Note: The narrated video above is hard to see because its dark. It is easier to see it on full screen. See the non-narrated version of the same event (below) taken 5 minutes earlier. It is a bit easier to see.

A few days after a man was arrested in front of my building with gasoline tanks and various items that could be used as weapons (see pictures below), a largish Toronto G20 protest took place under my window.

There were about 75 to 100 sit-in style protesters on Toronto’s The Esplanade, between Scott and Lower Jarvis (about 1/2 mile from the G20 fences). The protestors blocked the road, stretching about 5 people wide, between the Keg on one side of the street and the Novotel (where low-level G20 officials are staying)  on the other. Easily 100 to 150 police in full riot gear showed up in successive waves. While an initial group of police surrounded the protesters (2 lines, 2 officers deep), another phalanx of police organized at Front and Scott. They marched in formation (about 5 x 25), banging batons on shields with each step. After that group arrived, the police arrested the protestors one by one – dragging them into a dozen or so waiting paddy wagons as two helicopters hovered overhead. While all that took place a dozen or so police per street corner blocked all adjacent streets ensuring that no more protestors could arrive.

Non-Narrated Version of Video recorded 5 Minutes Earlier

At first the protestors chanted ‘Peaceful Protest’, ‘Peaceful Protest’. After most were dragged away, the  chant changed to ‘Let us go”, “Let us go”. That didn’t get them very far. All those that were sitting on the road were taken away. There seemed to be a smaller group that had been standing on the sidewalk that were permitted to stay – surrounded by police for hours after.

Of course this shut down our normally happy, bustling neighborhood. During the event, which lasted a few hours, I was a prisoner in my building. I wasn’t permitted to go out the front door – even to go to the convenience store 20 steps away.

The pictures below are of the man arrested three days ago (June 24) for having a weird car with gasoline cans in it and weird makeshift weapons including a cross bow.

Gas tanks, chain saw, cross bow, pick etc.

The man that was arrested

Hazmat Suit Guys
(there ended up being no hazardous chemicals or bombs)

Odd Looking Car and lots of police
(my building in behind)

Where do you diverge from the pop culture consensus?

—- MOVIES —-

Jar Jar Binks

I liked Jar Jar Binks. What else is there to say. I thought he was an amusing character. I was happy to see him return in Attack of the Clones and the Clone Wars.

  Gigli

I didn’t think Gigli sucked. It was far from great. It would probably rate 2 out of 5 Dale-heads if I were to review it formally. But it doesn’t deserve to be the butt of all jokes and one of the most lambasted movies of all time.

The English Patient

If there ever was a more boring, self-indulgent, overly-hyped movie, than The English Patient, I don’t know  what it is. It was cathartic to see the fictional Seinfeld character Elaine Benes hate on the movie in the English Patient episode!   This is probably the only thing I ever agreed with the Elaine character on.

Citizen Kane

I’m a classic movie fan. Citizen Kane is consistently at the top of the AFI 100 and other top movie lists. I vehemently disagree. While Orson Wells had some interesting moments, not only should it not belong on any ‘best movie’ lists, I consider it to be in the bottom 20% of all the movies I’ve seen – and I’ve seen a lot. I’ve sat down to review it twice. If/when I complete it, I’ll post my review and link it here.

 —- MUSIC —-

Michael Jackson

Yes, he’s a little wacky. Aren’t most geniuses? If he molested boys, that cannot be condoned.Whether or not he ‘did it’, he’s still one of the most dynamic and interesting performers I’ve ever witnessed.

Beatles

I have never thought the Beatles were any better than your average band. I have never understood why they are so beloved. I don’t like many of their songs.

 —- TV —- 

The Office

The few times I watched this show, it made me cringe. It’s one uncomfortable moment after the other. You couldn’t pay me to watch this show.

 —- SPORTS —-

Sharapova and Kournikova

Tennis is my favourite professional sport to watch. It drives me to distraction to see the media focus so much attention on Maria Sharapova and her predecessor to the tennis beauty-queen crown, Anna Kournikova. It particularly disturbs me that the networks will cover the tennis matches of the cuties over the better player matches. I want to watch quality tennis – not pretty faces and accentuated curves at the expense of the sport.  I’m concerned that Ana Ivanovic may be falling into the same beauty before athletics trap.

3 Set Matches in Women’s Grand Slam Tennis

Sticking to my belief that tennis should be about fitness and athletics, I can’t understand why women’s grand slam tennis matches are limited to 3 sets when the men’s matches are 5 set matches. Women’s hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball etc. teams do not play on smaller courts or for shorter amounts of time. Fitness and endurance should play as much a role in deciding who the best women players are as they do on the  men’s side. The recently retired Justine Henin is the poster girl for fit and athletic women tennis players. I want to see more players like her. We need 5 set women’s matches for them to rise to the top. I firmly believe that one of the reasons women’s tennis matches are typically not of the quality of the men’s matches is because 3 set matches hold women to a lower standard.

Hockey

I’m a Canadian and I don’t like hockey. There I said it. If there was anything that American’s found surprising about me when I lived in California, this is it. My opinion would change somewhat if fighting was removed from the sport. But not by much. In my opinion, any player that starts a fight should be banned from hockey for 1 year. If he does it again he should be banned for life – period!

Following recent reports (see here, here and here) on the growing number of U.S. Senators and Congressional Representatives that use Twitter (about 120 right now), I decided to look into which Canadian Cabinet ministers, party leaders, Senators and Members of Parliament use Twitter. Below are my preliminary results as of May 12, 2009. I have included the number of each person’s Twitter followers in parenthesis.

This list is not exhaustive. If you know of other Cabinet Ministers, Senators or MPs using Twitter, please add them in the comments with a link to their twitter profile. Many thanks.

Cabinet Members

Stephen Harper – Prime Minister:

http://twitter.com/pmharper (12,219)

Jason Kenney – Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism:

http://twitter.com/MinJK (702)

Tony Clement – Minister of Industry:

http://twitter.com/TonyClementMP (501)

[Update: This must be someone spoofing a Tony Clement profile.]

Stockwell Day Minister of International Trade:

http://twitter.com/Stockwell_Day  (2 – hasn’t posted anything yet)

Steven Fletcher – Minister of State (Democratic Reform):

http://twitter.com/stevenjfletcher (377)

Party Leaders:

• Michael Ignatieff (lib) http://twitter.com/M_ignatieff (6,973)
• Jack Layton (ndp) http://twitter.com/jacklayton (6,311)
• Gilles Duceppe (bloc) http://twitter.com/gillesduceppe (1,423)

Other Members of Parliament

1. Niki Ashton (ndp) http://twitter.com/nikiashton (95)
2. Dawn Black (ndp) http://twitter.com/Dawn_Black (179)
3. Kelly Block (cons) http://twitter.com/KellyBlockMP (65)
4. Peter Braid (cons) http://twitter.com/peterbraid (148)
5. Lois Brown (cons) http://twitter.com/loisbrownmp (102)
6. Patrick Brown (cons) http://twitter.com/brownbarrie (87)
7. Paul Calandra (cons) http://twitter.com/PaulCalandra (112)
8. Chris Charlton (ndp) http://twitter.com/chrischarltonmp (120)
9. Olivia Chow (ndp) http://twitter.com/oliviachow (420)
10. Siobhan Coady (lib) http://twitter.com/SiobhanCoadyMP (169)
11. Denis Coderre (lib) http://twitter.com/DenisCoderre (316)
12. Don Davies (ndp) http://twitter.com/dondavies (266)
13. Libby Davies (ndp) http://twitter.com/LibbyDavies (210)
14. Paul Dewar (ndp) http://twitter.com/PaulDewar (181)
15. Ruby Dhalla (lib) http://twitter.com/MPRubyDhalla (174)
16. Ujal Dosanjh (lib) http://twitter.com/ujjaldosanjh (245)
17. Rick Dykstra (cons)  http://twitter.com/RickDykstra (59)
18. Hedy Fry (lib) http://twitter.com/HedyFry (55)
19. Martha Hall Findlay (lib) http://twitter.com/TeamMHF (1,503)
20. Royal Galipeau (cons) http://twitter.com/galipeauMP (113)
21. Jim Maloway (ndp) http://twitter.com/JimMaloway (21)
22. Brian Masse (ndp) http://twitter.com/BrianMasseMP (140)
23. Dan McTeague (lib) http://twitter.com/danmcteague (2,449) – seemingly only tweets about gas prices
24. Bob Rae (ndp) http://twitter.com/bobraeMP (1,165)
25. John Rafferty (ndp) http://twitter.com/johnraffertyMP (76)
26. Brent Rathberger (cons) http://twitter.com/brentrathgeber (149)
27. Blake Richards (cons) http://twitter.com/WildRoseMPBlake (138)
28. Denise Savoie (ndp) http://twitter.com/denisesavoie (53)
29. Peter Shurman (pc?) http://twitter.com/shurmanator (198)
30. Michelle Simson (lib) http://twitter.com/MichelleSimson (53)
31. Chuck Strahl (cons)  http://twitter.com/ChuckStrahl  (221)
32. Glen Thibeault (ndp) http://twitter.com/GlennThibeault (104)

See also:

• Which Canadian MPs are on Twitter?
• Canadian Politics Twitterers

• Keynesian stimulus spending has never worked in the past;
• World War II was the sole impetuous for recovery after the Great Depression – not spending; and
• the New Deal had no ameliorating effect on the Great Depression’s high unemployment rates.

All of this is said, of course, in argument against the current Obama/Democratic stimulus package.

It is certainly true that World War II proved to be an enormous, if not THE most important, stimulus to post Depression recovery. The chart* below, however, makes it clear that Roosevelt’s stimulus spending did have an important, positive effect on the U.S. economy:

U.S. GDP doubled after the New Deal spending began – between 1933 and 1941 -before the U.S. entered World War 2. While it’s true that the unemployment rate in the U.S. was still high, at 15%, just prior to the commencement of World War II , the unemployment rate was 23% in 1933. As such, 8% of Americans were put back to work during the intervening years before WW2 .

I don’t know if the Obama/Democratic stimulus package will yield similar or better results. But in light of history, for Republicans and others to continue to make the unqualified assertions listed above, shows ignorance at best, or dishonesty at worst.

*The chart above was displayed on MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow show on Monday February 9, 2009.

This graph speaks for itself! It shocked me!

It puts into perspective the depth of the current economic downturn compared to the most recent 2001 and 1990 recessions. U.S. Job losses are almost double those of the prior two recessions in the same amount of time and already deeper than they were in the worst of the prior two. It is also the first time in my living memory where the unemployment rate in the U.S. is worse than in Canada.

*The chart above was displayed on MSNBC’s Rachael Maddow show on Monday February 9, 2009.

(more photos after the break)

Barack and Michelle Obama Kiss – what a team!

Obama – Biden Victory Celebration in Grant Park Chicago

Barack and Michelle Obama, Joe and Jill Biden

John McCain Graciously Concedes

Todd & Sarah Palin

Jesse Jackson

Oprah Winfrey

David Plouffe – Obama Campaign Manager

David Axelrod – Chief Campaign Strategist

Malia and Sasha Obama

Obama Family

Barack and Michelle Exit the Stage

Fresh off the announcement, these are my initial thoughts on the strategic pros and cons of Biden being named Obama’s running mate:

(a note on my personal opinion at the end)

Biden Pros:

• Chemistry: The chemistry is right. They have an established working relationship having worked well together on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (with Biden being Barack’s ‘boss’).
• Ends the Clinton Drama: After the speeches and roll-call next week, the post-primary Clinton drama will be ended. There will be no issue of what to do with “Bill” had Barack picked Hillary.
• Scrappy Fighter: Barack can remain above the fray during the election campaign while Biden (who is no shrinking violet) gets down and dirty in the presidential fight/debates – similar to what Cheney did for Bush. He’ll effectively handle the Republican attack machine — in the words of Chris Matthews, “the Carl Rove, divisive, swift boating, character assassinating partisanship that calls every disagreement treason or appeasement, every electoral rival an enemy of the people”. Ha!
• McCain Knowledge: Since Biden has worked with McCain for his entire career and knows him intimately, he’s strategically positioned to go toe-to-toe in debating McCain and his VP on every  policy issue.
• First Rate Debater: He’s a terrific debater. He’s well versed in every major policy area. He’ll be a good debater against any McCain VP pick.
• Foreign Policy Chops: He’s extremely knowledgeable on foreign affairs and military policy (shoring up a perceived Obama weakness – he called for the surge YEARS before either Bush or McCain did). Biden should send flowers to Putin for the South Ossetia affair – which probably secured Biden’s place on the ticket. He has established personal working relationships with most every major foreign leader. Has travelled the world widely.
• Third Pennsylvania Senator: While Biden is a senator from Delaware, he was born in Scranton Pennsylvania – a key battleground state that Hillary won in the primaries. Given Delaware’s proximity and overlapping media markets with Philadelphia, Biden’s considered Pennsylvania’s third senator.  While Bush took most of Pennsylvania in 2004, Kerry won the state by taking Eastern Pennsylvania – the part closest to the Delaware border.

• Works Well with Republicans: He’s regarded as a unifying senator that routinely worked across party lines – especially with Lugar and Hagel on Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
• “Average Joe” with Compelling American Story: He’s considered to be a charming, regular, ‘average Joe’, family man from “Scranton” that average American’s can relate to.  He’s not an Ivy league elitist – the usual democratic Achilles heal. Like Bush, he’s the kind of guy that average American voters can relate too. He’s the son of a car salesman that worked his way up through a state college without affluent parents. He overcame the death of his first wife and daughter on the day he was sworn in as a senator. He is the poorest senator with a net worth of about $300Kish.  He’s taken a train to and from his home in Wilmington Delaware every night during his years in the senate. He knows the name of every ticket taker. Won’t have a problem remembering how many homes he owns!
• White Guy Can Take on Race Issue: He’s an older, well-liked, white guy, that can offset, somewhat, race as an issue – as was shown, for example, to be a deciding factor for 20% of the primary voters in  Tennessee. He’ll be able to discuss the ‘race issue’ with reluctant white, working class Hillary voters in an way that Obama can’t.
• Hillary Supporters and Women Voters: Biden is not an affront to Hillary’s supporters who would have been upset had he picked another woman other than Hillary. Has been a strong proponent of woman’s issues. Is pro choice. Author of Violence Against Women Act. Lead fight in senate against supreme court appointments likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. More appealing to the older Hillary supporters than Obama is.
• Jewish Vote: He’s been an ardent supporter of Israel. He has long established relationships with all of the major Israeli party leaders.
• He’s Catholic: Won’t take a hit for any of the silly religious war reasons (ie: not a Mormon or a member of a ‘extremist’ church like Obama was). Good for picking up the Catholic vote.
• Staunch Supporter of Universal Healthcare: A major issue and concern of the majority of Americans.
• No “New’ Baggage: He meets the “do no harm” test. The historic plagiarism issues were fully hashed through during his earlier presidential run. Old news won’t hurt Biden/Obama. Voters don’t look to the past. They generally look to the future.

Biden Cons:

• Talks Too Much: Perceived to be too much of a blow hard that won’t shut up.
• Minor Economic Policy Chops: Economic policy experience would be important in an ideal running mate choice. Not perceived as an economic genius.
• Two Senators: It’s relatively rare for senators to be elected president, let alone two senators. Kennedy/Johnston were the last two senators to win – an apt analogy given that Obama is seen to be Kennedy’esque.
• Change Message: Obama’s been the ‘change’ candidate. Taking a 36 year senator as a running mate is arguably contrary to the change message.
• Campaign Sound Bites: On record as saying Barack wasn’t ready to be President in primary debates. Makes good fodder for Republican commercials (as we’ve already seen). But the same would be true for any person that ran against Obama. And McCain will have this problem if he picks Romney. An issue that the Obama and McCain campaigns will have no long term problem with.

Personal Opinion of Biden

I’ve been a U.S. political junky for about 10 years now. He’s one of the very short list of U.S. politicians that, to my mind, are generally fair-minded and mostly non-partisan. He’s someone that puts country ahead of party politics. He’s honest. He’s a straight shooter. He’s a statesman. He’s smart, thoughtful and very much ‘plugged in’ to foreign an military policy issues. I rarely disagree with him. He was my first choice VP candidate and I’m very happy Barack came to the same conclusion.

Tim Russert

I was saddened to hear of Tim’s passing last Friday. I’ve been watching the bountiful tributes with misty eyes. I respected his intelligence, preparation, passion for what he did, his omnipresent big smile, good humour and down-home humanity.

Tim’s relationship with is father, Big Russ, was inspiring. When he announced his book, Wisdom of our Fathers, I purchased a copy to give to my dad on father’s day. I used the page included in the book to write a bit about what my father meant to me. My dad liked that.

During every U.S. primary, caucus or election night, I would be keenly interested in what Tim had to say. I never found myself disagreeing with him. I don’t remember a partisan moment. If he said it, I took it very seriously.

It’s Sunday morning as I write this. Tom Brokaw is doing a tribute show for Tim in the background. I have never watched Meet the Press under another moderator. He helped to keep me informed. Sunday morning won’t be the same without him.  His chair will be tough to fill.

Click to watch interview with Tim’s son Luke.

As Barack was about to make his Democratic nomination victory speech, Michelle looked at him, fist-bumped, smiled a huge smile and gave him the thumbs up.

There is something awfully wonderful about this picture. In a flash you see a couple that is truly in love. Truly supportive of each other. Terrific.