Friday Photography

A few random images of haunting beauty. [Sources unknown unless otherwise indicated]

Douro River, Porto, Portugal

Bow Lake, Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada

Beautiful summer day _ By Henri Bonnel

by Miguel Rita

Norway

© Auke van der Weide

Emperor Penguin & Russian Ice Breaker – Amundsen Sea, Antarctica – by Angie Scott

Also, here are some great pictures that did not have large enough resolution for this collection: Erich J Harvey’s Photostream

addthis_url=”; addthis_title=”; addthis_pub=’raphaelalexander’;

Maybe It Was The Hangover

So-called “pro-coalition” rallies happened across Canada yesterday, to support the idea of bringing powerful leaders together under one ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them. Sorry, wrong movie. This one is based on uniting the NDP, Liberals, and Bloc Quebecois, but unlike the previous film, this one won’t be winning any Academy Awards. The gloating, taunting, teasing, and name-calling has all but come to a trickle from the supporters who one day ago thought that the Stephen Harper Conservatives might be tossed out on their ears next Monday. In Edmonton yesterday, estimated 300 people braved the snow to gather and show support for the coalition. Not bad, although the day before the Edmonton Oilers, who are not yet running for government as far as I am aware, garnered a slightly higher number. Well, then again, it is Alberta. 300 Liberal supporters sounds about right for the province.

The Globe and Mail have released their own Strategic Counsel poll that contradicts the “62% majority” nonsense very thoroughly. A 21-point gap between the Conservatives and the Liberals now shows that the public have a very low opinion of the opposition indeed, and the high-flying NDP have now sunk back to their former 14% irrelevance. All ranked together they now number 48%, a far cry from the 62% claim on their coalition website. Outside Quebec, also known as the ROC, support for our government is at 53%.

There are many people who don’t think the coalition will survive the suspension of Parliament now, and although only Liberal MP Jim Karygiannis and John Manley appear to be breaking rank here, it’s still early, and it’s expected more will speak up shortly. The coalition is said to have crashed and burned mainly on the embarrassment of Stephane Dion’s brutal Wednesday night handy-cam address to Canadians that was delivered late and out-of-focus. The Globe and Mail reports:

“Embarrassment, indignation, I’m the most angry of everyone,” Mr. Dion said, describing reaction to his video response to Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s address, which was delivered out of focus and too late for some stations to air.

“What happened there was unacceptable,” he said. “It’s something that I decided to have an inquiry about it to identify what was missing in terms of professionalism.”

It’s time to go with what dignity you have left, Mr.Dion. What very little you must have left.

addthis_url=”; addthis_title=”; addthis_pub=’raphaelalexander’;

Dear Mainstream Canadian Media: You Make Me Sick

[Welcome readers from the Torch and Daimnation!]

The media has been waiting a long time for this day to come. They have been preparing, no doubt, for months upon this eventuality. It must have been the easiest assignment any journalist has ever had to cover, since the number was certain to be reached eventually, even if they did have to wait a terribly long time for it to finally come.

Three of our soldiers died today defending the sovereign and democratic nation of Afghanistan against terrorism in service of their nation, Canada.

The statistic should not be any more important than any other number, but the media have been waiting for this one for a long time. After all, what could more relevant to undermining the mission in Afghanistan than pointing out that the “death toll” has rolled into triple digits? The newsworthiness of “death tolls” always helps to sell newspapers and garner attention from the public who need to be reminded there is a “debate” about Canada’s presence there. They will use the talking point to create an advocacy for the return of our troops to Canada, as though the death of 100 soldiers or 99 soldiers is something that redefines the mission and the human cost to it. They will be nothing, if not entirely predictable.

Certainly those with any common sense whatsoever will defend against turning this into a political wedge. Writers like DiManno, and Blatchford will no doubt bring some much-needed return slap to the face of the media. Common sense and sensitivity is equally important in this:

“There’s a lot of anger and sadness after something like this, but [the soldiers] are professionals [who are] trained to deal with it and will continue with their job at hand, as they believe the soldiers who have been killed would have wanted them to,” said Mercedes Stephenson, a military analyst.

But for the most part the vultures will circle for a while, feast on Canadian morale, perhaps pick at the leftist NDP talking points, and then promptly disappear again, leaving our soldiers to do the heavy lifting. Again. As always. They will continue to carry the load, thankless, in the line of fire for freedoms that few over here with undue cynicism will appreciate. In short, they will continue to do what they have always done, and they will do it to the fullest of their abilities, always knowing and always understanding that they could be “death toll 102″ or “milestone 103″ in the news.

They do it because it’s a job they want to do, are proud to do, and in turn defines our nation by the men and women who are willing to die for the democracy and liberty we uphold as sacrosanct.

RELATED

To you from failing hands, we throw the Torch.

addthis_url=”; addthis_title=”; addthis_pub=’raphaelalexander’;