tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-377409822024-03-23T12:05:40.515-06:00The Hospitality SuiteA chronicling of Chris Sinal's experience and observations in both Edmonton, Alberta and London, Ontario. It started as a blog about the 2006 Liberal Leadership convention held in Montreal, Quebec, where I was a delegate. The name was clever at the time. Sort of.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-22969483176178872332008-11-16T18:05:00.000-07:002008-11-16T18:06:11.255-07:00Ignatieff's In<object width="400" height="300"><param name="allowfullscreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><param name="movie" value="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2259030&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" /><embed src="http://vimeo.com/moogaloop.swf?clip_id=2259030&server=vimeo.com&show_title=1&show_byline=1&show_portrait=0&color=&fullscreen=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowscriptaccess="always" width="400" height="300"></embed></object><br /><a href="http://vimeo.com/2259030">Michael announces his candidacy to the leadership of the Liberal Party of Canada</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user941069">Michael Ignatieff</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.Sinalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12345039641779108355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-18503700242713603172008-10-20T22:29:00.001-06:002008-10-20T22:29:57.986-06:00The FutureI just received an email asking for money. From Stephane Dion. It's the very same email that has been sent out time and time again, and is a symptom of the paralyzing failure of leadership and strategic vision that has afflicted our party. <br /><br />We cannot win by running to defeat a man, Stephen Harper.<br /><br />I've been doing reading--a lot of reading-- on the activities of our friends to the South and their campaign for President. There are new tactics and strategies being developed, strategies that could only come out of the inordinately long primary and presidential campaign. Obama's specifically is predicated on two strategies: massive investment in national and regional ad buys and comprehensive neighborhood mobilization strategies. <br /><br />The latter is the key, because it is a strategy, not a tactic. <br /><br />Regional organizers recruit, test, and train volunteers. The test of leadership for these volunteers is the recruitment of more volunteers. But these are not just volunteers; they are leaders. Not donors, but leaders. Not door knockers... leaders. It is a comprehensive system of community organization done without the investment of HR money because it is founded on voluntary investment of time and energy, where local operations are free to develop management roles that best suit local personalities. It is predicated on canvassing by local community members first, phone calls a distant second, and mailings a far third. <br /><br />This ground level involvement extends to policy discussions, leading to empowerment and ownership. It does not feel centrally organized, even though it is. It is led from the top and the bottom, facilitated through the internet. Ignatieff began to use these tactics in the last campaign, but only touched on them.<br /><br />We need more. This must be the philosophy that undergirds the next campaign. It has to be a long term strategy; the building of an infrastructure that will serve the party, not just the candidate.<br /><br />This leadership campaign must seek to answer in substantive terms what it means to don the red colours. It must be both a discussion and a mobilization. He must emerge to save the party by helping people to believe again--not in a man, but in a belief. Belief in the value of helping others. Belief in the apotheosis of care and compassion over fear of our fellow man.<br /><br />Stephen Harper relies on fear. He relies on anger. Through mailings and a coordinated message he seeks to make Canadians distrust their neighbours and nurtures anger against those that disagree with us. Liberals have done the same, engendering anger at those very tactics.<br /><br />Fear and anger mobilize voters. <br /><br />However, belief mobilizes nations.<br /><br />It is only through mobilization that we will be competitive financially. But that mobilization is not a result of a campaign message; rather, it is a part of it. It is that community mobilization and engagement that will distinguish the Liberal party as one of truly Canadian spirit; rooted in cooperation, stemming from the community, and founded in compassion.Sinalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12345039641779108355noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-80964998330644352582007-03-27T15:17:00.000-06:002007-03-27T15:22:33.467-06:00One More While I ProcrastinateI swear to God that I'll post the second part of the previous post tonight. In the meantime, I can't really communicated how exciting this is.<br /><br /><embed src="http://www.theonion.com/content/themes/common/assets/videoplayer/flvplayer.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="400" height="320" flashvars="file=http://www.theonion.com/content/xml/59651/video&autostart=false&image=http://www.theonion.com/content/files/images/ONN_0.jpg&bufferlength=3&embedded=true&title=Onion%20News%20Network%20Promo"></embed><br /><br />Click <a href="http://www.theonion.com/content/video/immigration_the_human_cost">here</a> for more.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-55263968486594124282007-03-23T15:34:00.001-06:002007-03-23T15:34:57.021-06:00This Ought to Amuse Anyone...<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/TDtgMdJhLrc' name='movie'></param><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/TDtgMdJhLrc'></embed></object></p><p>... who's desperately waiting while I finish up last night's post (read: no one). It's from Top Gear, a British car show I became addicted to while on a three day stop-over in Ireland. In this clip, a Range Rover Sport competes against a Tank.</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-63629258614344141322007-03-22T21:58:00.000-06:002007-03-23T01:11:38.450-06:00An Existential Reflection on What I Want to do with My Life, Part ISo I didn't get into McGill, where I had applied to do a PhD on "The Fragmentation of English Historical Writing, ca. 1640-1670". <br /><br />That's not keeping me up at night. What's keeping me up is the fact that I'm kind of glad. And that's worrying.<br /><br />See, ever since I was in highschool everyone just kind of assumed I'd end up in politics some day--<a href="http://www.geocities.com/phronk/sinalvp.htm">myself included</a>. Throughout University that was reflected in my grades (low) and in my Students' Council positions (<a href="http://www.usc.uwo.ca/archives/02-03/board/president/experience.html">high</a>). I tried to learn from the odd <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2000/November/14/News2.htm"> mistake</a>, and there were a few people that did their best to not let me <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2002/March/7/opinions1.htm"> forget. </a>(Note: God bless <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2002/March/13/opinions1.htm"> Meg Timney</a>.) Still, during my time in the USC it was taken for granted that I was a politician. <br /><br />Note this letter to the editor taken from <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2002/November/14/opinions4.htm">The Gazette</a>:<br /><br />******************<br /><br />Sinal won't stir the pot<br />Re: "Politically Incorrect, Minus Bill Maher?" Nov. 8<br /><br />To the Editor:<br /><br />I attended the Politically Incorrect forum moderated by Michael Coren last Thursday, and before the forum started, Coren wanted to put his books up for sale.<br /><br />However, he was strongly rebuked and told not to do this, and that if any book was sold, the University Police Department would be called. It was quite the debate before the debate. <br /><br />I'm very interested in knowing why Coren was not allowed to sell his books. Is it common practice for guests not to sell their books or was it special to Coren? And anyways, what's wrong with biographies?<br /><br />Oh, yeah, on a completely unrelated note – maybe [University Students' Council] Chris Sinal wasn't informed about the title of the discussion before it started, or maybe his skills as a politician are just too refined. Chris, you were the most politically correct, smooth and uncontroversial guy I've ever heard. Congratulations. I'm sure you'll find a great career in the Liberal party.<br /><br />Joel Timmerman <br />Political Science II<br />King's College <br /><br />******************<br /><br />Only that's not what happened. I soured on politics. I decided that I'd had enough of the duplicity, of the careful consideration that had to go into everything I said, of the playing people against one another to get what I wanted "for the greater good". It was too much. It's not what I wanted to do with my life.<br /><br />I wanted to be an academic. I wanted to invest my life to thought. To helping people and Canadian society. I can't really put into words just how much I wanted, and still want, to be a part of higher education in this country. In a 1975 letter to the General Secretary of the Czech Communist Party, Vaclav Havel described culture as "the main instrument of society's self-knowledge"; "It is culture," wrote Havel, "that enables a society to enlarge its liberty and to discover truth." I aspire to be a party of that creative process through the development of new ideas. Or something.<br /><br />When this started in 2002, it was a new development. To those professors that knew me it came as no surprise, and they encouraged my efforts to get into grad school. That said, my time spent in early modern history was really kind of an accident. I fell into it.<br /><br />That was never really a big deal, until two things caused me to question it; not getting into McGill, and the recent work with Ignatieff. Now, the siren song of politics is once again drawing me towards the rocks. Question is, are they any more dangerous than those of academia? <br /><br />How have these two things conspired to bring about the titular crisis existential? That's for tomorrow, when I'm actually awake. <br /><br />In the meantime, check out this interesting batch of statistics that I <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2003/February/14/sex1.htm"> discovered</a> in researching this post: <br /><br />From the 2003 UWO Gazette Sex Issue:<br /><br />******************<br /><br />9. Do you have the Chris Sinal fantasy?<br /><br /> Yes No<br />HeteroFemales 7.5% 92.5%<br />BiFemales 9% 91%<br />Bi Males 25% 75%<br />HomoMales 33% 67%<br /><br />******************<br /><br />It's always nice to know that I'm a hit with the dudes.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-28050498149195715612007-03-21T12:08:00.001-06:002007-03-21T12:08:57.552-06:00Pulp Fiction in Typography<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/syf8olcM0z4' name='movie'></param><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/syf8olcM0z4'></embed></object></p><p>This is just brilliant. Beware young ears: they will be forever burned by the dulcet tones of Samuel L. Jackson screaming colourful nouns like "bitch" and "motherfucker" (admittedly, also a verb, adjective and adverb).</p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-4938465122328250542007-03-18T12:37:00.000-06:002007-03-18T13:35:26.326-06:00Why Battlestar Galactica, Lost, and most other serial dramas are really starting to suckThe first televison show I ever loved, and I mean adored, was Babylon 5. Despite its <a href="http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Corridor/3611/londo.jpg">stupid haircuts</a> and dialogue that sometimes threatened to offend kosher sensibilities with its <a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=2KrfNaQ9nCg">hammyness</a>, it was awesome. It used physics in space combat. Articial gravity didn't exist. The bad guys were vampires, or something. <br /><br />And it was a serial drama. One of the first. The whole sucker was mapped out from the beginning to be five years, and that's all it was. It was a novel for film, with five discrete chapters, thematic arcs that could be traced throughout, and payoffs in season three that you could see--in detail--foreshadowed in the first season. Its sometimes rediculous costumes belied a narrative tightness that was beyond anything on television.<br /><br />Other shows pretended to offer the same. X-Files promised a grand narrative that spanned years, but quickly devolved into a mass of killer bees, alien assassins, and plot machinations that rivaled a Cretan labyrinth in their complexity. Without a planned narrative arc, the showrunners were left to make up plot twists on the fly, struggling to fit them within the vaguest of plot threads dribbled along the way. The longer the show went on, the larger the twists needed to be, both in number and in dramatic punch. The premise of "an FBI agent struggles to discover the secrets behind the mystery of his sister's abduction" certainly seemed promising; I'm sure that in the writers room there was much excitement over how the conspiracy would unfold, and the shock the audience would experience when they discovered that at its root was the survival of the human race.<br /><br />The fault, however, was in mistaking a premise and a conclusion for a complete narrative. It's true that the heart of a story lies not in its conclusion, but in its middl--in the development of characters and the unraveling of the plot. Television shows are about questions, not answers, after all. However, the development must be building towards something cohesive. If, at the show's end, the final revelation of the dramatic conflict requires a table drawn from a Tolstoy novel to make sense of it, it belies lazy writing rather than narrative conplexity. <br /><br />Planning ahead allows the small answers dabbled througout the show to be genuinely earned, and worthwhile when viewed over ones shoulder at the end. A narrative plan should allow some viewers to actually predict the ending of the show with the evidence provided, and that number ought to increase as the show continues. This, I think, is the mark of a genius (and genus) of storytelling that has been absent for some time. <br /><br />That is, until shows like Lost, Battlestar Galactica, and Heroes offered a glimpse of promise. A chance for a serial drama that held a grand arc, as well as the appetite of the North American viewer for such an idiom. Alas, the former two have each shown symptoms of falling to the same disease that plagued the X-Files: revealing the mystery of Jack's tatoos while ignoring innumerable untended plot threads concerning the shows greater mystery has long ailed Lost, and it may be reaching a terminal point. Battlestar Galactica, too, is showing signs of increasingly sloppy writing and a failure to show foresight that only undercut significant revelations when they finally occur.<br /><br />Heroes is the best bet on television for what I'm looking for: a serial drama that puts effort into planning its stories in such a way that the viewer's payoff at show's end (of, failing that, season's end) is built on the foundation of the episodes that came before.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117957386.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1&p=0">Rumor has it</a> that Lost may limit its run to only five season, and plan the rest of the show with that in mind. One can only hope.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-42792808939413270122007-03-17T20:49:00.000-06:002007-03-17T21:18:18.918-06:00Back from the DeadSo it turns out that I have a blog. Who knew?<br /><br />Sorry about the delay, but I've just forgotten/been too lazy to/having had anything to talk about that would cause me to update my blog in a while.<br /><br />When last we spoke, I talked about a budget election. Oh jesus, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070317.wharper17/BNStory/Front/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20070317.wharper17">I still hope I'm wrong</a>. There's a variety of fun and exciting reasons for this, ranging from not wanting Elections Canada to spend a shitlocker of cash on the whole ordeal to me getting really, really angry at political rhetoric these days (I'll save that for another post). That, and I don't want to see a single add with "Stand up for Canada" on a Rent-a-Sign outside a community centre in a commerical. Ever. Again.<br /><br />I'd like to help out in this election--the whole experience of being a riding co-ordinator in Edmonton-Strathcona was great, and Kendra would really, really like it if I gave more thought to a career in politics. (That, also, will be another post. Suffice it to say that there's a fair amount of cognitive dissonance between my desire to get involved and start working in the system and my general hatred of a lot of the mechanics OF that system. I never claimed I was unique in that respect.)<br /><br />That said, it would be nice to help out in a riding where there's actually a contest. Edmonton-Strathcona? Not so much. Once I move to Richmond Hill in a few months, I could work there (also not much of a race) or anywhere in downtown Toronto, which would be all manner of brilliant.<br /><br />Now, I won't be moving before the end of April, so the later an election is, the better. Plus, maybe there are fewer "Stand up for Canada" ads out East. All I know is that they played every EIGHT MINUTES in Edmonton.<br /><br />So, as I mentioned there will be more posts in future. Besides the previously alluded to posts on why modern political rhetoric is destroying political culture--as opposed to reflecting it--and an existential reflection on What I Want to Do with My Life, expect rumination on: Why Battlestar Galactica, Lost, and most other serial dramas are really starting to suck; Why the rural/urban divide keeps my up at night; How the justice system risks being destroyed by people trying to save it; Is colonialism a bad thing? Does the fact that I have no idea make me a monster?; and Why smoke filled rooms are just about the best thing ever, as long as the smoke is from cigars and the rooms are wood-paneled.Sinalhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12345039641779108355noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1169589083092081112007-01-23T14:47:00.001-07:002007-01-23T14:51:23.156-07:00Budget ElectionI've said it before, and I'll say it again: there will be an election triggered by the budget. The Liberals have just said they won't support it, putting all the onus on the NDP. If you're Jack, you've got two options: wait for the Liberals under Dion craft a carefully managed, fully green campaign centered on the environment; or, force an election while you still have a chance to win seats as an NDP that stands for the environment and strong social policy. The longer Layton waits, the worse the retuns will be come election time as the Green Liberals (perception, at least... we'll see if it's true) eat NDP seats in all the urban centers. To say nothing of teh NDP not wanting to give the Green Party a chance to raise money.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1169238213815617582007-01-19T13:08:00.000-07:002007-01-19T13:25:21.780-07:00Links are important, both for amusement and tying people downI feel an obligatory need to apologize for all of the links that have been cropping up in the past few posts. There are many reasons: the overabundance of entertaining web content thanks to the Time Persons of the Year that are contributing to Web 2.0; my profound laziness; other things. <br /><br />I'm sure people read blogs for insightful thoughts, fleeting glimpses into the souls of other human beings, and the odd bit of humour. Not me. I read them for the links. I try and post most of them on Facebook but every once in a while there's something so fantastic, so unbeleivably awesome, that it earns a place of honour in the blogosphere (whatever the hell THAT is). <br /><br />I have a secret desire to dress up in old-timey clothes all the time--not just on special occasions. Really, I just want to live in Gattaca world, but without the social evil. Failing that, I'll settle for Victorian-era old-timeyness. I've recently been informed that there's some sort of movement called, I don't know, <a href="http://www.steamwhistle.ca/">steamwhistly</a> punk? <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steampunk">Steamytime Punk</a>? Anyway, they dress up like they're extras in The Time Machine (the <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1112951-time_machine/">shitty Guy Pearce version</a>). <br /><br /><a href="http://www.gentlemansemporium.com/mens_victorian_clothing.php">And this is where they shop.</a><br /><br />There's your link-feast for the day. Also, I never did actually apologize for all the links. Oh well.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1168842350801778402007-01-14T23:18:00.000-07:002007-01-14T23:30:01.056-07:00If you read nothing else in your life, read this (unless of course you don't read because you're illiterate. Or have no eyes.)As a historian, or at least one who is training to become a professional teller of stories, I feel that I am fully qualified to write the following:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31247">This</a> is by far and without any qualification the greatest thing that has ever happened in the history of human existance, save perhaps for the invention of the printing press, and that short period of time after thongs became fasionable when you'd accidentally catch a peak of them, as opposed to shortly thereafter when showing off one's underwear became cool and all first-years became prostitutes. <br /><br />And yes, this supersedes any movies I've talked about in previous posts, like the one directly underneath this one.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1168497204311607602007-01-10T23:22:00.000-07:002007-01-10T23:33:54.383-07:00Wot's All This Then?I've had quite enough of this growing up shit. <br /><br />I'm a sheltered soul. I'm from North London: I grew up in a world sheltered from nearly everything. The hardest drug in my world was Labatt 50, and racism existed only in the world of irony. I lived with my parents until I left the city at the age of 26 to go to grad school.<br /><br />Sure, Edmonton has its share of interesting experiences; meth addicts, hookers who look like the girls outside Jim Bob's, free money just for living here.<br /><br />But today I submitted an app to McGill for a PhD and had a fight with the folks about--of all things--a goddamn wedding.<br /><br />Why the hell would anyone in their right mind fight about a wedding? There's a level of juvenility to that--the distilation of all that one hates about the most basic social order that is highschool within the crucible of a putatively joyous family event--that never ceases to amaze. And piss off.<br /><br />I've had quite enough of real life today. <br /><br />Instead of continuing to read about my day, why don't you go download (or iTunes... is that a verb yet?) Flathead by The Fratellis. Either the song or the whole album--it doesn't matter. I'll wait here.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1167787391852483742007-01-02T18:14:00.000-07:002007-01-02T18:23:11.856-07:00This Blog Is Not an Ex-BlogContrary to popular (read: Brett's) belief, this blog is not dead; It will soon re-launch as a chronicling of my general thoughts and feelings, assuming that my new-found status as <a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1569514,00.html?aid=434&from=o&to=http%3A//www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0%2C9171%2C1569514%2C00.html">Time's Person of the Year</a> affords me readership. <br /><br />In the meantime amuse yourself with <a href="http://www.apple.com/trailers/wb/300/trailer1b/">this</a>, which will either suck or rock so hard that it tears apart the fabric of reality.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1165903974452465132006-12-11T23:06:00.000-07:002006-12-23T12:45:30.893-07:00The SpeechThis speech, delivered by Michael Ignatieff on the Friday of the convention, really sums up the whole affair. We loved it. I loved it. I felt like I could cry. My job during the speech was to sit at the front--near the stage--and, with a radio in my ear, direct the crowd on when to clap and when to stop (it's a big deal to not clap too much when the candidate only has 23 minutes and looks bad when the go over).<br /><br />I was terrible at my job, becuase I was too enthralled with the speech. But here's the facinating part. When Michael hit the big points, the barn burners, the things that people really can't disagree with--the environment, helping the poor, education--we exploded in applause. <br /><br />And when we looked around, we were the only ones.<br /><br />No one else in the hall was clapping. Few in our camp noticed, as there were over a thousand of us. But it was there, like a blanket of quiet repudiation. <br /><br />As signs go, that's not a good one. <br /><br />As for the speech? It's one of the best I've heard, and quicly and concisely sums up what I loved about my candidate. Let's just hope the Party ends up espousing something close.<br /><br />Oh, and I completely turned "tous ensemble!" into a cheer. <br /><br />THE SPEECH<br />**********************************************************************<br /><br />Merci beaucoup, mes amis.<br /><br />My friends, tonight's the night the Liberal Party begins again.<br /><br />To embrace a new agenda.<br />An agenda of hope.<br />An agenda for all Canadians.<br />Un agenda d'espoir pour tous les Canadiens et les Canadiennes<br /><br />We have come to this place to make an historic decision. Together. After tomorrow, we will leave this place together.<br />Renewed. United.<br />Nous repartirons de Montréal, unis et inspirés d'un seul message pour les Canadiens et Canadiennes d'un océan à l'autre.<br />We will be united coast to coast to coast with one message for all Canadians.<br />With this team, the future of the Liberal Party has never been brighter.<br />To every volunteer in every single campaign in this room tonight: thank you. You have worked so hard over many months. Vous avez travaillé si fort au cours des derniers mois.<br /><br />Together, we are building a better Liberal Party.<br /><br />A party that once again knows what it believes.<br />Nous sommes debout.<br />Coude à coude.<br />Pour défendre nos idées et nos valeurs.<br />Notre parti est un grand parti.<br />A la prochaine élection, tous les Libéraux au pays, tous les électeurs, sauront ce que nous défendons. All Canadians will<br />know what Liberals stand for.<br />A Canada where hope is shared not squandered.<br />Where promises are kept not betrayed<br />A Canada that leads<br />That inspires<br /><br />We are the party that built this country and we built it on four cornerstones<br />Social Justice.<br />Sustainable economy<br />Unity<br />International leadership.<br />Quatre pierres angulaires: justice sociale, économie durable, unité, leadership international.<br />Quand nous défendons ces valeurs fondamentales, nous gagnons à coup sûr.<br />When we stand on these foundations, we always win!<br /><br />I say tonight what I have said throughout this campaign. We must be the party of hope.<br />Nous devons être le parti de l'espoir.<br />And hope begins with opportunity.<br />Opportunity for low income families.<br />For Aboriginal Canadians.<br />For immigrants.<br />Opportunity for our farmers.<br />La possibilité pour les femmes de vivre sans pauvreté et sans violence.<br />And if hope begins with opportunity, opportunity has to begin with education.<br />We must be the party that says to every young Canadian who wants to go to college or university: "you get the grades, you get to go."<br /><br />An opportunities agenda means faith in our future.<br />Pour un avenir où l'air et l'eau sont pures.<br />C'est aujourd'hui que nous devons relever le défi de l'environnement.<br />Environmental sustainability must move to the heart of everything we do in government.<br />We must put a price on pollution and on carbon emissions!<br />And we will!<br /><br />Les changements climatiques sont la. Il faut agir maintenant afin que nous puissions dire à nos enfants et nos petits enfant :nous avons agi à temps; nous avons fait ce qu'il fallait faire.<br />So we have met the challenge of climate change and can look our children and grandchildren in the eyes and say:<br />We did not fail you.<br /><br />A party of hope<br />Un parti d'espoir.<br />Non seulement pour nous, mais pour le monde entier.<br />Its World AIDS Day today. We want a Canada that leads in the international fight against AIDS.<br />A Canada that promotes peace, democracy and human rights<br />A Canada that invests in women's literacy, primary health care and good government.<br /><br />Look around this hall tonight!<br />Anglophones et francophones, tous ensemble!<br />Men and women of every faith and race: tous ensemble !<br />First Nations, Métis, Inuit peoples, tous ensemble!<br />Les gens de l'ouest et de l'est, les gens du nord et du sud, des villes et des villages: tous ensemble!<br />We're the party that holds our country together. Tous ensemble!<br />Nous avons construit le pays ensemble.<br />Nous le garderons unis. Tous ensemble !<br /><br />My friends, national unity is the Liberal Party's most important work. Always has been. Always will be!<br />Mais nous pouvons en faire davantage.<br />Réduisons l'écart entre les grandes villes et les régions.<br />Let us embrace the surging might of Western Canada.<br />Let's win some seats in Alberta!<br />Redonnons de la confiance et de la fierté aux Québécois qui croient au Canada.<br />Gilles Duceppe et son parti n'offrent que des illusions et des déceptions.<br />Nous devons et nous pourrons les battre à la prochaine élection.<br /><br />The Liberal vision is of one Canada held together by a spine of citizenship:<br />Equal rights, equal responsibilities and shared experience so that we truly feel we are one country.<br />An equality of citizenship rooted in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.<br />Nous partageons les mêmes valeurs, les mêmes croyances, la même histoire.<br />Nous partageons le même avenir.<br />Un avenir ou tous seront égaux et tous auront les mêmes chances.<br /><br />That's not what Stephen Harper believes.<br />Here's a politician of conviction who has all the wrong convictions.<br />Stephen Harper loves power, but hates government.<br />Canadians understand that good government helps to bring us together.<br /><br />Stephen Harper thinks differently.<br />He has a mean-spirited vision.<br />He pits rich against poor.<br />Region against region.<br />Province against province.<br />Bit by bit, he is reshaping Canada.<br />Into a country that is less progressive,<br />Less fair<br />Less just<br />And less equal.<br />And you and I are going to stop him!<br /><br />We Liberals have a different vision.<br />A Canada that is just, and compassionate.<br />And generous of spirit.<br />We Liberals love this country, but we long for it to be better than it is.<br /><br />So:<br />When people ask: where's the best health care in the world? The answer will be Canada!<br />Where will aboriginals live as equals? Canada!<br />Who will lead the world in environmental sustainability? Canada!<br />Quel est l'endroit au monde ou la différence est la plus respectée. Canada !<br />Where will young people have the biggest dreams and fairest shot at life ? Canada!<br />We have long been a beacon to the world. But we can shine so much more brightly.<br />We have the resources. We have the know-how. We have the courage and compassion.<br /><br />What we need is the leadership.<br />Ce leadership, seul le Parti liberal peut l'offrir.<br />Leadership that only the Liberal Party can offer.<br />Hope that only the Liberal Party can offer.<br />If we become the party of hope in the country of hope, no one can defeat us.<br />Si nous devenons le parti de l'espoir dans un pays d'espoir, personne ne pourra nous battre!<br />We are Liberals of a new generation in a new century.<br /><br />Tonight, we have a choice to make<br />Let us choose unity over division,<br />Direction over drift,<br />Courage over fear, and compassion over indifference.<br />There is the Canada we live in today.<br />There is also the Canada of our dreams.<br />We Liberals are the party that will take us there.<br />Fellow Liberals, give me the chance to lead you.<br />A chance to inspire. A chance to serve.<br />I will make you proud. I will give you victory.<br />Tous ensemble.<br />Pour le Canada!<br />Pour notre Canada !<br /><br />Merci!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1165206747457234032006-12-03T21:14:00.000-07:002006-12-03T21:34:43.173-07:00Meeting People (and Rick Mercer, who also counts as a person)I met tones of people at this convention from all over the country. Some of them were famous, but most were not. Interestingly, I think it's the not-famous ones that I'll remember for some time to come. That said, here's the list of famous ones.<br /><br />Spoke To:<br /><br />Michael Ignatieff<br />Sen. Grant Mitchell<br />Jeffrey Simpson<br />Rick Mercer<br />Justin Trudeau<br /><br />Was Spoken To By:<br /><br />No one, really.<br /><br />Was Spoken At By:<br /><br />Bill Grahm<br /><br />Was Very Close To At One Point:<br /><br />Sen. Roméo Dallaire<br />Bob Rae<br />Stephane Dion<br />Pierre Pettigrew<br />John Manley<br />Lloyd Axeworthy<br /><br />Saw From A Distance:<br /><br />Paul Martin<br />Jean Chretien<br /><br />Saw Eating Sunchips and Apparently Trying To Pick Up Girls From A Distance:<br />Global's Kevin Newman<br /><br />You've read the Jeffrey Simpson story, and the Rick Mercer one is similar. I walked into a hotel bar between ballots and saw my friend (and former USC Presidential rival) Mike Liebrock sitting at the bar. I was pretty excited to see Mike, and started talking to him. It was only after I was engaged in conversation that I noticed he was hanging out with Rick Mercer. Now, I don't watch his shows, but I recognize that he's kind of A Big Deal. That said, I hadn't slept in three days and was already focused on talking to Mike, so I didn't really care.<br /><br />I said "hi" and then turned back to Mike. <br /><br />Oh well. We all ended up talking, and I'm still glad I got to talk to Mike. In fact, let's add him to the list.<br /><br />Spoke To:<br /><br />Michael Ignatieff<br />Sen. Grant Mitchell<br />Jeffrey Simpson<br />Rick Mercer<br />Mike Liebrock<br />Justin Trudeau<br /><br />Note: Mike's above Justin Trudeau.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1165205545107411962006-12-03T20:49:00.000-07:002006-12-03T22:00:09.186-07:00The Last 36 HoursThis was one of the best experiences of my life. Granted, it could have been a little better at the end, but I have no regrets and a tonne of people that I'm indebted to.<br /><br />There's a lot to talk about and, as I'd prefer not to make posts that are ten pages long, I'll break them up. We'll do it a little backwards: I'll give you my initial thoughts, and then run through how everything worked starting with Friday morning. Kind of like an after action report. If you could care less about what it's like on the floor, don't worry about future posts.<br /><br />I'm disappointed in the result. I believed--and continue to believe--in Ignatieff as a person and as an idea. His policies may live on in a future cabinet, but the idea of the man was clearly repudiated by the party on the convention floor. It's an interesting feeling. Look at it this way: of the 5400 delegates there, to say nothing of the thousands of volunteers, 3/5 backed Dion on the last ballot. 1/5 backed Michael from the beginning. Of the 8 leadership teams, 7 ended up backing the leader in the end.<br /><br />We, those who worked for Michael all the way through, were really the only ones that couldn't claim victory in the end. That'll get anyone down. Of course, there's party unity and all that. But I joined the party to turn it into something I could believe in again.<br /><br />That'll be tougher now.<br /><br />Interesting point, though: while lobbying delegates NOT to vote for Dion, I would bring up the argument I first raised in this blog. Here it is again:<br /><br />"The Conservatives have done a great job of "branding" the Liberal party as a corrupt, out-of-touch party whose goals amount to little more than staying in power or, now, getting back into it. And if that happened, say the Tories, it would only consist of "more of the same": patronage, old ideas, and not looking out for average people. Just look at their slogans: <a href="http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/default.asp">"Canada's New Government"</a> and <a href="http://www.conservative.ca/">"Getting things done for all of us"</a>. All government press releases begin the same way: "Canada's New Government to <a href="http://news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=256049">VERB</a> ----> <a href="http://news.gc.ca/cfmx/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=257789&">ELECTION CANDY</a> ----><a href="http://www.fin.gc.ca/news06/06-061e.html">NOUN</a>".<br /><br />Rest assured, the next election will not be about what the Tories have done; it will be about what their new government has done that the Old Government didn't do for average people. Worse still, the concept of the Liberal party has been turned into a general pejorative: people don't need to have reasons for not liking the Liberal party, they just don't. Liberal=Bad/Old. That's what the Tories have done. And that's what we are up against.<br /><br />In order to even start, we cannot have a leader that can easily be painted with the traditional Liberal brush. They can't be an institutional politician. They can't be dismissed with a "more of the same" attack. Worse still, they must be radically different. The corrupt Liberal image has, in my opinion, become such a basic assumption that the best way to fight it is to do so radically."<br /><br />We didn't quite do that and, sure enough... <a href="http://www.conservative.ca/EN/1091/61756">BEHOLD!</a><br /><br />Let's just hope the strategy doesn't take off. There's hope, however: Dion's reaction to the whole strategy was quick and concise: "Like my father used to say when he was not impressed: 'Weak, mister, weak.' They have to find something a little better, I think." Perhaps there's hope.<br /><br />It's nice to be able to breathe again, to sleep more than four hours, to sit periodically and to eat regularly. That said, I miss the constant energy, passion, and to-ing and fro-ing of the convention floor. Everything feels... slower, somehow. I'm sure that'll pass.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1165183678451626182006-12-03T14:56:00.000-07:002006-12-03T15:07:58.460-07:00Lack of UpdatesSorry for the lack of updates, everyone. The last 48 hours really haven't afforded me any time to post, and anything that I did throw up would really just have been monosyllabic. Needless to say, things are sad. I was pretty upset last night, more in the "thousand yard stare" way than the "yelling at the clouds" way. <br /><br />Erin and I are about to see Nick off to the train station, and then I'll make a more lengthy post tonight.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1165008738776245132006-12-01T11:01:00.000-07:002006-12-01T14:32:18.810-07:00AwesomeNote: See previous post. Also, <a href="http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/irony">this</a>.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/905432/DSC01288.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/400/47004/DSC01288.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />And be sure to watch the candidates' speeches tonight, especially Michael's at 8:30pm. I'll be in the very front, on stage left, wearing a flashing cowboy hat.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164953024837023222006-11-30T23:02:00.000-07:002006-11-30T23:14:39.503-07:00The Short OneMust sleep. Tomorrow's the big day. I wasted all my spare energy in the Atlantic hospitality suite with three Dion delegates and Ashley MacIsaac. More later.<br /><br />For a brief intro into tomorrow's hell, <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061130.wvotinghow1130/BNStory/Front">read this</a>.<br /><br />In the meantime, these two pictures are for Kendra:<br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/359395/libs_21201.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/408721/libs_21201.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/763597/libs_51201.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/9654/libs_51201.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164919026142893722006-11-30T13:33:00.000-07:002006-11-30T13:37:06.150-07:00One Member, One VoteThere's a lage debate going on right now about abolishing leadership conventions and giving every member a party a vote on issues and leadership candidates. Both sides make good arguments, and there's a lot of yelling. Best part? I'm watching it on TV from the cafeteria where it's cool and there's a veritable Horn of Plenty of coffee.<br /><br />There's not much point in being in there, as the line-up to speak for or against is longer than the MacDonald's breakfast line at 10:55 am. Still, the vote's coming up so I'd best get inside.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164911752969263852006-11-30T11:32:00.000-07:002006-11-30T22:58:56.440-07:00Update<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/346902/DSC01279.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/713228/DSC01279.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I just came from a morning of Ignatieff campaign meetings, followed by a "youth" ralley (apparently I look young enough), a lunch, and then the Biggest Damn Ralley you've ever seen. I'll upload some pictures later (although I suspect that you can watch the news tonight or check out the papers tomorrow).<br /><br />Now, I'm taking a moment to do this and maybe sleep a little. It's going to be a long day yet.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164865544663095672006-11-29T22:31:00.000-07:002006-11-30T23:01:38.920-07:00A Summary of TonightHey all, it's late and I have an early meeting so I won't write a lengthy entry.<br /><br />Tonight was the opening speeches, complete with one from Howard Dean. It was interesting, but not really worth waiting two hours to hear. I missed half of it because Kennedy and Dion had way more kids with signs in the room than we did, which is the convention equivalent of... I dunno. Poor planning. Anyway, I ended up in hallway waiting for some guy to show up that could unlock the room with more signs in it. He eventually showed up, and there were no signs in the room. Poor planning. <br /><br />However, I ran into John McCallum in the hall and thanked him for calling our fundraising party. Oh, and Bill Grahm liked my 80 gallon-cowboy hat.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/185714/DSC01283.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/166645/DSC01283.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />There's quite a bit of media in the hall, and it's kind of cool to see their booths looking over the floor. I'll try to take some pictures of it later to post here. That, or you could just watch it on TV. I ran into my buddy <a href="http://popwherry.blogspot.com/">Aaron Wherry</a> who's now writing for Macleans. I hadn't seen him since I was running for President, so that was pretty sweet.<br /><br />Turns out that another old Gazette guy--Tait Simpson--is working for the Liberal party at the convention. I was trying to track him down, and ran across his dad, noted political author and Globe and Mail columnist <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeffrey_Simpson">Jeffrey Simpson</a>. I stopped him in the hall and he turned around with a look that screamed "Oh god, another person about to ask me about my opinions on the convention." I don't think he took well to my stopping him and saying "Excuse me, aren't you Tait Simpson's dad?" and asking if he knew where Tait was. <br /><br />Most of the night was spent at hospitality suites (the good one's, with booze. Not the online kind) trying to convince other delegates to vote for Michael. It was... Interesting. <br /><br />There was one Kennedy delegate, though, that had attended Western as an undergrad and who's only memory of Western's student council was <a href="http://www.gazette.uwo.ca/2000/November/14/News2.htm">Operation Massive</a>. <br /><br />And that was before he knew who I was.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164864701773276632006-11-29T22:28:00.000-07:002006-11-30T05:56:25.440-07:00Ben's...My buddy Brett from Edmonton insisted that the best Montreal smoked meat to be had could be found in a nice little deli called Ben's in downtown Montreal. I just happened to be walking past it today.<br /><br />Now, an apt aside: when my friend Danna was in France a while back she told me how everything was closed because everyone was on strike (museums and whatnot). Everything. Me? I thought it was hilarious, in an "it's funny because I wasn't there" sort of way.<br /><br />Ben's? On strike.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164837209070259382006-11-29T14:50:00.000-07:002006-11-29T23:07:12.080-07:00Gender Equity<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/917766/Voting.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/864679/Voting.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I think I'm the only person sitting in this policy session that thinks that requiring 52% of Liberal candidates to be women is a bad thing. I mean, who are we to say that one cannot stand as a candidate just because one's a man? This isn't admission to an American university. This is choosing who represents us in an election. <br /><br />There are clearly reasons why there are more men in politics--both elected and as candidates--and those ought to be studied and addressed. However, benchmarks and standards are not the answer. <br /><br />I just don't know what is. Now, let's see if I get yelled out of the room.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37740982.post-1164832967954677042006-11-29T13:36:00.000-07:002006-11-30T05:53:51.656-07:00Running Into PeopleI'll do a more detailed post later with my experiences in the policy sessions and how my meeting with the prospective PhD supervisor went.<br /><br />For now, consider this:<br /><br />I was talking down the street trying to find the convention centre, listen to The Killers on my iPod and just looking around at the architecture when I almost run into someone on the street.<br /><br />It was Michael Ignatieff. Whoops. We talked for a few moments (he seemed to remember be from the few previous meetings we'd had) and then we went our seperate ways. <br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/1600/393607/Voting%20Card.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/5637/1352/320/825488/Voting%20Card.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Later, I was sitting in a policy session on <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20061129.wjeffweb1129/BNStory/Front">social issues</a>. I eventually got bored and started to look around (periodically posing for the video cameras that are ubiquitous here, taping the events for a "best of" DVD and recording the votes) when who do I find sitting behind me?<br /><br />Bob Rae.<br /><br />I didn't see how he voted on the resolution to decrease the age of consent for anal sex, though.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0