[Leica] politics as usual

["Dave Fisher" <tekapo@golden.net>]

Greets all,

Political junkies out there might be interested in a short series of rough
work prints I just developed. [ A quick disclaimer: this is Canadian
politics, so be forewarned! ]

The event was Stockwell Day's national Alliance Party platform launch held
in Kitchener, Ontario two Thursdays ago (October 5, 2000). Stockwell Day is
Canada's new Leader of the Opposition. He just got the job, replacing former
Reform leader Preston Manning with the creation of the new right-wing
Alliance Party. Stockwell Day is a westerner, sorta youthful, hates taxes,
likes bible camps and wants people to know he skidoos and scuba dives.
Anticipating that a snap federal election was about to be called by the
Prime Minister any minute, the Alliance Party decided a pre-emptive campaign
was in order. I'm not an Alliance member, but went along as a curious
political junkie mostly because it was close to where I live. Apparently the
reason for launching the official platform in Kitchener was because he
wanted to talk about "taxes and the brain drain" -- nearby "University of
Waterloo is losing too many grads to Microsoft," he said as his first point
of business. There was a massive throng of national media, but most of the
accredited press photogs were peculiarly content to keep a far distance from
the stage, so I waddled up just as Day climbed out of a projection screen
and strutted to the stagefront, and set my little Metz flash. I wasn't
tipped off to any shenanigans beforehand, but a local Marxist-Anarchist
agitator named Julian Ichim doused Stockwell Day with chocolate milk before
he uttered his first word. I was jonny-on-the-spot and caught the milk
flying over Day with a flash burst. It's doubtful Day will become the next
PM, but it was an inauspicious start to his campaign and makes for an
amusing slide show.
Go to: http://home.golden.net/~tekapo/stockwell/stockthumbs.html

Cheers, Dave