming -- Charest is demanding an apology from the Globe on behalf of all Quebecers. Mais notez que le premier ministre a agi seulement après que l'article causait la tumulte. Très Charest-esque.

UPDATE II: Andrew Potter has spotted more Globe nonsense.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:04 PM

  

Sweden shifts right ...

... maybe. A little.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:01 PM

  

Monday, September 18, 2006

Stick a fork in Bernie Lord

And don't believe this means the end of his political career. He is very young. I wouldn't be surprised to see him running for a federal seat in the next election.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:38 PM

  

Liberal leadership: history to repeat itself?

Democratic Space, run by UCLA doctoral student Greg Morrow, is tracking the delegate count for the Liberal leadership convention. (Although since the actual delegate selection meetings have yet to occur, I suppose this is more of a prediction than a track.)

The results are pretty much what you'd expect with Ignatieff clearly out front and the other big names -- Kennedy, Rae and Dion -- trailing, each with about the same level of support.

What first came to mind when I saw these numbers was to question whether we might see a replay of a past contest come convention time. If Democratic Space's numbers are even close to accurate, I think it's a distinct possibility.

So, then: if Ignatieff is Claude Wagner, who is Joe Clark?

Oh, this could get fun.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:41 AM

  

Saturday, September 16, 2006

David Hearn at the Canadian Open













There's so many topics to write about and so little time, but I have been putting off this post for a while: I want to give a shout out to one of my old friends, David Hearn, who finished as the low Canadian at the Canadian Open golf championship last weekend. David and I grew up competing against each other in the junior ranks. The difference between us was he got way better as we got older, and I got way worse. So congrats to David on this great achievement. I'm sure we'll see many more great things from him in the future.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 6:02 PM

  

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The media campaign has already begun

...for more new laws in the wake of this tragedy. Please, please, no.

UPDATE: And the politicians, of course, were soon to follow. Why is it that you can always count on Jean Charest to put political expediency ahead of doing what's right?

UPDATE II: And in the same breath, you can apparently always count on Stephen Harper to say and do what's right.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:41 PM

  

Death at Dawson

The portrait emerging of the man responsible for yesterday's tragedy in Montreal is disturbing, to say the least. Today we will start hearing a lot of talk about how to prevent this happening in the future. And you all know what that talk will be: According to at least one source, ex-Bloc MP (and now a PQ member of the Québec National Assembly) Daniel Turp was already last night linking this incident to the Conservatives' desire to abolish the gun registry. We will also hear people calling for metal detectors in schools.

This was a senseless act by a deranged individual. No amount of gun control or security measures will stop someone like this. If the gun he had is the one in the pictures -- well, those types of guns have been illegal in Canda for decades. There will always be sick people in this world, and they will always be able to get their hands on a gun. It's just a sad reality of modern life. A very sad one.

My sympathies to everyone affected by this horrible event. See Segacs for good coverage of the whole day.

UPDATE: As Ian points out in comments, apparently the guns were registered. If this report is accurate, I stand corrected on the legality of the guns, but the argument is proven nonetheless: registries don't work.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:28 AM

  

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Peter and Condi

Like many of you, I'm sure, I'm intrigued by today's Big Rumour -- and in no less a source than The New York Times.

If it's true, all I can say is: talk about trading up!

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:39 AM

  

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Jack et les Québécois

My oped on the NDP convention -- with a focus on the Dippers' inability to make a breakthrough in Québec -- is in today's National Post. You can read it online for free here.

(One caveat: there is a typo about halfway down. In my list of three reasons, it should say 'One' where it says 'Two' and 'Two' where it says 'Also'. My apologies for this embarassing mistake, which was my fault, not the editors'.)

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 3:27 PM

  

Help. I'm addicted!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Why Margaret Thatcher is my favourite politician of all time

Her statement today on the anniversary:

"This heinous attack upon America was an attack upon us all. With America, Britain stands in the front line against Islamist fanatics who hate our beliefs, our liberties and our citizens. We must not falter. We must not fail."

Poetry.

It was great to see her looking so well in Washington today.

(Originally this post was going to be an attack on David Cameron after I read this, but upon further reading it seems the Times was doing a bit of embellishing.)

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:31 PM

  

Always remember

A busy political weekend in Quebec City

I'll say at least one thing about the NDP convention: it was a lot more interesting than that Liberal leadership debate. I think Carolyn Bennett may be the only candidate for a major party leadership in history who speaks better Mohawk than French. Why wasn't Bob Rae on the attack? For someone who is obviously behind, he sure seems to be playing it safe. Stephane Dion and Martha Hall Findlay were the best performers.

As for the NDP, no surprises. Layton got a 92% approval rating, which is quite impressive. I admired the delegates' passion and in many cases, considerable oratorical skills. During debate on a policy resolution dealing with the Middle East, one man at the mic referred to Israel as the "Zionist state," which led to wonder if I was mistakenly at a Canadian Islamic Congress meeting. And no, I'm told the man was not Robert McLelland (assuming he exists).

Don't want to say too much, article coming ...

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 12:16 AM

  

Friday, September 08, 2006

First day with the NDP

I don't want to comment too much on what I saw (writing an article) but let me just say that Stephen Lewis has to be in the Top 5 charistmatic speakers I have ever seen. Absolutely captivating. If you didn't see his speech on AIDS tonight (ignore the silly socialist stuff) I strongly recommend it.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 10:48 PM

  

Hangin' with the dippers

I'm off to observe the NDP convention, but should pop in for some blogging.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 1:14 PM

  

Mrs. Parizeau...

...looks like she'll be a PQ candidate in the next provincial election.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 1:11 PM

  

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Counterintuitive news of the day

Bob Rae wants more big government.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 11:36 AM

  

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

A school named for Stephen Lewis (and June Callwood, and David Suzuki, and ...)

In this morning's Globe, we learn of a new school with a "social justice" theme being opened in Mississauga. I have nothing against these people -- Agnes MacPhail in particular -- but doesn't this just sound a tad politically charged?:

MISSISSAUGA -- Like the sleek suburban neighbourhood that surrounds it, Stephen Lewis Secondary School is all promise and potential, and far too new to know failure or futility.

If ever there was a man who could lay rightful claim to cynicism, it is Mr. Lewis, who has spent the past few years travelling the globe for the United Nations, bearing witness to the world's failure to prevent HIV-AIDS from killing millions.

And yet the 68-year-old only smiled yesterday as he sat on the edge of his chair in the school's not-quite-finished gymnasium, rubbing his hands and fidgeting every bit as much as the 400 teenage students on hand to welcome him.

"Now I feel at home," Mr. Lewis said, after doffing his suit jacket, donning a school T-shirt and taking his place behind the microphone.

As well he should have, given the bold and novel approach the Dufferin Peel District School Board -- in particular, principal Martha Wood -- has taken to the region's newest high school.

The student body, which will rise to 1,500 when Grades 11 and 12 are added in subsequent years, has been divided into four "villages" named after four Canadian activists: June Callwood, David Suzuki, children's rights crusader Craig Kielburger and Agnes Macphail, the first woman elected to the House of Commons.

The idea, Ms. Wood said, is to instill a passion for social justice and humanitarianism in the students as they form a new school community.

"Bold and novel" is one way to describe it -- political indoctrination is another.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 9:53 AM

  

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

20% of Brits considering leaving over taxes

This story is now more than a week old, but when I saw it I had to post it here:

One in five Britons — nearly 10m adults — is considering leaving the country amid growing disillusionment over the failure of political parties to deliver tax cuts, according to a new poll.

The extensive survey conducted by ICM, the polling company, shows that — contrary to the current approach of both Labour and the Tories — an overwhelming majority of voters do want to see cuts in income and inheritance tax.

The results will raise alarm in both political camps, but particularly for David Cameron, who has yet to solidify the Conservatives’ lead over Labour in the opinion polls.

The Tory leader, who has ditched his party’s long-standing commitment to tax cuts in favour of “economic stability”, has maintained a solid lead over Labour since May in most of the polls, but is still well short of securing a majority.
...

The results suggest that Cameron could be missing an “open goal” by failing to capitalise on the desire for tax cuts.

These results are indeed startling, and seem to show a wide gap between the feelings of most Britons and the political class -- especially the Tory party.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 8:04 AM

  

Summer's over
























At Miguasha National Park near the town of Nouvelle.

We have a great trip up through the Gaspé region last week. It was basically a road trip -- we stayed in a different bed-and-breakfeast each day -- and included a lot of hiking and time outdoors.

The towns visited included: La Malbaie, Baie Ste. Catherine, Riviere-du-Loup, Rimouski, Ste. Anne-des-Monts, Gaspé, Percé, Bonaventure, Caplan, New Carlisle, New Richmond, Amqui and Kamouraska. Among the sights we saw and activities we did were: whale-watching in Tadoussac, hiking up Mount Albert, touring the Jardins de Métis, visiting the Percé rock, touring Bonaventure Island, visiting the Gaspé Museum, visiting the Acadian Québecers museum, visiting the Miguasha National Park, and touring historic Kamouraska.

The trip ranks as among the best I have taken. I especially enjoyed travelling along Hwy. 132, seeing little village after little village along the St. Lawrence. Rural Québec is majestic and beautiful. One hears this constantly, but it is quite another thing to see it in person.

My favourite part of the trip, though, was the food. I tasted for the first time such animals as emu and caribou. We also picked up a whole bunch of products from the region, including raspberry wine and a host of new maple products that I didn't even know existed, such as maple pepper and maple tea.

Now, back to the real world.

# posted by Adam Daifallah : 7:32 AM

  

 

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