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.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Happy New Year from Tel Aviv
Sorry for the absence, I had been hoping to put up regular posts from here but our schedule is so packed, it proved to be impossible. Lots to say, but it will have to wait for 2007. More in a few days.
Just got back from a scintillating evening with Yossi Klein Halevi, the New Republic's Israel correspondent. Last night we attended a beautiful mass, today we went to Old Jerusalem, the wailing wall, the Knesset, and the Israeli Supreme Court.
Videos and blog posts of those on the trip (you'll recognize some of them!) are being posted here if you want to see more. Here's the first to go up.
It's cold here, apparently even colder than some parts of Canada today.
I was hoping to have something more interesting to put up here tonight, but unfortunately it didn't work out. Tomorrow I'm leaving on a plane for a far-off place for the next week. I have my camera, and with any luck I'll be blogging, posting pics and maybe even some videos if I can figure out how to work YouTube. I hope everyone has a nice relaxing holiday break with their loved ones. It has been another great year for me personally, there's so much to be thankful for, and it was definitely the most interesting political year I can remember in my lifetime -- at least for Canadian domestic politics.
Check back here in a day or two for an update from across the world.
I'm not going to do a year-end recap or anything like that. Those are best left to the magazines like Maclean's. But one last thing -- regarding the controversy about Time naming "You" -- meaning those of us who use interactive Internet tools -- as the person of the year: I'm for it. I think the Internet, blogs, YouTube, and all the rest of the new technology is the greatest force for democracy and freedom we have ever seen. We should celebrate it.
I also think Time had it right on its Candian newsmaker of the year: Stephen Harper is turning out to be a remarkable Prime Minister. I say this as someone who had been quite skeptical of him in 2004-2005. I very much look forward to what he has in store for 2007.
Oh, that feels so much better. Time to relax and decompress now. I'm going to try something different on here tomorrow -- come back around dinner for a special Christmas greeting.
Just saw Stéphane Dion walking down the street with some handlers, heading in the direction of Le Soleil. It's likely no coincidence the Liberal leader is in the Québec City area the same time as Harper, as the PM tours the far east. Looks like the next election is going to be fought in everyone's favourite province nation -- yet again.
The blogosphere has become so expansive the question is no longer "who's blogging?" but rather "who isn't?"
Scratch two more from the "who isn't" list: ex-Republican House Majority leader Tom DeLay, and one of Britain's most principled and courageous MPs, John Redwood.
A great Christmas gift this year -- click on cover to order
"...One heck of a book ... a good, healthy read." -- MPP Peter Kormos
"The most forward-thinking book on Canadian conservatism in more than a generation." -- Toronto Sun
"...bold, provocative and invigorating..." -- Mark Steyn
“This book is required reading for every small-c conservative in Canada.” -- Mike Harris
"A challenging perspective sure to shape the national debate." -- David Frum
“Read this book and act upon its proposals if your vision for Canada is that of a democratic society guided by conservative ideas and principles.” -- Preston Manning
"Beware the right-wing radicals ... scary conservative authors advocate turning Canada into the U.S. ... odious ... so disturbing that I actually laughed out loud regularly ... well written and it's obvious that co-authorsTasha Kheiriddin and Adam Daifallah know their subject matter ... a serious wake-up call ... a conservative propaganda manual with plenty of over-the-top quotes ... I was left baffled." -- Calgary "alternative" weekly FFWD
The first, which I have now heard from two sources, is that Irwin Cotler will not be running again in Mount Royal. According to the weekend source, Cotler is actively seeking alternative employment, possibly in Israel. This would open up the seat for guess who? Justin Trudeau. It has been widely rumoured that Trudeau is looking at Outremont given Jean Lapierre's imminent departure, but Mount Royal is a more likely choice if it's available. It was his father's riding and it's a safer seat than Outremont.
The second, which I find more concerning, is that there is apparently talk in Parti Québécois circles that if they win they next provincial election, they will quickly pass a law lowering the voting age to 16 and hold a referendum shortly thereafter. The thinking here is obvious: getting more young people to vote would put the YES side over the top. The source and I discussed whether this would be legal but we both couldn't see why not. If true, this is very dangerous.
This fall has been one of the most interesting periods in Canadian politics in a long time, and looks like what lays ahead will be just as exciting.
Harper's recent motion has nothing to do with deux nations. Look carefully at the wording: "That this House recognize that the Québécois form a nation within a united Canada." It does not say that Quebec is a nation, which would have implications of statehood, because Quebec is a territory with a government. It says that the Québécois are a nation, emphasizing people rather than government. And it is also significant that Harper used the French word "Québécois" even in the English text of the motion. This emphasizes that we are talking about a group of people with some common linguistic and cultural characteristics, not about a government. The Québécois, moreover, are not described as a nation tout court, but as "a nation within a united Canada," emphasizing that the concept of being Québécois has meaning only as part of Canadian history.
Makes perfect sense to me.
And yes, I hope this is the last time I write anything about this topic in a long, long time.
A friend passed along the sad news that Jeane Kirkpatrick, Ronald Reagan's ambassador to the United Nations, has passed away. This woman's accomplishments were remarkable and she personified the type of person Reagan was able to draw away from the Democrats. I even once had the fortunate chance to interview her, and I can attest that she was tough as nails, not to mention prophetic.
She contributed much to the foreign affairs field and played an integral role in the intellectual battle for freedom and democracy. A great loss.
FINAL UPDATE: Some nice reflections here. My friend Alykhan's post also makes me reflect on one of the great things about America and in particular, its conservative movement -- the way in which elders give back through mentorship. He and many others have been so fortunate to get close to these figures and learn from them.
All the news in the US is revolving around the report of the Iraq Study Group -- better known as the Baker-Hamilton commission -- and its suggestions for improving the ugly on-the-ground situation in Mesopotamia.
The report's recommendations are not too surprising. James Baker, the Bush family fix-it-man brought in to try and make things better, is a well-known Arabist thinker who favours engaging the Middle East's dictators. So it is no surprise that the report is calling for "engaging" Syria and Iran, the countries whose leaders are in no small measure responsible for the chaos in Iraq today because of their reluctance to help seal their borders.
It will be interesting to see where the political players vying for the White House in 2008 line up on Iraq strategy. One person who's reacted strongly is Rudy Giuliani, who yesterday sounded the right notes:
"The idea of leaving Iraq, I think, is a terrible mistake," the former mayor said.
The group's report, however, stresses that America should not make an "open-ended" commitment of troops and links the presence of troops to milestones met by the Iraqi government.
Mr. Giuliani also rejected the panel's recommendation that America tie the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian Arab conflict to stabilizing Iraq. When asked about this linkage on Mr. Prager's radio show, Mr. Giuliani said, "Israel and Palestine is an important issue. Sometimes it's used as an excuse to deal with underlying issues. But the reality here is that the Islamo-fundamentalist terrorists are at war with our way of life, with our modern world, with rights for women, religious freedom, societies that have religious freedom. And all of that would still exist, no matter what happens in Israel and Palestine."
Finance Minister Greg Sorbara says underfunding from Ottawa is keeping Ontario from cutting taxes.
Sorbara told a finance committee that Ontario would like to cut taxes, but needs the federal government to fix the way the province is funded first. Sorbara says Ontario has trouble every year making ends meet, while Ottawa is awash in a surplus.
I'm with Paul Wells on this: the conventional wisdom on Dion in Québec is dead wrong. Just watch him.
A bit of a rough start in Question Period today though, I thought. He did get in "neoconservative" and "far right" in his first question, which was impressive. Ignatieff seemed out of steam.
I'll be discussing Dion's win on Rob Breakenridge's radio show tonight at 8:40pm ET tonight. Go here to listen.
Shock and surprise in Alberta last night. When I said I had no clue who would win either race, I meant it. And thank goodness I didn't place any bets, because it would have been 0/2.
Ed who?
Given the Dinning-Morton dynamic and how divisive it had gotten, I suppose this is a happy ending with a classic Candian compromise winning the day.
Great campaign -- one that should be studied for years to come about the dynamics of polarization in a leadership contest.
Good luck to Ed Stelmach, who has much work to do to make Alberta the leader in confederation it should be after the squandered opportunities of the last five years under Klein.
I remember something Scott Reid said during a panel discussion I did with him a couple of months ago: that if faced with a final ballot choice with Stéphane Dion and another candidate, the Liberal Party would be hard-pressed not to choose him, a francophone Québecer, at this point in its history. He was right.
I'm going to leave the real analysis to the pros. There's going to be some great behind-the-scenes type pieces out in the next few days. But right now I can't help but be happy for Dion. I love a story where the Establishment gets kicked in the teeth. Most of the careerist/snobby types lined up behind Ignatieff; the PowerCorp cabal was behind Rae, and they both lost. That was good to see for a change.
There's so many stories coming out of this:
How is it that Ignatieff was so incapable of growth? Judging from the people I talked to, it was a combo of his being out of the country so long and his responsibility for the nation québécoise debate. Something serious clearly repelled almost everyone who wasn't a hard-core first ballot supporter of his.
What does this mean for the Tories? Will the next election be fought over Kyoto? If yes, bad news for Harper.
Will the Liberals unite? You could sense a look of "what have we just done?" on some faces during the acceptance speech, including some of the folks on stage. Denis Coderre just implied on Radio-Canada that he might not run again. Public displays of unity mean nothing.
Will Québecers take to Dion? Many media types and elites in the province say he is hated; I'm not so sure. I think Dion could make serious advances in Québec. Will Harper have to find a new strategy for a majority? Dion is a francophone Québecer after all -- if you look at electoral history, that factor matters a lot.
And remember, every knock against Dion will be the same things said about Harper: too stiff, too cerebral, etc. Don't believe it. Underestimate this man at your peril. Just look at what he's done already. I think he may be a very good Liberal leader and a serious challenger for 24 Sussex.
Anyway, this is going to be interesting.
ONE MORE THING: Can anyone honestly argue that one-member, one-vote is a superior leadership selection system after this? (Besides Belinda.) The verdict is in.
ONE MORE MORE THING: Those who would be tempted to use the "Oh, not another Québec Liberal leader" line should watch it. Despite its truthfulness, it is a terrible strategy that fails. It would also very much hurt the Conservative cause in Québec in the next election.
David Horowitz pulls no punches in a recent interview with the Western Standard looking back on his past life as a leftist activist. I loved this:
Q: Back in the 1960s, you were a strong supporter of the Black Panthers, a militant black power movement. Why do you think that you and so many other middle-class liberals and leftists of that era were so captivated by an organization that, looking back, seems so steeped in violence and division?
Well, first of all, I was not a liberal. I was a leftist. People who are called liberals today are not liberal. They're intolerant. They're rude. They're socialists. They're not liberal. But it's very simple. The left is a crypto-religious movement. They believe in an earthly redemption created through politics. [They think] a world will be created in which there is no racism, no sexism, no war. That realm of social justice is prevented from taking place by the United States, because the United States is the most powerful capitalist country. That's the way leftists think. Therefore, any crime that Panthers or black people commit is really committed by American capitalism. That would have been my refrain. That is an evil argument and it is an excuse for all matter of criminality.
Seriously. I have absolutely no clue. I think Rae and Ignatieff demonstrated tonight that they are clearly in a league above the others, but one can never be sure.
Predictions in both these contests are futile, but if I were a betting man, it would be on Morton and Rae. Morton because momentum is by far the most important thing on a second ballot in a one-member one-vote process, and he has lots of it; Rae because he had the best speech and looks the most poised and experienced.
UPDATE: Michael Ignatieff supporter Liza Frulla just went apeshit on Radio-Canada TV in a disturbing sort of Howard Dean sort of way. She railed against the fact that Rae apparently didn't talk French until 20 minutes into his speech, and when he did, only talked about Québec's economony and not its social or cultural issues. It was rather silly and she looked crazy. As the TV commentator noted, this shows some worry in the Ignatieff camp.
Although the elder Trudeau son, Justin, is at the convention (supporting Gerard Kennedy), his brother, Sasha, is not. He's in Cuba, helping an ailing Fidel Castro celebrate his 80th birthday, festivities that were put off until Saturday because of ill health. Mr. Castro, who was a great friend of Pierre Trudeau and attended his 2000 funeral in Montreal, keeps in touch with the Trudeau boys.
