We obviously have some municipal employees that are not clear on the concepts... Does the sign mean that anyone is allowed to park except authorized vehicles. Since it is in an out of the way place, maybe they don't want the municipal vehicles to park there so the employees can snooze. ;o)
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Concepts
We obviously have some municipal employees that are not clear on the concepts... Does the sign mean that anyone is allowed to park except authorized vehicles. Since it is in an out of the way place, maybe they don't want the municipal vehicles to park there so the employees can snooze. ;o)
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
The best of times and the worst of times
As a Canadian we are used to a rather ho hum, middle of the road, type of leadership and government. The Liberals are just a bit to the left of centre, the Conservatives are a bit to the right (They would be much farther to the right if our PM had his way.) The leadership is pretty much grey with no real extremes. We could even say that we are a rather dull bunch.Our American cousins on the other hand, seem to love going from one extreme to the other. They have had presidents that have inspired generations and changed the world. Men such as Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Kennedy, who had a glorious vision of what their country could be and inspired their citizens to reach out and grasp that vision. But they also had presidents that were the opposite, Nixon, Reagan, Bush. Men who would do anything to win power, who would bring out the lowest common denominator of pettiness and narrow mindedness.
The last president is a perfect example of this. He was an unmitigated disaster for both America and the world. Under his watch America went from a balanced budget with a surplus to a veritable ocean of red ink, the American and world economies were devastated because greed and stupidity were allowed to go unchecked, America has lost thousands of young men in a futile war, whose drive and creativity are lost forever, America has made enemies across the world by its highhanded ruthless disregard for basic human rights. Under his watch we have seen examples of torture, wrongful imprisonment, an almost complete disregard for all international conventions that the United States has signed such as the Geneva Convention. He has masterminded an erosion of the rights laid out in the American Constitution that he was supposed to uphold and has trampled the very rule of law on which all democracies are based. And George W Bush was elected twice, wasn't once enough?
And yet just when the world despairs of ever seeing an America that plays a leadership role instead of being the world bully, the American electorate does a "beau geste" and elects an African American to the White House. Not only a visible minority but a man with a vision who can inspire the American people to reach out and grasp a dream of a better world for everyone who shares our common humanity. America can once again become an inspiration instead something to be reviled. Congratulations for having elected President Obama. There is now more hope for the future.
As for we Canadians, we'll muddle along with our grey uninspiring Prime Ministers. We'll probably never have a Barak Obama, ... but then again hopefully we'll never be stuck with a George Bush.
The last president is a perfect example of this. He was an unmitigated disaster for both America and the world. Under his watch America went from a balanced budget with a surplus to a veritable ocean of red ink, the American and world economies were devastated because greed and stupidity were allowed to go unchecked, America has lost thousands of young men in a futile war, whose drive and creativity are lost forever, America has made enemies across the world by its highhanded ruthless disregard for basic human rights. Under his watch we have seen examples of torture, wrongful imprisonment, an almost complete disregard for all international conventions that the United States has signed such as the Geneva Convention. He has masterminded an erosion of the rights laid out in the American Constitution that he was supposed to uphold and has trampled the very rule of law on which all democracies are based. And George W Bush was elected twice, wasn't once enough?
And yet just when the world despairs of ever seeing an America that plays a leadership role instead of being the world bully, the American electorate does a "beau geste" and elects an African American to the White House. Not only a visible minority but a man with a vision who can inspire the American people to reach out and grasp a dream of a better world for everyone who shares our common humanity. America can once again become an inspiration instead something to be reviled. Congratulations for having elected President Obama. There is now more hope for the future.
As for we Canadians, we'll muddle along with our grey uninspiring Prime Ministers. We'll probably never have a Barak Obama, ... but then again hopefully we'll never be stuck with a George Bush.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Ode to Cross-country skiing
Those of you who have read my blog from time to time know that in winter I love to cross-country ski. Today was one of those perfect days. The weather was about -12 degrees Celsius and we got 20 cm of fresh powdery snow this week. With the right wax you can literally fly across the snow. There is nothing quite like it, the cold sparkling air like a fine champagne, the sun and bluish shadows on the snow, the the squeaky sound your skis make on the snow and the feeling of gliding across the landscape. Despite what my lil' sister says there is some good to winter weather...
The brook isn't quite frozen yet.
Ski trail by the side of the Lac des Deux Montagnes.
Uprooted by the lake
Shadows and sun
Skiing toward the ice on the bay
La cabane à sucre (sugar shack)
Sunset on the lake
Ski trail by the side of the Lac des Deux Montagnes.
Uprooted by the lake
Shadows and sun
Skiing toward the ice on the bay
La cabane à sucre (sugar shack)
Sunset on the lake
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)