Long Time Running

Haven't posted anything in nearly a year. My Asia trip came and went (it was glorious). Same can be said of 2008, and now winter is nearly over.

It's March 13 and all's well.

Wait a second, it's Friday the 13th. Perhaps I shouldn't get ahead of myself with the optimism...

Good Times on the Horizon

It looks like I'll be heading to East Asia and India for 3 months or so later this summer/fall.

Travel advice and suggestions would be welcomed.

A Riot of a Game

It seems that Montrealers decided that the best way to celebrate the first round victory of the Habs was through some good old fashioned rioting and roasting of marshmallows over burning police cars.

What is this, England? When I was living in London I got used to the fact that during any major football competition the fans would celebrate a win with a hearty riot. (On the other hand, they were equally quick to mourn a loss with a hearty riot). But it's not something you see everyday in "friendly" Canada.

Of course I do sometimes wonder what would happen if the Leafs won the Stanley Cup. After more than 40 years without a championship I picture the city celebrating by coming together to push over the CN Tower.

In Communicado

It's been a long time since I've posted anything.

For now I'll just say that it's a beautiful spring day in downtown Toronto.

An NDP Golden Opportunity

I see the Globe is running a story about how the NDP plan to spend the maximum in the next federal election.

Jack Layton is right to go all-out - the political landscape has never been better for his party to make big gains.

The Liberals are a tarnished brand, engaged in a civil war and led by their weakest leader in a generation. A perfect opportunity for Layton to position himself as the competent left-wing alternative to the governing Conservatives.

Moreover, if Harper looks certain to steamroll Dion, as it now appears, Layton's good fortune is only amplified. In most recent campaigns the NDP has suffered a last-minute loss of votes to the Liberals. This is likely due to a combination of two factors: 1) where an election is a close contest between Conservatives and Liberals (2004/2006) left-wing voters will rally to the Liberals to avert a Conservative victory; and, 2) where the Liberals appear sure to win (1993/1997/2000) they have ownership of the mantle of the dominant left-of-centre party - meaning there is less room on the left-wing field for the NDP's alternative version of the cause. However, if a Conservative victory appears imminent, there is little motivation for would-be NDP voters to switch to the losing Liberals. In fact, where a pragmatic shift in support to bolster the Liberals appears futile, there is all the more reason to take the principled stand with the NDP.

If I worked for the NDP I'd be doing everything possible to seize this opportunity. It appears that Jack Layton agrees.

Tavares Bid

If this actually worked it would be pure genius.

Some are saying it's an illegal move, but I don't see how. He's free to sign an AHL contract next year, and the Leafs can't stop him from going to whatever team drafts him if he so chooses.

Ultimately it doesn't guarantee he'll ever play for the Leafs, but the genius in it is that there really is no downside risk for MLSE. Let's say he takes this deal with the Marlies. If he is eventually drafted by another NHL team and skips town, then so what - it's not as though Toronto had any shot at getting him by normal channels anyway. And the money certainly doesn't matter - with the salary cap the Leafs have more money than they know what to do with since they can't spend it all. Not to mention that while he was here the Marlies would be darn entertaining.

But, let's say it did work out. Let's say Tavares loves playing in Toronto and builds a positive relationship with MLSE - all the while making way more money than he would anywhere else. If he then decided to stick around it would be a hockey coup of biblical proportions.

Don't underestimate this kid. He's the next big thing. And the thought of him playing for his home town team could be the most exciting news in Leafs Nation for a decade.

Bizarro Toronto

A protest to support raising taxes?

Feels like the "Bizarro World" Seinfeld episode.

You've got to be kidding...

...this would be funny if it weren't downright scary.

Afghanistan Poll

Here in Canada we are rather regularly inundated with polls asking how we feel about the mission in Afghanistan.

Interesting that somebody finally thought to ask the citizens of Afghanistan how they feel about it. I suspect most people may be surprised by the results.

In a week where there already seemed to be no end to the good news for Stephen Harper here is one more cherry on the Conservative sundae.

The Sky is Not Falling for the Blue & White (Well, at least for the Leafs)

I had the (mis)fortune of attending the Leafs-Canes game last night. To be blunt, the Leafs played terribly. One of the worst games I have ever seen. That said, I have two comments:

1) The Toronto media and fans need to take a breather. The sky is not falling. It's game 4 of the regular season. Every team gets slaughtered now and then. Last year in game 2 of the regular season the Leafs wasted Ottawa 6-0 - not exactly representative of how the Senators would do for the rest of the season. Furthermore, it's not as though the Leafs have had 4 bad games. The first two against Ottawa - a tough rival to say the least - were one-goal contests we could just as easily have won. And the other game was a win against Montreal.

2) Fans need to stop booing in the ACC. If the Leafs are being destroyed, I understand if you don't cheer or want to leave. But don't boo. Not only is it unsportsmanlike and feeds the problem of Leaf fans turning on eachother, it certainly doesn't show the players that the city is behind them. The Leafs are human too, and it doesn't do much for team confidence to hear their own fans turn against them.

Ah yes, not to be forgotten - it's election day. More comments on that later when we see how the other Blue & White team do....

Spin Gone Wild

It is the job of campaign strategists for any party to "spin" the daily news in their candidates favour. This activity often involves feats of informational contortion that yield a product barely recognizable from the original story. Normally I wouldn't even bother commenting on it, since every party does it, and the spin is often so obvious and cheesy that it doesn't warrant the attention.

But every so often you see a real whopper of a press release that wades a bit too far over the fine line between plausible truth and outright falsehoods. Today the Ontario Liberal Party has issued such a specimen.

In one of their daily press releases they discuss Conservative leader John Tory's meeting with the editorial board of the Globe and Mail. During the interview Mr. Tory commented on where "blame" for the apparent unpopularity of the faith-based schools issue lies. According to the Liberal press release, "In a meeting with the Globeand Mail's editorial board, the Conservative leader said the blame lies with, well, you. You, Ontario.".

Now let's look at the actual Globe interview, which reads:

Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory says he blames strong resistance to his religious-schools policy on his own failure to explain it better ... He said he has not done a good enough job convincing Ontarians that it is better to have all schools part of the public system rather than operate without scrutiny. He also said his message that it is unfair to fund Catholic schools without extending the same privileges to Jewish, Muslim and other religious institutions is not resonating with Ontarians.

It seems abundently clear that if Tory is putting "blame" anywhere it's with himself. Insofar as the buck tends to stop with the leader of a party for unsuccessful policies during an election this is a rather unremarkable statement. Furthermore, if there is such a thing as "honour" in the game of political strategy, you'd think it a bit distasteful to try to suggest your opponent is blaming other people for the campaign's shortcomings when he is trying to do the honourable thing in accepting the blame himself.

I don't blame Liberal strategists for trying to do their job, but if you push the limits of believability too far you end up looking at best silly, and at worst outright dishonest.