December 17, 2008 will go down as one of the most bitter-sweet days in Vancouver’s sports history. It marks the day that Trevor Linden’s number 16 jersey will be officially retired, never to be used again by another Vancouver Canuck. It is a tribute to a player that has meant so much not just to the sports fans in Vancouver, but to the general residents of this city as well.
I wrote a tribute to Mr. Linden on April 5 (see http://blackshouldereng.blogspot.com/2008/04/end-of-era.html) when he played his last NHL game. This time around, I actually don’t have much else to say… Instead, I want to show you a few videos that hopefully can capture the illustrious career of Trevor Linden:
This first video is vintage Linden. With the Canucks down 3:1 in the Stanley Cup final against the New York Rangers, Linden and goaltender Kirk McLean forced a game 6. In game 6, it was Linden, McLean, Geoff Courtnall and Cliff Ronning that provided the magic that allowed the Canucks to play a winner-take-all game 7. At the end of the game (starting at 2:02 on the clip), when the outcome of game 6 was certain, Linden was high-sticked. While struggling to get to the bench, Linden was cross-checked by Ranger captain Mark Messier in a despicable, dirty play. What was so powerful from this clip was what legendary broadcaster Jim Robson said, “he (Linden) will play, you KNOW he will play.” And played Linden did, with broken ribs and a broken nose, in game 7. He scored the only two goals for the Canucks that night, and almost single-handedly helped Vancouver capture its first modern era Stanley Cup. The picture of Linden and McLean (shown at 3:10 of the clip) embracing each other at the end of the game is one I will never forget…
Fast forward fourteen years, and Linden was playing in his final NHL game on April 5, 2008. What is so special about this video is the tremendous respect Linden gets from his teammates but also from his rivals. Jerome Iginla and the Calgary Flames gave way to a tribute to Linden at the start of the third period, and lined up to shake Linden’s hands at the end of the game out of respect for the warrior player that has played over 100 hard-fought games against the Flames. It takes a classy guy like Iginla to recognize that class act that Trevor Linden is. And for that, I will always respect Mr. Iginla.
The last video is a tribute a fan has created for Trevor Linden. It captures some of the greatest moments in Trevor Linden’s 20-year career, including the two above-mentioned goals Linden scored in game 7 of the 1994 playoffs. It does not capture all the big moments (no Jeff Norton hit, for example), but it is nonetheless very good.
Because he has never won a Stanley Cup, has never captured a major award for his on-ice performance, and has never won a scoring title, Trevor Linden probably will not find himself a spot in the hockey hall of fame. That said, when looking back at a career that includes so many behind-the-scene charity work, Mr. Linden has touched the lives of so many people. His dedication to hockey and the community will forever be a role model that many would aspire to follow.
Congratulations on a great career, Mr. Linden. You will forever be a Vancouver Canuck, and I will always be a Trevor Linden fan. Forever number 16!
News now emerge that Stephane Dion (left) of the Liberals Party has agreed to step aside immediately once an interim leader is found. His decision seems to have much to do with the fact that the coalition idea is not well supported by Canadians, and Liberal insiders think that the problem has much to do with Dion, who was dismissed by the voters on October 14, and had subsequently announced his resignation, initially effective in May when the Liberals meet for a leadership convention.
Liberal insiders are pushing hard to have Michael Ignatieff (right) replace Dion as the interim leader, and continue their push to topple the Conservatives minority government. All seems well inside the Liberal party, except another favoured candidate for the party’s top job, Bob Rae.
Personally, I’m not interested in the in-fighting within a political party that I am not a member of. However, since the Liberal-led coalition still has a chance of governing Canada, and Ignatieff and Rae could potentially become our prime minister, it is interesting to see what Bob Rae (below left) has to say about the idea of appointing Ignatieff to take the leadership helm from Dion:
“It's better to have the party as a whole involved in finding a solution than it is to having a solution imposed from above.”
“I don't think that coronations are generally very successful in political parties. I think most people believe that it's better to have a contest, it's better to have a choice.”
“No other democratic party would do it this way, and I think we have to think very carefully about finding the right process.”
Let me get this straight – when the coalition formed and tried to topple the current government, are opponents of the coalition using the same logic as Rae? We said the country as a whole should decide, not several people sitting behind a backroom. We said the country’s voters need to have a choice, rather than being jammed down the throat with a new prime minister. We said democratically, choosing a government should be left for an election is the fairest process…
And now, Rae is using the same logic, when the table is turned against him, when he is robbed of a chance to take over Canada? How soon you forget, Mr. Rae?
Mind you, I agree with almost all the points Bob Rae has raised here, but this agreement only goes further to show how anti-democratic is this idea of a Liberal-NDP-Bloc coalition is: it is not an idea that Canadians can vote on, it is not a fair contest where all stake-holders can argue for the voters’ support, and it is not a democratic process. The ironic thing is, among the two potential liberal leader, Bob Rae is the one who says the coalition will topple the government no matter what…
What a sad state our country is in, if the bulk of its leaders can be so hypocritical and are so lacking in wisdom.
To: Her Excellency Michaelle Jean cc: Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Party leader Mr. Stephane Dion, and NDP leader Mr. Jack Layton
Dec 1, 2008
Your Excellency,
It is with great disgust and much anger that I am writing to Your Excellency to protest against the current political ploy put together by the Liberals and the NDP to topple the current Canadian government.
When Canadians from coast to coast headed to the polls on October 14, 2008, we have spoken as a whole and voted for the Conservative Party with 143 seats in the parliament, the highest number among all the national parties. Following our long-standing tradition of democracy, the leader of the Conservative Party, Mr. Stephen Harper, is thus asked to form a government, with him as Canada’s prime minister. All party leaders, including Mr. Dion, Mr. Layton, Bloc Quebecois leader Mr. Gilles Duceppe, and Green Party leader Ms. Elizabeth May, had spoken to support the democratic choice of Canadians coast-to-coast. Canadians were well-aware that a minority government can be an unstable government, but Mr. Dion has spoken in his speech that he would “work with” Mr. Harper and the Conservatives to help Canada through the uncertain economic times.
It has not even been two months since the election, but now, because of backroom deals that entail details that Canadians have no ability to obtain, Mr. Dion, who was abandoned by his own party just months ago, is asking to form a government with him as the prime minister. The NDP and the Bloc, meanwhile, are neglecting the choice of the Canadians and are supporting this ludicrous idea. To make matters worse, Mr. Dion would then be succeeded by another person when the Liberals have their leadership convention in May of 2009. Canadians in general have no say in his successor. Canadians have not surrendered their right to choose a government to the hands of the Liberal delegates attending its leadership convention – it is a despicable act that violates the fundamentals of our democratic process.
I personally have no problem seeing a majority, a minority, or a coalition government, as long as that government is one that is elected by the Canadian public at the polls. In my opinion, if the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc, want to form a government as a coalition, they need to declare that intention and let Canadians decide if that is how they want the government to form. The current idea of trying to topple the government Canadians collectively chose with one that an undisclosed number of insiders conjure is unacceptable, and is a mockery of the democratic system that many Canadians are very proud of.
The reason why so many people from around the world decide to make Canada their home is because of its democracy, not because of corrupted backroom deals that run rampant in the infra-structure of the government – many Canadians have known that far too well. I ask that you, Your Excellency, to declare a general election to let Canadians decide how they want their government to be should the current government be overthrown as a result of a non-confidence vote. I plead that you do not listen to the unacceptable request made by the Liberals and the NDP to allow them to form a coalition government without the proper consultation of the country, which can only be done accurately through a general election.
Thank you very much for your attention to this urgent matter.
Yours Sincerely, E. Leung A very concerned Canadian
For those who have been following the news: Canada may have a new government very, very soon. Unlike last time, it is not a result of a called election, but rather a scheme plotted by the Liberals and the NDP to topple the current Conservative government. Their plan is, with the support of the Bloc, to ask Governor General Michaelle Jean to ask current Liberal leader Stephane Dion and NDP leader Jack Layton to form a coalition government once they have overthrown the Stephen Harper-led Conservative minority government through a non-confidence vote. The Bloc Quebecois will promise to not overthrow this government for at least a year, giving the coalition government two chances to release a budget.
Let me get this straight: Canadians have just voted for a Conservatives-led minority government, with Stephen Harper as its leader and thus, our prime minister. Now, because of backroom deals that entails who-knows-what, Stephane Dion, who was abandoned by his own party, could potentially become our prime minister, then followed by someone else who Canadians have not even considered as our prime minister when the Liberals have their leadership convention in May? When did Canadians give their right to choose a government to the hands of the Liberal delegates attending the leadership convention?
I am not necessarily for or against a coalition government of any sort – if the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc, want to run in an election as a coalition and wins, that’s fine. Let Canada have its first coalition government since the 1920s. But LET US CHOOSE! Heck, if the Marxist-Leninist Party and the Communist Party decide to run as a coalition, and actually win the federal election, so be it. But this coalition is something that has just been cooked up by the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc. I didn't see in my ballot a couple months ago any candidates that says "Liberal-NDP-Bloc Coalition." I chose to vote either the Conservatives, the Liberals, the NDP, or the Green Party. The decision to topple a government right now and replace it without an election is a total disrespect to democracy, and thus is despicable at best (I can use harsher words, but I don't want to resort to profanity here). While one can say the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc collectively have more popular support in the country than the Conservatives, is it certain that all these supporters of the parties support the idea of such a coalition? I know for a fact that many Liberals hate the Bloc and feel that they represent a force that tries to destroy confederation... would they vote for the Liberals should they know that they are going to sleep with the enemy?
The reason why so many people from around the world decide to make Canada their home is because of its democracy, not because of corrupted backroom deals that run rampant in the infra-structure of the government – many Canadians have known that far too well.
Please, do something - write to the media, write to your MP, call talk shows. Let them know that this is despicable, and cannot be tolerated. Don't let Canada turn back its clock to become a corrupted nation where politicians run backroom deals and bypass the eyes of the voters.
The undergraduate student society in Carleton University has recently voted to terminate a school-wide fundraiser called Shinerama, an event where participants shine shoes, cars, etc., for other people to raise funds for the inherited and fatal disease cystic fibrosis. Leaders of the student government said that the cancellation is due to their belief that cystic fibrosis is a disease that “only affects white men” and is not “inclusive” enough as a cause that the student body should be supporting. Before writing further, I must first state that this is very personal to me. I have two friends who are cystic fibrosis (CF) victims, and know another girl who has CF. I have not met these friends for a long time, but one of them was in palliative care years ago, so I assume she is no longer with us. She was a dear friend when I was in university, and as a showing of support for her and my other friend with CF, I was a Shinerama participant, even an executive one year to help raise funds for this cause.
Factually, these students are just flat out WRONG. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disease that is caused by a problem with chromosome-7. Since that chromosome is not a sex-chromosome, its occurrence among males and females are roughly the same. In my little world, all three people whom I know that were CF victims were female. And while the defective CF gene is found more commonly in the Caucasian population, it can be found in other ethnic groups as well – the third person I know who has CF is an East Indian, and I have read about this disease in Hong Kong as well.
But CUSA’s problem goes beyond the ignorance. It is this very foolish thinking of political correctness that is causing them this gaffe. Even if CF is a disease that only strikes white men, does it make the cause any less worthy? We often hear pleas from dying people asking people to have their blood tested for a possible bone marrow donation – is that plea too exclusive (after all, it is for ONE person) that no one should support it?
The great poet John Donne said it very well back in the seventeenth century in his poem “For Who the Bell Tolls” - No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main… any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bells tolls; it tolls for thee."
An advice for CUSA: if you want to be truly inclusive, first, let’s try not to exclude even one person.
For more info, please check out the following links:
I wrote a tribute to Mr. Linden on April 5 (see http://blackshouldereng.blogspot.com/2008/04/end-of-era.html) when he played his last NHL game. This time around, I actually don’t have much else to say… Instead, I want to show you a few videos that hopefully can capture the illustrious career of Trevor Linden: 
