Sunday Night Quick Hits

• The press around Brian Mulroney's upcoming memoirs, including the CTV special tonight, has given me a new sense of respect for the former PM. Unfortunately, despite all my studies in Canadian political science and political history, I've never gotten a real lesson on his era, and I'm too young to remember what Canadian life was like under his leadership. Obviously I live with the GST and NAFTA, but I've never fully known why he is so hated by so many people. He is to liberals what Pierre Trudeau is to conservatives: a man to be loathed for all eternity for undermining their vision of Canada. Also, my respect for Trudeau has been consistently diminishing for some time now, and this past week hasn't helped my perception of him much.
• In two weeks I'll be seeing the Montreal Canadiens in action for the first time since 2003. Really looking forward to it, even if it's just pre-season hockey. At least I'll get a look at Carey Price before he (hopefully) makes the team.
• Roger Federer is simply too good.
• The number of rapes on Canadian university campuses during the first week of school is deeply disturbing and highlights the prevalence of male violence against women. So prevalent is it that first-year students aren't even surprised by it anymore. From the TorStar today: Jenevieve Narbay, 18, and Victoria Goutsouliak, 18, both in their first year at York, said they're not surprised by the attacks. "It's such a big university and it's happened here before," Goutsouliak said. "We've become desensitized to it."
• As always I encourage people from the Maritime region to get involved with the White Ribbon Campaign - Halifax. I've got some promotional materials and would appreciate some help with distributing them and setting up a larger-scale organization. All email inquiries can be sent to: whiteribbonhfx@eastlink.ca
• Make sure to pay attention to the Petraeus Report tomorrow. Its impact on the American direction in Iraq will be huge, and likely to shape policy for the next few months, possibly resulting in drawdown of American forces there.