Life-Love 97: Being bold

Fortune favours the bold, said the classical Roman poet, Virgil. It is easy to live life meekly. In fact, our culture encourages meekness and self-effacement. We are told that we shouldn’t speak too much of our accomplishments, or the people we know. We are told that we should fit in and conform. What’s most surprising …

My thoughts on #elxn41 weeks 3 & 4: “No greatness here anywhere.”

This election feels like a non-event – quite boring perhaps – and that is exactly where the Prime Minister and his Conservative Party want it to stay. However the interesting story is really what is going on with the centre and centre-left, with the Liberal branding problem which has allowed Jack Layton to swagger in …

My thoughts on the #elxn41 French #db8: A Good Night for Ignatieff & Duceppe.

General Overview & Critical Opinion The French language debate was everything the English language debate last night was not: exciting, passionate, substantive. Each of the leaders was able to get his party’s platform point across. Viewers and listeners got a real sense of where the candidates stand on a wide variety of issues concerning French …

My thoughts on the Canadian federal Leaders #db8: A Non-Event

The federal Leaders Debate last night was a real disappointment. Disaffected youth voters will remain that way, First Nations people were ignored and even insulted, French Canadian cultural policy was dismissed, and little substantive policy debate of the different platforms was offered to the public. The Prime Minister was aloof, often simply challenging the voice …

My Thoughts on #elxn41 – Week 2

This election has, for most Canadians, been a non-event thus far. The majority of people who will tune in are going to do so after the debates, the first of which will happen Tuesday, April 12. This week, the Liberals scored some victories by taking an opposite tack to the strongly negative beginning of Conservative …

My Thoughts on the April 7 Ignatieff Town Hall in Hamilton

Tonight I attended Michael Ignatieff’s town hall in Hamilton at Liuna Station. Over 1000 people attended according to The Spec and CTV News – three times the number who attended the nearby Harper rally in downtown Hamilton. It was a very good night for Mr. Ignatieff. He definitely carried the momentum that he had gathered …

My thoughts on #Elxn41 – Week 1

This first week has really shown that social media is creating a new playing field. 1. Social media and main stream media are mutually leading one another We’re seeing a really interesting reinforcing effect here: when an event happens, social media is all a-twitter about it. The thing is, Twitter is dominated by the top …

Why politicians are changing their Twitter names for the election

You may have noticed that during this 41st Canadian federal election, your Member of Parliament has changed his or her Twitter handle. He or she is probably doing this to avoid the perception of conflict of interest: MPs are not meant to use their MP offices to further their personal interests. Another question to ask …

Gave guest lecture at the Canadian International Council (CIC-Hamilton) on Wikileaks.

I just got home after a wonderful evening that blended all the things I like: politics, public affairs, government, food and fascinating people who wanted to talk. I spoke on the topic of “Wikileaks: Has government communication changed forever?” I was speaking to the Hamilton Chapter of the Canadian International Council. I was amazed to …

My beautiful trip to DC

Last weekend, I traveled to Washington, DC, one of my favourite cities in the world. It was a bit of a working vacation for me, since I have been going quite hard, with research and teaching. I arrived on Saturday morning, flying on Jetblue out of Buffalo. It was a funny flight, because I was …