Libs and NDP, in a tree: a problem in need of a vote split

By Martin Patriquin - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 5:17 PM - 50 Comments

Tania Liu/Flickr

There are several really good reasons why the NDP and the Liberals aren’t about to go beyond first base anytime soon (the political version of first base being where each side teases and scorns the other in equal measure.) The best is alluded to in this morning’s Globe and Mail editorial. Usually the Globe’s Front Street take on Quebec is about as specious and disconnected as you’d expect, but this one made sense. A leader out of Quebec, reason the Globe sages, would properly root the party in the province where it has its most MPs and where, arguably, the halo of Jack Layton seemed to shine that much brighter. And since whatever candidate steps up will have to speak French (one really, really hopes so, anyway), why not have him/her from Quebec?

So, imagine you’re the next NPD leader from Quebec. Why in the name of all things orange and green would you want to merge with the party that ranks somewhere amongst bad breath, parking tickets and syphilis, as far as Quebec public opinion is concerned? Put another way: you’ve just hauled in the most support in your party’s history, punted aside the long-reigning sovereignist Bloc Québécois and captured the eye (if not the hearts) of Quebec’s fickle voters. Is now really the time to start playing footsie with the party of Trudeau, Chrétien, adScam etc—the same one that, with the sponsorship scandal, gave the Bloc a new lease on life on 2004? If nothing else, this would be a fantastic way to give weight to the sovereignist argument that all federalist parties are the same.

Continue…

What does it all mean?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 5:15 PM - 11 Comments

Tim Flannery, an honorary pallbearer at Jack Layton’s funeral, arrives at a conclusion similar to that arrived at by Michael Valpy and James McKee.

For people the world over, Jack Layton was a bulwark against that descent into despair: the one who through his own boundless optimism and generosity of spirit coaxed us also to be generous; to trust, and to give of ourselves for the greater good. There is no politician like Jack Layton in Australia, the U.S. or Europe. Sure, those places have left-leaning parties with great leaders. But no one I know can speak to the people of the things that matter the way Jack could. And so those who knew something of Canadian politics looked to Jack for inspiration.

Dan Gardner sees a different lesson altogether.

Drama, Comedy and Long Articles Thereon

By Jaime Weinman - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 5:05 PM - 0 Comments

Here are two links to big recent articles on TV topics I can’t seem to get enough of:

- Joe Adalian has a long piece for New York magazine about what’s going on with AMC. It’s mostly about money, and trying to run a prestige network without an HBO type of budget (or many of HBO’s options for making back the money on its shows). I should add, having piled on AMC, that they will turn this around if they happen to come up with a new show that is a gigantic critical success. If The Killing had been good – or at least if it had lived up to the promise of its pilot – there would not have been the same sense that the network didn’t have a plan. So if Hell On Wheels takes off, it will instantly restore a lot of the network’s reputation and goodwill. Whether a network can afford to run on reputation and goodwill is another question. These things fluctuate wildly, which is one of the reasons why quality is not, in itself, a business plan.

- Gerard Gilbert writes for The Independent about the state of the sitcom in the UK, and the tensions between the various types of sitcoms being made: the Gervais-style mockumentary, the deliberate throwbacks to the ’70s (Miranda, Mrs. Brown’s Boys) and many gradations in between. A lot of these issues are similar to the issues in the U.S., including a sense of – arguably misplaced – nostalgia for a time when there were really massive hit sitcoms that were also critically acclaimed, as well as the increasing questions about what defines a sitcom and whether the term is even useful.

The way they discuss these issues in the UK, as I’ve said, strikes me as very healthy, since the participants in these articles seem to be very aware of how much form dictates content in TV. In the U.S. you’ll often hear network executives talking (perhaps they have to) about very different types of sitcoms as though they are interchangeable shows with interchangeable audiences, or that the form doesn’t matter because “funny is funny.” That’s how you get a situation where Happy Endings is going to be the next Friends, or a network decides there’s no reason people wouldn’t want to watch Whitney after The Office. The UK sometimes seems to display a greater understanding of what each format (single-camera, audience, mockumentary, or hybrids of different approaches like I’m Alan Partridge) brings to the table. Though I admit that I’m looking at that from a distance; close-up, the comedy programming decisions may make just as little sense as they sometimes do in the States or Canada.

Roll call

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 3:34 PM - 1 Comment

Gary Doer, Brian Masse, Ryan Cleary, Wayne Marston, Peter Stoffer and Chris Charlton are staying out of the NDP leadership race.

On the other hand, I’m told that Libby Davies hasn’t ruled anything out.

A preliminary list of potential candidates is thus as follows: Davies, Megan Leslie, Paul Dewar, Charlie Angus, Peter Julian, Francoise Boivin, Pat Martin, Thomas Mulcair and Brian Topp.

Good to be lucky, lucky to be good

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 2:58 PM - 6 Comments

Ian Brodie quibbles with the suggestion that luck explains Stephen Harper’s success.

Merging the Reform-Alliance into the Conservative Party may have looked easy to outsiders obsessed with the drama of David Orchard’s efforts to block his Party’s ratification of the merger deal.  But Harper had worked long and hard to overcome years of Reform-Alliance hostility to Toryism, and reaped the benefit of that work when the time came to do the deal.  Keeping the new party unified and focused in the face of predictions of the coming Martin “juggernaut” may have looked easy to outsiders, but required careful internal leadership and work.  Snatching victory from the jaws of victory in the 2005-06 campaign looks, in retrospect, like the inevitable unfolding of history, but required two years of brutal, disciplined work.  And is it lucky to be in charge during a mammoth economic crisis?  Does having an excuse for spending billions on economic stimulus lead to political success?  Please, someone, ask Barack Obama.

If Brian Mulroney had been lucky enough to be in power during a long, global economic boom with very low interest rates, he and Mike Wilson would have balanced the federal budget.  Instead, Jean Chretien and Paul Martin were the lucky ones.  But let the Liberals keep on thinking that Harper’s success is the result of luck.  Let them believe their current crisis is the result of bad luck.  Whatever we do, don’t ever persuade them they need to change their approach.  Let them keep rolling the dice and betting the house.

Eid mix-up in Indonesia

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 2:24 PM - 1 Comment

Indonesian Muslims were disappointed Monday when their Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that Eid al-Fitr—the celebration marking the end of Ramadan—would fall on Wednesday rather than Tuesday because “the moon was too low on the horizon”. The position of the moon determines the beginning and end of Ramadan—something Muslim clerics often disagree upon (Saudi Arabia, for example, celebrated Eid on Tuesday). People in Indonesia, which boasts the most populous Muslim majority in the world, had to push back family parties and prayers, as well as fast for another day, until Eid celebrations finally broke out in Jakarta’s packed streets Wednesday. Drums were banged and fireworks launched, as Muslims bade farewell to the holy month of Ramadan—one day later than expected.

Voice of America

San Diego teen shot with crossbow

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 2:12 PM - 0 Comments

As the old saying goes, never bring a rock to a crossbow fight. A teenager in San Diego is recovering in hospital after being shot in the stomach with the medieval weapon, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports. The boy was allegedly throwing rocks at passing cars when one stopped. A passenger got out and shot off a bolt at the boy and a friend. The boy’s injuries were not life threatening.

San Diego Union-Tribune

The death and the rising

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 1:44 PM - 10 Comments

Michael Valpy and James McKee consider the reaction to Jack Layton’s death.

It’s been suggested the deep emotional response was to the suddenness of his passing, or to the cruel irony of death striking him down while the applause still rang out for his grand electoral success. If that’s all that was involved, it would be a shallow saga, soon forgotten. Something struck a chord across the country – not all of it mind – but in the big cities where progressive voices have long felt comfortable. It struck, that chord, as a public manifestation of a collective worry about what Mr. Layton’s loss — Jack’s loss — meant for so many Canadians’ values, the not-quite-taken-shape articulation of people who feel threatened, who see themselves governed by politicians holding alien values, beliefs and behaviour…

It’s a chord of protest against a domain that doesn’t want libraries, social housing or a long form census but only lower taxes and more fighter jets. A chord of resentment sounded by people who have felt themselves unable to self-identify as progressives in the way Jack Layton consistently did, with an unrepentant pride in his beliefs.

Obama extends Irene relief funding to North Carolina, New York

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 1:23 PM - 0 Comments

Flooding caused by heavy rains from tropical storm Irene continued in several U.S. states Wednesday, prompting President Barack Obama to officially name the incident a major disaster in North Carolina and New York. The official designation means the two states will join a growing list of those receiving additional federal disaster relief funding. In Vermont, washed out roads made rescue efforts difficult in at least 13 towns. Several rivers there are expected to crest Wednesday, leading to fears of further flooding in the inland state. Millions of Americans in the affected states remained without power after Irene swept through the eastern U.S. after landing on Saturday. An estimated 40 people have died in incidents related to the storm’s heavy wind and rain. Irene also caused around $10 billion in damage.

BBC News

Oh, You Wacky George Lucas, You’ve Done It Again

By Jaime Weinman - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 1:13 PM - 7 Comments

If it is indeed true that George Lucas has dubbed in Darth Vader saying “NO!” as he commits regicide, there are two things to note about this, apart from the obvious. (The obvious point is that this is a terrible idea, but this is George Lucas – him mutilating one of his Star Wars films is not, in itself, surprising news any longer.) Update: It’s confirmed.

1. Lucas’s revisions, bad as they have been for the movies creatively, have probably increased their popularity. This has been going on since those “special edition” reissues, and reissues of movies rarely become big news. By wrecking the Han Solo scene, Lucas made the original Star Wars into an object of controversy. Instead of a reissue of that fun movie you saw in the ’70s or ’80s, it was a major debate that went beyond the fan base of even the most popular movies. Every time Lucas changes the movies, or refuses to release the originals, that becomes news. He’d never get this kind of coverage for a straightforward re-release of the original. Now, I’m not saying he’s an evil genius who is doing all this for publicity. He might be, but I’m sure he really believes that he can improve movies with the perfection of modern technology and the wisdom of age. However, I think the effect has been to give Star Wars a surer place in pop culture than Carter-era movies normally have. In a 1996 episode of NewsRadio, Dave could be considered a geek because he knew who Boba Fett was. Only a year later, everyone would be talking about the original Star Wars trilogy, and what had become of it, with a passion and fury normally reserved for new movies.

2. If the re-dub is a callback to Revenge of the Sith, it’s a reminder that we’re going to be eventually seeing a split between two types of Star Wars fan, if this hasn’t happened already. Understandably, many fans consider the original trilogy to be the only “real” Star Wars movies. But it’s been long enough since The Phantom Menace that there are new fans who were raised on the second trilogy, and consider the whole thing to be of a piece. I wonder if those fans would be more welcoming of the attempts to connect the two trilogies together. Maybe not.

Jack Tobin gets 3 years in prison

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:58 PM - 1 Comment

Jack Tobin has been sentenced to three years in prison for his involvement in the death of his close friend, Alex Zolpis, last Christmas eve. He has also received a seven-year-driving ban, to begin when his prison sentence ends. The 24-year-old son of former Newfoundland premier Brian Tobin pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death in May. Zolpis was killed when he was pinned under a pickup truck that Tobin was driving. Judge Lise Maisonneuve says she took into account both Tobin’s extreme remorse and his history of drunk and reckless driving to make her final decision. Brian Tobin says his son will make a contribution to Alex Zolpis’ community when he is released from prison.

The Canadian Press

Julian Assange has lost everything

By Jesse Brown - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:51 PM - 41 Comments

americanistadechiapas/Flickr

Until last week, Julian Assange seemed to be receding from view. As he wrestled with criminal charges and a financial chokehold on donations to his cause, Wikileaks’ data releases slowed to a trickle, and nothing that emerged proved too juicy.  Then, all of a sudden, Wikileaks burst open—134,000 diplomatic cables were dumped in just a few days.

This was not the tactical, deliberate approach that served Assange so well in the past. When Wikileaks began, Assange threw data online only to be disappointed by the lack of mainstream news attention. So Assange famously partnered with leading media outlets in 2010, dispersing his revelations under trusted mastheads that reassured the public that the information was authentic. Sensitive information, such as the names of confidential informants and operatives, was redacted by his mainstream media partners. (Some bristled at this characterization, preferring to call Assange a ‘source’. Whatever.)   In this manner, Wikileaks dominated the headlines for months, embarrassed governments, and perhaps led to some real political change—Assange’s stated goal. Continue…

Angelo Persichilli named PMO director of communications

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:29 PM - 2 Comments

Stephen Harper has appointed political columnist Angelo Persichilli as the new director of communications for the Prime Minister’s Office. Persichilli replaces Dimitri Soudas, a close confidant of Harper’s since he became leader of the Canadian Alliance in 2002. Persichilli most recently worked as the political editor for the Italian-language newspaper Corriere Canadese, and as a political columnist for the Toronto Star and the Hill Times.

Toronto Star

Mind the border

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:14 PM - 1 Comment

Earlier this week, John Baird released two reports on the proposed security perimeter deal with the United States. The Star summarizes.

Big business, tourism associations and others who stand to profit from greater access to U.S. markets expressed a greater willingness to hand over things like flight passenger lists and other personal information if it means a more fluid border. Individual Canadians are decidedly more skeptical, said one of two reports released by the government Monday that detail the messages delivered in the first round of consultations.

“Individual Canadians voiced concerns about enhanced sharing of traveler and travel information,” said the report on the proposed perimeter security deal. “These concerns centered on the loss of sovereignty, the protection of personal information shared between the two countries, and a general sentiment that not enough was known about the proposed measures.”

Carl Meyer looks at the possibility of a continental no-fly list.

Canadian economy shrinks in second quarter

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:09 PM - 1 Comment

Canada’s economy shrank last quarter, the first such drop since 2008-2009. The dip was marginal: real GDP fell 0.4 per cent from the first quarter. Most analysts blame one-off events, such the Japanese earthquake and wildfires in Alberta, for the slowdown, although continued turmoil in the U.S. and Europe likely played a large role. Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is in Toronto Wednesday for a funding announcement at Ryerson University, where he is expected to address the GDP question after the event. On Tuesday, at a Liberal Party summit, interim Liberal leader Bob Rae blasted the Conservatives’ handling of the economy, accusing the Tories of focusing too much on cuts and not enough on jobs.

Reuters

CTV

Toronto Sun

[Photo by Caitlin Thompson/Flickr]

Three suicide bombings kill 9 in Chechnya

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 12:03 PM - 0 Comments

Nine people are dead and 20 wounded after three suicide bombings in Chechnya, Russian officials said. The attacks occurred on Tuesday night, and on Wednesday the Russian Investigative Committee announced that they have identified two of the suicide bombers as Chechen men in their early twenties. Among those killed were 7 policemen, an Emergency Ministry official and a civilian, reported the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

CNN

Canada may extend its mission in Libya

By macleans.ca - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 11:59 AM - 1 Comment

Canada’s mission in Libya may extend after the September 27 deadline into October and possibly beyond, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Tuesday. What isn’t clear is what that mission will look like. Canadian jets have bombed Libyan targets for six months, part of larger NATO campaign that started out as enforcing a UN-mandated no-fly zone to protect civilians but morphed into support for an all-out civil war. Western-backed rebels now control much of the country, throwing the future of the NATO intervention into flux. Baird told CBC’s Power and Politics that Canada will “be in theatre to support the Libyan people.” Whether that means continued bombing sorties, soft-power aid or other forms of military backing, he did not say. For their part, the Libyan transitional government has rejected calls for a UN peacekeeping mission, asking instead for electoral aid.

Globe and Mail

CBC News

Is it safe to talk about a coalition?

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 10:52 AM - 15 Comments

Chris Selley says the New Democrats and Liberals should talk about a coalition before they talk about a merger.

… there’s very little standing in the way of such an arrangement except a little bit of leadership — legitimate coalitions cannot come from elections in which they’ve been explicitly disavowed — and, of course, an election result that makes it possible.

Both parties have much to do, if they’re to achieve such an outcome. But there’s no reason to believe they can’t do it separately and co-operate later, and plenty to like about having more choice in political parties rather than less. It would be a shame if one big idea was discounted in pursuit of another.

If memory serves, Jack Layton’s stance in the last election was that the NDP would work with any party in the House of Commons. If that position holds, the onus would seem to be on the Liberals to take a similarly open-minded position.

Open to consideration

By Aaron Wherry - Wednesday, August 31, 2011 at 9:00 AM - 14 Comments

Megan Leslie hasn’t ruled out a run for the NDP leadership. Paul Dewar says his name can be included on the list of possible candidates. The Globe says Charlie Angus is considering it. Peter Julian is thinking about it. And so is Francoise Boivin, who, via her assistant, ventures a prerequisite for any future leader.

Another Quebec MP, Francoise Boivin, is giving it some thought, according to her parliamentary assistant, Alexandre Gingras. He said Tuesday the Gatineau MP is waiting to see what rules are established by the party to govern the race before deciding whether to throw her hat in the ring.

Gingras said Boivin has already made one thing clear: that the next leader should be “perfectly bilingual.”

François Legault’s shameless pandering on immigration

By Philippe Gohier - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 8:15 PM - 18 Comments

When François Legault launched the Coalition pour l’avenir du Québec (CAQ), his all-but-confirmed vessel to re-enter Quebec politics, he addressed the group’s manifesto to “all those who want to change.” “It’s time to get Quebec moving again,” he wrote. Indeed it is.

Even for Legault’s critics, of which there are relatively few these days, it’s hard to find much to quibble with in his mission statement—education should be “the absolute priority”; culture and the protection of the French language are essential; public services should be… well, they should be better; and Quebec should do more to attract investments. As Vincent Marissal points out in this morning’s La Presse, Legault has so far proven himself enormously adept at “surfing on general ideas,” so much so that he’s emerged as the most credible candidate to replace Jean Charest as premier. Continue…

Would you support efforts to merge the Liberal party with the NDP?

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 5:11 PM - 35 Comments

This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 4:32 PM - 35 Comments

Pat Martin says, if no one else takes up the cause, he’ll enter the NDP leadership race as a pro-merger candidate.

“I haven’t spoken to any potential candidates about this. But the one that says it openly that they will explore and promote some form of co-operation with the Liberals will have my enthusiastic support and in the absence of any such candidate I’ll do it myself,” Martin told iPolitics.

The way forward seems clear: a new party jointly led by Pat Martin and Denis Coderre.

Talking to the Taliban

By Aaron Wherry - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 3:57 PM - 14 Comments

An interesting moment from Saturday’s state funeral seems particularly timely in light of this news.

Direct U.S. talks with the Taliban had evolved to a substantive negotiation before Afghan officials, nervous that the secret and independent talks would undercut President Hamid Karzai, scuttled them, Afghan and U.S. officials told The Associated Press.

Mullah Mohammed Omar now acknowledges negotiations and the possibility of further talks.

Quebec lobbies big-box retailers to switch names to French

By macleans.ca - Tuesday, August 30, 2011 at 3:11 PM - 7 Comments

Big-box stores, including Home Depot and Best Buy, that do business in Quebec should prepare to come under scrutiny from the province’s agency overseeing language laws. Louise Marchand, president of the Office québécois de la langue française, told the Canadian Press that big-box retailers with English brand names are not conforming with Bill 101, which mandates that all public signs in Quebec will be in French, at least have it prominently displayed. The agency will be launching a campaign encouraging retailers to switch their brand names to French as soon as possible, as “it would be an asset for them to speak directly with [Québécois] consumers.” Marchand says the law would be applied within a “reasonable timeline.”

CTV News