One Click Pony
July 22nd, 2006 | by MadHacktress |I mentioned in a post the other day that Prime Minister Stephen Harper nosed his CC-150 Canadian Forces aircraft toward Cyprus to pick up refugees leaving Lebanon.
Yesterday morning the plane landed carrying approximately 100 refugees, the Prime Minister and Mrs. Harper, three PMO communications staffers and the Prime Minister’s Official Photographer Jason Ransom.
Many former Official Photographers have spoken out for and against Harper’s decision to keep his Snazzy Camera Guy. Those who support his move cite that this is an important event in the Prime Minister’s mandate that needs to be highlighted and recorded for the National Archives. Those who have spoken out against the move have stated that one more seat on the plane is one fewer Canadian trapped in a war-torn region of the world.
I am a member of the latter camp.
One more person is one more person.
Without a doubt there are photographers in Cyprus who can wield a Nikon well enough to snap a few candids of the Prime Minister kissing babies and shaking hands as the refugees boarded Polaris. And there’s no doubt in my mind that the Ransom could have beat the CAF plane back to Canada and have been waiting on the tarmac in Ottawa when she touched down. The dozen or so hours of flight time may have gone unrecorded by an Official Photographer but hey… ain’t that a sacrifice worth making for one more Canadian out of harm’s way?
I am pleased that the government is getting itself in gear to get these people out of Lebanon. I wasn’t even a critic about the time that it took for them to get engaged. I am, however, very critical when otherwise amazing act such as the flight to Cyprus are so blatantly used as political manoeuvring.
One day I hope to see a politician in power who doesn’t play politics.
Entry Filed under: General, In The News, Pure Opinion
Hmmm not sure I totally agree with you on this one… it is one seat on a plane… A plane that was never originally slated to care a single person out of there, so if they put 100 people on there then I see it as 100 extra people moved, not 1 seat poorly allocated.
As well the plane took off from Cyprus… Sure their are a lot of people who are still not back in Canada, but they are out of the immediate danger (Lebanon) now so that one person who was “left behind” is in no immediate danger in Cyprus.
Having a professional photograper on stand-by is a good idea.. Sure it will more then likely be used for political gain but you never how many timeless moments could be captured of film during the flight and without a professional photograpers their to recognize them and make the most of them we would never know. Amatures just would not be able to recognize and make the most of these moments.
I do agree that it would be nice to have a politician in power that is not all about politics… but will that day ever come??
I repsect the disagreement and I see where you’re coming from. In the grand scheme of things you’re probably right, that one seat isn’t going to save another life - but the fact of the matter is that this was billed as a humanitarian mission, so…
Now I’m going to use the totally manipulative and unfair argument for my defence.
That plane - the Prime Minister’s CC-150 - was laiden with some 87 Canadians (according to The Globe & Mail); women and children mostly. Mothers and their young sons and daughters.
Do you want to be the person who is standing at the bottom of the steps leading up to the plane, having to explain to a little girl or little boy whose parents are in Canada that they can’t get on the plane just now because that man, the one with the snazzy camera, needs to be there in case anything cool happens in mid-flight?
While it may be worth a thousand words, is a picture also worth leaving behind a woman or a child who has just escape a warzone?
Oh, yeah… totally manipulative arguments. Nice. ;)
Well with out a professional photographer there who would be the one snapping the picture of the little boy or girl crying as they close up the door of the plane?? If we want to get critical about “seat selection” does the PM really need 3 PMO communication staffers???? I would kick 2 or 3 of them out before I kicked out the Photographer.. I am sure the PM can answer his own phone, and make his own calls for a while.. (-8=