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Thursday April 22, 2004
How's that for quick results?
See how leading edge we bloggers are? I know, I know...I'm not a real
blogger because I don't have permalinks or comments (Cue the Comic Book Guy
voice: Worst...blog...ever!). But three days ago, I suggest it might
be time to take a closer look at Earnscliffe. Then, whammo! Chuck Guite drops a bombshell, and Earnscliffe's all over the evening
news. Clearly, Chuck's been reading.
Actually, I have a sneaking suspicion Chuck's been listening to folks
close to a certain former prime minister. That, or he's carrying a hefty
grudge against the current one. But even if today's testimony was a little
torqued, I maintain that Martin's sloppiness with Earnscliffe will
eventually do him as much harm as the sponsorship scandal.
It takes chutzpah to run a lobbying/consulting firm that gets contracts
from your department as a quasi-campaign office, and more chutzpah to
moralize about government ethics even as you let current members of that
firm help run your government. But all the chutzpah in the world isn't going
to save him if the opposition parties figure out how to use this to their
advantage.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Wednesday April 21, 2004
Chilling Frost
Sports radio is usually fluff. But I just caught an interview on the Fan
590 with Mike Danton's uncle, Jeff Jefferson, and, well...yikes.
Compelling stuff, admittedly. But the more you hear about this David Frost
guy, the creepier it gets. I don't think the Fan has transcripts or
interview clips on its site, but this
column from the Sun will give you some idea. I'm not usually a
fan of Steve Simmons' stuff, but it's an interesting piece.
I don't want to make too many assumptions here, but you have to wonder how
the hockey world could turn a blind eye to Frost for so many years.
Apparently threats had something to do with it, but how does one relatively
minor agent put such a scare into journalists, coaches, managers, league
executives, and God knows who else that they can't be bothered looking out
for the interests of teenagers allegedly being manipulated and exploited?
Doesn't say much for this "community," does it?
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Adam Radwanski
And you thought Svend was the wackiest guy in
Burnaby-Douglas...
However much one is inclined to believe the worst about Paul Martin, the
allegation by a BC riding president that
he's racist because he appointed a white candidate over two Asian candidates
in Burnaby-Douglas is clearly crap. He appointed Bill Cunningham because
he's a cronie, which is bad, but not because he's white, which would be
really bad.
That said, this particular circumvention of local democracy really baffles
me. Appointing Ujjal Dosanjh or other star candidates I can see, since
asking them to go through messy nominations might turn them off. But Bill
Cunningham? I have seen this man in action, and he is not a star
candidate.
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<
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Tuesday April 20, 2004
From "ensuring timely access" to "reducing wait times"
This is pretty enlightening. Read between
the lines, and the chair of the National Health Council (that would be the
body set up by the federal government last year to oversee medicare
delivery, in case you've forgotten) is essentially saying that Paul Martin
is wasting our time.
His argument that the PM should devote more energy to following up on the
2003 health care accord struck between Jean Chretien and the premiers
wouldn't hold up if Martin was pitching some major change in direction. But
the thing is, last year's deal saw the premiers promise, as the
aforementioned report tells us, "to ensure timely access to care, provide
24-7 access to doctors and nurses, cover catastrophic drug costs, set up a
national home care program and provide accountability for health spending"
in return for increased federal funding.
Sound familiar? If not, this speech might come in
handy. And while you're at it, have a look at Paul Wells' brutal
deconstruction of said text, available on his reliably terrific blog.
No wonder Martin was so keen to form a "new" government. Clearly, he
couldn't live with the old one's priorities.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Monday April 19, 2004
Everyone's favourite "
strategy group"
There's nothing particularly new in Jane Taber's piece on Earnscliffe. But it
does make you ask yourself, ye
t again, how these guys have gotten off so
easy.
Forget about its murky relationship with the PMO now, and consider what
went on in years past.An Ottawa consulting firm is loaded up with Paul
Martin's loyalists. It serves as an unofficial headquarters for his
leadership campaign, with some of its members toiling long hours on his
behalf. And by the way...it gets millions of dollars in contracts from the
department he's running.
By all accounts, Earnscliffe did some good, honest work for Finance. But
in an era where everything is played as a scandal, I have no idea how
this hasn't been. I can only assume the opposition is saving it up for the
election campaign, but that doesn't explain why the Ottawa media has mostly
let it pass with a wink and a nod.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
More conspiracy theories
So Leafs tickets for Game 7 go on sale at noon today. Naturally, I've got
my browser set to the appropriate Ticketmaster page for the moment they
become available. Enter the relevant information. At 12:01, am told by
Ticketmaster that no tickets are available.
I know the vast majority of seats at the ACC are season tickets. I know
there were probably thousands of fans all jamming the system at 12:00 on the
dot. I know that, in a city of 4 million people, we can't all cram into a
19,000-seat arena.
But I also know that the only time I've gone to a playoff game in Toronto
the past couple of years is by buying tickets on E-Bay. And each time, the
seller tells me that he has a "friend" at Ticketmaster or the ACC.
Question: How many "friends" are there? And how long is it before the
Leafs find that they've alienated an entire generation of fans by not giving
them a chance to see their team live?
Update: One more question. Why are all the E-Bay guys hawking game 7
tickets based out of the U.S.? Seriously, I don't know the answer to this
one. Any and all explanations (however factually shaky) are welcome.
>> Send your comments to Adam Radwanski
Sunday April 18, 2004
Definitely (not maybe) too many Oasis references
Posting my review of The Hiss' debut CD in the
appropriate place caused me to realize, with some concern, that I'm
starting to repeat myself. Both of the past two reviews (one positive, one
negative) have made direct comparisons to Oasis.
My first inclination is to blame myself for lazy writing. But the thing
is, both were utterly valid comparisons, and in fact I could have made
similar references in a whole bunch of other reviews I've done over the past
year.
This is odd. I'm an Oasis fan (and not afraid to admit it), but I
wouldn't deny they've always been pretty derivative. Now there's a whole
wave of bands, and not just British ones, doing to them what they did to the
Beatles.
Not saying Noel Gallagher has now reached John Lennon status...just
saying, is all. But the good news is that I'm reviewing Modest Mouse's new
CD, Good News for People Who Love Bad News, for tomorrow's
Post. Pretty sure there are no Oasis comparisons to be found
there.
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Adam Radwanski
Ottawa-bashing in an Ottawa paper (aka Career Suicide 101)
I've also added my latest column from the
Citizen a little earlier than usual this week, since it might be a
bit dated within a couple of days - or by later tonight, if the Leafs can
take care of business.
Yes, I wrote about a hockey rivalry. Don't tell me you'd prefer to read
another column about Svend Robinson or the Khadrs.
>> Send your comments to Adam Radwanski
Saturday April 17, 2004
All Khadred out
All right, I'll say it...I'm officially sick of the Khadrs. If I never
hear another word about them, it'll be too soon.
Yes, yes, they're very bad people (or at least some of them are). We get
it. Now please, a moratorium on columns and commentaries trying to find
clever new ways to tell us this (see Wente, Margaret). If you don't have
anything fresh to say, don't say it.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
If you really want to eat in the same room as Ernie, go to
Bigliardi's...
The Ontario Tories have their big
fundraiser coming up this Tuesday at Toronto's Westin Harbour Castle. Ernie
Eves is the keynote speaker. Tickets must be selling like hotcakes.
Somebody's obviously forgotten to tell these guys that Bay Street doesn't
line up to hand you money when you're in opposition. If you want to sell
tickets, you have to offer a little incentive. A badly discredited lame duck
leader three-and-a-half years before an election, with your party still
licking its wounds from the last campaign and still tanking in the polls,
does not qualify. Wouldn't Stephen
Harper have been available if the Tories
had asked nicely?
Then again, there's a chance the fundraiser will be up against Game 7 of
the Leafs/Sens...in which case they could stage the Second Coming and still
have empty seats.
>> Send your comments to Adam Radwanski
Friday April 16, 2004
The end for Svend?
This whole Svend Robinson thing, which I'm sure
you've already heard about, is really sad.
The consequence of being in public life, and especially of being the sort
of lightning rod for controversy that he's always been, is that there are
lots of people who will be glad to see you stumble. And Svend has done more
than stumbled - he's fallen flat on his face.
I have no idea what sort of problems he's going through, nor whether he'll
be able to eventually get his career back on track. But I will say that,
hopefully, this isn't what we'll remember him for. Whether one agrees with
him or
not, he's been one of the most fascinating MPs in modern Canadian
history
Watching this story unfold brings to mind some of the tougher political
exits documented in Steve Paikin's The Dark Side (a good read, though
not quite as good as his first effort, The Life). It's good to see,
though, that he hasn't been abandoned by his friends and supporters (fellow
New Democrats, Egale, etc.) the way that many of that book's subjects were.
Let's hope they're willing to stick with him for the long haul.
>> Send your comments to
Adam Radwanski
Escape from Ottawa
Back from the wilds of Kanata, having enjoyed Game 4 considerably less
than Game 3. Almost came to blows defending the honour of Bob Cole, but
managed to resist a portly gentleman's invitation to punch him in the head.
Don't ask.
Anyway, the important thing is that I can now get back to my regularly
scheduled blogging, which I'm sure will relieve you no end. At least, I'll
do my best while structuring my day to ensure I can get to a sports bar in
time to grab a table for tonight's game.
>> Send your comments to Adam Radwanski
Radwanski's Ramblings from April 9-15,
2004
Radwanski's Ramblings from April 2-8,
2004
Radwanski's Ramblings from March 26-April 1,
2004
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