This is getting serious. I just made a bet with my good friend and Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson on the next round of the Stanley Cup. Pittsburgh vs. Ottawa.
A case of Iron City Beer from Pittsburgh vs. a case of Kichesippi Beer from Ottawa. And the loser has to wear the jersey of the winner. No tears.
His Worship should have asked for odds. He’ll look great in Black and Gold!!!!!
DJ
Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you how much I love baseball. Despite the Cubs’ unfortunate habit of disappointing their loyal fans, I have remained a devoted supporter. Beyond the sport, however, baseball has the power to bring people together. Whether it’s a neighbor in the stands or a fellow fan walking down the street, baseball fans always have a strong connection. This connection manifests itself in more serious situations. Like Jackie Robinson.
Recently, I saw the film ’42,’ which follows the story of Jackie Robinson and his fight to become the first African American Major League Baseball player. I agree with First Lady Michelle Obama, who said after a screening of this film at the White House, “In the end, I can’t help but marvel at just how far we’ve come…. But it also reminds us how far we have to go, how much more work we have to do.”
The film also reminded me of the close connections between the U.S. and Canada. Jackie Robinson first hit the field in 1946 with the all-white Montreal Royals, Brooklyn’s farm team. Two years ago, I went to Montreal to dedicate a plaque on the house Jackie and Rachel Robinson lived in when he was playing for the Royals. The people in Montreal and in his neighborhood showed him kindness and support that surely motivated Jackie and Rachel Robinson to keep going.
April 15 was the 66th anniversary of the day Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play in the major leagues. Major League Baseball celebrated Jackie Robinson Day, for the fifth consecutive year, with all players wearing number 42. Check out the photos on iam42.com.
This past weekend Julie and I braved the rain to take a walk along the Rideau Canal to Dow’s Lake to see the tulips. I must say that even in the rain they were spectacularly beautiful. It didn’t hurt that we dried off eating Mexican food overlooking the lake.
Pretty much everywhere you look in Ottawa the flowers are out. Here’s a picture of the garden in our front yard!!
DJ
73 years ago today, Winston Churchill (whose mother was American) assumed the powers of Prime Minister of the UK. So it was appropriate that last night Julie and I hosted a session of the Winston Churchill Society of Ottawa.
As I was preparing for the event, I was reminded of Churchill’s reflections on that day 73 years ago:
“I felt as if I were walking with Destiny, and that all my past life had been but a preparation for this hour and for this trial.” “I slept soundly sure I would not fail.”
Author Lynne Olson, Ambassador Jacobson, and Julie Jacobson.
And that highlights the vast gulf between me and Winston Churchill. On my first night in Ottawa … I couldn’t sleep a wink. Though, I am happy to report that over the last four years, while I have never risen to Churchillian heights, I have managed – at least occasionally – to sleep through the night.
The star of the evening was American author Lynne Olson who just released her new book “Those Angry Days” which chronicles the “Great Debate” which raged from 1939-1941 over whether the United States should enter World War II to save England. The book focuses on the dramatic conflict between the leaders of the two camps: Franklin Roosevelt and Charles Lindbergh.
I had read Lynne’s earlier book “Citizens of London” which chronicles America’s entry into WWII through the experiences of three prominent Americans living in London during that time: Edward R. Murrow, Averill Harriman and Ambassador Gil Winant. In her books, Olson does a spectacular job of marrying historical analysis with personal narratives of the key players driving momentous events. I highly recommend these excellent books.
DJ
Yesterday, what should have been a great day in Boston turned in to a nightmare.
Our first thoughts are with the victims and their families and with the people of Boston. But there is another story. Not one of cowardice and hatred. But of compassion and bravery.
As President Obama said a few moments ago:
“The American people refuse to be terrorized. Because what the world saw yesterday in the aftermath of the explosions were stories of heroism and kindness, and generosity and love: Exhausted runners who kept running to the nearest hospital to give blood, and those who stayed to tend to the wounded, some tearing off their own clothes to make tourniquets. The first responders who ran into the chaos to save lives. The men and women who are still treating the wounded at some of the best hospitals in the world, and the medical students who hurried to help, saying “When we heard, we all came in.” The priests who opened their churches and ministered to the hurt and the fearful. And the good people of Boston who opened their homes to the victims of this attack and those shaken by it.
President Obama Speaks on Attacks in Boston (Photo: White House)
President Obama Speaks on Attacks in Boston (Photo: White House)
“So if you want to know who we are, what America is, how we respond to evil — that’s it. Selflessly. Compassionately. Unafraid.”
This is a shared tragedy. More than 2000 of the participants in the Boston Marathon were Canadian. They and their families were exposed to this horror along with all the others.
I want to thank the Canadian people and their leaders for the outpouring of support and kindness we have received in the last 24 hours. It is at times like these that you learn who your friends really are.
Together we’ll keep North America safe. Together we’ll show the world what we’re made of.
DJ
On Monday, January 21, Barack Obama and Joe Biden will be sworn in as President and Vice President of the United States. (The official swearing in will take place on the 20th as required by the Constitution. However, since it is a Sunday, the public event will take place on Monday.) The day will involve a ceremony on the steps of the Capitol, a luncheon in the Capital, a parade down Pennsylvania Avenue, and, of course, the Inaugural Balls.
But there is another important part of the Inauguration celebration. One that says so much about our President and about our country. As he did in 2009, President Obama has declared Saturday, January 19 as a National Day of Service. Millions of Americans across the country will volunteer in their communities to do something tangible to make our country a little bit better.
Members of our Embassy community here in Ottawa and in the seven Consulates across Canada want to do our part as well. So we are volunteering in our communities here in Canada. Volunteers from the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa will be sorting food and making packages at the Ottawa Food Bank. Volunteers from Consulate General Vancouver will do likewise for the Vancouver Food Bank. Consulate General Toronto is organizing a blood donation drive. Our Consul General’s family in Québec City has been serving meals to the homeless and helping the Québec City Women’s Club raise funds for scholarships for women returning to university. Consulate General Montreal will devote time to help the Omega Community Resources Agency, a local mental health center. Consulate General Halifax is collecting books for a Nova Scotia library that was broken into and had their new book fund stolen.
I encourage all American citizens living in Canada (there are more than a million of us) – and any of our Canadian friends who want to join us – to volunteer in your communities. Find an organization that needs help. Visit a lonely neighbor. Shovel the sidewalk of a senior citizen who has trouble doing it on his or her own. Do something to make your community just a little bit better.
I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the peaceful passage of power in the United States of America.
DJ
It hasn’t been an easy year to be a Chicago sports fan. There’s the perennial story of the Cubs. God love ‘em. Then the collapse of the Bears. Maybe they’ll do better next year with a new coach. The Bulls star player, Derrick Rose, is out for the season.
The light at the end of the tunnel (at least for the last few years) has belonged to the shining blades of the Blackhawks. But not this year — at least so far.
So — like the rest of the hockey world – I’ve turned my focus from the Ontario Hockey League or the American Hockey League. And now…the World Juniors.
Not long after I arrived in Canada I watched the United States beat the Canadian Team to win the Championship Plate. To me the amazing thing about the game was not that the U.S. won, but that it had the largest TV audience of any sporting event in Canadian History. (It was subsequently surpassed by the Olympic Gold Medal Game — which I have blocked from my mind.) I always use those TV ratings to explain to Americans how much Canadians love hockey.
As you all know, Canada edged the US 2-1 in pool play on Sunday. But having crushed the Czech Republic 7-0 the US team will get a rematch against the Canadians tomorrow — at 4 am no less — in the semi-finals.
While I would be more than a little surprised if tomorrow’s game got a bigger audience than the 2010 match — then again there isn’t much else on TV at 4 am — I will be glued to my set. I have a steak dinner bet with Ambassador Doer.
I’ll take my hockey where — and when — I can find it. U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!
DJ
Global Entrepreneurship Week brings millions of established and aspiring entrepreneurs together to learn, share information, and generate energy for entrepreneurship in every corner of the globe. Indeed, entrepreneurship under President Obama has been elevated as a critical pillar of U.S. global engagement.
This year, Embassy Ottawa partnered with the organizers of Startup Nations Summit to bring Jonathan Ortmans of the Kauffman Foundation to Ottawa, which drew in-person and online participants from around the world. Jonathan embodies the spirit of the Global Entrepreneurship Week movement and the understands the close relationship between the United States and Canada’s entrepreneurs. I thank him for coming to Ottawa and sharing his expertise in and enthusiasm for entrepreneurship.
-DJ
Startups and North America’s Shining Beacon
by Jonathan Ortmans
If there has been a paradigm shift in economic policy thinking in the past five years, it has been the embedding of entrepreneurship as a key concept for economic progress. Almost every day, there are new signs that entrepreneurship is considered the cornerstone of economic and social well-being in a growing number of countries which do not fit any one development or income classification. At the same time, the understanding of entrepreneurship has deepened through solid research and data. For example, we now know that startups are integral to creating net new jobs in the United States. This paradigm shift has translated into countries rushing to implement business regulation reforms as shown in the World Bank’s 2013 Doing Business report and the launch of many powerful cross-sector initiatives such as Startup America, Startup Canada, StartUp Britain, Start-Up Chile and LIONS@FRICA.
This race to build a friendly startup ecosystem is not necessarily an adversarial one. Young entrepreneurs today do not think in terms of a rigid grid of national borders, but rather of building bridges to talent, investors and markets—wherever they see fit—aided by a plethora of informal networks forming across countries. Through those global links emerge the innovations and answers that the world’s entrepreneurs bring to so many of the challenges of the 21st century. Moreover, in light of continued global economic uncertainty, jump-starting growth will require building effective entrepreneurial systems across nations. Thus, leadership in the field of entrepreneurship is a key foreign policy objective for America.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson understands that entrepreneurship is a shining beacon and that we all gain when there are other bright lights on hills across the world. Fortunately, he is not alone in his efforts in this regard. During the fifth Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in November 2012, more U.S. Embassies than ever joined entrepreneurs, governments, foundations, global NGOs, corporate giants, universities and other leaders in unleashing more global entrepreneurial activity in 130 countries.
Summit Café
Leaders of foreign missions who understand the importance of entrepreneurship for social and economic well-being see in Global Entrepreneurship Week much more than a celebration of the creative spirit. GEW engages the entire entrepreneurial spectrum and is strengthening ecosystems everywhere. Millions of students experienced their first tastes of startup culture and soaked up advice and inspiration from serial entrepreneurs looking to give back to the next generation as well as the likes of Bono and Bill Clinton. Universities strengthened connections that help them commercialize research from their labs. New startups taking their first steps emerged from Startup Weekend events in more than 130 cities. Existing startups looking for their big break found it through competitions like Startup Open, Get in the Ring and the Creative Business Cup. Researchers and policymakers engaged in discussions around the world to examine the underlying policies necessary to promote entrepreneurial growth.
During the Week, the U.S. Embassy in Warsaw hosted a conference on “American entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in the United States” which attracted ambitious students of Warsaw universities who would like to establish their own companies in the future. In Russia, more than 100 students, young entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, diplomats and Russian government officials gathered at the residence of the U.S. Ambassador Michael McFaul for an exciting event that highlighted global attitudes toward entrepreneurship and a discussion about what the future holds for aspiring entrepreneurs. U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Richard E. Hoagland in turn spoke about the importance of Pakistani entrepreneurship during a conversation on “Access to Finance”. These and other GEW events organized by U.S. Embassies in many other countries, added to the State Departments initiatives to share American startup prowess such as the LIONS@FRICA partnership to promote Startups in Africa, its Global Entrepreneurship Program, and the Global Innovation through Science and Technology (GIST) Initiative.
It is clear that the keys to growth of the U.S. economy are entrepreneurship and innovation. More importantly, there is broad understanding that new firms do not appear as a natural by-product of having free-market institutions but are rather the result of a startup ecosystem. I accepted the invitation to come to Ottawa from the U.S. Embassy in partnership with the newly formed Startup Canada movement modeled on the successful Startup America Partnership. I also joined the second “Startup Nations” gathering where leaders from various countries trying to enhance their startup culture gathered this week to share best practices. By sharing what we know about startups with other parts of the world, North America can renew its role as the shining city on the hill.
To find out more about Startup Canada, visit www.startupcan.ca or to learn how you can get more involved in GEW in 2013, visit www.unleashingideas.org or for Canada-specific details visit http://ca.unleashingideas.org/
This morning I attended the change of command ceremony for the Chief of Defense Staff at the Canadian War Museum in Ottawa. My good friend General Walt Natynczyk stepped down after four years of distinguished service.
Since arriving in Canada, Julie and I have become good friends with Gen. Natynczyk and his wife Leslie. We have gone to hockey games, dinners, parades, celebrations and every other type of event with them. I spent a week in Afghanistan with Gen. Natynczyk not long after I arrived here visiting Canadian and American troops. It was one of the highlights of my experience as Ambassador.
Ambassador Jacobson with General Natynczyk in Afghanistan, December 2009. (Credit: US Embassy Ottawa)
I have seen first-hand the strength of character, the leadership abilities, the decency that Walt brought to the job. As I have gotten to know senior members of the United States military I have heard — over and over — about the respect they all have for him. He served with our troops in several locations and commanded Americans in combat in Bosnia.
The Canadian people — and the American people — should be grateful for his service. He will be missed.
DJ
Three years ago today I presented my credentials to the Governor General of Canada to become the 22nd United States Ambassador to Canada. The last three years have proven what I have said so many times: I have the best job in the United States Government.
Since I arrived I have traveled far and wide in Canada. I have literally dipped my toes into three oceans. I have seen cities and towns. Farms and prairies. Lakes and mountains.
I have had the privilege of meeting with so many of the Canadian people from every walk of life. Government officials and business leaders. Generals and head of NGO’s. Shop keepers and small business owners. Factory workers and farmers.
I’ve had Christmas dinner with soldiers in Afghanistan. Walked with wounded warriors. I have learned to cross country ski and curl. I have rooted for your sports teams – unless they are playing ours. I have eaten your food and drunk your wine. I’ve come to love Tim Bits.
While I always hesitate to say I have been everywhere and have met everyone, I can say that I have covered a lot of ground and met a lot of people. I do it to try to better understand Canada and the Canadian people. Because understanding your country and your people is – in my view – the most important thing I can do to make the most of my opportunity as United States Ambassador.
We have achieved much over the last three years:
Those are just the highlights. There’s much more. And yet, we still have much to do. The good part of this job – and perhaps the bad – is that we will never be done. There are always problems to solve. There are always opportunities to seize.
So I look forward to continuing to travel this beautiful country. To continuing to work to improve what is already perhaps the strongest relationship in the world. To continuing to try to improve the lives of the American and the Canadian people.
In the meantime, on behalf of myself and my family, I want to thank you for welcoming us into your country and doing so with such warmth and grace.
DJ
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